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Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – Are All Sins the Same?

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Now it came to pass on the next day that Moses said to the people, “You have committed a great sin.”

—Exodus 32:30

Are some sins greater, or worse, than others? Our knee-jerk reaction might be that all sin is the same. But actually that is not true. All sin is not the same. According to the Scriptures, some sins are more offensive to God than other sins are.

Now in a broad sense, all sin is wrong, from the smallest infraction to the grossest, outright sin. It all separates us from God. Even one sin can separate us from God. Jesus made this clear in the Sermon on the Mount when He pointed out that lusting is as bad as committing adultery, and hating is as bad as murdering.

In one sense, adultery and lust are the same. But in another sense, they are different. In one sense, murder and hate are the same thing. But in another sense, they are different. Some sins have greater ramifications than others, but all sin separates us from God.

Jesus said to Pontius 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).

I think Jesus was referring here to either Caiaphas or Judas. Caiaphas was the high priest, the man who represented God and was supposed to be close to God. Judas was one of the handpicked disciples of the Lord. So if Jesus was referring to them, it really was, in effect, the same sin they would have committed. And what was this “greater sin”? It was sinning when they knew better.

The worst sin people can commit, the unforgivable sin, is the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, which is the outright rejection of Christ. And as Hebrews 2:3 says, “How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation?”

Our Daily Bread

Our Daily Bread — Insignificant

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Our Daily Bread

Luke 3:2-6,15-18

The Word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness. —Luke 3:2

“Movers and shakers” are people climbing the ladder of influence and success. Luke 3 mentions seven prominent leaders who exercised control in the society of their time. Roman Emperor Tiberias Caesar held the power of life and death over people in his far-flung empire. Pontius Pilate represented Rome as governor of Judea; while Herod, Philip, and Lysanias kept people in line at the regional level. Annas and Caiaphas served as high priests, taking their religious authority seriously.

While these power brokers flexed their political muscles, “the Word of God came to John the son of Zacharias in the wilderness” (v.2). Who could seem less important than this obscure man living in the desert and listening for God’s voice? What could John the Baptist possibly accomplish by “preaching a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins”? (v.3). Yet multitudes came to John seeking truth, turning from their wrongs, and wondering if he could be the Messiah (vv.7,15). John told them, “One mightier than I is coming . . . . He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire” (v.16).

John’s life helps us understand what it means to be significant in God’s eyes. Like John, may everything we say and do point others to Jesus. —David McCasland

Lord, help us to surrender our desire for influence

and success to You. May our heart’s desire ever be to be

used by You to further Your kingdom.

Make our lives a living testimony of You.

Our surrender to God precedes His significant work in our life.

Bible in a year: Song of Solomon 6-8; Galatians 4

 

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Greg Laurie – Knowledge and Responsibility

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But Peter and the other apostles answered and said: “We ought to obey God rather than men.” —Acts 5:29

There is a movement afoot in our country to redefine marriage and family. Media and modern culture are pushing for same-sex marriage. The normalization of homosexuality is also gaining momentum, illustrated by television programs such as Modern Family and The New Normal.

With the emphasis on gay marriage and homosexuality in general, you would think a huge percentage of today’s population must be gay. Some advocates say it is as high as 25 percent. Many accept the premise that it is at least 10 percent. But an extensive survey, the largest of its kind, was recently completed by the Gallup polling agency. The survey, which interviewed 120,000 Americans, revealed that 3.4 percent of the U.S. population is gay. That includes gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender Americans. Even though it represents a small percentage of the population, it has become a major topic, and it has come right to the doorstep of the church.

People like to portray Christians as gay bashers. But that is not the case at all. We don’t see this as a worse sin, necessarily, than any other sin. I don’t see the Bible distinguishing the sin of homosexuality as the greatest of all sins. In fact the Bible does talk about greater and lesser sins, but it would appear that the worst sin would be to sin against the light.

Let me illustrate. Jesus said to Pontius Pilate, a hardened, pagan, Roman man, “The one who delivered Me to you has the greater sin” (John 19:11). What would be a greater sin than sending Jesus to be executed after he had been scourged, as Pilate had done? A greater sin was committed by the high priest Caiaphas, who should have known better. He is the one who sent Jesus to Pilate. That was the greater sin.

Knowledge brings responsibility. And if the Bible says something is a sin, then it is a sin.