“The Greater Sin”: Are There Degrees of Sin?
Posted by deangonzales on July 15, 2009
3 Comments
Are there degrees of sin? The simple answer to that question is “yes.” Jesus himself acknowledged degrees of sin when He said to Pilate, “You could have no power at all against Me unless it had been given you from above. Therefore the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). In light of Christ’s words, we must acknowledge degrees of sin. However, we must also beware of drawing unbiblical conclusions from this truth. Before we examine the biblical teaching on “degrees of sin,” therefore, I want to examine briefly the Roman Catholic distinction between “mortal” and “venial” sins.1
I. The Roman Catholic distinction between “venial” and “mortal” sins.
As early as Tertullian and Augustine, theologians began making a distinction between “venial sins” and “mortal sins.”2 Peter Lombard and Thomas Aquinas further refined this distinction.3 According to a modern Roman Catholic dictionary, a venial sin is “an offense against God not serious enough to cause the loss of sanctifying grace. Venial sin is likened to an illness of the soul, and not its death.” The dictionary then offers two examples, such as stealing a nickel or telling a jocose lie. In contrast, the dictionary defines a “mortal sin” as a “transgression in a grave matter of law which is made with full advertence [awareness] and full consent. It is called mortal … because it cuts the sinner off from sanctifying grace and in a sense brings death to the soul.”4
One of the primary passages cited to justify this distinction is Galatians 5:19-21. That text lists at least 17 different sins, including sins like “adultery,” “idolatry,” “murder,” and “drunken-ness.”5 Then it ends with the warning that “those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.” Thus according to Roman Catholic theology, these sins must be “mortal” since the commission of them results in the forfeiture of eternal life. Presumably, any sin not identified or implicated as “mortal” does not result in the loss of eternal life.
Not surprisingly, this distinction between venial and mortal sins relates to the Roman Catholic sacrament of penance. According to Catholic theology, if you commit a venial sin, and you fail to confess and repent of that sin, you are not in danger of hell. If you commit a mortal sin, however, and you fail to confess and do penance for that sin, then you are in danger of hell. Thus the Roman Catholic believer is told he may confess his venial sins if he desires, but he must confess his mortal sins if he hopes to gain eternal life.6
Some of you are aware of the practical results of this kind of theology. In some people, this distinction leads to an ongoing state of anxious fear. They are always worried they may have stepped over the line and committed a “mortal” sin. As a result, they have to get to the priest quickly and make confession lest they die without hope. In other people, this distinction between venial and mortal sin leads to a state of careless presumption. They assume that since most sins are not mortal, then they have little to worry about. What do the Scriptures say to this kind of thinking?
II. The Biblical teaching on degrees of sin
According to Scripture, all sin is serious, some sin is more serious, and one sin is unpardonable.
A. All sins are serious.
According to Scripture, all sins—from the least to the greatest—are serious and worthy of damnation. Quoting Deuteronomy 27:26, Paul warns, “Cursed is everyone who does not continue in all things which are written in the book of the law, to do them [emphasis mine]” (Gal. 3:10). Thus according to Paul, to break just one commandment of God’s law makes one liable to God’s curse. The apostle James confirms this when he writes, “For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all” (James 2:10).
Because the law is a reflection of God’s holy nature, and because God’s nature is an inseparable unity, then the smallest violation of God’s law becomes an attack upon God himself. And this great reality was underscored at man’s fall into sin. What was Adam’s “mortal” sin? His mortal sin was not idolatry, murder, or adultery. Adam’s sin was to eat the forbidden fruit. At one level, his sin might be comparable to breaking the speed limit or running a stop sign. It was a peccadillo. But at another level, Adam’s sin was nothing less than rebellion against His Creator. And because he disregarded the command of an infinitely holy and just God, Adam’s “peccadillo” placed himself and the human race under the justice and wrath of Almighty God. Therefore, the distinction between venial sins and mortal sins must be rejected. The Bible represents all sin as serious and worthy of damnation. In that sense, all sins are mortal.7
