Greg:

Your point about distinct penalties for sin is a good one. But here is an additional point. The singling out of a particular sin of our choice is not particularly biblical. Look at the vice lists in the NT. Let me just take two as an example. Epheshoans 5:1-5 certainly includes greed as a key sin and equates it with idolatry, but how much do we talk about that in our churches and deal with it? Galatians 5:19-21 has a pretty long list of vices as well that are said to be obstacles in entering the kingdom. Look at the contents of either vice list and you will see all kinds of things people do regularly, often without a second thought. The importance of the point is a realization of how high God's standard for righteousness is and that we all need God's grace because we are all sinners. The point is not made to say we avoid discussing homosexuality as a sin, but to say that it is wrong to highlight one sin at the expense of others, especially those sins many are more prone to commit.

As for sin and hell: the point here is whether we present and highlight the avoidance of hell as an emphasis in presenting the gospel or do we make it clear that the good news is that God has initiated the move towards us in a relatiosnhip our sin is responsible for breaking. In other words, do we so highlight the problem that the good news of the gospel has trouble getting through. So the point is not how often do we hear a rendition like Jonathan Edwards' Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. The point is how often do we present that gospel as if the goal is to avoid something rather than to enter into something God desires for us. (I am speaking of emphasis here) When we ask, "if you died today would you know for sure you will be in heaven," it sounds like the core of the gospel is avoiding hell. But to me the key to the gospel is God moving to fix a broken relationship and giving his son to bring us to himself, something that starts before we die and lasts forever. Yes, we do avoid hell, but far more important is the restoration and reconciliation that is the gospel. It is not what we avoid that is key, but what we enter into and get to participate in that is central. Now that is really good news. He rescues us from sin but does not leave us there. So the bottom line is not avoiding a fate, but entering into a new state of unbroken relationship with God. This aspect of the gospel message often needs more highlighting or can get obscured if avoiding a fate is emphasized.

Thanks again for taking the time to comment. They were helpful points.