Questions & Answers

The Catholic church claims that some sins are mortal (that is, damning) by their very nature. That would be all sins that are really bad like murder, stealing a lot of money, etc. The Catholic church says these sins can only be forgiven through the sacrament of confession and the other sacraments of the church. Other sins by their very nature are not considered bad enough to be damning. They are called venial (or, less offensive, excusable).

This is wrong. We confess with Scripture that every sin is by its very nature damning (Genesis 2:17; Romans 6:23; 1 John 3:15). It does not matter whether the amount of money stolen is small or large, whether the murder attempt succeeds or fails. Every sin of the unbeliever and the impenitent is damning by its very nature, regardless of whether people consider it to be big or small. On the other hand, every sin of the repentent believer is forgiven, whether it is a careless word or a heinous crime (1 John 1:9). This forgiveness depends on repentance and faith in Christ whose blood purifies us from all sin (1 John 2:1-2), but does not depend on confession to a priest. The Catholic view of forgiveness is based on the false premise that there is a greater power of forgiveness in sacramental confession to a priest.