Can a sin be worse than others?

Pexels / Vijay Putra

On the topic of sin, most would agree that alls sins are equal in weight in the sense that they all offend God in equal magnitude and result to death. But are all sins really equal in weight, or do some sins weigh more than others?

In John 19:11, Jesus speaks to the Sandherin about the betrayal of Judas saying, "You would have no authority over me, unless it had been given you from above; for this reason he who delivered me up to you has the greater sin." So in this case, was Judas' betrayal heavier than sins like stealing and telling white lies?

There's also the discussion of the sin of the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 12:32), which is so heavy that it becomes unforgivable. Should we, as Christians, start categorizing sin?

Legal sanctions of this world

In reality, this world holds higher sanctions for certain crimes, which are also spiritual crimes in some manner. Most of modern judiciary systems will not give the same sentence to murder and littering. We cannot tell a person that he deserves life imprisonment for jaywalking because "all sins are equal."

In the realm of this world, some transgressions do have more weight than others because of the consequences they hold. Crimes that lead to distorting, devaluing or even ending of human life will be heavier than most sins.

Level of disobedience to God's Word

However, in terms of spirituality, all sins do have the same weight in the sense that they all lead to death of the spirit. Sexual immorality will not kill the soul faster than idolizing ministry, but both will ultimately lead to the death of the soul.

Romans 6:23 tells us, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." All sins lead to spiritual death and separation from our loving and holy Father.

One day, when we enter God's kingdom and see corrupt officials and drug pushers who were redeemed after surrendering and repenting for their sins, we cannot cry "foul" because their sin was "worse" than ours.

No sin is too great

While there is a debate on the weight of sin, one thing is for sure: Jesus has declared that no weight of sin nor no sting of death can overcome us once we surrender it to Him and allow Christ to wash us clean of the consequence and occurrence of sin in our life.

There is no sin too great for God to wash away because Jesus has paid the price in full so that we may be set free of every sin no matter the weight -- whether they're the same or some are heavier than others.

Romans 8:38 says, "And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God's love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God's love."