The Catholic
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Mortal Sin
Protestants believe that once one has "accepted Christ as his personal Lord and Savior", he cannot lose his salvation through sin, no matter how serious his sins are. In fact, Protestants do not make a distinction between "mortal" and "venial" sins, claiming that all sins, no matter how grave, lead to spiritual death, and are on equal footing because no sin can crush the grace out of the soul of one who has been "saved".
The Catholic Church teaches something quite different. According to Catholic teaching, when one is in the state of grace, two types of sin can be committed–mortal and venial. One cannot lose saving, sanctifying grace through venial sin, but through mortal sin, sanctifying grace may be driven out of the soul, thereby causing the sinner to lose his salvation.
In defense of their position, Protestants cite verses such as these from John: "Whoever abides in Him does not sin"; "Whoever has been born of God . . . cannot sin" (1 John 3:6, 9); "Whoever is born of God does not sin" (1 John 5:18). Of course, to interpret these passages according to a Protestant interpretation would create a discrepancy between these passages and 1 John 1:8: "If we say, ‘We are free of the guilt of sin,' we deceive ourselves; the truth is not to be found in us." The passages that Protestants cite mean that if we accept all the graces that God gives us, in order that we avoid sin, we will not commit sin. His grace is sufficient. However, that grace can always be refused.
Catholics, on the other hand, in support of their position, also cite 1 John: "Anyone who sees his brother sinning, if the sin is not deadly, should petition God, and thus life will be given to the sinner. This is only for those whose sin is not deadly. There is such a thing as a deadly sin; I do not say that one should pray about that. True, all wrongdoing is sin, but not all sin is deadly" (1 John 5:16-17). Here we have clear support for the Catholic teaching that some sins lead to eternal death. The passage does not have anything to do with capital punishment, because we see that, rather than the sinner dying, other believers are supposed to bring him to repentance. James also says: "Sin, when it is full grown [mortal] brings death" (Jas. 1:15).
Furthermore, we see Paul writing in Galatians: "It is obvious what proceeds from the flesh: lewd conduct, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, hostilities, bickering, jealousy, outbursts of rage, selfish rivalries, dissensions, factions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I have warned you before: those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God" (Gal. 5:19-21). Note that Paul "warns" Christians, those who were already "saved", not to engage in these sins. If they do, says Paul, they will "not inherit the kingdom". In other words, Christians can lose their salvation through mortal sin. This is similar to Paul saying, once again to Christians: "Fornication . . . let it not even be named among you . . . for no fornicator . . . has any inheritance in the kingdom" (Eph. 5:3,5-7). Now, if all sins lead to death, or if no sins lead to death, there would be no need for Paul to list these mortal sins.
There are many other passages that affirm that Christians can lose their salvation through mortal sin: "If you [Christians] live according to the flesh you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live" (Rom. 8:13); "It is actually reported that there is sexual immorality among you . . . deliver such a one to Satan for the destruction of the flesh, that his spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus" (1 Cor. 5:1-5) [In other words, excommunicate the man, so he may repent and therefore once again be sanctified and saved]; "You yourselves do wrong . . . Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Cor. 6:8-9); And then there is this advice from Jesus: "If you right eye causes you to sin, take it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose a part of your body than to have your whole body thrown into hell" (Matt. 5:29). Although Jesus uses a hyperbole in reference to plucking out an eye, the fact that a believer could go to hell for committing sin is no hyperbole.
Protestants say that Christians do not have to worry about committing mortal sin, because when one has accepted Christ as his personal Savior, all his sins–past, present, and future–have been forgiven: "Their sins . . . I will remember no more" (Heb. 8:12). Actually, this passage is correct–all sins that have been forgiven are "remembered no more", but not even baptism remits future sin, only past sin. So we read: "If we say, ‘We are free of the guilt of sin,' we deceive ourselves; the truth is not to be found in us. But if we acknowledge our sins, he who is just can be trusted to forgive our sins and cleanse us from every wrong" (1 John 1:8-9).
Another point that has to be made is that John the Baptist preached repentance, and Protestants say repentance is necessary for salvation. But why would Christians even need to repent for their sins if sin cannot keep them from heaven, or if they can continue to sin and be saved? Why would they need to turn from their sins to be saved, but they do not need to continue on free of sin to remain saved? The fact is, sin continues to be a problem in the life of a Christian, and mortal sin can snuff out the life of grace in the soul. There is no hint in the Bible that mortal sinners will be saved. In fact, one can "deny the faith" and be "worse than an unbeliever" through sin (1 Tim. 5:8), and "whoever denies [Jesus] before men, [He] will deny before [the] Father who is in heaven" (Matt. 10:33).
Jerome (Against Jovinian 2:30 [A.D. 393]) "There are venial sins and there are mortal sins. It is one thing to owe ten thousand talents, another to owe but a farthing. We shall have to give an accounting for an idle word no less than for adultery. But to be made to blush and to be tortured are not the same thing; not the same thing to grow red in the face and to be in agony for a long time. . . . If we entreat for lesser sins we are granted pardon, but for greater sins, it is difficult to obtain our request. There is a great difference between one sin and another".
Caesarius of Arles (Sermons 179[104]:2 [A.D. 522]) "Although the apostle [Paul] has mentioned many grievous sins, we, nevertheless, lest we seem to promote despair, will state briefly what they are. Sacrilege, murder, adultery, false witness, theft, robbery, pride, envy, avarice . . . if anyone knows that these sins dominate him, if he does not do penance worthily and for a long time . . . the eternal flames will torture him without any remedy . . . Lesser sins . . . can scarcely be counted, and from which not only all Christian people, but even all the saints could not and cannot always be free. We do not, of course, believe that the soul is killed by these sins, but still they make it ugly by covering it as if with some kind of pustules and, as it were, with horrible scabs".
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