@bethany and I were discussing the question, "are there different degrees to sin?"
Jesus said that sinning in your heart makes you guilty of sin, but are all sins a felony or there spiritual misdemeanors? Both felonies and misdemeanors are law breakers, but have different consequences.
I am studying this question today.
Is lust in my heart equal to the act? Will the sin of rape or murder reap the same as lying to my grandma about her pie being good if it isnt?
thoughts?
@ScottLuke @sinbach @bethany 1John5:17 is that verse. It shows that there are different degrees of sin.
@sinbach Even if we acknowledge a gradient of sin, we have to then assume a gradient of consequence, right? I think that's my sticking point. How are those consequences even measured?
So, some sins lead to death and others to... what? A tap on the hand? I don't know. Maybe. But do I just want to believe that because I don't like the alternative?
Is thinking of sin in 'degrees' helpful, if it actually just causes me to make some small justification for my 'lesser' sin?
... I really don't know
@bethany Totally agree
@sinbach @bethany These following two verses suggest to me that some sins are worse than others:
Luke 17:2
"It would be better for him if a millstone were hung around his neck and he were thrown into the sea than for him to cause one of these little ones to stumble."
1 Corinthians 6:18b
"Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the person who is sexually immoral sins against his own body."
So I would say there is, to an extent, different degrees to sin.
@sinbach @bethany It is quite obvious that there is a gradient of sin and I don't think there is much of an argument otherwise. I'm a surveyor by profession and many times I'm required to measure and document where something is and compare it to where it is supposed to be. Things are never perfect or wrong. There are statistical measurements taken over time that provide certainty of whether something is in tolerance or not. I think our actions are a lot like this when it comes to sin.
@sinbach @bethany I think the reason we find this a surprising and difficult concept, is because we so easily get confused about Biblical righteousness. As I see the scriptures, there are two types of Biblical righteousness: 1: towards God; and 2: towards everything else. With the first, there is no difference between our sin, with the second there is. The first righteousness is a free gift, not of ourselves lest any should boast; the second flows out from it, and is evidence of it.
@sinbach @bethany sin is sin