Faith Check 20 - Mortal Sin

Mortal Sin

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You know, we shouldn’t kid ourselves that we can’t earn God’s love. That’s about as foolish as a kid down the street trying to earn his way into my family by mowing my lawn every week. To be reborn in Christ is to be adopted as God’s son or daughter,¹ something that could never be purchased or earned.

Nevertheless, there are still certain requirements for remaining part of that family. Just as a child can get himself kicked out of the house or even disinherited, so too we can separate ourselves from God’s grace through what the Church traditionally calls mortal sin.² These sins can take the form of co-mmission, such as hatred or adultery, or o-mission, such as ignoring those in need or refusing to forgive someone.

Paul exhorts us in 1 Corinthians 10 to not be like the Israelites, who, in spite of having been liberated from the slavery of Egypt, baptized in the Red Sea, and fed with manna from heaven in the desert, failed to enter the Promised Land because of their disobedience.³