Introduction

Many christians hold to the mistaken notion that every sin is the same in god's eyes. The assumptions embedded throughout redemptive history make clear that some sins are worse than others. Excommunications seems to have been reserved for only the most flagrant sins. There is a difference between being a decent person and being a dirty, rotten scoundrel. James teaches that there is a progression of sin, from tempting desires to the internal nurture of those desires, to external action to final death.