Chapter 14.3
Purgatory
A
place of cleansing or punishment? – Can you be prayed out of it?
Can
you give money or perform services to get someone out of there?
Does
baptism remit sins? - Was Peter the first Pope? – Graven images?
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;
The Catholic Bible
As
I examine my new Catholic Bible, the first thing I noticed was there
were a few extra books not found in the Protestant Bible. They are known as The Apocrypha; Baruch, Judith, 1st & 2nd
Maccabees, 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 DNA; it has rhythm,
cadence, form and substance that
are recognizable like a finger print. Many of the Apocrypha books were deemed
serious works, but lacked the “finger print”. You may remember Paul on many occasion
saying; ‘See, I have signed this with my own hand”[1]...
That’s why these books were omitted from the Protestant Bible.
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. In the defense of the Catholic Bible; we were
not told how to divide or separate the Ten Commandments.
Purgatory: is not found in the Catholic Bible, but
is handed down only by “Sacred Tradition”.
Exodus 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 anything that is in
heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under
the earth:
KJV
Exodus 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
NCB
What’s it all about?
Purgatory Webster: 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 Vatican Council: “The truth has
been divinely revealed that sins are followed by punishments. God’s holiness and justice inflict them. Sins must be expiated. This may be done on this earth through the
sorrows, miseries and trials of this life and, above all, through death. Otherwise the expiation
must be made in the next life through
fire and torments or purifying punishments”.
Purgatory
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 Corenthians
3:15 to point to the doctrine of Purgatory... It states;
“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 Corinth and the foundation of Christ which he
laid; others would build on. - 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. Did you see it? This scripture is talking about GOOD WORKS and HEAVENLY REWARDS, NOT purging sin so man can be saved...
1 Corenthians 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. For other foundation can no man lay than that which is laid, which is Jesus
Christ. 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.
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.
ASV
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 the
point of baptism, 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.
Scripture says once you die; it is all
over. There
is no need for a place like purgatory.
Hebrews 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 – Co-redeemer
Wikipedia: “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 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. This contradicts scripture; No one comes to
the father except through Christ.[2] It’s in the Book
(The virgin birth
of Saint Anne with Mary is not recorded anywhere in New Testament scriptures.)
The Wrestling Match
Purgatory providing the forgiveness of
sin presents a wrestling match to
me because it implies that the following that are contrary to scripture.
1.
The death of Jesus Christ on the cross was insufficient to cleanse me from
2.
Baptism
is the “vehicle”
for forgiveness;
remitting (forgiving)
“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 myself, or someone
can do it for me.
3. There are others who can forgive my sins besides
God; there are other mediators
between God and Man besides Christ.
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 my sins. Jesus declared from the cross, “It is finished”.
The Belief System
of many students of the Word believe Jesus was referring to His life; but in my
BS, I
believe He was actually talking about the completion of The Plan of Salvation.[3]
In the Greek, “tetelestai;”
the word for “It
is Finished” means; paid in full.
Jesus has paid our debt and turned the wrath of God away from sinful
man.[4]
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,[5] therefore
the Law cannot save us. We were
justified (declared
righteous) by our Faith;[6] 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.[7] It was Jesus, who had no sin that took our
sins[8]
and bore them on the cross so that we might become righteous.[9] His atoning sacrifice made us righteous and heirs to
eternal life.[10]
Heirs to eternal life means that OUR
SINS ARE FORGIVEN, PAST, PRESENT AND FUTURE.
2 Baptism forgives sin
Commenting
on baptism may seem like I’m a little 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;[11]
a public covenant sign that the believer is following the example of Jesus
Christ[12]
and has buried his old life in the waters of baptism and by faith is raised to
a newness of life.[13] We are baptized because we have repented; we are not repented because we were baptized.
We are justified; made righteous[14]
through faith in the blood of Jesus Christ;[15] we
are cleansed by His blood; forgiven by His grace. It’s all God;
we can do nothing to save ourselves. The Book says; we are DEAD in our sins.[16] 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”
(forgive) sin.
So
purgatory is an un-necessary place and is a contradiction to the scriptures.
3 Other Mediators
Catholic
Catechism: The Pope is not only
the representative of Jesus Christ here on earth, 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 THE
BOOK we
have only ONE MEDIATOR between God and
man and that is Jesus Christ;[17]
not my pastor, not Billy Graham, not the Pope nor Mary the mother of Jesus.
We are forgiven,
purified, and justified (made righteous) by our FAITH in Jesus Christ.[18]
Pope
Peter – First Pope
“I tell you that you are Peter (rock), and on this rock I will build my church”
Wikipedia: According to Catholic
belief, Peter was the first Bishop of Rome and chief pastor of the whole
Catholic Church; the “Vicar” (representative) 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." Pope’s do
not marry, but Peter had a wife.
Simon’s name was changed to Peter. In Greek, Peter is Petros or Rock; in Aramaic
its Cephas which was not a name, but
a description of
Peter’s Faith; (Peter was
the spokesman for the Twelve.)
ü Peter’s rock Faith is the foundation that the Christian
Church is built on.
