Advent Logos

More thoughts from the reading of the Screwtape Letters, a book by C.S. Lewis.

Throughout life we are taught many different things. As we mature, we are tasked with testing the validity and applicability of the things we are taught. Being human, our natural instinct is to believe what we are told out of innocence. We instinctually trust the teachers in our lives. Only later do we begin to learn the painful effects of lying and misinformation. Some of which can lead to life long perspectives of ignorance and prejudice. One of these things for me was the equality of sin.

Somewhere along the road growing up I was taught that all sins are equal. I was shown convincing illustrations showing man’s perspective vs. Gods perspective on sin. (See below)

Little did I know that I would hold this view on sin for 28 years. I was convinced. I spoke about it, I lived by it, and based many of my life decisions on it. After all, everyone around me was in agreement that this was correct. It seemed convincing enough at the time.

As many things in life do, eventually the truth has a way of seeking out the light. I had not done the research for myself to find the truth. Instead I had blindly followed.

All these years later a simple passage in “the Screwletter tapes” peaked my curiosity enough to begin research on the equality of sin. Remember that in this book the writer is a demon writing to a less experienced demon on how to win against God. This is what the passage said:

“The only thing that matters is the extent in which you (the demon) separate the man from the enemy (God). It does not matter how small the sins are, provided that their accumulative effect is to edge the man away from the light and out into the nothing! Murder is no better than cards if cards can do the trick. Indeed, the safest road to hell is the gradual one. The gentle slope, the soft underfoot with soft turnings, without mile stones, and without sign posts.”

As stated in a previous blog, we must know thine enemy. The trap of the devil isn’t extravagant sin or flamboyant immorality, but the minuet, slow, and incremental distancing between yourself and God.

What would be easier to notice:

The thief that stole all the money out of your bank account at once

The thief that periodically steals a single dollar over a long period of time.

Left unchecked both scenarios have the same effect. Either way, eventually all your money will be gone.

Which brings me to my main point. Is sin indeed viewed equally in the eyes of God?

The answer is no. Different sins carry different levels of detestability and heinousness. To begin to understand the gravity of certain sins over others, we must first establish the cost of sin. This is where people confuse that all sin is equal. The Bible says in Romans 6:23 that the wage of sin is death. We must recognize that regardless of the sin, the price is the same. Anything less would be inconsistent and therefore not divine. Divinity is incompatible with inconsistency because inconsistency by definition is changeable. Hebrews 13:8 tells us that Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. God therefore is never changing, so the price of sin is never changing.

Now we must establish the separation from detestability and consequence. Detestability of the sin implies that one sin can be worse in the eyes of God than another. How do we know this? We can derive this from the words of Jesus himself in a discussion with Pontus Pilate, the Roman governor of the province of Judaea. After Jesus was captured but before crucifixion he was presented to Pilate for judgement. During this encounter Jesus said, “You would have no power over me if it were not given to you from above. Therefore the one who handed me over to you is guilty of a greater sin.”-John 19:11. Remember that Jesus is speaking to a Roman governor. Jesus maintains his authority as Messiah even before the Roman Empire. In the second part of the verse Jesus accuses and condemns the Jews of a greater sin for handing Him over to the Romans. I believe this clearly illustrates that all sins are NOT equal.

2nd Peter 2:20-21 states, “for if after they have escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of..Jesus, they are again entangled and overcome, the latter is worse with them than the beginning. For it had been better for them not to have know the way of righteousness than after they have known it..” In other words if you know God and walk away back into your old lifestyle, you will be judged more severely because of it. The wage of sin is still death, but this verse even implies that there will be different levels of punishment as well. More importantly, the sinful person will be judged more severely for having known Christ and walked away. Again, God is telling us that he views different sins with differing levels of detestability and heinousness.

We have further evidence in Matthew 12: 31-32 that states, “every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.” The word spirit is capitalized in this verse meaning that this is in reference to the Holy Spirit. If a blasphemy is a blasphemy is a blasphemy and they are all equal, why does the Bible again state that certain blasphemies will not be forgiven?

We must therefore delineate that while ALL sin ends in the death, different sins carry different weights. Murder does not carry the same weight as stealing a candy bar. The punishment may still be death, but the severity of the punishment and heinousness of the crime will be measured based on the sin.

If you still believe all sins are equal, the burden of proof falls on you to prove your own belief right. More importantly, be aware of the little things. That small drinking problem, the fake life your friends see, the little white lie you tell your coworkers, the poker game at the casino you thought about all week, the impure thought you have about the beautiful person walking by, the envy at the cool car in the parking lot, the attitude that you deserve something, the bragging rights you carry around your buddies…. These are the things that get 99% of us. Murder is no better than cards if cards do the trick. It’s such a subtle thing. Are you paying attention? Each sin, no matter how small, separates us further from God.

To close, I’m reminded of a great line from the Movie, A Knights Tale. “You have been weighed, you have been measured, and you have been found wanting.” This line is derived from Daniel 5:27 which essentially says the same thing. This is an important reminder that at the end, we will be weighed, we will be measured, and without Christ we will be found wanting.

For we have ALL sinned and fallen short of the glory of God-Romans 3:23

But if we walk in the light..the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin – 1 John 1:7

God Bless

AL

If you are interested in listening to The Screwtape Letters on audio book, you can find it here.