“Sin is sin”, “All sin is equal (or the same) in God’s
eyes”
–Not in the Bible.
Some sins lead to death, and some don’t. This makes them different types of sin. All sin is not the same in God’s eyes.
I Jn 5:16-18
16 If anyone
sees his brother commit a sin that does
not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to
those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death.
I am not saying that he should pray about that.
17 All wrongdoing
is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death. 18 We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one
who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him.
Heb 9:14
14 How much more,
then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself
unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God! (NIV)
Heb 6:1-2
1 Therefore
let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not
laying again the foundation of repentance
from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
2 instruction
about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment. (NIV)
Heb 6:1-2
states that the knowledge of these “acts that lead to death” are considered to
be 1 of six foundations of the faith—merely elementary
teachings. Even a neophyte Christian
should know these 6 things right?
The purpose of this document is to identify “deadly sin”,
and explain the importance of that designation in the bible. Secondarily, I want to disprove the idea that
“all sin is the same in God’s eyes”. Not
only are some sins deadly and others are not, but God also considers the
situation of the sinner when He views (or judges) sin.
I believe that God judges sin according to two
vertices:
a. Severity of
the sin - this document explains this.
b. Intent of the sinner – the ignorant, accidental, or innocent sinner is
judged differently than the hardened sinner, even if they happen to commit the same
sin.
What
are these sins that lead to death, which one born of God cannot continue
in?
"I am a Christian and a any of
the lifestyles listed below _ ."
Either you or the Bible is wrong. Something has got to give. God does not have to. He will not change, regardless of your
beliefs. Choose Him or you.
Matt 24:48‑51
48 But
suppose that servant is wicked and
says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,'
49 and
he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards.
50 The
master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an
hour he is not aware of.
51 He
will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there
will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
(NIV)
1 Cor 6:9‑10
9 Do
you not know that the wicked will
not inherit the
10
nor
thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit
the
5 Put
to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual
immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
6 Because
of these, the wrath of God is
coming. (NIV)
So we see that wickedness is not
just about what bad things you do, but what you do not do.
Matt
25:41-46
41 "Then
he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the
eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels.
42 For
I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me
nothing to drink,
43 I
was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not
clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'
44 "They
also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or
needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'
45 "He
will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least
of these, you did not do for me.'
46 "Then
they will go away to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal
life." (NIV)
For more than a definition of greed, read about how greed has infil Prosperity Gospel.
Another non-behavioral sin that can
damn your soul is not forgiving those who sin against you. This is very difficult to understand, so this
topic has its own document.
I added the
Ezekiel scripture from the Torah because the Apostles did not invent this list
of deadly sins. They taught from the
Torah. Some sins (like involuntary
manslaughter) in the Torah can be forgiven by blood sacrifice of animals. For
more severe sins (abominations), like
pre-meditated murder, the perpetrator must die for his own sin. I’m guessing that is how the apostles
generated these lists of damnable sins as warnings for their new Gentile
brothers. So far, my research indicates that is the generally the
case. My theory is that the apostle to
the Gentiles was summarizing God’s moral law for them. However, I have not yet found this Old
Testament correlation to be the case for the following anomalies: hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions
and envy; drunkenness (Gal
Of all the
sins that lead to death listed in this document, these anomalies appear to be
the most minor sins on these vice lists.
That does not mean that these
sins will not lead to spiritual death.
They will if you do not repent of
them. Yes, if you (as a Christian)
continue in selfish ambition, you can
lose your salvation. But if you commit
an abomination, like bestiality, you were
not even a Christian, or at least you were not when you did such a thing. You
need to get saved and stay saved by responding to the gospel.
The strongest
warning to those who condone the above lifestyle choices as non-damnable
appears above in Romans 1, after a long vice-list:
Romans 1
32Although they know God's righteous
decree that those who do such things deserve
death, they not only continue to do
these very things but also approve of
those who practice them.
In approving
of wickedness, they are rejecting the law,
and consequently Christ’s fulfillment of it.
They are rejecting Christ by believing in lawlessness. Romans 1:32 makes it clear that these who
condone damnable sinners as anything but hellbound, themselves deserve death.
Isa
5:20
20
Woe to those who call evil good and
good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter
for sweet and sweet for bitter. (NIV)
Most who
believe in this wicked way do not just keep their opinions to themselves. As Jesus says, “out of the overflow of the
mouth the hearts speaks” (Matthew
12:34, Luke
6:45). They think that one can practice deadly sin and still be saved.
Woe to them if they tell a new believer this:
Matthew
18:6
But if anyone causes one of these little
ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to
be drowned in the depths of the sea.
(Whole Chapter: Matthew
18 In context: Matthew
18:5-7)
As if bad
advice was not damnable enough, many preachers are paid to bring this same
message from the pulpit.
Malachi
2
7
"For the lips of a priest ought to preserve knowledge, and from his mouth
men should seek instruction-because he is the messenger of the LORD Almighty. 8
But you have turned from the way and by
your teaching have caused many
to stumble; you have violated the covenant with Levi," says the LORD
Almighty. 9 "So I have caused you to be despised and humiliated before all
the people, because you have not followed my ways but have shown partiality in matters of the law.” (NIV)
Jude
1:4
For certain men whose condemnation was written about [ 4 Or men who were marked
out for condemnation] long ago have secretly slipped in among you. They are
godless men, who change the grace of our God into a license for immorality and deny Jesus Christ
our only Sovereign and Lord.
