q&a with Grudem

This is an excerpt from a publication sent to staff each month; thought I'd share it. The response to the question is written by theologian and professor Wayne Grudem.

Q: Are there degrees of sin? Are some sins worse than others?
A: The question may be answered either yes or no, depending on the sense in which it is intended.

Legal guilt: In terms of our legal standing before God, any one sin, even what may seem to be a very small one, makes us legally guilty before God and therefore worthy of eternal punishment. Adam and Eve learned this in the Garden of Eden, where God told them that one act of disobedience would result in the penalty of death (Gen. 2:17). And Paul affirms that “the judgment following one trespass brought condemnation” (Rom. 5:16).

This truth remains valid through the history of the human race. Paul (quoting Deut. 27:26) affirms it: “Cursed be everyone who does notabide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (Gal. 3:10). And James declares: “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become accountable for all of it. For he who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not murder.’ If you do not commit adultery but do murder, you have become a transgressor of the law.” (James 2:10-11).

Therefore, in terms of legal guilt, all sins are equally bad because they make us legally guilty before God and constitute us as sinners.

Consequences in the life and right personal relationship with God: On the other hand, some sins are worse than others in that they have more harmful consequences in our lives and in the lives of others, and, in terms of our personal relationship to God as Father, they arouse his displeasure more and bring more serious disruption to our fellowship with Him.

Scripture sometimes speaks of degrees of seriousness of sin. When Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate, He said, “He who delivered me over to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). The reference is apparently to Caiaphas the High Priest, who had delivered Jesus over to the Romans. Though Pilate had authority over Jesus by virtue of his governmental office and was wrong to allow an innocent man to be condemned to death, the sin of Caiaphas was far “greater,” probably because of the far greater knowledge and malice connected with it.

When God showed Ezekiel visions of sins in the temple of Jerusalem, he first showed Ezekiel certain things, then said, “But you will see still greater abominations” (Ezek. 8:6). In the Sermon on the Mount, when Jesus says, “Whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven” (Matt. 5:19), He implies that there are lesser and greater commandments. Similarly, though He agrees that it is appropriate to give a tithe even on the household spices that people use, he pronounces woes on the Pharisees for neglecting “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness” (Matt. 23:23). In both cases Jesus distinguishes between lesser and greater commandments, thus implying that some sins are worse than other sins in terms of God’s own evaluation of their importance.

In general, we may say that some sins have more harmful consequences than others if they bring more dishonor to God or if they cause more harm to ourselves, to others, or to the church. Moreover, those sins that are done willfully, repeatedly, and knowingly, with a calloused heart, are more displeasing to God than those that are done out of ignorance and are not repeated, or are done with a mixture of good and impure motives and are followed by remorse and repentance.