Traditional Roman Catholicism
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Purgatory Is A Gift From God
The doctrine of Purgatory is often attacked by those outside the Church as a concocted system for making
money by the sale of indulgences. However for those of good will, I will show that the Catholic dogma is
part of the Christian revelation given by Christ to His Apostles. It is the aim of this article to prove this from
the Bible, the King James version which is most esteemed by Protestants.
It is necessary to define what the word is before we prove the doctrine it labels. Purgatory is the state of
temporary punishment by which a person who is not condemned to hell or the debt of sin, before entering
heaven. It is not a middle place between heaven and hell where people unworthy of either place go.
Purgatory is for the saved people and they will end up in heaven. Purgatory will cease to exist at the the
general judgment, therefore heaven and hell will be the only places men will spend eternity.
The attack on the dogma claims that those who go to heaven need no further purgation, since they say
the work on the cross paid full debt and there is nothing more left for us to
do to attain salvation. While this may seem like holy thing to say, it is in fact not even Christian since the
process of salvation involves much more than the believers just having some sort of trust in the merits of
our Lord. If the death on the cross did everything , then there would be no need on our part to believe, to
avoid sin, or to do good. In fact,we could live as wretched a life as possible and still go to heaven. Luther
believed this and lived his life accordingly.
So we begin at the beginning, which is death because only dead people go to purgatory. We recall that;
"it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." ( Heb. 9:27) When we meet Jesus, at the
particular judgment, we will have to give a reckoning of our sins. We do not know when death will come
and since the particular judgment is a consequence of death, we do not know the moment of this
judgment. The Bible states, " Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and
repent. If therefore thou shall not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I
will come upon thee."
( Rev. 3:3 ). Our judgment will based upon whether we were, by God's standards, good enough for
heaven, or evil enough for hell. But here we have a problem. Let us suppose that we die in the state of
grace,( righteousness,justice, friendship with God, they all mean the same thing), we may still be defiled by
sin! We know nothing defiled will enter the Kingdom as it is written, " And there shall in no wise enter into
anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written
in the Lambs book of life."( Rev. 21:27)
Sin defiles a man. If not, then sin does not matter and we can be saved regardless of whether we sin or
not, repent not. If sin defiles us, there must be some way of being undefiled so that we can go to heaven.
What happens if we die before we are purged of our sins, or the effects of sin in this life? We go to
Purgatory.
Any Christian system which would deny this must necessarily deny the justice of God, which demands
,"he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done." ( Col. 3:25) And again, "For God
shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
( Eccles. 12:14)
God also demandst that , "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day
of judgment " ( Mt. 12:36) If the wrongdoer is punished for his wrongs, and the speaker is held accountable
for his idle words, then God's justice obliges punishment for every sin. So what happens if you have some
sinful idle word's on your soul when you die? What if you die in the state of grace of God, but have done
some wrong that you have not repented of, even a little one?
If you go to hell in this condition,then all sins, even little ones, condemn people to hell. This is not only
harsh, but it contradicts the word of St.John in the Bible
( John 5:16) which says that there is a sin " unto death" and a "sin not unto death."
If you can still go to heaven without having been forgiven your sins, then forgiveness of sins is not
necessary. If forgiveness of sins is not necessary, then the believing Christian has what may ironically be
called, the best of both worlds. He can enjoy the"benefits" of the kingdom of Satan by sinning continuously,
and be happy forever in heaven immediately when he dies in his sins. But this also contradicts Holy
Scripture which shows that a sin is not compatible with heaven. And if not all sins merit hell in the next
world, then there must be away for sin to be forgiven and expiated for before the soul enters heaven. We
call this way Purgatory.
The name of Purgatory is not in the Bible however most certainly the idea of forgiveness of sins in the
after life is, since our Lord Himself refers to it:
" And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him,:but whosoever
speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,neither in this world, neither in the world to
come." ( Matt.12:32)
Further, there are several passages in Scripture which teach us that we are to be made "perfect " Our
Lord commands in ( Matthew 12:36) to be perfect: " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect." Our Lord not only commanded us to be perfect, He also stated that it would happen: "
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ." ( Philippians 1:6) These are not the only references which refer to perfection, or
completion of the supernatural life of grace. Here are a few more references.
( Heb.11:40, Heb 12:23; 1 Pet. 5:10)
Our Lord has commanded us to be perfect and we know that heaven is described as
" souls of the just men made perfect ." Heb. 11:23) But if there is no Purgatory, what would happen if we
die before we are perfected of completed? We would have to go to hell!The Catholic teaching is the only
one that makes sense. If we die before achieving perfection, there is a place to undergo perfection,
Purgatory.
