Are All Sins Equal?

Many people have heard the phrase, "All sins are equal in God's eyes." But is that actually what the Bible teaches?

In this episode of Actual Answers, Matt Hazelwood examines one of the most common misconceptions in Christianity. While James 2:10 teaches that every sin makes us guilty before a holy God, the rest of Scripture reveals that not all sins are equally serious or receive the same judgment.

We'll look at what Jesus Himself taught about "greater sin," why greater knowledge brings greater accountability, how final judgment differs in severity, and why these truths are perfectly consistent with the gospel.

Whether you've wondered about this question yourself or have been challenged by someone else, this episode will help you understand the biblical answer with clarity and confidence.

In this episode, you'll discover:

• What James 2:10 actually means.
• Why every sin makes us guilty before God.
• How Jesus taught that some sins are greater than others.
• Why Scripture teaches different degrees of punishment.
• How to reconcile these truths without contradiction.

Scripture Referenced:

• James 2:10
• John 19:11
• Luke 12:47–48
• Matthew 11:20–24
• 1 John 5:16–17

If you have a question you'd like answered on a future episode, email us at questions@actualanswerspodcast.com.

If this episode helped you, please subscribe, leave a review, and share it with someone who is seeking biblical answers to life's toughest questions.

Actual Answers with Matt Hazelwood — Defending the Christian faith with truth, reason, and Scripture.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Actual Answers Podcast. I'm your host, Matt Hazelwood, and here we tackle the questions that matter most. From the challenges of atheism and competing worldviews to the theological questions that Christians ask every day. Our goal is simple: to seek truth, provide clear biblical answers, and equip believers to think carefully, speak faithfully, and defend the Christian faith with confidence. So whether you're a skeptic looking for answers, a believer seeking understanding, or a Christian wanting to sharpen your ability to engage the culture, this podcast is for you. Because truth matters, questions matter, and Christianity has actual answers. Welcome to the Actual Answers Podcast. Let's get to the episode. And the question that I received from last night's class is Are all sins equal? So last night in our apologetics class, I had made the comment that rejecting Christ is the crowning jewel of our sin. And in the context of this conversation, we were talking about the fact that nobody goes to hell because they reject Christ. People go to hell because of their sin. But the crowning jewel of sin could be referenced as rejecting Christ, which of course is sin. But before they reject Christ, people already are sinners and have actively sinned, and we tell them about Jesus. And then rejecting Christ is just another sin that they commit. But because of their sin that they've already committed and who they are, they are sinners who commit sin. They were already on the way to hell because the punishment of sin is death. And so the point of that particular part of the lesson was that people are already on the way to hell, and that that's why we send missionaries. Because otherwise, if you only go to hell because you reject Christ, the worst thing you could do is send a missionary. You should send a wall building committee so they don't have the opportunity to reject Christ, if that's the only thing that sends you to hell. So, but in in the midst of that, the question that arose was since I said uh rejecting Christ could be considered the crowning jewel of all sin, the the question was, aren't all sins equal before the eyes of the Lord? Right. This question is is concerning the truth regarding James 210, which we'll look at, where some might conclude that that because every sin makes us guilty before God, every sin must therefore be equally serious in the eyes of God. But is is that really what the Bible teaches? Well, the short actual answer is this no. All sin, all sins make us guilty before God, but not all sins are equally serious or receive the same judgment. So let us let us consider just a few points. I've got five things that I kind of want to walk through step by step. And the first thing is is that all sin, no matter what the sin, makes us guilty before God. And so they reference James 2.10. So let's look at that. James 2.10 says, For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. All right, I'm gonna read that again. See what follows. For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it. Referring to the law of God, all of his mandates. So James here, he's not teaching that stealing a pencil is morally identical to murder. Rather, he's teaching that breaking any part of God's law makes you a law breaker. And every sin places us under condemnation before a holy God. This is why every person needs a savior, regardless of what particular sins they have committed. You can kind of I've heard the example of a shattered glass. So you could take a ballpoint hammer and you could hit a glass in one specific spot. But when you hit that one specific spot, you have shattered the whole glass. Likewise, when you break one point of God's law, you therefore are guilty of breaking them all because you are a law breaker. So on the contrary, James 210 is