Purgatory
I. References used by the Catholic Church in support of purgatory.
A. The truth that some offences are forgiven in the age to come.
- Mt. 12:32 “…but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or the age to come.”
B. That there is a cleansing fire(Greek: pur).
- Cor. 3:10-15 “…Let each man take care how he builds…each man’s work will become manifest; for the Day will disclose it, because it will be revealed with fire(puri), and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.”
C. That prayer for the dead can atone for sin.
- 2 Maccabees 12:46 “Therefore he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”
II. Biblical refutation of the above.
A. Since the possibility of forgiveness in the life to come is nowhere else mentioned in the Scriptures(excluding the apocraphal work of 2 Maccabees), and that repentance/forgiveness is everywhere sited as a present imperative, it is at best, unwise to suggest the posibility of purging in the afterlife.
- Mt. 4:17 “From that time Jesus began to preach, saying, ‘Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”
- Luke 13:3(cf.v.5) “…unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”
- Mark 9:43 “And if your hand causes you to sin, cut it off; it is better for you to enter life maimed than with two hands to go to hell.”
- Hebrews 3:7(cf. Ps. 95:7) “Today, when you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,…”
- Hebrews 9:26 “…he has appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself..”
- Mt. 12:32 “…either in this age or in the age to come.” This is best understood then in context, as an emphatic “NEVER!” This interpretation is supported by the parallel passage in Mark 3:29, “…but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin…”
B. There are three cleansing fires cited in Scripture, two relate to Christians, but neither of these are fires in the life to come but rather present day experiences.
- The first is the fire of the baptism of the Holy Spirit.
- Mt. 3:11 “I baptize you with water…he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.”
- Eph. 4:5 “There is …one baptism…”
- Rom. 6:3 “…all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?” Clearly, this baptism of fire relates to the initial experience of cleansing which a new believer receives upon salvation.
- The second is the fire of testing/persecution.
- 1 Peter 4:12 “Beloved, do not be surprised at the firery ordeal which comes upon you to prove you…”
- 2 Tim. 3:12 “Indeed all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,…”
It is more consistent to interpret the 1 Cor. 3 and 1 Pt.1 texts as the fire of testing/persecuted,… 1 Cor. 3:10ff. This text speaks of a testing which every Christian will go through. “Let each man take care…each man’s work will become manifest…..and the fire will test what sort of work each one has done….”
The Catholic Church admits that not all believers will go through purgatory hence, I submit that this text does not support the idea of purgatory. (Catechism of the Catholic Church, #1030)
1Pt. 1:7 This text suggests a testing by fire which precedes, not follows, the culmination of history. It is one which, “may redound to praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” If this testing is complete at the revelation/return of Christ, then what of believers living in the end time? Certainly their testing was complete before their deaths. If theirs, then why not everyone’s?
C. Since this point is nowhere else in the Scriptures supported, one must ask first, if this writing is authoritative and secondly, if this particular reference can prove the doctrine.
In answer to both, Calvin quotes the Catholics themselves. First, Augustine acknowledges, “The Jews do not consider the writings of the Maccabees as the Law, Prophets, and Psalms,…” We agree. The books of the Maccabees do not belong in the same canon as these other books of the Old Testament. The second point is addressed by Jerome who teaches without hesitation that this text has no value in proving the doctrine of purgatory. (Jerome, Preface to the Books of Samuel and Malachi)
III. Finally the notion of purgatory denies the sufficiency of Christ’s suffering for sin.
Rom. 5:15 “But the free gift is not like the trespass. For if many died through one man’s trespass, much more have the grace of God and the free gift in the grace of that one man Jesus Christ abounded for many.”
Heb. 9:26 “…he appeared once for all at the end of the age to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself.”
1 John 1:9 “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just, and will forgive our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
1 John 2:2 “He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins…”