Sin leveling, or “mutualizing,” is a term often used to describe the concept that all sins are equally bad in the sight of God. Sin leveling is a tactic that is frequently used by abusers to manipulative those under their control and to prevent victims from getting help by painting them as “equally sinful.” When we treat all sin as equal and allow abusers to misuse Scripture as a way to deflect from their own sin, we make it nearly impossible for a person to talk about someone else’s sin. But is this concept actually biblical? Is there a place for a Believer to evaluate other peoples’ sins at all, or should they only be worried about their own sin? Are all sins truly equal, or are some sins worse than others? 

There are many common misconceptions regarding viewing and addressing sin in others that may sound sadly familiar, even in our Christian circles. Here are some of those common beliefs you’ve probably heard or even said:

“The very fact that you’re talking about someone else’s sin shows that you’re proud. We’re all desperately wicked.”

“Judge not that ye be not judged.”

“You should just be talking about your own sin. You’re the worst sinner you know.”

“All Christians are hypocrites. How dare you judge! He may have a speck in his eye but you have a beam in yours.”

Now let’s see what the Bible says about this topic!

In Matthew 23:23, Jesus confronts the Pharisees, calling them hypocrites for paying tithes while having neglected “the weightier matters of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness.” Clearly in Jesus’ eyes, the issue of paying tithes is far less significant than the issue of justice, mercy, and faithfulness, indicating that certain sins are weightier than others.

Luke 12:47-48 is clear that the punishment of those who willfully disobeyed was more severe. It says, “And that servant who knew his master’s will but did not get ready or act according to his will, will receive a severe beating. But the one who did not know, and did what deserved a beating, will receive a light beating. Everyone to whom much was given, of him much will be required, and from him to whom they entrusted much, they will demand the more.” According to this passage, those with more knowledge and responsibility are held to a higher standard and punished with greater severity.

James 3:1 speaks to this as well, saying “Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you know that we who teach will be judged with greater strictness.” The Bible is clear that those who lead and teach others are held to a higher standard.

John 19:11 says, “Jesus answered him, “You would have no authority over me at all unless it had been given you from above. Therefore he who delivered me over to you has the greater sin.” In this passage, we see that the Pharisees and those who understood what they were doing and were conspiring to do it were held to a higher standard than Pilate, who did not fully understand what was going on.

Now let’s look at some passages commonly used to support sin leveling:

James 2:10 says, “For whoever keeps the whole law but fails in one point has become guilty of all of it.” This verse is often used to support sin leveling, but there is a key distinction to be made. I believe this verse is saying that all sin equally separates us from a perfect God, not that all sin is equally heinous. In God’s eyes, the sin of stealing a nickel cannot be compared with the grievous sin of murder, although both fail to uphold God’s perfect standard of righteousness.

Another often misused passage is Luke 16:10 which says, “One who is faithful in a very little is also faithful in much, and one who is dishonest in a very little is also dishonest in much.” This verse is NOT saying all sins are the same, it is referring to being trustworthy. Those who show themselves trustworthy can therefore be trusted with more, whereas if you can’t even trust someone to have integrity in small things, why would you trust them with more? In fact, this concept argues against sin leveling, because it points out that some things are of greater importance and so require a greater level of proven integrity.

Matthew 5:3-5 says, “Why do you see the speck that is in your brother’s eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is a log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother’s eye” This passage is often misused to silence those addressing sin in another by turning the accusation around on the person seeking to address the sin. Let me explain this one a little more. I’ve often heard it said that the ground is level at the foot of the cross. Although it is true that all sinners who come to Christ stand as equals at the foot of the cross, not all sins are equivalent. Some sins are specks, and some are logs. But am I always the one with the log and the other person always the one with the speck? Is it Biblical to view it that way? Here, Jesus says this kind of action is descriptive of hypocrites, a harsh term He often levels against the oppressive and arrogant religious leaders of His day, and so this does not apply to those who are humbly walking in integrity before the Lord. Rebecca Davis says,

“If you’re living a consistent life of faith and love, for the Lord Jesus Christ and others, in public, in private, and in secret, if you’re listening to the Holy Spirit, applying the written Word to your life, and open to the corrections that Jesus-loving fellow Believers offer—then you’re taking care of those logs. When you have dealt with any sin patterns and hypocrisy, when you are humble before the Lord, then you are in a place to speak out about the sins in the lives of others, especially those who have harmed those in their care.”

