Countercultural Christianity

1 John 1:8-10

Jennifer Knapp was a contemporary Christian music artist who had been away from the music scene for several years when she did an interview about her self-imposed hiatus and her new album she had just recorded at the time. During the discussion with the host of the program she made a statement that I think many Evangelical Christians probably believe, but really needs some countercultural biblical analysis.

In the interview she discussed her long-term relationship with her lesbian partner. Though she didn’t share any identifying details about the other woman, what caught my attention during her interview was how she sought to justify her behavior. While answering a question posed to her about her homosexuality, she stated that if her conduct was sinful (and she believed it was not), that it should not be viewed as any worse than any other sins. From her perspective, things such as being overweight, speeding, gossipping, etc., would all be equally wrong before God because “all sins are equal with God.”

This same general argument was used recently by the well-known country singer Dolly Parton in an interview she did with Billboard. She was asked this question, “Dollywood attracts lots of church groups, but it has also become a draw for the LGBT community. What does that say about you?” She replied, “It’s a place for entertainment, a place for all families, period...But as far as the Christians, if people want to pass judgment, they’re already sinning. The sin of judging is just as bad as any other sin they might say somebody else is committing...”

Is it really true that “all sins are equal with God" and that "judging is just as bad as any other sin?”

Please understand that my purpose in this discussion is not to excuse any sin or to make less of any offense against a holy God. However, if the above assumptions are true, then shouldn't we be teaching our children that disobeying parental instructions is just as bad as killing a friend? Going one mile over the speed limit is just as bad as taking illegal drugs? And, overeating is just as heinous as an Islamic terrorist blowing up innocent people?

I think most would agree that at least in practical/temporal terms we don’t view all sin as being equal. Even in the criminal justice system there are varying degrees of penalties for varying levels of offenses. Is it really true that God’s system of justice makes no distinctions in the sins we commit?

The “all sins are equal” mantra is one that I think has arisen partly because people want to excuse their sins and shift the focus away from themselves. However, it is also the result of the misinterpretation (and/or intentional misuse) of some key scripture passages.

For instance, Matthew 5:27-28 says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not commit adultery.’But I say to you that whoever looks at a woman to lust for her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.” At first glance it appears that the text treats lust and the act of adultery equally, but is that what we should take away from the passage? Practically speaking, there is a difference in degree of violation between lusting after someone and committing the act of adultery. I know from many years of dealing with people that the act of adultery usually results in far worse consequences than lust alone (though lust can certainly lead to adultery). Then what does this passage mean, if the two sins are not “equal before God?”

It is not that lust and adultery are equal in degree of violation, but that they are both violations of the same commandment (the seventh commandment). In a similar fashion, hatred is not equal in degree of violation to murder (Matthew 5:21-22; 1 John 3:15), but both are violations of the sixth commandment. Any violation, whether of the “letter of the law” (acts of adultery/murder) or the “spirit of the law” (lust/hatred), makes you guilty before God. In other words, all sins are equally against God, but not all sins are equal in the degree of violation and/or consequences.

Even in 1 John 3:15 where John speaks unambiguously about the sin of hatred, I think we have to assume there is still some distinction to be made in degree of violation between hatred and murder. While both belong to the same sphere of “death,” they are not equal in harm caused. Prolific author, Warren Wiersbe, says it well, “This does not mean, of course, that hatred in the heart does the same amount of damage, or involves the same degree of guilt, as actual murder. Your neighbor would rather you hate him than kill him! But in God’s sight, hatred is the moral equivalent of murder, and if left unbridled it leads to murder.” (Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible Exposition Commentary (1 Jn 3:13). Wheaton, III.: Victor Books.) I think many can agree that hatred is the “moral equivalent” of murder in God’s sight, but we certainly wouldn’t punish it to the same degree that we would murder. If this is true then it stands to reason that the two sins are not equal in every way, though they are both violations of God’s law and deserving of punishment.

A similar line of thinking is followed in James 2:10, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.” James is teaching that no matter how small the violation of God’s law may seem to you, it still makes the person guilty before God. God’s law is viewed as a unit and any violation makes the person a sinner.

Bible scholar and commentator John MacArthur writes, “Although all sins are not equally damaging or heinous, they all shatter that unity [of the law] and render men transgressors, much like hitting a window with a hammer at only one point will shatter and destroy the whole window.” (MacArthur, J. J. (1997, c1997). The MacArthur Study Bible (electronic ed.) (Jas 2:10). Nashville: Word Pub.) He further comments that being “guilty of all” is not to be understood “in the sense of having violated every command, but in the sense of having violated the law’s unity. One transgression makes fulfilling the law’s most basic commands—to love God perfectly and to love one’s neighbor as oneself—impossible.” A similar thought is conveyed by author T.D. Lea, “The Bible does not say all sins are equal. Stealing a candy bar is not the same as committing adultery. Thinking about murder is not as bad as committing the act. Every sin does bring guilt. It takes only a single sin to make a person a sinner. No act of obedience can compensate for acts of disobedience.” (Lea, T. D. (1999). Vol. 10: Hebrews, James. Holman New Testament Commentary; Holman Reference (284). Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers)

What I’m trying to demonstrate is that you cannot necessarily argue that “all sin is equal with God.” It’s not really accurate to say that going one mile over the speed limit is equally as egregious as committing a murder. Both are sins against God and deserving of punishment, but they certainly don’t result in the same degree of “damage,” “guilt,” and/or punishment.

