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If any man desires to do God's will, he will have the needed illumination to recognize, and can tell for himself whether the teaching is from God or whether I am speaking from myself and on my own accord.  John 7:17 

Immaculate Conception

and

Original Sin

To begin this article, I have copied and have pasted the following from the below mentioned website.  I do not want to distort what the Catholic Church proclaims concerning this most important subject.  There are other Catholic sources which say the same thing as this site does.  Following what we have taken from this website, we will discuss what the Bible has to say on this most important topic.    
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Immaculate Conception

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The doctrine                                                                                            
In the Constitution Ineffabilis Deus of 8 December 1854, Pius IX pronounced and defined that the Blessed Virgin Mary "in the first instance of her conception, by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, [there were no ‘merits of Jesus Christ’ at that time because He had not been crucified at the conception of Mary, His mother] the Saviour of the human race, was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin."

"The Blessed Virgin Mary..."                                                                  
The subject of this immunity from original sin in the person of Mary at the moment of the creation of her soul and its infusion into her body.

"...in the first instance of her conception..."                                         
The term conception does not mean the active or generative conception by her parents. Her body was formed in the womb of the mother, and the father had the usual share in its formation. The question does not concern the immaculateness of the generative activity of her parents. Neither does it concern the passive conception absolutely and simply (conceptio seminis carnis, inchoata), which, according to the order of nature, precedes the infusion of the rational soul. The person is truly conceived when the soul is created and infused into the body. [The definition of the soul is found in Genesis 2:7: “And Yahuwah Elohim formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.”]  Mary was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin at the first moment of her animation, and sanctifying grace was given to her before sin could have taken effect in her soul.

"...was preserved exempt from all stain of original sin..."                   
The formal active essence of original sin was not removed from her soul, as it is removed from others by baptism; it was excluded, it never was in her soul. Simultaneously with the exclusion of sin. The state of original sanctity, innocence, and justice, as opposed to original sin, was conferred upon her, by which gift every stain and fault, all depraved emotions, passions, and debilities, essentially pertaining to original sin, were excluded. But she was not made exempt from the temporal penalties of Adam — from sorrow, bodily infirmities, and death.

"...by a singular privilege and grace granted by God, in view of the merits of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the human race."                      
The immunity from original sin was given to Mary by a singular exemption from a universal law through the same merits of Christ, by which other men are cleansed from sin by baptism. [It is taught in the Catholic Church or at least it was when I was a child attending it that when a baby is sprinkled (not immersed as taught in the Bible) at baptism it washes the original sin from them and they are cleansed from it.  The Bible gives no indication of this taking place at baptism, in particular a sprinkling baptism.  I do not know what is now taught by the Catholic Church if the baby dies before it is baptized because at least back when I was a member of the Catholic Church, the baby, so we were told, went to live in a place called Limbo for eternity, but I believe that has since changed.  I want to emphasize that pretty much everything the Catholic Church teaches cannot be substantiated from the Scriptures that they admit to towards the end of this section.  We are not cleansed from sin by baptism.] Mary needed the redeeming Saviour to obtain this exemption, and to be delivered from the universal necessity and debt (debitum) of being subject to original sin. The person of Mary, in consequence of her origin from Adam, should have been subject to sin, but, being the new Eve who was to be the mother of the new Adam, she was, by the eternal counsel of God and by the merits of Christ, withdrawn from the general law of original sin. Her redemption was the very masterpiece of Christ's redeeming wisdom. He is a greater redeemer who pays the debt that it may not be incurred than he who pays after it has fallen on the debtor.  (How could those merits of Messiah be applied to Mary before He obtained those merits by His life, death and resurrection?)

Such is what sources within the Catholic Church have to say concerning the "Immaculate Conception" and “Original Sin.”

The question begs to be asked, if this is true what the Catholic Church claims for Mary, the mother of our Savior, Master Yahushua Messiah (Lord Jesus Christ), then what are the implications if what is said in this article is true?  We want to let the Bible do the talking, and not so much what we have to say. 

Let us first address whether what is said on this website can be substantiated from the Scriptures.  We will first show what is said in the next statement from this website to show you what they (Catholic Church sources) have to say on the matter.

From the Catholic Web Site

Proof from Scripture                                                                                       
Genesis 3:15


No direct or categorical and stringent proof of the dogma can be brought forward from Scripture.

