What About Purgatory?
Hebrews 1:1-4
April 11, 2010
Lately, I’ve been asked by a number of people very sincere questions about eternal life. What is it? What does it mean? Is there really a heaven and a hell?
What will happen when I die and what about my loved ones? Has God really forgiven me and will I have to go through some type of purgatory to get me right, because I’m nowhere close to that point?
Lots of questions. So, over the next weeks, probably about the next 6-7 weeks, I’m going to talk about these questions, issues, concerns that we have.
It doesn’t matter how long you’ve believed or if you don’t, we all wonder about that moment when we die.
It’s not always a fun topic. We often avoid these conversations, because we’re just not sure what the plan is. Hopefully, after we’re done, you’ll have more answers, and hopefully, feel more confident to talk about it and to trust in the plan God has for you.
As we move along, please feel free to write down questions, and I’ll do my best to answer the questions within sermons, or give you a call and meet up and talk about your question.
So, that’s where we’re going over the next weeks. We’ll be in heaven and hell and places inbetween, well, kinda - - - sorta.
So, let’s get going!!
Tommy DiNardo, who is a Catholic comedian, attempted to explain purgatory to his protestant friends. He said, “Purgatory is a place between heaven and hell. It’s like your stuck between floors on an elevator jammed full of people, who have just gorged themselves at the famous chili supper. Eventually, you’re going to get to the top floor, but it’s not going to be a pleasant ride.
Most Protestants and many Catholics don’t understand what purgatory is.
My purpose this morning is not to demean or belittle our Catholic brothers and sisters. I don’t want you running out of here telling them I was ripping apart their theology. I want to help us understand what we believe and why we believe it.
In a sense we’re all in the same boat; Catholics, Orthodox, mainline Protestants, and evangelicals all need to know, ‘What does God say about the afterlife?’ You do realize, we will be spending more time there, than here. We need to be clear on what the Bible teaches. We need to know -
What happens when we die? Where do we go? Do we go straight to heaven or do we make a stop somewhere before we get there? Is that stop called what the Catholic church calls ‘purgatory’?
If there is purgatory, where is it? What happens there? How long are we there? How and when do we get out? Just a few questions to answer today.
Catholics and Protestants agree and disagree on a great deal of theology. I’m not going to go into detail on this.
Let me say it again, please understand this is not about Catholic bashing. This is about helping us understand what happens when we die.
In order to do that, I believe we need to look at purgatory because many Baptists, Presbyterians, Methodists, Church of Christ, Nazarene’s and lots of others have a view of heaven which includes a type of purgatory.
Simply because they don’t understand what really happens when we die. Over the next several weeks we will try to unpack this.
We would agree with the Catholic church that salvation is only through Jesus Christ, however, we don’t agree on what that statement really means.
Which really underscores the problem with purgatory. The root of the problem comes in the doctrine of justification.
Justification is God’s declaration that in His sight, you are righteous, not because of anything you did, but because of what Christ did for you.
Now, as we really get into this topic, I want to go on record as I believe in purgatory and you should believe in it, too! No, that’s not a mistake, but you’ll have to wait for me to explain what I mean by that statement.
Let me state up front, I do not agree with the Catholic doctrine of purgatory. I don’t believe in purgatory as the Catholic church describes it. I believe it is not biblical and the few passages they use to make it fit, don’t work.
For example, they cite Matthew 12:32, where Jesus said, - - - -
Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven,
but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.
Catholic thinking states, this is a clear indication some sins will be forgiven in heaven and others will not. But that isn’t what this passage means. Jesus is talking about our acceptance or rejection of the Holy Spirit in this world. If we reject the Spirit, we are rejecting God, which means no eternal life with God.
They also cite 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, which I will not read, you can write it down. But it has to do with heavenly rewards we receive after we die, not punishment.
The only verse they mention from the Old Testament comes from extra biblical writings which the Protestant church does not consider part of the Bible. This passage is found in what is called “The Apocrypha” and is found in 2 Maccabees 12:39-46.
I do not believe the Bible teaches the doctrine of purgatory.
1. So, what is Purgatory?
According to Catholic theology your soul goes to one of three places after you die-
1) If you die with unforgiven mortal sin, you go to hell. The most obvious example would be the rejection of Jesus Christ. In this, we would agree with our Catholic friends that to reject Christ means to go to hell. But even though you may be a believer in Christ, if you’ve committed mortal sins, and have not confessed them to God, you can still go to hell. We differ there.
2) If you die in a state of perfect holiness, you go directly to heaven. Perfect holiness means you have no sin in your life and are 100% blameless. Nobody in my opinion meets this standard, nobody. Which is why we need Christ.
