Protestant Objections to Purgatory

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In short, what are the protestant objections to purgatory?

It seems pretty clear to me…

[BIBLEDRB]1 Cor. 3:15[/BIBLEDRB]

[BIBLEDRB]Rev. 21:27[/BIBLEDRB]

(among other verses)
 
My former mother-in-law (who is Protestant) claims that since the word “purgatory” is nowhere in the Bible, it does not exist. Nothing I have shown her will convince her. 🤷
 
I think the biggest objection is that they think Purgatory renders the sacrifice of Christ insufficient to fully save us. They believe Christ’s death on the cross took all our condemnation and punishment, so there is no need for further purification.

I believe that sets up a scenerio were you can sin and have no reprocussions.
 
Delaine75 said:
My former mother-in-law (who is Protestant) claims that since the word “purgatory” is nowhere in the Bible, it does not exist. Nothing I have shown her will convince her. 🤷
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One of my best friends is the same. If it’s not in the Bible it’s not the Truth.

When I ask her why does she believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God she cannot answer, she just says ‘because it is’.:eek:

When I ask her how the first Bible came to be compiled, she cannot answer, she says 'it doesn’t matter.:eek:

When I ask her why the Gospels that were chosen to be in the Bible are ‘(name removed by moderator)sired’ and ‘true’ when there were other Gospels to choose from, she cannot answer. 🤷
 
Protestants are just that - PROTESTants. They do not believe in Catholic doctrine or the magisterium of the Catholic church. Suffice to say, just pray for them. 😉
 
It does not make sense for people to suffer for something God already has forgiven.
 
Lets face it. Catholics have objections to purgatory.
 
Purgatory is real…many visionaries have described it

Mark 9:49:For every one will besalted with fire.Hebrews 12:29: "For ourGod is a consuming fire."1 Peter 1:7: “The* genuineness of your faith, more* precious than gold* that is perishable**even* though tested by *fire, may *prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
 
MJCamp said:
Purgatory is real…many visionaries have described it

Mark 9:49:For every one will besalted with fire.Hebrews 12:29: "For ourGod is a consuming fire."1 Peter 1:7: “The* genuineness of your faith, more* precious than gold* that is perishable**even* though tested by *fire, may *prove to be for praise, glory, and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
Click to expand...
Prooftexting the word “fire” in the Bible does not prove Purgatory.
 
Delaine75 said:
My former mother-in-law (who is Protestant) claims that since the word “purgatory” is nowhere in the Bible, it does not exist. Nothing I have shown her will convince her. 🤷
Click to expand...
SAVINGRACE said:
One of my best friends is the same. If it’s not in the Bible it’s not the Truth.

When I ask her why does she believe the Bible to be the inspired word of God she cannot answer, she just says ‘because it is’.:eek:

When I ask her how the first Bible came to be compiled, she cannot answer, she says 'it doesn’t matter.:eek:

When I ask her why the Gospels that were chosen to be in the Bible are ‘(name removed by moderator)sired’ and ‘true’ when there were other Gospels to choose from, she cannot answer. 🤷
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My typical response to this is, “where is the word Trinity in the Bible?” It is not. Does that make it an unbiblical teaching? No.
 
ConstantineTG said:
It does not make sense for people to suffer for something God already has forgiven.
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The forgiveness and redemption applies to the eternal consequences of sin. It should be obvious that our sins have temporal consequences as well, and many of which cause our suffering in this life.

Take murder as an example. We can ask and be forgiven by God for committing the murder, but does that mean we no longer have to go to jail? No. And often, those in jail suffer through it. Some temporal consequences and punishment is not so apparent in this life. So, I see no reason why this punishment/suffering shouldn’t be conveyed in the next. It isn’t eternal punishment or suffering, but it is uncleanliness that needs to be purged before one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The simplest explanation of purgatory I have heard is this:

In this life, we are sinners. Even if one is forgiven, he is likely to sin again, still making him a sinner. This is something most protestants would agree with as well.

We should also know, given the verse from Revelation in the OP, that nothing unclean/corrupt can enter heaven. If we are still liable to sin, are we not still corrupt? It is possible for someone to not have the inclination to sin, but I would say that for the majority this is not the case. So, those in heaven cannot be sinners.

So, if one is a sinner on earth, and not a sinner in heaven, then by what other means can one go from being a sinner to not being a sinner without some kind of purification?

This purification is by no means separate from the work of Christ, but would have to be one of the results of the work of Christ on the cross.

My 2 cents:

What other things are there that might keep one too attached to this world instead of God? Entertainment (Movies, TV, Music, Video Games)? the Internet? Are these things not also things of which our attachment should be purged?
 
ConstantineTG said:
Prooftexting the word “fire” in the Bible does not prove Purgatory.
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but one of the uses of the word ‘fire’ is purification.

By burning the works of the people, it removes that which is not fitting. In other words, it purifies the works, leaving only that which is deemed good enough.

This is purgatory
 
bzkoss236 said:
The forgiveness and redemption applies to the eternal consequences of sin. It should be obvious that our sins have temporal consequences as well, and many of which cause our suffering in this life.

Take murder as an example. We can ask and be forgiven by God for committing the murder, but does that mean we no longer have to go to jail? No. And often, those in jail suffer through it. Some temporal consequences and punishment is not so apparent in this life. So, I see no reason why this punishment/suffering shouldn’t be conveyed in the next. It isn’t eternal punishment or suffering, but it is uncleanliness that needs to be purged before one can enter the Kingdom of Heaven.

The simplest explanation of purgatory I have heard is this:

In this life, we are sinners. Even if one is forgiven, he is likely to sin again, still making him a sinner. This is something most protestants would agree with as well.

