Mortal, unforgivable sin and falling away from the faith

Unforgivable sin

This brochure is dedicated to a special sin, which, as we know, can forever exclude the very possibility of salvation. In three sections of the book, the patristic teaching on the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, its disclosure in Orthodox literature and interpretation in the works of Russian theologians, ascetics and religious thinkers are sequentially examined.

All the judgments presented in the work are of great interest, since they give an extremely important characteristic of many realities that an Orthodox Christian encounters today.

Here is an excerpt from the book.

INTRODUCTION

When opening a book to read - the Holy Gospel, remember that it will decide your eternal fate. We will be judged by it.

Saint Ignatius (Brianchaninov)

The Good News of our Lord Jesus Christ - His Holy Gospel - has been transforming our universe for almost two thousand years. It reveals to us all the greatness, love and goodness of God, who wants to have mercy and forgive every person. But the Holy Gospel also shows us sin, which can forever exclude the very possibility of pardon. This is the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, which is not forgiven either in this age or in the future (Matthew 12:32). Blasphemy is a derogatory comment, slander, accusation, condemnation. In relation to God, blasphemy is blasphemy.

Our Lord Jesus Christ devoted part of His great speech to the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit, dedicated to the sins of the tongue: the most serious of them - blasphemy (see: Matthew 12:31-32), evil words as a manifestation of the state of the human heart (see: Matthew 12 , 33–35), useless words, for which we still have to give an account to God (see: Mt 12, 36–37). The Lord called the sin of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit a sin that will never be forgiven to anyone without repentance. This happened after the Pharisees, wanting to reject the miracle performed by the Savior over the demon-possessed, began to attribute the action of the Holy Divine Spirit to Beelzebub and thereby blaspheme God, that is, blaspheme.

The Apostle Peter in his letter pointed out another sin that falls under the gospel concept of blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. The apostles John and Paul also addressed the topic of blasphemy in their writings. Following the apostles, the holy fathers of the Church significantly expanded the list of such sins. The issue of a person’s responsibility for certain sins as blasphemy against the Holy Spirit on the basis of the New Testament teachings and interpretations of the Holy Fathers has also been considered by many theologians, ascetics and religious thinkers of the Russian Orthodox Church. Giving new definitions of the sin of blasphemy, domestic exegetes have always stood on the stone foundation of Holy Scripture and Holy Tradition, the canons of the Orthodox Church, the decrees of the Ecumenical Councils and others equivalent to them, on the works of the holy fathers of the Ecumenical Church.

Our work combines interpretations of different levels - both those that became part of the patristic heritage, and those that remained only a private theological opinion. All of them are of interest to the modern reader, since they provide an extremely important characteristic for us of many realities that an Orthodox Christian encounters today.

What sins will never be forgiven by God

In fact, every person living on earth is a sinner. Among the sins there are the most serious ones that cannot be forgiven. But according to the Bible, any sin, even the most serious, can be forgiven. The main thing is that a person must repent of what he has done. For example, in the Bible, David committed the most serious sins that could harm the creator. But David sincerely repented, and the creator forgave him all his sins.

According to many believers, the greatest sin is denying the existence of God. Repentance during life leads to forgiveness of sins. After death it will be too late, and the person will leave unforgiven. But this sin is not considered the most serious. In the Bible, Christ called certain words and written lines that a simple person could say out loud as sin.

In ancient Rus', blasphemy was considered the most serious sin. The people of Rus' considered this a real insult against the Lord. But even blasphemy can be forgiven. When Christ was accused of worshiping evil spirits, he was crucified on the cross. Even while experiencing extreme torment and pain, Jesus asked God to forgive all those responsible for his death. He believed that his enemies did not know what they were doing.

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The Bible also says that blasphemy is not considered a sin if the person does not know what he is doing. But deliberate blasphemy, in which a person uttered words of insult against Jesus, cannot be forgiven. Ordinary people cannot live life without making mistakes and sins. And so many of them would like to know whether he committed a sin. In this case, you can continue to live in peace. Because a person who asked himself such a question could not commit a grave sin.

