Are all sins equal? The answer to that and other questions are in this edition of key life. Hi, I'm Mike Kellogg and you are now listening to key life where you can find honest answers to honest questions about God's word. Now, here is Steve. Thanks, Mike. Pete Allen said, my pastor has come in and we do that for a number of reasons because I like Pete because he says profound things because he's my pastor and knows dirt on me. And I want him to be partnership with me in this because he's on our board and they pay my salary because it's just good to have you here on Friday. Anyway, Pete, thanks for coming in. We'd love to get your questions. You got to write them down. Send them to key life post office box 5,000, Madeleine Florida 32794. Key life Canada post office box 32150, Cambridge, Ontario in 3H5M3. You can email us at Steve at keylife.org but be ensuring it includes your regular mailing address if you want an answer. You can get an answer from me or a staff member on the broadcaster in the magazine and don't use the 1-800 key life number. You can get pamphlets free, the tapes free. You can get the magazine free. You can make the contribution that you got to write your questions down. Pete, why don't you lead us in prayer and we'll turn to these questions. All right. Father, today we do come into your presence and Lord, we thank you for your goodness. We thank you that you are the Triune God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit and we honor you and worship you. We recognize you created us and that Jesus saved us and that the Holy Spirit continues to be our helper and guide and companion. One very close to us and in us and we are safe because we're wrapped up in you. Lord, we honor you today and we look forward to this weekend where we can gather with the rest of your people and worship. Lord, if we don't have a church yet, I pray that you'd help us find one and help us to connect up. And we pray for our leaders that you would be with those who are going to teach us and lead us in worship. We have our worship leaders and pastors, priests, the teachers that will be standing in front of us. Lord, help them to teach us the word and to explain it and help us apply it. And then Lord, by your spirit, help us apply it and to live the grace that you have shown us in your Son. So Lord, we look forward to that and now we have some questions and we ask that you would give us wisdom as we deal with them. That we wouldn't spread any error but that your truth is always would prevail. We ask Steve and this ministry, bless it Lord and provide for it. We ask that more and more could know more about the grace that we have in Christ. We commit our time to you now in Jesus' name. Amen. Pete, the first question is from Florida. Are old sins equal? Are there mortal and venial sins? Are there, is there a higher? Yeah, I'd say there sure does seem to be some biblical warrant for some sins being worse than others. A level but before God, God is holy in a violation of one aspect of the laws of violation of the whole law. Right, would you agree? Oh yeah, and our righteousness is as a rag that I wash my car with. Yeah, it does seem like a little white lie is not near as bad as murder. I think you have to put your mind on hold and have the brains of an amoeba to say there's no difference. And I don't know anybody that you know that hasn't recently had an attack of sanity that doesn't wouldn't of course agree with that. Which is not to say the white lie is okay and that murder isn't. But it's to say there are some sins which do cause incredible damage. And there are other sins that cause less damage. If you're a pagan and thinking, well if I can only do the little ones I can get to have and know you can't. Because you've done all, I mean that's the same as doing the big ones. That's right, that's right. But within the church I'd sure rather have somebody tell a white lie then steal from the treasure stealing from the offering plate. Yeah. Because I can cause one does affect your salary even one. But you're right. Of course there is a hierarchy of sin and that's common sense. You know in the one theological structure that says a mortal sin kills your salvation and a venial sin does not. You know that's no good. I mean that's not biblical. And this is a particularly Protestant answer to that. A mortal sin for us is a sin that leads to death, physical death, like my father was an alcoholic. And I believe that contributed to his death. And then you and I both have done funerals for people where Sorosius of the liver was the primary cause of the death. And so that becomes a mortal sin. The drunkenness is a mortal sin. And we realize there are other views of that. But we don't believe in losers now. That's right. That's right. I don't can't lose mine. That's probably our all our sins for giving you. Yeah. Yeah. In Christ. You know I told that so often on this broadcast because I think God wanted me to. But Jeffrey Dahmer was reading my book on grace when he was killed in prison. I think about that everyone. And I thought this evangelist, a wonderful man wrote me a letter and just said I thought you ought to know he had your book on grace open on his bed when they killed him. For those of you who don't remember who Jeffrey Dahmer is, he was the guy who invited people to dinner and ate him. And for dinner. I mean, I don't want to make fun of him because he's awful. I mean, it was so. And I just thought, Lord, no. I mean, I wouldn't mind a murderer reading my book on grace or somebody had robbed a bank but not Jeffrey Dahmer. And I sense that God said if it's not true for him, it's not true for anybody. So yeah. I mean, that's a powerful thing. I think his conversion was real from what I heard. I don't know. All I know is who knows. You know what my philosophy