If Jesus paid for our sins, then why is there a Purgatory?

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Jesus suffered, was crucified and died to pay for our sins. If Jesus already took the punishment for our sins, then why do we have to pay for them in Purgatory?
 
First of all, let’s look at what the Catechism of the Catholic Church says about Purgatory.
**THE FINAL PURIFICATION, OR PURGATORY **
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1030 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.
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**1031 ** 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. The tradition of the Church, by reference to certain texts of Scripture, speaks of a cleansing fire:
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As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire. He who is truth says that whoever utters blasphemy against the Holy Spirit will be pardoned neither in this age nor in the age to come. From this sentence we understand that certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come.
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And the Catholic Answers tract, Purgatory, says in part:
Why would anyone go to purgatory? To be cleansed, for “nothing unclean shall enter [heaven]” (Rev. 21:27). Anyone who has not been completely freed of sin and its effects is, to some extent, “unclean.” Through repentance he may have gained the grace needed to be worthy of heaven, which is to say, he has been forgiven and his soul is spiritually alive. But that’s not sufficient for gaining entrance into heaven. He needs to be cleansed completely.
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Fundamentalists claim, as an article in Jimmy Swaggart’s magazine, The Evangelist, put it, that “Scripture clearly reveals that all the demands of divine justice on the sinner have been completely fulfilled in Jesus Christ. It also reveals that Christ has totally redeemed, or purchased back, that which was lost. The advocates of a purgatory (and the necessity of prayer for the dead) say, in effect, that the redemption of Christ was incomplete. . . . It has all been done for us by Jesus Christ, there is nothing to be added or done by man.”
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It is entirely correct to say that Christ accomplished all of our salvation for us on the cross. But that does not settle the question of how this redemption is applied to us. Scripture reveals that it is applied to us over the course of time through, among other things, the process of sanctification through which the Christian is made holy. Sanctification involves suffering (Rom. 5:3–5), and purgatory is the final stage of sanctification that some of us need to undergo before we enter heaven. Purgatory is the final phase of Christ’s applying to us the purifying redemption that he accomplished for us by his death on the cross.
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To see the entire tract, click here:

catholic.com/library/Purgatory.asp
 
In the Sacrament of Baptism, both the eternal punishment of our past sins is forgiven and our attachment to sin (also called the temperal punishment for sin) is removed.

For sins committed after baptism, the eternal punishment of those sins is forgiven in the Sacrament of Penance but our attachment to sin (also called the temperal punishment of sin) is removed through our penance in this life or in Purgatory in the next.

Jesus said, “He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet…” (John 13:10) In other words, after baptism, if sin gets our feet dirty, they need to washed either through penance in this life or in Pugratory in the next.

By the way, through the communion of saints, the penance of others, including those gained through indulgences, may also be used to supplement or complete our penance in this life or in Pugatory.
 
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PMV:
Jesus suffered, was crucified and died to pay for our sins. If Jesus already took the punishment for our sins, then why do we have to pay for them in Purgatory?
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Christ pays the price for the eternal punishment for our sins. But there is still a temporal punishment, because sin has it’s consequences and leaves a mark on the soul. In 2 Samuel, God forgave David for sleeping with Bathsheba and having her husband murdered, but he still faced the penalty of losing their child as a result. The book of Revelation (I forget the chapter and verse) tells us nothing unclean will enter Heaven. Jesus’s blood does not merely cover us like some “snow-covered dunghill,” but actually works through us to make us holy. However, during our life we resist His grace, so often the final work of making us holy must be done in Purgatory. It is not to be thought of as a ‘third place’ between Heaven and Hell; it isn’t a safety net for lukewarm Christians or a second chance for those who rejected Christ. It can be thought of as the ‘vestibule of heaven’ where sould complete the work of being made holy before entering in to Heaven.
 
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RNRobert:
The book of Revelation (I forget the chapter and verse) tells us nothing unclean will enter Heaven.
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Revelation 21:27, as noted above in post #2.
 
Fr Guido Sarducci is the authority on “paying for your sins.”
 
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PMV:
Jesus suffered, was crucified and died to pay for our sins. If Jesus already took the punishment for our sins, then why do we have to pay for them in Purgatory?
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Christ’s suffering and death took away the eternal punishment guaranteed to humanity for its transgressions committed since the time of our first parents. Without this immense sacrifice, man has nothing to hope for in the next life except eternal separation from God, with absolutely no hope of redemption and heaven. His death gave men that hope. Thus His Passion and Death was necessary, not for God’s benefit but for the good of the human race. Yet, since humanity still walks this earth and in walking can still be stained by the dirt of temptation and sin, and therefore some purgation or purification is still necessary in this life, or the next, to enable men to enter heaven worthily.

