Purgatory
is a manifestation of the mercy, power, and generosity of God.
A world without
purgatory would mean at least one of the following is true when compared
to the reality that is, that it is a true doctrine which is also taught
in the Bible :
Problems without
purgatory, either :
God is less merciful.
And very very few people get to heaven, probably less than one in a
thousand regardless of to which Church you go. Of course, only God
could know since only God can judge.
God is less powerful.
God accomplishes less
in the sinner who has repented and turned to Jesus so that he might
through faith be saved. Since, God would have accomplished less in this
view God would be less magnificent.
God is giving less to
the sinner.
Or the final, and
also unbiblical position
There is chaos in
heaven and truth be told heaven sort of stinks.
Explaining why the
true teaching of Purgatory as found in the Bible and taught in the
Catholic Church is true and beautiful
Most people die in an
unperfected state. So, for most us we need to be purified of our venial
sins (see below )
and not only be forgiven, but also to be washed clean of them to be
made ready for heaven.
But, if we were only forgiven, but not cleansed, not purified and not
having gone through a purgatory to be cleansed of those sins then we
would take all that filth with us into heaven, and unless we believe
only those who die absolutely pure and free from any and all sin
make it to heaven, we would with our sins make heaven a less beautiful
place.
And, if we believe in
the latter, that we take our sins with us to heaven then we would be
making heaven stink. All sin to some degree is a rejection of God it is
a rejection of His perfect will for us, and so the sinner in heaven,
holding onto his sins is to some degree is creating a rebellion and
chaos in heaven.
Leprosy, cancer, and
infection all attack the body. Similarly, sin attacks the soul only it
is even worse. God came not only to forgive but also to heal, and not
only to heal the body but to also heal the soul. (Mark 2)
To heal our soul
means not only to receive God’s forgiveness, but also to have ourselves
be set free from all attachment to sin, to have every thought and every
desire to be completely and perfectly reconciled to His perfect will no
matter what the cost it would be to obey, and no matter what temptation
might come into our mind.
Imagine you were at a
party of your best friend and you arrived early. Imagine you
misunderstood something he or she said which, if true would cause you
extreme embarrassment so in haste you angrily took their dessert and
threw it onto the floor making a big mess and bringing embarrassment to
your friend who was still receiving guests. And then you find out what
your friend really said which was an extreme compliment to you that
really made you look great to everyone.
What would your
natural impulse be ?
You would want to be
forgiven for your sin, but you would also want to clean up your mess you
made. You would want to atone for the mess by cleaning it up. All those
in purgatory are saved. They have already received God forgiveness and
the free gift of salvation. Purgatory allows us to atone for our sins
and make right the disorder we have brought into the world through our
sins. Everyone in purgatory, even though they suffer wants to be there
to be made ready for heaven. They know only in this way by going
through purgatory can they be made ready for heaven.
Imagine working
outside cleaning out a sewer system filled with the worst and stinkiest
excrement you can imagine which in the process gets all over you and you
become very filthy and very stinky. Before sitting down to eat at a
fancy wedding banquet,
would you not want to clean your body ? Would you not enjoy the dinner
more so after a good hot shower ?
See 2 Samuel below
how even though David had received God’s forgiveness, David still had a
need to atone for his sin.
God offers us the
free gift of salvation, but He offers us more than that.
Just as a good shower
will clean your body, the gift of purgatory enables us to cleanse our
soul of any attachment we might have to venial sin, that is sin that is
not deadly as written about in 1 Jn 5:16-17 (see below.)
But God gives us
something else in purgatory, the chance to make atonement for sins which
are already forgiven, but still left a mess in the world.
God offers the sinner
purgatory because he or she missed the opportunities to purify his soul
on earth so that he might gain healing for his soul and to be cleansed
of all stink and filth and the opportunity to fulfill the desire that
every good person has to make things right again, to make atonement for
his sins.
God manifests his
power, mercy and his generosity in giving us the gift of purgatory so
that God will again manifest His glory and perform another good deed for
the sinner who needs it.
We should be grateful
for the doctrine of purgatory.
Rev 21:27 ... nothing unclean shall enter heaven.
See the Biblical teaching of Purgatory |