Even more telling for this discussion is the fact that numerous scriptures indicate that not “all sins are equal with God.” The following texts are hard to explain, if they are teaching the “all sins are equal” doctrine.

1. When Christ was before Pilate He said that Israel had committed a worse sin by rejecting Him. “Jesus answered, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” (John 19:11...emphasis mine)
2. Sins in the Old Testament were not all punished to the same degree. Under the Mosaic law, a thief paid restitution; an occult practitioner was cut off from Israel; one who committed adultery or a homosexual act was put to death (cf., Exodus 22 & Leviticus 20).
3. Some sins in the Old Testament were labeled as abominations to God, which meant they were especially damaging violations (e.g. Leviticus 18:22; Deuteronomy 7:25; 23:18; Isaiah 41:24, etc.).
4. When Moses came down from Mount Sinai and saw the people worshipping a “golden calf,” he said they had sinned a “great sin.” (Exodus 32:30) If all sins are equal, then there are no “great” sins.
5. Solomon listed seven specific sins that he said were notably egregious to God (Proverbs 6:16-19).
6. God spoke through the prophet Ezekiel to Samaria and Jerusalem to indicate that though Samaria’s sins were appalling, Jerusalem was “more corrupt” (Ezekiel 23:11), indicating that some sins bring greater guilt and result in greater damage.
7. Jesus said that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit was more consequential than blasphemy against the Father or Himself (Matthew 12:31).
8. The scriptures seem to indicate that there will be varying degrees of punishment in Hell, reflecting the severity of the offenses committed (Luke 12:47-48).
9. At times Christ distinguished the sins of the Pharisees as greater than the sins of others. For instance, He said that they would strain out a gnat while swallowing a camel (Matthew 23:24). He also said they would receive “greater condemnation” (Luke 20:46-47). To me, that is a statement that makes no sense, if all sins are equal with God.
10. If all sins are equal then it seems difficult to understand how there can be parts of the law that are “weightier” (Matthew 23:23) than other parts. If all sins are equal with God then all parts of the law should be equal in weight.
11. God classifies unforgiveness as an especially offensive sin, elevating it above other sins in some passages (Matthew 6:14-15; 18:23-35).
12. Paul says that immorality is a worse sin than others because it is “against” the body while other sins are “outside the body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).
13. Jesus rebuked some of the cities where He had done His mighty works and warned them that it would be “more tolerable for the land of Sodom” (Matthew 10:15; 11:24) than for them. Certainly this implies that some sins are worse than others, if for no other reason than the fact that greater opportunities result in greater culpability.
14. Jesus said that before you can help your brother remove the speck from his eye, you first have to remove the mote from your own eye (Matthew 7:3). Christ is making some kind of distinction between two sins of varying degree.
15. If all sins are equal then why does the author of Hebrews ask, “Of how much worse punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace?” (Hebrews 10:29...emphasis mine). Clearly, the writer believes some sins deserve “worse punishment” than others.
16. Peter indicates that at least a greater knowledge of spiritual things affects the severity of a person’s sins. “For if, after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled in them and overcome, the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them.” (2 Peter 2:20-21...emphasis mine).
17. John the apostle distinguished between sins that didn’t lead to death and “sin” that brought death without remedy. (1 John 5:16-17).

It’s impossible in light of the aforementioned scriptures to argue, as Jennifer Knapp, Dolly Parton and so many others do, that “all sins are equal to God.” We at least have to acknowledge that there are varying degrees of offenses, as well as consequences, that result.

Actually, telling people that “all sins are equal to God” not only undermines their understanding of the seriousness of certain sins, it also diminishes their understanding of the character of God. God is just and justice itself would seem to indicate that not “all sins are equal.”

Having said that, I also agree with Dr. Billy Graham when he said, “It is always difficult and dangerous to attempt to list sins according to their degree of seriousness. In one sense, all sins are equal in that they all separate us from God...At the same time, it seems obvious that some sins are worse than others in both motivation and effects, and should be judged accordingly. Stealing a loaf of bread is vastly different than exterminating a million people…”

I don’t want anyone to think that I am trying to categorize sins so that we might excuse some of them while decrying the evil of others. That was the error some first-century Rabbis made. Neither am I in agreement with the Catholic doctrine that distinguishes between venial sins (those that do not separate you from God) and mortal sins (those that separate you from God). The Bible teaches that all sin is against God and offensive to Him. Any sin, no matter its degree of violation, separates the sinner from God. And, all sin is deserving of God’s divine wrath. That’s why Jesus had to come. There are none of us that are guiltless before God (Romans 3:23) and only the sinless One, Jesus Christ, could pay our sin penalty.

Stop following the cultural mantra that “all sins are equal to God.” The fact is, some sins are clearly worse than other sins and we should be willing to acknowledge that truth. However, don’t make the mistake of thinking that your sins aren’t that bad and surely God will “overlook” them, either. “Sin is lawlessness” (1 John 3:4) and all sin results in separation from God (Romans 6:23).

We need to learn how to think biblically, which will almost always be countercultural thinking. Listen carefully to what people are saying and find out what the scripture says before you begin quoting them. All sins are not equal, though all sins separate a person from God.

Application:

1. Don’t let yourself forget the price Jesus paid for our sins to remove our guilt and claim us as His own.
2. Don’t let yourself excuse sin in your own life, but deal with it in repentance and confession quickly  (1 John 1:9; Proverbs 28:13).
3. Don’t let yourself be silenced by those looking to equalize all sins in order to shift the focus from their own sin.