Jesus says in John 19:11 the one who handed me over to you is guilty of greater sin. There are degrees of sin. All sin make you guilty in front of the father but there are degrees of sin because Jesus says so.

Pastor Brad what are you thoughts this why we pay you the big bucks to be our pastor to answer the 2 dollar questions.

Interesting article below on the topic, i just skimmed through it, but it sounds legit.

http://www.christiancourier.com/articles/966-are-some-sins-greater-than-others

It seems to make sense that some sins are worse than others, but they all lead to death…?

But, to throw another point of discussion in here, what about the unforgivable sin?
Matthew 12:30-32
30"He who is not with me is against me, and he who does not gather with me scatters. 31And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. 32Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

Why is that???

Nice work Kevin. I was thinking about that last night after commented on the first question. I have been asked that before. Brad any thoughts on that one?

I think the answer is in the context of the passage. In vs. 22, Jesus healed a possessed man. The Pharisees attributed Jesus works (through the power of the Holy Spirit) to the power of Beelzebub which leads to the statement in vs. 30-32. The Pharisees were attributing the works of the Holy Spirit to Satan.

The point behind the statement is that the Pharisees saw and understood that a demon possessed man had been healed supernaturally, yet their hearts were so hard that they were unwilling to attribute this to the power of the Holy Spirit and so denied the power of the Holy Spirit and attributed the work to Satan. Thus, their hearts were so hardened that there was no hope left for them.

If a person’s heart is so hard that when confronted with incontrovertible evidence of the power of the Holy Spirit they would rather attribute the work to Satan than admit that the Holy Spirit has power and authority, then they are forever lost and are incapable of being forgiven.

Andy…I actually just got back from a car ride with Joe. He asked me about the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” clause in Matthew. And guess what? I told him the exact same thing.

To address the question of this thread, there does seem to be sins that God doesn’t like (all sin), sins that God hates, and sin that God considers an abomination. You can find a list of these sins in Prov. 16:16-19.

In Prov. 16 the sin that is considered an abomination is “sows discord among the brother.” It seems like causing division among God’s people is a serious deal.

Wayne Grudem talks about how scripture distinguishes between legal guilt and results in life and in relationship with God

1) Legal guilt. In terms of our legal standing before God, any one sin, even what may seem to be a very small one, makes us legally guilty before God and therefore worthy of eternal punishment.

2) Results in life and in relationship with God. On the other hand, some sins are worse than others in that they have more harmful consequences in our lives and in the lives of others

Paul apparently did not argue in 1 Corinthians 6:18 that sexual immorality is a sin of unparalleled evil, and yet sexual immorality is a very serious sin. This is substantiated by three facts from Scripture:

(1) Numerous sexual sins were capital offenses under the Mosaic system – Adultery ( Lev 20:10 ; Deut 22:22 ); rape ( Deut 22:25 ); incest (Lev 20:11 –12); homosexuality ( Lev 20:13); and bestiality ( Exod 22:19; Lev 20:15–16).

(2) Adultery is one of only two legitimate grounds given for divorce. Matthew 5:31–32; 19:3–12. The other is desertion ( 1 Cor 7:15). This viewpoint is of course debated; however, under most interpretations, the point concerning the seriousness of sexual sin still stands.

(3) Sexual immorality is denounced repeatedly and vigorously throughout Scripture. Particularly significant is the preponderance of sexual sins in the vice lists of the New Testament ( 1 Cor 5:9 –11; 6:9–10 ; 2 Cor 12:20 –21; Gal 5:19 –21; Col 3:5 ; 1 Tim 1:9 –10; 1 Pet 4:3 –4). It should be noted that “sexual immorality” heads the lists in 1 Corinthians 5:9–11; 6:9–10 ; Galatians 5:19–21; Colossians 3:5; 1 Peter 4:3–4.)

(BSac Vol 151 #604³Oct-Dec 1994 – Can Fallen Leaders Be Restored to Leadership? – New Testament Principles)