"Jesus His Son Cleanses Us From All Sin"

“But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.” (1 John 1:7 ESV)

The issue of purgatory is a common Christian/Catholic debate. Is purgatory scriptural? Catholic apologists say yes. I say no. John wrote that Christ cleanses us from all sin. He was an apostle; He would know. Catholic apologists often use several different verses to try to prove purgatory through scripture, all of which are arguments that fail. Many use four scriptural points, which also fail in the attempt to show purgatory as a doctrine.

Roman Catholic Principle 1) There is punishment for sin even after one has received forgiveness.

2 Samuel 12:13-18  David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die. Nevertheless, because by this deed you have utterly scorned the Lord, the child who is born to you shall die.” Then Nathan went to his house.

By using this in an attempt to show punishment for sin after forgiveness, the Catholic apologists compare apples and oranges. David was not saved. In fact, David was part of the sins that God, in His forbearance, overlooked. Paul tells us this in Romans 3:23-26: “This was to show God's righteousness, because in his divine forbearance, he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.”

David lived during the time of blood sacrifice, which did not forgive one's sin, but atoned for it or covered it. While David did lose his son due to his sin involving Uriah and Bathsheba as punishment, David was not saved in New Testament terms, which is by grace through faith in Christ. Only the blood of the Lamb of God can take away sin, not the blood of everyday lambs, goats, or oxen.

Roman Catholic Principle 2) Nothing unclean will get into Heaven.

Revelation 21:27: “But nothing unclean shall enter it…” The New Jerusalem – Heaven. 

Matthew 5:48: “You, therefore, must be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect.” 

While sinless perfection is unattainable, the penal substitutionary form of Christ’s sacrifice, found in God’s propitiatory purpose, pays for all sins once and for all. No further payment is needed to satisfy God’s wrath. If there were, why would Christ have had to die at all?

This scripture in no way reflects that cleansing purgatory is scriptural. While this is true, sin cannot enter heaven, nor can God be in the presence of sin. We are justified by faith, a forensic term meaning we are made righteous before God. In sanctification, we grow in Christ and are freed from our sins. Those who are not the elect, saved by the blood of Christ, will not enter heaven.

Roman Catholic Principle 3) There is a way, a process, through which the spirits of the “just” are “made perfect.”

Hebrews 12:22-23: “But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem… and to a judge who is God of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect…”

This scripture, often used by  Roman Catholic Apologists, is taken out of context. One must read the entire text before and after this text to see the truth in scripture:

"For you have not come to what may be touched, a blazing fire and darkness and gloom and a tempest and the sound of a trumpet and a voice whose words made the hearers beg that no further messages be spoken to them. For they could not endure the order that was given, “If even a beast touches the mountain, it shall be stoned. Indeed, so terrifying was the sight that Moses said, “I tremble with fear.” But you have come to Mount Zion and to the city of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and to innumerable angels in festal gathering,  and to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect, and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel. See that you do not refuse to listen to him who is speaking. For if they did not escape when they refused him who warned them on earth, much less will we escape if we reject him who warns from heaven.

The writer of Hebrews tells us that we are saved by what cannot be touched, not fire, darkness, or gloom. We are welcomed among angels and by Jesus, who is our mediator with God. The spirits of the righteous are those justified by Christ and made perfect by his sacrifice and through sanctification. If we refuse Christ, if we reject Him, we are hell bound.

Roman Catholic Scriptural Principle 4 – There is a place, or state of being, other than Heaven or Hell.

Matthew 12:32: “And whoever says a word against the Son of man will be forgiven; but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.”

Often used to imply that there is forgiveness in the age to come, it is also taken out of context. This text speaks specifically to the blaspheming of the Holy Spirit, which is not forgiven in Heaven or on Earth.

There is only heaven for the faithful Christian—no suffering in a place of fire until you are cleansed. Purgatory was the only way to hold the doctrines of Roman Catholicism together. As a works-based religion, you are doomed to hell unless there is some fail-safe place for redemption. It also made the Roman Catholic Church rich with the use of indulgences, which are still in doctrine today.

We are saved by Grace alone, through faith alone, Christ alone, in scripture alone, all for the glory of God alone. Soli Deo Gloria!

Grace and Peace.