All Sin Is Not The Same S. Ezekiel 16:51-52 “Even Samaria did not commit half of your sins. You have done far more detestable things than your sisters ever did. They seem righteous compared to you. Shame on you! Your sins are so terrible that you make your sisters seem righteous, even virtuous.” God views sin in different levels of detestability and severity. He said the sins Israel had committed were far more detestable than other sins. He said Samaria was not as sinful as Israel. He compared others sins to others. He notes that some people are more sinful than others. We have grown up hearing God sees all sin as the same, but with different levels of consequence. I dont think thats a true statement of belief. Many times in the prophets and OT and NT God points out that some are sinning more than others and some are acting more righteously than others. And some are are committing more heinous sins than others. There are levels to sin. All sin is not the same, but all still sin.

God is so just and holy that He would not allow our sin to go unpunished. God is so loving and full of grace that He sent His own son to die for our sins in our place. Just and holy- for punishing sin. Loving and gracious- for taking our place. He accomplished both justice and love in the same action. His justice wasn’t diminished and His love was amplified. God often shows dual sides of His nature in how He works. This shows up in other ways in Scripture. He is the same God who gives grace to the humble, and yet resists the proud. He is the same God who gives eternity in heaven freely to any who will call on His name and yet says “Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels” to those who reject Him (Matthew 25:41). He is the same God who says everyone is made in God’s image and yet calls the state to bear the sword and punish the wrongdoer. When our view of God comes from only a half lens of Scripture, harmful and often dangerous effects almost always follow.

There are other Jesus' people proclaim who are not the real Jesus. There are other spirits who are not the Holy Spirit. There are different gospels than the real gospel. “But I am afraid that as the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere and pure devotion to Christ. For if someone comes and proclaims another Jesus than the one we proclaimed, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or if you accept a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it readily enough.” ‭‭2 Corinthians‬ ‭11‬:‭3‬-‭4‬ ‭ESV‬‬

Yesterday, I came across a FB post from an old buddy I used to go to church with. We were never that tight, but we worked together on a couple of projects for construction. He made a post thinking he’d made a breakthrough in theology about the divinity of Christ because he’s been trying to read directly out of the Greek (even though to my knowledge he does not know Greek). He claimed that Jesus is the Son of God, but is not God Himself. His views aligned closely with Arianism of the 3rd century. I wanted to post my response to Him here in case it helps anyone understand why as Christians we believe that Jesus is the same God and of the substance of the Father and the Holy Spirit. 3 persons, 1 God. 3 persons, 1 substance. 3 roles, 1 God. Let me know what you think or if you’d add any other thoughts. Here’s my response: “I agree the concept of the Trinity is hard to understand. But then if we could understand everything about God, would He really be God? Ha. I do think some Scripture seems to contradict some or your current view. Not at all trying to come at you, but this is a pretty important aspect of our faith so I figured I’d chime in with what I believe is true. Let me share a compilation of Scripture that I think supports the divinity of Christ and shows why most of church history has affirmed it and why the Council of Nicea addressed Arianism head on (a similar view to yours). Take a look at these and let me know what you think. Happy to take the convo offline in PM’s or whatever. “Philip said to him, “Lord, show us the Father, and it is enough for us.” Jesus said to him, “Have I been with you so long, and you still do not know me, Philip? Whoever has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me? The words that I say to you I do not speak on my own authority, but the Father who dwells in me does his works.” ‭‭John‬ ‭14‬:‭8‬-‭10‬ ‭ Jesus is bothered because Philip asks Jesus to “show us the Father” because He says seeing knowing Him is just like knowing the Father. He says if someone has seen Him, they’ve seen the Father. The Father is “in” Jesus and Jesus is “in” the Father.

I just put together a quick 8-slide TikTok breakdown on the resurrection of Jesus — and I focused it specifically for skeptics. Instead of starting with "the Bible says," I stuck to the minimal facts that the majority of New Testament scholars (including atheists like Bart Ehrman) actually accept: - Jesus really died by crucifixion - His tomb was found empty shortly after - The disciples believed they saw the risen Jesus (in groups, not just alone) - This belief started extremely early — within 1-5 years - Skeptics like Paul and James (Jesus’ brother) suddenly became believers, and the original cowards turned into bold martyrs The big question the slides asks is: What’s the best explanation for all of these facts together? Most natural theories (stolen body, wrong tomb, mass hallucination, etc.) struggle to cover everything at once. The resurrection seems to fit the data surprisingly well. Would love your thoughts: What’s the strongest counter-explanation you’ve heard? Or which of the five facts do you find most surprising? Drop your take below 👇 Let’s discuss respectfully — believers, skeptics, and everyone in between welcome.