is. I got this from Bruce Fogger to your friend of mine in Dallas. Forgive him all and let God decide. Not a bad thing. Not a bad thing. Yeah. You know, we talked about eternal security. That's an email question, which is the next question. What is your position on the eternal security once they've always said? Yeah. Well, we're, you know, we're classic and historic Presbyterians. So we believe in perseverance of the saints or preservation of the saints. We're really, you know, yeah, sure. We will persevere in our faith. We will stay Christians because God preserves us. He keeps us. He holds us. And that's what eternal securities. Yeah. So we're there. Most Christians, Bible believing question. Christians, whether they're Wesleyan or Calvinist, believe in that in one form or two. Absolutely. I think most Wesleyans would say, well, theoretically, you're the loser's salvation. But you can't every time you sin, loser's salvation. I mean, they would see it as something far more profound than that. Yeah. And so most people believe that God holds us and that we walk within it. And if it were up to us, we probably would have lost a long time ago. Let me see. Well, that was the next. I mean, it's almost like you answered the next question before I get to the next question. This is from Florida to our sins forgiven, where we justified completely and totally by the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus Christ. Do we have to be guilty anymore? You know, that question sounds like it's written from somebody who knows that that's the truth, but doesn't feel it. Yeah. And I can, I'm sad with you there. You know, I know that, yes, the whole vicarious atonement of Christ, He did it for us and it was complete and, you know, thorough absolute. But there's times when we just can't bow, we can't feel it. And we don't feel it. Me too. And it's hard to understand how we could be so cruddy and sinful and yet those sins be paid for. But they are. They're all paid for. Do I have to feel guilty anymore? Yes, because guilt is God's methodology to hug you. You're not guilty because you've lost your salvation. And your guilty guilt has one purpose for the believer. And none other guilt is to drive you to the throne. And when you say, wow, you'll be mad at me, then your guilt is wasted. So it drives you to the throne so you get better and you get forgiven. And that's the only place you get better. And the only place you get forgiven or you're forgiven for you win. So exactly. But do you think that we're always going to experience a certain degree of the cycle of guilt and shame? Oh, yes. And forgiveness. And which is not biblical yet. I mean, all of course. Right. I mean, it sounds so clear. There are a lot of people listening to this broadcast who heard what you and I just said and said. But of course, now I can deal with it. Yeah. You ain't going to deal with it. You're still going to feel guilty and not go before the throne. You're still going to think what you said. How can I be so bad and know that my sins are for you? Because that's the nature of a fallen world. But don't forget the truth. That's right. And that's one reason why we need church and the weekends. That's why we need Sunday is to be reminded. Ah, yeah, that's right. I feel so guilty and dirty. And sometimes I feel like I got to get another message. I don't know. Same the same things for a lot of years. But that's the only message that means any. Oh, I agree. And you don't have the same message for years. But there's always the grace that's a part of it. And we preach the gospel to each other as Martin Luther said. Unless we become discouraged. People get healed today as from North Carolina. Absolutely. I agree. I mean, I don't believe it. Well, that's good. Just a simple yes or no Jesus said, right? Yeah. Um, this is a little bit more complicated. What does the Bible teach you about church discipline? Do it. The next question. No. Right. Mel Matthew 18, right? You know, it's interesting that Jesus is the one that instituted church discipline. Yeah. For the purity and peace of the church. And that we would sometimes, when we get stuck in our sin, a more mature brother comes along and says, hey man, you need to face it. Let's go. Yeah. I agree. You know what? I'm uncomfortable about church discipline about it because it's misused so much. It's misused by not doing it at all. And it's misused by self-righteous Pharisees looking for anybody who isn't the way they are and disciplining them because they're not. And I think those two extremes are simple. Absolutely. I mean, those churches that like to do church discipline scare me. Oh, me too. And I heard the church that had a committee on discipline. It was a standing sort of church committee. And it was called the discipline committee. And you know, I know that the Old Testament word, you know, in Proverbs where it talks about the person who is really wise will seek the discipline of the Lord, the word is Musar, could be translated instruction. And so discipline in that Old Testament sense is instruction. It's not, you know, within somebody, within somebody, and some people like it in more that way. I like to wield the rod. And if that's what they mean by discipline, it's bad. Yeah. Unless, of course, it's the past. It's good. You get a significant raise if you work with it around it. Let me see. This is a retort. No, we don't have time. But it's a great question. We'll deal with the expropriate. It's from Georgia. No, that's all. That's called the teaser. So you'll be sure to be listening next Friday. Let me, first I want to thank you for coming in. Coming in next Friday. Yeah, we'll see. Whenever you write a call, do me a favor, and give us the call letters of the station free of your key. One other thing. Eli is a production of Key Life Network.