Are All Sins Equal? Understanding the Hierarchy of God’s Law

When Christians talk about the law, we are talking about the first five books of the Old Testament, which include the Ten Commandments. The law will not pass away, does not change, and reveals to us what is right and what is wrong, even if we may personally disagree.

There is a right way to understand the law, and there is a wrong way.

Most people know about the Ten Commandments, but not many realize these commandments are actually like headings with subtext.

Beneath the Ten Commandments, we find hundreds of additional laws in the Bible that also fall under their authority. These include specific instructions, such as not mixing wool and linen and the command of circumcision.

Typically, these additional laws are where people have the most trouble. It’s hard to argue that murder is wrong, but not eating bacon?

Unbelievers frequently point to these more obscure laws in hopes that Christians will feel condemned or see themselves as hypocrites for expecting anyone to obey the law at all when we don’t. But, of course, the point of the law is to show us that we are already condemned and need a Savior, not to compare our righteousness to theirs.

The unbeliever and the Christian see the law in two different ways. One calls it evil while declaring himself to be good; the other calls it good while declaring himself to be evil and in need of a Savior. We are not hypocrites because we acknowledge our sins. And we are not condemned because we have a Savior.

Because the law can no longer condemn the Christian, we are free to love it and even embrace it. It isn’t a ball and chain; it’s a companion that makes us better—not so we can compare ourselves to others, but so we can become who we were always meant to be: the bride of Christ.

Knowing that, let’s look at the law from that point of view. Let’s understand it and apply it to our hearts. Let’s learn how the law is actually structured and why it matters.

The Structure of the Law

The Ten Commandments

1. Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
2. Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image.
3. Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.
4. Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
5. Honor thy father and thy mother.
6. Thou shalt not kill.
7. Thou shalt not commit adultery.
8. Thou shalt not steal.
9. Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor.
10. Thou shalt not covet.

These are the Ten Commandments. They can be further summarized as two universal laws: love God and love others.

These two commandments are not typically listed alongside the Ten Commandments. Instead, they are often presented on their own. That is because they are universal laws upon which even the Ten Commandments—and every other law—are based.

From these two universal laws, God breaks the law down further into bite-sized pieces: the Ten Commandments, which naturally flow from these two. Then He goes even further, listing hundreds of additional commands that flow from those ten.

These are found throughout Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy.

Understanding the Small Details of the Law

When you move from these universal laws, which God has placed in the hearts of all people, to the smaller laws, many people become confused. They don’t understand how things like eating bacon or mixing two types of cloth can possibly be unloving.

But these laws actually explain in greater detail how the higher laws should be applied. Think of these laws as what some call “gray areas.” To weak eyes, there appears to be a gray area between black and white. They seem to blend together. But in reality, there is a clear dividing line—no actual mixing.

These laws often begin with the words “if” and “when,” which tells us that circumstances determine whether and how they apply. For example, if I told you that a man was found standing over someone’s body holding a knife, and you had to judge the situation, you would most likely start asking clarifying questions.

Who were the two people? Was there a struggle? Was it intentional? Why did he do it? You are trying to determine the circumstances.

You ask these questions because you already know that, despite not having all the information needed to judge properly, there is still a black-and-white line somewhere. These questions help you see that line more clearly. Once you have the details, the line becomes clear.

So when we read these smaller, more “questionable” laws, we have to understand that context is important. Why does God tell certain people not to eat bacon? Why does He tell certain people not to mix fabrics? When do these laws apply to the situation? How can something that may seem unrighteous or unnecessary actually be applied in a way that is loving?

I won’t go into detail explaining how to understand each of these laws right now. It would be an entire course on just the law if I did. But you now have an idea of how to begin studying them for yourself.

There is another reality about the structure of the law that must also be understood.

The Hierarchy of the Law

Notice in Matthew 22:40, Jesus tells us that all the law and the prophets hang on love. Everything flows down through it. This tells us something else that not many people recognize: the law is actually a structured hierarchy. Meaning, some commands take precedence over others.

In multiple places in Scripture, we read that certain sins are greater than others, and that certain laws carry more weight than others. Jesus told Pilate that his sin was not as great as the sin of the one who handed Him over. He also told the Pharisees that they were focused on the lower matters of the law while neglecting the higher.

Yet many believe that if you break one law in order to follow another, then you are still guilty of sin.

