Purgatory

Purgatory : 

Purgatory From: Where is that in the Bible? – Patrick Madrid Copyrighted material that appears in this article is included under the provisions of the Fair Use Clause of the National Copyright Act, which allows limited reproduction of copyrighted materials for educational and religious use when no financial charge is made for viewing.

Purgatory? : 

Purgatory? I have a friend that tells me that Purgatory doesn’t really exist. Purgatory is something the Catholics invented. How do I answer them. Purgatory, like the Trinity, is a doctrine that is not mentioned by name in the Scripture. It is, however, well attested to in the Old and New Testaments. The Catholic Church teaches that purgatory is a temporary state of purification that takes place after death for those who die in the state of grace and friendship with God (Romans 11:22) but who still have some leftover temporal effects due to sin, inordinate attachment to creatures, and whose will is not fully united with God’s will,

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This purification involves suffering. St. Paul used the analogy of fire to emphasize this, as the process of God’s fiery love “burns” away all impurities that may remain (1 Cor. 3:15, 16). Once this process of purification is complete the Soul enters into God’s presence, the beatific vision, in which the perfect bliss of beholding God face-to-face lasts forever. Purgatory is God’s merciful and loving way of helping us prepare ourselves to enter into the wedding feast of the lamb. Rev. 21:27 - “But nothing unclean shall enter it, nor any one who practices abomination or falsehood, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s book of life.” This passage shows the need to be spotless and pure. To stand before God, we must be perfect and pure in every way. Even the smallest “white” lie will require purification prior to our entry into heaven.

Matthew 12:32 : 

Matthew 12:32 “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.” Sins can be forgiven in “the age to come,” Jesus must be talking about an intermediate place of cleansing which we commonly know as purgatory. Clearly you can lose justification, “once saved always saved,” by committing serious sin. In Matthew 18:21-35 we see evidence of purgatory and forfeiting justification: 34 “And in anger his lord delivered him to the jailers, till he should pay all his debt. 35 So also my heavenly Father will do to every one of you, if you do not forgive your brother from your heart.”

Luke 16:19-31 : 

Luke 16:19-31 We see Lazarus in a place of tranquility and rest (Abraham’s bosom). The Rich Man, however, finds himself in a place of fiery torment, Clearly, neither of these places was heaven (the two men were in two separate section within Hades [Hebrew: Sheol = the underworld]), since Christ had not yet died on the cross, heaven was closed to all the righteous, who waited patiently for that day (Hebrews 11:39-40; 1 Peter 3:18-20). Notice too that the Rich Man was interceding on behalf of his brothers still on earth. This is a clear example given by Jesus Himself, of intercessory prayer being made after death for those still alive on earth.

Protestants Have No Objection : 

Protestants Have No Objection Protestants have no objection to the idea that for their sins God sometimes allows Christians to endure both temporal judgments and deprivation of spiritual consolation. We see such citations in: Presbyterian Westminster Confession (1646) The Baptist Abstract of Principles (1859) Creeds of the Churches: A Reader in Christian Doctrine in the Bible to the Present (Richmond, Virginia: John Knox Press, 1973)

C. S. Lewis : 

C. S. Lewis It is worth recalling that C. S. Lewis, who is rightly held in high regard by both Catholics and Protestants, believed in purgatory and prayers for the dead; he expressed his views on the subject in his book Letters to Malcolm, Chiefly on Prayer: "I believe in purgatory. . ."Our souls demand purgatory, don’t they? Would it not break the heart if God said to us, ‘It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy’? Should we not reply, ‘With submission, sir, and if there is no objection, I’d rather be cleaned first.’ ‘It may hurt, you know’—‘Even so, sir.’"

Objection : 

Objection If the Westminster Confession can uphold temporal judgments for the justified believer, and if dispensationalists such as Dr. Charles Stanley of Atlanta’s First Baptist Church can accept the idea that the elect may experience such temporary deprivation of joy even beyond this life, and if such a Christian apologist such as C. S. Lewis could believe in purgatory, and prayers for the dead, Without any of them being accused of denying the saving Cross of Jesus, then what possible objection can there be to the Catholic doctrine of purgatory?

A Lot More : 

A Lot More Here are some other examples of Biblical text that leads to: The loss of “justification – Once saved always saved,” Intercessory prayers for the dead, and God’s mercy in providing us with purgatory. 2 Macc 12:38-46 Mt. 5:21-26 Mt. 12:32 Mt. 18:21-35 Luke 12:58 Luke 16:19-31 1 Cor. 3:10-16 1 Peter 3:19; 4:6

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