Questions / Confession and the sacraments
If baptism washes away sin, why am I still tempted?
Answered on video by Catholic Answers
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In short: Because Baptism forgives every sin, but the pull toward sin, what the Church calls concupiscence, stays for the fight. CCC 1264 You’re not losing; you’re training.
The answer, in writing
Certain consequences of sin remain in the baptized, including an inclination to sin that Tradition calls concupiscence. CCC 1264
It is left for us to wrestle with, and it cannot harm those who don’t consent and who resist it by the grace of Christ. CCC 1264
Temptation isn’t sin. Feeling the pull and fighting it is exactly what holiness looks like up close.
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Sources on this page
How we know · 1 Catechism paragraph
- Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraphs 1264 (official text on vatican.va).
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