Can one sin be worse than another sin, or are all sins equal?

Question

Since all evil acts come down to disobedience against god, are all evil acts equivalent? Is no sin worse than any other sin? If one sin is worse than another sin does that imply that one act can be more disobedient than another act? Is sin and/or disobedience absolute or does it have degree?

Answer 1

There are two primary views of this.

1. There are different levels of sin
2. All sin is equal in God's eyes.

Unfortunately, they're both pretty sound beliefs.

All sins are not equal

There are many verses to back up this belief that all sins are not equal. Here are some of them:

Matthew 12:31-32 (NIV)

31 And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32 Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come

1 Cor. 6:18 (NIV)

Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body.

John 19:11 (NIV)

Jesus answered, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”

Matthew 7:3 (NIV)

“Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye?"

All sins are equal

The idea that "all sins are equal in God's eyes" comes from the idea that any one sin will lead to death. If we commit a single sin, we are as guilty (in God's eyes) as if we had committed the worst sin--regardless of which sin we committed.

It's based on the idea that God's holiness is so extreme, that even one transgression is greater than he can accept. This idea is supported with two key verses

James 2:10 (NIV)

For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it.

Romans 3:23 (NIV)

for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God

The argument goes, therefore, that if even the smallest sin prevents us from attaining the perfection that God calls us to seek, then that one single sin is as great as the worst sin.

Summary

We can reconcile these two seemingly opposing viewpoints: we can clearly see that some sins are greater than others, but that any sin will prevent us from going to heaven without the saving grace and sacrifice of Jesus.

Essentially, any one sin is sufficient to keep us from God, but all sins are not the same.

Answer 2

There are two major Bible passages that I can think of, which some use to suggest not all sins are equally bad.

1 John 5:16-18 (ESV)
 ¹⁶If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. ¹⁷ All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death.
 ¹⁸We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

The way I see it, verse 18 makes the distinction between sin and keeping on sinning, also known as living in sin. Which is not a difference between sins, but other circumstances.

Mark 3:28-29 (ESV)
 ²⁸ "Truly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, ²⁹but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin"—

Blaspheming against the Holy Spirit is a matter of another question. I tend to interpret it as ultimately refusing salvation, which would quite obviously make a person unsalvageable. Using that interpretation, I wouldn't say there's a difference between graveness of sins here, either.

So from these passages, I wouldn't draw any big conclusions. Generally, the Bible shows sin as just sin, not in different levels of wickedness.

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Of course, for purposes of human relationships, there certainly are different severities of sins. What I say above focuses on the relationship between us and God: we deserve to be damned for our sins, everybody. It doesn't matter which sins we commit. Only Christ matters.

Answer 3

No, all sins are not equal.

You as a human being understand that killing somebody is more of a sin then stealing $5 from their wallet. So could you ever assume that God sees all sin as being equal?

God clearly states in more then one instance, that He will repay the people according to what they have done.

Jeremiah 25:14 NIV

They themselves will be enslaved by many nations and great kings; I will repay them according to their deeds and the work of their hands.”

God is perfect, God is just, therefore God is a perfect judge that will repay all people exactly according to what they have done.

Yes all sin is equal in our relationship with God, because not a single sin that you have done has ever affected God.

Job 35:6-8 (NIV)

6 If you sin, how does that affect him? If your sins are many, what does that do to him? 7 If you are righteous, what do you give to him, or what does he receive from your hand?

8 Your wickedness only affects humans like yourself, and your righteousness only other people.

As @dancek pointed out, there are also references in the bible that suggest that not all sin is equal.

1 John 5:16-18 (ESV)

16If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask, and God will give him life—to those who commit sins that do not lead to death. There is sin that leads to death; I do not say that one should pray for that. 17 All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. 18We know that everyone who has been born of God does not keep on sinning, but he who was born of God protects him, and the evil one does not touch him.

No, not all sin is equal in God's eyes

This is a cop-out. This premise suggests that God is not perfect and that you don't have to worry about your sin because it's all the same to God. Instead, God clearly states again and again that He will judge you accordingly.

Ezekiel 18:30

“Therefore, you Israelites, I will judge each of you according to your own ways, declares the Sovereign LORD. Repent! Turn away from all your offenses; then sin will not be your downfall.

1 Kings 8:39

then hear from heaven, your dwelling place. Forgive and act; deal with everyone according to all they do, since you know their hearts (for you alone know every human heart),

Revelation 20:13

The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each person was judged according to what they had done.

And more! Revelation 20:12, Ezekiel 36:19, Ezekiel 33:20, Ezekiel 24:14, Psalm 7:8.

If all sin was equal in God's eyes, then God would surely pass down the same judgement to all people, regardless of their iniquity. But as it is said, God will judge the people according to what they had done.

@Richard, Yes a single sin makes you unrighteous and a single sin will submit you to the subjection of God's judgement, but that does not mean that all sin is equal.