Sin is “a word, an act, or a desire contrary to the eternal Law” (Saint Augustine). It is an offense against God in disobedience to his love. It wounds human nature and injures human solidarity. Christ in his passion fully revealed the seriousness of sin and overcame it with his mercy.
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1849. Sin is an offense against reason, truth, and right conscience; it is failure in genuine love for God and neighbor caused by a perverse attachment to certain goods. It wounds the nature of man and injures human solidarity. It has been defined as "an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law."121
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1850. Sin is an offense against God: "Against you, you alone, have I sinned, and done that which is evil in your sight."122Sin sets itself against God's love for us and turns our hearts away from it. Like the first sin, it is disobedience, a revolt against God through the will to become "like gods,"123knowing and determining good and evil. Sin is thus "love of oneself even to contempt of God."124In this proud self-exaltation, sin is diametrically opposed to the obedience of Jesus, which achieves our salvation.125
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1851. It is precisely in the Passion, when the mercy of Christ is about to vanquish it, that sin most clearly manifests its violence and its many forms: unbelief, murderous hatred, shunning and mockery by the leaders and the people, Pilate's cowardice and the cruelty of the soldiers, Judas' betrayal - so bitter to Jesus, Peter's denial and the disciples' flight. However, at the very hour of darkness, the hour of the prince of this world,126The sacrifice of Christ secretly becomes the source from which the forgiveness of our sins will pour forth inexhaustibly.
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1871. Sin is an utterance, a deed, or a desire contrary to the eternal law (St. Augustine, Faust 22: PL 42, 418). It is an offense against God. It rises up against God in a disobedience contrary to the obedience of Christ.
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1872. Sin is an act contrary to reason. It wounds man's nature and injures human solidarity.
Acesse nossos estudos biblicos:
How did King Asa restore true worship and win the war against Ethiopia in 1 Kings 15:9-24?
What does it mean to love your neighbor as yourself according to James 2:8, and why is it important?
What is the criticism against relying on military force instead of God in Amos 2:14-16?
What is the importance of faithfulness to God, according to the book of Tobias?
