In regards to Romans 5:12. So by saying that all men sinned, does that mean Jesus sinned? Being of course that he was True God and True Man. Or was it just an easy way for him to communicate to his audience?
Here are a few points for consideration (I have a head cold and can’t form it in to a nice paragraph.)
- The Word became Flesh within Mary by the power of the Holy Spirit.
- God is Perfect. He doesn’t have back-up plan. Thereby the Word was always meant to enter the world through Mary.
- One way to define Original Sin is the desire to Sin, to turn away from God.
- As stated in the psalms (if I remember properly) God states that he knew us ere we were formed in the womb.
- In Luke’s Gospel, Gabriel greets her “Hail full of Grace” which is present tense. “You will concieve and bear a son” future tense. So she was in a state of Grace before she actually had his body in her womb.
That stated, why would God choose to enter the world through a vessel stained with Sin. And if God could make her Sinless just in time to carry her Son, why wait? He had it all planned out from the beginning.
This does not perfectly state that she was immaculately concieved, but it shows that it is not counter to scripture.
I agree with everything you say. Part of the problem is that we are living with this notion of “Sola Scriptura”. We give to our Protestant brethren this gift by saying what we believe is what you tell us to believe it is in Scripture.
Unfortunately, what they believe in Scripture is not what we believe is in Scripture. They reject the Eucharist, they reject the sacraments, they reject Mary’s sinlessness, they reject the founding of the Church on Peter.
They try to impose on us that we are once saved always saved, and that we are justified by faith only, which requires us to believe that we are evil, corrupt, and have no free will. This was never taught by Jesus Christ, or by his Church.
In addition to our understanding of the Scriptures about the Eucharist, the Sacraments, the founding of the Church, how we are justified by faith (not only), and grace, and that we have a free will which will deny this cop-out of once saved, always saved, and that our salvation is guaranteed no matter how we live our lives.
We have the teaching authority of the Church, the Unwritten Word of God, which is part of Divine Revelation along with Sacred Scripture, which has been given to the Church by the Holy Spirit to guide, protect and interprete.
In addition to Scripture supporting the Sinlessness of Mary, we have the Unwritten Word of God, Sacred Tradition. Protestants will never accept that. We can only pray for them.
peace.