First Word
The topics I study are not the ordinary Word Study.
– I have no agenda against any domination although I admit I am a biased Pentecostal
Presbyterian Protestant; PPP if there is such a thing.
This topic; Purgatory
has been around forever, but almost never mentioned among Protestants.
I purchased
a New Catholic Edition Bible to aid
me in this study.
The Catholic Bible
- As I examine my new
Bible,
the first thing I noticed was there were a few extra books not found in
the Protestant Bible. They are know
as the Apocrypha;
- Baruch, Judith, 1st
& 2nd Machabees, Sirach, Tobias, and Wisdom,
– I enjoyed reading all of them. – Many of the other book names
were just different spellings than that of the Protestant Bible. - For me
they paint a picture of the flavor of the culture and manners during
OT times; giving insight to what they were thinking, regardless of “fiction
or fact”.
- NOTE: In OT times, there were many writers who
would pen letters and put the name of one of the prophets or disciples on
it to gain “acceptability”. – This was no small problem to the Churches - The
different styles of writers have a signature much like
- Reading
the Ten Commandments; I found the 2nd commandment forbidding graven
images to be omitted; with the 10th commandment split into
two, making it ten again.
- Purgatory: is not found in the
Catholic Bible, but is handed down by “Sacred Tradition”.
Ex 20:3-4 –
Protestant Bible – Graven images
3 You shall have no other gods before me.
4 You shall not make unto thee any graven image,
or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth
beneath, or that is in the water under the earth: KJV
Ex 20:3-4 – Catholic Bible
– Graven images omitted
3 You shall not have other gods besides me
4 You shall not carve idols for yourselves
in the shape of anything in the sky above or on the earth below or in the
waters beneath
the earth
1 Cor 16:21 – My own hand
21 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
NIV
Gal 6:11 - My own hand
11 See what large letters I use as I write to
you with my own hand!
18 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand.
NIV
2 Thess 3:17 - My own hand
17 I, Paul, write this greeting in my own hand,
which is the distinguishing mark in all my letters. This is how I write. NIV
What’s it all about
- Webster:
Purgatory
A state or place in which, in Roman Catholicism and other Christian
doctrine, those who have died in the grace of God expiate their
sins by suffering – any state or place of temporary punishment, expiation
or remorse.
- Expiate: to make satisfaction or atonement; to
make amends or reparation for wrong doing; to pay the penalty or suffer.
- Catechism
- Catholic Church ; “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”
- Second
- Purgatory: is a place in
Catholic doctrine designated as a place of purification, not a place of
punishment; however the purification process does involve mental and
physical anguish which includes an intense, excruciating painful
“purifying fire”.
- The
Time in purgatory: can be from a few
hours to a few thousand years.
Purgatory purges sin through
fire
- Catholicism uses the
verse 1 Cor
- “If any man's work
shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved”.
- Paul is talking about
laying the spiritual foundation for the church at
- If someone builds on
any foundation other than that of Christ; their building or efforts or works would be burned up in fire;
but they would not lose their salvation.
- Fire is symbolic of
purification.
– As heating metals and pouring off the waste; the dross.
- Scripture says this
purification will take place on that day; which is the “Day of the Lord” spoken of by John
the revelator.
- Understand; – This scripture is
talking about good works and heavenly rewards. Not purging sin so man can be saved...
1 Cor
3:10-15 – Works/efforts burned up – different foundation
10 According to the
grace of God which was given unto me, as a wise master builder I laid a foundation;
and another builds thereon. But let each man take heed how he builds
thereon.
11 For other foundation
can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
12 But if any man builds on
the foundation gold, silver, costly stones, wood, hay, stubble;
13 each man's work shall
be made manifest: for the day shall declare it, because it is revealed
in fire; and the fire itself shall prove each man's work of what sort it
is.
14 If any man's work shall
abide which he built thereon, he shall receive a reward.
15 If any man's work
shall be burned, he shall suffer loss: but he himself shall be saved; yet
so as through fire.
1 Peter
1:6-7 – Your faith is refined by fire on that day
6 In this you greatly
rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all
kinds of trials.
7 These have come so that your
faith-of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by
fire-may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when
Jesus Christ is revealed. NIV
Baptism expiates sin
- Catholic
Baptism
remits (forgives) sins committed up to
that point, but prayers, indulgences, penance, absolution
and the Mass are means by which the sinner is able to expiate
sins committed after baptism. – Many are baptized as infants making
no formal “repentance”.
