Posted on 04/27/2021 5:25:46 AM PDT by Old Yeller
Some people are taught to deal with their guilt by placing confidence in the doctrine of "purgatory." I suppose you could compare it to a student working on a project to gain "extra credit" to make up for some bad grades. Unfortunately, the doctrine of purgatory provides false hope because it is based not in fact, but in fantasy. The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a "purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven," and is for those who are said to be going to heaven but are nevertheless "still imperfectly purified." (CCC 1030) According to the Catholic Encyclopedia, purgatory is "a place or condition of temporal punishment" for a Christian after death. The punishment and purification process in purgatory is said to "purge" away certain sins that still require cleansing.
So what's the problem with this theory? Well, the problem is that this doctrine is not rooted in Scripture. And on top of that, it invites sinners to assume the blood of Jesus and the cross of Christ are not enough to make a believer completely holy in God's sight. Man needs "more" purification, or so goes the misguided line of reasoning.
In reality, every believer is already completely holy in God's sight as a result of the Savior's sacrifice on the cross 2000 years ago. This complete cleansing flows from the miracle of the cross. (1 Peter 2:24,25) Thankfully, every Christian is already "seated with Christ in the heavenly realms." (Eph. 2:6) The complete purification of a sinner's soul occurs the moment the new birth takes place (John 3:6,7) in a person's heart through faith in Christ. (John 1:12; John 3:16)
"We have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all." (Hebrews 10:10)
report this ad This astounding declaration is not man's opinion. It is God's Word on the matter, period.
Now either the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross has the power to make a believer completely holy in God's sight, or it doesn't. And if it does, then who do you suppose would be interested in trying to water down the biblical doctrine of justification through faith? (Gal. 2:16) Does that sound like something God would do, or is the doctrine of purgatory more in line with doctrines the devil would likely spout?
Since Satan is "the father of lies," (John 8:44) our invisible adversary tells unbelievers: "You're good enough to get into heaven by your sincerity and your morality." Meanwhile, he uses a different line of deception when accusing believers: "You're not pure enough! You know you're a terrible person. And you call yourself a Christian...ha...what a joke!"
report this ad The devil hopes to take our eyes off Jesus and the cross where our redemption was earned "once for all." (Romans 6:10) If the prince of darkness can't convince you to reject the cross, his minions work overtime trying to get you to "add to the cross." Satan knows that when it comes to a person's approach to salvation, "Jesus plus something equals nothing." Adding to the cross is just as deadly as rejecting the cross, and no one knows this fact better than the devil himself.
Remember, Satan is an individual angel who has been manipulating a team of evil angels (demons) for thousands of years. And so he has had plenty of time to refine his craft. The devil doesn't want you to know the truth, whether you are a believer or an unbeliever. Either way, Lucifer's bag of tricks and seductive lies are lined up and always ready to be unleashed at a moment's notice.
No wonder Scripture warns believers to beware of demonic doctrines.
"The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons....they forbid people to marry, etc." (1 Timothy 4:1,3) And of all the dangerous doctrines that have been conjured up over the centuries, the doctrine of purgatory is a real doozy!
The Holy Spirit certainly did not invent the doctrine of purgatory. The third Person of the Trinity will never guide you to add something to the cross in your quest to be completely purified.
report this ad The reality for the believer is that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanses us from all sin" (1 John 1:7) so that we are now "holy in God's sight, without blemish and free from accusation." (Colossians 1:22) This is the case regardless of a believer's religious label, be it "Catholic," "Protestant," or something else.
Everyone who has been converted through faith in Jesus is instantly forgiven, saved, justified, born again, and redeemed on the front end of their relationship with God. The miracle of conversion is available to man because of the perfection of Christ's sacrifice 2000 years ago, as well as the power of Christ's holy blood that was shed on the cross for our sins.
Believers don't need any "more" purification in order to be holy in God's sight. And the idea that man could somehow be punished or purified in purgatory as a way of preparing his soul for heaven is foreign to the Bible. In fact, this doctrine stands opposed to the teaching of the Gospel and to the biblical message of grace.
Here is a helpful acronym to remember the meaning of G-R-A-C-E: "God's Riches at Christ's Expense."
report this ad The doctrine of purgatory, on the other hand, could be summed up this way: S-P-A-C-E, or "Special Punishment a Christian Earns."
