Are All Sins Equal? This Actor Says…

Published: October 21, 2025

By Kayla DeKraker

Is anger the same as murder, and is lust the same as adultery? Kirk Cameron and his son James Cameron dove into this topic on a recent episode of “The Kirk Cameron Show” podcast.

“Are all sins equal, or will God judge some sins harsher than others?” James asked at the beginning of the episode.

The question is based off of Mark 5:21-22:

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.

James continued, “I looked into the scriptures and the context revolving around this idea, and what I found was really interesting and I want to share that with you.”

Like James, many of us have wondered “Is all sin the same?”

“Jesus was saying that just because you have not committed adultery or murder does not mean that you are not guilty,” James explained. “There is an overarching branch in which God condemns which starts at the seed of lust and ends in the culmination of depravity of adultery. It’s the seed of anger which ends in murder. And God is not just condemning the end — the absolute worst you could possibly do — but He’s condemning the beginning which leads to that.”

Kirk chimed in on the topic, “All sin has the same consequence whether it’s lust or adultery, hatred or full-blown taking somebody’s life.”

James added, “You have to acknowledge that there is a hierarchy of punishment based on the gravity of the sin committed.”

“I think this is solid grounds to say that God does not punish all sins equally. Some things are worse, and it will be worse for those who commit those sins than it is for others,” Kirk said.

Are all sins equal?

However, just because some sins have greater consequences does not mean that lesser sins should be ignored.

James emphasized, “If you are looking at sin as permissible in any way and justifying your sin because it’s not as bad as what it could be, that is the heart of an unbeliever.”

Joe Stanley, a M.Div., echoed the Camerons take in an article for Grand Canyon University.

“The Book of Proverbs (6:16-19) identifies seven things that God hates although there is not any punishment proscribed for those,” he wrote. “Scripture clearly indicates that God does view sin differently and that He proscribed a different punishment for sin depending upon its severity. While God does see sin differently, we now have Jesus to forgive us of our sin.”

Praise Jesus for His death and resurrection that bridges the gap caused by our sin, no matter how big or small, and makes our standing right before God.

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