Impeccability

Template:Short description Template:More footnotes needed Template:Attributes of God Impeccability is an inability to sin, while sinlessness refers to an absence of actual sin. Christian doctrine teaches impeccability to be an attribute of God (logically God cannot sin: it would mean that God would act against God's own will and nature) and therefore it is also attributed to Christ. The Letter to the Hebrews asserts that Christ "did not sin".<ref name=heb>Template:Bibleverse: New International Version</ref>

Biblical and apocryphal writings

In the New Testament, the Letter to the Hebrews asserts that Jesus Christ "did not sin".<ref name=heb />

The writer of the apocryphal Prayer of Manasseh states that Abraham, Isaac and Jacob did not sin against God.<ref>New Revised Standard Version Updated Edition, Prayer of Manasseh, verse 8, accessed on 27 May 2025</ref>

Roman Catholic teachings

The Virgin Mary

The Roman Catholic Church teaches that Mary, mother of Jesus was, by a special grace of God, without sin throughout her life. This included the moment of her conception, so Mary was even miraculously preserved from original sin and its effects. Some theologians have asserted this special grace extended to impeccability (understood in this context as the inability to sin); others argue this could not be so: as a natural human being, she would have had free will and therefore the ability to sin but through her cooperation avoided it.

Papacy

Impeccability is sometimes confused with infallibility, especially in discussions of papal infallibility. Impeccability is an attribute not claimed by the pope, and few would deny that there have been bad popes: Saint Peter himself denied Jesus three times. On the other hand, Pope Gregory VII, intellectual progenitor of the Ultramontanes and nemesis of the lay faction in the investiture controversy, voiced an assertion of papal prerogative beyond even the strongest of modern apologists:

Template:Quote Nevertheless, in Catholic thought, the exemption of the See of Rome from all error extends only to its definitive teachings on faith and morals, not to its historical judgments. Similarly, papal sainthood does not suggest that popes are free from sin. Quite the contrary, popes frequent the sacrament of Reconciliation (confession and penance) for the forgiveness of their sins, as all Catholics are required to do. While occupying the papal office, Pope Benedict XVI confessed his sins weekly.<ref>David Willey (10 March 2008). "Fewer confessions and new sins". BBC News. Accessed 11 May 2025.</ref>

Afterlife

Early Christians questioned whether the victorious saints in heaven could sin. Church Father and theologian Origen of Alexandria maintained that they could; official Roman Catholic doctrine holds that they cannot. Although Catholics believe in the gift of free will, saints in heaven already see God face to face and are incapable of sinning (see Pope Benedict XII and beatific vision), i.e., they will necessarily remain in God. The Catechism of the Catholic Church states (emphasis added):

Thomas Aquinas taught that souls in Purgatory cannot sin (Summa Theologica, Second Part of the Second Part, Question 83, Article 11, Reply to Objection 3), let alone the saints in heaven. This is the teaching of the Roman Catholic Church, although there are different opinions on the reasons for the impossibility to sin.

Protestant teaching

Evangelical writer Donald Macleod suggests that the sinless nature of Jesus Christ involves two elements. "First, Christ was free of actual sin."<ref name="macleod220">Donald Macleod, The Person of Christ (InterVarsity Press, 1998), 220.</ref> Studying the gospels there is no reference to Jesus praying for the forgiveness of sin, nor confessing sin. The assertion is that Jesus did not commit sin, nor could he be proven guilty of sin; he had no vices. In fact, he is quoted as asking, "Can any of you prove me guilty of sin?" in John 8:46. Secondly, he was free from inherent sin ("original sin" or "ancestral sin").<ref name="macleod220" />

Protestant Christian theology holds that Jesus died for sins, even those of his mother.Template:Clarify

Pelagianism

According to Pelagianism, sin arises from free choice rather than being an inevitable consequence of man's fallen nature. Therefore, it is theoretically possible, although unusual, for anyone to live a sinless life.Template:SfnTemplate:Sfn

See also

• Christian perfection
• Gnomic will
• Infallibility of the Church
• Monothelitism
• Catechism of the Catholic Church
• Summa Theologica

References

Works cited

• Template:Cite book
• Template:Cite book

External links

• Catechism of the Catholic Church from the official website of the Vatican
• Summa Theologica from NewAdvent website