In honor ot the Feast of the Immaculate Conception, I am re-posting this challenge to me to explain the dogma of the Immaculate Conception in light of a verse in Romans.
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Originally Posted by Rodalena
For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Romans 3:23
Only one of these statements can be correct. I must go with God’s word over anything else. |
Let’s talk about the context of Pauls’ remarks in this passage of Sacred Scripture. When an Old Testament scripture is quoted (As Paul does here) it is very important to go back to the Old Testament and read the passage that is quoted.
For example, while on the cross Jesus cries out “My God, my God! Why hast thou forsaken me!” Now I have seen that NT passage of sacred scripture interpreted to “prove” all sorts of things including that Jesus wasn’t divine and that there is no Trinity because God can’t turn his back on himself. But if you look at the context of the OT passage of scripture Jesus quotes (Psalm 22) we see not a cry of despair but a reminder that He knows what He is doing will result in victory (Psalm 22 starts out rather bleak but ends on a high note!)
With that in mind let’s look at the Psalm(s) that Paul quotes.
| Psalm 14
1 For the leader. Of David. 2 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” Their deeds are loathsome and corrupt; not one does what is right. 2 The LORD looks down from heaven upon the human race, To see if even one is wise, if even one seeks God. 3 All have gone astray; all alike are perverse. Not one does what is right, not even one. 4 Will these evildoers never learn? They devour my people as they devour bread; they do not call upon the LORD. 5 They have good reason, then, to fear; God is with the company of the just. 6 They would crush the hopes of the poor, but the poor have the LORD as their refuge. 7 Oh, that from Zion might come the deliverance of Israel, That Jacob may rejoice, and Israel be glad when the LORD restores his people! |
| Psalm 53
1 For the leader; according to Mahalath. A maskil of David. 2 Fools say in their hearts, “There is no God.” Their deeds are loathsome and corrupt; not one does what is right. 3 God looks down from heaven upon the human race, To see if even one is wise, if even one seeks God. 4 All have gone astray; all alike are perverse. Not one does what is right, not even one. 5 Will these evildoers never learn? They devour my people as they devour bread; they do not call upon God. 6 They have good reason to fear, though now they do not fear. For God will certainly scatter the bones of the godless. They will surely be put to shame, for God has rejected them. 7 Oh, that from Zion might come the deliverance of Israel, That Jacob may rejoice and Israel be glad when God restores the people! |
Yep Psalm 14 certainly says exactly what Paul does and then in almost the same breath talks about THE JUST!! WHOA! Just like Jesus cry of despair turns into one of victory when you read the Paslm he references, Pauls description of EVERYONE having gone astray looks a little different when you look at the Psalm he quotes. Now let’s place Romans 3:23 against the context of all of scripture and not just one verse.
| Luke 1:2-4 In the days of Herod, King of Judea, there was a priest named Zechariah of the priestly division of Abijah; his wife was from the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. Both were righteous in the eyes of God, observing all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blamelessly. But they had no child, because Elizabeth was barren and both were advanced in years. |
Hmmmm…..maybe Paul wasn’t talking about these two.
| Luke 1:13-17 But the angel said to him, “Do not be afraid, 5 Zechariah, because your prayer has been heard. Your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall name him John. 14 And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, 15 for he will be great in the sight of (the) Lord. He will drink neither wine nor strong drink. He will be filled with the holy Spirit even from his mother’s womb, 16 and he will turn many of the children of Israel to the Lord their God. 17 He will go before him in the spirit and power of Elijah 7 to turn the hearts of fathers toward children and the disobedient to the understanding of the righteous, to prepare a people fit for the Lord.” |
Filled with the Holy Sprit from his mother’s womb?
And if the wages of sin is death, then what about Elijah and Enoch?
| 2 Kings 2:11 As they walked on conversing, a flaming chariot and flaming horses came between them, and Elijah went up to heaven in a whirlwind. |
Remember Sacred Scripture says
| Hebrews 12:14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for that holiness without which no one will see the Lord. |
| Rev 21:26-27 The treasure and wealth of the nations will be brought there, 27 but nothing unclean will enter it [heaven], nor any (one) who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life. |
Additionally, most people will grant that infants and small children have not yet committed personal sin and are therefore not included in Paul’s “All” have gone astray. This is not to say that **I** haven’t gone astray and probably most everyone reading this post, but only to point out that Paul’s “all” isn’t quite as inclusive as it looks on the surface.
Now do I think that these men didn’t need a savior? No. I don’t. And in fact, the dogma of the Immaculate Conception doesn’t teach that Mary didn’t need a savior either. It teaches that she received her salvation as an unmerited, unearned gift at her conception thereby preserving her from sin rather than the rest of us who were saved at some point after conception and NOT preserved from the burden of original sin. If God could create Adam and Even without sin, if He can take Enoch and Elijah to heaven where no unclean thing can be, then He certainly could have granted this GIFT to Mary as the angel’s greeting to her seems to indicate.
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