If you have your copy of God's Word, turn with me this evening first to Mark's Gospel, Mark chapter 12. Mark chapter 12, verse 38 through 40. Mark 12, verse 38-40. Hear now the word of the living God. Then He said to them in His teaching, Beware of the scribes who desire to go around in long robes, love greetings in the marketplaces, the best seats in the synagogues, and the best places at feasts, who devour widows' houses, and for a pretense make long prayers. These will receive greater condemnation. Let's pray. Lord, now we ask that you would grow our minds in understanding the truth of your word and give our hearts greater affection for Christ as the word is preached. Lord, we pray tonight that you would grant to us the ability to hear, to grow, and to know You better. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. We have one simple question tonight, and it's a doctrinal question. And the question is this. Are all sins equal? That's our question. Are all sins equal? If you look at the catechism that we're working our way through that I would again commend to you to use in your personal or family devotions or reading, there are three questions for this week and we're really going to only deal with one of them, but they are interrelated. The first question, question number 87, it's on the back of the bulletin. It goes like this, is any man or woman, is any person able perfectly to keep the commandments of God? The answer is no. No mere man since the fall is able in this life perfectly to keep the commandments of God, but does daily break them in thought, word, and deed." That is something worth proclaiming in our society and our culture today. We certainly don't need to lose sight of the fact that we, in and of our own strength, cannot keep God's righteous requirements. But that's not where we'll focus our immediate attention. The next question is where we will focus. Question, are all transgressions of the law equally heinous, evil, bad, not good? Answer, some sins in themselves and by reason of several aggravations are more heinous in the sight of God than others. And the last question is one that we need to remember. What does every sin deserve? Every sin deserves God's wrath and curse, both in this life and that which is to come. We have finished our look in the Catechism through the pages of Scripture at the Law of God, the Ten Commandments. We hear them read regularly. We know that the Law of God pushes us. It propels us to Christ. We cannot keep the Ten Commandments. We cannot keep God's moral law. And thus, Christ was sent and lived a perfect life in our stead, and the law of God propels us as believers to Christ. But then it's given to us as a means whereby we can, out of desire to glorify the God who has perfectly saved us, rejoice in Him and worship Him and obey Him. as a child does to his or her father. But then the question comes regarding sin. Are all sins equal? I want us to look at three different passages tonight as we look to answer this question. None of these passages by themselves works out a full theology of sin. Really, they're three incidental passages which speak to sin itself. Some of them are referenced in the very question, question number 88, the proofs that are there. But let's look at Mark's gospel. Jesus is teaching and he makes this claim, beware of the scribes. Why should you watch out for them? Why should you beware of them? The religious leaders who, according to his description, love recognition and praise. They love long robes that they can be recognized in. They love greetings in the marketplaces. And by the way, this is not saying that they like to be friendly. They like to be recognized for who they are. They like for you to recognize them. They want the best places to sit in the synagogue. And of course, if you're throwing a feast, they want the seat of honor. They take advantage of others. And just so that they will be seen as religious, seen as spiritual, they make pretense in their long prayers. And then Jesus says something startling. These will receive greater condemnation. So tonight what I want us to do is to see that question 89, which says that every sin is deserving of God's wrath, both in this life and the life to come, That we balance that also with what the scripture says in multiple places about the seeming case that certain sins are worse than others. Certain sins are more heinous than others. Certain sins will or should receive greater condemnation. Well, Jesus makes this claim in Mark chapter 12, but if you've read the Word of God up to Mark chapter 12, you will have already seen this in multiple places. And there are at least two reasons why we can answer yes. Some sins in themselves, and by reasons of their multiple occurrences, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. Two reasons, and then we'll flesh these out with two texts. The first reason is multiple occurrences. Multiple occurrences. When a person sins in the same way over and over and over again, there is a sense in which that pattern of sin is more heinous than one sin repented of and never picked up again. Multiple occurrences. But secondly, we'll see that some sins are more heinous than others because of the type of sin that it is. Now let me say at the forefront of our time together in the Word, that I'm not actually going to give you a list. Because Jesus, in Mark chapter 12, when He says, these will receive greater condemnation. And the psalmist in Psalm 78, when he points to multiple aggravations of sin. And Ezekiel, in Ezekiel 8, when he speaks to the type of sin, None of