They weren't just sinners. They were sinners before the Lord exceedingly.
They were wicked. That means that they were worse, are you listening?
Worse than other sinful cities.
This was not just a sinful city. This was an exceeding sinful city.
So how can you have an exceeding sinful city if all sins equal?
Now let me explain to you several Biblical reasons why all sin is not equal.
Number one, first of all just common sense. Before we even go to the Bible,
just use a little common sense. You think that me murdering somebody is the same
as me stealing a pencil from off the desk somewhere?
Same thing! You're just as bad because you stole that pencil as somebody who goes on a postal killing spree.
You work at the post office? You stole a pencil? That's just as bad as going down there with a machine gun.
Now anybody who believes that I would venture is borderline insane.
I mean, wouldn't that be like an insane person that would just think, "Yup, it's the same thing."
You'd say, "Are you nuts?"
So that's the common sense argument.
Now here's some Biblical argument. How about when Jesus stood before Pontius Pilate?
And let me ask this, was Pontius Pilate committing sin by sending Jesus to the cross?
Yes, yes.
Absolutely he was committing sin. Was he not?
I mean, he washed his hands and said, "Oh, I'm free from the blood of this just person."
Does that really mean that he's free from the blood of that just person?
No. Pontius Pilate was guilty before God. He committed the sin of sending Jesus Christ
to an unwarranted death. He was a righteous, he was without sin, and yet he was condemned
to death by Pontius Pilate. But you know what Jesus told Pontius Pilate? He said, "He that
delivered me unto you has the greater sin." So, if all sin is equal in God's eyes, then
how could one person have a greater sin than the other? It's all equal! The term "greater
sin" would make zero sense if all sin is equal. It wouldn't even make sense. You can't have
a greater sin if all sin is equal. Just have another sin. But he said, "He that delivered
you unto me has the greater sin." Who was he referring to? The Jews. That's why throughout
the book of Acts, that's where you will see them mention the Romans, but it's mainly directed
at the Jews saying, "You took Jesus and crucified him with wicked hands." Because Jesus considered
them more guilty. They were the ones who shouted, "Crucify him!" They were the ones who'd seen
the miracles. Pilate hadn't seen the miracles. Pilate didn't really know Jesus as well as
they did. They knew him and saw the miracles. They heard the preaching and chose to reject
it and to cry out, "Crucify him!" And when Pilate said, "I'm free from the blood of this
just person," you know what they said in response? "His blood be on us and on our children!"
And God looked at that and said, "They have the greater sin!" But all sins equal?
No, I think not. Also, Jesus spoke to the Pharisees and said that not only did they
devour Widow's houses, but for a pretense they made long prayer. He said, "Therefore shall they
receive the greater damnation." So if we have greater sins and greater damnation, how can you
say all sins equal? Okay, here's another argument. There's no verse in the Bible that says all sins
equal. Won't be the verse that says that one sin is just as bad as another. And people will say,
"Well we, in our mind, it's different, but in God's eyes it's all equal." According to what scripture?
There's no scripture that says that. Now the only scripture that even comes close to that,
that I've seen people try to use, is the one that says, "Whosoever shall keep the whole law,
and yet offend in one point, he's guilty of all. For he that said, "Do not commit adultery," said,
"Also do not kill." Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor
of the law." So all God is saying there is that, even if you haven't committed all the sins on the
list, committing one sin makes you a transgressor of the law. You are in violation of God's law.
Even if you've never committed adultery, if you've killed, you're in violation. It doesn't matter
whether it's stealing, or adultery, or lying, or killing. If you break any of God's laws,
you are a transgressor of the law. You are condemned as a sinner. You are condemned to hell,
period, unless you receive salvation through Jesus Christ. So just saying that people are all
condemned as sinners, just saying, well, you know, Adolf Hitler is condemned to hell, okay,
and Mother Teresa is condemned to hell. They're both Roman Catholics. They both believe the same
false religion. They're both in hell, but you can't sit there and say, well, Mother Teresa was as bad
as Adolf Hitler or, you know, or whatever. I'm just saying, you know, that doesn't compute because
there are all kinds of people in hell today. There are people like Jeffrey Dahmer in hell, and then
there are people in hell who were fairly normal nice people who just didn't believe in Jesus Christ.
Were those people as bad as Jeffrey Dahmer? No, but they're both condemned. They're both transgressors.
They're both sinners. They're both punished in hell. Are they receiving the same damnation?
Well, Jesus said that some receive a greater damnation, okay? And so that the point is that
not there's no scripture that says all sin is equal. James 2 10 is the closest you can get,
and it just simply does not say that. If it did say that, it would contradict some other scriptures.
But here's a whole other argument on top of that. If all sins equal in God's eyes, then why did God
lay out different punishments for different sins in the Old Testament law? Why was one type of
stealing punished four-fold and one type of stealing punished five-fold? Why were some types
of crimes punished with strikes or a beating? Other types of crimes were punished with death.
And why were there different punishments for different crimes if all crimes equal? Because
the very concept of justice says that the punishment matches the crime. And that's why the scales of
justice are there as the symbol for justice. Here's the crime on this side. The punishment
sets things right. The punishment balances the scales. And so that's why there are different
punishments in the Bible for different crimes. Murdering somebody is not the same punishment
as stealing somebody's cow. Now there are times in the United States of America where if you stole
somebody's cow, they'd hang you. You'd be put to death, right? In the Old West there were times
when they would execute cattle thieves. But is that biblical to execute a cattle thief? No,
it's not biblical. Because the Bible specifically lays out things that warrant death penalty.
Stealing is not one of them. Now, a cattle thief should have to pay back four-fold. Maybe there
could be a beating in order, but they should not be put to death. However, a murderer, an adulterer,
or a rapist should be put to death, okay? Because the punishment has to match the crime. It's not
like, oh, you're speeding? Death. Can you imagine? The city of Tempe, making the law. Red light
violation? Minimum? Fine. Dead. Okay. Minimum punishment for violating a red light? Death.
And you'd say, that's not fair, and they'd say, well, you should have stopped at that red light.
You should have obeyed the law. No, because you'd say, it doesn't matter, even if I broke the law,
the punishment needs to fit the crime. But you say, well, all sins equal. Well, it just makes no sense
on any level. We just looked at it like four different ways. It just doesn't make any sense.
But it's just something that you hear over and over again. You start to just believe it.
You just repeat it like a parrot. And you're not thinking anymore. You just repeat it. It isn't true.
It's a lie. It's false. Now you say, why are you so worked up about that? Why are you so mad about
that? Because I'm here to tell you tonight that the people that were living in Sodom were not just
ordinary sinners. They were exceedingly sinful. Amen. Amen. And don't sit there and tell me
that what they did in Sodom was just as bad as any other sin because it's a lie. It was worse.
That's right. Because he said they were wicked and they were exceedingly sinful. Does God rain
fire and brimstone on every pencil thief? No. Does God rain fire and brimstone on everyone who tells
a lie? Everyone who commits sin? No. But did God rain fire and brimstone upon Sodom? Yes he did.
Now why were they wicked and sinners before the Lord exceeded them? What was their sin?