We might wonder, “how many sins are too many?” or “have I committed so many sins that God has rejected me?”.
Some people have adopted the notion that, if you keep on sinning, there is some point where Jesus says, “that’s it, you’re out”. There isn’t any Biblical basis for an accumulation of sins that causes a person to lose their salvation.
There are others who say once-saved-always-saved which means there is nothing you could ever do that would cause you to lose your salvation. There is also a hyper-grace version of that which says, “God’s grace covers you no matter what you do”. The Bible contends against both of these views.
If we can lose our salvation, we still have the question – when does that happen?
It turns out the Bible is pretty clear on that. There are two correct answers, "1 sin" and "an infinite number of sins". So now we just need to figure out why there are two answers.
Two Types Of Sin
John clearly says that there are two types of sin but we’ll see that people have had trouble understanding that.
John says there are different types of sins, mortal and not mortal. John isn't teaching something new to Christianity. The same concept exists in Judaism, which John was raised in. It's about how God views things.If a man sees his brother who sins a sin that is not worthy of death, let him ask, and life will be given to him for those who are not sinning unto death; for there is mortal sin; I do not say that a man should pray for this. 17 For every evil is sin, and there is sin that is not mortal. (1 John 5:16-17)
The Catholic church took this verse to mean that there were greater and lesser kinds of sin, which they called mortal and venial sins.
That thinking is not correct. But, having determined that there were greater and lesser sins, they took it upon themselves to determine how to decide which sins were the big ones. The Catholic Church did not build this understanding on the Bible, which is hardly a surprise, but instead they tried to classify sins themselves, partly based on severity, as perceived by the church.According to Roman Catholicism, a venial sin is a lesser sin that does not result in a complete separation from God and eternal damnation in Hell as an unrepented mortal sin would. (Wikipedia - Venial)
Their three criteria for a mortal sin are: Grave Matter (severity), Full Knowledge (awareness), and Deliberate Consent (freely chosen). This means, for example, that stealing something of low value is a venial sin but something of high value is a mortal sin. The problem is obvious - who decides value. The question this raises is whether God cares about the value, or does he care about the heart.Although the Roman Catholic Church does not provide an exhaustive list of mortal sins, breaking the Ten Commandments, suicide, induced abortion, masturbation, rape, and divorce are well-known examples. Additionally, some mortal sins are considered so severe that the church punishes them with excommunication. These include apostasy (deliberate renunciation of the faith) and the desecration of the elements of the Eucharist. (britannica.com - cardinal-sin)
When the reformation came in the 1500s they were no better equipped to understand what John says in that verse. They saw that the Catholic Church's criteria for mortal and venial sins were entirely man-made. The reformer, Calvin, rejected the idea as a Catholic Church invention. He was bothered by their attempts to classify sins and threw out the baby with the bathwater. Mostly the protestant churches have chosen essentially to ignore what John said above.
A web search shows the topic to be mainly a Catholic issue. Lutherans accept that there are both kinds but consider mortal sins to be unrepented venial sins. Others view mortal sins as the continuation of venial sins into a habit. The Bible doesn't support anything like that. Those few authors who deal with the topic often put together embarrassingly bad interpretations.
The more you think about that the more ridiculous it becomes2.We take the "death" mentioned [by John] here to be physical death, not eternal death in hell. When a believer continues in unrepentant sin, he will eventually reach the point when God may decide to remove him from this world1.
Most modern Protestant laity have never heard that there might be a difference in sins. None the less, the concept is very Biblical, with New Testament support.
The Bible Has The Answer
What we’ll see is that the problem isn’t the sin, it’s the heart of the sinner. The sin just shows the heart of the sinner. Even then, sins can be internal and therefore unseen to others, so the sin only reveals the heart of the sinner … to the sinner.
The following Old Testament verses have a word in common.
If [the anointed priest] sins unintentionally in any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and commits any of them, … (Leviticus 4:2)
When a leader sins and unintentionally does any one of all the things which the Lord his God has commanded not to be done, and he becomes guilty, … (Leviticus 4:22)
Leviticus, Numbers, Deuteronomy and even part of Joshua describe the laws and the sacrifices that atoned for sin, but they only refer to unintentional sins. If a sin was committed intentionally there was no sacrifice.Now if anyone of the common people sins unintentionally in doing any of the things which the Lord has commanded not to be done, and becomes guilty, … (Leviticus 4:27)
We know those sacrifices were ineffectual in atoning for sin but they were required and instructive. Through them God showed there was, as yet, no way to restore the relationship between man and God in those cases. A man would wear the guilt of that sin for as long as he lived.