Another scriptural theme that points to Purgatory is suffering. It is common knowledge that all me suffer.
God allows suffering. More than that, He even cause suffering which will be sufficiently proven. Since God
can do no evil, then this suffering must be a good thing. It must have some value regarding man's highest
end, which is eternal life with the Blessed Trinity in heaven. Anyone who believes that God inflicts
worthless pain and suffering on his friends, believes in a cruel, pagan God, not the God of the Christians.
If suffering is beneficial then the above mentioned concepts of perfection, becoming undefiled, and
working out one's salvation, can, with suffering, be fit into a perfect consistent, just, merciful economy of
salvation. Does the Bible back this up? Yes. In ( Acts14:21( verse 22 in the KJV Bible) Sts. Paul and
Barnabas, preaching in Lycaonia, exhort the people, " to continue in the faith, and that we must through
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Here a principle is stated, a condition for salvation. It is
that we must suffer into heaven. In
( Romans 8:17) we see the same doctrine taught: "and if children,then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together." IF we suffer with Christ,
THEN we will be glorified together. Paul states also "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny
him, he also will deny us." ( 2Timothy 2:12).
Those outside the Church may offer that suffering is not necessary for our salvation, but merely a
consequence of following Christ. It IS a consequence of following Christ but it not only a consequence.
Suffering is clearly stated as a condition for salvation. Note the IF/ THEN statements above. IF we suffer,
THEN, we will be saved. In the passage from second Timothy, St. Paul presents two options: Either suffer
for Christ, or deny him. If we deny him, he will deny, i.e., damn us. It could not be clearer that this suffering
is a necessary condition for salvation.
Now for heavy part. I said I would prove that God causes suffering. The following text from
( Heb. 12:5-11) undeniably shows this : " And ye have forgotten thee exhortation which speaketh unto you
as unto children, My son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of
him : For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth. every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if
ye be without chastisement, where of all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after
their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."
God chastises, rebukes and scourges His sons. This causes a grievous feeling in them. What's more, if
He does not chastise someone, that person is a bastard and not a son. So this particular pain and
suffering is inflicted only on believing Christians. Further, it is meritorious and has a casual relationship
with our salvation. " for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness." This shows that suffering is
meritorious of salvation. Thus the Catholic doctrine of merit and good works is vindicated against the
Lutheran heresy that we can do nothing in matters of salvation and that all of our good works are profitless.
How does this relate to Purgatory?First, since Purgatory is a state of suffering, then the doctrine of
Purgatory is consistent with the Biblical doctrine that suffering is necessary for salvation and is an agency
by which we are made fit for heaven. Second, we can apply the principle above to the idea of suffering.
Suppose then a son dies before he is chastised enough? What happens? Purgatory.
Nothing defiled enters heaven, we must be made perfect. We have to suffer. But does the Bible actually
say that this can be done after death? In the Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul makes a reference to
purgatorial fires : "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundations can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon
this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of
what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any
man's work shall be burned,he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
( 1 Cor. 3:10-15)
On the subject of Purgatory, history is not silent. The reality of Purgatory is attested in the writings of
many of the Church Fathers. For example, writing in the year 542 A.D. , Caearius of Arles states : "If we
neither give thanks to God in tribulations nor redeem our own sins by good works, we shall have to remain
in Purgatorial fires as long as it takes for those above mentioned lesser sins to be consumed like wood and
straw and hay." ( Sermon179(104): 2). Quotes from other fathers on the same passage from Scripture
include the likes of St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St.Jerome and St. Gregory. Other historical testimonies
come from the Christian catacombs, where prayers for the repose of the souls of the faithfully departed
were inscribed in stone. Let me quote one of the great Fathers and doctor of the Church speaking on the
same passage: "If the baptized person fulfills the obligations demanded of a Christian, he does well. If he
does not- provided he keeps the faith,without which he would perish forever- no matter what sin is or
impurity remains, he will be saved, as it were, by fire; as one who has built on the foundation, which is
Christ, not gold, silver, and precious stones, but wood,hay, straw, that is, not just and chaste works but
wicked and unchaste works.
