 Are all sins the same? Well, the answer is yes, no, and it depends. The fact of the matter is everybody sins. Everybody commits a sin, including the person who thinks he doesn't sin. Now, how do sins affect us? How does God look at sins? Well, it's going to depend. The question is, are all sins the same? Are there differences? Well, all sin is looked down upon God. Whether it's a small sin that we categorize as a small sin, whether it's a large sin, whether it's something simple as not telling the truth or taking someone's life, God looks down at all of them. And so, determine how sin is looked at and even how it's treated. There's a couple of factors. One, who commits the sin? Two, when are the sins committed? Three, and this is the most important, what does God intend to do with the sin? Now, all of us will agree that certain sins are very different ramifications, whether it's in the spiritual realm or if it's in just in life in general. If a person jaywalks, well, that's a ticket. If a person runs a red light, a greater ticket. If a person gets an accident and leaves a crime, a charge, and possibly jail time. There is a difference between the person who sins and doesn't know the Lord and the person who sins and knows the Lord. The person who sins and doesn't know the Lord, well, that person's sin or sins, plural, are all couched under the same umbrella. That is just the sin of unbelief. But then for those people who do know and know better than, i.e., the people who are saved who are his, their sins are going to be treated a little bit differently. As a matter of fact, Jesus says in Luke 12, 40, 80 says, But to the one who did not know it and committed deeds where they were flogging will receive a few. But from everyone who has been given much, much will be required and to whom they entrusted much of him, they will ask all the more. If you have been entrusted with obviously salvation, then more is required. You've been given more and so more is required. We are required to be a light to the world and when we sin, what does it do? It diminishes the light or to someone it might diminish who the light is supposed to be reflecting on, which is God. And so therefore God is going to have a problem with us sullying his image before the world. Obviously, when a person sins, if they are a believer, also matters. If a person is, let's say, a new believer, they've been saved for a day, for a week, for a month, or a year, or even the age of the person. Let's say it's a eight-year-old, a nine-year-old, a ten-year-old, someone younger and they just came to Christ. Let's add that as well. Well, they're going to be given a little bit more of an opportunity to be a Lord compared to someone who was older. Let's say the pastor. Both of them tell a lie. One is lying about how many cookies he ate and the pastor is lying about how much money he made or how much money he's taken or he's stolen or he's done something egregious. Well, how is God going to look at that and what will God do as a result of that and what should we do? James 3.1 says that as such, we will incur a stricter judgment for we all stumble in many ways if anyone does not stumble in what he says he is a perfect man able to bridle the whole body as well. With that understanding, we understand that the person who is a teacher, the leader, there is a stricter judgment. As a matter of fact, it's even a higher bar to charge him. When it comes to even accusing an elder it must be two or three witnesses and then that elder is to be rebuked or punished before the people. This is to show that even this person has to be dealt with and so obviously we as who might be lay members also ought to be considered of sin as well. The question as to whether there are even degrees of sin also comes up. Is one sin counted more even as believers, is one sin counted worse than the others? Well, there are some that come with different consequences obviously and we should remember that even as a believer a person who might be seasoned in the word maybe someone who is a leader or a person who is new in the faith still sin comes with consequences. Maybe the consequences won't be heavenly although some of the consequences are we won't get into the difference between different rewards and so forth. That's a discussion for another time but suffice it to say there are certainly degrees in terms of punishment or consequences here on earth. For example, in 1 John 5.16 he says brother committing a sin not leading to death he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death. We won't go too far into it but suffice it to say that there are certain things that you can do that will lead to a physical death. For example, if you decide that you've got this wild whim that you want to rob a police station it's one of the largest sources of cash you can find in the city however it's pretty guarded and it's a foolish thing to do because of greed and so you decide to rob it. Well, that sin might lead to death if you want to let's say someone wants to start selling drugs. Well, that sin could possibly and in many cases does lead to death and so there are certain consequences that are going to come as with all that if a person commits murder depending upon the state that sin that you commit might also lead to your physical death and so there are consequences for certain sins. Is there forgiveness for every sin? Absolutely but there are consequences and we don't get the option to determine what the consequences are no matter how remorseful we are afterwards. For example, even as relates to something that's prevalent today sexual sin. Sexual sin is a scourge and it places a particular type of burden on the person because as the Bible says in 1 Corinthians 6, 18 this is not like other sins, this is a sin that is on the body. Verse 17 of 1 Corinthians 6 says, but the one who joins himself to the Lord is one spirit with him flea immorally every other sin that a man commits is outside the body but the immoral man sins against his own body or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you whom you have from God and that you are not your own because you have been bought with a price and so obviously sexual sin is going