B. Some sins are more serious than others.
The fact that all sins are serious and worthy of damnation does not rule out degrees of sin. As I pointed out earlier, Jesus himself used a comparative adjective to distinguish one sin from another. Without question, some sins are “greater” than other sins. This truth is further supported by the passages which allude to degrees of punishment. For example, Jesus warns His contemporaries, “I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the Day of Judgment than for you [emphasis mine]” (Matt. 11:24). Note the comparison. According to Jesus, His fellow countrymen who reject him are in for greater punishment than that suffered by the former inhabitants of Sodom and Gomorrah. Jesus’ threat obviously implies that some sins are more serious in God’s sight than others.
But this conclusion leads us to ask the question, Why does God treat some sin more seriously than other sin? The answer to that question depends upon at least two factors: the degree of light the sinner possesses, and the degree of intention involved in the sin. Let’s consider each of these in turn.
1. The degree of one’s guilt is relative to the degree of one’s knowledge of truth.
In Luke 12:47-48, Jesus teaches this principle by way of an illustration:
And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few. For everyone to whom much is given, from him much will be required; and to whom much has been committed, of him they will ask the more.
This is why Jesus warns his countrymen that it will be far more tolerable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the Day of Judgment than for them if they reject His gospel message (Matt. 10:16; 11:21-24). I believe this is also the point Jesus underscores when He says to Pilate in John 19:11, “the one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin.” Commentators debate whether Jesus is alluding to Caiaphas the High Priest or to Judas Iscariot.8 But in either case, Jesus is referring to someone who had much more gospel light than Pilate. Certainly, Pilate was wrong for putting Christ to death. But the sin of Caiaphas and even more the sin of Judas were far worse because they knew far more gospel. Thus the degree of one’s guilt is relative to the degree of one’s knowledge of truth.9
This is a warning to those of us who preach the gospel. Brothers, God takes our sin more seriously than the man who has received little biblical truth. We have been entrusted with much gospel light. Furthermore, we have been entrusted with the stewardship of teaching the truth we have received to God’s people by life as well as lip. And it is a sobering thought to know that the Lord views all of our sins in relation to the degree of light with which He has entrusted to us. This is why James says, “My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment.” Rather than hastily encouraging men to pursue the ministry, James exhorts them to “count the cost.” Stricter will be the standard of judgment for them than for others, because they had a higher degree of gospel knowledge.
2. The degree of one’s guilt is relative to the degree of one’s intention involved in the sin.
In other words, God views our sin not only in relation to head-knowledge but also in relation to heart-disposition. For example, in Numbers 15:27-30, God distinguishes between the person who sins “unintentionally” and the person who sins “presumptuously,” literally, who sins “with a high hand.” In the case of the former, the person is not acting with full knowledge and consent of the will. In the case of the latter, the person is acting in full knowledge and utter defiance of God’s command.10 The fact that atonement could not be made for this kind of sin underscores its serious nature. Once again God warns His people against the sin of defiance in Deuteronomy 28:19. There He describes the man who after hearing the warnings of Scripture “blesses himself in his heart, saying, ‘I shall have peace, even though I follow the dictates of my heart.’” Such a man, God goes on to say, will not be forgiven (v. 20). In Jeremiah chapter 7, God expresses his extreme anger towards Israel because of their “stubborn hearts,” “turned backs,” and “stiff necks” (vv. 24, 26), which are all expressions of defiance. In fact, God is so angry with their sin that He tells Jeremiah to stop praying for them (v. 16). Once again this demonstrates the fact that God takes some sins more seriously than others. Louis Berkhof summarizes this point in his systematic theology:
Sins committed on purpose, with full consciousness of the evil involved, and with deliberation, are greater and more culpable than sins resulting from ignorance, from an erroneous conception of things, or from weakness of character. Nevertheless the latter are also real sins and make one guilty in the sight of God.11
This leads us to a discussion of what has often been called “the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit” or “the unpardonable sin.”
