“Nor have we anything in Scripture concerning Purgatory. It too was certainly fabricated by goblins.”
-Martin Luther, Confession Concerning Christ’s Supper as found in Martin Luther’s Basic Theological Writings, ed. Timothy
F. Lull (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 1989), p.59.
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According to Roman Catholic dogma, a Christian who dies in a state of grace (i.e. did not lose their salvation) will go to Heaven. However, all sins that that believer committed after baptism must be satisfied or else the believer will suffer temporary punishment:
“All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.
The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect, which is entirely different from the punishment of the damned. The Church formulated her doctrine of faith on Purgatory especially at the Councils of Florence and Trent.”
-Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 1030 and 1031
According to the Council of Trent, Purgatory is based on the writings of Scripture and the Church fathers:
“Since the Catholic Church, instructed by the Holy Ghost, has, following the sacred writings and the ancient tradition of the Fathers, taught in sacred councils and very recently in this ecumenical council that there is a purgatory, and that the souls there detained are aided by the suffrages of the faithful and chiefly by the acceptable sacrifice of the altar, the holy council commands the bishops that they strive diligently to the end that the sound doctrine of purgatory, transmitted by the Fathers and sacred councils, be believed and maintained by the faithful of Christ, and to be everywhere taught and preached.”
-The Council of
These beliefs are echoed by Roman Catholic apologists in our modern times who claim that purgatory can be supported by both the test of history and by Scripture. Is this true? This article will deal with the Scriptural refutation of Purgatory and the refutation of the arguments brought forth by Roman Catholic apologists in support of the doctrine.
The Biblical Refutation
This section will bring forward multiple Biblical passages that directly or indirectly contradict the doctrine of Purgatory. All quotes are from the NASB (emphasis mine):
Jeremiah 31:33-34
“They
will not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for they will all know Me, from the
least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the LORD, “for I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.”
Commentary:
God clearly states that He will remember the sins of his people no more. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, God remembers the sins of individuals that were committed after baptism. These sins must either be satisfied, or the individual will suffer the pains of Purgatory in order to expiate their own sins.
John 3:18
“He who believes in Him is not judged; he who
does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.”
Commentary:
Christ states that those that believe in him will not be judged (for sin). However, according to the Roman Catholic Church,
all sins committed after baptism must be satisfied before death, or the individual will be judged and suffer the pains of purgatory.
John
5:24
“Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment,
but has passed out of death into life.”
Commentary:
(Same as above)
Romans
4:6-8
“…just as David also speaks of the blessing on the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: “BLESSED ARE THOSE
WHOSE LAWLESS DEEDS HAVE BEEN FORGIVEN, AND WHOSE SINS HAVE BEEN COVERED. BLESSED IS THE MAN WHOSE SIN THE LORD WILL NOT TAKE
INTO ACCOUNT.””
Commentary:
Here, Paul quotes David in the Psalms which say that the LORD will not impute sin to those whom He justifies. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, all sins committed after baptism will be taken into account by the LORD, and the individual must either make satisfaction for them through good works or suffer the pains of purgatory after death.
Romans 5:9
“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we
shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.”
Commentary:
While speaking about all Christians, Paul says that we will be saved from the wrath of God through Christ’s blood. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, not all Christians will be saved from the wrath of God because they will have to endure the pains of Purgatory (i.e. the wrath of God).
Romans 8:1
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
Commentary:
Paul states that there is no condemnation for true believers. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, all individuals who don’t make satisfaction for their sins committed after baptism will be condemned for their misdeeds, and they will suffer the pains of Purgatory.
Romans 8:33-34
“Who will bring a charge against God's elect? God is the one who justifies; who is the
one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for
us.”
Commentary:
Paul states that no one can bring a charge (i.e. a legal action for sin) against God’s elect. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, a charge can be brought against God elect, and they will be judicially punished for their unsatisfied post-baptismal sins in Purgatory.
Galatians 3:12-13
However,
the Law is not of faith; on the contrary, “HE WHO PRACTICES THEM SHALL LIVE BY THEM.” Christ redeemed us from the curse of the
Law, having become a curse for us--for it is written, “CURSED IS EVERYONE WHO HANGS ON A TREE…”
Commentary:
Paul states that Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law (i.e. every time one sins he/she must pay the penalty for that sin) that was placed on us by becoming a curse Himself. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, every believer is still under the curse of the Law, and they must suffer the pains of Purgatory for every unsatisfied post-baptismal sin committed during their lifetime.
Hebrews 10:14
“For by one offering He has perfected for all time those who are sanctified.”
Commentary:
The writer of Hebrews is telling us that Christ’s sacrifice has perfected (i.e. declared righteous) those who are sanctified (i.e.
those who are set apart from the world: true Christians) for all time. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, Christ
has not perfected all Christians for all time because some have to go to Purgatory to be perfected by their own sufferings (i.e. satispassio:
the suffering of atonement).
1 John 1:7, 9
“…but if we walk in the Light as He Himself is in the Light, we have fellowship with
one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin…If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive
us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Commentary:
John says that the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. However, according to the Roman Catholic Church, the blood of Jesus does not cleanse us from all sin because those who go to Purgatory have their sins cleansed by their own suffering.