to be a problem because what does it do it involves the senses also involves the mind and it's for some people it is a hard sin a hard addiction a hard problem to overcome and it comes with a lot of bad consequences similarly there are those that may have another addiction maybe an addiction relating to drugs that particular sin also like sexual sin is a sin that affects the body and it destroys the mind there is this connection with somebody who is an addict might feel the need as though they are actually joined to it to have to have it there are certain consequences that come as a result of that that you don't see with other sins the consequence of some of the sins also cause for a public rebuke for example when it comes to the sin of pride pride as it says in the bible is going to precede a fault people who are profound with pride people who have an immense amount of pride are going to have an immense fault that's just the way that God has prescribed it whereas someone else who might be in another sin their consequences might be different there are consequences to every sin and the consequences as God we are going to find out are commiserated with the sin and also what he is wanting to do but pride is something that God does not like because it's the person placing themselves in a position where they don't have no business being thinking that they should be viewed a certain way where only God has that right to be viewed in a positive fashion there are those who love money the person who wants to get rich the person who desires to get rich he is going to fall the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil you end up going down different roads it could be sexual sin, it could be drugs it could be murder, it could be robbery different things because you want to get things for the love of money and it causes all sorts of problems and all sorts of evil and so therefore you are going to get all sorts of consequences now there are two sins that we need to talk about and they are both a little bit different as believers we don't have to worry about that one is blasphemy of the Holy Spirit that is knowing full well that it is the Lord it is the Holy Spirit in what Jesus is doing to knowingly discount that to blasphemy that knowing that what Jesus has done is of the Holy Spirit we see this example when Jesus has just cast out a demon and the Pharisees knowingly blasphemy they know that he is from God because Nicodemus tells us in John 3 and they still want to publicly impugn him and so Jesus says that particular blasphemy will never be forgiven and what essentially is more than anything else is really a denial or a refusal which is the second thing a refusal of Christ a refusal to place your faith in Christ that particular sin that sin cannot be forgiven can that sin be overcome while you are alive sure will it be we don't know but there are many people obviously who live in that particular sin the sin of unbelief until they actually do place their faith in Christ so obviously that sin can be overcome and so there are myriad of sins that people can be engaged in and the consequences are going to vary from person to person but the good news is even as it relates to our sins as believers and remember even Paul himself struggled with sin read Romans 7 he struggled with it he even called the things that he struggled with he called them evil or wicked but his desire and this is the key was to not sin which should be ours and if you do sin notice what he says Paul says in Romans 8 28 we know that God causes all things together for good to those who love them to those who are called according to purpose it seems like an odd passage to bring up in this conversation but all things even include sin God will take our sins, our missteps, our failures and he will still cause those to work for the good to those not even to the person who committed but to him as well but also to someone who is on the outside why am I making that statement well because sometimes your sin will serve as a purpose to help someone else and also to put God and his power on full display in 1 Timothy 1 15 it says it is a trustworthy statement deserving of full acceptance that Christ Jesus came to the world to save sinners among whom I am for most of all yet for this reason I found mercy so that in me as the foremost Jesus Christ might demonstrate his perfect patience as an example for those who would believe in him for eternal life so God can take and will take those things that we do and use them to glorify himself God is going to get glory either one through you or two in spite of you so even with our sin he will use it as a demonstration one either as bringing that person to him or in showing what can be the result of sin and the punishment for it and so God is going to use all of that the good news is though he is not counting our sins any more 2 Corinthians 5 19 since anyone is in Christ he is a new creature old things have passed away and that's what he says verse 19 all these things are from God who reconciled us to himself through Christ and has given us the ministry of reconciliation namely that God was in Christ, reconciled the world to himself not counting their trespasses or their sins against him this is what God is doing so regardless of the sin if you are in him he will not ultimately as far as attorneys are concerned is to count those trespasses against you because why? the debt has been paid you stand before him justify but he wants you to live in that and so yes you might sin as a matter of fact we are going to sin and if you do sin you have an advocate and so are there degrees of sin are there differences do you treat it differently? yes they are are all sins missing the mark in that case they are all the same but remember whatever it is that you are struggling with whatever it is you are going through there is one simple remedy draw closer to him he will draw closer to you resist the devil and he will flee the closer you get to God watch him take away all the sins that he wants to take away but you have to do that one thing by praise anything that you can think of that is godly focus on that move closer to that and then sin won't be an issue amen