It goes without saying that sin is abhorrent on all counts. God hates it (Proverbs 6:16-19), and as Christians, so should we. A lot of the times, though, there are sins that feel less prominent or less consequential than others. If we happen to sin, there’s that chance we may say, “Well, my sin isn’t as bad as that sin.” But are there sins that are really worse than other sins? How does God see sin? Does He see them based on severity, or does He treat them all the same? How should we treat them?

In today’s post, I want us to look at this idea using the backdrop of Romans 1:28-32:

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting; being filled with all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful; who, knowing the righteous judgment of God, that those who practice such things are deserving of death, not only do the same but also approve of those who practice them.”

The “degrees” or “hierarchy” of sin are man-made.

These degrees that we create are often based on how severe we feel they are. There are the sins that we think of as the worst of the worst. Then, there are the lifestyles rooted in sin, but they are passed off as normal, commonplace, and tolerable, and people claim that they can’t help it because they were born that way. Then, there are the little sins that feel inconsequential…at least, to us, like the little white lie or that slanderous remark behind someone’s back that people call gossip.

Paul tells the Romans about a variety of sins that God considered “vile” (Romans 1:26). Notice the variety in verses 29-31: “… all unrighteousness, sexual immorality, wickedness, covetousness, maliciousness; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, evil-mindedness; they are whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, violent, proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to parents, undiscerning, untrustworthy, unloving, unforgiving, unmerciful.” If you look at that list closely, being “unloving” is grouped with “evil-mindedness”, and “unforgiving” is grouped with “murder”, and so on. This list is a summation of the fact that God sees no border between sins as far as severity is concerned. In God’s eyes, all sin is abhorrent, no matter what the deed, no matter what the consequence.

However, just as no degrees of sin exist, no degrees of His forgiveness exist.

Let’s talk about verse 28 for a minute: “And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting.” God does not give us verses like this in His Word – including, for example, Hebrews 6:4-6 – to make us feel discouraged or hopeless. In fact, there is an emphasis on edification, both to us through His Word and for us to edify others (Psalm 31:24; 1 Thessalonians 5:11). Also, His forgiveness is not conditional; it’s a free gift if we choose to accept it through belief and baptism (Mark 16:16). However, the people who choose to shun God over and over and over again constantly bend and strain the bonds of any relationship they have with God until they break (Hebrews 6:4-6). This is not what God wants by any means, as He wants that relationship with us so we can spend eternity with Him. He continues to pursue people in love, so don’t feel discouraged if you pursue Him in return, but feel like you fail; we all fall short, and He will meet us wherever we are (Romans 3:23).

The bottom line is that yes, all sin is equal in the sight of God, no matter how severe some sins seem in comparison to others. Here’s the good news: Christ died for all sins. That temple curtain was torn on the day of crucifixion (Matthew 27:51) so that when we sin, we can go directly to Him and ask for forgiveness anytime, anywhere, for any reason, without having to go through anyone else to do so. He is our intercession before the Lord, and He is there for us no matter what. And we can take comfort in that.

By Savannah Cottrell