Wonderful explanation of purgatory, Scott, the best explanation I think I’ve ever heard. Well done!

Personally, as a life long Protestant, I’ve never really understood purgatory. I have, however, read Dante (the Dorothy Sayers translation), and I still don’t get it.

I do, however, fully ‘get’ your other points. The general epistle of James says some great stuff about works and faith and how they are connected.

Thank you so much for enlightening me on purgatory. I have never heard it stated in this way before. It sounds exactly the same thing that all Christians scripturally learn as disclosed in 1 Corinthians.

52] in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.

Bible: NAB For Catholics 1Cor.15:42-54

[42] So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown corruptible; it is raised incorruptible. [43] It is sown dishonorable; it is raised powerful. [44] It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. If there is a natural body, there is also a spiritual one.

[45] So, too it is written, “The first man, Adam, became a living being,” the last Adam a life-giving spirit. [46] But the spiritual was not the first; rather the natural and then the spiritual. [47]The first man was from the earth, earthly; the second man, from heaven. [48] As was the earthly one, so also are the earthly, and as is the heavenly one, so also are the heavenly. [49] Just as we have borne the image of the earthly one, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly one.

[50] This I declare, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God, nor does corruption inherit incorruption. [51] Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all fall asleep, but we will all be changed, [52] in an instant, in the blink of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. [53] For that which is corruptible must clothe itself with incorruptibility, and that which is mortal must clothe itself with immortality. [54] And when this which is corruptible cloths itself with incorruptibility and this which is mortal clothes itself with immortality, then the word that is written shall come about:

“Death is swallowed up in victory. [55] Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?”

Comment from Catherine

As you wrote, salvation is a (free) gift from God.

There is nothing we can “do” to earn salvation on our own merits. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

In it simplest form grace is unmerited favor, in this case favor from God. It is natural for us to think of ourselves as “pretty ok” when we compare us to other human beings; we can always find someone who is “worse” than we are. But compared to the standard of a holy and perfect God, even the most moral and righteous human being is far from being worthy to come to the Creator on his own merits. God doesn’t just have a perfect standard – He is the perfect standard and breaking even just one law is the same as breaking all of it (James 2:10). If you think that’s harsh, imagine just one drop of H5N1, more commonly known as the bird flu virus, in a gallon of water; it renders the entire amount undrinkable! It’s the same with God’s law – God does not, cannot, grade on a curve. To illustrate with one more example, what would we think of a human judge that “judged on a curve”? Guilt or innocence is an absolute; there is nothing relative about it.

The death of Jesus Christ changed the entire landscape for us flawed human beings. He lived a perfect sinless life and died a criminal’s death an innocent man. The point is he died the death we deserve – we all deserve justice, which is fair treatment for transgressing God, but because of Jesus’ death we instead receive unmerited favor or grace.

Not only did Jesus die in our place, He lived a sinless and perfect life. This renders us not only “justified” (declared Not Guilty) in God’s holy tribunal, but also declared righteous - Jesus’ righteousness is accounted to us. The Bible uses the term “reckon” which in the original Greek is a financial term used to indicate an accounting transaction. Christ’s death “zeroes out the balance” of our transgressions; His perfect life transfers His righteousness into our account. Thus when God looks upon us, He now sees us both fully justified and righteous. (Romans 3) It doesn’t get any better than this :).

Good works flow from the understanding of this in one’s heart, meaning good works become the fruit of salvation already attained, not the root of earning one’s salvation on one’s own merits. If I were to continue earning my way into heaven, Christ’s death would’ve been meaningless and unnecessary. I would be coming to God on my terms, not His, thus saying my standards are superior to His.

An important note, “faith” as it is used in the Bible means more than simple assent to a set of facts (termed “assensus” in Latin). James 2:19 says that even demons believe in one God. Saving faith is a matter of “fiducia” or appropriating what one already knows to be true, thus resulting in a change of heart, genuine repentance (change of the mind) and subsequently behavior. A good analogy is that of marriage: I am a married woman. I said vows to my husband at our wedding, and my heart is exclusively devoted to him. I live and act like a married woman even when we’re not together. This is fiducia - my heart, mind, and behavior are changed because I have “appropriated” or put on what I know to be true. If I simply said the words and then went back to living as a single woman, I may “believe” in marriage but I have not experienced a true change of heart and mind.