Real sinners who commit shameful things every day have no conscience. And therefore, due to the lack of conscience, they do not ask themselves such questions and do not suffer. Their hearts begin to harden over time. People living in the modern world may deny the existence of God and Christ. Some of them even make fun of and tell funny jokes about Christ. With a lack of faith in a Higher Power, people do not cross the boundaries of what is permitted. Modern man does not know that he commits such behavior on a subconscious level. He does not believe in Christ, but at the same time denies the relationship between Jesus and evil spirits. The Bible clearly states that people who practice black magic, worship of evil spirits and witchcraft can be forgiven. Because they commit such a sin because there is no faith in their soul.

In your opinion, what sin is considered the most terrible?

What are you accusing me of?

The word “sin” appears 497 times in the Bible. Almost on every page. That's why it's so important to know what it really is. The Sixth Ecumenical Council (680–681) defines this concept for us as “sickness of the soul.” And if God created man as similar to Himself, then sin is what separates us from God. This is a wound that a person inflicts on himself. Damage after which “the way it was” will no longer be. This can be not only an action, but even a thought.

Holy Scripture tells us that sin is the breaking of the law, “iniquity” (1 John 3:4). The Fall was committed by Adam and Eve when they disobeyed, transgressed the law of their Heavenly Father and were expelled from Paradise as punishment. “The wages of sin is death” (Rom. 6:23). Since then, this damage has become part of human nature and has become inseparable from it. We are already born in sin (original). This is the very falling away from God, which entailed suffering, aging and death. In this state, our forefathers could no longer eat the fruits of the tree of life, just as we cannot now be admitted to Communion with an unclean soul. This is why it is so important for us to separate ourselves from sin in order to find our way home again.

mortal sins in Orthodoxy

God forgives sins because... gives another chance to change

There is a story in the Bible that helps us understand why God forgives people. Let's look at it.

The lawyers and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery, stood her before the people and said to Him: “Teacher, this woman was caught committing adultery. The Law of Moses commands us to stone such women. What do you say? They asked to test Him and turn His answer against Him. But Jesus knelt down and began to trace on the ground with his finger. They kept asking Him. Then He stood up and said to them, “Let him who is without sin among you be the first to throw a stone at her” (John 8:3-7)

Why did Jesus Christ forgive the sins of this woman? A little more and she would have been stoned, especially since this was required by the law of the Old Testament in force at that time. But what did Jesus do? He showed that everyone who wanted to throw a stone at her deserves such punishment. He showed that he wanted to give this woman another chance. God hates sin more than you and me. Sin is the only thing that separates man from God. Sin is a tool of Satan. But God forgives this woman. God gave her another chance to change. And it seems that the woman understood this.

If God forgives us and does not punish us for our sins, rest assured that He sees everything. God is simply giving you another chance to change.

“And the one who comes to Me I will never cast out”

But here an obstacle arises - fear. What if they don’t forgive me? Will I find the strength to improve? Or maybe there is no salvation for me and I don’t need to go anywhere anymore? Maybe it's time to fold your paws and go to the bottom? But you and I remember that in that same fairy tale there were two frogs. And only we can choose which one we want to be. Christ healed “all infirmities among people” (Matthew 4:23), not only physical, but also spiritual. Remember that feeling of power that occurs after Communion, not destructive, but creative, setting the vector in the right direction - for struggle, for healing.

