Chapter 1.

What a great evil sin is

Woe to the wicked! For he shall have recompense for the works of his hands.

(Isaiah 3:11)

§ 40. Sin is everything that is done against the holy and eternal law of God, as the Apostle teaches: Everyone who commits sin also commits iniquity; and sin is lawlessness (1 John 3:4). Sin is the transgression and destruction of God's eternal and unchangeable law, disobedience and opposition to God's holy will.

§ 41. Sin can be a deed, a word, a thought, a desire and an intention. A deed, such as: murder, theft, etc.; in a word, such as: blasphemy, backbiting, slander, foul language, and so on; by thought, such as: foul language, pleasure in thought, which comes from the lust of fornication, secret hatred, malice, and so on; desire and intention, such as: lust for uncleanness, desire for the good of others, vengeance, and everything that a person wants to do against the law of God, which is a sin against the tenth commandment of God: "Thou shalt not covet" (Exodus 20:17).

§ 42. Sin is both that which is forbidden by the law of God, and that which is commanded by the law of God is abandoned. It is a sin to kill, but it is a sin not to give a helping hand to the needy, for example, drowning in water. For God in His law commanded both to turn away from evil and to do good: turn away from evil and do good (Psalm 33:15); and as He said, "Thou shalt not steal" (Exodus 20:15), so He commanded, "Give to him that asketh thee" (Matt. 5:42). Therefore, punishment from God is determined not only for evil deeds, but also for forsaking good works, as it is written: "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire" (Luke 3:9); and into eternal fire the Lord sends those who have not done works of mercy, as we read in St. Matthew in chapter 25, where the image of Christ's judgment is presented. Therefore, it is a sin not to do evil, so not to do good. Both the creation of evil and the abandonment of good are contrary to the law of God, which forbids evil and commands good.

§ 43. A deed that is apparently good turns into vice and sin, if not for good, but for an evil purpose. Thus alms are defamed if it is given for the sake of vanity; the preacher sins when he preaches the word of God for the sake of his praise, and so on. The reason for this is that such a person departs from God in his heart, and in the place where he should have and worship God, he sets himself up as an idol; for He anticipates His glory, which befits Him alone, as the Author of all good. Such a person has self-love in his heart and loves and honors himself instead of God. And his work is like an apple, red on the outside, but rotten and stinking on the inside, and he himself is like a painted sepulchre, which is beautiful on the outside, but foul on the inside; or as an evil tree, which cannot produce good fruit; but as it is evil, so it bears evil fruit (cf. Matt. 7:17-18). For in order for a deed to be truly good, it must be good both outside and inside; then it is good when it comes from a good heart and with a good purpose, that is, for the glory of God and the benefit of one's neighbor.

§ 44. Sin is a great evil, as the following causes show.

1) The majesty of God is offended by every sin. To insult a simple man is no small evil, to insult a dignified man more so, and how great it is to offend a king. And what a grave evil it is to offend the infinite and indescribable God! Resentment and insult grow from the person being offended; and the greater and higher the person in society who is offended, the greater the insult and the greater the sin. But the insult of every man, not only the common man, but also the dignitary and the king himself, is nothing in comparison with the insult of God: for every man, even the king himself, is nothing before the majesty of God, before Whom all the world and all the nations are counted as a drop out of a bucket (Isaiah 40:15). Therefore, any sin is a very grave evil, for by it the infinite Majesty of God is offended; and such evil will be cleansed all eternity by the fire of Gehenna, if it is not cleansed here by contrition of heart, repentance and the Blood of the Son of God.

2) By sin, the law of God, eternal and unchanging, is destroyed. For God has given us His law so that we may keep it whole. And when a person sins and transgresses the law of God, then he violates that God's institution and law, which is eternally inviolable and must remain whole. And so man destroys what God has ordained; and the accursed sinner changes and destroys that which in itself must be unchangeable and inviolable. In the law of God is depicted that which is so, and not otherwise, as it is depicted, should be; for example, to honor and love God above all else, and to love one's neighbor as oneself. This is what the eternal and unchanging truth demands of man. But the blinded sinner, in spite of this, dares to destroy the indestructible and violate the inviolable, to the dishonor of the eternal God and his own destruction.

3) A person, when he sins, reveres himself more than God, listens to his lust more than to God, prefers his will to the will of God and His holy law, and becomes as it were autocratic and disobedient to the authority of God, and so with the devil he stubbornly stands against God. It cannot be otherwise, when a person sins from arbitrariness, prejudice and against conscience. For the devil's work is to resist God and not submit to Him. That is why it is written about such sinners: "Whoever commits sin is of the devil" (1 John 3:8), and such are called children of the devil (1 John 3:10; John 8:44). How difficult and terrible it is to resist God and your Creator with the devil, everyone can see.