______________________________

The thoughts above in red are my thoughts and not what is found on the website I have quoted from.  The rest of this article are all my thoughts.  If you were to read through the rest of the site you would see they do not bring forth any proof from the Scriptures to substantiate this teaching or as they call it – dogma - and they say so.  This is one of the basic doctrinal points of the Roman Catholic Church and like most of what the Catholic Church teaches is without the support of the Scriptures, which they readily admit to!  As a Bible student, what is written in Isaiah 8:20 needs to be applied to every teaching put forth by anyone, whether Catholic or Protestant or whoever.  “To the law and to the testimony:  if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them” (emphasis added).  People cannot just make claims about a matter without substantiation from the Scriptures to what is being put forth no matter who they are or claim to be.

What is the issue or issues that are affected by what is being said in this article?  First of all, was Mary born sinless?  Did the law of hereditary not apply in Mary’s birth process?  Was she exempt from what is wrongfully called “Original Sin?”  If so, then how did that affect the nature of Yahushua (Jesus) if she was exempt?  Was Yahushua like you and me, or did He have an advantage over us because He did not have an inherited, fallen, human nature, that some have wrongfully called “Original Sin,” as we have, and as the website contends? 

If Yahushua had an advantage over you and me, then Yahuwah (God’s name meaning The Eternal, Self-Existent One) cannot expect us to be like Yahushua and live without sinning.  If Yahushua did not have an inherited, fallen, human nature like ours, then the same cannot be expected of us as it was of Yahushua?  Let it be clear the term “Original Sin” is not mentioned in the Bible. 

Yahushua told us we are to overcome just as He overcame. If He did not have an inherited, fallen, human nature, what did He need to overcome?  “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21).

There is no Biblical record showing that Mary was born sinless.  For the Catholic Church to make such a claim for Mary, without Biblical support, is of no relevance to anyone who accepts the Bible as the final authority on all matters of faith.   What it does show can be seen in 1 John 4:1-3 and will be discussed at the end of this article.

What does such a teaching have to bear on the nature Yahushua took upon Himself when He came into this world?  We know that His Father was Elohim (God).  “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest:  and Yahuwah Elohim [LORD God] shall give unto Him the throne of His father David” (Luke 1:32, emphasis added). 

“Shall give Him the throne of His father David.”  This verse tells us one of the earthly ancestors of Yahushua was King David, and the only way that could have happened was through His mother, Mary.  Without any Biblical evidence telling us otherwise, it is safe to say Mary had an inherited, fallen, human nature just as we all do who are born on this planet. 

Luke 1:28-30 states, “the angel came in unto her [Mary], and said, Hail, thou art highly favored, Yahuwah is with thee:  blessed art thou among women.  And when she saw him, she was troubled at his saying, and cast in her mind what manner of salutation this should be.  And the angel said unto her, Fear not, Mary:  for thou hast found favor with Elohim.”  There is no indication in this conversation Mary had been immaculately conceived by her parents in order to become the mother of Yahushua.  She had “found favor with Elohim.”  She, like her cousin, Elisabeth and her husband, Zacharias, may have been “righteous before Elohim, walking in all the commandments of Yahuwah blameless” (Luke 1:6), but that does not indicate she was prevented from inheriting a fallen, human nature.

To see the complete lineage of Yahushua and His ancestry you can read Matthew 1:1-17.  When you examine the lineage of Yahushua you can see what type of pedigree, the recorded ancestry of a person, He had.  In His ancestry, you will find Ruth, the Moabite.  The Moabites were the offspring of the incestuous relationship between Lot and one of his daughters.  You have David who lusted after Bathsheba and committed adultery with her and then had her husband killed.  You had Jacob who was a liar.  You had Manasseh who “shed innocent blood very much, till he had filled Jerusalem from one end to another; beside his sin wherewith he made Judah to sin, in doing that which was evil in the sight of Yahuwah” (2 Kings 21:16) and others with faults, and you even have Rahab, the harlot, who was not of Hebrew ancestry. 

You have all these weaknesses passed on in the DNA (inherited, fallen, human nature) carried on down through Mary and ultimately were a part of Yahushua’s DNA (inherited, fallen, human nature) makeup.  Did that make Yahushua a sinner?  No!  He simply had an inherited, fallen, human nature.

There are some that will contend that if He had all this in His make-up then He was a sinner.  Men inherit a fallen, human nature.  They do not inherit a fallen, sin-filled nature.  Many conclude if He had a fallen, sinful, human nature, which He did not, then He had sin and could not have been the spotless Lamb of Elohim.  Paul wrote “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, Elohim sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh” (Rom. 8:3, emphasis added).  This is the only verse in the entire Bible that intimates man or Yahushua may have had a “sinful nature” and one does not build a belief or doctrine on a single verse.