GRACE or SPACE? Which approach will you rely upon for complete purification before God? Christ being punished unto death in your place, or you being punished after death to merit some extra purification for your sins?
The Bible provides us with the only way a sinner is purified before Almighty God: "By one sacrifice He has made perfect forever those who are being made holy." (Hebrews 10:14) Could it be any clearer?
The focus in the New Testament is always on the punishment Jesus endured for our sins, and not on some supposed punishment a Christian receives in "purgatory." Such a diabolical doctrine strips the cross of Christ of its glory, while ignoring the full atoning power of the Savior's blood to completely wash away the sins of a believer.
report this ad Isaiah prophesied 700 years before Christ's crucifixion, "The punishment that brought us peace was upon Him." (Isaiah 53:5) Rather than giving us the punishment we deserve, God took the punishment upon Himself in order to redeem us from sin, death, and the devil.
And so today, you either have complete forgiveness through Christ alone, or no forgiveness whatsoever. The forgiveness of sins is not given out in parts. Every converted person is purified completely today; right now; prior to their death. If you are waiting until after you die to have all your sins washed away, you will be waiting a very long time to say the least.
Purgatory is nothing more than a seductive and deceptive myth. If truth be told, this doctrine is "all talk" and "no action," no cleansing, and no purging away of sins.
And where does that leave a person who has gone to their grave while relying upon the false promises of purgatory? When it comes to life, death, and eternity, there are no do-overs.
report this ad "It is appointed unto men once to die, and after that the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27)
Aside from Scripture, we wouldn't know what happens to a soul the moment a person dies. Only God's Word correctly informs our mind and our conscience on such lofty matters.
One biblical passage that has been used in attempting to defend the doctrine of purgatory is 1 Corinthians 3:10-15. But those who do so misinterpret the true meaning of this text. I wrote about the real meaning of this passage in an article entitled, "The Biblical Distinction Between 'Gift' and 'Reward."
At the end of time, a believer's works will indeed be tested with fire to see if the works were done with the right motives. That is to say, were they done by someone trying to shine the light and focus on himself; or instead, trying to shine the light on Christ and keep the focus on the Savior?
report this ad Regarding the works of a believer on that day..."his work will be shown for what it is, because the Day will bring it to light. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire will test the quality of each man's work. If what he has built survives, he will receive his reward. If it is burned up, he will suffer loss; he himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through the flames." (1 Cor. 3:13-15)
Did you catch that? It describes the man who gets into heaven because he received the free gift of eternal life, and so he was saved; and yet, he "suffers loss" of certain rewards that he would have received if his motives had been different in his service for Christ. He will still of course enjoy a fantastic life in heaven forever, and he will not be even slightly jealous in heaven of anyone's else reward. (Jealousy and the like are only found on earth, and not in heaven.) Before the believer enters heaven, however, the work he completed on earth will be tested with fire to see how much of it was noble, selfless, and Christ-centered.
This testing is very different than the false doctrine of purgatory.
Eternal life in heaven is a free gift and cannot be merited by man's efforts, either in this life, or in the fictional realm of "purgatory." Rewards, on the other hand, are taught in Scripture as a way God has chosen to bless His children for their works on earth. But if you are not in the family of God through faith in Christ, then the promise of heavenly rewards does not apply to you. It only applies to God's children.
The apostle Paul wrote these words to believers reminding them of the way they entered God's eternal family: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast." (Eph. 2:8,9)
Once the gift is received through faith, salvation is secure. There is no need for any further purification in order to be justified before God. And this explains why the theory of purgatory is so dangerous. Purgatory is a pernicious man-made doctrine that contradicts Scripture and opposes the cross of Christ.
There is nothing man can do to add to what Christ accomplished on the cross. Any attempt to add to the Savior's sacrifice is doomed to fail, and will lead a person to place a measure of faith in something other than the finished work of Christ on the cross.
When those in Galatia were being goaded by the Judaizers to add circumcision to the basis of their eternal hope of salvation, Paul warned them sternly: "That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you. 'A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough.'" (Gal. 5:8,9)
In other words, the moment you attempt to add something to Christ's sacrifice on the cross as the basis of your justification before God, you are on the verge of losing everything.