- If sins are not
remitted;
after death, he must suffer the flames of purification until he is
sufficiently cleansed and pure so as to enter into the presence of God.
- Additionally, intercession
can be made by Catholics on behalf of those who are presently in
purgatory. - This is done through saying the Mass, certain acts
of penance, saying the Rosary, or by indulgences where
the benefit is applied to the dead
in purgatory
- Indulgent: A partial or complete remission, under
conditions specified by the Church, of divine temporal punishment that
may otherwise still be due for sin committed, but forgiven.
v Scripture says when you die; it is all over. There is no need for a place like purgatory.
Heb 9:27 – Once we die; it’s a done deal.
27 And as it is appointed
unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: KJV
VIRGIN MARY
– RABBIT TRAIL
- Wickipedia: “The Immaculate Conception should not be confused with the
Virginity of Mary or the Virgin birth of Jesus; it refers to the
conception of Mary by her (virgin)
mother, Saint Anne. Although the belief was widely held since at least
Late Antiquity, the doctrine was not formally proclaimed until December 8,
1854, by Pope Pius IX in his paper
bull Ineffablis Deus”. (The virgin birth of
Saint Anne with Mary is not recorded in NewTestament scriptures)
- “The most Blessed Virgin Mary was, from the first moment of her
conception, by a singular grace and privilege of Almighty God and by
virtue of the merits of Jesus Christ, Savior of the human race, preserved immune
from all stain of original sin”. – (She was sinless)
- Thus Mary was preserved from sin and is the “co-redeemer” of
man along with Jesus.
v
This
contradicts scripture – No one comes to the father except through Christ. John 14:6
The Wrestling Match
- Purgatory and the forgiveness of sin presents a
wrestling match to me because it implies the following that are contrary
to scripture.
- The death on the
cross of Jesus Christ was insufficient to cleanse me from
- Baptism is the
“vehicle” for forgiveness; remitting “past” sins, but not future sins - I
am not forgiven and justified by my faith alone - There is something else I must do - I have the ability to “do this” for my
self, or someone can do it for me.
- There are others who
can forgive my sins besides God. - There are other mediators between God
and Man besides Christ.
v
I
would like to address these things I wrestle with, one at a time based on
scripture.
1 Insufficient
Death
- The
death on the cross was not enough to cleanse me from sin. – Jesus declared
from the cross, “It is Finished”. – Many think He was referring to
His life; when actually He was talking about the completion of the Plan
of Salvation.
- ”It is Finished” in the Greek; tetelestai ; means paid in full. – Jesus has paid the
debt and turned away the wrath of God from sinful man.
- The Ten
Commandments
are the perfect standard of righteousness of which not one of us can keep
– Jesus said there in not one
good person; not one. – Therefore the Law cannot save us.
- We were justified (declared righteous) by our Faith –
No one is declared righteous by the Ten Commandments or the other laws. – It
is by faith alone.
- The
Laws
only made us conscious of the fact that we, on our own, cannot come to
God. - We need a Savior, a Messiah. – It was Jesus, who had no sin, that
took our sins and bore them on the cross so that we might become righteous.
- His atoning sacrifice
made us righteous and heirs to
eternal life.
- Heirs to eternal life means that our sins
are forgiven, past, present and
future.
John 19:30 – The Plan of Salvation is Complete - Finished
30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said,
"It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his
spirit. NIV
Rom 3:10 -12 – There is not one good person
10 As it is written: "There is no one
righteous, not even one;
11 there is no one who understands, no one who
seeks God.
12 All have turned away, they have together become
worthless; there is no one who does good, not even one." NIV
Rom 5:1-2 – We are justified,
declared righteous through faith
1 Therefore, since we have been justified
through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
2 through whom we have gained access by faith
into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory
of God.
Rom 3:20 – The law only made us understand our sins.
20 No one will be declared righteous in his
sight by observing the law; rather, through the law we become conscious of
sin. NIV
1 Peter 2:24 – Jesus bore our sins
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on
the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; NIV
2 Cor 5:21 – Jesus had no sin, but took ours
21 God made him who had no sin to be sin
for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. NIV
Rom 5:9 – We are not made
righteous by His blood
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood,
how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! NIV
1 John 2:2 – He is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins
2 He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and
not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world NIV
Titus 3:7 – We have become
heirs to eternal life
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we
might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. NIV
2 Baptism
forgives sin
- Commenting on baptism
may seem like I’m off course, but the doctrine of purgatory implies that
man must do something on his own to atone for sins not forgiven in “baptism”.
