Most Christians are familiar with the concept of sin which I basically define as mankind’s inclination to be his own authority and to do what is wrong by natural or divine revelation. The first sin was representative of this definition since Adam and Eve ate of the fruit in an act of disobedience so that they could have their eyes open, be like God, and discern good and evil for themselves.
Protestant traditions teach that sin is Boolean—we are sinners saved by grace or sinners not saved by grace and one merits heaven the other merits a place not-heaven. The corollary to “grace alone” salvation spawns the idea that sin after a salvation experience is inconsequential to our eternal destination. Holiness is optional and bequeaths a proportional reward in paradise. We don’t know what that reward is, but whatever it is we want it. And so holiness is something we may strive for anyway, perhaps out of gratitude—but then again, maybe not.
The Catholic Church teaches that there are two types of sin: venial sin and mortal sin both of which we need to avoid but the latter being worse than the former. From the CCC: “1854 Sins are rightly evaluated according to their gravity. The distinction between mortal and venial sin, already evident in Scripture, became part of the tradition of the Church. It is corroborated by human experience. 1855 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. Venial sin allows charity to subsist, even though it offends and wounds it.” Indeed, we are sinners saved by grace, yes, but it does not stop there. We must continue to participate in our salvation by staying in grace. Venial sin can be purged simply by going to Mass. But mortal sin “necessitates a new initiative of God’s mercy” and one must go to confession to be rid of it.
Analysis
First of all, there is a natural tendency to grade sin in terms of severity. If a preacher gets mad at his wife and says unkind things we may not be as outraged as if he cheated on his wife using a paid prostitute (as televangelist Jimmy Swaggart did, twice, in the 1980’s and was defrocked). Truth is, there are some sins greater than others in their effect on people, society, as well as one’s relationship with God. So, intrinsically, we think of sin in levels of severity so why should people be surprised by the Catholic teaching on mortal and venial sin?
Alas the Scripture says so much too. 1 John 5:16 If any one sees his brother committing what is not a deadly sin, he will ask, and God will give him life for those whose sin is not deadly. There is sin which is deadly; I do not say that one is to pray for that. 17All wrongdoing is sin, but there is sin which is not deadly.
By and large, the teaching on sin in the Catholic Church ties in better with the teaching on salvation and personal responsibility. Protestant teaching has us saved and then, quite possibly, live reprobate lives as usual. But this doesn’t seem to comport with our sense of holiness and a spirit born anew. In such case some Protestants go so far as to suggest that one must not have been saved initially—that their salvation was in question. But who is to say? How can we know?
On the other hand, Catholic teaching demands that we continue to leave our life of sin, that we comport with a life of holiness, otherwise, we DO lose our salvation. And that is a paradigm shift for another day: it is possible to lose one’s salvation.