C. There is an unpardonable sin.
Jesus’ greatest critics were the scribes and the Pharisees. As we have seen above, they were religious men who possessed much biblical knowledge but who refused to submit to God’s will. On one occasion, they actually accuse Jesus of performing miracles by the power of the devil rather than by the power of God. Jesus’ response is tremendously sobering:
Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation (Mark 3:28-29).
The fact Jesus makes this statement in response to their accusation seems to suggest that they had just committed this sin. Mark confirms this in the following verse when he informs us that Jesus’ comment was made “because they said, ‘He has an unclean spirit’” (v. 30). The imperfect tense of “saying” indicates the persistent nature of their sin. They had heard Christ’s preaching and they had seen His miracles. Yet they defiantly and persistently refused to acknowledge the authenticity of His work. Instead they maliciously attributed it to the power of Satan.12 What is especially striking is Christ’s assertion that such a sin “never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.” Literally, the Greek reads, “[he] has no forgiveness throughout eternity but he is in danger of eternal sin.”13 “Eternal sin” signifies a sin that remains forever! The parallel account in Matthew 12:32 uses similar language: “it will not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Why can’t God forgive such a sin? The problem is not so much a limitation of God’s mercy or an inadequacy in Christ’s sacrifice. Apparently the unpardonable nature of this sin is related to a sinner reaching a point of hardness where he can no longer repent. This seems to be the point of Hebrews 6:4-6. There the writer describes a category of individuals who outwardly appeared to have had a “conversion” experience but who later apostatized from the faith.14 Of these individuals, the writer says, “It is impossible … to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God and put Him to an open shame.” In other words, these individuals have resumed their former hostility towards Christ.15 Only now, their hostility has become so hardened and aggravated that they no longer are able to repent. Their apostasy is irreversible.16 The writer of Hebrews seems to be addressing this same unpardonable sin later in chapter 10 where he warns, “For if we sin willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins.” According to this text, to turn away from Christ deliberately with full knowledge and purpose of heart is to remove oneself from the possibility of pardon.
The apostle Peter also speaks of certain individuals who at one time had “escaped the pollutions of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,” but later they became “again entangled in them” (2 Pet. 2:20). And Peter draws attention to the irreversible nature of their apostasy when he says “the latter end is worse for them than the beginning. For it would have been better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than having known it, to turn from the holy commandment delivered to them” (vv. 20-21). Peter’s words seem to imply that these individuals are no longer in a condition where they may be saved.17 And this “unpardonable sin” may also be the “sin unto death,” which John speaks of in his first epistle (1 John 5:16). So serious is the sin John has in view that he advises believers not to pray for the salvation of the individual who has committed it (1 John 5:16; cf. 1 Sam 2:25; Jer. 7:16; 11:14; 14:11).18
In light of these and other passages, it seems difficult to deny that there is such a thing as an “unpardonable sin” or what Jesus calls, “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit.” But the possibility of such a sin raises many difficult questions, especially for pastors. Was the unpardonable sin unique to the first century? Or is it still possible for someone to commit this sin today? If so, how shall we counsel the struggling soul who believes he has committed this sin and can no longer be forgiven? Can we know whether someone has committed this sin? If so, should we pray for their salvation or refrain from doing so?