teaching that whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty. They are a lawbreaker of God's law. So the second thing I want to point out is that the Bible teaches that there are degrees of sin. Most specifically, Jesus himself explicitly taught that some sins are greater than other sins. So let's look at John 19.11. I'm reading out of the ESV. John 19.11 says, quote, Jesus answered him, You would have no authority over me at all, unless it had been given you from above. Therefore, he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin. Right there in the Savior's mouth. He refers to whoever delivered them as the one who has committed the greater sin. Well, if there's a greater sin, well, that means there are lesser sins that you would measure that against. Notice that Jesus doesn't merely say Pilate sinned and the Jewish leaders sinned. He says one committed the greater sin. So if all sins were exactly equal in every sense, Jesus could not have said this. But he did. So the Bible teaches that there are degrees of sin, generally speaking. Another point I want to make is that the Bible teaches degrees of punishment of these sins. Right? Greater knowledge brings greater accountability. Look at Luke chapter 12, verse 47 through 48, which reads, And that servant who knew his master's will, but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know and did not and did what deserved a beating will receive a light beating. Every one to whom much was given of much will be required. And from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand much more. Jesus clearly distinguishes between greater and lesser punishment based on a person's knowledge or responsibility. That there are degrees of punishment just like there are degrees of sin. There are degrees of punishment because there are degrees of sin based upon degrees of knowledge and responsibility. The fourth thing that I would point you to is judgment will not be the same for everyone. Jesus also taught that final judgment differs in severity. If we look at Matthew chapter 11, verses 20 through 24, we read, Then he began to announce, denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. Woe to you, Korazan. Woe to you, Bethsaida. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Tyre or Sedon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. But I tell you, it will be more bearable on the day of judgment for Tyre and Sidon than you, and you, Capernaum. Will you be exalted to heaven? Will you be brought down to Hades? For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have been it would have remained until this day. But I tell you that it will be more tolerable on the day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you. So some judgment is more tolerable than others because some people rejected greater revelation. And since they rejected greater revelation, they have more burden placed upon them because that is a greater sin. Because if anybody should have known, it should have been people who actually got to see the works of Christ, right? That's the whole point of condemning the Pharisees and the unpardonable sin later on as well. So some judgment is more tolerable than others because some people rejected greater revelation. The fifth thing I'd want to point out is that Scripture distinguishes between different kinds of sin, generally speaking. And let's look at 1 John 5, 16 through 17, which says that if 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. All wrongdoing is sin. Of course, that's what James 2 is pointing out. All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin that does not lead to death. So John distinguishes between sins leading to death and sins that do not lead to death. So while there's there's debate over precisely what you know sin leading to death actually means, the point here for our current conversation is unmistakable. Scripture recognizes distinctions among sins, greater degrees, some that lead to death, some that don't lead to death, and it even affirms what James 2 is actually getting at that all wrongdoing is sin, but there is a sin that does not lead to death, and there is a sin that leads to death. So James 2 teaches that every sin makes us guilty before God. The rest of Scripture teaches that some sins are more serious than others, and they receive greater judgment. So these truths are not contradictory, they complement one another. A helpful way to remember this is all sins are equal in that they make us sinners before a holy God, but they are not equal in their seriousness, in their consequences, nor their judgment. So that should make us humble. Every sinner should be humble and reminded of our desperate need for the grace of God through Christ. So that's the actual answer of are all sins equal. I'm Matt Hazelwood, and I'll see you next time. Hey, thanks for spending this time with me on the Actual Answers Podcast. My prayer is that these conversations help you know God more deeply, trust his word more confidently, and engage the world more faithfully. Hey, if this episode was helpful, be sure to subscribe, share it with others, and send in your questions or rebuttals for future episodes at questions at actual answerspodcast.com. Until next time, keep asking these questions, keep seeking truth, and remember, Christianity doesn't hear questions, it provides actual answers. I'm Matt Hazelwood, and I'll see you next time.