R.C. Sproul

I turn my mind to other things.

Sometimes I'm more interested in learning the things of this world than I am about learning the Word of God.

Now, we all know that not one of us for a single day keeps the great commandment, but we're at ease in Zion about it.

We're not really under great conviction from that matter because we look around and we see that nobody loves the Lord their God with all of their heart and all of their soul and all their mind and all their strength, so what's the big deal if I don't?

Now remember in the inquiry that came to Jesus from the scribe was that Jesus was being asked about the great commandment, the first in terms of importance.

And the Jews of that day made a distinction between heavy law and lighter law.

There were 613 some laws found in the Torah.

And the scribes distinguished between the heavy ones and the light ones.

And even Jesus does that to some degree when He talks about the least of the commandments.

and those commandments that are weightier than others.

The New Testament recognizes that there's a love that covers a multitude of sins.

Those are real sins, but nevertheless, they don't call for public ecclesiastical discipline, and then we find lists repeated in the New Testament of those heinous crimes that destroy the church and require ecclesiastical discipline.

So distinctions are made between lesser and greater laws.

None is so small as to be insignificant.

As Calvin responded to the Roman Catholic distinction between mortal and venial sin, he said, no sin is so slight that it doesn't deserve death, but no sin so great that it actually destroys the grace of God in our souls.

But

If I were to ask you, what's the most serious sin of all?

What would you say?

Murder?

Adultery?