_1_Definition of Actual Sin

By actual sin (peccatum actuale) we understand the which is done or committed by man. We distinguish it from the which, being innate in man, is not done by man, but is present before any activity and consists of the imputatio peccati Adamitici and of the corruptio hereditaria, quae in omnes homines per carnalem generationem derivator. Luther on this distinction between original sin and actual sin: “Original sin, or nature sin, or person sin, is truly the principal sin. If this sin did not exist, there would be no actual sin either. This sin is not committed as all other sins are: but it is the living power which commits all sins.” (St. L. XI:287.)43

In defining “actual sin” we must always bear in mind that actual sins are not only those sins committed agendo, by doing what is prohibited, but also those committed non agendo, omittendo, by failing to do what is enjoined. A still shorter definition is: Peccatum actuale is the commission or omission of any act which constitutes , that is, which is in conflict with the will of God. Scripture stresses the sinful character of the sins of omission because it is so easily lost sight of. When Christ calls the servant who had hid his talent in the earth an “unprofitable servant” and pronounces upon him the verdict: “Cast ye the unprofitable servant into outer darkness: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth” (Matt. 25:30), many a Bible reader will, at first sight, consider this a harsh verdict. But how gravely that servant sinned non agendo will become apparent when we consider that when God gives men His gifts, spiritual or physical, small as well as great, He does so with the express command that we employ them faithfully in His service; it is a transgression of His command to let them lie idle. He that defaults in this service is an unfaithful steward. Nor dare we overlook that mighty word: “Unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required; and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more” (Luke 12:48). We are thereby taught that here, too, a peccatum actuale omissionis is committed when the measure of the service does not correspond to the measure of the gifts.

But in uncovering and reproving the peccata omissionis let us be on our guard lest we become legalistic taskmasters; we should rather, as behooves a Christian teacher, invite and encourage Christians with the mercy of God in Christ, which they have experienced (Rom. 12:1), so that they take pleasure in performing the will of God and, to use Luther’s phrase, “walk as in a paradise” in doing the works of their Christian calling. “Make duty a pleasure!”44

It is understood, of course, and has also been previously stated, that all wicked thoughts and volitions which rise in our hearts against the Christian doctrine and life are actual sins. Matt. 15:9: “Out of the heart proceed evil thoughts.” Eph. 2:3: “… fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind.” 45 — In the chapter “The Inner Motions of Sanctification,” Vol. III, the necessity of the Initiis obsta [Resist the beginnings] will be pointed out.