Is One Sin Greater Than Another?

Some weeks ago a brother in Christ and I were discussing a question posed to him from John 19:11. The question was, “Is one sin greater than another?” One could take that from the verse. “Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin” (John 19:11). Is that truly the case? We need to understand the context of the verse. Pilate, being a Roman, was ignorant to the one true God in Heaven and had little to no understanding of His power. Pilate had no knowledge of the Christ which was to come. You could say that while he still sinned, it was an ignorant sin. It was the Jews (here the Sanhedrim and to a lesser extent Judas) who had the Old Testament scrolls, knew the prophecy of the Christ, but still put Him on the cross. They were without excuse (Romans 2:1) and committed the greater sin. Still that begs the question, “Is One Sin Greater Than Another?” The answer may be a bit surprising to the reader. No…and yes. How is that possible? Continue reading to find out.

No.

When one looks at the idea of sin from a spiritual sense, one sin is not greater than another. Please take the following verses into consideration. While dictating his letter to the Romans to Tertius, Paul said that the “wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). Wages is the payment due. There is no indication of a type of sin but sin in general. The payment due for sin is death. This, when tied together with Revelation 21:8, should dispel any belief that there are “big sins” and “little sins.” “But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death” (Revelation 21:8). When one looks at the list of those who will spend an eternity in Hell you have a laundry list of evil-doers. Notice, the sin of lying is listed with that of sexual, murder, and idolatry. How often is the statement, “It’s just a little white lie,” made? Even what we call “little white lies” are enough to send one to Hell. On the other side of the spectrum, there is no sin God is not willing to forgive. If we are obedient to Him, we can have our sins washed away (Acts 2:38, 16:22). Even after baptism, if we sin, God will forgive us if we repent and ask forgiveness (Acts 8 [Simon the Sorcerer]; 1 John 1:9). No, there are no greater sins from a spiritual standpoint but the physical is a different story.

Yes.

If one looks at sin from the side of the physical, there are often greater ramifications for some sins than others. For instance, if an employee were to lie about stealing a fellow employee’s cookie from the cookie jar and is caught. That person would probably get scolded by his co-worker or boss. That same employee goes to the bar, gets drunk, and decides that “he’s good to drive” as the excuse goes, wraps his vehicle around a tree, and is paralyzed from the waist down. More than likely, he will be forced to live in that physical condition for the rest of his life. An addict of any kind will be forced to live with the consequences of that addiction, whatever it may be. While that man can still be forgiven of such actions, he is forced to “bear the burden” that goes with them (Galatians 6:5).

Is one sin greater than another? Yes and no. Every sin is worthy of eternal punishment. Every sin can be forgiven if a man will obey God’s Will. Every sin carries out a different physical punishment. Brethren, let us think before we act. You never know what weight your actions may carry.