- Catholic
Catechism
– “Justification is conferred in Baptism,
the sacrament of Faith”.
- Baptism is a symbol of
repentance; a public covenant sign that the believer is following the
example of Jesus Christ and has buried his old life in the waters
of baptism and by faith is raised to a newness of life. – We
are baptized because we have repented – We are not repented because we
were baptized.
- We are
justified;
made righteous through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ – We are
cleansed by His blood; forgiven by His grace.
- It’s
all God
– We can do nothing to save our selves – We are DEAD in our sins. – It’s the Holy Spirit that
gives us the “ability” to be drawn to Christ.
- Baptism
is a covenant sign – it does not make us righteous – it does not “expiate” sin. – so
purgatory is an un-necessary place and is a contradiction to the
scriptures.
Rom 3:24 – We are made righteous by His grace
24 and are justified freely by his grace
through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. NIV
Titus 3:7 – We are heirs
to eternal life
7 so that, having been justified by his grace, we
might become heirs having the hope of eternal life. NIV
Rom 3:28 – Justified by faith, not by the law
28 For we maintain that a man is justified by
faith apart from observing the law NIV
Rom 5:1 – We are made
righteous through faith
1 Therefore, since we have been justified
through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, NIV
Gal 3:24 – The law pointed the way for us to go
24 So the law was put in charge to lead us
to Christ that we might be justified by faith. NIV
Rom 5:9 – We were cleansed
by His Blood
9 Since we have now been justified by his blood,
how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! NIV
1 Cor 6:11 – We are made righteous in the name of Jesus Christ
11 And that is what some of you were. But you were
washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord
Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. NIV
13 And you, being dead in your trespasses
and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He has made alive together with Him, having
forgiven you ALL trespasses, NKJV
Eph 2:1-2 – We fare dead
in our sins
1 As for you, you were dead in your
transgressions and sins,
2 in which you used to live when you followed the
ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, NIV
Eph 2: 5 – We are dead in
our sins – By His Grace
5 made us alive with Christ even when we were
dead in transgressions-it is by grace you have been saved. NIV
12 having been buried with him in baptism
and raised with him through your faith in the power of God, who raised
him from the dead. NIV
Acts 3:19 – Repent so that your sins may be forgiven
19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your
sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, NIV
Acts 2:38 – Repent first and then be baptized
38 Peter replied, "Repent and be baptized,
every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins.
NIV
Mark 1:4 – Baptism of
repentance
4 And so John came, baptizing in the desert region
and preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. NIV
Luke 3:4 – Baptism of
repentance
3 He went into all the country around the Jordan
John 6:44 – The Holy Spirit draws man to God
44 "No one can come to me unless
the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up at the
last day. NIV
Matt 3:13-16 – Jesus set
the example of baptism.
13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan
14 But John tried to deter him, saying, "I
need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"
15 Jesus replied, "Let it be so now; it is
proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness." Then John
consented.
16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out
of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God
descending like a dove and lighting on him. NIV
POPE PETER - RABBIT TRAIL
“I tell you that you are Peter,
and on this rock I will build my church” Matt
16:17
- Wikipedia: According to Catholic belief, Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and
chief pastor of the whole Catholic Church —the “Vicar” of Christ upon Earth. Although Peter never bore the
title of "Pope”or "Vicar of Christ", the Catholic Church
believes him to be the first Pope. Therefore,
they consider every pope to be Peter's successor and the rightful superior
of all other bishops. – “Vicar”: The replacement of Christ on earth.
- The New Testament says nothing directly about Peter's connection to Rome, but an early
Catholic tradition supports such a connection.
- Otto Zwierlein concluded in a critical study that "there is
not a single piece of reliable literary evidence (and no
archaeological evidence either) that Peter was ever in Rome."
v
Simon’s name was changed to Peter. – In Greek, it’s Petros or Rock; in Aramaic
its Cephas which was not a name, but
a discription of Peter’s Faith. – Peter
was the spokesman for the Twelve.
v
Cornelius kneeled down to
Peter, but Peter said don’t; he was just a man (Acts 10:25) - He was censured by Paul, recognizing no superior
authority. (Gal 2:11) - Peter was married (1 cor 9:5)
v
Peter’s Faith is the rock; the foundation
that the Christian Church is built on.
v
Pope’s name: Interesting; the Latin numbers are ;
Vicarious (112) Filii (53) Dei (501) = (666)
3 Other
Mediators
- Catholic Catechism – The Pope is not
only the representative of Jesus Christ, but he is Jesus Christ himself,
hidden in a “veil of flesh” – The priests truly forgive sins by
virtue of power given them by Jesus Christ.