these places really lay out a list of, these are okay sins, they're just a little bad, and these sins are really, really bad, and if you're in this list, you're the worst of the worst. You see, that's not really the goal. The goal is to see that in Scripture, sin and all of it is to be taken seriously. And yet, we ought to understand that sometimes, pre-Christ, And in some cases, even after Christ, we can fall into sin and patterns of sin, which at their level are varied. So let's look at these two examples of why certain sins might be, quote, more heinous than others. Turn over with me to Psalm 78. Psalm 78. Let's look at just a few verses in Psalm 78. The psalmist here is ultimately pointing to the goodness and mercy and kindness of God amidst a pattern of sin. You see, it's one thing to say, if you sin a lot, that's really bad. But notice what the psalmist is doing. Even amidst this proclamation that there is an ongoing pattern of sin, what is actually trumpeted, what is actually proclaimed, is God's kindness, His mercy. Look at just a few examples. Psalm 78 verse 17. But they sinned even more against Him. By rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. How is it that Israel sinned even more? They committed more sin. Or sin that was even more egregious. Well, look at the verses that came right before it. marvelous things He did in the sight of their fathers, verse 12, in the land of Egypt, in the field of Zoan. He divided the sea and caused them to pass through, and He made the waters stand up like a heap. In the daytime also He led them with the cloud, and all the night with the light of fire. He split the rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink in abundance like the depths. Let me summarize. God has done everything for them. God's goodness to them has been on abundant display. Verse 16, He also brought streams out of the rock and caused waters to run down like rivers. Verse 17, But they sinned even more against Him by rebelling against the Most High in the wilderness. And they tested God in their heart. I'll flip ahead a few sections to Psalm 78 verse 32. In spite of this, they still sinned and did not believe in His wondrous works. I'm going to go all the way down to verse 56. Yet they tested and provoked the Most High God and did not keep. his testimonies. You could read Psalm 78 in one of two ways. You could say, this is an account of God's mercy and just the fact that his people were rebellious. And that would be a fair reading. It's really a history in song form of Israel. This is what God did. This is how you continue to be rebellious. And oftentimes in the scripture, that's the testimony of Israel. God was faithful and you were not. God was faithful and you were not. But the way that this is put together in Psalm 78 is not just that. It is, you continue to be rebellious. But it is this idea that there were, as the catechism writers write it, several aggravations. God's goodness continued to be on display and continued to heighten and your sin and rebellion continued to be on display and continued to heighten. There's a focus here on repetitive and continued sins. And the psalmist essentially lifts up this kind of rebellion as more and more heinous. Because in the side of God's goodness and kindness, which is meant to lead us to repentance, there was hardening and hardening and hardening and rebellion upon rebellion. Brothers and sisters, When we stay in sin and rebellion, when we in the face of God's goodness and mercy continue time and time again to sin, there is a sense in which that continued pattern is more heinous than a sin simply repented of and forsaken. Jesus can say of the scribes in Mark chapter 12, 40, they deserve greater condemnation. We're not given all of the information. Perhaps Jesus' point is they should know better. Or perhaps His point is because of all that is happening, they're misusing the holy things of God for their own ends. Or perhaps like Israel, In Psalm 78, as their history is recounted in the form of song, there is a continued heightening and rebellion. There is a sense, brothers and sisters, in which all sins are equal in that they deserve God's wrath and curse. But there is another sense in which we ought to be very cautious about continued sin and continued rebellion. And you may say, but Jesus died for me. I know that I'm a believer and I'm confessing my sin. Why must I be concerned? Well, even relationally, there's a concern that some sins are more heinous than others simply because as God's goodness is on display and continues to be, our rebellion and disobedience continues to be on display. It's why the wrath of God in Romans chapter 1 is being revealed against all of the ungodliness of man and the wickedness of pagans around the globe. There is more and more and more and more aggravation of sin. So number one, are all sins equal? No, one of the reasons is because of multiple occurrences. But the second reason is because of the type of sin. We're given at least one example of this in the word of God, at least one in Ezekiel chapter eight. Turn there with me, Ezekiel chapter eight. We've said that Jesus can say of the scribes, they deserve greater condemnation. And one of the reasons why not all sins are equally heinous is because of the multiple occurrences of some sin, the hardening, the rebellion. But in Ezekiel, we catch a glimpse, if you will, of another reason why theologically we can say that some sins are more heinous in the sight of God than others. And that is because of the type of sin that it may be. Ezekiel chapter eight, hear