“Ditto for Purgatory, by the way. What do you think 1 Cor. 3:9-15 describes, AWANA class?”
Lest anyone reading think there is some validity here, let’s review 1 Cor 3.5-15:
“What then is Apollos? What is Paul? Servants through whom you believed, as the Lord assigned to each. I planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the growth. So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God who gives the growth. He who plants and he who waters are one, and each will receive his wages according to his labor. For we are God’s fellow workers. You are God’s field, God’s building.
According to the grace of God given to me, like a skilled master builder I laid a foundation, and someone else is building upon it. Let each one take care how he builds upon it. For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if anyone builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw— each one’s work will become manifest, for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed by fire, and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work that anyone has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
The ‘you’ is obviously the church at Corinth. Paul laid the foundation, which is Jesus Christ. Others are building on that foundation. But how they build is important.
If they build with metal and stone, so to speak, then their WORK will be judged by God as well done, when “the fire will test what sort of work each one has done”. Those who have been sloppy and built poorly - with wood or straw - will see their work burned up. “If anyone’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
He will still be saved, but he will not receive the reward a good worker who has built soundly will receive.
No Purgatory. It is painfully clear that WE will not be burned, but that our works will be tested - “the fire will test what sort of work each one has done”. Our ministry. Not us.
When Erasmus wrote that scripture was hard to interpret, Luther laughed at him. Why? Because it is NOT that hard to interpret. If someone wants to debate the exact nature of Jesus, it becomes complex. Why? Because God didn’t reveal it to us, and we are not capable of figuring it out for ourselves. But that the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are all God, and that God is One? We may not understand it, but we can accept it.
Any moderately important doctrine is plainly revealed. It may not be easy to understand from a philosophical viewpoint, but it can be understood and accepted by anyone who wants to obey God.
Purgatory? No where to be found.
Mariology? No where to be found.
Indulgences? No where to be found.
Peter uber alles? No where to be found.
Saved by grace through faith? All over.
Eternal life by believing? All over.
All are sinners needing a saviour? All over.
Simple, unless one chooses to make it hard by refusing to accept the teaching of the Apostles and Scripture.
So, the man builds his life like a building. Parts are good material, parts are rubbish. Now, the day comes and all that is disclosed; his life’s work is tested. The rubbish is purged, the rest is now purified and the man is saved.
What do you call that place where people enter for purification after judgement, and following the purification they are saved? I call it purgatory, the place where purifucation occurs.