magnitude of sins

[Prodigal Son]

i'm confused on something. does God really consider all sins equal? i read this someplace and it makes sense, but then i wonder.

kateliz ( ) said recently that hate and murder are the same in the eyes of Jesus. are they really? and if so, what is the reasoning for this?

but then, what is the greatest sin (blaspheming the holy spirit)? what does this mean, really? (i know others wonder this as well...but no one has ever really answered.)

[LittleShepherd]

Yes all sins are equal. They have varying degrees of "natural" consequences, of course, and are punished in this life accordingly. But the spiritual consequence -- separation from God -- remains the same.

Yes, hatred is considered murder in the eys of God. On what grounds, you might ask? On the grounds that Jesus said so -- the heart condition is just as important, spiritually, as the action itself. Why did He make this clarification? Because the Jews at that time were a very legalistic people, accepting the word of the law, but forsaking its spirit.

I'm not sure what blaspheming the Holy Spirit is, exactly. It sounds like it would be something other than just taking His name in vain...my guess is that it's not getting saved in the first place and therefore not accepting the Holy Spirit into yourself.

I'm almost certain that's right! Maaaaan, I looked it up once, but there's that passage about what we're really doing when we don't accept Christ. Trampling Him underfoot. Considering His blood as worthless as that of a common animal. And...something about the Spirit. That's probably what it's talking about. Not accepting Christ as Lord and Savior(the only way to be filled by the HS) = blaspheming the Holy Spirit.

I'm pretty sure the passage is in Hebrews...but can't remember for sure. Trying to find it through Bible.com is a pain, though, since I'm really bad with exact wording. One letter off, and your search is worthless. *sigh*

[Felgar]

I agree with LS... The spiritual consequence is the same - that sin is by definition action against God, and as such God will not coexist with it. So any sin will seperate you from God. The beautiful thing is that as Christians we can never be totally seperated from God because we are justified through Jesus. The natural consequences do vary, certainly. So physically speaking there are righteous actions and evil actions, and they certainly do come with a range of magnitude.

[kateliz]

kateliz ( ) said recently that hate and murder are the same in the eyes of Jesus. are they really?

And you doubted me! It's just like how lusting after someone who's not your spouse is the same as adultery because of what's in your heart. Whether you act on it or not all depends on things that ultimately don't matter. Act on your hate and what do you get? Well, if you've ever hated someone then you know! Act on that lust and what do you get? If you had that lust you'd also know. What you want to do but don't act on you are guilty of because it was in your heart, which is what truly matters. But then it also depends if it was truly from your heart or merely an implanted thought from your enemy! You aren't guilty for Satan attacking you!

I've been finding more and more verses on sins varying in punishment based on the knowledge you had when you commited it. Jesus said to Jerusalem something about how it'll be worse for them in the day of judgement than Sodom and Gomorrah because if those in the two cities witnessed all that Jerusalem witnessed when Jesus was walking around, they'd have repented and believed. Revelation says similar things too.

On a relating note it also says somewhere in the NT that with the more knowledge you're given the more responsibility you have regarding it. So then if you are very knowledgable about God but only share the same as those who don't have much knowledge, you are guilty and they are innocent. You should have made use of what you were given, but you didn't.

The natural consequences do vary, certainly.

Indeed they do, but don't forget that Children of God experience these quite differently than those who aren't His Children. If a Child sins, his Father takes it upon Himself not to punish but to chastise. Punishment is a consequence that makes payment. Chastisement is a means of reprimanding so as to turn the heart away from the evil committed. It is sometimes very gentle but other times quite harsh and very painful. A Christian is never punished because all of the punishments were paid for already; he is chastised so that his heart is returned to his Father and His ways.