Posted on 05/02/2014 12:28:06 AM PDT by GonzoII
Purgatory is in the Bible
This may well be the most common single question I receive concerning our Catholic Faith whether it be at conferences, via email, snail mail, or any other venue. In fact, I’ve answered it twice today already, so I thought I might just blog about it.
We’ll begin by making clear just what we mean by “Purgatory.” The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches:
All who die in God’s grace, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (1030).
This seems so simple. Its common sense. Scripture is very clear when it says, “But nothing unclean shall enter [heaven]” (Rev. 21:27). Hab. 1:13 says, “You [God]… are of purer eyes than to behold evil and cannot look on wrong…” How many of us will be perfectly sanctified at the time of our deaths? I dare say most of us will be in need of further purification in order to enter the gates of heaven after we die, if, please God, we die in a state of grace.
In light of this, the truth about Purgatory is almost self-evident to Catholics. However, to many Protestants this is one of the most repugnant of all Catholic teachings. It represents “a medieval invention nowhere to be found in the Bible.” It’s often called “a denial of the sufficiency of Christ’s sacrifice.” It is said to represent “a second-chance theology that is abominable.” And most often the inquiries come from Catholics who are asking for help to explain Purgatory to a friend, family member, or co-worker.
A Very Good Place to Start
Perhaps the best place to start is with the most overt reference to a “Purgatory” of sorts in the Old Testament. I say a “Purgatory of sorts” because Purgatory is a teaching fully revealed in the New Testament and defined by the Catholic Church. The Old Testament people of God would not have called it “Purgatory,” but they did clearly believe that the sins of the dead could be atoned for by the living as I will now prove. This is a constitutive element of what Catholics call “Purgatory.”
In II Maccabees 12:39-46, we discover Judas Maccabeus and members of his Jewish military forces collecting the bodies of some fallen comrades who had been killed in battle. When they discovered these men were carrying “sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear” (vs. 40), Judas and his companions discerned they had died as a punishment for sin. Therefore, Judas and his men,
“… turned to prayer beseeching that the sin which had been committed might be wholly blotted out… He also took up a collection… and sent it to Jerusalem to provide for a sin offering. In doing this he acted very well and honorably… Therefore he made atonement for the dead, that they might be delivered from their sin.”
There are usually two immediate objections to the use of this text when talking with Protestants. First, they will dismiss any evidence presented in II Maccabees because they do not accept its inspiration. And second, they will claim these men in Maccabees committed the sin of idolatry, which would be a mortal sin in Catholic theology. According to the Catholic Church, they would be in Hell where there is no possibility of atonement. Thus, and ironically so, they will say, Purgatory must be eliminated as a possible interpretation of this text if you’re Catholic.
The Catholic Response:
Rejecting the inspiration and canonicity of II Maccabees does not negate its historical value. Maccabees aids us in knowing, purely from an historical perspective at the very least, the Jews believed in praying and making atonement for the dead shortly before the advent of Christ. This is the faith in which Jesus and the apostles were raised. And it is in this context Jesus declares in the New Testament:
And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come (Matthew 12:32, emphasis added).
This declaration of our Lord implies there are at least some sins that can be forgiven in the next life to a people who already believed it. If Jesus wanted to condemn this teaching commonly taught in Israel, he was not doing a very good job of it according to St. Matthew’s Gospel.
The next objection presents a more complex problem. The punishment for mortal sin is, in fact, definitive self-exclusion from communion with God and the blessed (the definition of Hell) according to Catholic teaching (see CCC 1030). But it is a non-sequitur to conclude from this teaching that II Maccabees could not be referring to a type of Purgatory.
First of all, a careful reading of the text reveals the sin of these men to be carrying small amulets “or sacred tokens of the idols of Jamnia” under their tunics as they were going in to battle. This would be closer to a Christian baseball player believing there is some kind of power in his performing superstitious rituals before going to bat than it would be to the mortal sin of idolatry. This was, most likely, a venial sin for them. But even if what they did would have been objectively grave matter, good Jews in ancient times—just like good Catholics today—believed they should always pray for the souls of those who have died “for thou [O Lord], thou only knowest the hearts of the children of men” (II Chr. 6:30). God alone knows the degree of culpability of these “sinners.” Moreover, some or all of them may have repented before they died. Both the ancient Jews and Catholic Christians always retain hope for the salvation of the deceased this side of heaven; thus, we always pray for those who have died.
A Plainer Text
In Matthew 5:25-26, Jesus is even more explicit about Purgatory.
Make friends quickly with your accuser, while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison; truly I say to you, you will never get out till you have paid the last penny.
For Catholics, Tertullian for example, in De Anima 58, written in ca. AD 208, this teaching is parabolic, using the well-known example of “prison” and the necessary penitence it represents, as a metaphor for Purgatorial suffering that will be required for lesser transgressions, represented by the “kodrantes” or “penny” of verse 26. But for many Protestants, our Lord is here giving simple instructions to his followers concerning this life exclusively. This has nothing to do with Purgatory.