3) If you die as a believer in Christ, but in a state less than perfect holiness, you go to purgatory where your soul is purified until you are ready to enter God’s presence. This would include all believers since nobody achieves perfect holiness. This is the Catholic view.
Purgatory has been called “The Divine Waiting Room.” It’s a place that is greater than earth but less than heaven. The older Catholic writers stressed the terrible conditions in purgatory, which in the end sounded a lot like the flames of hell.
Purgatory was seen as a place of punishment where you paid for your sins before entering heaven. Thomas Aquinas, the great Catholic saint of the 13th century said that in purgatory, the punishment which cleanses you is fire.
St. Bonaventure not only agrees with St. Thomas but adds that this punishment by fire is more severe than any punishment which comes to people in this life. Gee, that’s something to look forward to when I die.
Think about a God who loves you so much that He would send His Son to leave heaven to come and suffer in this place called earth.
Do you really think He would send His Son for you, suffer for you; then die for you, so that you could suffer after you die? But that is what the Catholic church fathers believed.
More recent Catholic writers have de-emphasized the suffering aspect of purgatory and spoken of it as a place of spiritual growth, moral reformation, and personal preparation for heaven.
The word purgatory contains the notion of being ‘purged’ from your sins. Thus, it is very difficult to remove the concept of punishment from purgatory.
The Catholic view and the protestant view of justification, our forgiveness and cleansing is huge. And really, in my opinion is what leads to the need for purgatory. I’m going to try to give you a quick theology lesson.
Protestants believe in IMPUTED RIGHTEOUSNESS.
God declares us as righteous, which is only based on Christ's death. It's a legal or forensic concept, where Christ's righteousness is credited to the believer's account.
This means, God now views you and I as righteous, not because we are, but because of what Jesus did for us. His death as the only perfect One, leads God to imputes or consider us righteous in God's sight.
Justification is a one-time event where God declares us righteous, based on Christ, not on any inherent righteousness of the believer.
On the other hand, Catholics believe in INFUSED RIGHTEOUSNESS.
For the Catholic church, this means when a person believes in Jesus, God declares that person as now righteous. God transforms the believer, making them righteous in their nature. This leads to a view of the Catholic believer as being holy.
It occurs because God's grace is infused, or poured into the believer, changing their inner being and enabling them to live righteously.
As a result, justification is seen as a process, involving both a declaration of righteousness and a transformation of the believer's character.
In the end, imputed righteousness relies on Christ's righteousness, while infused righteousness emphasizes the believer's growing righteousness.
Imputed righteousness sees good works as a result of justification, while infused righteousness sees them as part of the process of justification.
I hope you can see the differences. And if God now views you as holy and righteous on your own, then you really cannot sin anymore.
But there’s a problem, we still sin. Which is why Catholics have a high view of confession and sacraments. If you continue to sin, even though you are righteous, you must confess on a regular basis, so that your soul is now cleansed.
Which ultimately leads to the doctrine of purgatory. Because if you are not cleansed in this lifetime because of what Christ did for you, then you cannot go before the throne of God in your sinful state. You must be purged of your sinfulness.
So, that’s why I believe purgatory is so real for Catholics. It comes out of their believe in what happens when you accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.
So, the question comes in, how long do people stay in purgatory? No one knows. The length of time depends in large part on the kind of life a person lived and the state of their soul at the moment of death. Since only God can make those judgments, purgatory may be as short as a few hours or it may last for hundreds or thousands of years.
As a result, a doctrine of prayers, masses, candle lighting and saying the Rosary; all for the dead, was developed. With the hope that saying prayers for the person who died will help shorten their time in purgatory.
In the end, many Catholics have a fear of death, because they fear purgatory. They believe they will suffer in purgatory for centuries. No matter how devout they’ve been, by knowing you’re a sinner, you know punishment awaits you. Not a pleasant thing to look forward to.
You can never be sure what purgatory is like, how long you’ll be there, or when you’ll finally get to heaven. Under this doctrine, there can be no real assurance you will ever make it to eternal life.
Yet, on another level this doctrine makes perfect sense to me. It’s evident there are no genuinely holy and sinless people. If you asked Billy Graham if he’s a sinner, he would rank himself right up there with you and I.
Even the best among us comes to the end of life conscious of many faults, hidden sins, bad habits never conquered, good deeds never done, and sins repeated time and again.
Not many of us seem ‘ready’ for heaven. It’s that feeling which leads Catholic’s to suppose that there must be some place or condition where our faults or sins are ‘purged’ before we can pass through the gates of heaven.