“Yahushua said this in Matthew 26:41, “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Yahushua did not say the flesh was “sinful,” but that the flesh was “weak” because of man being in a fallen state as a result of Adam and Eve’s failure (Gen. 5:3).

“Now the birth of Yahushua Messiah was on this wise:  When His mother Mary was espoused to Joseph, before they came together, she was found with child of the Holy Ghost [Spirit] . . . while he [Joseph] thought on these things, behold, the angel of Yahuwah appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife:  for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost [Spirit]” (Matt. 1:18, 20).

Who is the Holy Ghost [Spirit}?  Many teach that the Holy Ghost, Holy Spirit, or Spirit of Elohim is a third person of a Trinity of gods.  The following is from my study “The Holy Spirit – Elohim’s Life and Power.”  

The Holy Spirit is not a person distinct from the Father and the Son.  The Holy Spirit is the LIFE AND POWER OF Elohim.  Many people believe that the Holy Spirit is a personage, but the Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit is the impersonal power and life-force of Elohim.  Let us carefully search the Scriptures to see what they reveal about the Holy Spirit and Its operation.

The word Spirit is translated from the Hebrew word “ruach” and the Greek word “pneuma.”  Both of these words mean air, breath, wind, power, or life. The Holy Spirit is the divine energy of Elohim . . . His life and power.  It is an impersonal, invisible force, just like the wind, breath, and air.  Consider carefully the following Scriptures:

“And the Spirit of Elohim moved upon the face of the waters” (Gen. 1:2).  The invisible active force of Yahuwah moved upon the waters and brought order and beauty out of the condition being described here.  It is Elohim’s Spirit.

“And the angel answered and said unto her, the Holy Ghost [Spirit] shall come upon thee, and [even] the POWER OF THE HIGHEST SHALL OVERSHADOW THEE:  Therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Elohim” (Luke 1:35).  The Holy Spirit is explained here to be the POWER OF THE HIGHEST.  This verse gives us a Biblical definition of the Holy Spirit. 

“And behold, I send the promise of My Father upon you:  but tarry . . . until you be ENDUED WITH POWER FROM ON HIGH” (Luke 24:49).

“But you shall receive POWER after that the Holy Ghost [Spirit] is come upon you:  and you shall be witnesses unto Me” (Acts 1:8).

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith Elohim, I WILL POUR OUT OF MY SPIRIT upon all flesh” (Acts 2:17).  It is Elohim’s Spirit!

“Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath GIVEN US OF HIS SPIRIT” (1 John 4:13).  It is Elohim’s Spirit!

“But if THE SPIRIT OF HIM [Yahuwah] that raised up Yahushua from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Messiah from the dead shall also quicken [or make alive] your mortal bodies BY HIS SPIRIT that dwells in you” (Rom. 8:11).  It is Elohim’s Spirit!

“And what is the exceeding greatness of HIS POWER to usward who believe, ACCORDING TO THE WORKING OF HIS MIGHTY POWER, which He wrought in Messiah, when He raised Him from the dead” (Eph. 1:19, 20).

When all of these Scriptures are put together, we can clearly see that the Holy Spirit is NOT A PERSON . . . but an INVISIBLE FORCE . . . Elohim’s LIFE AND POWER.  The Holy Spirit is not a person . . . it is the life of Yahuwah.  It is the very essence of Elohim Himself . . . it is His Spirit or life-force.  It is the invisible active force of Almighty Elohim by which He moves upon His children and accomplishes His purposes.  The Holy Spirit is Elohim’s Spirit or life-force that can be everywhere (Ps. 139:7-8), and a portion of that Spirit comes into our being when we are born again. 

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of Elohim” (John 1:13).

“Yahushua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Elohim” (John 3:5).

“But as then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now” (Gal. 4:29).

Some will say Yahushua was “that holy thing” mentioned in Luke 1:35.  “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost [Spirit] shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Elohim” (emphasis added).  

What is meant by “that holy thing?”  What does the word “holy” mean?  According to Thesaurus.com holy can mean pure, clean, innocent, faultless, spotless, uncorrupted, untainted plus many more synonyms.  When we hold any little baby in our arms, what thoughts come into our minds?  Do not the words listed above describe what that little child is at that point in time?  There are many who believe that when we are born, we are born with a sinful nature or what some mistakenly call “Original Sin.”  We are born with a fallen nature, but have we sinned at that stage in our lives?  What is the Biblical definition of sin?  “Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law:  for sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4, emphasis added).  Do you think a baby is capable of sinning?  I hope not!

Let us examine the Scriptures and see what they say about the life of Yahushua.

