Was Mary sinless?

I am of the view that any doctrine which is not rooted and grounded in God's word should be rejected. Man made teachings which is not consistent with the holy scriptures should be rendered null and void.

What is the immaculate conception?

The immaculate conception states that, Mary the mother of Jesus was preserved from original sin and personal sins during her lifetime. This doctrine asserts that Mary was born without a sinful nature and she never committed any sin as she sojourned here on earth. 

Kenneth Baker a Roman Catholic theologian wrote this, "Two special factors rendered Mary impeccable or unable to sin. The first was her constant awareness of God, living always in His presence, and the second was her reception of special and extraordinary graces. These special graces made it possible for Mary to maintain a perfect harmony in her mind, will and emotions and to recognize always what was the right thing to do and then to do it". 

Pope Pius XII (1943) also said this, "The encyclical Mystici corporis Christi from Pope Pius XII (1943) holds that Mary was also sinless personally, "free from all sin, original or personal". Mary remained free of every personal sin her whole life long".

They are of the opinion that the vessel through which our Lord Jesus Christ must come from, should be holy and free from any pollution of sin. The immaculate conception is an important doctrine in Roman Catholic creed 

Their Prooftext for the immaculate conception 

Luke 1:26-28

Now in the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent from God to a city in Galilee called Nazareth, to a virgin engaged to a man whose name was Joseph, of the descendants of David; and the virgin's name was Mary. And coming in, he said to her, "Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you."

According to the Roman Catholics, Mary was highly favored, she was favored with grace rendering her sinless and for that matter God chose her to be the mother of Jesus. They believe Mary was full of grace to the extent that she could not commit any sin. 

Is their teaching on the immaculate conception biblical?

The Roman Catholics themselves admit that the immaculate conception is not directly taught in the scriptures. There is no single text which supports the idea of the immaculate conception. What scripture teaches is that, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God (Romans 3: 23). All have sinned and all are born sinners and that includes Mary. Mary was a virtuous woman, yet she was a sinner like every other person. The idea that Mary was preserved from original sin is in opposition to what God's word teaches. Mary acknowledged her need of a Savior and rejoiced in the One who will save her from her sins: And my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior (Luke 1; 47). 

Mary was a godly woman, worthy of imitation, but to attribute sinlessness to her is not good, because it is extrabiblical, it is not taught in the holy writ. Mary does not need to be sinless before God can use her as a channel through which the Savior would be born. Throughout the scriptures, God uses imperfect, weak and sinful men to accomplish extraordinary feats.

Only Jesus Christ was sinless on earth 

If Mary was sinless, then she must be God, why? Because it is only God who is holy intrinsically, only God is holy by nature. Jesus Christ was the only person who walked on the earth and was free from the stain of sin, see prooftext (John 8; 46, 1 Peter 2; 22, 1 John 3; 5, Hebrews 4; 15). The author of Hebrews wrote this concerning the sinlessness of Christ: For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin (Hebrews 4; 15). Jesus Christ was and still sinless, but the same cannot be said of Mary. To dive deeper on the sinlessness of Christ, you can read my article on, "Was Jesus sinless" to gain deeper understanding.

Be on guard against false doctrines 

There is an influx of false doctrines out there. As Christian's, we ought to be on guard against false teachings like the sinlessness of Mary. But the question is, how can we distinguish between a true and a false doctrine? We can do that only if we are ardent students of God's word. If you fail to subject yourself to study the scriptures, then you are vulnerable to be tossed to and fro by every wind of false doctrine. Let us make time to study the holy scriptures for ourselves, for it will safeguard us on the evil day. God bless you 

A thought to ponder 🤔 

If you fail to subject yourself to study the scriptures, then you are vulnerable to be tossed to and fro by every wind of false doctrine.

We defend and exposit the truth of the gospel

Comments

  1. shadman's MusingsJune 9, 2025 at 2:49 PM

    Excellent blog. Our focus should be on Jesus, always on Jesus.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Donaldson BoamahJune 10, 2025 at 3:36 AM

      Certainly. He should be at the center of our lives and our theology

      Delete
  2. AnonymousJune 10, 2025 at 12:53 PM

    Great 👍 You are always on point.

    ReplyDelete

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