What is Purgatory?

1. "Whatis Purgatory?" – 1st
September2017
“He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole
world.”(1 John 2:2).
Accordingto the CatholicEncyclopedia,Purgatoryis“aplace or conditionof temporal punishmentfor
those who,departingthislife inGod'sgrace,are not entirelyfree fromvenial faults,orhave notfully
paidthe satisfactiondue totheirtransgressions.”Tosummarize,inCatholictheologyPurgatoryisa
place that a Christian’ssoul goestoafterdeathto be cleansedof the sinsthathad not beenfully
satisfiedduringlife.Isthisdoctrine of Purgatoryinagreementwiththe Bible?Absolutelynot!
The bible teachesusthat Jesusdiedtopay the penaltyforall of our sins as statedin Romans5:8, “But
Goddemonstrates hisown lovefor us in this:Whilewe were still sinners, Christdied forus.” Againwe
can read fromIsaiah53:5, “But He was pierced for our transgressions,He wascrushed for our
iniquities;thepunishmentthat broughtus peace was uponHim, and by His woundswe are healed.”
Jesussufferedforoursinssothat we couldbe deliveredfromsuffering foraneternity. InCatholic
theologyitsaysthat we mustalsosufferinPurgatory.Thisisincorrectbecause if one isto state that we
have to sufferforour sins, italsomeansthat Jesus’sufferingalonewasinsufficient.Tosaythat we must
atone for our sinsbycleansinginPurgatoryisto denythe sufficiencyof the atoningsacrifice of Jesus and
as statedinthe bible thatisnotjust fora few but forthe sinsof the whole world! “Heis the atoning
sacrificefor our sins,and notonly for oursbut alsofor the sinsof the wholeworld.”(1John 2:2). The
ideathat we have to sufferforoursinsafterdeathis contrary to everythingthe Bible saysabout
salvation.
The primaryScriptural passage Catholicspointtoforevidence of Purgatoryis where Paul saysin 1
Corinthians3:10-15, “By the grace Godhas givenme, I laida foundationasawise builder,and
someone else is buildingonit. But each one shouldbuildwithcare. 11
Forno one can lay any
foundationotherthan the one alreadylaid,which isJesus Christ. 12
If anyonebuildsonthis foundation
usinggold,silver,costly stones,wood,hay or straw, 13
their work will be shown forwhat it is, because
the Day will bringit to light.It will be revealed with fire,and the fire will test the qualityofeach
person’swork. 14
If what hasbeen built survives,the builderwill receive a reward. 15
If it isburned up,
the builderwill sufferlossbut yet will be saved—eventhoughonlyas one escapingthroughthe
flames.” Incontextthe above passage isusingan illustrationof thingsgoingthroughfire asadescription
of believers’worksbeingjudged.If ourworksare of good quality suchas “gold, silver,costlystones,”
theywill passthroughthe fire unharmed,andwe will be rewardedforthem.If ourworksare of poor
quality“wood,hay,andstraw,”theywill be consumedbythe fire,andthere will be noreward. Inthis
passage Paul doesnotsay that believerspassthroughthe fire,butratherthata believer’sworkspass
throughthe fire. 1 Corinthians3:15 referstothe believer“escapingthroughthe flames,” not“being
cleansedby the flames.”

2. Purgatory,like manyotherCatholicdogmas,isbasedona misunderstandingof the nature of Christ’s
sacrifice.Catholicsviewthe Mass/ Eucharistas a re-presentationof Christ’ssacrifice because theyfail to
understandthatJesus’once-for-allsacrificewasabsolutelyandperfectlysufficient asstatedin Hebrews
7:27, “Unlikethe other highpriests,he does not need to offer sacrificesday after day,first for hisown
sins,and then for the sinsof the people. He sacrificedfor their sins once forall when he offered
himself.” Catholicsviewmeritoriousworksascontributing factorstosalvationdue toa failure to
recognize thatJesus’sacrificialpaymenthasnoneedof additional “contribution” asstatedin Ephesians
2:8-9, “Forit is by grace you have been saved,through faith—andthisisnotfrom yourselves,it is the
giftof God— 9
notby works, so that no one canboast.” The Catholictheology viewsPurgatoryasa
place of cleansinginpreparationforheavenbecause theydonotrecognize thatbecause of Jesus’
sacrifice,we are alreadycleansed,declaredrighteous, forgiven,redeemed,reconciled,andsanctified.
Therefore whatwe needtoaccomplishistosteadfastlylive alife asGoddesiresfromusand seekGods
presence andstrengthtoprotectus fromthe evil one.
The veryideaof Purgatoryand the doctrinesthatare oftenattachedtoit suchas prayerforthe dead,
indulgences,meritoriousworksonbehalf of the deadetc, all fail torecognize thatJesus’deathwas
sufficienttopaythe penaltyforALL OF OUR SINS! Jesus,whowasGod incarnate paidan infinite price
for our sin. He diedforour sins:“Forwhat I received I passedon to you as offirst importance:that
Christdied for our sinsaccordingto the Scriptures.” (1 Corinthians15:3). AsChristianswe know that
Jesusisthe atoningsacrifice forour sins asstatedabove in 1 John2:2. Therefore tolimitJesus’sacrifice
to atoningfororiginal sin,orsinscommittedbefore salvation,isanattack on the PersonandWork of
JesusChrist.If we mustin anysense payfor,atone for, or sufferbecause of oursins – that indicates
Jesus’deathwasnota perfect,complete,andsufficientsacrifice. AsChristianswe believe differently.
For believers,afterdeathistobe "awayfromthe bodyandat home withthe Lord" as Paul statesin 2
Corinthians5:6-8, “Therefore we are alwaysconfidentandknow that as longas we are at home inthe
bodywe are away from the Lord. 7
For we live by faith,not by sight. 8
We are confident,I say,and
wouldprefer to be away fromthe bodyand at home withthe Lord.” He alsostatesin Philippians1:23,
“I amtorn between the two: I desire to depart andbe withChrist,which is better by far.” Notice that
thisdoesnot say"away fromthe body,inPurgatory withthe cleansingfire."No,because of the
perfection,completion,andsufficiencyof Jesus'sacrifice,we are immediately abletocome to the Lord's
presence afterdeath,fullycleansed,freefromsin,glorified,perfected,andultimatelysanctified. Once
we believeinJesusChristasonessaviour,repentforoursinful waysandseeksalvation.
Thisis the mostimportantstep.Thereafterwe needtobe verycareful andnotallow the evil one to
change from ournewlyreceived‘newlife’GodavailedusthroughHisgrace.We can understandwhen
we read Titus2:11-14,“For the grace ofGod hasappeared that offerssalvationto all people. 12
It
teaches us to say “No” toungodlinessandworldlypassions,andtolive self-controlled,uprightand
godlylivesin this present age, 13
whilewe wait for the blessedhope—theappearingof the glory ofour
great Godand Savior,Jesus Christ, 14
whogave himselffor usto redeem us from all wickednessand to
purifyfor himselfa peoplethat are hisvery own,eager to dowhat is good.”