SEX (see MARRIAGE; ADULTERY; FORNICATION)
SICKNESS (see HEALING)
SIN
Sin is breaking God’s law. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Any time we break one of God’s commandments, we sin. If we steal one time, even if only a penny, it is breaking the eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.” There are over 600 commandments just in the Old Testament, and every time we sin, it is another debt we owe God, a debt we cannot pay except by death. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). Thankfully someone else paid our debt: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
We do not pay for our parents (or forefathers) sins.
Though it is possible to learn bad things from our parents as as lying or stealing, we are only guilty for the sins we have committed. We do not put a child in jail becasue his father robbed a bank. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." (Ezekiel 18:20-22) But we need to acknowledge that our parents sins were sins and not excuse them.
All are sinners!
Truly, “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), but we did not become sinners the first time we sinned. It was only the proof that we were born sinners. It is a problem we have from birth; we inherited it: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). We were born this way, which is why we need a new birth. Our first birth by our mothers will not get us to heaven; we need a spiritual birth by God’s Holy Spirit. We inherited our sin nature from Adam: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Man was created to live forever, but because of sin we are living in a “cursed” world (Genesis 3:17) and in dying bodies. When someone’s sins have been forgiven by God, his spirit receives eternal life, and though his body will die, it will be resurrected as a new body. “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…” (Philippians 3:21; see also 1 Corinthians 15:50–53).
Some sins are greater than other sins!
There are many verses in the Bible that teach that some sins are greater than other sins. Not only are the consequences of the sin greater, but the sin itself is worse than other sins. Some have used the verse: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). They interpret this verse to say that all sins are equal, and they say, “Sin is sin.” It is true that all sin breaks fellowship with God, but this verse does not say “all sins are the same” or that if one steals, he is also guilty of murder. But it teaches that if you break even one commandment, you still broke God’s law, even if you kept all the other commandments. If a person breaks only one link in a chain, he has still broken the whole chain.
Jesus Christ, Moses, and others taught that some sins were greater than others.
Jesus Christ, Moses, and others taught that some sins were greater than others.
1) “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; see also 1 Chronicles 21:8).
2) “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: (Exodus 32:30–31).
3) “Jeroboam drave Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin” (2 Kings 17:21).
4) “because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).
5) “And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (2 Samuel 24:10).
6) “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Sexual sins involve one’s body and a Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
7) "Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD:" (I Samuel 2:17)
8) Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression (Psalm 19:13)
9) "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right." (Amos 5:12)
10) In truth there are not “little white lies” but not every sin in the Bible is called an “abomination” (Deuteronomy 22:5) or a “scarlet” sin. But God can forgive even “great” sins: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
The Bible plainly teaches some sins are greater. As to the motive or why some teach all sins are the same or there are no big sins, because some believe their sins are too great or too many for God to forgive. However, even if one has "great sin", or "great wickedness", or "scarlet" sins, or "abominations", or "very great" sins, God can and wants to forgive. The Bible is full of verses that teach God has more forgiveness than we have sins. "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" (Romans 5:20) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) Did it ever occur to those who teach there are no great sins, that instead of helping people they are hurting them. If a person realizes God has forgiven him much, then he will love God much. (Luke 7:47)
Can we become sinless?
In this life we will never become sinless. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8–10). John the apostle, who wrote this, did not say, “If you say that you have no sin…,” nor did he say, “If you confess your sins…,” though this would still be true. Instead, he put himself in this verse and said, “If we say that we have no sin…” and “If we confess our sins…” This passage was written in the present tense, so John was not referring to sometime before he was saved, but even as an apostle, he still had “sins” (see FORGIVENESS).
SICKNESS (see HEALING)
SIN
Sin is breaking God’s law. “Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Any time we break one of God’s commandments, we sin. If we steal one time, even if only a penny, it is breaking the eighth commandment: “Thou shalt not steal.” There are over 600 commandments just in the Old Testament, and every time we sin, it is another debt we owe God, a debt we cannot pay except by death. “For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23). “Behold, all souls are mine; as the soul of the father, so also the soul of the son is mine: the soul that sinneth, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4). Thankfully someone else paid our debt: “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8).
We do not pay for our parents (or forefathers) sins.
