§ 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.

4) Sin is such a great and terrible evil that no one could destroy it, except the Only-begotten Son of God. The almighty Son of God had to come and take him away by His suffering and death. For this reason the Son of God appeared, to destroy the works of the devil (1 John 3:8). God's law is unchangeable, as stated above, so man had to either fulfill it in its entirety, or he who transgressed and sinned had to endure eternal punishment; for this is what God's righteousness demands of man. But since all were signified by the word of God to be transgressors of the law, all were therefore subject to eternal condemnation; And no one could free himself from this on his own.

For this purpose the Son of God came, and atoned for sin by His suffering and death, and by His sacrifice on the tree of the cross He cleansed it; consequently, the punishment, as a consequence of sin, He took away from those who believe in Him. For there is no sin without punishment; and when the sin is taken away, then the punishment will not follow, since the punishment is only for sin. Therefore, when the faithful pray and ask for the remission of sins, they ask him in the name of Christ, Who alone forgives and takes away sin. Without Him, there is no remission and no taking away of sin. For He is the Lamb of God, Who taketh away the sin of the world (John 1:29).

Do not think, man, that sin is something small. If the Lamb of God does not take sin from you, then all the endless eternity you will pay for it in hell, the righteousness of God; He will take only from those who cease to sin, repent and believe in Him. And if you consider sin to be a small thing, then you will not escape its sorrow; for this is a sign that you do not have true repentance. For he who truly repents knows his severity and sorrow, and therefore guards himself from it as from deadly poison.

5) It is frightening for pagans who do not know God and His holy law to sin, but it is more terrible for Christians who confess God and are enlightened by the light of His word. For the pagans have one conscience, but Christians are convicted of sin by conscience and by the law of God. The pagans do not know God, nor do they see His will, which is declared in the law. Christians hear every day the preached will of God and the punishment that follows the transgressors of the law of God, who, knowing the will of God, do not fulfill it.

The pagans do not know God, and they do not give any promises to Him. Christians, on the other hand, when they enter Christianity, promise to serve God, to do His will, and deny Satan and his works; but when they turn to sins, they forget and trample on all this, and betray God, and become deceitful. And so it happens to them according to the true proverb: The dog returns to his vomit, and the washed pig goes to wallow in the mud (2 Peter 2:22). Sin for Christians is nothing but apostasy, betrayal, which is betrayed not to man, but to God.

Reason, Christian, that there is a sin in which you delight. Though you confess the name of God, you deny Him by deed, when you transgress His commandment. As many times as you sin, for example, you kill, commit fornication, steal, steal, slander, blaspheme, slander, and so on, so many times do you obey the devil's advice and God's commandment, and reject His commandment; the more times you obey the enemy of the devil and do not obey God, so many times you depart from Him and approach the devil. Truly it is so, although you do not notice it.

6) Sin separates man from God, as the prophet says: "Your sins have made a division between you and God" (Isaiah 59:2). And the more a person sins, the more he moves away from God; the more it moves away, the more it is darkened. God is light (1 John 1:5). Therefore, whoever departs from Him the farther he goes, the greater the darkness he enters and the more his mind becomes blind. How does it happen that such a person often does not consider as a sin that which is a great sin, and rejoices over what he should weep about? For example, to take revenge on one's neighbor, to repay evil for evil, to insult, to deceive, to deceive, to deceive, and to wound a person with a word, like an arrow, many consider it a consolation for themselves that there is great madness and extreme darkness of the mind. Therefore, such a person in all his actions, deeds and undertakings walks like a blind man or as in darkness, and does not see the pit of perdition into which he can fall. Of such it is said: "They have not known, they have not understood, they walk in darkness" (Psalm 81:5); – And again: We touch the wall like blind men, and as without eyes, we grope about it; we stumble at noon, as in twilight (Isaiah 59:10). Sin leads to this calamity.