the word of God. And it came to pass in the sixth year, in the sixth month, on the fifth day of the month, as I sat in my house with the elders of Judah sitting before me, that the hand of the Lord God fell upon me there. Then I looked and there was a likeness like the appearance of fire, from the appearance of his waist and downward fire, and from his waist and upward like the appearance of brightness, like the color of amber. He stretched out the form of a hand and took me by a lock of my hair, and the Spirit lifted me up between earth and heaven, and brought me in visions of God to Jerusalem, to the door of the north gate of the inner court, where the seat of the image of jealousy was, which provokes to jealousy. And behold, the glory of the God of Israel was there, like the vision that I saw in the plain. Then he said to me, Son of Man, lift your eyes now toward the north. So I lifted my eyes toward the north, and there, north of the altar gate, was this image of jealousy in the entrance. Furthermore, he said to me, Son of Man, do you see what they are doing, the great abominations that the house of Israel commits here, to make me go far away from my sanctuary? Now turn again, you will see greater abominations. So he brought me to the door of the court and when I looked there was a hole in the wall. Then he said to me, son of man, dig into the wall. And when I dug into the wall, there was a door. And he said to me, go in and see the wicked abominations which they are doing there. So I went in and saw, and there every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Israel portrayed all around on the walls. And there stood before them 70 men of the elders of the house of Israel, and in their midst stood Jazaniah, the son of Shaphan. Each man had a censer in his hand. And a thick cloud of incense went up. Then he said to me, Son of man, have you seen what the elders of the house of Israel do in the dark, every man in the room of his idols? For they say, the Lord does not see us. The Lord has forsaken the land. And he said to me, turn again and you will see greater abominations that they are doing. So he brought me to the door of the north gate of the Lord's house, and to my dismay, women were sitting there weeping for Tammuz. Then he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Turn again, you will see greater abominations than these. So he brought me into the inner court of the Lord's house. And there at the door of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about 25 men with their backs toward the temple of the Lord and their faces toward the east. And they were worshiping the sun, S-U-N, toward the east. Then he said to me, Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it a trivial thing to the house of Judah to commit the abominations which they commit here? For they have filled the land with violence. Then they have returned to provoke me to anger. Indeed, they put the branch to their nose. Therefore, I also will act in fury. My eye will not spare, nor will I pity. And though they cry in my ears with a loud voice, I will not hear them. Briefly, what's happening here in Ezekiel? Well, Ezekiel, we learn, was a priest. Ezekiel 1, verse 3. His ministry spanned about 25 years, give or take. In 597 BC, Nebuchadnezzar captured Jerusalem and sent the Hebrews into exile. And Ezekiel was part of that early batch. So Ezekiel is in exile. And now in exile, through an angelic kind of vision or guide, he's taken, if you were, in a vision to Jerusalem. To the place of worship. And he becomes, if you will, during this exile, a prophet. A prophet. He's a priest. who's used as a prophet during the exile. And chapter 8 is a vision of an angelic guide taking him to Jerusalem. But the vision here, boys and girls, is not that he really went to Jerusalem, as much as his vision, his dream, if you will, points to four different kinds of sin. And if you were listening closely as we read Ezekiel chapter 8, it's like the layers of the onion are being peeled back one after another. So quickly, verse 5, the first sin that we see is the worship of the image of jealousy. This is likely a reference to Asherah worship. People have idols. Asherah worship. We've seen of Asherah through the Old Testament. But then in verse 10 we see even greater abominations. This is a repeated statement throughout Ezekiel chapter 8. Evidently there is something that is worse. There is something that is worse or deeper or more heinous. And what is that? Well, in verse 10, we read that they're worshipping beasts and animals. Look there. So I went in and saw, and there every sort of creeping thing, abominable beasts, and all the idols of the house of Egypt portrayed all around on the walls. It's a deeper problem in verse 10 than it was in verse 5. But then notice, He says in verse 13, turn again and you will see greater abominations, greater sins. And the third thing that we see in verses 14 and 15 is the worship of Tammuz, a fertility god. And this god in the pagan lands was thought to have descended to the underworld and the return of this god or goddess brought about vegetation. So we're now not only worshipping idols, but we're worshipping idols depending on them for our very sustenance. Notice what he says next. Turn, verse 15, and you will see greater abominations than these. And what's the greatest level in Ezekiel chapter 8? Well, in verse 16 we read of it, 25 men with their backs toward the temple and their faces toward the east. I really want to jump back into our Leviticus series here and talk about east and west. They're faced