( Faith and works, 1:1 A.D.413)
Another proof a bit out of our range is the Scriptural proof from the Old Testament book of the
Maccabees. The reason is that according to the Protestant edition of the Bible which, not surprisingly,
corresponds exactly to the anti-Christian Judaism of the first century A.D.,this book is not part of their bible.
The passage is ( 2 Maccabees12:46) "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead,
that they may be lossed from their sins." The evidence is clear that the vast majority of the pre-Christian
Jews believed in this book and that prayers for the dead would losse them from their sins.
Adding this all up:
· Not all sins condemn one to hell, and that God's justice demands that all sins be expiated.
According to Holy Scripture, we need ( and will receive, if we are saved) "perfection" and "completion "
Death can come before expiation or perfection happens, and that there must be a place in God's economy
for this to happen.
We have given a Biblical passage illustrating the purgatorial flames, and some of the historical evidence
that the early Christians took this passage to mean purgatory.
As further proof we have briefly alluded to the facts that pre-Christian Jews believed in it, and so did the
early Christians of the Catacombs.
The alternative to believing this doctrine of Purgatory, and entering the only Church which actually
defends it, is to accept a religion which advances contradictions confusion and an unjust, demented pagan
God. We must remember that those souls in Purgatory cannot make themselves "perfect. " It is our prayers
they need. They suffer from the lack of vision of God. Let us all become determined to offer our own
prayers and good works, and to have Masses and prayers offered for the Holy souls in Purgatory. And let
us also do what we are able to spread such doubly beneficial practices. If we do our part, our age that has
largely lost its sense of sin could be transformed into the age when Purgatory was largely emptied.
Through such efforts, we can speed other souls to heaven, and earn our own place alongside those we
helped, with God forever and ever.
,
money by the sale of indulgences. However for those of good will, I will show that the Catholic dogma is
part of the Christian revelation given by Christ to His Apostles. It is the aim of this article to prove this from
the Bible, the King James version which is most esteemed by Protestants.
It is necessary to define what the word is before we prove the doctrine it labels. Purgatory is the state of
temporary punishment by which a person who is not condemned to hell or the debt of sin, before entering
heaven. It is not a middle place between heaven and hell where people unworthy of either place go.
Purgatory is for the saved people and they will end up in heaven. Purgatory will cease to exist at the the
general judgment, therefore heaven and hell will be the only places men will spend eternity.
The attack on the dogma claims that those who go to heaven need no further purgation, since they say
the work on the cross paid full debt and there is nothing more left for us to
do to attain salvation. While this may seem like holy thing to say, it is in fact not even Christian since the
process of salvation involves much more than the believers just having some sort of trust in the merits of
our Lord. If the death on the cross did everything , then there would be no need on our part to believe, to
avoid sin, or to do good. In fact,we could live as wretched a life as possible and still go to heaven. Luther
believed this and lived his life accordingly.
So we begin at the beginning, which is death because only dead people go to purgatory. We recall that;
"it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment." ( Heb. 9:27) When we meet Jesus, at the
particular judgment, we will have to give a reckoning of our sins. We do not know when death will come
and since the particular judgment is a consequence of death, we do not know the moment of this
judgment. The Bible states, " Remember therefore how thou hast received and heard, and hold fast, and
repent. If therefore thou shall not watch, I will come on thee as a thief, and thou shalt not know what hour I
will come upon thee."
( Rev. 3:3 ). Our judgment will based upon whether we were, by God's standards, good enough for
heaven, or evil enough for hell. But here we have a problem. Let us suppose that we die in the state of
grace,( righteousness,justice, friendship with God, they all mean the same thing), we may still be defiled by
sin! We know nothing defiled will enter the Kingdom as it is written, " And there shall in no wise enter into
anything that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written
in the Lambs book of life."( Rev. 21:27)
Sin defiles a man. If not, then sin does not matter and we can be saved regardless of whether we sin or
not, repent not. If sin defiles us, there must be some way of being undefiled so that we can go to heaven.
What happens if we die before we are purged of our sins, or the effects of sin in this life? We go to
Purgatory.
Any Christian system which would deny this must necessarily deny the justice of God, which demands
,"he that doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done." ( Col. 3:25) And again, "For God
shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil."
( Eccles. 12:14)
God also demandst that , "every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day
of judgment " ( Mt. 12:36) If the wrongdoer is punished for his wrongs, and the speaker is held accountable
for his idle words, then God's justice obliges punishment for every sin. So what happens if you have some
sinful idle word's on your soul when you die? What if you die in the state of grace of God, but have done
some wrong that you have not repented of, even a little one?