Is the unpardonable sin unique to the first century? Or may someone be guilty of this sin today? According to Berkhof, some of the earlier church fathers believed only those who saw Christ perform miracles could commit the unpardonable sin. In this case, the unpardonable sin would no longer be a possibility after Christ’s earthly ministry.19 The references to unpardonable sin in the epistles, however, make this view untenable, since these writings were composed many years after Christ’s death.20 Others, on the basis of Hebrews 6, limit the unpardonable sin to individuals who were endowed with supernatural gifts of the Spirit but who apostatized from the faith.21 Certainly, the Bible does provide examples of individuals who exercised supernatural power but who were never regenerate (e.g., Judas Iscariot). But there is no proof that the Pharisees whom Jesus accused of blaspheming the Holy Spirit experienced or exercised supernatural gifts of the Spirit. For that reason, I would be hesitant to limit the unpardonable sin to the time of Jesus and the Apostles. Instead, I believe the greater amount of special revelation and supernatural power the greater the possibility someone may commit the unpardonable sin. Since a high degree of special revelation and supernatural power accompanied the earthly ministries of Christ and the apostles, perhaps there was a greater likelihood of committing the unpardonable sin in the first century than today. Nevertheless, Christ still reveals Himself to men through the Scriptures, and the Holy Spirit still manifests His power today. Therefore, I think it is still possible to commit blasphemy against the Spirit in our day, especially where Christ’s gospel and the Spirit’s power are abundantly manifest. For that reason, we as pastors still need to preach the warnings of Jesus and the apostles to our congregations. If we see professing believers who have received much gospel light drifting from the faith, we should admonish them with words of Hebrews 3:12-13:
Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
But what about the struggling soul who believes he has committed this sin and can no longer be forgiven? What about the brother with the hypersensitive conscious that believes he may have blasphemed the Holy Spirit? How should we counsel such a person? First, we need to tell them that the unpardonable sin is not the same as doubt or general struggles with unbelief. Even the best of God’s people may at times struggle with unbelief.22 But the unpardonable sin includes a defiant attitude towards God and sacred things that is deliberate and persistent. Second, the very fact the person fears he may have committed the sin is proof that he has not. Those who have committed the unpardonable sin either presume all is well between them and God, or they no longer care.23
That leads to one final matter. Jesus and the Apostles seem to assume that those who commit the unpardonable sin may be identified. In light of this, is it possible for us today to identify such persons? If so, may we still pray for them, or should we refrain, as John seems to suggest? I must confess, these are difficult questions to answer. My present thoughts are as follows: first of all, I am not as confident of my own judgment as I am of the judgment of Christ and the apostles. Therefore, any judgment I would make regarding an individual would be tentative. Second, there are examples in the Bible and church history of individuals who nearly committed the unpardonable sin but who were converted. The prime example is the apostle Paul. According to his own testimony, he was the foremost sinner ever saved (1 Tim. 1:15, 16). When he identifies the sins that made him so infamous, they resemble the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit: “I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man” (v. 13; cf. Acts 7, 8). In summary, Paul was the archenemy of the early church. Nevertheless, Paul goes on to make a statement that indicates that he stopped short of committing the unpardonable sin: “but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief.” Paul’s not excusing his sin. Rather he is pointing out that by God’s grace he had not crossed the line by knowingly and purposely sinning against the truth. The point I want to make is that it may have appeared to some that Paul had committed the unpardonable sin. Luke tells us in Acts 9 that the church of Jerusalem was not initially eager to accept his profession of faith. But as it turns out, Paul had not committed the unpardonable sin. This fact should caution us against complete writing off individuals who seem opposed to the gospel. Those who persist in defiance against God and persecution of the church, however, may legitimately become the object of imprecatory prayers rather than intercessory prayers (Pss. 35; 69; 109; 137; Matt. 23; Gal. 1:8, 9; 1 Cor. 16:22; Rev. 6:9-10).
