VENIAL AND MORTAL SIN

 

In Catholic theology, there are two categories of sin: “venial” and “mortal.”  According to the Catechism of the Catholic Church:

“Mortal sin destroys charity in the heart of man by a grave violation of God's law; it turns man away from God, who is his ultimate end and his beatitude, by preferring an inferior good to him.” (CCC #1855)

“For a sin to be mortal, three conditions must together be met: ‘Mortal sin is sin whose object is grave matter and which is also committed with full knowledge and deliberate consent.’" (CCC #1857 – emphasis in original)

On the other hand, they believe that venial sin is not as serious:

“One commits venial sin when, in a less serious matter, he does not observe the standard prescribed by the moral law, or when he disobeys the moral law in a grave matter, but without full knowledge or without complete consent.” (CCC #1862 – emphasis in original)

“Venial sin weakens charity; it manifests a disordered affection for created goods; it impedes the soul's progress in the exercise of the virtues and the practice of the moral good; it merits temporal punishment. Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin. However venial sin does not break the covenant with God. With God's grace it is humanly reparable. ‘Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness.’” (CCC #1863)

Notice the term “humanly reparable.”  I’ll come back to that later.

Is All Sin the Same?

Since Protestants don’t generally believe in the categories of “mortal” and “venial” sins, many Catholics will therefore say that Protestants believe “all sin is the same.”

But to clear the air, let me assure you that all sin is not equal.  God is just and His punishment for stealing a candy bar is not the same as it is for randomly killing someone.  Yet, the person stealing the candy bar (if unrepentant) will be in the same Lake of Fire as the person who murders (if unrepentant).  God sends them both to Hell.  They’ll just be eternally suffering on different levels.

All sin is indeed equal in terms of your final destination, but not in terms of intensity of punishment.  So, your “little” (venial) sins are still incredibly serious and must be dealt with.  People are often taught that a “little white lie” is no big deal, but again, we should treat all sin with the same sense of urgency.

The “seven deadly sins” that the Bible speaks of (Proverbs 6:16-19) are not the only ones that are deadly!  All sin, if not repented of, is mortal.

From Whence Cometh This Doctrine?

So, where does the Catholic Church get this idea of two categories of sin?  Well, there is a footnote in CCC #1854 that points to a Scripture passage that seems to be the pivotal reason that they believe in venial and mortal sin:

If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it.  All unrighteousness is sin: and there is a sin not unto death. (1 John 5:16-17)

Catholics claim that the apostle John is saying here that some sins are not deadly.  But Scripture is clear that ALL sin kills – EVERY sin makes you eligible for Hell:

For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all. (James 2:10)

For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them. (Galatians 3:10 – Emphasis added)

These two verses just above are saying that the law is a package deal.  If you break only one of His commandments, you are guilty of breaking God’s law as a whole.  If you are in court for breaking a law, the judge will not let you go simply because you got most of them right.  You are still guilty of breaking the law of the land.  We must realize that God’s law is not just a random assortment of loose principles and ideas, it should be taken very seriously because it is the essence of His character and desire.

I believe that 1 John 5:16-17 above is actually talking about the unpardonable sin that Jesus spoke of in Matthew 12:31-32.  The unpardonable sin is not just one particular sin – it is the end result of a continual hardening process of a person’s unrepentant heart over time.  Every individual sin can be forgiven, but Jesus is alluding to the fact that a person’s heart has reached a certain level of coldness and hostility where there is no turning back.  He is sinning against the Holy Spirit, the member of the Trinity whose work it is to convict us of sin and to lead us to repentance (John 16:8; Romans 2:4) – and this sin is a complete rejection, a despising of that work of the Spirit. 

Concerning blasphemy of the Holy Spirit, if someone fears that he has crossed the line and is worried that he may have committed this sin, the chances are very good that he hasn’t, because the person who is guilty of this sin is not concerned about it and will not want anything to do with God.  He is beyond help.  It is the point of no return, where grace is no longer available.  That is a terrifying place to be!  I think that this is the point in 1 John 5:16-17, it is not describing “mortal” versus “venial” sins.  All sins are mortal (deadly) – until you repent of them!  None are mortal if they are confessed and forgiven.

