4. What Is Sin?

"Whosoever committeth sin committeth also iniquity; and sin is iniquity." - 1 John 3:4

After learning why man was made, what faith is, and what grace is, the beginner must learn what sin is. This is necessary because sin is the enemy of the soul. It separates man from God, wounds the conscience, disorders the will, darkens the mind, and can destroy the life of grace.

The catechism answer is simple: Sin is an offense against God by thought, word, deed, or omission. It is disobedience to God's law.

This answer must be learned carefully. Sin is not merely a mistake, weakness, social problem, bad feeling, or private preference. Sin is an offense against God.

The question is not first, "Did anyone notice?" It is not first, "Did I feel guilty?" It is not first, "Do other people approve?" The question is: "Did I offend God?"

This restores the right order. God is the measure of good and evil. Human approval does not make sin innocent. Human disapproval does not make virtue wrong. The conscience must be formed by God's law, not by the mood of the age.

To understand sin, the soul must remember that God is holy, just, true, and good. Sin is evil because it turns against Him and against the order He has established.

Every sin is against God first. Some sins also harm neighbor, family, society, and the sinner's own body. But sin is not only horizontal. It reaches upward against the Creator.

This is why David says, after his grave sins, "To thee only have I sinned, and have done evil before thee."[1] He had harmed others, but he understood that the deepest offense was against God.

The beginner should learn this clearly. A lie is not wrong merely because it causes inconvenience. Impurity is not wrong merely because it causes regret. Disobedience is not wrong merely because it creates disorder. These things are wrong because they oppose the law and holiness of God.

Sin can be committed by thought. A person may consent to hatred, lust, envy, pride, revenge, or blasphemy in the mind.

Sin can be committed by word. Lies, blasphemy, detraction, calumny, impurity in speech, cruelty, mockery, and useless harmful talk can offend God.

Sin can be committed by deed. Theft, impurity, violence, drunkenness, sacrilege, neglect of worship, and disobedience to lawful authority are examples.

Sin can also be committed by omission. A person may fail to do what duty requires: neglect prayer, refuse correction, fail to teach children, ignore the needy, avoid confession, or remain silent when duty requires witness.

This helps the soul examine itself honestly. Sin is not only the evil one does. It can also be the good one refuses.

Mortal sin is a grave offense against God that kills the life of grace in the soul. For a sin to be mortal, three things are required: grave matter, sufficient knowledge, and full consent of the will.

Grave matter means the thing is seriously evil. Sufficient knowledge means the person knows, at least substantially, that the act is gravely wrong. Full consent means the person freely chooses it.

Mortal sin is terrible because it turns the soul away from God as its last end. A soul in mortal sin has lost sanctifying grace. If a person dies in unrepented mortal sin, he is lost forever.

This is not harshness. It is truth. Mercy does not hide mortal sin. Mercy calls the sinner to repentance before death closes the time of return.

Venial sin is a lesser offense against God. It does not destroy sanctifying grace, but it wounds charity, weakens the soul, disposes the person toward greater sin, and displeases God.

Venial sin should not be treated lightly. Small disobediences can train the soul in carelessness. Repeated impatience, vanity, laziness, uncharitable speech, small lies, or deliberate distractions in prayer can make the conscience dull.

A beginner must learn both truths. Mortal sin must be feared because it kills the life of grace. Venial sin must be resisted because love of God should not tolerate even smaller offenses against Him.

Original sin is the sin inherited from Adam. Adam, the first man, disobeyed God, and through him sin entered the human race. Because of original sin, man is born without sanctifying grace, subject to suffering and death, and inclined toward sin.

This does not mean that each child personally committed Adam's act. It means that human nature fell in Adam, and every child of Adam inherits that fallen condition.

Baptism removes original sin and gives sanctifying grace. Yet the wounds of the Fall remain: ignorance, weakness, disordered desire, suffering, and death. This is why man still needs grace, instruction, discipline, prayer, and the sacraments.

Temptation is not the same as sin. A temptation is an attraction or suggestion toward evil. Sin begins when the will consents.

This distinction helps the beginner. A bad thought may enter the mind without being chosen. A temptation may be strong and distressing. The soul has not sinned merely because it was tempted. Christ Himself permitted temptation in the desert, yet He did not sin.[2]

The soul should reject temptation promptly, pray, turn the mind away, avoid near occasions of sin, and not become curious about evil. Playing with temptation is dangerous. Rejecting it is faithful.

An occasion of sin is a person, place, thing, habit, or situation that leads the soul toward sin. Some occasions are remote. Others are near and dangerous.

A Catholic must avoid near occasions of mortal sin. It is not enough to say, "I will be strong," while freely staying near what usually causes a fall. Pride trusts itself. Prudence flees danger.

This applies to bad company, impure media, drunken settings, angry conversations, secret habits, sinful relationships, and anything else that commonly leads the soul away from God.

When a Catholic falls into mortal sin, he must repent and go to confession. The sacrament of Penance restores sanctifying grace when received with true contrition, honest confession, and purpose of amendment.

Confession is not humiliation without mercy. It is Christ's tribunal of mercy. The sinner accuses himself before God through the priest, receives absolution if properly disposed, and is restored to grace.

The beginner should not delay confession after mortal sin. Delay hardens the heart. Prompt repentance keeps the soul from making peace with death.

False mercy says sin is not serious. True mercy says sin is so serious that Christ shed His Blood to save sinners.

False mercy comforts the sinner inside disorder. True mercy calls him out. False mercy changes the language so evil sounds harmless. True mercy speaks plainly so the soul may repent and live.

This distinction is necessary now because many people want religion without conversion. But Christ did not come to bless sin. He came to save sinners from sin.

The soul must learn that sin offends God. It is not merely a feeling or mistake.

The soul must learn the difference between mortal and venial sin. Mortal sin kills the life of grace. Venial sin wounds charity and weakens the soul.

The soul must learn that temptation is not sin unless the will consents.

The soul must learn to avoid near occasions of sin.

The soul must learn to repent quickly, confess honestly, and trust God's mercy without abusing it.

Sin is an offense against God by thought, word, deed, or omission. It is disobedience to God's law.

A beginner should ask: Have I offended God? Do I know the difference between mortal and venial sin? Do I avoid occasions of sin? Do I confess honestly? Do I mistake mercy for permission to remain unchanged?

Sin brings death. Grace brings life. The Christian must therefore hate sin, not because he hates souls, but because he loves God and knows what sin does to the soul.