New Apologetics Paul Cameron Tushinka Tan Nick Owen Zoeyde Clark
Saint Paul, addressing those who have already given their lives to Christ, writes: “to all the holy ones in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi, with the overseers and ministers… because of your partnership for the gospel from the first day until now. …you who are all partners with me in grace, both in my imprisonment and in the defense and confirmation of the gospel.” (Phil 1:1-5)
And the next sentence is the *only* scripture needed to prove the biblical basis for purgatory:
“I am confident of this, that the one who began a good work in you will continue to complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.” (Phil 1:6)
Either God does bring to completion the work he has begun in us or not. If he does not, then the scripture is false and we are all deceived. If he does, then he is faithful to continue to complete it even if we die before it is accomplished.
But what is this work he is completing in us? Paul continues:
“And this is my prayer: that your love may increase ever more and more in knowledge and every kind of perception, to discern what is of value, so that you may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ for the glory and praise of God.” (Phil 1:9-11)
If we are not perfected in love and in discernment of what is of true value (rather than to lay hold to disordered attachments), we cannot live the life of heaven though our sins are forgiven. This act of bringing us to perfection is God’s work, and he promises to complete it.
Going further, and coming to the very core of the issue, the work of God in us can be understood most essentially as the following:
“So they said to him, ‘What can we do to accomplish the works of God?’ Jesus answered and said to them, ‘This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.'” (John 6: 28-29)
And what is this belief? It is not mere intellectual assent. Rather, it is to have, through the work of the Holy Spirit, a full trust in God’s ability and willingness to make us “holy and blameless,” in Christ and to have *no* trust in our own ability to make ourselves right before God.
On the topic of purgatory, Saint Therese of Lisieux (Doctor of the Church) writes:
“You are not sufficiently trusting, you fear God too much. I assure you that this grieves Him. Do not be afraid of going to purgatory because of its pain, but rather long not to go there because this pleases God who imposes this expiation so regretfully. From the moment that you try to please Him in all things, if you have the unshakable confidence that He will purify you at every instant in His love and will leave in you no trace of sin, be very sure that you will not go to purgatory.”
We only go to purgatory if we have not fully trusted God’s power to take away our sins and transform us in his love. If only we believe him, then we don’t have to go.
But this power to trust God and receive the good news of the Gospel is not ours, but is the work of God within us:
Council of Trent – CANON III.- “If any one saith, that without the prevenient inspiration of the Holy Ghost, and without his help, man can believe, hope, love, or be penitent as he ought, so as that the grace of Justification may be bestowed upon him; let him be anathema.”
Coming to believe by *grace* that our sins are forever gone is the work of God within us which he brings to completion. Our task is simply to let him do it. But what about good works? Peter writes:
“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, virtue with knowledge, knowledge with self-control, self-control with endurance, endurance with devotion, devotion with mutual affection, mutual affection with love. If these are yours and increase in abundance, they will keep you from being idle or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 1:5-8)
It seems that works are rather important. But then Peter continues:
“Anyone who lacks them is blind and shortsighted, forgetful of the cleansing of his past sins.” (2 Peter 1: 9)
So, according to Saint Peter, if we lack these good works we have *forgotten* that our sins are forgiven: “Anyone who lacks them is… forgetful of the cleansing of his past sins.”
But there is a very profound implication here: A logical equivalent of the statement above (its contrapositive) is that “If we *remember* (i.e. believe) that our past sins are cleansed, then we will *not* lack these good works.”
Once we truly come to “believe in the one He sent”, scripture promises that we will be filled with love and every manner of heroic virtue. And it is God doing these things within us, not our own labor. All we have to do is trust him. He draws us into this trust, and we choose to allow him to do so or not.
Nobody who “believes in the one He sent” will have to go to purgatory.
December 23, 2012 at 7:46pm · Like ·
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