I found this very powerful and informative. A verse that has always been challenging to me is the following:
'If anyone sees his brother sinning a sin which does not lead to death, he will ask, and He will give him life for those who commit sin not leading to death. There is sin leading to death. I do not say that he should pray about that. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is sin not leading to death.' I John 5:16-17
I feel that the explanation in the textbook brought clarity to this. The explanation from the Roman Catholic view distinguishing between mortal and venial sin gave a very clear understanding of the difference between these two. My own belief was that all sin brings separation from God, meaning it breaks down our relationship with Him. But, I would also see the possibility of people completely turning away from the Lord, as mentioned in Hebrews 6, which removes one from the Book of Life. In my understanding, I always viewed it as a degree of sin that has a ‘legal’ weight to it that severs the relationship with God completely.
I didn’t have the correct language and felt this gave me the language. The different categories of sin, namely State, Act and Infirmity, also helped to solidify the idea. Even the breakdown of the different kinds of sin brought clarity.
One of my favourite statements regarding sin in the textbook was, ‘All sin is a corrupted expression of rightly ordered love.’ Bringing it all back to our alignment with God, His image and likeness to produce incredible freedom in our lives. Holiness...