Bob Gonzales, Dean
Reformed Baptist Seminary
- I’ll be drawing much of the material below from Anthony Hoekema’s helpful summary of “Gradations of Sin” in Created in God’s Image (Eerdmans, 1986), 177-186. [↩]
- Tertullian, On Modesty, chs. 2, 3, 19; Against Marcion, 4:9. Augustine, Enchiridion, 44, 71; City of God, Bk. 21:27. [↩]
- Lombard, Sentences, II, Dist. 42; Aquinas, Summa Theologica, I-II, Qq. 88, 89. [↩]
- Maryknoll Catholic Dictionary, ed. Albert J. Nevins (Grosset and Dunlap, 1956), pp. 529-30. [↩]
- The other seventeen listed include, “fornication, uncleanness, lewdness, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies, envyings, and revellings. [↩]
- The New Catholic People’s Encyclopedia, rev. ed. (The Catholic Press, 1973), 3:718. [↩]
- John Calvin draws this conclusion when he writes, “Let the children of God hold that all sin is mortal. For it is rebellion against the will of God, which of necessity provokes God’s wrath, and it is a violation of the law upon which God’s judgment is pronounced without exception.” Institutes of the Christian Religion, 2.8:59. [↩]
- Caiaphas the High Priest is said to have delivered Jesus to Pilate (John 11:47-54; 18:13-14). Judas is frequently referred to as the one who “betrayed” Jesus into the hands of men (Matt. 17:22; 26:34; Mark 3:19; John 18:2, 5). Most commentators believe Jesus is referring to Caiaphas. Some argue for Judas. And a few suggest he may simply be referring to the Jewish people as a whole. [↩]
- There are many other passages that support this principle. For example, in Amos 3:2 God makes a rather surprising statement to the nation Israel: “You only have I known of all the families of the earth; therefore I will punish you for all your iniquities.” The two clauses at first appear incongruous. Why would God’s electing love for Israel become a basis for His judgment of Israel? The answer is that the greater the privilege the greater the responsibility. Matthew Henry explains it this way: “The distinguishing favours of God to us, if they do not serve to restrain us from sin, shall not serve to exempt us from punishment; nay, the nearer any are to God in profession, and the kinder notice he has taken of them, the more surely, the more quickly, and the more severely will he reckon with them.” Commentary on the Whole Bible, en loc. [↩]
- I believe Moses may be speaking of two sides of the spectrum of sin. On the one hand, you have sins that are committed “unintentionally.” The Hebrew word refers to an act that was not committed with the full engagement of the mind and will. Involuntary manslaughter would be an example of an “unintentional” sin (Num. 35:22ff.; Deut. 19 4-10; Josh. 20:2-6, 9). On the other side of the spectrum, we have the “presumptuous” sin (v. 30). Literally, Moses speaks of the person who does anything with a “high-hand.” The NIV and ESV translate it “defiantly.” Since there is no atonement for this degree of sin, I have a difficult time viewing it simply as “willful” sin in the sense of the mind and will being engaged. In one sense, there are no sins that are absolutely done in ignorance (cf. Rom. 1:18-21; Rom. 2:12-15). Certainly, David’s sin against Bathsheba and Uriah involved some measure of knowledge and intent. Yet David experienced God’s forgiveness (Pss. 32; 51). Obviously, the unpardonable sin of defiance must involve an unusually high degree of knowledge and malice directed towards God. I am inclined to view this sin as identical to or at least of the same category as blasphemy of the Holy Spirit (Matt. 12:31-32; Mark 3:28-30; Luke 12:10). [↩]
- Systematic Theology (Eerdmans, 1941), 252. [↩]
- Wayne Grudem defines the sin as “a malicious, willful rejection and slander against the Holy Spirit’s work attesting to Christ, and attributing that work to Satan.” Systematic Theology (Zondervan, 1994), 494, n. 1. [↩]
- There is a textual variant. Some manuscripts read, aioniou kriseos (‘eternal condemnation,’ NKJ). But the evidence is in favor of the more unusual reading, aioniou hamartematos, which most modern versions follow (cf. ASV, NAS, NIV, ESV, NLT). [↩]
