“Sin is sin” is a tautology. It is true by definition and offers no insight as a singular statement. This implication that is meant by the statement is what bothers me so much- that is the implication that we are all morally equivalent. I’m sure putting it in those terms alone would cause most Christians to object. “That’s not what I meant.” But it is what you implied.

Moral equivalence says that anyone less than perfect is morally equal. And as a matter of fact, we are all as individuals, churches, and nations less than perfect. It does not follow however that we are all equivalent. It is this argument that leads many to say, “The United States does not have the moral authority to police the world or to fight Al-Qaida because the United States commits the sin of __(fill in the blank)__.” Popular sins to fill in include water boarding, racism, or arrogance. It is important to realize the implications of this statement. If only the perfect can make moral judgments, then no one can make moral judgments. It takes away our power to call evil, evil. It is a position of moral cowardice. And it ultimately will result in the harm of countless human beings. For examples of this we need look no further than the last century. In Vietnam, our withdrawal in 1975 resulted in the deaths of 100,000s under the oppression of the communists just in Cambodia and So. Vietnam alone. The Cold War provides another example. It was portrayed as a conflict between two super powers and nothing more. In reality it was a war between the champions of freedom in the Western Hemisphere and the communist forces of death and poverty in the Eastern Hemisphere. This moral equivalence argument left millions dead in Russia and China and left the millions that bought into it stupid in America.

Some sins are worse than others. It is not true to say that the woman who lies about how much she paid for her purse is morally equal to the thug that steals the purse. It is not true to say that the man who gets revenge on the filth that raped his wife is morally equal to Adolph Hilter. Our legal systems, almost everywhere, demonstrate this. We have gradations of guilt and gradations of murder (i.e. First degree, second degree, manslaughter, etc.). And consequentially, we have gradations of punishment (i.e. the death penalty, life in prison, 20 years with parole). We also have gradations of praise. You get a gold star when we you study and perform well on a test in school. When you donate money to a school, you get a building named after you. And when you issue the Emancipation Proclamation, you get a memorial in Washington D.C. First place gets a blue ribbon, fourth gets honorable mention.

When you are morally blameworthy, we believe that the punishment should match the crime. When you are morally praiseworthy, we believe that the recognition should match the heroism. It is our God-given desire for justice that leads us to hold such beliefs, which for many are darn near self-evident truths.

Don’t get me wrong. I know that I fall short of the glory of God and need mercy and forgiveness. When it is ever possible mercy and forgiveness should trump justice, but in many cases pure justice is what is required of us. I pray to God for the humility to realize my own condition. On my own I’m a sinner in need of a savior. I also pray to God for wisdom and discernment that we may always have the courage to stand up for what is right and the clarity to speak the truth.