If you go to hell in this condition,then all sins, even little ones, condemn people to hell. This is not only
harsh, but it contradicts the word of St.John in the Bible
( John 5:16) which says that there is a sin " unto death" and a "sin not unto death."
If you can still go to heaven without having been forgiven your sins, then forgiveness of sins is not
necessary. If forgiveness of sins is not necessary, then the believing Christian has what may ironically be
called, the best of both worlds. He can enjoy the"benefits" of the kingdom of Satan by sinning continuously,
and be happy forever in heaven immediately when he dies in his sins. But this also contradicts Holy
Scripture which shows that a sin is not compatible with heaven. And if not all sins merit hell in the next
world, then there must be away for sin to be forgiven and expiated for before the soul enters heaven. We
call this way Purgatory.
The name of Purgatory is not in the Bible however most certainly the idea of forgiveness of sins in the
after life is, since our Lord Himself refers to it:
" And whosoever speaketh a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him,:but whosoever
speaketh against the Holy Ghost, it shall not be forgiven him,neither in this world, neither in the world to
come." ( Matt.12:32)
Further, there are several passages in Scripture which teach us that we are to be made "perfect " Our
Lord commands in ( Matthew 12:36) to be perfect: " Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is
in heaven is perfect." Our Lord not only commanded us to be perfect, He also stated that it would happen: "
Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day
of Jesus Christ." ( Philippians 1:6) These are not the only references which refer to perfection, or
completion of the supernatural life of grace. Here are a few more references.
( Heb.11:40, Heb 12:23; 1 Pet. 5:10)
Our Lord has commanded us to be perfect and we know that heaven is described as
" souls of the just men made perfect ." Heb. 11:23) But if there is no Purgatory, what would happen if we
die before we are perfected of completed? We would have to go to hell!The Catholic teaching is the only
one that makes sense. If we die before achieving perfection, there is a place to undergo perfection,
Purgatory.
Another scriptural theme that points to Purgatory is suffering. It is common knowledge that all me suffer.
God allows suffering. More than that, He even cause suffering which will be sufficiently proven. Since God
can do no evil, then this suffering must be a good thing. It must have some value regarding man's highest
end, which is eternal life with the Blessed Trinity in heaven. Anyone who believes that God inflicts
worthless pain and suffering on his friends, believes in a cruel, pagan God, not the God of the Christians.
If suffering is beneficial then the above mentioned concepts of perfection, becoming undefiled, and
working out one's salvation, can, with suffering, be fit into a perfect consistent, just, merciful economy of
salvation. Does the Bible back this up? Yes. In ( Acts14:21( verse 22 in the KJV Bible) Sts. Paul and
Barnabas, preaching in Lycaonia, exhort the people, " to continue in the faith, and that we must through
much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God." Here a principle is stated, a condition for salvation. It is
that we must suffer into heaven. In
( Romans 8:17) we see the same doctrine taught: "and if children,then heirs; heirs of God, and joint heirs
with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him that we may also be glorified together." IF we suffer with Christ,
THEN we will be glorified together. Paul states also "If we suffer, we shall also reign with him: if we deny
him, he also will deny us." ( 2Timothy 2:12).
Those outside the Church may offer that suffering is not necessary for our salvation, but merely a
consequence of following Christ. It IS a consequence of following Christ but it not only a consequence.
Suffering is clearly stated as a condition for salvation. Note the IF/ THEN statements above. IF we suffer,
THEN, we will be saved. In the passage from second Timothy, St. Paul presents two options: Either suffer
for Christ, or deny him. If we deny him, he will deny, i.e., damn us. It could not be clearer that this suffering
is a necessary condition for salvation.
Now for heavy part. I said I would prove that God causes suffering. The following text from
( Heb. 12:5-11) undeniably shows this : " And ye have forgotten thee exhortation which speaketh unto you
as unto children, My son despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou are rebuked of
him : For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth. every son whom he receiveth. If ye endure
chastening, God dealeth with you as with sons; for what son is he whom the father chasteneth not? But if
ye be without chastisement, where of all are partakers, then are ye bastards, and not sons. Furthermore
we have had fathers of our flesh which corrected us, and we gave them reverence: shall we not much
rather be in subjection unto the Father of spirits and live? For they verily for a few days chastened us after
their own pleasure; but he for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. Now no chastening for
the present seemeth to be joyous, but grievous: nevertheless afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of
righteousness unto them which are exercised thereby."
