Sin? - How many ways are we sinners?

What are the two types of sin in Christianity?

There are sins of commission (what we do that we shouldn't) and sins of omission (what we didn't do that we should have). James 4:17 points out, “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn't do it, sins.

What are the 3 conditions for a sin to be mortal?

Three conditions must together be met for a sin to be mortal: "Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent." The sin against the Holy Ghost and the sins that cry to Heaven for vengeance are considered especially serious.

When God gave the Law to Moses there were distinctions made in the penalties for breaking the law.

For several transgressions of the Law the penalty was death. One example is murder: “But if he struck him down with an iron object, so that he died, he is a murderer. The murderer shall be put to death” (Numbers 35:16 ESV).

With some sin the punishment could vary depending upon the situation: “The judges shall inquire diligently, and if the witness is a false witness and has accused his brother falsely, then you shall do to him as he had meant to do to his brother. So you shall purge the evil from your midst” (Deuteronomy 19:18-19 ESV).

With several other sins the punishment was exile from the community: “But the person who eats of the flesh of the sacrifice of the Lord’s peace offerings while an uncleanness is on him, that person shall be cut off from his people” (Leviticus 7:20 ESV).

Jesus also made it clear that God especially despises the pain caused to children: “Whoever causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a great millstone fastened around his neck and to be drowned in the depth of the sea” (Matthew 18:6 ESV).

Does the Bible say all sins are equal?

All Sin is not the Same.

In fact, the Book of Proverbs (6:16-19) identifies seven things that God hates although there is not any punishment proscribed for those. Scripture clearly indicates that God does view sin differently and that He proscribed a different punishment for sin depending upon its severity.

While there are many more examples that could be provided that call for various sacrifices that could range from a grain offering, to a dove, a sheep, goat or bull, the ones already provided should be enough to illustrate that God does not view all sin as the same.

In fact, the Book of Proverbs (6:16-19) identifies seven things that God hates although there is not any punishment proscribed for those. Scripture clearly indicates that God does view sin differently and that He proscribed a different punishment for sin depending upon its severity. While God does see sin differently we now have Jesus to forgive us of our sin.

“But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God” (Hebrews 10:12 ESV). Before we blindly accept anything as truth we should turn to the Bible and allow it to inform us of what is really true.

What does this mean for us? “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a worker who has no need to be ashamed, rightly handling the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15 ESV).

Current wisdom tells us that all sin is equal in the eyes of God. Yet those of us who hold a Christian Worldview stubbornly turn to the Bible for insight into any topic. We choose to believe the Bible over the truth that our culture maintains. So, what does the Bible say about God’s views on sin? Is there any difference?

If we are born in sin, how is it fair for God to judge us for our sin?

A common accusation against Christianity is that it unfairly judges people. In particular, some people say that God sets us up for failure and then punishes us for the failure that He caused. If that were true, it would indeed be an unfair situation. Is that the way Christianity works? Does God unfairly judge us for something we have no control over? The answers are found in the Bible.

To begin, we must find out what the Bible says about our being born in sin. David, the man after God’s own heart, wrote in Psalm 51:5, “Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” The apostle Paul wrote that we all gratify “the cravings of our sinful nature” (Ephesians 2:3). That means there is something naturally inside us that pushes us toward sin.

So, the Bible certainly does teach that we are born in sin. Did God just arbitrarily decide people were going to be born sinful? The answer is found in connection with the first man, Adam. When Adam was created (without sin) by God and placed in the garden of Eden, he was also given a simple law (Genesis 2:16–17). Adam disobeyed God’s law, and God pronounced him guilty and sentenced him to death. It was Adam’s choice to disobey that made him guilty before God. He was the father of the human race, and his traits were passed on to his children. Romans 5:12 says that sin entered the world through Adam, and death came through sin, because all sinned. As descendants of Adam, we received the sin nature passed down from our fathers. That makes us born in sin, with a natural inclination to do wrong.

Some might argue that we cannot choose our family, so God cannot hold us accountable for the sin nature. While we might not have any choice about how we’re born, the Bible is clear that we do have a choice about our sins. Earlier, we looked at Ephesians 2:3, which says that we gratify the cravings of our sinful nature. That is a choice. Romans 5:12 says that “all sinned.” We are sinners by deed as well as by nature. Our own sin condemns us, not just Adam’s. We are born in sin, but we continue to sin by our own personal choice. When we choose sin, we become guilty before God, and His judgment is fair.

God is not only fair, but merciful. The Bible’s teaching about personal sin doesn’t end with a declaration of man’s guilt. Romans 5, which tells us that sin and death entered the world through one man, also tells us of the greatest blessing, which also came through one man. God’s gift of grace came through Jesus Christ (Romans 5:15) and overflowed to many. Verse 19 says, “For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous.” God is just in applying Adam’s sin to the entire human race, and He is just in applying Jesus Christ’s death to all who will receive Him by faith. Jesus Christ died for the sins of the world, so that the world might have life through faith in His sacrifice. That’s not “fair”—that’s grace!