- According to
scripture we have only one
mediator between God and man and that is Jesus Christ; not Billy
Graham, not my pastor, not the Pope or Mary the mother of Jesus.
1 Tim 2:5 – Jesus Christ
is the one and only mediator
5 For there is one God and one mediator
between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, NIV
Heb 9:15 – Christ is the mediator of the new covenant
15 For this reason Christ is the mediator of a
new covenant, that those who are called may receive the promised eternal
inheritance-now that he has died as a ransom to set them free from the sins
committed under the first covenant. NIV
Heb 12:24 Jesus is the mediator
24 to Jesus the mediator of a new covenant,
and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel.
NIV
Heb 8:6 – He is mediator
to a superior covenant
6 But the ministry Jesus has received is as
superior to theirs as the covenant of which he is mediator is superior to
the old one, and it is founded on better promises. NIV
Rom 5:1 – We are purified,
justified, forgiven by faith
1 Being therefore justified by faith, we
have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; ASV
Rom 3:28 – Forgiven by
Faith not Works
28 We reckon therefore that a man is justified by faith
apart from the works of the law. ASV
PURGATORY
SUMMARY
v Man is dead in his sins and can do nothing on his
own to come to God – The Holy Spirit gives man the “ability” to come. – Man can
do nothing to receive Salvation – It’s a gift from God.
v Scripture does not support
a place necessary for “cleansing” such as purgatory – The Doctrine
contradicts scripture.
v When you die, it’s all
over – No service, money or prayers can change your destination.
v Baptism does not forgive
sin – Baptism is a public symbol of a previous repentance.
v Infant Baptism is not scriptural; Infant
Dedication is; - waiting on the day of accountability.
v No one can forgive sin,
but Jesus Christ.
v There is no other mediator
between God and Man, only Jesus.
v The death of Christ on the
cross was sufficient to forgive All sins of those that believe.
v The Bible scriptures do
not support Mary being born of a Virgin mother and being a co-redeemer of man along
with Jesus.
v There is no record in
scripture of Peter ever being in Rome
v Peter was the spokesman
and leader of the inter circle of the Twelve Disciples.
v Simon Peter’s nickname
was “Rock”; it is a description of his
Faith; not his name, nor prophecy that he would be head of the Catholic Church.
v Peter was the only other
person that walked on water – We should all have Peter’s FAITH...
In the multitude of counselors,
there is wisdom.
Prov 11:14
I
am grateful for those that went before me providing concepts, ideas, historical
information, and scripture verses.
Because of them I can stand on their shoulders and see further than I
otherwise ever could have.
A Commentary; Critical, Experimental and Practical
– Eerdmans
A Survey of Israel’s History - Wood
Arithmetic of God; The – Don Iistler
Baptism Commentary – John Harvey
Bible Almanac; The – Packer Tenney White
Bible Commentary – F.B. Meyer
Bible Dictionary – Harper & Row
Bible on the life hereafter; The – William Hendriksen
CARM – Christian Apologetics
and Research Ministry – M.J. Slick
Commentary on the Bible - Baker
Expositor’s Bible Commentary Vol 2; The – Gaebelein
Great Doctrines of the Bible Vol 6 - W. A. Criswell
Illustrated Bible Dictionary – Nelson’s
Illustrated Manners & Customs of the Bible – Packer/Tenney
International Version Bible – NIV
Invisible
War; The – Donald Grey Barnhouse
Matthew Henry’s Commentary - Zondervan
New International Dictionary of the Bible; The –
Douglas /Tenny New
Today’s Dictionary of the Bible:
Readers Digest
Victor Journey through the Bible; The - Beers
Who’s Who in the Bible – Paul D. Gardner
Wikipedia Encyclopedia
Wycliffe Bible Commentary; The – Pfeiffer & Harrison
- Along with the
Apocrypha, I have also enjoyed “The
lost books of the Bible” and “The
forgotten books of
- Writings outside of
the Bible
should be viewed as “informational”, but not authoritative. They give
insight to customs, manners and thoughts of a
particular culture at a particular time in history. – Many of these will include
folklore, superstition and “embellishments”.
- Prove scripture with
scripture, line upon line, and precept upon precept.
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