Our problem at this point is a familiar one, we don’t understand the grace of God. You see, the appealing aspect of purgatory is the fact that it just doesn’t seem right that we can sin and sin and sin, and then we can freely enter heaven because we profess that Jesus is Lord.
It would seem that we should have to suffer, at least a little for our sins. This shows how difficult it is for us to accept the doctrine of salvation by faith, through grace.
It seems that no doctrine is more repugnant to our nature than the doctrine that everything God does for us comes freely from His grace. We struggle with that, because deep down, we know we’re sinners, we’ve strayed from God, yet He offers us His grace again and again and again.
I do think Catholics are right in saying that ‘something’ must be done to us before we can enter heaven, but that ‘something’ was done 2000 years ago and doesn’t need to be repeated in the future.
2. Christ Purged Our Sins at the Cross
The question regarding purgatory boils down to this - Does the death of Christ purify us from our sins so that when we die we go directly to heaven or must we be further purified in purgatory?
Hebrews 1:3, among other scriptures, supplies a key biblical insight - - - -
3 He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of His nature, and He upholds the universe by the word of His power.
After making purification for sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, - Hebrews 1:3
The King James version gives a slightly different wording. Stating, “When Jesus had by Himself purged our sins.”
In essence, what Jesus did was to cause our sins to be forgiven, which made it possible for God to extend His grace and mercy to us.
One other point in what’s written. The Greek tells us that the work Christ did in purifying us or purging us of our sins is a completed action, never to be repeated again.
This action occurred at Calvary, on the cross where Jesus was crucified. Jesus died for you and only needed to die one time in order to cleanse you from your sinfulness.
This passage is the closest thing to purgatory in the Bible, AND it doesn’t happen after we die. It happened 2000 years ago when Christ died on the cross. It’s not something I suffer. It’s something Christ suffered for me. He purged us from our sins.
I was dirty, He was clean. He took my dirt that I might be made clean. He took the stain of my sinfulness and purified me and cleansed me so that in His eyes, I am now whiter than snow.
I am never going to face purgatory because He purged me from my sins. My purgatory occurred 2000 years ago when Jesus died in my place.
There’s that old hymn which asks the question, “What can wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood of Jesus.” The purging or washing of our sins took place at the cross. Nothing else is necessary.
Nothing can be added to the cross. There is no room for self-cleansing, for extra penance or for good works of any kind. There is no need for purgatory because Christ purged our sins 2000 years ago.
In that sense I believe in purgatory, not the one after we die, but the one that took place at the cross. It is the purgatory Christ experienced and endured on our behalf.
3. The Application: Salvation Depends on Christ Alone
For me, the purgatory debate focuses on the perfection, finality, and completeness of the death of Christ on the cross. Either His death is enough or it isn’t. If it is, nothing else is needed.
If it isn’t, then why did He die at all? If Christ paid the price, if His death atones for my sins, then for me to have to be cleansed again is unnecessary.
Hebrews 1:3 isn’t the only verse that stresses this truth. Listen to some of the others:
You’ve heard this verse before . . . but it’s great to hear it again . . .
1 John 1:7,9 – 7 The blood of Jesus Christ, God’s Son, cleanses us from all sin. 9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”
Romans 5:9 – Since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through Him!”
Romans 8:1 – Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
John 5:24 – I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes Him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.”
1 Peter 3:18 – For Christ died for sins once for all, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God.”
If we are already cleansed, purified, forgiven, already have the righteousness that comes from God, and already in a state of no condemnation before we die; if all those things are true, which I believe, then purgatory is not necessary. It robs believers of their assurance of heaven.
When God wanted to create the universe, He spoke and it was done. But when He wanted to redeem us, His Son had to die. Mere words wouldn’t do. Only the blood of Jesus could cover our sins. The purgatory we need happened 2,000 years ago on a bloody Roman cross. He suffered the punishment we should have suffered. He paid our debt fully and completely.
So, I believe in purgatory and so should you because we believe Jesus purged us from our sins. He did the work for you and I. Our only need is Jesus. He’s all we need yesterday, today, and forever.
If you know Jesus, you don’t need to fear death whenever and however it comes. Put your life in His hands. Trust Him as Lord and Savior. Those who know Jesus will never see purgatory because He cleansed you from your sins 2,000 years ago.
So, if you’ve wondered and maybe you’ve been concerned that you will need some kind of purging to really get you clean, worry no more . . . Jesus already paid the price. He paid it all . . . and when that day comes, He will welcome you to your new home! And a glorious day it will be.
