I appreciate your discussion and the way you approach it. No name calling ,etc. Just a good discussion.
Are there sins with varying consequences to their outcomes? Yes. We would all agree that the consequence of murder is greater than the consequence of a "little white lie" from a human perspective.
However, from God's perspective they are both sins and in committing either one, even if it was only the little white lie, then that person would, apart from faith in Christ not have entrance into Heaven. Romans 6:23...the wages of sin is death.
But we do know that we all sin according to Romans 3:23...for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.
Now the question becomes is what can we do to gain entrance into Heaven?
The only Biblical answer is faith in Christ as noted in John 3:16; 1 Peter 3:18, Colossians 2:13-14. I really like Colossians 2:13-14 "when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us ALL of our transgressions, having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us, which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross." You just can't get any better than that!
The question of different types of sins, mortal or venial, which if I have the definition of the RCC(http://www.vatican.va/archive/ccc_css/archive/catechism/p3s1c1a8.htm ) correct is:
1857 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."
1857 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."
1858 Grave matter is specified by the Ten Commandments, corresponding to the answer of Jesus to the rich young man: "Do not kill, Do not commit adultery, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Do not defraud, Honor your father and your mother."132 The gravity of sins is more or less great: murder is graver than theft. One must also take into account who is wronged: violence against parents is in itself graver than violence against a stranger.
1859 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. Feigned ignorance and hardness of heart133 do not diminish, but rather increase, the voluntary character of a sin.
1860 Unintentional ignorance can diminish or even remove the imputability of a grave offense. But no one is deemed to be ignorant of the principles of the moral law, which are written in the conscience of every man. The promptings of feelings and passions can also diminish the voluntary and free character of the offense, as can external pressures or pathological disorders. Sin committed through malice, by deliberate choice of evil, is the gravest.
1861 Mortal sin is a radical possibility of human freedom, as is love itself. It results in the loss of charity and the privation of sanctifying grace, that is, of the state of grace. If it is not redeemed by repentance and God's forgiveness, it causes exclusion from Christ's kingdom and the eternal death of hell, for our freedom has the power to make choices for ever, with no turning back. However, although we can judge that an act is in itself a grave offense, we must entrust judgment of persons to the justice and mercy of God.
1862 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.
1863 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."
While he is in the flesh, man cannot help but have at least some light sins. But do not despise these sins which we call "light": if you take them for light when you weigh them, tremble when you count them. A number of light objects makes a great mass; a number of drops fills a river; a number of grains makes a heap. What then is our hope? Above all, confession.
I would say based on this reading that the idea of mortal or venial sins do not line up with the Biblical teaching on sins as Paul writes in Romans....or the NT.
For example, Christ taught that there was no difference between the actual physical act of adultery and the thought of adultery. Both were sin in His eyes.
If we took the idea of mortal sins then we're pretty much are all going to be guilty. Have we always honored our moms and dad? No we haven't.
The idea that we can commit a sin so grievous that it is not covered by the blood of Christ is also not supported by the Bible. I know people will bring up Matthew where Jesus speaks about blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, but if we look at the context of that verse, the circumstances in which this occurred cannot occur today.
I would say the only sin that cannot be forgiven though, is that of unbelief in Christ. I think we would all agree on that.
So back to the question...can our sins separate us from God?
Jesus didn't think so when He said in John 10:27-28 “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.” Paul also wrote in Romans 8:1 “therefore there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” He also went on to declare in Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
There are many other passages in the NT that talk about the security of the believer.
Good discussion and I hope you're having a good 4th of July.
ealgeone:
Well, I don’t like name calling and try to always post things with substance, even if a protestant FR poster here in the end does not agree. The name calling stuff ticks me off and there are some here who I just do not and will not post, even if they post me. Some here I am done with. You have been civil poster and acted with decorum, for the record.
Now, in my view, nothing in those passages speak to Once saved always saved. The entire NT corpus does not support it. Yes, those who are in Christ Jesus will be saved, but that does not prevent those from falling away. You keep saying does not line up with Paul, it is as if you are trying to fit a view of sin into a few verses. As for Christ saying my sheep and no one can take them away from him that is true, but that is from God’s perspective, to assume we are on auto-pilot to heaven is a sin of presumption and actually is an offense against the theological virtue of hope.
I can cite other statements from Christ himself that also have to be read and incorporated into the doctrine of sin, justification, salvation, etc. For example, in Mt 24:13 after talking about persecutions and false prophets, Christ states “But he who endures to the end will be saved”. This is the 2nd time Christ makes that statement in Saint Matthew’s Gospel for we read the same thing in Mt 10:22 “But he who endures to the end will be saved”
As for Christ statements, Christ, since he is Divine will always be true to himself and his promises to give his Grace to those who repent. That is true, but to Love God can’t be forced, as that is not True Love. Christ act of freely laying down his life on the Cross is the Truest act of Love. He gave himself freely. In numerous passages in the NT, Christ speaks about Love of God, Saint Paul says among the 3 great theological virtures of Faith, Hope and Love, Love is the greatest. Thus once we receive God’s Grace, we can turn away from it, God does not turn away from us, but individuals can turn away from God.
Even if you continue reading Saint Paul beyond vs. 3:28, you see for example in Chapter 6:15-18, what then, are we to sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means, Do you know that if you yield yourselves to any one as an obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death or of obedience, which leads to righteousness...you have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.
In 1 Corinthians, Saint Paul reminds the Church at Corinth about Israel’s history and warns them “Therefore let any one who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall”, once he gives that warning to the Corinthians, those who take heed and worship God, pray, etc, will have the Grace given to them by Christ to overcome temptations. But again, it seems clear that Saint Paul is warning against presumption here.