1st September 2017 - What is Purgatory?
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The document discusses the Catholic doctrine of Purgatory and argues that it is not supported by the Bible. It summarizes the Catholic view that Purgatory is a place where souls go after death to be cleansed of sins not fully atoned for on Earth. However, the document claims this contradicts passages stating Jesus' sacrifice fully atoned for all sins. It argues passages used to support Purgatory actually refer to judgment of believers' works, not cleansing in fire. The document concludes the idea of Purgatory limits the sufficiency of Jesus' sacrifice and that believers go immediately to be with God after death due to his perfect atonement.
1st September 2017 - What is Purgatory?
- 1. "Whatis Purgatory?" – 1st September2017 “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”(1 John 2:2). Accordingto the CatholicEncyclopedia,Purgatoryis“aplace or conditionof temporal punishmentfor those who,departingthislife inGod'sgrace,are not entirelyfree fromvenial faults,orhave notfully paidthe satisfactiondue totheirtransgressions.”Tosummarize,inCatholictheologyPurgatoryisa place that a Christian’ssoul goestoafterdeathto be cleansedof the sinsthathad not beenfully satisfiedduringlife.Isthisdoctrine of Purgatoryinagreementwiththe Bible?Absolutelynot! The bible teachesusthat Jesusdiedtopay the penaltyforall of our sins as statedin Romans5:8, “But Goddemonstrates hisown lovefor us in this:Whilewe were still sinners, Christdied forus.” Againwe can read fromIsaiah53:5, “But He was pierced for our transgressions,He wascrushed for our iniquities;thepunishmentthat broughtus peace was uponHim, and by His woundswe are healed.” Jesussufferedforoursinssothat we couldbe deliveredfromsuffering foraneternity. InCatholic theologyitsaysthat we mustalsosufferinPurgatory.Thisisincorrectbecause if one isto state that we have to sufferforour sins, italsomeansthat Jesus’sufferingalonewasinsufficient.Tosaythat we must atone for our sinsbycleansinginPurgatoryisto denythe sufficiencyof the atoningsacrifice of Jesus and as statedinthe bible thatisnotjust fora few but forthe sinsof the whole world! “Heis the atoning sacrificefor our sins,and notonly for oursbut alsofor the sinsof the wholeworld.”(1John 2:2). The ideathat we have to sufferforoursinsafterdeathis contrary to everythingthe Bible saysabout salvation. The primaryScriptural passage Catholicspointtoforevidence of Purgatoryis where Paul saysin 1 Corinthians3:10-15, “By the grace Godhas givenme, I laida foundationasawise builder,and someone else is buildingonit. But each one shouldbuildwithcare. 11 Forno one can lay any foundationotherthan the one alreadylaid,which isJesus Christ. 12 If anyonebuildsonthis foundation usinggold,silver,costly stones,wood,hay or straw, 13 their work will be shown forwhat it is, because the Day will bringit to light.It will be revealed with fire,and the fire will test the qualityofeach person’swork. 14 If what hasbeen built survives,the builderwill receive a reward. 15 If it isburned up, the builderwill sufferlossbut yet will be saved—eventhoughonlyas one escapingthroughthe flames.” Incontextthe above passage isusingan illustrationof thingsgoingthroughfire asadescription of believers’worksbeingjudged.If ourworksare of good quality suchas “gold, silver,costlystones,” theywill passthroughthe fire unharmed,andwe will be rewardedforthem.If ourworksare of poor quality“wood,hay,andstraw,”theywill be consumedbythe fire,andthere will be noreward. Inthis passage Paul doesnotsay that believerspassthroughthe fire,butratherthata believer’sworkspass throughthe fire. 1 Corinthians3:15 referstothe believer“escapingthroughthe flames,” not“being cleansedby the flames.”
- 2. Purgatory,like manyotherCatholicdogmas,isbasedona misunderstandingof the nature of Christ’s sacrifice.Catholicsviewthe Mass/ Eucharistas a re-presentationof Christ’ssacrifice because theyfail to understandthatJesus’once-for-allsacrificewasabsolutelyandperfectlysufficient asstatedin Hebrews 7:27, “Unlikethe other highpriests,he does not need to offer sacrificesday after day,first for hisown sins,and then for the sinsof the people. He sacrificedfor their sins once forall when he offered himself.” Catholicsviewmeritoriousworksascontributing factorstosalvationdue toa failure to recognize thatJesus’sacrificialpaymenthasnoneedof additional “contribution” asstatedin Ephesians 2:8-9, “Forit is by grace you have been saved,through faith—andthisisnotfrom yourselves,it is the giftof God— 9 notby works, so that no one canboast.” The Catholictheology viewsPurgatoryasa place of cleansinginpreparationforheavenbecause theydonotrecognize thatbecause of Jesus’ sacrifice,we are alreadycleansed,declaredrighteous, forgiven,redeemed,reconciled,andsanctified. Therefore whatwe needtoaccomplishistosteadfastlylive alife asGoddesiresfromusand seekGods presence andstrengthtoprotectus fromthe evil one. The veryideaof Purgatoryand the doctrinesthatare oftenattachedtoit suchas prayerforthe dead, indulgences,meritoriousworksonbehalf of the deadetc, all fail torecognize thatJesus’deathwas sufficienttopaythe penaltyforALL OF OUR SINS! Jesus,whowasGod incarnate paidan infinite price for our sin. He diedforour sins:“Forwhat I received I passedon to you as offirst importance:that Christdied for our sinsaccordingto the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians15:3). AsChristianswe know that Jesusisthe atoningsacrifice forour sins asstatedabove in 1 John2:2. Therefore tolimitJesus’sacrifice to atoningfororiginal sin,orsinscommittedbefore salvation,isanattack on the PersonandWork of JesusChrist.If we mustin anysense payfor,atone for, or sufferbecause of oursins – that indicates Jesus’deathwasnota perfect,complete,andsufficientsacrifice. AsChristianswe believe differently. For believers,afterdeathistobe "awayfromthe bodyandat home withthe Lord" as Paul statesin 2 Corinthians5:6-8, “Therefore we are alwaysconfidentandknow that as longas we are at home inthe bodywe are away from the Lord. 7 For we live by faith,not by sight. 8 We are confident,I say,and wouldprefer to be away fromthe bodyand at home withthe Lord.” He alsostatesin Philippians1:23, “I amtorn between the two: I desire to depart andbe withChrist,which is better by far.” Notice that thisdoesnot say"away fromthe body,inPurgatory withthe cleansingfire."No,because of the perfection,completion,andsufficiencyof Jesus'sacrifice,we are immediately abletocome to the Lord's presence afterdeath,fullycleansed,freefromsin,glorified,perfected,andultimatelysanctified. Once we believeinJesusChristasonessaviour,repentforoursinful waysandseeksalvation. Thisis the mostimportantstep.Thereafterwe needtobe verycareful andnotallow the evil one to change from ournewlyreceived‘newlife’GodavailedusthroughHisgrace.We can understandwhen we read Titus2:11-14,“For the grace ofGod hasappeared that offerssalvationto all people. 12 It teaches us to say “No” toungodlinessandworldlypassions,andtolive self-controlled,uprightand godlylivesin this present age, 13 whilewe wait for the blessedhope—theappearingof the glory ofour great Godand Savior,Jesus Christ, 14 whogave himselffor usto redeem us from all wickednessand to purifyfor himselfa peoplethat are hisvery own,eager to dowhat is good.”