(Whole Chapter: Jude
1 In context: Jude
1:3-5
Now that we have defined
wickedness—or sins that lead to death-- as they are different from more minor sins
like unthankfulness and worry, lets look at the Lord’s warnings on this topic:
I Jn 1:5-7
5 This
is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him
there is no darkness at all.
6 If
we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do
not live by the truth.
7
But
if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one
another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. (NIV)
1 Pet 4:17-18
17 For
it is time for judgment to begin with the family of God; and if it begins with
us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey
the gospel of God?
18 And,
"If it is hard for the righteous to be saved, what will become of the
ungodly and the sinner?" (NIV)
Heb 6:1-2
1 Therefore
let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not
laying again the foundation of repentance
from acts that lead to death, and of faith in God,
2 instruction
about baptisms, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and
eternal judgment. (NIV)
Knowledge
of these “acts that lead to death” are considered to be 1 of six foundations of
the faith. Perhaps we should know what
they are? Have you heard this
“elementary teachings” preached about before you read this document? Or, have you heard other contradicting
elementary teachings, like “Don’t scare people off by teaching them to repent
of such wicked sins, let the Holy Spirit tell them to”. Truly, the Holy Spirit can be trusted to
convict believers and even unbelievers of their sin (John 16:7-8). However, warning against “acts that lead to death” is a
foundation of the faith itself.
Gal 5:19-24
19 The acts of
the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;
20 idolatry and
witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition,
dissensions, factions
21 and envy;
drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn
you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
kingdom of God.
22 But the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness,
23 gentleness
and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
24 Those who
belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and
desires. (NIV)
1 Cor 3:10-11
10 By the grace
God has given me, I laid a foundation as an expert builder, and someone else is
building on it. But each one should be careful how he builds.
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus
Christ. (NIV)
Is the foundation that you are
preaching faulty? Or, are you just not
really preaching to anyone anyway?
Ezek 3:18-21
18 When
I say to a wicked man, 'You will surely die,' and you do not warn him or speak
out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked
man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood.
19 But
if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from
his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.
20 "Again,
when a righteous man turns from his righteousness and does evil, and I put a
stumbling block before him, he will die. Since you did not warn him, he will
die for his sin. The righteous things he did will not be remembered, and I will
hold you accountable for his blood.
21 But
if you do warn the righteous man not to sin and he does not sin, he will surely
live because he took warning, and you will have saved yourself." (NIV)
What does Ezekiel’s warning mean to
us today? Will people’s blood still be
on our hands in such a way that we could end up in the lake of fire if we
refuse to warn the wicked?
Rev 21:7‑8
7 He
who overcomes will inherit all this, and I will be his God and he will be my
son.
8 But
the cowardly,
the unbelieving, the vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice
magic arts, the idolaters and all liars‑‑ their place will be in
the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death." (NIV)
Now that you know what saving faith
is not, you can follow at least follow half of this scriptural directive:
2 Cor 13:5
5 Examine yourselves to see whether you are
in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you--
unless, of course, you fail the test?
(NIV)
Obeying the other half of this
command would require you to know what saving faith IS. To find out more about that, as it relates to
this command, you can read about assurance.
1Thes
14 And
we urge you, brothers, warn those who
are idle, encourage the timid, help the weak, be patient with everyone. (NIV)
Again Paul reiterates the need to
warn brothers even of a sin which is not mentioned above as one leading to
death.
II Th 3:10-15
10 For
even when we were with you, we gave you this rule: "If a man will not
work, he shall not eat."
11 We
hear that some among you are idle. They are not busy; they are busybodies.
12 Such
people we command and urge in the Lord Jesus Christ to settle down and earn the
bread they eat.
13 And
as for you, brothers, never tire of doing what is right.
14 If
anyone does not obey our instruction in this letter, take special note of him.
Do not associate with him, in order that he may feel ashamed.
15 Yet
do not regard him as an enemy, but warn
him as a brother. (NIV)
Acts 20:30-31
30 Even
from your own number men will arise and distort the truth in order to draw away
disciples after them.
31 So
be on your guard! Remember that for three years I never stopped warning each of you night and day with tears. (NIV)
If you really love your brother, you
will warn him as Paul did (maybe even with tears).
1
John 3:10
This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of
the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a
child of God; nor is anyone who does not love his brother.
(Whole Chapter: 1
John 3 In context: 1
John 3:9-11)
1
John 4:20
If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother,
he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother,
whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen.
(Whole Chapter: 1
John 4 In context: 1
John 4:19-21)
Of course, there is a polite
protocol to follow for the ministry of warning, which I won’t go into other
than this exception:
1 Tim 5:19-20
19 Do
not entertain an accusation against an elder unless it is brought by two or
three witnesses.
20 Those
who sin are to be rebuked publicly, so that the
others may take warning. (NIV)
For more details about that, you can
read about church discipline.
So the bible defines the term
“wickedness” by these “acts that lead to
death”. Anyone who practices them, regardless of their beliefs,
will not inherit the
Matthew
7:23
"And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; [Ps 6:8; Matt 25:41;
Luke
(Whole Chapter: Matthew
7 In context: Matthew
7:22-24)
1
John 3:4
Everyone who practices sin also practices lawlessness; and [Rom
(Whole Chapter: 1
John 3 In context: 1
John 3:3-5)
Furthermore, a Christian may make
mistakes, but they will never commit an abomination,
such as practicing lawlessness.
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