away. And what are they worshipping? They're worshipping the Son. Now these 25 men by all accounts are likely priests. And so as we peel back the layer, the greater abomination goes from, this people have idols. This people, even beyond that, even more heinous than that, is saturated with idols. They're everywhere, every creeping thing, they're just abounding. What's even more heinous than this? Now they're looking to these false gods to provide their cycles, to provide their food, to provide their vegetation. And what is even more heinous than that? The priests of the people of God have their backs to Yahweh and their faces to a created Son. Multiple occurrences of sin are one of the reasons why that particular sin or pattern of sin, in some sense, is more heinous in the sight of God. But also because of the type of sin We don't have time to get into all the details, but at the most heinous level, at the worst abominable level of Ezekiel chapter 8, it is the very people of God who are supposed to be leading the people of God in pointing their faces to Yahweh. They themselves, not only are worshipping idols, but they have forsaken their duty, and with them, all of Israel. That's why we can see in places like the New Testament, that those who teach will be what? Held to a higher account. That's weighty. You see, some sins are more heinous in the sight of God. Not because others are innocent and we are guilty. Because there are varying levels of understanding and responsibility, and some sins in and of themselves are more heinous in the sight of God than others. Here in Ezekiel, we just see an example. Greater abominations. In Psalm 78, more sin. Mark chapter 12, greater condemnation. What are we to make of this? What are we to make of this? Well, two things. Firstly, we ought to remember that we are in relationship with God. We are in covenant with God through Jesus Christ. And so our relationship to God as regards sin is a father to his son or to his daughter. But because we're in relationship with God, we need to remember That we can't be flippant and just say, well, all sins are equal, I'll just confess my sins and all will be okay. There is a sense in which some sins are more heinous than the side of our God, our Father. Because we cling to them. Because we keep going back to them. Because they're a continued source of rebellion as His mercy and kindness is on display. But some sins, are more heinous because of what they themselves are. I would submit to you that the church is at the selfsame time justified and sinner. And there are some in the church of Jesus Christ, true born-again believers, who just like Ezekiel 8, verse 5, have idols. That the whole church, in some sense, across the globe, has sins and idols that they turn to. But then there are some in the body of Christ who go to particular kinds of abominable things, that in some sense, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. In Ezekiel's day, it was at the intercourt, at the center of all of the worship of Yahweh. There was gangrenous disease. The priests themselves had turned their backs on the living God. But the other thing we need to remember is this. There is no sin that rises to the level of competing with the grace that is offered in the gospel. Let me say that again. There is no sin which rises to the level of competing, of offering competition, of battling it out. Who's going to win? This sin or God's grace? It's offered in the Gospel. So we can say, in a kind of paradoxical way, that as we wrestle with sins, there are some of our sins that are more heinous in the sight of God than others. Maybe it's because we cling to them tenaciously, and there's multiple aggravation. Or maybe it's because of the type of sin that it is. And at the self-same time, we can say that the antidote for sin is Christ. And whether we're in the innermost level, the greatest abomination of all, or the outermost ring, both of which deserve God's wrath, wherever we find ourselves, when we repent and rest in Christ alone, no sin, no sin competes with the grace of God that is offered in the Gospel. And these things we must hold together. It would be wrong of us to just say, all sin is the same. Everywhere in the Bible, it's all just the same. It's all sin, doesn't matter. It's all sin, we're good. Jesus died for us. We want to understand that in relationship with God, we can fall into patterns of sin, and some sins are more egregious than others. And yet, we must boldly remember that the very antidote for our sin is that the most wrathful thing that could occur to any sinner was poured out on Christ. So the question for you and for me becomes, what sins must I repent of? And, Are there any sins which I think are too great for the blood of Christ? Are all transgressions of the law equally heinous? Some sins in themselves and by reason of several aggravations are more heinous in the sight of God. And to that, We add Paul's words in Ephesians 2 verse 4. But God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive together with Christ. By grace, we have been saved. Let's pray. Almighty God, We boldly rest in your grace and we ask that you would guard us from thinking that sin is inconsequential or even that sin doesn't really matter because all sin is the same and you have saved us from sin. But also guard us, Lord, from thinking that there are some sins that we have committed in our past or even that we're wrestling with now. that are too great for the blood of Christ to wash away. Give us this balance by Your grace through Your Spirit we ask. In Jesus' name, Amen.