Error in the Catechism

I want to point out a couple of things from the Catechism quote that that I mentioned at the beginning of this article (CCC #1863).  First, it says:

“Deliberate and unrepented venial sin disposes us little by little to commit mortal sin…” 

I pretty much agree with this statement in the sense that your “little” sins, if unconfessed and the person remains unrepentant, can lead to a hardening of the heart, and ultimately destroy you.  So, this just proves our point that “venial” sins are also dangerous and can lead to eternal damnation.  So, there is no separate category.  Every sin is a “grave matter.”

The second point of the Catechism quote that I want to address is this:

“With God's grace it [venial sin] is humanly reparable.”

This suggests some sort of “restitution” that the sinner is able to pay.  In the Catholic scheme of things, forgiveness can be applied to the sinner only after some sort of work is done (penance).  But there is absolutely no sin that is reparable by any mere human in Christianity.  The only “repairing” needed has already been done by Jesus Christ on His cross.  This is the absolute cure for the effects of sin.  John the baptist so eloquently said about Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God who TAKES AWAY the sin of the world” (John 1:29).  Jesus didn’t just cover our sins, as was done in the Old Testament. He takes them away, past, present and even future sins (if we repent and confess them).

To gain salvation, all we can do is surrender to Him and believe/trust in His suffering and work on that cruel cross.  That is the gospel – that is the good news.  We don’t have to constantly worry if we have done enough.  There are no rituals or works of charity that can repair, improve, or restore our broken relationship with God.  Only the cross and only through Jesus.

Martin Luther

There is a story about Martin Luther, the Protestant Reformer and former Catholic priest.  As a Catholic, he became extremely aware of his sin and was so tormented by it that as soon as he finished his confession and came out of the Catholic confessional, he would remember another sin and immediately rush back into the confessional to confess it.  Sometimes he would spend hours in the confessional.  This was torture for both Luther and the priest!  The priest, wearied by Luther’s obsession, reportedly told him that if he wanted to confess a sin, go out and commit something worthy of confession.

The Catholic Church had Luther (and all its members) thinking that he must merit his salvation through works of some kind or another.  But this was sheer torture for him.  He seemed to never be able to do enough.  He rightly understood God’s hatred of sin (while most people don’t), but he was utterly helpless.  His sins terrorized him daily, but in the Catholic system there was no relief. 

But one day he finally came to fully understand the phrase, “… the just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17), whereupon he finally achieved the peace of God – and it revolutionized the history of the medieval church.

We have to commend Luther for his zeal and his fear of God.  This is good.  But there is a balance – we also need God’s peace to be able to live the Christian life.  The problem is that he was desperately trying to rid himself of sin through a works-based salvation.  Luther misunderstood the power of God’s grace and the sufficiency of the work that Jesus did on the cross.  We must remember Jesus’ last words, “It is finished!” (John 19:30). 

See these articles on Luther and his battle with sin:

https://www.placefortruth.org/blog/justification-and-martin-luther

https://www.pbs.org/empires/martinluther/monk_penance.html#:~:text=Priests%20took%20confession%20from%20their,in%20to%20repent%20further%20sins.

https://worldlysaints.wordpress.com/2017/01/04/martin-luther-his-confessions-and-battle-against-sin/

Also, the practice of confession to a priest is not a biblical one.  See these articles:

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2023/01/the-sacraments-of-catholic-church-part.html

https://answeringcatholicclaims.blogspot.com/2011/08/hi-jacking-of-john-2023.html

Conclusion

The question to ask is, “WHY is the sin in 1 John 5 a “sin not unto death,” and the other a “sin unto death”?  The answer is simply because the first one is FORGIVEN/FORGIVABLE and the second is NOT!  This erroneous Catholic concept of venial and mortal sins goes against clear biblical teaching elsewhere that says, “The wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23), or “The soul that sins, it shall die” (Ezekiel 18:4), or “He which converteth the sinner… shall save a soul from death” (James 5:20), or “And you… who were dead in trespasses and sin…” (Ephesians 2:1).  Therefore, any and all sin (apart from a repentant heart) brings spiritual death.

Now, this doesn’t mean that a Christian loses and gains his salvation every time he sins and repents, over and over.  No, as long as he maintains his trust in Christ and his attitude is one of continual repentance, his sin is washed away.  This applies to even those secret sins of which he may be unaware (Psalm 90:8). 

Biblical confession is not a ritualistic or robotic procedure in which every single personal thought has to be remembered and painstakingly processed into a system where we can infallibly identify every single sin in our lives – and then “formally” confess them to a priest.  No, remember the thief on the cross?  He simply said from the heart, “…Lord, remember me when Thou comest into Thy kingdom” (Luke 23:42).  Jesus knew his heart and immediately forgave him.

