In today’s episode, I want to discuss the severity of sin, namely, is sin an infinite offense against God?

In my last podcast, we saw that God’s punishment of sinners in hell is a good thing because it serves the justice of God. We also saw that although God’s punishment of sinners in hell is right and good, God does not take pleasure in their punishment.

These two truths help us answer the question concerning the duration of punishment in hell, but before we can fully answer that question, we need to discuss the severity of sin. Many Christians believe that sinners must suffer for all eternity in hell because sin is an infinite offense against God.

I want to challenge this belief because I cannot find a Biblical basis for sin being an infinite offense against God.

One reason that Christians believe that sin is an infinite offense against God is that, because God is infinitely holy, any sin is an infinitely severe grievance against him. According to this view, sin against an infinitely holy God must be punished by eternal torment.

In my view, the Bible does not teach that sin is an infinite offense. It does, however, tell us that sin is a deadly serious offense—a severe and grievous transgression that can be atoned for only by the sacrifice of Jesus, the Son of God.

God’s justice demands accountability for sin and wrongdoing. The Bible says, “God will bring every deed into judgment, with every secret thing, whether good or evil (Ecclesiastes 12:14).”

Jesus says, “The Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done (Matthew 16:27).”

And the Apostle Paul said, “We must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, so that each one may receive what is due for what he has done in the body, whether good or evil (2 Corinthians 5:10).”

These verses show that in the final judgment, each of us will face the consequences of our sin. “Each of us will give an account of himself to God (Romans 14:12).” These verses do not, however, tell us the nature of that judgment.

The Bible seems to indicate that the punishment for sin is death. The most well-known verse about death as the punishment for sin is Romans 6:23, “The wages of sin is death.”

Other verses include Matthew 10:28, “Do not fear those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather fear him who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Matthew 25:41, 46 “[Jesus] will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels… And these will go away into eternal punishment.”

Romans 3:23 and Matthew 10:28 say that the punishment for sin will be death and the destruction of the soul. Only Matthew 25:46 says eternal punishment.

Although this is not the time to discuss the duration of punishment in hell, I should note that eternal punishment could mean something other than punishment that lasts forever, but we’ll save that discussion for a future episode.

What’s important for us today concerns the nature of punishment for sin. Specifically, what kind of punishment does God administer to sinners in the final judgment? The Bible seems to indicate that in the final judgment, the punishment for sin is death and destruction.

When the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus. They will suffer the punishment of eternal destruction. 2 Thessalonians 1:7-9

Fortunately, God has made a way for us to avoid eternal destruction. The Bible says, “God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life (John 3:16).”

God loves us and does not want us to face judgment. He wants us to live, not die, so he sent Jesus as our Savior to take our punishment upon himself. Galatians 1:3 says that Jesus “gave himself for our sins to deliver us.”

1 Corinthians 15:3 says that Christ “died for our sins,” and 1 Peter 2:24 says that Jesus “bore our sins in his body on the tree (i.e., the cross).”

These verses teach what theologians call substitutionary atonement. God commanded the people of Israel to offer sacrifices to atone for and cover their sins. An animal had to die to cover the sins of the people. These animal sacrifices were, however, only a temporary solution.

Humanity’s sin problem needed a permanent solution, and this solution came in the form of a human sacrifice, but not just any human. Only a perfect sacrifice could provide a permanent solution to our sin problem. Hebrews chapters 9 and 10 make it clear that Jesus’ sacrifice was a perfect sacrifice, and because it was a perfect sacrifice, it can atone for the sins of all people for all eternity.

Jesus’ death was a complete and sufficient sacrifice that provides forgiveness and redemption for all people. 1 John 2:2 says that Jesus “is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world.”

God can forgive sin because Jesus took away our sin by dying for us on the cross. Jesus is the “Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29).”

The New Testament teaches that Jesus’ death is sufficient to pay for the sins of the whole world. Jesus was and is the perfect Son of God. Therefore, his death has infinite merit, value, and sufficiency. Jesus’ death can fully pay the debt of sin for everyone and for all eternity.

Nothing in the Bible, however, says that the sacrifice for sin needs to be perfect because our sin is an infinite offense against God. The Bible simply says that Jesus’ sacrifice was sufficient because: 1) it takes away the sin of all people, and 2) unlike the temporary solution of animal sacrifices, Jesus’ sacrifice is a permanent solution to our sin problem.

The Bible does not say that Jesus’ sacrifice was needed because sin is infinitely sinful. The idea that sin is an infinite offense against God does not come from the Bible; it comes from Roman Catholic dogma.

Anselm of Canterbury (A.D. 1034 -1109) and Thomas Aquinas (A.D. 1225 – 1274) introduced the idea that sin against God is an infinite offense, and this idea has crept into our churches.

Today, most evangelical scholars believe that only an eternity of suffering can atone for their sins because those sins are an infinite offense against God.

Our sins are many. They are a grievous offense and transgression against an infinitely holy god that can only be atoned for by the death of Jesus on the cross. But nowhere in the Bible does it say that our sins are infinitely sinful or of infinite weight. So, in our discussion of the duration of hell, we cannot use the argument that only an eternity of suffering in hell can satisfy God’s righteous judgment.

Earlier in our discussion, we read that Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world. Jesus’ death on the cross provides forgiveness but forgiveness is not automatic.

Forgiveness is available to everyone, but forgiveness comes only to those who believe in Jesus. If you have never put your faith in Jesus for the forgiveness of sins, then I encourage you to take that step of faith. Only by faith in Jesus can you escape hell and have eternal life.