Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight -- that You may be found just
when You speak, and blameless when You judge. – Psalm 51:4
Question 151 of the Larger Catechism asks, “What are those aggravations that make
some sins more heinous than others?” The second part of the answer says, “Sins
receive their aggravations, 2. From the parties offended: if immediately against God,
his attributes, and worship; against Christ, and his grace; the Holy Spirit, his witness,
and workings; against superiors, men of eminency, and such as we stand especially
related and engaged unto; against any of the saints, particularly weak brethren, the
souls of them, or any other, and the common good of all or many.” Last time we saw
how who the sinner is can affect the gravity of the offense. Today we consider how
those against whom sin is committed can do the same.
The worst kind of sin is that which is committed immediately against God. When
Ananias & Sapphira lied about their financial offering to the church, Peter declared
that they had not lied to men but to God, and we know that God struck them dead
for such brazenness. So also, when people today directly criticize, mock, or slander
God, it is a greater sin than when they do the same towards their fellow man. In the
Scripture above David is sometimes mistakenly thought to be minimizing his sin,
since he only acknowledges sin against God and not those transgressions which
were against Uriah, Bath Sheba, his wives, or anyone else. But on the contrary David
is not minimizing his sin or failing to fully confess it, he is doing the exact opposite.
By stressing that all of his sin was against God and God alone, David is maximizing
his sin and guilt. In effect he is saying, “When I committed adultery against my
wives, it was really against You, God. And when I had Uriah murdered, I was really
doing that to You, O Lord.” Sins directly against God are so heinous because of who
God is and all the good that He has done for us. Thus, as Christians we need to be
especially mindful not to sin against the grace we have received in Christ by
presuming upon God to forgive us. Likewise, to be convicted of something by the
Holy Spirit and to not respond accordingly is to sin directly against God.
However, even among our fellow man our sins can be greater depending upon
against whom we commit them. Thus, to wrongly pick a fight with my buddy on the
playground is bad. To do the same against my own mother or grandmother is
terrible! In the last few decades we have seen infamous atrocities where children
have risen up and murdered their parents or parents have cruelly killed their young
children. These instances are all the more wicked and awful precisely because of the
close relationships involved. To treat an enemy or a stranger with malice and
violence is wrong, but what kind of evil is it that would strike the very ones who gave
you life, or would crush your own flesh and blood offspring who look to you to supply
their every need? Familial love is so important not merely because we owe those
closest to us the most love, but also because it is the love that is most needful and
beneficial for our own lives and wellbeing in this world. Like a dog that bites the
hand that feeds it, so is the man who does evil to his own family, he strikes at his own
life, and God will judge him all the more severely for so doing.
Finally, those sins against people from whom we have received the most blessings,
or to whom we owe the greatest charity are correspondingly more wicked than
others. Even apart from the fact that sinning against Christ was a sin directly against
God, Judas’ close relationship to Him as his teacher made his betrayal all the more
evil. So Scripture prophesied of his treachery, “Even my own familiar friend in whom I
trusted, who ate my bread, has lifted up his heel against me,” (Psa. 41:9). Similarly,
Jesus sternly warned about sinning against the weak, especially against those “little
ones” who believe in Him. God gives some more strength in order to help those with
less, and so to use that gift of God to prey upon those without it is a great evil in
God’s sight. May our good God cause us to rightly esteem those to whom we owe
the most respect, love, and mercy, that we would be quick and zealous to give it to
them.
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