Though it is possible to learn bad things from our parents as as lying or stealing, we are only guilty for the sins we have committed. We do not put a child in jail becasue his father robbed a bank. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. But if the wicked will turn from all his sins that he hath committed, and keep all my statutes, and do that which is lawful and right, he shall surely live, he shall not die. All his transgressions that he hath committed, they shall not be mentioned unto him: in his righteousness that he hath done he shall live." (Ezekiel 18:20-22) But we need to acknowledge that our parents sins were sins and not excuse them.
All are sinners!
Truly, “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), but we did not become sinners the first time we sinned. It was only the proof that we were born sinners. It is a problem we have from birth; we inherited it: “Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me” (Psalm 51:5). We were born this way, which is why we need a new birth. Our first birth by our mothers will not get us to heaven; we need a spiritual birth by God’s Holy Spirit. We inherited our sin nature from Adam: “Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned” (Romans 5:12).
Man was created to live forever, but because of sin we are living in a “cursed” world (Genesis 3:17) and in dying bodies. When someone’s sins have been forgiven by God, his spirit receives eternal life, and though his body will die, it will be resurrected as a new body. “Who shall change our vile body, that it may be fashioned like unto his glorious body…” (Philippians 3:21; see also 1 Corinthians 15:50–53).
Some sins are greater than other sins!
There are many verses in the Bible that teach that some sins are greater than other sins. Not only are the consequences of the sin greater, but the sin itself is worse than other sins. Some have used the verse: “For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10). They interpret this verse to say that all sins are equal, and they say, “Sin is sin.” It is true that all sin breaks fellowship with God, but this verse does not say “all sins are the same” or that if one steals, he is also guilty of murder. But it teaches that if you break even one commandment, you still broke God’s law, even if you kept all the other commandments. If a person breaks only one link in a chain, he has still broken the whole chain.
Jesus Christ, Moses, and others taught that some sins were greater than others.
Jesus Christ, Moses, and others taught that some sins were greater than others.
1) “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; see also 1 Chronicles 21:8).
2) “And it came to pass on the morrow, that Moses said unto the people, Ye have sinned a great sin: (Exodus 32:30–31).
3) “Jeroboam drave Israel from following the Lord, and made them sin a great sin” (2 Kings 17:21).
4) “because thou art his wife: how then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?” (Genesis 39:9).
5) “And David said unto the Lord, I have sinned greatly in that I have done: and now, I beseech thee, O Lord, take away the iniquity of thy servant; for I have done very foolishly” (2 Samuel 24:10).
6) “Flee fornication. Every sin that a man doeth is without the body; but he that committeth fornication sinneth against his own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18). Sexual sins involve one’s body and a Christian’s body is the temple of the Holy Spirit.
7) "Wherefore the sin of the young men was very great before the LORD:" (I Samuel 2:17)
8) Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression (Psalm 19:13)
9) "For I know your manifold transgressions and your mighty sins: they afflict the just, they take a bribe, and they turn aside the poor in the gate from their right." (Amos 5:12)
10) In truth there are not “little white lies” but not every sin in the Bible is called an “abomination” (Deuteronomy 22:5) or a “scarlet” sin. But God can forgive even “great” sins: “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool” (Isaiah 1:18).
The Bible plainly teaches some sins are greater. As to the motive or why some teach all sins are the same or there are no big sins, because some believe their sins are too great or too many for God to forgive. However, even if one has "great sin", or "great wickedness", or "scarlet" sins, or "abominations", or "very great" sins, God can and wants to forgive. The Bible is full of verses that teach God has more forgiveness than we have sins. "But where sin abounded, grace did much more abound:" (Romans 5:20) "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness." (I John 1:9) Did it ever occur to those who teach there are no great sins, that instead of helping people they are hurting them. If a person realizes God has forgiven him much, then he will love God much. (Luke 7:47)
Can we become sinless?
In this life we will never become sinless. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:8–10). John the apostle, who wrote this, did not say, “If you say that you have no sin…,” nor did he say, “If you confess your sins…,” though this would still be true. Instead, he put himself in this verse and said, “If we say that we have no sin…” and “If we confess our sins…” This passage was written in the present tense, so John was not referring to sometime before he was saved, but even as an apostle, he still had “sins” (see FORGIVENESS).