Paul went so far as to inform the folks in Galatia: "You who are trying to be justified by law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace." (Gal. 5:4)
And so the bottom line is this: What am I relying upon in order to be pure in God's eyes? Am I trusting Christ alone and the blood He shed on the cross for my sins? Or am I planning to bear some punishment myself after I die in order to be "purified" to the point of complete perfection?
If so, be careful what you wish for. Those who are determined to receive punishment for their sins should realize that the only people who are punished after death are those who will be punished in hell forever. (Matthew 25:41)
And I know you don't want to receive eternal punishment, correct? So don't dabble with the diabolical doctrine that spews forth the following concept: "A little bit of punishment after death is good for the soul." Yeah right. Don't believe it for a second.
Amidst all of its rotten fruit, perhaps the most offensive aspect of this dangerous doctrine is simply this: The teaching of purgatory is a slap in the Savior's face because it proudly proclaims to do something that only the blood of Jesus has the power to accomplish. (Revelation 1:5)
Google is your friend
Southern Baptists
A survey by the Journal of Pastoral Care in 1993 found that 14 percent of Southern Baptist ministers said they had engaged in “inappropriate sexual behavior.”
By 2000, a report to the Baptist General Convention found the incidence of sexual abuse by clergy had reached “horrific proportions.” Victims advocates have derided church leadership for protecting predators and covering up crimes.
In 2016 the Southern Baptist Convention elected Steve Gaines as its president. A few years earlier, Gaines, at the time head of a Memphis, Tennessee, church was implicated in clergy child molestation case. Investigators said Gaines knew for years that one of his ministers had sexually molested a child. Gaines neither reported the crime to police or his congregation, police said.
Instead of wasting your time reading Protestant lies, try reading the doctors of the Catholic Church. Your so misguided it is the only thing that can possibly correct your addled mind...
Wrong...but, what is truth to a Protestant?
Upon this rock I shall build my Church...that was the beginning of the Catholic Church, period. Jesus did not just speak figuratively, but literally as the Basilica was built upon Peter’s grave. You cannot win against God friend.
We agree on a lot of things, thus we are both on FR, however the difference here is on where sins will be forgiven (plus the sense in which they are) and the purpose. In Biblical faith since effectual, obedient penitent Abrahamic-type faith is imputed for righteousness, (Rm. 4:5) rendering one "accepted in the Beloved" (Eph. 1:6) and positionalluy seated with Christ in Heaven (Eph. 1:6) by whose blood he has direct access into the holy of holies in Heaven, (Heb. 10:19) then he/she will go to henceforth be with the Lord as long as one dies in that effectual or when the Lord returns. (, (Lk. 23:43 [cf. 2Cor. 12:4; Rv. 2:7]; Phil 1:23; 2Cor. 5:8 [“we”]; 1Cor. 15:51ff'; 1Thess. 4:17) Note ) Even though as Paul who promised this direct translation, they are not actually perfect in character though he sought to be. (Philippians 3:12-21)
Thus those who sin and are forgiven during the millennial reign of Christ are the unconverted who survived the Tribulation and whom Christ shall rule over with a rod of iron (and most rebel at the end in the final test of man, when the devil is loosed for a time. (Zech. 12-14; Revelation 19:11 - 20:15) Meanwhile the redeemed with have been delivered of their vile flesh and see the Lord and receive their new bodies, which is the only transformation after this life that Paul and the NT church manifestly looked forward to, not some postmortem purgatorial process commencing at death. (Philippians 3:20-21; 1 John 3:1,2)
In contrast, under the law perfect full obedience was required, (Galatians 3:10) and which system was the epitome of salvation by merit, (Galatians 3:20) and in Catholicism one is misleadingly said to have been accounted to have truly merited everlasting life, but must actually attain perfection of character and pay any outstanding debt of suffering in order to actually enter Heaven. Which means forgiveness for "venial sins" a "redeemed" soul was perhaps ignorant of or for sins such had not yet paid the temporal penalty for.
Thus the lowest common denominator concurrence you state still leaves us with a world and an eternity of difference.
Indeed we cannot win against God and which is why you should not be part of a system in which distinctive Catholic teachings are not manifest in the only wholly inspired substantive authoritative record of what the NT church believed (which is Scripture, in particular Acts through Revelation, which best shows how the NT church understood the gospels).