1 John 4:18
“There
is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment, and the one who fears is not perfected in love.”
Commentary:
John tells us that we should not fear punishment because we have been forgiven of our sins. However, many Roman Catholic apologists cite
Philippians 2:12 (“…work out your salvation with fear and trembling.”) as proof of their doctrine. [They do so out of context,
of course. This passage will be discussed elsewhere.] Indeed, the Roman Catholic Church reminds its members of Purgatory
in order to cause them to fear its punishments.
A Refutation of the Arguments for Purgatory
The Roman Catholic theologian,
Richard McBrien, wrote:
“There is, for all practical purposes, no biblical basis for the doctrine of purgatory. This is
not to say that there is no basis at all for the doctrine, but only that there is no clear biblical basis for it.”
-Richard McBrien, Catholicism, vol. II (Minneapolis: Winston, 1980), p.1143.
Indeed, many Roman Catholic theologians are coming to realize that
the main passages that Roman apologists use to support Purgatory do not actually support Purgatory. Nonetheless, Roman Catholic
apologists continue to read their doctrine into these passages. All quotes are from the NASB:
2 Maccabees 12:39-41, 46 (This book is canonical in the Roman Catholic Church.)
“On the following day, since the task had now become urgent, Judas and his men
went to gather up the bodies of the slain and bury them with their kinsmen in their ancestral tombs. But under the tunic of
each of the dead they found amulets sacred to the idols of Jamnia, which the law forbids the Jews to wear. So it was clear to
all that this was why these men had been slain. They all therefore praised the ways of the Lord, the just judge who brings to
light the things that are hidden…Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin.”
Commentary:
Roman Catholic apologists argue that this text teaches that Judas Maccabaeus made sacrifices for the souls of these dead soldiers
to get them out of Purgatory. However, there is a big problem with this. The soldiers that he was making sacrifices for
were idolaters, and according to the Roman Catholic Church, idolatry is a mortal sin. Indeed, the Scriptures state that no idolater
will ever enter the
Matthew 12:32
“Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man, it shall be forgiven him;
but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or in the age to come.”
Roman Catholic apologists use this passage to infer that sins can be forgiven in the age to come. That is, they are referring
to the expiation of sins in Purgatory. William Webster responds to this assertion:
“Yet no mention is made of purgatory,
and when this passage is compared with parallel ones from the other Gospels it is clear Jesus was talking about the extreme gravity
of speaking against the Holy Spirit. All of the Gospel accounts show consistency and none of them give the slightest indication
that there are other sins which can be forgiven after death.”
-William Webster, The Church of Rome at the Bar of History (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995), p.113.
Mark
1 Corinthians 3:9-15
“For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building. According
to the grace of God which was given to me, like a wise master builder I laid a foundation, and another is building on it. But
each man must be careful how he builds on it. For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, and straw, each man’s work will
become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each
man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned
up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
Indeed, this passage was the main one used by those church fathers who believed in catharsis or purgatory. However, this is
not even speaking of punishment. Paul is talking about the rewards that each minister will receive for preaching the Gospel
and building up the church (i.e. converting others and teaching sound doctrine and morals). It is not talking about the everyday
works and deeds of every Christian (v.9; notice that Paul distinguishes between the ‘we’, Apollos and Paul, and the ‘you’, the converted). In verse 12, Paul uses a metaphor and describes two different kinds of material that Christian ministers use to build up God’s Church
with. Some use more precious and costly materials such as gold, silver, and precious stones. These are symbolic of pure
motives a Christian minister has in the building up the Church. Others use wood, hay, and straw, and these represent bad motivations
in preaching the gospel such as out of “envy and strife” (Philippians
So, this has nothing to do with Purgatory for the following reasons:
1. It is about ministers of the Gospel, not all Christians.
2. It is about the testing of the minister’s works, not the purification of their souls.
3. All ministers are tested by this fire, but in Roman Catholicism, the saints do not pass through the fires of Purgatory.
4. This fire reveals the minister’s motives (i.e. “the quality of each man’s work”), but the fires of Purgatory purge the soul.
5. Those that are sent to Purgatory have already been judged to be in need of further purgation. However, the fire in 1 Corinthians 3:10-15 is the judgment of the minister’s motives.
Lastly, modern Roman Catholics have recognized that this passage does not teach the doctrine of Purgatory. A footnote in the New American Bible, the latest Roman Catholic translation in English, states:
“The text of 1 Cor. 3:15 has sometimes been used to support the notion of purgatory, though it does not envisage this.”
-footnote #8 in 1 Corinthians 3
http://www.usccb.org/nab/bible/1corinthians/1corinthians3.htm
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Also, some helpful audio on this topic can be found at:
http://www.straitgate.com/webster/
Some helpful online reading can be found here:
http://members.aol.com/jasonte2/purge.htm
Suggested
reading:
- James R. White, The Roman Catholic Controversy (Minneapolis, Minnesota: Bethany House Publishers, 1996).
- William Webster, The Church of Rome at the Bar of History (Carlisle, Pennsylvania: The Banner of Truth Trust, 1995).
- Jacques Le Goff, The Birth of Purgatory, trans. Arthur Goldhammer (Chicago: The University of Chicago Press, 1984).
Purgatory and the Scriptures