And how easy it is for us after confession. After all, the Savior himself says: “And the one who comes to me I will in no way cast out” (John 6:37). He says this about everyone, without exceptions and reservations, “but if ... then no.” This applies to both voluntary and involuntary sins: regardless of their severity, in the secret of confession the Lord forgives us everything. With only one condition - if we repent. As the holy fathers teach us: “there is no unforgiven sin except unrepentant sin.” This is why suicide is such a terrible offense: after it, repentance is no longer possible.

mortal sins in Orthodoxy

But not all bridges have been burned here either. We see in biblical history that, even after making the most difficult mistakes, betraying Christ, Judas hanged himself. But why? He realized what he had done and was afraid. Judas Iscariot repented and tried to correct what he had done: he went to return the money to the high priests. And even for him forgiveness was possible. This idea is very interestingly revealed by the modern author Daria Sivashenkova in her book “Behold Judas, Betraying Me.” The idea that the Lord always stands at the door and waits for it to be opened to Him.

And so, only having crossed the threshold of Orthodoxy, we fall into the ocean of thoughts. Sin, as we see, can be discussed for centuries. One thing is clear - the ways of the Lord are mysterious. As a navigator, He paves the way for us to the Kingdom of Heaven. And sometimes the route has to be rebuilt: bumps and bumps, falling on the sidelines of life. But there is always hope to get out, and Easter is inevitable. After all, the Lord is ready to forgive even the father of lies himself if he says: “forgive and have mercy.” But he doesn’t want to say it...

AUTHOR: Anastasia Kurkova

Illustrations : Maria Tyurina

Sins of “different levels”

Rarely does a person immediately “fall” into conscious mortal sin. But even unconscious, it will always be the result of a whole system of “harmless” and “easy” steps. Something that doesn’t even seem like a mistake to us. Orthodox asceticism tells us about a whole system of development of sin: from the birth of a thought (preposition) to its putting into action. And then, if sin becomes a habit, catching a couple more with it, it already develops into passion. Passion, in turn, is “a strong desire for something forbidden,” that is, the desire to commit a sin (Complete Church Slavonic Dictionary). It's a vicious circle.

mortal sins in Orthodoxy

Running in this circle, a person unnoticed by himself becomes captive of many sins, including serious ones, which damage the soul irrevocably. And our soul becomes like a broken old cup: even if you glue it back together, the crack will still be visible. And water will pour out of it. It’s difficult to retain grace in such a soul.

Therefore, do not underestimate the enemy. You need to be attentive even to insidious thoughts, because breaking a vicious circle is much more difficult than not entering it. “Whoever commits sin is a slave of sin” (John 8:34). And in such a state, only one doctor can help - the Savior: “For without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:1).

mortal sins in Orthodoxy

What is considered murder in Orthodoxy?

In order to repent of murder, you need to clearly understand how Orthodoxy defines it. The explicit physical taking of someone's life is far from a complete definition. Failure to provide assistance to a suffering person and indifference to the suffering of another is also considered murder.

From a spiritual point of view, seducing someone from the true and good path, drawing someone into a sinful life, can be considered murder. These are not always obvious and understandable actions, and a person needs to carefully rethink his life in order to see such a sin.

Separately, we need to dwell on a very common type of sin, which is committed every day by many people and is still permitted by law. We are talking about abortion. Abortion is murder in its purest form, committed voluntarily by the child's parents.

Both the baby’s mother and father are responsible for such a decision, although the final decision always remains with the woman. However, if a man did not support the woman and because of his actions (or vice versa, inaction) and the woman committed an abortion, such a man must repent of killing his own child.

Monument to unborn children. Slovenia

Important! Despite the fact that murder is the gravest sin, sometimes you have to carefully review your entire life to understand where a person could have sinned against the sixth commandment.

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What is Sin?

Definition

Sin is an Evil committed by a person intentionally or without intent. And, according to Spiritual laws, you will have to pay for it in any case. In simple terms, sin will have to be corrected in any case.

The definition is described in the Bible and in the Holy Scriptures of other religions. It means practically the same thing. Despite this, people approach it differently.

What is Good and Evil?

Good is all actions committed under the influence of feelings such as love, respect, compassion, justice, etc.

Evil is all human actions that are dictated by envy, hatred, vanity, greed, etc.