We should also know, given the verse from Revelation in the OP, that nothing unclean/corrupt can enter heaven. If we are still liable to sin, are we not still corrupt? It is possible for someone to not have the inclination to sin, but I would say that for the majority this is not the case. So, those in heaven cannot be sinners.

So, if one is a sinner on earth, and not a sinner in heaven, then by what other means can one go from being a sinner to not being a sinner without some kind of purification?

This purification is by no means separate from the work of Christ, but would have to be one of the results of the work of Christ on the cross.

My 2 cents:

What other things are there that might keep one too attached to this world instead of God? Entertainment (Movies, TV, Music, Video Games)? the Internet? Are these things not also things of which our attachment should be purged?
Click to expand...
Going to jail for murder is a temporal, secular punishment. Purgatory is spiritual. If God has already forgiven your sins, why does he need to make you go through purgatory?

One does not go from sinner to non-sinner just by purification. Because purification does not change who you are.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Going to jail for murder is a temporal, secular punishment. Purgatory is spiritual. If God has already forgiven your sins, why does he need to make you go through purgatory?

One does not go from sinner to non-sinner just by purification. Because purification does not change who you are.
Click to expand...
Are you saying that secular punishment does not have an effect on one’s spiritual well being?

Are you saying that heaven has sinners? Or that Christians on earth are not sinners?

Baptism is a form of purification, after which we are said to be new creatures. Does baptism not change us?
 
stewstew03 said:
In short, what are the protestant objections to purgatory?

It seems pretty clear to me…

[BIBLEDRB]1 Cor. 3:15[/BIBLEDRB]

[BIBLEDRB]Rev. 21:27[/BIBLEDRB]

(among other verses)
Click to expand...
Also a very relevamt passage is:

Matthew 12:32
And anyone who will have spoken a word against the Son of man shall be forgiven. But whoever will have spoken against the Holy Spirit shall not be forgiven, neither in this age, nor in the future age.

Here we see clearly that some sins are/can be forgiven in the future age “after death” while others cannot.
If we are “saved” per the protestant tenet we go to Heaven but as it shown, nothing imperfect can enter Heaven, and the only power that can accomplish that is God.
 
ConstantineTG said:
Going to jail for murder is a temporal, secular punishment. Purgatory is spiritual. If God has already forgiven your sins, why does he need to make you go through purgatory?

One does not go from sinner to non-sinner just by purification. Because purification does not change who you are.
Click to expand...
I believe that this is precisely what Purgatory or the process of Purgation does.
People get hung up if it is a place (in a state that HAS no place we can relate to).

The process by which GOD changes our nature to remove that attachment/inclination to sin intrinsic in human nature.
If we did not attain Sainthood while living here on earth and yet we did die in friendship with God, albeit an imperfect friendship our soul needs therefore to be conformed to perfection and WE cannot do it by ourselves.
This is purgatory. 👍

Peace!
 
JerryZ said:
I believe that this is precisely what Purgatory or the process of Purgation does.
People get hung up if it is a place (in a state that HAS no place we can relate to).

The process by which GOD changes our nature to remove that attachment/inclination to sin intrinsic in human nature.
If we did not attain Sainthood while living here on earth and yet we did die in friendship with God, albeit an imperfect friendship our soul needs therefore to be conformed to perfection and WE cannot do it by ourselves.
This is purgatory. 👍

Peace!
Click to expand...
What you described sounds more like Theosis, not Purgatory. But they are not synonymous. Theosis already is the heavenly state, and there is no punishment or torment.
 
It is very important to read between the lines when talking about purgatory. ‘only through fire’ could also mean the purification we have to go through in this life. So the context is very, very important. One also has to look at all the other things mentioned about the after life, before one can conclude what ‘fire’ and ‘purification’ means. Unfortunately a lot of protestants forget that, that is also the way the JW organization works 😦
 
Delaine75 said:
My former mother-in-law (who is Protestant) claims that since the word “purgatory” is nowhere in the Bible, it does not exist. Nothing I have shown her will convince her. 🤷
Click to expand...
Sometimes a soft answer is best. Especially at the time of someone’s death. Should you get this (not so theoretical as critical per the moment) argument then, possibly nod and say softly: still, it is always a good thing to pray for the repose of poor ___________'s soul at this time and for the family.

Follow this with: Would you lead the prayer?

I was at a Baptist funeral of a girl everyone loved. Sweet kid. Died at 19. Many were vexed about not knowing whether she had “accepted Jesus Christ into her life as her Lord and Savior” There was much consternation after the service. Into a group of such people
I entered and said. “Well let’s just pray for the repose of her soul, we’re the body of Christ after all!” Immediately WE went into prayer and Terry was “lifted up in prayer” as if she were still alive. At the prayer’s conclusion the peace that passes understanding seemed to come upon the mourners. 🙂

There are snappy comebacks to silly philosophies too. But beware of snarkiness.
Still, that “where is that in the Bible?” dismissal is vulnerable to counters like:

“I can’t seem to find your Church … “in the Bible” … just mine!”

“I can’t find America in the Bible.” Maybe it doesn’t exist?

Although with a more collegial spirit and a WE attitude the above objections may provoke
enough thought on the matter to lead one to further consideration.

Objections to Purgatory in this life aren’t the most passionate ones though.

The greatest Protestant objection to Purgatory of all is:

Oh NO! I’m still in Purgatory! I’d be*** out *** but now, but only my Catholic friends are praying for me!

PS: And these days maybe not many of ***THEM ***either. :eek:
 
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