That doesn't mean he would never be forgiven by God. He could repent (turn away from the evils done and turn back to God) and ask for forgiveness and be forgiven but there would still be that debt owed to God and that guilt. God speaks about this through Ezekiel.
God is saying it was possible to repent of intentional sins, for which there was no sacrifice, and still have everlasting life."Cast away from you all your transgressions [law breaking] which you have committed and make yourselves a new heart and a new spirit! For why will you die, O house of Israel? 32 For I have no pleasure in the death of anyone who dies," declares the Lord God. "Therefore, repent and live." (Ezekiel 18:31-32)
The truth is that every one of them committed intentional sins at some point in their lives, just as we do now, likely many times. The Apostle Paul says that he was killed by lust before he became a Christian.
The people of that time knew they could be forgiven, otherwise there would be no point in living after an intentional sin. Yet they also knew the guilt of a sin they could not atone for and a separation from God they could not fix.
Intentional / UnintentionalTherefore, know brothers, that by this one, the forgiveness of sins is preached to you. 39 And all who believe in this one are justified of all things from which you cannot be justified by the Law (Torah) of Moses. (Acts 13:38,39)
Now we understand how it can be true that there can be two types of sins. They differ by the intent of the heart, whether it was an intentional violation or unintentional.
So now we need to understand the difference between intentional and unintentional. The unintentional sins are done because you didn’t know they were wrong, or you had no plan to do them and they were accidental. Killing a person could be intentional (murder – 6th commandment) or unintentional. For example, throwing a rock at a tree and someone steps out from behind the tree and is struck and killed. That’s unintentional.
There is something important to understand from what the Bible says about unintentional sins.
You could (and still can) sin so unintentionally that you would be unaware that you had sinned. For such unintentional sins, whether you knew it was a sin or not, it was.If his sin which he has committed is made known to him, then he shall bring for his offering a goat, a female without defect, for his sin which he has committed. (Leviticus 4:28)
Intentional sins are different that way. They are done with the knowledge and awareness that they were wrong but with a determination to do them anyway. They are actions that are defiant toward God, whether we see it that way or not. At their root they are idolatry – obeying ourselves over God.
As an example, I knew a Christian man whose marriage was in trouble. They weren’t getting along at all. There was no talk of adultery on the part of either one. As he considered divorce, he carefully read the Bible. In the end he said, “I know God hates divorce but I think God loves me more than he hates sin”, and he got the divorce and later remarried.
He made up a little story to ease his conscience, because he knew he was doing wrong. If that story he created was true it could be used to excuse any sin, over and over. It's a license to sin. People are amazing in that they can lie to themselves … and then believe it.
An intentional sin cannot be done accidentally or thoughtlessly. It takes a little time to form an intention that has considered what God says is right but has chosen to do wrong. Here are some synonyms of intentional that may make it clearer: resolved, determined, and even hell-bent, which seems appropriate.
Therefore, as we see so often, it is a matter of where the heart is, and God sees the heart.
The biggest problem with intentional sin is repentance. What word's are you going to take to God? You can't say "oops", because it wasn't a mistake, you did it intentionally. You can't say "it just happened", because you knew what you were doing. You can't say "I didn't know it was wrong", because you did know. You can't say "I'll never do it again", because you don't know the future. All you can do is humble your idolatrous self and throw yourself on his mercy. That will be enough.
Intentional Sins in Old Testament Times
David speaks of his intentional sin of adultery with Bathsheba..
Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, and my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned and done what is evil in Your sight (Psalm 51:2-4)
In these verses David recognizes there is nothing he can do to atone for what he has done. When he says "You do not delight in sacrifice" he is saying he would pile up sacrifice on sacrifice if that would please God and remove his sins. But God does not delight in sacrifices. The sacrifices had a particular purpose, dealing with sin, but they did not please God. But, in this case, there was no sacrifice.For You do not delight in sacrifice, otherwise I would give it; you are not pleased with burnt offering. 17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart, O God, You will not despise. (Psalm 51:16-17)
David can only ask for forgiveness and for a sacrifice he can only offer brokenness and contrition (remorse, repentance). That is a sacrifice God wants.
