There is a danger that has been brewing for as long as people have been communicating. It is the oversimplification of important and complex matters into Bumper Sticker statements.
If you have been in the Christian life for even a short time, it’s likely that you have heard this saying, “All sin is the same,” or its cousin, “Your sin is no better than anyone else’s sin,” or its simplified version, “Sin is Sin”. There is a nugget of truth in here, but at a great cost to our understanding of God, sin, and its spiritual and cultural implications. First, we must talk about what the word sin means versus how it’s being used today. Sin means to miss the mark or target. So, in theological terms, yes, sin is all the same. If you miss the mark of perfection that is required to stand in the presence of God, it does not matter what your particular “sin” is. All sin is equally disqualifying when measuring the Divine standard of perfection. This also invites us to a discussion of the (Adamic Curse), but that will need to be a separate article for the sake of brevity.
Usually, this phrase “sin is sin” is uttered as a trope or deflection, not in its proper theological context. When I hear people use it to deflect personal responsibility or to defend the bad behavior of others, it makes me “Sangery”. That’s a Portmanteau for Sad and Angry. Or it can make me think back to my own oversimplifications.
I am going to look at the statements “sin is sin” and “sin is all the same” in three phases.
#1 Eternal Judgment.
#2 Personal Consequences.
#3 Societal Constructs.
#1 Speaking to the Eternal
At the Great White Throne Judgment, there is a Go, No-Go answer for Eternal Life, and in this setting, “Sin is Sin”. Matt 5:48 The only suitable answer for the demand of perfection is Jesus. If I am found in Jesus, then God looks at me and judges me as Jesus’ righteousness. For those who are not, their sin is more than sin. While all those who are not with Jesus will be condemned, they will be explicitly condemned for their individual sins. Matt 12:33-37. Those sins will be justly punished based on their severity and frequency.
Also on the eternal front, there is the Bema seat of Judgment, where we as believers will be judged, and the choices we have made in our lives will be weighed. There is no condemnation at the Bema seat, but there is loss, and I would imagine sorrow. Every time I think about this passage in Corinthians, it puts me in the warehouse with Oscar Schindler, mourning the realization that he could have done more. “Sin is not sin” when it has hindered and harmed what God had for us. Matt 5:17-20 Matt 10:40-42
#2 Personal Consequences
On the temporal and personal front, there are obvious differences and consequences to sin. If your wife catches you with a dumb look on your face because you are staring at a woman wearing a washcloth as a bathing suit, there will be consequences! But if you want to put that response on par with her catching you in the act of adultery in your marriage bed because “Sis is Sin”, you are being a simpleton, and I promise that will go badly for you.
When Jesus says, “I say to you if you have looked on a woman with lust in your eye, you have committed adultery in your heart.” He is accomplishing at least three specific things.
#1 The ways of God are a matter of the heart and inner man as well as the outward actions.
#2 None of us is without “sin” and should not think too highly of ourselves.
#3 When you are in a position to have an opinion or judge someone else, are you accurately accounting for the vile and fallen nature that is within you?
We will have to have a separate discussion about the woman caught in adultery and the affirmation of Jesus on the sanctity of marriage. We are not given the rest of her story. What we do know is that Jesus’ parting instructions to her are “go and sin no more”. Jesus affirms that it was indeed sin and commands her not to do it again.
This is not an article about marriage and divorce, but the marriage covenant gives us a window to view this “sin is sin” idea. Jesus goes on to set the moral, spiritual, and legal standard. Permissions for divorce are set, and if there is adultery, you can divorce. Jesus does not say if you catch your spouse leering at another person, you can divorce them. He says you may divorce if there has been actual adultery. Matt 5:32 & Matt 19-9
Jesus was elevating the requirements of the moral law to where they were intended to be! A true heart change and a humble cry for Mercy. And Paul says the Law was to show us our sin, not to set a standard to justify ourselves. See Romans 3:20 and the entirety of Romans chapter 7.
Jesus was preaching in a cultural framework where there were those who thought they were righteous based on their seen deeds and works. They had spent centuries defining, tweaking, and morphing the law into an unrecognizable form, then clocked themselves in it. Jesus spent a considerable amount of his ministry dismantling this law mythology.
Jesus was not telling us to be casual with sin or that we should dismiss its tragic consequences. He was not undermining the law at any point, and He took specific care to warn His hearers that not even the tiniest letter of the law would be diminished. So serious are the consequences of sin that Jesus tells us to do Violence to the things that would cause us to sin. Matt 5:27-30.
#3 Societal Constructs
The severity of sin in the social construct can be directly measured by its prescribed consequences. The values of a culture are expressed in part by the elevation of punishment. Of course, this is logical, but no longer a given. I do not go to jail for 20 years for J-walking. So, sin is not just sin in the societal construct. We may have firsthand knowledge of a situation where people have escaped those consequences, and it undermines our confidence in society when that happens. There are entire genres of novels, writings, movies, plays, and poems dedicated to putting right what the law got wrong. The Vigilante genre exists as an expression of the fallout when the systems of justice fail, and sin is just sin takes over.
Recently, we have seen California redefine certain sins as not worthy of punishment or reduce the consequences. It’s still a crime to shoplift in theory, but in practice, the state has communicated that it is not.
In 2014, California passed Proposition 47, diminishing the punishment for theft. You can guess what the results were. Shoplifting jump 28% between 2019 and 2023. When we diminish the consequences, we encourage the sin. There are many studies that show when people get away with these “lesser” crimes, it incentivizes them to move into more serious criminal activity.
In Colorado, when Marijuana was legalized as a recreational drug, a 2019 study shows “traffic deaths in which drivers tested positive for marijuana increased 109 percent,” and this 2019 report also shows a massive increase in use for both legal and underage groups. “Past month marijuana use for ages 12 and older increased 58 percent and is 78 percent higher than the national average.” When CO signaled that it was legal for adults to use marijuana, it also communicated to those who were not of legal age that it was OK. Click here for article.
If we as a society start tweaking the consequences of sin or try to put the practice in place of “sin is sin”, it will have disastrous results.
Ray Comfort is one of the people who comes to mind when I think of “sin is sin” being used correctly. I know Ray personally, and our lives have intersected in meaningful ways. He uses the law to reveal everyone’s need for Jesus, but not to minimize sin or excuse behavior.
We no longer live in a culture with shared definitions or assumptions. As we make disciples, we cannot presume people understand what we mean.
Isaiah warned of a time when good would be called evil and evil good. That time is here.
Pastors and leaders, this is why relational discipleship matters so deeply. Jesus asked questions. His disciples asked questions. Through relationship and dialogue, truth was revealed.
Preaching is essential, but it is not sufficient.
We will never truly know where people are unless we know them personally. Disciples are not made through sermons alone. They are made through relationships.
Do not wake up ten years from now, realizing people misunderstood you, or simply ignored you, because they filtered your words through their own assumptions.
We are here to help you. As you make Disciples, they will make Disciples, and the weight of the Kingdom will not be on your shoulders. You will begin to see Multiplication not addition! Reach out! Today is the day; you need not wait. Let’s start making Disciples together.
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The Relational Discipleship Network is a Missions Organization.
Our Mission is to restore the Great Commission to the Church in America.
Visit rdn.org to learn more about us or to join the movement!