Whether or not the Basilica was built upon Peter’s grave is a matter of dispute, not fact, yet regardless, the NT church never taught that Peter was the "rock" of Mt. 16:18 upon which the church is built, interpreting Mt. 16:18, rather than upon the rock of the faith confessed by Peter, thus Christ Himself.
For in contrast to Peter, that the LORD Jesus is the Rock (“petra”) or "stone" (“lithos,” and which denotes a large rock in Mk. 16:4) upon which the church is built is one of the most abundantly confirmed doctrines in the Bible (petra: Rm. 9:33; 1Cor. 10:4; 1Pet. 2:8; cf. Lk. 6:48; 1Cor. 3:11; lithos: Mat. 21:42; Mk.12:10-11; Lk. 20:17-18; Act. 4:11; Rm. 9:33; Eph. 2:20; cf. Dt. 32:4, Is. 28:16) including by Peter himself. (1Pt. 2:4-8) Rome's current catechism attempts to have Peter himself as the rock as well, but also affirms: “On the rock of this faith confessed by St Peter, Christ build his Church,” (pt. 1, sec. 2, cp. 2, para. 424) which understanding some of the so-called “church fathers” concur with.)
Without the righteousness of Christ YOU cannot approach God. ONLY God can impute the righteousness of Christ to YOU. Has He?... And just so you’ve been told, GOD only imputes the Righteousness of Christ to a lost sinner ONCE. Do do overs. And GOD has told you how you receive that Precious Righteousness, and it ain’t by wortks you have or will do for you cannot justify yourself to a Holy God since YOU have no righteousness unless GOD imputes it to YOU, and never as an exchange function, only as Grace which glorifies Whom HE sent for YOUR Justification.
Murdering me in your heart, are you?
You made the assertion. Prove it or admit you’re spewing nonsense.
Oh, and accusing me of lying is against RF rules.
But what does truth matter to a Catholic?
Yes, you repeated back to me exactly what I told you.
Good job; you want a gold star?
How many of the sources *protected* and *enabled* the guilty? All you have, at best, is one single denomination and no proof of enabling.
Pedos try to infiltrate everywhere; it’s only Catholicism that moves them around to bugger even more children.
Your Cracker-Jack theology will never and can never eclipse the deep knowledge and wisdom of the Church Fathers. May Saint Gregory of Nyssa and Pope Saint Gregory the Great pray for you.
Since Protestantism is so decentralized and fractured it would be be impossible to know the extant of all the covering up that has and no doubt continues to go on. I only need to look to the local “church” here in town that continues to support its convicted child sex abuser “minister” to know there is plenty of dirty laundry in the Protestant ranks as well....
So really, if you think a Christian should abandoned his church because of bad clergy, then set an example and take your own advice.
That's hillarious, coming from you, Murph.
Your hero Bobby Barron seems no better catechized than you:
Accordingly, he (Bergoglio) recommends two fundamental moves. First, we can recognize, even in irregular or objectively imperfect unions, certain positive elements that participate, as it were, in the fullness of married love. Thus for example, a couple living together without benefit of marriage might be marked by mutual fidelity, deep love, the presence of children, etc. Appealing to these positive marks, the Church might, according to a “law of gradualness,” move that couple toward authentic and fully-integrated matrimony (295). This is not to say that living together is permitted or in accord with the will of God; it is to say that the Church can perhaps find a more winsome way to move people in such a situation to conversion.
First Thoughts on “Amoris Laetitia”
Talk about the blind leading the blind.
Where did you get such nonsense? You better hope redemption is real or you’re in big trouble. Faith without good works is dead friend. You don’t have Jesus Christ in your heart unless you thirst to do good works. Taking a Bible verse here and one there to fit God into your belief system will not bring you closer to Him.
“Whoever told you that Luther removed part of the Bible is a repeating a damnable lie.
1: Catholics didn’t even have an infallable canon until after Luther’s death.
2: Luther did include those books in his translation of the Bible.
Whoever taught you is either a liar or an ignoramus.”
The above nonsense is YOUR assertion. It is you who has to prove that crap is true. Good luck...
BE AFRAID!.....BE VERY AFRAID !
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