God chastises, rebukes and scourges His sons. This causes a grievous feeling in them. What's more, if
He does not chastise someone, that person is a bastard and not a son. So this particular pain and
suffering is inflicted only on believing Christians. Further, it is meritorious and has a casual relationship
with our salvation. " for our profit, that we may be partakers of his holiness." This shows that suffering is
meritorious of salvation. Thus the Catholic doctrine of merit and good works is vindicated against the
Lutheran heresy that we can do nothing in matters of salvation and that all of our good works are profitless.
How does this relate to Purgatory?First, since Purgatory is a state of suffering, then the doctrine of
Purgatory is consistent with the Biblical doctrine that suffering is necessary for salvation and is an agency
by which we are made fit for heaven. Second, we can apply the principle above to the idea of suffering.
Suppose then a son dies before he is chastised enough? What happens? Purgatory.
Nothing defiled enters heaven, we must be made perfect. We have to suffer. But does the Bible actually
say that this can be done after death? In the Epistle to the Corinthians, St. Paul makes a reference to
purgatorial fires : "According to the grace of God which is given unto me, as a wise master builder, I have
laid the foundation, and another buildeth thereon. But let every man take heed how he buildeth thereupon.
For other foundations can no man lay than that is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man build upon
this foundation gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every man's work shall be made manifest:
for the day shall declare it, because it shall be revealed by fire; and the fire shall try every man's work of
what sort it is. If any man's work abide which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. If any
man's work shall be burned,he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet so as by fire."
( 1 Cor. 3:10-15)
On the subject of Purgatory, history is not silent. The reality of Purgatory is attested in the writings of
many of the Church Fathers. For example, writing in the year 542 A.D. , Caearius of Arles states : "If we
neither give thanks to God in tribulations nor redeem our own sins by good works, we shall have to remain
in Purgatorial fires as long as it takes for those above mentioned lesser sins to be consumed like wood and
straw and hay." ( Sermon179(104): 2). Quotes from other fathers on the same passage from Scripture
include the likes of St. Augustine, St. Ambrose, St.Jerome and St. Gregory. Other historical testimonies
come from the Christian catacombs, where prayers for the repose of the souls of the faithfully departed
were inscribed in stone. Let me quote one of the great Fathers and doctor of the Church speaking on the
same passage: "If the baptized person fulfills the obligations demanded of a Christian, he does well. If he
does not- provided he keeps the faith,without which he would perish forever- no matter what sin is or
impurity remains, he will be saved, as it were, by fire; as one who has built on the foundation, which is
Christ, not gold, silver, and precious stones, but wood,hay, straw, that is, not just and chaste works but
wicked and unchaste works.
( Faith and works, 1:1 A.D.413)
Another proof a bit out of our range is the Scriptural proof from the Old Testament book of the
Maccabees. The reason is that according to the Protestant edition of the Bible which, not surprisingly,
corresponds exactly to the anti-Christian Judaism of the first century A.D.,this book is not part of their bible.
The passage is ( 2 Maccabees12:46) "It is therefore a holy and wholesome thought to pray for the dead,
that they may be lossed from their sins." The evidence is clear that the vast majority of the pre-Christian
Jews believed in this book and that prayers for the dead would losse them from their sins.
Adding this all up:
· Not all sins condemn one to hell, and that God's justice demands that all sins be expiated.
According to Holy Scripture, we need ( and will receive, if we are saved) "perfection" and "completion "
Death can come before expiation or perfection happens, and that there must be a place in God's economy
for this to happen.
We have given a Biblical passage illustrating the purgatorial flames, and some of the historical evidence
that the early Christians took this passage to mean purgatory.
As further proof we have briefly alluded to the facts that pre-Christian Jews believed in it, and so did the
early Christians of the Catacombs.
The alternative to believing this doctrine of Purgatory, and entering the only Church which actually
defends it, is to accept a religion which advances contradictions confusion and an unjust, demented pagan
God. We must remember that those souls in Purgatory cannot make themselves "perfect. " It is our prayers
they need. They suffer from the lack of vision of God. Let us all become determined to offer our own
prayers and good works, and to have Masses and prayers offered for the Holy souls in Purgatory. And let
us also do what we are able to spread such doubly beneficial practices. If we do our part, our age that has
largely lost its sense of sin could be transformed into the age when Purgatory was largely emptied.
Through such efforts, we can speed other souls to heaven, and earn our own place alongside those we
helped, with God forever and ever.
,