actual sin

American  

noun

Theology.

1. any sin committed by an individual of their own free will, as contrasted with original sin.

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actual sin British  

noun

1. Christianity any sin that a person commits of his own free will and for which he is personally responsible Compare original sin

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Etymology

Origin of actual sin

First recorded in 1450–1500

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

actual sin

Between 1983 and 2013, Felton published more than a dozen books, with the collective message that clutter was, if not an actual sin, at least a failure of self-understanding.

From The New Yorker ● Dec. 8, 2014

By the dogma of the immaculate conception, Roman Catholics regard the Virgin Mary as a unique human person, by virtue of being without original or actual sin.

From Time Magazine Archive

The moral lapse to which she admitted was as incomprehensible to this cool and level-headed observer of nineteen as actual sin.

From Kildares of Storm by Kelly, Eleanor Mercein

Nothing but actual sin is so paralyzing to a young man's energies as debt.

From Architects of Fate or, Steps to Success and Power by Marden, Orison Swett

But the application of the phrase by St. Paul is to describe rather the state of actual sin in which Jew and Gentile alike 'naturally' lived.

From St. Paul's Epistle to the Ephesians A Practical Exposition by Gore, Charles