DOES ROMANS 3:23 DISPUTES THE DOGMA OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF VIRGIN MARY? By Jonathan Loquez

DOES ROMANS 3:23 DISPUTES THE DOGMA OF IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF VIRGIN MARY?

[Brother Jonathan let me just ask you with regards to the issue thrown by Anti-Catholic regarding the Immaculate Conception. They actually vehemently attack the doctrine and and confuse many innocent Catholics to this verse. “All have sin” (Romans 3:23) so they stand that Mother Mary is considered sinner! As an apologist of the Catholic Church, what is your say to this topic?]

FIRST OF ALL, LET’S REMEMBER THAT “GOD IS NOT A GOD OF CONFUSION” (1Cor. 14:33). HENCE, HE CANNOT CONTRADICT HIS WORDS. DISPROVING THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF VIRGIN MARY IS TANTAMOUNT TO SAYING THAT GOD IS A LIAR(cf. 1 John 5:10). BECAUSE THE SCRIPTURES, WHICH IS THE WRITTEN SPEECH OF GOD, TELLS US THAT NO ONE CAN BRING A CLEAN THING OUT OF AN UNCLEAN (cf. Job 14:4).

“Who can bring a clean thing out of an unclean. not one.” (JOB 14:4, KJV)

SO DOES IT MEAN THAT GOD DEPEND ON HIS CREATURE? NO. IT’S THE OTHER WAY AROUND. MARY’S SINLESSNESS DEPENDS ON THE HOLINESS OF CHRIST. IN OTHER WORDS, THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION REPRESENTS THE SAVING GRACE OF CHRIST OPERATING IN HIS MOTHER, THE VIRGIN MARY(cf. Luke 1:42-43). THAT’S WHY DURING THE ANNUNCIATION, THE ANGEL GABRIEL GREETED MARY: “HAIL, FULL OF GRACE. . .” (Luke 1:28)

“And the angel being come in, said unto her: Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women.”(LUKE 1:28, DRA)

BUT WHAT ABOUT ST. PAUL’S STATEMENT IN ROM. 3:23 THAT “ALL HAVE SINNED”? AS WE ALL KNOW, ST. PAUL SIMPLY ECHOED GOD’S WORD(cf. 1Cor. 14:37). AS I’VE SAID, GOD CANNOT CONTRADICT HIS WORDS BECAUSE HE IS NOT A GOD OF CONFUSION. HENCE, ROMANS 3:23 MUST BE INTERPRETED IN THE LIGHT OF OTHER BIBLE PASSAGES. THE BIBLE SAYS THAT JESUS IS ALSO TRUE MAN(cf. 1Tim. 2:5). SO, IF WE WILL INTERPRET THE PHRASE “ALL HAVE SINNED” LITERALLY, THAT WOULD REQUIRED US TO BELIEVE THAT JESUS IS ALSO A SINNER. BUT THE BIBLE INSISTS THAT THE MAN JESUS CHRIST IS SINLESS(cf. Heb. 4:15, 1John 2:1). THIS IS A VERY CLEAR EXCEPTION. THEREFORE, WE CAN ARGUE THAT VIRGIN MARY CAN BE AN EXCEPTION TOO. IF CHRIST(NEW ADAM) [cf. 1Cor. 15:45,47] HAS NO STAIN OF ORIGINAL SIN, THEREFORE IT IS LOGICAL TO SAY THAT VIRGIN MARY (NEW EVE) [cf. Gen. 3:15, Rev. 12] HAS NO STAIN OF ORIGINAL SIN ALSO. HOWEVER, MARY’S SINLESSNESS IS NOT SOME SORT OF PRECONDITION RATHER IT IS BECAUSE OF GOD’S FOREKNOWLEDGE OF MARY’S ACCEPTANCE OF HIS WILL FOR HER(cf. Luke 1:38). IN SHORT, GOD WILLED THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF MARY(NEW EVE) IN ANTICIPATION OF CHRIST’S REDEMPTION OF MAN (cf. Gen. 3:15, Rom. 16:20)

“And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel.” (GEN. 3:15, KJV)

MOREOVER, THE IMMACULATE CONCEPTION OF VIRGIN MARY DOES NOT CONTRADICT THE SCRIPTURES RATHER COMPLEMENT IT. APOSTLE PAUL SAID THAT CHRIST IS THE “WISDOM OF GOD”(1Cor. 1:24). MARY BORE THE WISDOM OF GOD, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST(cf. Luke 1:31, Gal. 4:4). THEREFORE, MARY MUST BE FREE FROM STAIN OF ORIGINAL SIN TO FIT HER ROLE AS THE DWELLING PLACE OF THE WISDOM OF GOD, OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST(cf. Wisdom 1:4).

“For wisdom will not enter into a malicious soul, nor dwell in a body subject to sins”.(WISDOM 1:4, DRA)

PRO DEO ET ECCLESIA!