We must be careful when attempting to categorize sins as venial or mortal, as people might tend to view some of their sins as “minor” and be casual about them.  These two distinctions have certainly caused confusion in the body of Christ.

So let us take care to be biblical with our view of sin.  In the end, we must have balance – a healthy fear of God, yet a firm peace in our hearts, knowing the sufficiency of Jesus’ work. 

 

FASTING LIKE THE HYPOCRITES

We are again approaching the Easter season and many will be participating in what is known as Lent.  Lent lasts for about forty days and is supposed to be a time of self-denial, moderation, fasting and the forsaking of sinful habits.  It is a special day of preparation for each person, getting them spiritually ready for the celebration of Easter.  Lent is celebrated by the Orthodox Churches, a few Protestant groups, and especially by Catholics. 

 

One of the main aspects of Lent for Catholics is Ash Wednesday.  Ash Wednesday marks the beginning of Lent, and on this day, ashes are applied on the forehead of the participating Catholic, referencing, to some extent, the Old Testament concept of using ashes during fasting or mourning (for example, 2 Samuel 13:19; Esther 4:1; Job 2:8; Daniel 9:3).  To make these special ashes, the Church uses palm leaves that are “blessed” by the priest and sprinkled with “holy water.”

But interestingly, this special day of preparation named Ash Wednesday comes right after a day called Shrove Tuesday or Mardi Gras, which is French for “Fat Tuesday.”  Mardi Gras is generally a day of decorative parades and festivities, and often a time of drunkenness, lust, revelry and wild parties, especially in cities like New Orleans.  Not only is it celebrated in many cities in the U.S., like Mobile, Galveston, St. Louis, Orlando, and San Diego, but also in other countries, including Brazil, Italy, France, Colombia, India and Canada.

But the proud revelry of Fat Tuesday certainly tends to negate the intended purity and significance of Ash Wednesday in many cases.  We know of many Catholics who see Mardi Gras as “one last wild party” before getting “serious” with God.  It is a mockery of God and of the person’s supposed new life ahead.  The participant is a lustful glutton and carouser on Tuesday, but on Wednesday, he suddenly becomes a holy vessel of God because he is wearing ashes in the shape of a cross on his forehead.  God is not fooled by this, and neither are many observers.

Ash Wednesday does indeed intend to convey the idea of public fasting, but for many people, fasting has seemed to have lost its meaning.  The prophet Isaiah spoke of a true fast, one coming from the heart and not through external appearances (Isaiah 58:3-7).

But Jesus, in the gospel of Matthew, clarified even farther the proper way to fast...  

Matthew 6:

v. 16 - And whenever you fast, do not put on a gloomy face as the hypocrites do, for they neglect their appearance in order to be seen fasting by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  

v. 17 - But you, when you fast, anoint your head, and wash your face, 

v. 18 - so that you may not be seen fasting by men, but by your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will repay you.” (NASV)

So why the ashes in public?  Why does anyone else have to know when you’re fasting?  Is it a true fast, or is it all just for show, like with the hypocrites?  Jesus said that fasting should be a private matter.  Why would any church (Catholic or otherwise) that claims to follow Jesus Christ purposely disobey His specific commands about the manner of fasting by placing ashes on the foreheads of its members for display?  It is true that no one is forced to do this, but they are certainly encouraged by the Catholic Church to do this public (and unbiblical) ritual.

Notice in the context of Matthew 6:1-6 that Jesus said that those who practice their holiness publicly (to be seen of men) already have their reward… and that reward is the attention and admiration of those who notice them.  But that’s it.  It is the reward of the hypocrite.  This is his only reward.  He doesn’t get a reward from God.  His “pious” works were wasted and his religion is a sham.

The truth is, those participating in Ash Wednesday are acting more like Pharisees than they are Christians.  Jesus strongly condemned all forms of hypocrisy, especially the religious pretension of the Pharisees (Matthew 23).

But to be fair, the Catholic Church is not the only group to be infected with hypocrisy.  It can be found in Orthodox and Protestant churches, as well.  Nevertheless, to encourage your members to openly disregard the teaching of Jesus so that they can be noticed of men is to put them in a dangerous position… it is indeed fasting like the hypocrites.  Jesus said of the Pharisees and scribes:

“You hypocrites, rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you, saying, ‘This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me.’” (Matthew 15:7-8 - NASV)