W
Will
Guest
Hello I am in a discussion with a family member (was a cradle catholic now evangelical/fundamendalist). Discussing Purgatory like the title says. I have brought up 1Cor:3:15 among other things. But how would I approach this reply.
Basically, fire is being used symbolically in this passage to represent God’s testing of each man’s work, as is indicated by the context of verses 12 through 15a. Context determines the meaning of words. Therefore, the belief that the word ‘fire’ in verse 15b represents a purification process is unfounded, because it is assigning new meaning to the word which goes beyond the context of the passage. It is reading into the passage what is not there based on one’s personal beliefs. A good question to ask is: If someone were to read this passage who had no prior knowledge of the concept of purgatory, would they understand verse 15 as referring to a process where people are purified of their sins? The answer is, “No.” A truly unbiased person would interpret the word ‘fire’ in verse 15 the same way as it is interpreted in verse 13; that is, the testing of the quality of a person’s work on the Day of Judgment to determine his receipt or loss of rewards, not as a purification process that occurs apart from the Day of Judgment to make a person right for heaven. This interpretation deviates from the context of the passage in at least three ways: 1) The fire is for testing a person’s work, not for purifying his soul. 2) This event takes place on the Day of Judgment, which is in the future. Purgatory, on the other hand, begins at the moment of a person’s death and it lasts for an indeterminate amount of time. And 3) the testing by fire is for determining the receipt or loss of rewards, not for making a person right for heaven. The latter in each of these three cases is reading meaning into the passage. The goal of Bible study is to read “out of the text” the original meaning of the author, as opposed to reading “into the text” one’s own preunderstandings. Not reading one’s own preunderstandings into a text is probably one of the most difficult aspects to studying the Bible, which no one is immune to. Having been raised Catholic I can easily see how one can come to the conclusion that verse 15 supports the idea of purgatory. However, the plain meaning of the text is that the builder’s works will be tested by fire to determine his reward, or loss of reward, in heaven. The worker will be saved regardless of the quality of his work. He will escape or pass through, in a manner of speaking, the fire that tests his work. There are no purifying qualities to this fire. It is also unnecessary, because the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7-9).
To summarize, Catholicism makes a distinction between the fire in verse 13 and the fire in verse 15. However, the text does not allow this distinction to be made. From the first time fire is mentioned in this passage and continuing through the first half of verse 15, it is used to represent the testing of each man’s work. There is nothing in this passage to suggest that the fire suddenly takes on new meaning in the last half of verse 15.
Any help would be apreciated.
)P.S. I don’t have much computer time in my day so I will just say thanks for the help now.)
Basically, fire is being used symbolically in this passage to represent God’s testing of each man’s work, as is indicated by the context of verses 12 through 15a. Context determines the meaning of words. Therefore, the belief that the word ‘fire’ in verse 15b represents a purification process is unfounded, because it is assigning new meaning to the word which goes beyond the context of the passage. It is reading into the passage what is not there based on one’s personal beliefs. A good question to ask is: If someone were to read this passage who had no prior knowledge of the concept of purgatory, would they understand verse 15 as referring to a process where people are purified of their sins? The answer is, “No.” A truly unbiased person would interpret the word ‘fire’ in verse 15 the same way as it is interpreted in verse 13; that is, the testing of the quality of a person’s work on the Day of Judgment to determine his receipt or loss of rewards, not as a purification process that occurs apart from the Day of Judgment to make a person right for heaven. This interpretation deviates from the context of the passage in at least three ways: 1) The fire is for testing a person’s work, not for purifying his soul. 2) This event takes place on the Day of Judgment, which is in the future. Purgatory, on the other hand, begins at the moment of a person’s death and it lasts for an indeterminate amount of time. And 3) the testing by fire is for determining the receipt or loss of rewards, not for making a person right for heaven. The latter in each of these three cases is reading meaning into the passage. The goal of Bible study is to read “out of the text” the original meaning of the author, as opposed to reading “into the text” one’s own preunderstandings. Not reading one’s own preunderstandings into a text is probably one of the most difficult aspects to studying the Bible, which no one is immune to. Having been raised Catholic I can easily see how one can come to the conclusion that verse 15 supports the idea of purgatory. However, the plain meaning of the text is that the builder’s works will be tested by fire to determine his reward, or loss of reward, in heaven. The worker will be saved regardless of the quality of his work. He will escape or pass through, in a manner of speaking, the fire that tests his work. There are no purifying qualities to this fire. It is also unnecessary, because the blood of Jesus purifies us from all sin (1 John 1:7-9).
To summarize, Catholicism makes a distinction between the fire in verse 13 and the fire in verse 15. However, the text does not allow this distinction to be made. From the first time fire is mentioned in this passage and continuing through the first half of verse 15, it is used to represent the testing of each man’s work. There is nothing in this passage to suggest that the fire suddenly takes on new meaning in the last half of verse 15.
Any help would be apreciated.
)P.S. I don’t have much computer time in my day so I will just say thanks for the help now.)
