Sin and Forgiveness
CH.6 of Text
Seven Capital Sins
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Pride
Greed
Envy
Anger
Lust
Gluttony
Sloth
Pride
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An unlimited appreciation for one’s worth;
arrogance, excessively high opinion of
oneself
“I’m da man!!”
Greed
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Immoderate desire for earthly goods; love
of money or possessions rather than
loving God
Envy
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Sorrow over another’s good fortune;
covetousness; jealousy over another’s
possessions or characteristics
Happy that someone else gets injured or
sad when they do well
Ex. Watching football
Anger (Wrath)
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Intemperate desire for revenge; hostile
and wrathful feelings toward others
“I’m gonna knock you out…”
Lust
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Inordinate, unrestrained craving for
pleasure, esp. sexual pleasure
Get some…
Gluttony
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Unrestrained, immoderate consumption of
food or drink
Getting hammered…
Whose in control? You or the alcohol?
Sloth
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Laziness in keeping the faith or practicing
right living; neglecting to do one’s duties
because of laziness.
“As a door turns on its hinges, so to does
the lazy man turn on his bed.” (Proverbs)
Examples of Sin
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Gossiping
Hate and prejudice towards any group
Drunk or drugged persons who make poor
choices (driving, rape, etc.)
Abortion
Greed of Multinational Companies
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Ex. Pharmaceutical companies exploiting poor
countries as seen in “Constant Gardener”
Environmental degradation
Prejudice: race, religion, ethnicity, etc.
Old Testament
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Three words describing sin:
Hattah
Pesha
Avon
Hattah
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Means “missing the
mark” in Greek
Related to the sport
of archery
Doing God’s will in
our life is our target
Deliberately choosing
to be less than we
can be
Ex. Push-ups at NBC
Pesha
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Means “rebellion” or “transgression”
Deliberately violating God’s law
Jesus taught that rebellion is rooted deep in the
human heart
Examples of rebellion:
Apathy, lack of interest in anything (i.e. the poor
are not my problem).
Refusal to take correction based on the attitude
that “no one can tell me what to do.”
Hostility toward people who are different
Avon
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Means “guilt” or “iniquity”
Refers to the consequences of sin
Effects of Sin
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Alienates us from God
Alienates us from ourselves
Alienates us from others
Alienates us from God
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Sin deprives us of the glory of God
Romans 3:23 “For all men have sinned and
fallen short of the glory of God
If a serious or mortal sin, it results in the loss of
sanctifying grace and leads to both spiritual and
physical death
Romans 6:23 “For the wages of sin is death”
Originally God did not intend for us to die, but
this came as a consequence or wage of sin
Alienates us from Ourselves
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Sin crushes the lives of sinners, hardens our
hearts, weakens our intellects, and enslaves our
wills.
By sinning we get into the habit of sin
An evil desire once conceived gives birth to sin
and leads to death (James 1:15)
Temptation is not sinning, but when entertained
it becomes sin (ex. Bird flying over your head)
Small sins if unchecked can lead to greater sin
Alienates us from Others
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“I can do whatever I want as long as it
doesn’t hurt anybody.”
Sin is relational and will always hurt and
affect others.
This is related to “original sin”
Different Kinds of Sin
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Original Sin vs. Personal Sin
Mortal Sin
Venial Sin
Social Sin
The Forgiveness of Sins
Reflect Mark 2
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Forgiveness was an essential part of Jesus’s
ministry.
Jesus instructed his disciples to continue to
forgive sins in his name: “Receive the holy Spirit.
Whose sins you forgive are forgiven them, and
whose sins you retain are retained” (Jn 20:2223)
Baptism is the primary sacrament of forgiveness
because it wipes away sin and unites us to
Christ.
Through Baptism we receive forgiveness of both
original sin and personal offenses
Original Sin
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The story of Adam and Eve.
Why did God put the tree of Knowledge in
the Garden of Eden?
They were tempted to believe that God
was holding out on them.
God’s ways aren’t the best for us.
Original Sin
Original Sin vs. Personal Sin
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Original Sin
We don’t commit it
But we are all born into a
sin-damaged, relationally
damaged world which we
inherited from our first
parents
Leads us to
concupiscence an
inclination to evil
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Personal Sin
Any free and deliberate
act, word, thought or
desire that turns us away
from love
Personal sin either
weakens (venial sin) or
kills (mortal sin) our
relationship with God
Mortal Sin
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A grave violation of God’s law that destroys
God’s love and life within us.
“There is a sin that leads to death” (1 John
5:16)
Involves three conditions:
Grave matter—breaking one of the comt’s
Full knowledge—we know that what we’re doing
is wrong
Complete consent—the person is not being
forced to do it. They’ve have freely chosen to do
so.
Venial Sin
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Venial means “easily forgivable”
“… there is sin that does not lead to
death.” (1 John 5:17)
Venial sin occurs when we fail to follow
the moral law in less serious matters or
without full knowledge or complete
consent of what we’re doing.
It weakens God’s life within us, but does
not destroy it within us like mortal sin.
Mortal or Venial?
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Lying under oath?
Not stopping at the scene of an accident you
caused?
Verbally abusing someone with a disability
Cheating on a test
Torturing political prisoners
Suicide
Refusing to forgive someone who asks
Having sex outside of marriage
Social Sin: cooperating in another
persons sin
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Ex. Joining classmates in cutting someone
down
Order, advise, praise the sins of someone
else.
Concealing someone else’s sin or
protecting evil-doers
Ex. Lying about someone’s sinful behavior
Being a friend means calling that person
to accountability (i.e. Roger Boyer & Ella)
The Unforgivable Sin
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God will forgive any sin of anyone who
approaches him for forgiveness
It is his promise
The only unforgivable sin is the deliberate
refusal and rejection of God’s forgiveness
God does not force his love on us
The Prodigal Son
Conversion and the Sacrament of
Reconciliation
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This is where we continually restore our
relationship with God
We can do this alone with God but there is
a power in doing it with someone who
acts in Christ’s place—the priest.
Elements of the Sacrament
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Examine your conscience
Have contrition for your sins
Confess your sins
Absolution
Do the penance assigned
New Testament
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You are probably feeling like Paul in
Romans 7… What do we do about the sin
within us and around us??
Jesus asks us to do three things:
Repent of your sins (turn around)
Believe in the gospel of God’s love for you.
With the strength of the Holy Spirit, begin
to live the good news of love.
Test Review:
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Know and explain the seven capital sins
The three Old Testament words for sin and their
meanings
The three effects of sin
What is original sin?
What is the difference between personal sin and original
sin?
What is the difference between mortal sin and venial
sin?
What is social sin?
What is the unforgivable sin?
What does repentance mean?
Elements in the sacrament of reconciliation.
Personal Story
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My personal testimony and baptism story
Feeling a weight lifted after reading Ps. 51
after feeling guilty the night before.
Show clip from Jesus film
Do you want to know Jesus’ love and
forgiveness and power to change in your
life?
Then ask him to come into your life.