~Rebecca Davis

So, as you can see, this passage actually encourages a Believer to deal with their own sin before the Lord so that they can clearly see to address the sin in another, and should not be used as a gag just because the one making the accusation is not yet perfect.

The verses above show us that not all people are held to the same standard, and not all sin is equally heinous in God’s eyes. Now let’s take a look at what the Bible says about calling out sin in others. If the Bible required a person to be sinless before addressing the sin in others, no one would ever qualify. Yet this is not what we see in Scripture. Let’s take a quick look!

1 Timothy 5:19-21, “Do not admit a charge against an elder except on the evidence of two or three witnesses.As for those who persist in sin, rebuke them in the presence of all, so that the rest may stand in fear. In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus and of the elect angels I charge you to keep these rules without prejudging, doing nothing from partiality. Let’s just pause for a moment to let the gravity of these verses fully sink in. This passage should terrify some leaders for putting the reputation of an institution or fellow leader above following God’s command. Remember, leaders are held to a higher standard.

Matthew 18:15-17, “If your brother sins against you, go and tell him his fault, between you and him alone. If he listens to you, you have gained your brother.But if he does not listen, take one or two others along with you, that every charge may be established by the evidence of two or three witnesses. If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.” This passage lays out the general steps a Believer should take in addressing matters of sin done against them by another Believer. ***Caveat*** I believe that this passage is about sin between brothers, meaning fellow Christians of comparable standing within the local congregation, and so issues involving significant power differences or an abuse of power fall outside the scope of this passage. I also believe that the Bible supports adjusted approaches in other situations, specifically in matters of power differences and where safety is a concern. This a large and highly debated topic that I will not address at this time in this article.

Ephesians 5:11, “Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead expose them.” Again, we are called to expose sin rather than being complicit by covering or enabling it to continue.

Proverbs 17:15, “He who justifies the wicked and he who condemns the righteous are both alike an abomination to the Lord.” Yikes!

When dealing with an an oppressor or abuser, focusing on the sin of the one being oppressed is not only unhelpful, it is giving the abuser more ammunition to use against his victim and essentially helping him to abuse her further by exploiting her vulnerabilities and weaknesses for his own benefit in order to further silence her. Jesus condemned this behavior in John 8:1-11 when the Pharisees challenged Jesus and he responded by challenging their self-righteous and arrogant attitudes. Verse 8 says, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her.” While Jesus does acknowledge the woman’s sin, he does so in private only after addressing the greater sin of the Pharisees. Jesus showed compassion on the woman in this story, while condemning the proud and powerful.

Many Christians would disagree with sin leveling in theory, but fail to see the wrongness of it in practice taking place right in front of their very eyes. They are successfully deceived by the cunning manipulation of wolves who are well-practiced at disguising an abuse of power as a common flaw or struggle, while quietly working behind the scenes (often for years) to portray the victim as the real problem to ensure their deeply rooted and destructive sin pattern remains hidden at all cost. Sadly, the successful manipulation of the abuser often puts pressure back on the shoulders of the oppressed. Chris Moles says,

“I can’t tell you the numbers of survivors I know who have been disciplined out of their church because they refuse to submit to abusive husbands – but it’s a lot more than you probably think. There’s far too many men who in the name of Jesus are not loving, they’re not being considerate, they’re not being gentle. They’re being oppressive. They’re being manipulative. And they’re getting away with it.”  

~Chris Moles

When the abuser is in a position of leadership, it becomes nearly impossible for the victim to have a voice because of the influence and control the oppressor has over not only her, but also over those seeking to handle the situation. Conflicts of interest cloud the situation, making it impossible for those involved in helping to be objective. Far too often, the victim is sidelined while the abuser controls the narrative, convincing everyone that although he may not be perfect, she is the real problem. Those helping must be able to discern the difference or they will cause significant further harm to the victim and enablement of the oppressor. 

