Hello Henrik,

Thank you for your question.  Let's start by laying the proper foundation. 

The Bible, as long as it's an accurate translation, is free from all doctrinal errors or heresy, whether it's the letters of Paul, any part of the Old Testament, or the Gospels themselves, which record the actual words of Jesus, as reported by the Four Evangelists.

However, Bible verses need to be understood in context:

• first in the immediate context of the related paragraph
• then in the context of the letter, or book in question
  (this must include who wrote the book, what audience and what circumstances were being addressed, what was the overall purpose of the book)
• then in the context of the whole Bible and the basic Gospel message, and finally
• in the context of the Church Father, the Magisterium of the Church, and doctrines professed by Holy Mother Church.
  

So having laid down that foundation, let's look at your questions.   I'm going to start with the second one because it is crucial. What did Paul say with respect to all of us sinning.

Paul writes a letter to Romans 3:23-26:

Notice in context, that Paul is arguing for the necessity of Grace to save us.  And in the overall context of Romans, he is writing to Jewish believers of Jesus in Rome, who were being influenced by a sect called Judaizers. They taught that in addition to believing in Jesus, we all had to keep the Mosaic "works of the Law" -- meaning the Temple Sacrifice and ritual circumcision in order to be saved. They also believed that salvation came about by our own merits and efforts in keeping this Mosaic Law . . .  and that Jews, being the chosen people, were better than anyone else and would be saved because they were Jewish.   So, Paul is the first saying: Hey, don't kid yourself, everyone sins or has sinned, and in order to be saved, it takes grace.  Yes, we do "good works", but they must be done  by grace through faith . . . which inspires, motivates, and empowers us to them. Likewise, by this same Grace, through Faith in Jesus Christ and His Sacrifice, we can be forgiven of sin and even overcome it. 

So as we read this, we must understand how Paul is using the word "all".  Like other words, such as "Everyone" and "Everybody". There are two senses of the word, the "collective sense" or the "individual sense".   The "individual sense" means every single person. The collective sense refers to groups.

If you went to an event at your parish and I ask you who attended and you respond by saying, "Oh, everyone was there.",  You don't mean eight billion people who are currently living on planet Earth attended. No, the phrase "everyone was there" means a certain group:

• perhaps just about every person in the parish or the community . . .  or
• if we have common friends, you might mean all our common friends and acquaintances were there. 

So, context dictates the meaning.  So, Paul is saying that Jews and non-Jews alike have committed sin. He's also saying that Jews and non-Jews alike need the Grace of God for salvation.  In fact, the Blessed Virgin Mary also needed Grace to be saved. The dogma of the Immaculate Conception tells us that Mary was preserved from Original Sin and Personal Sin by a particular grace, by the future merits of Jesus, gained on Calvary. So, Jesus died for her as well. He just saved her before she had a chance to sin. 

Paul repeats this argument in Romans repeatedly by quoting the Old Testament, and when you read the Old Testament text, you realize that Paul is not arguing that every single human being has sinned. Obviously, Jesus and Mary didn't have Original Sin nor commit Personal Sin. But Paul is talking about personally committed sins. So, there are other exceptions:

• babies who miscarry in the womb, who are aborted, never commit sin.
• Children before the age of understanding, and so forth.

But Paul is concerned with the false notion that Jews were saved by the Mosaic Law and therefore not held accountable for sin without the Grace of God. 

OK, now let's talk about your first question.

Let's simply look at the immediate context.  I've highlighted and used blue to draw your attention to the operative parts.

Paul starts out by saying the unrighteous will not inherit the Kingdom of God.  Well, in order to be unrighteous, you have to purposely commit sin and live in sin as a lifestyle.   So obviously, Paul is saying if someone chooses by free and full consent of his will to live as a drunkard or any of those other sinful lifestyles, then they will not inherit the Kingdom.  And by the way, Paul is not judging or condemning any particular individual. He's simply stating what is Church doctrine:

If you die in unrepentant mortal sin, refusing God's mercy, you are in danger of Hell. it's not up to us or the Church to specifically say, "So and So" is in Hell. But the Church does have the authority to state a doctrinal truth. Those who refuse mercy will go to Hell by their own choice.
 
A drunkard or an alcoholic still retains free will, although that free will is impaired, he retains enough free will to struggle against the sin, and as Paul tells us in Romans 8, by the Holy Spirit who lives in us, we are empowered to fight sin and even overcome it. 

A drunkard, unless he inherits alcoholism from a parent, in particular, because the mother might have been drinking heavily while pregnant, made an unimpaired free will decision to start drinking, most likely with full consent of the will.  As he kept on drinking, he surrendered more and more of his free will. But anywhere on his journey, he can turn to God and ask for help.  It may be a cross he bears all his life, or he could be delivered. But he can take steps, empowered by God, to struggle, attempt to resist, and even overcome being a drunkard.  Most importantly, he can avail himself of the sacrament of Confession on a regular and frequent basis. 

Now let's move on to verse 11, to understand further what Paul is saying.

Paul is saying many of you guys used to live this lifestyle voluntarily. But now you're washed by the Blood. This means you have the Holy Spirit, have repented, gone to Confession, are absolved, and by God's grace you're forgiven and given the Grace to change. 

Speaking from personal experience, I spent ten years of my life addicted to Cocaine and dealing drugs. God delivered me from this addiction immediately when I surrendered my heart and life to Him, accepting Him as Lord and Savior and repenting of my sin.  For others, it doesn't always happen like that. What's important is that one allows God's grace and the Holy Spirit to work in and through them. We must also have repentant hearts and seek God on a personal level.

I hope this answers your questions and helps.

John DiMascio

Dear Henrik,

Thanks for the question.

I think St. Paul is clearly denoting the difference between those before and after the grace of Christ entered their lives: "That is how some of you once were . . .". (1 Corinthians 6:11)

His point is simply that without Christ, we are steeped in sin, and He alone is the path to holiness.  Remember, the fundamental essence of the Gospel is that we are all doomed to Hell without the saving grace of Christ given through Baptism and the sacraments.  Of course, he understands that God works outside the norms of prescription as explicitly taught by Christ (cf. 1 Timothy 4:10).

That being said, our world view has fundamentally shifted, whereas most people have the opinion that the default position is that everyone is going to Heaven and only the worst of the worst are going to Hell.  If that were true, the Apostles and Christian missionaries throughout history would not have put their lives at stake to bring the saving message of the Gospel.

So, here he is, not giving a theology lesson with nuance but an exhortation to those who have chosen to follow Christ to continue on the path of holiness, leaving the sinful past behind.
Peace,