**I knew he had come to save us and I sure hoped that I would be saved from Purgatory. My understanding being that they do not go directly to be with the Lord, but go to purgatory to deal with their sins and to be called out of purgatory into Heaven by the Catholic Church. It is that last step that one is declared a Saint.**
A couple of things are mixed up here.
No one is called out of Purgatory and sent to heaven by the Catholic Church. Each person’s individual life history defines their length of time to stay in Purgatory and be purged of all sin by making reparations that they did not do on earth.
The process of being declared a saint is a four step process: being pronounced a person of goodness (Servant of God), venerable (approved for study into the matter of sainthood), blessed (beatified), saint (canonized).
http://www.catholicdoors.com/faq/qu221.htm
There is no such thing as purgatory anyway. It's not found in Scripture.
And if we have to pay for our sins, everyone is damned because without the shedding of blood, there is no forgiveness of sins.
If we could pay for our sins, Christ died for nothing.
Since Christ died and we are FORGIVEN, we don't need to pay for our sins.
It's clear that Catholics do not understand in the least what forgiveness is all about. Forgiven means forgiven. Not held to our account any more.
Otherwise, it's wages due for worked performed and puts God in our debt. He owes us because of what we did and that isn't the way it is.
I believe from some things the Bible says that it’s possible for there to be some form of punishment for believers after death, what the Catholic Church teaches about it is too definite for the little that we know.
Jesus already paid for every sin Himself, as we could not, so there would have to be some other reason or reasons for there to be punishment for Christians after this life, but that’s far from clear, especially since we don’t know how God will judge the sins of Christians or really much of anything else. If a starving Christian mother once stole for her children rather than having faith and not stealing, will she suffer some set punishment for it after death? The Bible says “the last shall be first, and the first last,” in the Kingdom of Heaven. We can’t actually fully understand that or anything else that’s been revealed about the afterlife, so how can we judge that such a Christian will deserve such and such a punishment. It is all quite presumptuous.
that's putting it mildly.
No one is called out of Purgatory and sent to heaven by the Catholic Church. Each person’s individual life history defines their length of time to stay in Purgatory and be purged of all sin by making reparations that they did not do on earth.
this is nonsense....all of our sins have already been paid for and covered by Christ.
Romans 4:1-8
1What then shall we say that Abraham, our forefather according to the flesh, has found?
2For if Abraham was justified by works, he has something to boast about, but not before God.
3For what does the Scripture say? “ABRAHAM BELIEVED GOD, AND IT WAS CREDITED TO HIM AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.”
4Now to the one who works, his wage is not credited as a favor, but as what is due.
5But to the one who does not work, but believes in Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is credited as righteousness,
6just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works:
7“BLESSED ARE THOSE WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED.
8“BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE INTO ACCOUNT.”
The process of being declared a saint is a four step process: being pronounced a person of goodness (Servant of God), venerable (approved for study into the matter of sainthood), blessed (beatified), saint (canonized). Nope....if you are saved, that is a believer in Christ, you are already a saint.
There isn't a separate class of saints.
Paul writes in Philippians 4:22...all the saints greet you....
There are other places where Christians are called saints.
It is my prayer that all come out of the false teachings of catholicism and embrace Christianity.