According to Rome's definition, mortal sin is described as "any great offense against the law of God" and is so named because "it is deadly, killing the soul and subjecting it to eternal punishment." Venial sins, on the other hand, are "small and pardonable offenses against God, and our neighbor." Unlike mortal sins, venial sins are not thought to damn a soul to hell, but with the committing of each venial sin, a person increases his need for a longer stay in the purifying fires of a place called "purgatory." (Look that word up in your Bible dictionary you'll find it right next to "venial!") [50]
Does the Bible make a distinction between "mortal" and "venial" sins?
The Bible teaches that all of us sin (Romans 3:23) and that the just compensation for sin is eternal death (Romans 6:23). Over and against the concepts of mortal and venial sin, the Bible does not state that some sins are worthy of eternal death whereas other are not. All sins are mortal sins in that even one sin makes the offender worthy of eternal separation from God in Hell.
The Apostle James articulates this fact in his letter (James 2:10), "For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all." Notice his use of the word "stumbles". It means to make a mistake or fall into error. James is painting a picture of a person who is trying to do the right thing and yet, perhaps unintentionally, commits a sin. What is the consequence? God, through His servant James, states when a person commits even unintentional sin he is guilty of breaking the entire law... It doesn't matter if a person commits one small sin or several huge ones. The result is the same...The person is guilty of breaking God's law. And the Lord declares that He will not leave the guilty unpunished (Nahum 1:3).
[The concepts of mortal and venial sins] present an unbiblical picture of God's payment for sin. In both cases of mortal and venial sin, forgiveness of the given transgression is dependent upon the offender making restitution of some type. In Roman Catholicism, this restitution may take the form of going to confession, praying a certain prayer, taking communion, or another ritual of some type. The basic thought is that in order for Christ's forgiveness to be applied to the offender, the offender must perform some work and then the forgiveness is granted. The payment and forgiveness of the transgression is dependent upon the offender's actions.
Is this what the Bible teaches regarding the payment for sin? The Bible clearly teaches that the payment for sin is not found in or based upon the actions of the sinner. Consider words of 1 Peter 3:18, "For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;..." Take note of the wording, "Christ also died for sins once for all..." This passage teaches that for the person who is believing in Jesus Christ, all of his or her sins have been taken care of on the cross...Christ died for all of them. This includes the sins the believer committed before salvation and the ones he has and will commit after salvation. [51]
Roman Catholics will sometimes appeal to 1 John 5:16 in support of "venial" versus "mortal" sins.
"If any man see his brother sin a sin which is not unto death, he shall ask, and he shall give him life for them that sin not unto death. There is a sin unto death: I do not say that he shall pray for it" (1 John 5:16).
According to some Catholics, this verse teaches that some sins are "unto death" (mortal), whereas others are "not unto death" (venial).
It will not do to appeal to the apostle John who speaks of 'a sin unto death' for this would prove too much. A mortal sin for Rome is one which can be forgiven, and for which therefore pardon should be sought. But the sin of which John speaks is one of such a serious character that he cannot even ask his hearers to pray for one who is guilty of it. It would seem therefore that he is referring to such a sin as apostasy, or final and persistent impenitence - the sin against the Holy Spirit for which the Lord says there is no forgiveness - and this is, in fact, recognized in the note in the Douay Version. [52]
Bible teacher John MacArthur wrote:
John illustrates praying according to God's will with the specific example of the "sin leading to death." Such a sin could be any premeditated and unconfessed sin that causes the Lord to determine to end a believer's life. It is not one particular sin like homosexuality or lying, but whatever sin is the final one in the tolerance of God. Failure to repent of and forsake sin may eventually lead to physical death as a judgment of God (Acts 5:1-11; 1 Cor. 5:5; 11:30)... The contrast to the phrase "there is sin leading to death" with "there is sin not leading to death" signifies that the writer distinguishes between sins that may lead to physical death and those that do not. That is not to identify a certain kind of mortal or non-mortal sin, but to say not all sins are so judged by God. [53]
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