This passage is often misunderstood to mean that all laws are equal and that breaking one of them makes you guilty of breaking them all individually. But that is not exactly what it is saying.

This passage speaks of overall guilt. You may not have committed adultery, but if you have murdered, you are still a transgressor of the law. It does not mean you committed adultery when you committed murder. It is simply saying that one act of disobedience is enough to make you a lawbreaker.

In other words, it doesn’t matter whether the sin seems big or small—breaking the law is still breaking the law.

What it does not teach is that no command can ever be weighed against another in priority.

How the Laws of God Function in Harmony

As an example, consider a sign that says, “Stay off the grass.” Now imagine someone in the middle of the field having a heart attack. Would paramedics be breaking the law if they walked on the grass to help them?

In this case, the priority is to save a life. The law of love for human life overrides the law against walking on the grass. Therefore, they have not truly broken the law, as the greater law overrides the lesser one.

In legal contracts, there is often a phrase such as “shall have control,” which indicates that a certain part of the contract overrides other aspects of the contract when there is a conflict. That is similar to how law functions: in situations of conflict, the higher law takes precedence over the lower.

This principle is why some people in the Bible—and even today—accused Jesus of sin. They saw Him perform miracles on the Sabbath and accused Him of violating the Sabbath laws requiring no work. In effect, they were trying to charge Him with walking on the grass when the circumstances warranted that the lower law being overridden.

Jesus explained that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. The greater law of love takes precedence over the law of Sabbath rest. Therefore, no law was broken, as the lower law was overridden by the higher one.

This is the proper way to discern what is and is not lawful. It is what the Pharisees did not understand and, as a result, they condemned the innocent. In trying to keep the small details of the law, they broke the higher laws. As Jesus said, they strained at a gnat and swallowed a camel.

This is also what unbelievers often do when focusing on the lower laws. Not only do they misunderstand the purpose of the law, but they also misunderstand how it should be applied.

Doing Evil That Good May Come

Some will claim this means the ends justify the means. They will say this gives permission, for example, to lie in order to further the gospel, because in their mind it is loving, which is the highest command. But that is not true at all.

Paul made it a point to say “I speak as a man” because he wanted us to understand that this is how the carnal mind—the typical human thought process—works, not the Spirit of God. This is one of the dangers of handling the law: if you do not handle it properly, you can end up breaking it while trying to uphold it.

The Bible teaches that the law is spiritual and must be spiritually discerned. This means there is more to the law than what meets the eye. It also means that those who are carnally minded will struggle to understand it.

Like any legal system, understanding the law requires learning and guidance. A Christian should be well-versed in Scripture. Without this foundation, many people will misunderstand or misinterpret the law—especially those who are carnally minded. Ultimately, we need the Spirit of Christ to help us discern it.

It is by the Holy Spirit that we are able to understand when one law takes precedence over another. He is the one who knows when it is absolutely necessary. If it is not necessary and we break a lower law thinking we are keeping a higher one, then we have misapplied the law and committed sin.

Claiming that love gives us permission to do anything as long as it is for the greater good is wrong. Love does not rejoice in iniquity; it rejoices in the truth. It does not use evil as a shortcut. Only in certain situations does one law actually override another.

This passage is an example of a situation that required a lower law to be overridden. In order to save the lives of innocent children, these midwives lied. We see that rather than punishing them for breaking the law, God actually blessed them. They had not sinned because the lower law was controlled by the higher one.

This pattern is seen in multiple places throughout the Bible.

Rahab lied to protect the lives of these men, and the Bible says she was justified. In other passages, we see David eating bread that was not lawful, yet Jesus justified him. There are many examples of actions that would otherwise be considered unlawful being justified when a lower law is subject to a higher one.

People sometimes lie and are blessed for it; other times they are condemned. This is not because the Bible contradicts itself, but because situations sometimes require one law to override another.

This is why people sometimes lied, stole, or even killed, yet were blessed by God rather than punished. Even today, we recognize extenuating circumstances where a person must “break” a lower law in order to uphold a higher one.

It is the spirit of the law that truly matters. This is the true structure and proper application of the law.

But what if the law does not address a subject? What if people disagree about whether something is a sin or not? Should we judge others? In the next study, I will explain the biblical way to approach difficult matters such as this.

Continue To Unit 2:5 – Does the Bible Really Say “Judge Not”? Handling Disagreements in Love OR

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