Conscience and Sin - Daily Meditations for Lent by S. Baring-Gould

Author:S. Baring-Gould [Baring-Gould, S. (Sabine)]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: anboco
Published: 2017-03-05T23:00:00+00:00

THE CONDITIONS OF SIN.

1. Every sin is an act done by man endowed with free will, in the exercise of his freedom, and with consciousness what he is about. That is to say, certain conditions are requisite in order that an act may be really sinful, and these conditions are, a knowledge of what is proposed to be done, liberty to do it or to forbear, and the will engaged to accomplish what is proposed.

2. Knowledge. An act is only culpable when he who commits it knows what he is about, knows the character of his act, or has at all events a strong suspicion that the act is contrary to the law of God. This is what S. Paul repeatedly urges. “The law entered, that the offence might abound.” “The motions of sin, which were by the law, did work in our members, to bring forth fruit unto death.” “I had not known sin, but by the law; for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet.” “Without the law sin was dead.” The measure of sinfulness is largely the knowledge possessed by the doer of the deed. To such an extent is this the case, that S. Paul supposes the case of one who commits an act that is in itself harmless, but it becomes sin to him because he thinks it is forbidden.

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