By It is a regrettable habit of our souls to compare sins to one another. We feel justified for committing ‘lesser sins’ or we feel unforgivable for committing some ‘great sin’. Forgetting that the standard of righteousness is God’s holiness, we develop a theology of ‘big sins and small sins’.
Romans 3:23 pulls us back up to God’s standard with its practical definition of sin.
for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 3:23
It is true, even under the detailed Law of Moses, that there are indeed sins that require greater earthly consequences than other sins. For example, theft under the Law of Moses required repayment seven-fold, while murder demanded the death penalty. But when all sin is defined as fall short of the glory of God, then we realise that all sin is equally condemned in eternity.
We as Christians must never evaluate our sins in terms of other sins. Rather, when we place each of our sins in opposition to God’s glory, then each one of them becomes as hated as the other, and, by direct implication, we are drawn to confess each of them. 1 John 1:9 offers the good news that even though each sin is truly sinful, each sin is also truly forgiven when confessed to the Lord.
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
1 John 1:9