Q. How do you distinguish between great sins and little ones?—A.
By their nature, and by the circumstances that attend them.
Q. What do you mean by their nature?—A. I mean when they are very gross in themselves (2 Chron 33:2; Eze 16:42).
Q. What kind of sins are the greatest?—A. Adultery, fornication, murder, theft, swearing, lying, covetousness, witchcraft, sedition, heresies, or any the like (1 Cor 6:9,10; Eph 5:3-6; Col 3:5,6; Gal 5:19-21; Rev 21:8).
Q. What do you mean by circumstances that attend sin?—A. I mean light, knowledge, the preaching of the Word, godly acquaintance, timely caution, &c.
Q. Will these make an alteration in the sin?—A. These things attending sinners, will make little sins great, yea greater than greater sins that are committed in grossest ignorance.
Q. How do you prove that?—A. Sodom and Gomorrah wallowed in all or most of those gross transgressions above mentioned: yea, they were said to be sinners exceedingly, they lived in such sins as may not be spoken of without blushing, and yet God swears that Israel, his church, had done worse than they (Eze 16:48), and the Lord Jesus also seconds it in that threatening of his, 'I say unto you, That it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for thee' (Matt 11:24; Luke 10:12).
Q. And was this the reason, namely, because they had such circumstances attending them as Sodom had not?—A. Yes, as will plainly appear, if you read the three chapters above mentioned.
Q. When do I sin against light and knowledge?—A. When you sin against convictions of conscience, when you sin against a known law of God, when you sin against counsels, and dissuasion of friends, then you sin against light and knowledge (Rom 1:32).
Q. When do I sin against preaching of the word?—A. When you refuse to hear God's ministers, or hearing them, refuse to follow their wholesome doctrine (2 Chron 36:16; Jer 25:4-7, 35:15).
Q. When else do I sin against preaching of the Word?—A. When you mock, or despise, or reproach the ministers; also when you raise lies and scandals of them, or receive such lies or scandals raised;[9] you then also sin against the preaching of the Word, when you persecute them that preach it, or are secretly glad to see them so used (2 Chron 30:1,10; Rom 3:8; Jer 20:10; 1 Thess 2:15,16).