I have not read all of this thread so I didn't see what you have written. What I was saying is the same thing as you have already posted; only what I saw was that Paul points this out in Romans and that fact is not highlighted by most people. Most people don't point out that Paul talks against the desire, they generally point that he speaks against the behavior.

Good posts John317

Part of that is correct and part is not. God loves all people that we know because of Christ's death for all. All have sinned and we know that is a fact. All have sinned in one way or another. But not all sin is the same. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it. All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. 1Jo 5:16b-17 Here John tells us that there are more than one kinds of sin; One unto death and one not unto death.

The difference is not that one is worse than the other, but that one is willful and persistent. In other words the person is not repentant and continuing in the sin. That is a sin unto death. Then we have the sin that happens, some by our choice and some by ignorance.

And the LORD spoke unto Moses, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them: Lev 4:1,2.....

And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the LORD concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty; When the sin, which they have sinned against it, is known, then the congregation shall offer a young bullock for the sin, and bring him before the tabernacle of the congregation. Lev 4:13,14

There you have sins that are not willful and done in ignorance. Those who commit a sin through ignorance are not categorized as murderers, whoremongers or effeminate. (That is probably why there was such fear on the Day of Atonement: because people did not know if they had sins of ignorance unconfused. This is just my theory on that, but it makes sense to me.)

Certain sins had no provisions for sacrifices because they were told specifically not to do such and as such no forgiveness was offered and they were stoned to death. Lev 20:27 A man also or woman that hath a familiar spirit, or that is a wizard, shall surely be put to death: they shall stone them with stones: their blood shall be upon them.

Lev 20:13 If a man also lie with mankind, as he lieth with a woman, both of them have committed an abomination: they shall surely be put to death; their blood shall be upon them.

You must remember why these were so offensive to God that they required death and no forgiveness. It is because Israel was a witness for God and were to introduce the Messiah to the world. They were to be a special people. God knew they would sin in ignorance and made provision, but those who committed certain sins had to cross a certain barrier in the minds and accept that this thinking was ok when it was absolutely not ok. When these sins are committed they are, the first time when they are committed, willfully committed against God. No provision was made for that.

So while all sin is transgression and sin is sin, there are different degrees of sin that exist today that have been revealed in the OT. Scripture is clear on this if we study and believe what it says.

Norman

Yeah ... the only sin that is sin ... is the one not repented of.

So if sin is sin. And if we commit one sin we've commited all sin. How can there be degrees of sin?

I won't try to answer for Norman ... but there are some sins that take us further away from God and faster than others. But the legal consequences are the same of any unrepented sin. The good news is that Christ died for any and all sins no matter what "degree" they are.

That is correct and I pointed that out, but you must have overlooked this one.

Mar 3:29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:

That is right Norman. Christ only died for those who accept Him. Those that reject Him are not forced to go to Heaven.

When I was in college, I ran a reach-out ministry to gays for three years. I had the honor of working with some Exodus International ministries.

Gays are not classed with pedophiles because unless they also have sex with adults of their same sex, they are not considered pedophiles. That means a man that is married to a woman and never has sex with other adult men but sexually molests little boys is not considered gay. So it is a manner of semantics.

I believe the number of gay men that have sex with other adult gay men and molest little boys is actually a small percentage of the gay population, as defined above. However the percentage of little boys that are sexual victims that are molested by an older member of the same sex is quite high. So again, it is an issue of semantics.

Christ died for all sin except one, and those who reject that sacrifice get their just reward. This does change the fact that there are sins unto death and sins not unto death.

Redwood, where does the Bible say all sin is separation from God?

The Bible says sin results in separation from God, not that sin itself is separation from God. Adam and Eve first sinned or disobeyed God's commandment, and that sin had the consequence of separating all humans from God. And elsewhere it clearly says, "Your sins have separated you from God." So our sins, unconfessed and unrepented of, do result in separation from God. This is one of the main lessons God was trying to teach the people by the Old Covenant sanctuary service. The common refrain in Leviticus is, "You shall be holy because I am holy." And the Psalms says, "Who will ascend the hill and dwell with God? He who has clean hands and is holy." The books of Hebrews and Revelation continue this important theme.

Also, it is terribly significant that sin did not forever mean separation for Enoch. Enoch was so close to God during his life on this earth that God finally ask him to join Him in heaven. Why? We would do well to study this. Ellen White says there are many Enochs alive on earth today. It is simply not true that God views all sin in the same way. Noah was said by God to be a righteous man, which is why God chose to save him and his family. Also, it is not true that no matter what we do in union with Christ, we are all equally evil. God has the power to change us but of course it is Satan who wants us to forget this great fact or to think that Christ's work in our lives makes no difference. The Bible calls Christians "saints," not "sinners." Let's put the emphasis where the Bible puts it, wouldn't you agree?