1 John 3:9, "He who is born of GOD does not commit sin."
©
Written by Bob Stanley, August 3, 1999
Updated July 26, 2001
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3:23,
"All
Have
Sinned."
All have sinned: Rom 3:23...
Protestants point to this verse as 'proof' against the Immaculate Conception.
The Immaculate Conception means the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived and
born without original sin. However this verse does not even address 'Original
Sin', which is imputed to all mankind by the sin of Adam and Eve. Romans
3:23 addresses sins that we commit of our own free will.
Are there any exceptions to the word 'All'?
What about Jesus Christ? Did He in His humanity ever sin?
What about babies and those with a mental retardation who have no reasoning
power? Have they sinned? Have children below the age of reason sinned?
Have comatose and senile people sinned?
Luke 1:6, regarding Zachary and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist,
"Both were just before GOD, walking blamelessly in all the commandments
and ordinances of the Lord".
Luke 1:15, regarding John the Baptist, "For he shall be great before
the Lord; he shall drink no wine or strong drink, and shall be filled with
the Holy Spirit even from his mothers womb".
Do these verses sound as if Zachary, Elizabeth, and John the Baptist have
sinned?
You can readily see that there are many exceptions to the term 'All have
sinned'. Since I have shown there are many exceptions to the word 'ALL',
why then should anyone not allow one more exception, the Mother of GOD?
The Greek word, 'PAS', meaning 'ALL', can have different
meanings as shown in other verses of Holy Scripture.
John 12:19, "The entire world has gone after him!" Did everyone
in the entire world really go after Christ?
Mt 3:5-6, "Then went out to Him Jerusalem, and ALL Judea, and ALL
the region about the Jordan; and they were baptized by him in the Jordan,
confessing their sins."
Were all of the people of Judea, and the region about the Jordan baptized?
The phrase 'the whole world', does not really mean everybody in the world.
The words 'whole world' and 'all' are used in several different senses
of Scripture, and seldom do they literally mean all persons.
Rom 11:26, "ALL Israel shall be saved." We know for certain that
'ALL' in Israel will not be saved.
Rom 15:14, "...you yourselves are full of love, filled with 'ALL'
knowledge..." Here we know for sure that the only person filled with
'ALL' knowledge is GOD Himself.
The Greek word 'pas' in many verses in Scripture simply means a 'great
number', or 'a lot'. Since there are exceptions for Jesus Christ, and for
others as shown above, the meaning could be seen as, 'ALL are subject to
sin'. In the case of the Blessed Virgin Mary, a prevention of sin was brought
about by a special grace from GOD.
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