Gerry 🙂
 
I like the broken window analogy. If I’m playing ball and accidentally break my neighbor’s window, my neighbor may certainly forgive me (as our sins are forgiven through Christ’s perfect Redemption). However, there is still a matter of justice. I must pay to have the window replaced or fixed. Purgatory is where we pay for our broken windows (sins). And we won’t get out until the last penny is paid (Matt. 5:26)
 
purgatory is only temporary. once the imperfect saints are purified they enter heaven. everyone in purgatory will go to heaven. purgatory will then cease to exist. only heaven and hell will remained. god bless you all
 
My concept of purgatory is this: Since my soul or conscience will be ashamed of the sins in my life that make it unworthy to be in the presence God who exhibits unconditional love and endless mercy, I will feel unworthy to be united with God in Heaven so, I must wait to be cleansed in Purgatory. God will judge us but maybe He does so by asking us to judge ourselves based on our own choices in life. Purgatory is a place near God but he is not there, but in Heaven. The time we spend there will vary and most people will spend some time there. Few will go straight to Heaven and few will go straight to Hell.
 
mayra hart:
purgatory is only temporary. once the imperfect saints are purified they enter heaven. everyone in purgatory will go to heaven. purgatory will then cease to exist. only heaven and hell will remained. god bless you all
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That is correct. Purgation is not an eternal condition but merely a preparation for souls to enter Heaven worthily, when the appointed time comes.

Gerry 🙂
 
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Fidelis:
Revelation 21:27, as noted above in post #2.
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Thanks. When I started writing, there had been no other replies, and as I was in a hurry to finish up and go to bed and didn’t want to go hunting thru the Bible for the passage.
 
Thank you for this thread, and for all the interesting posts. I really learned something on here today about Purgatory, things that I didn’t fully understand before, so thank you all very much! and God bless!
 
Because we still continue to sin.

Purgatory is merciful… Remember that no one unclean can see God. Therefore, there is a need to go through purification as consequence of our sins.

We are not once saved, always saved.
 
Hi

So if some people go straight to heaven bypassing purgatory, then they must have been completely sanctified when they died? Do you think this is possible for human beings?

What about the thief beside Jesus on the cross. Jesus said “Today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43. I assume the thief did not go to purgatory then, do you think he was fully sanctified when he died? Was it his suffering on the cross that sanctified him?

In light of Gerry’s statement

“ Without this immense sacrifice, man has nothing to hope for in the next life except eternal separation from God, with absolutely no hope of redemption and heaven. His death gave men that hope. “

Would you say that nobody got to heaven before Christ came? They did – so there must have been a bigger reason for Christ’s death. What could it be? CONTROVERSIAL – but could it be that we can now have a certainty of eternal life with Jesus, and a righteousness before God allowing us direct entry to heaven when we die, freely given to us by Christ?
 
Purgatory does not take away or attone for our sins. Rather, it cleans us of our inclinations away from God so that we might enter Heaven unblemished and pure.
 
I don’t understand - surely sin by definition is inclination away from God? Are you saying that purgatory does not take away our sins, but stops us from sinning any more in the future?
 
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lydiabeeuk:
So if some people go straight to heaven bypassing purgatory, then they must have been completely sanctified when they died? Do you think this is possible for human beings?
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Probably very rare, certainly not the norm; but, yes, possible, since nothing is impossible with God, that is, with his grace.
What about the thief beside Jesus on the cross. Jesus said “Today you will be with me in paradise” Luke 23:43. I assume the thief did not go to purgatory then, do you think he was fully sanctified when he died? Was it his suffering on the cross that sanctified him?
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That could have happened, but I think there is something else to keep in mind. Jesus told him that he would be with him in paradise “today,” but we know that Jesus himself did not go to paradise that day. He descended to the dead for three days, rose and walked the earth for 40 days, then ascended to heaven. So whatever Jesus meant by “this day,” he didn’t mean “today” literally.
Would you say that nobody got to heaven before Christ came? They did – so there must have been a bigger reason for Christ’s death. What could it be? CONTROVERSIAL – but could it be that we can now have a certainty of eternal life with Jesus, and a righteousness before God allowing us direct entry to heaven when we die, freely given to us by Christ?
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Before the time of Christ, a few people may have went to heaven, but it was by a special favor of God since man’s relationship to God was severed by Adam’s sin. The “bigger reason” for Christ’s death was not eternal security with imputed righteousness by faith alone, as you imply. The bigger reason was to reconcile God to man through the sacrifice of his Son so that, being baptized from death into life in the Holy Spirit, placing our faith in Christ, and persevering in obedience to God, we may be brought at the end of our lives into the presence of the Trinity in heaven forever. Hope that helps. 🙂
 
That’s a good point, but it’s also worth considering that because Jesus is God, and God is omnipresent, then perhaps ‘today’ could be taken literally.
“being baptized from death into life in the Holy Spirit, placing our faith in Christ, and persevering in obedience to God, we may be brought at the end of our lives into the presence of the Trinity in heaven forever”
I love that
 
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