Mary- favored but not sinless

The phrase "full of grace" in Greek is "plaras karitos" and it occurs in only two places in the New Testament, neither one is in reference to Mary.

1. "And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth," (John 1:14)

2. "And Stephen, full of grace and power, was performing great wonders and signs among the people,"(Acts 6:8).

The first citation refers to Jesus who is obviously full of grace. Jesus is God in flesh, the crucified and risen Lord, who cleanses us from our sins. In the second citation it is Stephen who is full of grace. We can certainly affirm that Jesus was conceived without sin and remained sinless, but can we conclude this about Stephen as well? Certainly not. The phrase "full of grace" does not necessitate sinlessness by virtue of its use. In Stephen's case it signifies that he was "full of the Spirit and of wisdom," along with faith and the Holy Spirit (Acts 6:3-5). But Stephen was a sinner. Nevertheless, where does the phrase "full of grace" come from regarding Mary?

The Latin Vulgate and other translations

The Latin Vulgate is the Latin translation of the Bible done by St. Jerome in the fourth century. It is here in Luke 1:28 that is found the unfortunate Latin translation which says "ave gratia plena "Hail full of grace.'" Remember, the New Testament was written in Greek, not Latin, but the Roman Church has derived its doctrine from the Latin translation, not the Greek original. Therefore, it constructed its doctrine on a false translation.

So what do the other translations say about Luke 1:28?

"Hail Mary, full of grace" translated in the NASB, Luke 1:28 is "...Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you." The footnote for favored one (full of grace) is that it can also be translated, "woman richly blessed."

KJV version of Luke 1:28, "...Hail , thou that art highly favoured , the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."

NIV version of Luke 1:28, "...Greetings, you who are highly favored! The Lord is with you."

American Standard Version - "...Hail, thou that art highly favored, the Lord is with thee."

What does the Greek say here for "highly favored one? It is the single Greek word kexaritomena and means highly favored, make accepted, make graceful, etc. It does not mean "full of grace" which is "plaras karitos" (plaras = full and karitos = Grace) in the Greek.

( I didn't write much of the above, but you can read the whole article @ http://www.carm.org/catholic/fullofgrace.htm if you want to.)

This is just one reason why I can't keep an "open minded" on this subject, because "full of grace" in this situation does not mean nor has ever meant sinless. I do believe, though, that Mary was highly favored by God.
Furthermore, in Luke 1:47 she praises God in the magnificat and refers to the Lord as God my Savior-- how could she refer to God as her Savior if she didn't need to be saved? Mary was blessed in a special way that no other woman in any other generation could claim, but she was still in need of a Savior as we all are.

Romans 3:10-18 "THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE ; THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS, THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD ;ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS ; THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD, THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.""THEIR THROAT IS AN OPEN GRAVE, WITH THEIR TONGUES THEY KEEP DECEIVING," "THE POISON OF ASPS IS UNDER THEIR LIPS ";"WHOSE MOUTH IS FULL OF CURSING AND BITTERNESS ";"THEIR FEET ARE SWIFT TO SHED BLOOD, DESTRUCTION AND MISERY ARE IN THEIR PATHS, AND THE PATH OF PEACE THEY HAVE NOT KNOWN.""THERE IS NO FEAR OF GOD BEFORE THEIR EYES."

Romans 3:22-28 ...for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus ; whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness.

I hope you will pray about this and see why Mary's sinlessness goes against the teaching of scripture.

May God keep you safe,
Mrs. Pickett (Noah's Mommy)