The Doctrine of Mortal Sin and Venial Sin Debunked

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Roman Catholic teaching divides sin into two categories as mortal sin and venial sin.  Here are the classifications:
  • Mortal sin is classified as, "Mortal sin requires full knowledge and complete consent. It presupposes knowledge of the sinful character of the act, of its opposition to God's law. It also implies a consent sufficiently deliberate to be a personal choice," (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1859).  This is the kind of sin that if committed can lead to spiritual death and need be repented, or in other words sin can that make a person lose their salvation.  According to Catholicism such sins are extramarital affairs, homosexuality and fornication which sadly, many of their clergy members and laity members are doing.
  • Venial sin is classified as, "moral disorder that is reparable by charity..." (Catechism of the Catholic Church, par. 1875)  This is classified as sin done by ignorance or something small as lying about something trivial or stealing candy.  It is also defined as "does not break the covenant with God...Venial sin does not deprive the sinner of sanctifying grace, friendship with God, charity, and consequently eternal happiness," (CCC 1863)."

However what does the Bible have to say about this issue?  Roman Catholic apologists would like to raise 1 John 5:16 on the issue of mortal sin and venial sin.  Sin unto death is best defined as sin that could lead to physical death like what happened in Acts 5:1-10 and 1 Corinthians 11:30.  Ananias and Sapphira made a fraudulent transaction that cost them their lives.  Some of the believers in Corinth ended up prematurely dead for mishandling the Lord's supper.  Did they lose their salvation?  No.  However they did lose their rewards (1 Corinthians 11:30).

When it comes to the issue of salvation, ALL SIN IS SIN.  Salvation is not determined by who did more good than bad, in God's sight He could not allow even ONE SIN where big or small in His presence and that's where works salvation really fails.  While the severity when it comes to physical punishment is not equal, however it takes only ONE SIN to break the whole Law (James 2:10).  Romans 3:10-19 declares that all have sinned and because of that, they've fallen short of the glory of God and they are guilty before God.  Also, when Jesus died on the cross He died for ALL sins no matter how big or small.  And since salvation can never be merited or earned (Romans 4:5, Ephesians 2:8-9), when a believer sins they do not lose their salvation, however they are miserable and are instead chastised by God (Hebrews 12:5-6).  Also if a Christian could lose their salvation every time they sin, that means they cease to become children of God and God loses every reason to chastise them.


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