Are the levels of hell determined by how “bad” a sinner someone was? Is one sin, therefore, worse than another?

There is not a plethora of information provided by Scripture about the levels of hell. In Dante’s Divine Comedy, he conjectures that there are nine levels of hell. But this is imagination and not drawn from Scripture. Dante imagines the inscription on hell’s gates to read: “Abandon all hope, you who enter here.” While this is fictional, the sentiment is certainly scriptural. Hell is a horrible place of suffering with no hope.

What could make hell worse

What could make it worse? Jesus said in Luke 10:13,14, “Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago, sitting in sackcloth and ashes. But it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon at the judgment than for you.” It seems that what could make hell worse is if someone rejected the clear knowledge of God and his grace.

The words of Jesus in Luke 12:47,48 also seem to indicate that the punishment in hell will be worse for those who knew the gospel and rejected it: “The servant who knows the master’s will and does not get ready or does not do what the master wants will be beaten with many blows. But the one who does not know and does things deserving punishment will be beaten with few blows.”

A former professor once mused, “In hell, there is always a church bell ringing.” One of the worst parts of hell must be knowing that it could have been different. “All those years, I heard that bell, but I didn’t go.” Now the very thing that sounded where Christ was worshiped is the constant reminder that it’s too late.

The worst feeling is not missing out on something for which you didn’t know you had a chance, but missing out on something you had in your hand and let get away. It’s like letting the little old woman go ahead of you at the grocery store and watching the lights and horns and ticker tape go off as she becomes the store’s one millionth customer and wins free groceries for a year. “That could have been me!” In hell, I think there is always a church bell ringing, reminding people that they heard it their whole life but. . . . That is one thing from Scripture that we can say makes hell worse.

All sin equal in eternal punishment

Oftentimes, you will hear, “All sin is equal in God’s eyes.” All sins are equal in this sense: They all merit hell. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus points out that sins of thought are just as damning as the actual action (Matthew 5:21,22,27,28). It’s like there is a cliff face, and no matter where you step off, the eternal consequence is the same.

The Bible says, “There is no difference between Jew and Gentile, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:22,23). Let’s say that you, a friend, and I decide to go to the Grand Canyon. The Grand Canyon is up to 18 miles wide and about a mile deep. While we are there looking out over it, I say, “I’ve got a great idea! Let’s jump over the canyon!” And you say, “Great idea, Dave . . . you go first.” So I get a running start and begin my jump, but I trip over a rock and make it about a foot over the cliff.

What happens to me? I go bouncing down the side of the canyon! Next, your friend takes a running start and gets a great jump of 20 feet. What happens to your friend? Your friend suffers the same fate! Then it’s your turn, and you have some sort of tailwind because you set a world record of jumping 50 feet. What happens to you? Again, you end up in the same place, at the bottom of the canyon! How close did we come to jumping over the 18-mile-wide canyon? Not even close!

The same is true when it comes to the glory, or praise, of God. “All have sinned and fall short of the glory [i.e., praise] of God.” We like to compare ourselves with others when it comes to God’s law, but there’s no point. My foot-long jump was like an ax murderer’s attempt at life. He doesn’t make it far in his attempt at receiving the glory of God. Your friend’s jump of 20 feet might be like a normal person’s attempt. It’s farther than the ax murderer, but it’s still not even close. Your jump of 50 feet could be compared to the best person you ever knew. That person went farther, but it’s still so far short.

This is God’s point. Comparisons to other people do us no good. God wants us to compare our lives to the perfection he requires. The Bible says, “Whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). It doesn’t matter if we’ve stepped off the cliff by a lot or a little, the result is still the same.

All sin not equal in consequences

While every sin earns hell, the earthly consequences of sin can be greater or lesser. When people say, “All sin is equal in God’s eyes,” that’s true and false at the same time. All sin is indeed equal in the sense that all sin is damnable and also forgiven by Jesus. There is no sin too great for the blood of Jesus to cover.

Generally, when people state that all sin is equal in God’s eyes, they are trying to minimize their guilt, like saying that cheating on one’s spouse is no worse than leaving the toilet seat up. Jesus said Judas (or Caiaphas) was guilty of a greater sin because he handed Jesus over to Pilate (John 19:11). The consequences of one sin make it “greater” than the other. Similarly, the apostle Paul highlights sexual sins as having greater consequences. “Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body” (1 Corinthians 6:18).

All sin is indeed equal in the sense that all sin is damnable and also forgiven by Jesus.

Martin Luther once advised someone who was grieving over a sin he thought he could never commit. Luther told this person that he had wanted only a “painted Savior” until now. This person was viewing himself as a “painted sinner,” but now he was faced with the fact that he was a real sinner when he did something he didn’t think himself capable of. Luther encouraged him to see that Jesus was just as real a Savior. Elsewhere, Luther said “to sin boldly.” He was encouraging people not to sin but to face up to the gravity of their sin, because the bigger your sin, the bigger you see your Savior Jesus.

The short answer is: All sin is equal as to its damnability, but not all sin is equal when it comes to earthly consequences.

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Author: David Scharf
Volume 112, Number 08
Issue: August 2025