Your comment:I’ve been studying the Bible since I was a teenager which is going to be longer than most Roman Catholics.”
So 50 years plus that one has studied protestant teachings vs. 2000 years since Jesus authorized His Church, the Catholic Church “ I will give you the keys of the kingdom of Heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.” Matt 16:18-19
Perhaps following false teaching there is no need for Purgatory.
Your comment: “I have. The concept is not in Scripture.”
Are you sure that you have an open humble mind to understand God’s Truth?
The Lord “disciplines us for our good, that we may share in His holiness.”
IF one has studied the Bible in context one understands this passage in relation to the rest of the Scriptures.
It does not claim what Rome wants it to claim. Even the ECFs who Rome turns to are in disagreement over this.
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Perhaps following false teaching there is no need for Purgatory.
The Roman Catholic is going to be disappointed that after death comes the judgment as noted in Scripture.
The question now becomes is the Roman Catholic prepared for that?
Only faith in Christ, and no one or nothing else, can avoid the judgment.
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Are you sure that you have an open humble mind to understand God’s Truth?
Yes. That's why I study His Word.
We can understand how to have salvation and a relationship with God IF we read and understand His word.