We will start in the book of Hebrews where Paul had this to say on the subject:  “For verily He [Yahushua] took not on Him the nature of angels; but He took on Him the seed of Abraham.  Wherefore in all things it behooved Him to be made like unto His brethren, that He might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things pertaining to Elohim, to make reconciliation for the sins of the people.  For He Himself hath suffered being tempted, He is able to succor [assist and support in times of hardship and distress] them that are tempted” (Heb. 2:16-18, emphasis added).  Yahushua knows what it is like to be tempted!

“For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15, emphasis added).  Yahushua did not give in to those temptations!

How is it when men/women are tempted?  “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed” (Jam. 1:14, emphasis added).  And if Yahushua had the same fallen nature that we inherit from our parents, then He too was tempted just like James tells us in this verse.  Is being tempted a sin?  No!  Giving into temptation is sin!

How is it that He did not give in to those temptations and sin?  What was different about Him that kept Him from sinning?  When we find out what the difference was, we will see we can have the same power Yahushua had, and we also can stop sinning.

Who was the other Parent of Yahushua?  Elohim, the Father.  When Yahushua was born, He had Mary for His mother and Yahuwah (Elohim – the Supreme Being of the Universe) for His Father. 

What did Yahushua tell Nicodemus during that evening meeting they had?  “Marvel not that I [Yahushua] said unto thee [Nicodemus], You must be born again” (John 3:7, emphasis added).  When a person is “born again” how does that take place and what happens to that individual? 

“Yahushua answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water [See my article on Baptism Part 2 and what being immersed at Baptism means.] and [born] of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of Elohim.  That which is born of the flesh is flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit” (John 3:5-6, emphasis added).  The Spirit of Elohim begins to dwell within you.

When Yahushua was conceived He had a “born again” nature that men have when they are truly “born again.”  He had His Father’s Spirit and his mother’s fallen nature.  And it was His Father’s Spirit which kept Him from giving into the lusts of the flesh in spite of having had the fallen nature the Apostle James told us about.  “And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost [Spirit] shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee:  therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of Elohim.”  

“For the law of the Spirit of life in Messiah Yahushua [the indwelling Spirit of Elohim which we receive when we are ‘born again’] hath made me free from the law of sin and death [our inherited, fallen, human nature]” (Romans 8:2, emphasis added).  The indwelling Spirit of Elohim sets us free from sinning.  “For sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14).

If men are pitting two dogs in a fight, it can be predetermined who will win the fight before the fight ever occurs.  If you feed the one and starve the other, which one do you think will win?  So it is with humanity.  If we feed the Spiritual nature which is given to us when we are “born again,” and we starve the inherited, fallen, human nature we are born with, we know which one will win. 

The problem, with many a Christian who may have been “born again,” is they may never have been told they needed to feed that Spiritual nature and as a result are still sinning.  Many have been taught when “the power of the Highest” comes upon them, they will speak in “unknown tongues.”  Many have been greatly deceived by believing this lie and as a result, they have never truly been “born again.” 

The “fruit of the Spirit” (Gal. 5:22-23) seen in one’s life is the true evidence that you have been “born again.”  There is a metamorphosis that takes place; a transformation from a sinner into a saint.  It is not an instantaneous work, but a gradual process known in the Bible as sanctification, and it can be seen just like the wind blowing in the trees.  We can see the movement of the branches as the wind blows through them, but we do not see the wind.

“Whosoever is born of Elohim [born again by being given the indwelling Spirit of Elohim] does not commit sin; for His seed [the Spirit of Elohim – Holy Spirit] remains in him:  and he cannot sin, because he is born of Elohim” (1 John 3:9, emphasis added).  In the parable of the sower of the seed found in Matthew 13:3-23, Yahushua tells us what happens when the seed is sown in certain types of ground and why they fail to produce results (fruit).  Just like those dogs I was talking about earlier, we are determining who will win the battle in our life.  You might want to read the entire parable in Matthew chapter thirteen because it tells us what happens and why the seed does and why it does not produce good results.

The greatest reason why “born again” Christians fall away from Messiah and go back into the ways of the world or remain in a lukewarm state is found in 1 John 3:6.  “Whosoever abides in Him [Messiah] sins not:  whosoever sins hath not seen Him, neither known Him" (emphasis added).  They lose that first love they had when they were first told about Elohim’s love for them and what had been done for their salvation in the sacrifice of the Father’s Son, Yahushua.  “Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love” (Rev. 2:4). 

