Are All Sins Equally Heinous? A Response to Barnabas Piper

In a recent article, Barnabas Piper criticizes Christians for the manner in which they confront the sin of homosexuality.  The problem with these confrontations, argues Piper, is that they are not equally distributed over other sins.  What about the sin of fornication?  Or divorce?  Why do these not get equal attention?

This is certainly one of the most common objections to Christians who confront homosexuality.  But, I think there are a number of problems with it.  Let me mention just a few:

1.  This objection can be a distraction from the real issue.  When someone is confronted with sin, one of the most common defenses is to “accuse the accuser.” Maybe they weren’t compassionate enough.  Maybe they weren’t gentle enough.  Maybe the confrontation wasn’t executed precisely right.

While these reverse accusations might even be true, they are often made in order to deflect attention from the main issue, namely the sin in a person’s life.  There is no better way to avoid repentance than to say to one’s accuser, “Oh, yeah? Well you sin too.” The best defense is a good offense.

It would be like complaining to the police officer about getting a speeding ticket simply because he didn’t give everyone in your lane a speeding ticket.

Thus, when Christians have the courage to confront a sin like homosexuality in our culture (and yes, it does take courage), I am not sure the main focus needs to be on how poorly they confront other sins.    Continue at Canon Fodder