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short devotional on degrees of sin

What I think (maybe uniquely?): For the purpose of judgment, there are no degrees of sin. All sin is sin. Stealing a paperclip will land you in hell just as surely as murder. Why? Because the standard of sinlessness is God, and He is in fact perfectly sinless.

However, for the purpose of punishment, there are degrees of sin. I believe there are different levels of hell to accomodate the different kinds and severity of sin. The more severe the transgression, the more severe the punishment.

(Incidentally, I think this works for Heavenly reward as well. Although no amounts of work can gain you salvation, if you accept Jesus Christ and make it to heaven, then your reward will depend on the works you did on earth. Works will not get you into Heaven, but they will be used to gauge the richness of your reward.)
 
The severity of sin? How can we measure it? I think there's a verse that even our rightousness is like filthy rags to God. Then later there is a promise for those who go the right path by following Jesus (by coming closer to Him by faith or by obedience and following His direction), the promise us that we will be clothed with white brilliant clothes. Maybe saying something of Jesus's rightousness covering us, where our own acts could not do anything in comparison.

i don't know, but think on this. If Paul in the New Testiment can be wiped clean from his sins when he actively sought and perscuted Christians to their imprisionment or their death, then there's hope for us. There's hope that we can be both made clean from our past and also given a better start in our path with God.

With that in mind, maybe that should be the point to focus on. Not that a degree of sin and rightousness don't exist, but that those would a second concern, (or farther down the list) compared to finding God, and or helping others find Him. He's the real treasure, and Jesus has paved the way to Him.
 
thanks for the replies. I just think...its an interesting concept, and I think the devotional hits on a point that I've never heard discussed in Protestant circles.

for example...sodomy is called an 'abomination' in the OT. In the NT, its lumped in with sins that happen when people exchange the truth for a lie. As a former gay dewd, I've thought on this a bit, and...

I think it is termed an 'abomination' not because its 'icky,' but because of what happens when individuals give themselves over to it, as a lifestyle. so...its an 'abomination' because...well, because of God's moral order+the way He designed things, horrible things happen when people practice that sin. and then...

murder. In the OT, it is punishable by -death- . Take a life, lose one's life. Cain was marked and cursed for life because he murdered his brother. In the NT, 1 John 3:15 comes down harshly on those who kill and harbor hatred towards a brother. Elsewhere...

one sees that adultery is harshly condemned, as is fornication. In the 10 Commandments, 'honor thy mother and thy father' brings with it a blessing of a long life, here on earth...while other places in the OT condemn rebellion as being the equivalent of witchcraft.

rambling. The -big deal- for me, personally, is that I (somehow...) came to truly, genuinely believe upon Jesus. So...my sins are forgiven, and I hope to one day be in a position to do things that will bring some sort of rewards in the hereafter. and yet...

part of a Christian Worldview is viewing morality, sin, mistakes more closely to how God views them, to whatever extent possible. so, this devotional intrigued me, on that point. :)
 
All sin is an act of disobedience to the moral laws of God's commandments as I do not think one sin is greater than another and unless I am wrong I do not believe scripture says anything about different levels in heaven or hell. All sin no matter what it is can be forgiven except blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, Matthew 12:31-33.
 
Bill Wiese mentions several passages that infer different levels in Hell.

Matthew 23:14 "You shall receive the greater damnation", implying the existence of a lesser damnation.

Matthew 10:15 "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gommorah in the day of judgment than for that city", inferring a less tolerable.

Hebrews 10:28 "How much worse of a punishment supposed it shall be for you, you who have trodden underfoot the Son of God", inferring a worse.

Go to 11:03 in the video...

 
KevinK said:
Bill Wiese mentions several passages that infer different levels in Hell.

Matthew 23:14 "You shall receive the greater damnation", implying the existence of a lesser damnation.

Matthew 10:15 "It shall be more tolerable for Sodom and Gommorah in the day of judgment than for that city", inferring a less tolerable.

Hebrews 10:28 "How much worse of a punishment supposed it shall be for you, you who have trodden underfoot the Son of God", inferring a worse.

Go to 11:03 in the video...

Click to expand...

Thank you for those scriptures. I never really studied about different degrees so I will study further in this.
 
KevinK said:
Bill Wiese mentions several passages that infer different levels in Hell.
Click to expand...
Dante imagined levels in Hell. But that may not necessarily be the case. However, degrees of punishment would exists within one *level* (if level is the correct term).
 
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