They have never been taught about how to abide in Yahushua!  If we have been “born again” and continue to abide in Him, we will not sin (1 John 3:6, 9).  That is what the Bible is saying.  We have something to do with our salvation and that is abiding in Messiah once we have been born again.  If we stop abiding in Him, we will wither and will be cast into the fire to be destroyed.  We will wither like the plant that never gets watered!  

Yahushua said “I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Husbandman.  Every branch in Me that bears not fruit He takes away:  and every branch that bears fruit, He purges it, that it may bring forth more fruit.  Now you are clean through the word which I have spoken unto you.  Abide in Me [through Bible study prayer, meditation and memorization], and I in you [through the indwelling Spirit of Elohim].  As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except it abide in the Vine; no more can you, except you abide in Me.  I am the Vine, you are the branches:  He that abides in Me, and I in him, the same brings forth much fruit:  for without Me you do nothing.  If a man abides not in Me, he is cast forth as a branch, and is withered; and men gather them into the fire, and they are burned.  If you abide in Me, and my words abide in you, you shall ask what you will, and it shall be given unto you” (John 15:1-7, emphasis added). 

Without the Spirit of Elohim abiding in us we cannot produce any fruit because the fruit it is talking about in John chapter fifteen is the fruit that the Spirit of Elohim produces in the lives of the people in whom It dwells.  “But the fruit of the Spirit [of Elohim] is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance:  against such there is no law” (Gal. 5:22-23).  We cannot produce this fruit by trying to produce fruit in our strength and ability and that is why many give up trying to be a Christian; it all starts with being “born again.”  Too many put the cart in front of the horse.  When the Spirit of Elohim is abiding in us that fruit will be seen in our lives and not one will be missing and that Spirit must be continually fed from the Word of Elohim which Yahushua told is “spirit and life.”  “The words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life” (John 6:63). That is the evidence that the Spirit of Elohim is living in us, and we have been “born again.” 

We can and must have the same experience Yahushua had while He lived on this earth through the same means He was able to live without sinning.  “To him that overcomes will I grant to sit with Me in My throne, even as I also overcame, and am set down with My Father in His throne” (Rev. 3:21).  And how was it Yahushua overcame?  “The Father that dwells in Me, He does the works” (John 14:10).  And how did the Father dwell in Yahushua?  By the Spirit of Elohim, just as He does in us when we are “born of the Spirit” (John 3:8) and as we learn to continuously abide in Him.

Unlike what the Catholic Church teaches, the Bible teaches the results of Adam and Eve’s fall or our inherited, fallen, human nature will be with us until the second coming of Yahushua when “this corruptible [the inherited, fallen, human nature] must put on incorruption [unfallen as was Adam’s nature when he was created], and this mortal must put on immortality.  So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory” (1 Cor. 15:53-54). 

“Original Sin” or our inherited, fallen, human nature cannot be washed away by just pouring water over one’s forehead or even by being immersed in water.  Elohim will change our bodies with the inherited, fallen, human nature into the likeness of Yahushua’s glorified body after He was resurrected from the dead by His Father.  The tomb was empty when they came to it after Yahushua was resurrected.  Yahushua was changed from corruption to incorruption and given immortality when He was resurrected by His Father just as He will do for those who remain alive when Yahushua returns.  Those who have died and turned back to dust will be given an incorruptible and immortal body.  When 1 Corinthians 15:53-54 talks about “this corruptible must put on incorruption,” it is talking about those who are alive when Yahushua returns.

In conclusion, let us look at 1 John 4:1-3.  “Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try [test] the spirits whether they are of Elohim:  because many false prophets are gone out into the world.  Hereby know we the Spirit of Elohim:  Every spirit that confesses that Yahushua Messiah is come in the flesh [with the inherited, fallen, human nature] is of Elohim:  and every spirit that confesses not that Yahushua Messiah is come in the flesh [like ours without special exemptions] is not of Elohim:  and this is that spirit of anti-Messiah [Christ], whereof you have heard that it should come; and even now already is it in the world” (emphasis added). 

Even in the days of the Apostles the “spirit of anti-Messiah” was in the world seeking to lead people away from the truth and its implications to us who claim to be followers of Messiah.  There are not only individuals who are anti-Messiah, but there are entire churches that teach this false doctrine or dogma that Yahushua was not like us when He lived in this world.  Yahushua not only paid the ultimate sacrifice for the atonement of our sins, but He was a living example for us to follow so that we too can live a life free from sin (1 John 3:6, 9; Rom. 6:6, 7, 14, 18, Rom. 8:4, 13).  “For sin shall not have dominion over you” (Rom. 6:14).