My Catholic friends: Obsession with 'mortal sin' can doom you.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church states: "To die in mortal sin without repenting and accepting God's merciful love means remaining separated from him forever by our own free choice" (CCC 1033). There are three ingredients in a mortal sin: 1. "grave matter," 2. "full knowledge," and 3. "deliberate consent." Cardinal Henry Edward Manning explained the seriousness of this Catholic doctrine: "One mortal sin strikes a soul dead, driving out from it the Holy Ghost."
But rather than trying to nail down specific instances of individual sins that are said to immediately drive the Holy Spirit out of your soul and instantly remove you from a "state of grace," the vast majority of Christian theologians over the centuries have followed St. Paul's approach and St. Peter's method of addressing the wicked intentions and consistently bad behaviour of unconverted people.
Paul wrote, "Do not be deceived: God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction" (Galatians 6:7-8). Sowing to please your sinful nature refers to deliberate ongoing sinful behaviour, and is thus far broader than a single "mortal sin."
Paul used various labels for unconverted people who continually live for sin: "Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God" (1 Corinthians 6:9-10).
Meanwhile, Christians try to avoid sinning. And thankfully, believers are not "under law," but "under grace" (Romans 6:14). You see, Jesus doesn't kick His followers to the curb when they commit an egregious sin, no more than parents kick their 12-year-old child out of their home when he or she does something appalling. An excellent example is when Peter, without premeditation, was overcome with fear and impulsively denied the Lord three times (see Luke 22:54-62).
Wicked intent and persistent sin are what display a lack of genuine repentance. A person cannot rightly claim to be a Christian while engaged in an illicit affair, or scheming to defraud others, or intentionally and repeatedly lying about someone. The adulterer, fraudster and slanderer are under law.
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