Interesting. It obviously is not completely biblical, because the Bible never uses the terms “venial” or “mortal.” So the distinction is certainly not a biblical distinction.
That said, the Bible does make some commentary about the nature of sin.
Romans 14:23 says, “But the man who has doubts is condemned if he eats, because his eating is not from faith; and everything that does not come from faith is sin.” Additionally, James 4:17 states the opposite: “Anyone, then, who knows the good he ought to do and doesn’t do it, sins.”
John, in his first epistle, adds an interesting twist to the entire matter (1 John 5:16-17): If anyone sees his brother commit a sin that does not lead to death, he should pray and God will give him life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that he should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death."
So, there is a sin that leads to death, and there is a sin that does not lead to death. However, the Bible never lists which specific sins are lead-to-death sins and which ones are not-to-death sins.
Jesus makes a profound observation: “I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin.” (Mark 3:28-29)
So, some sin is forgivable, and at least this one sin is unforgivable. But again, the exact delineation of what exactly is entailed in forgivable sin and unforgivable sin (blasphemy - just a transliterated Greek word - against the Holy Spirit) is not provided.
Let’s use a metaphor to make a point, however. Human beings are mortal. Period. So if you die from cancer or from a car accident or from old age or from a lightning strike, you are still, in the end, dead. If you have dirt on your face or a clean face, it does not matter, really. Clean dead or dirty dead - dead is still dead.
So, there might be an argument for a “venial sin,” that does not lead to death. Dirty face, if you have venial sin, clean face if you don’t. But the “mortal sin” if there is such a definable thing, means you’re spiritually dead.
Paul’s book to the Romans is the most clear book about this issue. Paul wrote, "What benefit did you reap at that time from the things you are now ashamed of? Those things result in death! But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom 6:21-23) The entire chapter is much more illustrative of the issue, and really chapters 1-8 frame the entire concept.
Hebrews 10 gets to the point. So does Ezekiel 18 and 33. Psalm 51. Galatians 5. Tons of other huge sections. The whole book of Deuteronomy. And so on.
So, I’ll agree with Patty [Patty is my gf who also holds that all sin is equal], that in the long run, sin that leads to death is the human condition, and all sin is the same, with the end result in view. And I’ll agree with you, that there is a distinction between fudging your age to be a big shot does not equal Jeffery Dahmer or Adolph Hitler or Idi Amin, etc. But so what?
If you’re dead with dirt on your face or dead with a clean face, you’re still dead. What you need is life through resurrection and transformation, rather than a wash rag.
Do you agree?
