Christ's perfection stands by itself; ‘all we the rest . . . offend in many things’.  The general assumption of Scripture is the common sinfulness of men, including members of the Church.^[1]  There is no exception; even Apostles admit faults in themselves and in each other.^[2]  Nor does there occur in the New Testament or early Christian history any indication of the later veneration of our Lord’s Mother, which led to the Roman dogma of her Immaculate Conception (1854).  Two striking and quite different ideas on our sinfulness have appeared in the history of Christian thought.  The first comes from the lives of the saints, and may be called the traditional one.  It relates to the fact that progress in sanctification does not bring a weakening of the sense of sin; rather it throws into relief the sin that still remains to be eliminated: the uniform confession of the saints is that they are outstanding sinners.  The second idea is that of perfectionism, the belief that it is possible even now to be free of sin, and appeal is made to Isaiah’s words about the Suffering Servant as the sin‑bearer,^[3] which are applied to our Lord.  The advocates of perfectionism also cite 1 John 3:9: ‘Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin; for his seed remaineth in him: and he cannot sin because he is born of God.’  On the basis of these words it is argued that perfection is a practical possibility.  On the other hand, in the same Epistle it is expressly declared that ‘if we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us’.^[4]  It has been pointed out, however, that these apparent contradictions can be resolved if due regard is paid to the different tenses used in the original Greek text.  In particular, it should be noted that in 1 John 3:4-10 the relevant verbs are in the present or imperfect tense and therefore denote ‘continuous or habitual action’.  Hence on a strict interpretation of the tenses, the author is not affirming that the Christian cannot possibly commit a sin, but he means that it is impossible to conceive of a child of God being habitually sinful, though it remains possible for him to fall^[5] once and again into a single act of sin.^[6]  It should also be remembered that Christianity inherited from Judaism a pre‑Christian belief that in the Age to Come the people of God would be sinless.^[7]  Since many of the early Christians believed that ‘the Age to Come’ had been inaugurated by our Lord, it was very natural for them to expect that sinless perfection might now be possible. Furthermore, in 3:9 and 5:18 St. John is speaking ideally and using the language of anticipation.  A central thought with him is that the old world of darkness is passing away; already the light of the New Age is shining, and Christians have been born into the new order.^[8]  At the climax of this great regenerating movement inaugurated in Christ, the faithful will share His likeness,^[9] but that time is not yet.  It is easily intelligible that, in His enthusiasm over such a prospect, St. John forgot about  consistency, and read into the beginning what properly belonged to the final issue of the process.  He knew very well that all men are sinners, and plainly said so.