Even for unintentional sins, having to live with unatoned sin hanging over your head was a common situation in Old Testament times because it might be some time before you could get to the temple for a sacrifice. I don't think we appreciate the freedom we have under this covenant.
The great thinkers of Judaism struggled with this question, why was there no sacrifice for the worst sins, the intentional sins. Why was there no way to restore the relationship with God. We understand the reason now; there was no sacrifice great enough. Therefore, the Old Covenant was incomplete and showed that something was missing and yet to come. That was the sacrifice of God himself, in the form of Jesus.
We are used to the idea that the benefit of Jesus' sacrifice travels into the future to us. In the same way, it travels into the past as well. There were many who had repented and been forgiven of intentional sins and died before Jesus. The debt they owed for those sins was paid for with his death.
Intentional Sins After Jesus
Jesus death serves as the atonement for us. Therefore there is no need for a sacrifice for sin. His sacrifice is also big enough to cover even the intentional sins that we commit. That hasn't removed the need for repentance however. Intentional sin still separates us from God. The remedy is repentance which brings forgiveness and atonement, even for intentional sins.
Nowhere is it said more clearly than in Hebrews 10 that intentional sin still separates us from God. Prior to these verses the author of Hebrews has been encouraging believers to continue in the faith. Then he says this:
In saying "sin by his will" he means intentional sin, so his point is, if you know the truth and you intentionally sin, you are separated from God and Jesus' sacrifice can no longer be applied. If you continue in that state, there is only judgment remaining for you as an enemy of God.For if a man shall sin by his will after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there is no sacrifice to be offered afterward for sins, 27 but that terrible judgment is ready and the zeal of fire which consumes the enemies. (Hebrews 10:26-27)
He says it works just like it did in Moses' law and why would we think otherwise when intentional sin has treated the Son of God so badly. We may not think of it this way but God says here that the man who does this has:For if any violated the law of Moses, he would die without mercy by the mouth of two or three witnesses. 29 How much more do you think he will receive capital punishment, he who has trampled upon the Son of God and esteemed the blood of his covenant to be like that of every person, who also was made holy by it, and he has despised the spirit of grace? (Hebrews 10:28-29)
- trampled upon the Son of God
- considered the blood of Jesus to be no different than any other person
- has despised the spirit of grace
Dishonest Translations
Note that many translations say something more like “For if we go on sinning willfully.” The translators are showing a continuous tense for the verb “to sin”. They are conveying the idea that more than one willful sin is required.
The Greek verb can have a continuous tense but it doesn’t make any sense in the context of these verses. For example, Paul relates willful sin to the Old Testament "for if any violated the law of Moses". Here he is plainly speaking of a singular event therefore the willful sin he speaks of must be singular.
Paul also says "there is no sacrifice to be offered afterward for sins". By that he means that Jesus' atoning sacrifice is not available – you are out of the kingdom. These words only make sense if they apply to every willful sin. The words don't support the idea that each willful sin reduces the atonement some amount, eventually to 0. The words also don't support the idea that Jesus, after some undefined number of willful sins, says, "that’s 2 hatreds and 1 adultery, that's it, now I'm offended; no more atonement for him."
In fact, "after having received the knowledge of the truth" indicates that it is the receiving of the knowledge of truth that makes atonement unavailable. Therefore, every willful sin against that knowledge is unatoned.
Some translators are adding the continuous tense, probably because they like the wiggle room it seems to provide and because they don’t understand.
Summary
At the beginning I said there were two correct answers, "1 sin" and "an infinite number of sins". We now see why. No matter the number of unintentional sins, they are forgiven. Even 1 intentional sin, however, results in the loss of salvation. This is because it says, not your will, but mine.
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1 "Does the Bible teach mortal and venial sin?" https://www.gotquestions.org/mortal-sin-venial.html
2 This thinking results from the once-save-always-saved false teaching. It contains the idea that a person can be a believer and also reject God. In this case it produces a need for God to kill former believers when he would not kill unbelievers. Knowing, from his own eyes, that this is not true, the author qualifies his statement with "God may" which disconnects it from if-then causality. That completely invalidates his interpretation that John is talking about physical death.