This traditional Protestant interpretation is very weak contextually. These verses are found in the midst of the famous “Sermon on the Mount,” where our Lord teaches about heaven (vs. 20), hell (vs. 29-30), and both mortal (vs. 22) and venial sins (vs. 19), in a context that presents “the Kingdom of Heaven” as the ultimate goal (see verses 3-12). Our Lord goes on to say if you do not love your enemies, “what reward have you” (verse 46)? And he makes very clear these “rewards” are not of this world. They are “rewards from your Father who is in heaven” (6:1) or “treasures in heaven” (6:19).
Further, as St. John points out in John 20:31, all Scripture is written “that believing, you may have [eternal] life in his name.” Scripture must always be viewed in the context of our full realization of the divine life in the world to come. Our present life is presented “as a vapor which appears for a little while, and afterwards shall vanish away” (James 1:17). It would seem odd to see the deeper and even “other worldly” emphasis throughout the Sermon of the Mount, excepting these two verses.
When we add to this the fact that the Greek word for prison, phulake, is the same word used by St. Peter, in I Peter 3:19, to describe the “holding place” into which Jesus descended after his death to liberate the detained spirits of Old Testament believers, the Catholic position makes even more sense. Phulake is demonstrably used in the New Testament to refer to a temporary holding place and not exclusively in this life.
The Plainest Text
I Corinthians 3:11-15 may well be the most straightforward text in all of Sacred Scripture when it comes to Purgatory:
For no other foundation can any one lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any one builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble—each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.
No Christian sect I know of even attempts to deny this text speaks of the judgment of God where the works of the faithful will be tested after death. It says our works will go through “fire,” figuratively speaking. In Scripture, “fire” is used metaphorically in two ways: as a purifying agent (Mal. 3:2-3; Matt. 3:11; Mark 9:49); and as that which consumes (Matt. 3:12; 2 Thess. 1:7-8). So it is a fitting symbol here for God’s judgment. Some of the “works” represented are being burned up and some are being purified. These works survive or burn according to their essential “quality” (Gr. hopoiov – of what sort).
What is being referred to cannot be heaven because there are imperfections that need to be “burned up” (see again, Rev. 21:27, Hab. 1:13). It cannot be hell because souls are being saved. So what is it? The Protestant calls it “the Judgment” and we Catholics agree. We Catholics simply specify the part of the judgment of the saved where imperfections are purged as “Purgatory.”
Objection!
The Protestant respondent will immediately spotlight the fact that there is no mention, at least explicitly, of “the cleansing of sin” anywhere in the text. There is only the testing of works. The focus is on the rewards believers will receive for their service, not on how their character is cleansed from sin or imperfection. And the believers here watch their works go through the fire, but they escape it!
First, what are sins, but bad or wicked works (see Matthew 7:21-23, John 8:40, Galatians 5:19-21)? If these “works” do not represent sins and imperfections, why would they need to be eliminated? Second, it is impossible for a “work” to be cleansed apart from the human being who performed it. We are, in a certain sense, what we do when it comes to our moral choices. There is no such thing as a “work” floating around somewhere detached from a human being that could be cleansed apart from that human being. The idea of works being separate from persons does not make sense.
Most importantly, however, this idea of “works” being “burned up” apart from the soul that performed the work contradicts the text itself. The text does say the works will be tested by fire, but “if the work survives… he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he shall suffer loss.” And, “he will be saved, but only as through fire” (Gr. dia puros). The truth is: both the works of the individual and the individual will go through the cleansing “fire” described by St. Paul in order that “he” might finally be saved and enter into the joy of the Lord. Sounds an awful lot like Purgatory.
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He wasn't being tortured for his faith.
He didn't die a martyr.
And which of those things did he do NAILED TO A CROSS?
Fer cryin' out loud. He didn't have TIME to do any of it.
That's the beauty of salvation by faith in Christ. It's NOT dependent on our works or anything else we do or did.
The righteousness of God is credited to our account. We can't do enough good works in the world to even begin to compare to that.
It's like someone showing a child the Mona Lisa and the kid takes a crayon and draws on it, thinking it's making it better or that he drew the painting himself.
No... you need not. For to continue would be to continue to pervert the Gospel.
He had faith. Remember the little ditty in Ephesians 2?
"1 And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ— by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them." (Ephesians 2:1-10 ESV)
God made us alive together with Christ while we were yet dead in trespasses and sins. Get that? MADE us alive. As in, accomplished something. As in nothing else need to be done to MAKE us alive together with Christ. And if that's not clear, the next line:
"...for by grace you have been saved --"
is a reminder that the grace of God saves us... not our works. We're raised up with Christ and seated with Him in the heavenly places. Note the present tense "we are" -- not "we will be...."
And then, the reminder in full -- and here is what you need to continue to do: read this over, and over, and over and over again until you flush out the false gospel being taught by Roman Catholicism regarding salvation... continue to read these glorious, wonderful words:
" For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them."