- The descriptive expressions used, “enlightened,” “tasted,” “partaken,” etc., are commonly indicative of a conversion experience (cf. 2 Cor. 4:4-6; Heb. 3:1, 14). This has lead some to the conclusion that such persons were once genuinely saved but lost their salvation. However, I believe such an interpretation should be rejected for the following reasons: first, there are numerous passages of Scripture that teach the preservation and perseverance of all genuine Christians unto the end (John 10:25-27; Rom. 8:30; Phil. 1:6; 1 Pet. 1:1-5). Second, the Bible sometimes attributes religious experiences to those who in fact never were actually converted. For example, in Matthew 7:22-23 Jesus says to certain individuals who could boast of having performed mighty works in Jesus’ name, such as casting out demons, “Depart from me I never knew you.” In Luke 8:13, we read in the Parable of the Sower that some people initially “receive the word with joy” and “believe for awhile,” but they have no “root.” In John 8:30, we are told, “Many believed in Christ.” Immediately following, Jesus says to those who “had believed,” “If you continue in my word, then you are genuinely my disciples” (v. 31). The subsequent interchange between them and Christ reveals that they had not truly believed. Indeed, Jesus goes on to call them children of the devil (v. 44). Peter speaks of individuals who had experienced some sanctifying influence from the truth, but later apostatized (2 Pet. 2:20-21). Then, in the next verse, Peter then suggests that their apostasy has served to reveal what their true nature has been all along: “But it has happened to them according to the true proverb: ‘A dog returns to his own vomit,’ and, ‘a sow, having washed, to her wallowing in the mire.’” Thus it is certainly possible that a person might have a “conversion” experience that proves in the end to be spurious. [↩]
- This interpretation obviously takes the reference to crucifying again the Son of God as figurative for the same kind of hostility that precipitated Jesus’ actual crucifixion (cf. Heb. 10:29). Those who advocate the so-called hypothetical view of Hebrews 6:4-6 take this as a literal reference to another historical crucifixion of Christ. Since such a scenario is in fact impossible, then, they argue, it is likewise impossible that a genuine Christian should ever apostatize. Such an interpretation, while affirming the doctrine of perseverance, minimizes the serious warning presented in these verses. In light of the undeniable warnings directed to believers elsewhere in Hebrews (3:12-13; 10:26-29), it is best not to view the apostasy as merely hypothetical but as potentially real. [↩]
- On the basis of the present participles (‘crucifying afresh’ and ‘putting to an open shame’), some argue that their repentance is impossible only as long as they continue in this state of hostility. Should they relinquish their hostility towards Christ, they could be renewed unto repentance. In this case, their apostasy would not be irreversible. Although this view is grammatically possible and attractive, I do not believe it is correct for the following reasons: first, if the sin of Hebrews 6:4-6 is of the same kind as “blasphemy against the Holy Spirit,” then it is clearly referring to an irreversible state. Jesus clearly states that such a sin is beyond forgiveness in this life and the next (Matt. 12:32; Mark 3:29). Second, it is highly likely the writer is referring to the same scenario later in chapter 10 where he describes individuals who “sin willfully” after having “received the knowledge of the truth.” For such individuals, the writer argues, “there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins” (v. 26). Once again, he seems to be describing an irreversible condition (cf. vv. 27-29). [↩]
- That conclusion becomes even more clear when Peter goes on to compare them to a dog that return to eat its own vomit or to a pig that return to the mud after being washed (v. 22). By returning to their former filthy and repulsive behavior, these apostates have revealed their true nature. [↩]
- Some commentators suggest another interpretation of the “sin unto death.” They believe John is referring to the kind of sin that inevitably results in physical death. Nadab and Abihu (Lev. 10:1-2), as well as Ananias and Saphira (Acts 5:1-11) are given as examples. Other examples might include those who have committed a crime worthy of capital punishment. In these cases, John would saying in essence, It’s not God’s will that such individuals be rescued from a death-sentence. [↩]
- Berkhof gives Jerome and Chrysostom as proponents of this view. Systematic Theology, 252-53. [↩]
- Hebrews was probably written in the 60’s and 1 John in the 90’s. [↩]
- Berkhof sees Hebrews 6 as a particular form of the unpardonable sin that would have been limited to the apostolic age (254). [↩]
- Note in particular the struggles of Abraham (Gen. 11:31-32; 12:10-13; 15:1-3, 8; 16:1-6), Job (Job 42:1-6), John the Baptist (Matt. 10:1-6), Peter (Mark 14:28-31), and other disciples of Christ (Matt. 8:25-26; 16:8; 17:20; 28:17; Mark 9:24; 16:14; Luke 24:25). [↩]
- See Hoekema, 185-86. [↩]
In “A Humble Argument for the Cessation of NT Prophecy and Tongues (