Dr. Bob Kellemen addresses pastors and counselors on this issue:

“In my Bible, the heading for John 10 reads, ‘The Good Shepherd and His Sheep.’ How does Christ our Good Shepherd respond to His abused sheep? He leads with ‘Protect well!’ Jesus paints a clear contrast between how false shepherds treat sheep and how the Good Shepherd and all godly under-shepherds treat sheep. False shepherds protect themselves. Good shepherds lay down their lives for their sheep… There’s the old Bob Newhart video clip where he plays the role of a counselor, whose counsel to a fearful woman is, “Stop it!” I’d like to turn that counsel on it’s head, turn it upside down, and direct it toward us as pastors, counselors, and shepherds. And I’d like to shout it in caps so we all hear it. STOP IT! STOP SAYING, ‘SUFFER WELL!’ When we say, ‘Suffer well,’ to an abuse victim, they hear, ‘It’s your fault. If you would only handle this better, then God would stop your suffering.’ When we say, ‘Suffer well,’ to a domestic violence victim, they hear, ‘Your protection is secondary. Your safety is secondary. Protecting the image of the church is primary. Suffer well so that our congregation is not shamed.’ …Jesus confronts the abuser by protecting well. We tend to confront the abuse victim by shaming them into ‘suffering well’.…Shepherds, pastors, biblical counselors: STOP PROTECTING THE ABUSER. STOP PROTECTING ‘THE IMAGE OF THE CHURCH.’ START EMPATHIZING WITH THE ABUSED. START PROTECTING CHRIST’S SHEEP.”

~Dr. Bob Kellemen

In order to be an effective helper to those who are abused, I would hope my pastors and spiritual leaders would be able to see through sin leveling and manipulation, and then have the strength of character to lay aside their fears of personal loss and defend the victim rather than continuing the abuser’s attempts to silence her for the sake of their own reputation or the reputation of the church or institution. I would hope my leaders would be able to admit when they’ve done it wrong, and put the well-being of Christ’s sheep first. Rather than seeing the victim as the problem, I would hope my pastors and spiritual leaders would be an example to those watching with less information by making it clear through their actions and words that they stand with the victim in the same way that Christ does, rather than brushing her aside as though she were a mere inconvenience or standing in the way of the “greater good.” This is not how Christ views her, and I pray my leaders would follow Christ’s example by laying down their lives for the outcast sheep in the same way that Christ did.

The passages I have chosen for this article are by no means exhaustive. There is a lot more that could be said on this topic, as well as many connecting topics still to discuss, but I will save those to focus on more in future posts. For now, I want to mention that although it is not the focus of this particular article, it is important to note that it is unbiblical to treat a repentant person in the same way as an unrepentant person. Comparing a repentant person who confesses their sin with an unrepentant person who hides their sin is like comparing apples to oranges. Scripture addresses both scenarios very differently, and we should too. God showed compassion to the repentant sinner, but condemnation to the self-righteous Pharisee. I will likely address this more in future posts. For further study, see Matthew 18:15-17, 1 Corinthians 5:1-13, and 2 Corinthians 2:5-11.

Thank you for taking the time to let me share my thoughts on the topic of sin leveling and for thinking through this often misunderstood topic for yourself. As always, I encourage you to do your own study rather than taking another person’s word for it when it comes to understanding matters of Scripture. I hope this article will be eye opening and provoke you to think more deeply about what you believe on this topic and how your beliefs= influence your actions and your counsel.

Bye for now!

~ K.

Footnotes:

• Davis, Rebecca. Untwisting Scriptures, Book 4. New Morning Press, 2022.
• Kellemen, Bob. “Shepherds Please Think, ‘Protect Well.’ Please Stop Saying, ‘Suffer Well.’” christiancounseling.com/blog. Association of Biblical Counselors. Jan. 2024. 
• Moles, Chris. “Helping the Church Respond to Abusive Spouses.” Faith’s Biblical Counseling Training Conference. Lafayette, Indiana. 2018.
• Photo: SoraShimazakiPexelsLaw