ü Peter told Cornelius not to kneel down to him, saying he also
was just a man.[19]
ü Peter was censured by Paul, recognizing no superior
authority.[20]
ü Peter was married.[21]
ü Pope’s name: Interesting; the Latin numbers are; Vicarious
(112)
Filii (53) Dei
(501)
= (666)
The
Take Away
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.
Purgatory;
a place necessary for “cleansing” contradicts scripture. When you die,
it’s all over; no service, money or prayers can change your destination.
Baptism
does not forgive sin; it is a public symbol of a previous repentance. Infant Baptism is
not scriptural; however, Infant Dedication is...
waiting on the day of accountability.
Other
Mediator: There is no other
mediator between God and Man, only Jesus the Christ. The death of Christ on the
cross was sufficient to forgive ALL sins, PAST
PRESENT and FUTURE of those that BELIEVE. No one can forgive sin, but Jesus Christ.
Mary
being born of a Virgin mother and being a co-redeemer of
man along with Jesus is not supported by the Bible scriptures.
Peter was
the spokesman and leader of the inner circle of the Twelve Disciples. Simon Peter’s nickname was “Rock”;
which was a description of his Faith;[22]
not his name, nor prophecy that he would be head of the Catholic Church. There is no record in scripture of Peter ever
being in Rome, let alone being the first Pope.
Note
When Peter
got off track, Jesus would call him Simon to remind him of who he was; check it out,
it happened a lot... We find Peter finally
calling himself by both names; Simon Peter.
Peter was the only other person that walked on water...
[1] 1 Corenthians 16:21 –
Written with My own hand -- Galatians 6:11 - Written with My own hand -- Colossians 4:18 - Written with My own hand
-- 2 Thessalonians 3:17 - Written with My own hand
[2] John 14:6-7 - “I am
the way, the truth, and the life. NO ONE CAN COME
TO THE FATHER EXCEPT THROUGH ME”
[3] John 19:30 – The Plan of Salvation is Complete – It is Finished
[4] 2 Corenthians 5:21 –
Jesus who had no sin, took ours sins
[5] Romans 3:10-12 – There is not one good person, NOT EVEN ONE -- John 6:44 – No one can
come to the Father unless the Holy Spirit draws them.
[6] Romans 5:1-2 – We are
justified, declared righteous through faith
[7] Romans 3:20 – The law
only made us understand our sins and that we need a Messiah
[8] 1 John 2:2 – Jesus is the
atoning sacrifice for our sins -- Romans 5:9 –
We are now made righteous by His blood
[9] 1 Peter 2:24 – Jesus bore
our sins so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness
[10] Titus 3:7 – Having been
justified by his grace, we have become heirs to eternal life
[11] Mark 1:4 – Baptism of repentance -- Acts 3:19 – Luke 3:4 – Baptism of repentance -- Repent so
that your sins may be forgiven -- Acts 2:38 – Repent
first and then be baptized
[12] Matthew 3:13-16 – Jesus
was baptized to set the example of baptism for us.
[13] Colossians 2:12 – Buried
in baptism; Raised by faith to new life. -- Titus 3:7 – We are heirs to eternal life -- Romans 5:9 – We were cleansed by His Blood
[14] Romans 3:28 – We were made righteous; justified by our faith, not by the
law -- Romans 5:1 – We are made righteous through
faith -- 1 Corenthians 6:11 – We are made righteous
in the name of Jesus Christ
[15] Galatians 3:24 – The law
only pointed the way for us to go for salvation -- Romans 3:24 – We are made righteous by His grace
[16] Ephesians 2:1-2 – We are DEAD in our sins -- Colossians 2:13 – When we
were still DEAD in our sins; He forgave us
[17] 1 Timothy 2:5 – FOR THERE IS ONE GOD AND ONE MEDIATOR
BETWEEN
GOD AND MEN, THE MAN CHRIST JESUS
--
Hebrews 9:15 –
CHRIST IS THE MEDIATOR OF THE NEW COVENANT -- Hebrews 12:24 -- Jesus
is the MEDIATOR
of the new covenant -- Hebrews 8:6 – Jesus is the MEDIATOR of a superior covenant
[18] Romans 5:1 – We are
purified, justified, forgiven by FAITH -- Romans 3:28 – We are forgiven by Faith not Works
[19] Acts 10:25-26 - As Peter entered his home, Cornelius fell at his
feet and worshiped him. But Peter pulled him up and said, “Stand up! I’m a
human being just like you!”
[20] Galatians 2:11-13 - But when Peter came to Antioch, Paul had to
oppose him to his face, for what he did was very wrong. When he first arrived,
he ate with the Gentile Christians, who were not circumcised. But afterward,
when some friends of James came, Peter wouldn’t eat with the Gentiles anymore
[21] 1 Corinthians 9:5 - Don’t we have the right to bring a Christian wife with us as the other disciples and the
Lord’s brothers do, and as Peter does?
[22] Matthew 16:17-18 – Upon the unmovable rock of
faith revelation to Peter, Jesus said He
would build His church.
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