Ranking sins

God dishes out greater punishment for equal sin? Is that the characteristic of a just God?

In spite of the scripture that says he does.

 

There's a strange silence over Rufus' quotation of John 19:11.

Christ's parable in Luke 7:40 seems to indicate some are forgiven more because they were more guilty.

Again, in Luke 12, Christ indicates a greater punishment upon some than others. Does this maybe indicate greater and lesser guilt?

I realise two of these examples are parables, but aren't parables just vehicles for conveying truth?

No sin is more "acceptable" than others, but it certainly appears some are different. If they were all the same why did not the law given to Moses award the same penalty to all sins?

I guess the key thing is that we all recognise we are sinners, that we come short of th glory of God and desparately need the righteousness of Christ.

 

I would respond then with MNW's point. God commanded four different penalties for sin in Leviticus. Depending on the type of sin, God commanded the following:

• Capital Punishment
• Corporal Punishment
• Restitution
• Cities of Refuge

If all sins were equal then why was not all punishment equal? Were God's punishments arbitrary or were they based on a severity or ranking of sin?

 

There are two ways of viewing sin, and perhaps these are getting confused here.

1. EACH and EVERY sin is an insult to God, involving disobedience. Thus EACH and EVERY sin is deserving of death, regardless.

2. Different sins have different effects upon the people involved. The punishments in the books of Moses have to do with the effects sins have upon people, not upon God. Thus if monetary restitution could be made, that is what was necessary. If murder (clearly vs. manslaughter or killing) occurred, the sentence was death to the murderer, etc.

However, Scarlett has some excellent points in her post about how God views sin as well. His anger may be more over some sins because He loves those who are His and sins against them just may end up getting a little more severe punishment.

I do think it may be a mistake to confuse the punishments He ordered for a theocracy to be the same 'degrees' as those found in eternity.

 

They may not be the same degrees but...

"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven." - Matthew 5:19​

...someone is going to be called least in the kingdom of heaven and someone is going to be called great. What is this based on?

 

Isn't that going back to what I first mentioned about false teachers? What has always amazed me about that verse from Jesus is the evidence it gives that once you are saved you are saved forever, even if you teach wrongly.

What we have seen over and over again, though, in our lectures (afterwards when people come up and talk to us) is how much damage the Benny Hinns can do to people, and how long lasting that damage can be to a heart that still wants the truth of things. I remember asking a PASTOR if there was such a thing as reincarnation (my mother was not a Christian and she believed in it) and the pastor said he didn't know! I cannot comment on his state with the Lord, but I sure can tell you he caused some confusion in me! (I was in my late twenties then)

Paul warned, I believe, that teachers would be more stringently judged than others. That might also give us a clue concerning this thread.

 

Great post!

 

Adultry is rated as a less serious sin today because it is more prevalent. In general, people tend to minimize sins that they themselves are guilty of as opposed to those that are committed by "those other people."

 

I agree!

That was exactly my point in my post above. Only you said it much better than me!

Jamie

 

To throw a little in the mix; set aside from salvation, would ranking of sin be in unison with the ranking of punishment? Are there differing degrees of punishment or maybe a better word, loss, or the other side of the coin degrees of heavenly rewards or blessings (treasure for heaven?) for a saved believer? And if so, how does that not coincide with the ranking of sin?

And we know that murder is one sin that can’t be made up for, (here and now) sure Jesus atonement is for all sins, does this salvation and forgiveness come without receiving any form of righteous judgment; and what about murder from person to person, and how is the damage made up for? Jesus said, “Vengeance is mine” Murder could be great loss for the one whose life is shortened; could it not? The action may be truly repented of, but the deed is done; does that soul crying out before the Lord get vengeance? (Not saying that the soul would necessarily want vengeance at this point, but who knows?)


Example:

(Ecc 6:3) If a man beget a hundred children, and live many years, so that the days of his years be many, and his soul be not filled with good, and also that he have no burial; I say, that an untimely birth is better than he.


Speaking of untimely birth; what about an aborted baby, if one believes, as I, that it is a life, has a soul, went to heaven and never got the chance to see the sun because of his/her parent(s) actions. No chance to learn, choose, obey, but yet the Word says better off than one who did see the sun and was not filled with good as per Ecc 6:3. (had something but no chance to build on it) The child never suffered loss of his own, but also never had the opportunity to be filled with good.

(Ecc 7:11) Wisdom is good with an inheritance: and by it there is profit to them that see the sun.

One more thing not mentioned: What about the JSOC; (2Co 5:10) For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Does forgiveness necessarily mean no loss and that according to the rank of it? I may forgive my child of something and assure them of my love as my child but still have them know the action has made them suffer loss.

 

I'm not so sure adultery is more prevalent today, but just more talked about. I've heard some pretty wild stories from the old timers that talk. My own Great-Grandfather was a Baptist pastor in TX with a wife and 5 kids but ran off with the Sunday school teacher. For real

 

Ecclesiastes 1:9
That which has been is what will be,
that which is done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.

So true.

 

In John 19, Jesus told Pilate that the one who delivered Him to Pilate was guilty of the greater sin.

ctlibrary.com archives has the first page of an article by J.I. Packer (yes, I know he raises a lot of Baptist hackles) that takes the position that there are greater and lesser sins. That this was the position of the Puritans. Packer points out several examples, including Moses calling the golden calf a "great" sin and John differentiating between sins that do and do not inevitably lead to death.

All this should not be confused with a Catholic view of mortal and venial sins.

 

Seems like there should be lots of people who should reply, because every time I bring up the often overlooked sin of gluttony, people often respond with something along the lines of "well it's not as bad of a sin as these other things", although scripture says otherwise.

 

James 2.
8 ¶ If ye fulfil the royal law according to the scripture, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself, ye do well:
9 But if ye have respect to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors.
10 For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.