Catch that? "This is not your own doing" means just that: we DO NOTHING to accomplish this; God saves us, we don't save us. Our faith's conduit is through God's grace -- by grace through faith, the faith that God gives us, get it? -- faith in Christ and his finished work on the cross for us. Our works are a RESULT of our faith, not a precondition for salvation.
So, please, do not continue -- at least in the ways of the world and false teachings of Rome; instead turn to Christ; seek his face through God's word, not man's tradition.
Hoss
Amen, and Amen! See 145. Forgot to ping you.
Sorry!
Hoss
AMEN
They are deceiving people into thinking there is a 2nd chance after death.
From a human worldly view, wouldn`t it be terrific if there was a 2nd chance to either accept or reject Christ, but it`s not in the Bible
The idea that there was a 2nd chance I would think would be offensive to God, meaning that Christs death on the cross was in vain
And we know it was NOT in vain
By Phil Lawler (bio - articles - email) | May 02, 2014
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In Columbus, Ohio, a campaign of door-to-door evangelization, conducted by a small group of religious sisters from Mexico, has produced remarkable results in bringing lapsed Catholics back to church. Working in Hispanic neighborhoods, the sisters bring a contagious enthusiasm for the faith, Father David Schalk tells the Columbus Dispatch: “It’s what Pope Francis has.”
There’s nothing special about the sisters’ approach, other than that enthusiasm—and the results. There’s no high-tech gimmickry, no grand scheme. The sisters, members of the Missionary Servants of the Word, show a genuine love for the faith, and care for the people. They’re credited with helping drug addicts and alcoholics to reform, helping broken families reconcile. And as for relations with the local parishes, the Dispatch reports: “St. Stephen has moved from having one Spanish-language Mass a week to four.”
On the Good (OTG) is a service of CatholicCulture.org.
Completely outpaced by the spread of Iglesia Bautista churches all across the areas heavily populated by recent immigration from south of the border. I know every little town around here seems to have at least one. Protestant Hispanics are far more likely to vote conservative, too. Ever wonder why?
They’re not “scientists” either. ;o)
Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left. And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, And saying , Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou be the Son of God, come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, said ,He saved others; himself he cannot save . If he be the King of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said , I am the Son of God. The thieves also, which were crucified with him, cast the same in his teeth .
And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors. And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross. Likewise also the chief priests mocking said among themselves with the scribes, He saved others; himself he cannot save. Let Christ the King of Israel descend now from the cross, that we may see and believe. And they that were crucified with him reviled him.
And one of the malefactors which were hanged railed on him, saying, If thou be Christ, save thyself and us. But the other answering rebuked him, saying, Dost not thou fear God, seeing thou art in the same condemnation?And we indeed justly; for we receive the due reward of our deeds: but this man hath done nothing amiss. And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom. And Jesus said unto him, Verily I say unto thee, Today shalt thou be with me in paradise.
Where they crucified him, and two other with him, on either side one, and Jesus in the midst.
...
Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs:
He had plenty of time of agonizing torture he had to endure. I speculate the adversary tried to get him to renounce his new faith and revile the LORD again before he died (he had already done this according to Matthew and Mark; only Luke has his repentance and faith). I am persuaded he endured faithfully to the end, based on Jesus' prophecy.
Much like the Roman Catholic Church. Yet all of the scripture shown to you heretofore expounds the facts.
I pray your eyes are opened. Take care.
Hoss
LOL!
Like I said many protestant faiths DO NOT BELIEVE baptism is necessary!
When was the last time you heard a protestant pastor baptise someone in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Hardly ever! They stick their head under water and holler
“I baptise you in the name of JESUS”!!
Try answering my posts instead of ignoring them when you can’t refute them. It’s getting old.
Every single baptism I've ever witnessed over the course of 37 years of being a Christian.
Hardly ever! They stick their head under water and holler “I baptise you in the name of JESUS”!!
And you know this how? You witnessed it yourself? Repeatedly? Every single time?
Who did this and when?
How many are you eyewitness accounts to? When the Catholic church accepts as valid a Protestant baptism, it by default acknowledges that it was done according to the Trinitarian formula.
So since the Catholic church accepts as valid the baptism of Protestant denominations, then why are you disagreeing with the Catholic church?
Isn't that a sin of some sort or another?
And the Catholics had people killed who wanted their own copy of the Bible. I did not realize it was so bad until I was doing genealogy research on my late husband’s ancestors. The Catholics did not want the common people to have their own copy which they could read for themselves. Why were they so afraid of that?
Thank you for saying what I was thinking.
You do not know what you are saying. People from the SBC go all over the world doing that plus in parts of this country. Where did you get that idea anyway? People from my church went to the last Olympics to share God’s word. I think most Protestant churches do some kind of mission work. After severe storms, teams are sent out to do anything needed to help people. They wash clothes, prepare meals, remove fallen trees, repair houses, etc.
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