The notion of a “deathbed conversion” contains at least one serious risk: it assumes a deathbed is in one’s future. Does anyone think the attendees at the city council meeting in Kirkwood a few weeks ago went to the meeting thinking it would be their last few hours? Tomorrow is promised to no one.

Great post, Scott. Thank you for the privilege of commenting :).

As you wrote, salvation is a (free) gift from God.

There is nothing we can “do” to earn salvation on our own merits. Ephesians 2:8-9 says “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

In it simplest form grace is unmerited favor, in this case favor from God. It is natural for us to think of ourselves as “pretty ok” when we compare us to other human beings; we can always find someone who is “worse” than we are. But compared to the standard of a holy and perfect God, even the most moral and righteous human being is far from being worthy to come to the Creator on his own merits. God doesn’t just have a perfect standard – He is the perfect standard and breaking even just one law is the same as breaking all of it (James 2:10). If you think that’s harsh, imagine just one drop of H5N1, more commonly known as the bird flu virus, in a gallon of water; it renders the entire amount undrinkable! It’s the same with God’s law – God does not, cannot, grade on a curve. To illustrate with one more example, what would we think of a human judge that “judged on a curve”? Guilt or innocence is an absolute; there is nothing relative about it.

The death of Jesus Christ changed the entire landscape for us flawed human beings. He lived a perfect sinless life and died a criminal’s death an innocent man. The point is he died the death we deserve – we all deserve justice, which is fair treatment for transgressing God, but because of Jesus’ death we instead receive unmerited favor or grace.

Not only did Jesus die in our place, He lived a sinless and perfect life. This renders us not only “justified” (declared Not Guilty) in God’s holy tribunal, but also declared righteous - Jesus’ righteousness is accounted to us. The Bible uses the term “reckon” which in the original Greek is a financial term used to indicate an accounting transaction. Christ’s death “zeroes out the balance” of our transgressions; His perfect life transfers His righteousness into our account. Thus when God looks upon us, He now sees us both fully justified and righteous. (Romans 3) It doesn’t get any better than this :).

Good works flow from the understanding of this in one’s heart, meaning good works become the fruit of salvation already attained, not the root of earning one’s salvation on one’s own merits. If I were to continue earning my way into heaven, Christ’s death would’ve been meaningless and unnecessary. I would be coming to God on my terms, not His, thus saying my standards are superior to His.

An important note, “faith” as it is used in the Bible means more than simple assent to a set of facts (termed “assensus” in Latin). James 2:19 says that even demons believe in one God. Saving faith is a matter of “fiducia” or appropriating what one already knows to be true, thus resulting in a change of heart, genuine repentance (change of the mind) and subsequently behavior. A good analogy is that of marriage: I am a married woman. I said vows to my husband at our wedding, and my heart is exclusively devoted to him. I live and act like a married woman even when we’re not together. This is fiducia - my heart, mind, and behavior are changed because I have “appropriated” or put on what I know to be true. If I simply said the words and then went back to living as a single woman, I may “believe” in marriage but I have not experienced a true change of heart and mind.

The notion of a “deathbed conversion” contains at least one serious risk: it assumes a deathbed is in our future. Does anyone think the attendees at the city council meeting in Kirkwood a few weeks ago went to the meeting thinking it would be their last few hours? Tomorrow is promised to no one.

Great post, Scott. Thank you for the privilege of commenting :).

Comment by Catherine - April 9th

Well, how does organized religion fit in this picture? Can organized religion get us salvation? If so, how? Could purgatory be a place for those who tried to give their personal relationship to God to organized religion? I too have lots of questions but no answers. If you cannot earn salvation, can you earn purgatory? At least once there, presumably, you would have your foot in the door to heaven.