If I don't answer your question completely please ask clarification questions tomorrow or the next day, I had a vaccine shot yesterday that is muddling my mind a bit.
Oh, my. I don't trust vaccines any more. We just found out that the Hepatitis, Polio, Measle and a number of other vaccines use cells from aborted fetuses, and the recent influenza shot my wife got utilized cells from a canine pancreas. A recent medical journal stated also that the COVID vaccines, some of which are aborted fetal cells (Pfizer and one other company I can't recall at the moment), may contain materials from exploded cells, which can be toxic.
Now I used the word purification and you used purging.
Is there a difference, or at least enough difference that they cannot be talked about in the same topic?
1 Cor 3:11-15 For no one can lay a foundation other than the one that is there, namely, Jesus Christ. If anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, or straw, the work of each will come to light, for the Day will disclose it. It will be revealed with fire, and the fire (itself) will test the quality of each one's work. If the work stands that someone built upon the foundation, that person will receive a wage. But if someone's work is burned up, that one will suffer loss; the person will be saved, but only as through fire.
If I may, I'd like to first address “infallible” definition of purgatory. The catechism says “As for certain lesser faults, we must believe that, before the Final Judgment, there is a purifying fire.” In the passage above that you quoted, v. 14 says a person will receive a "wage". The purpose for the fire here is to reveal each person’s "works." Yet, purgatory is supposed to be for those who need their sins (“certain lesser faults”) purified by fire.
How can they receive a reward? The definition of purgatory makes no mention of receiving a reward, mainly because it's not even about rewards.
This part of the quotation is speaking about the rewards a Christian can look forward to in heaven. In fact, this is even mentioned in the verses immediately preceding this verse: “
8 Now he who plants and he who waters are one; but each will receive his own reward according to his own labor. 9 For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.” From this, it’s pretty clear that Paul is speaking about "rewards" in the verses that follow.
The
quality of our works will be tested "as though by fire." Those works done with the right motivation for the glory of God, and in the power of the Spirit, they will survive the fires of testing (God's perfect justice), just as gold, silver and precious stones would survive a fire. For these works, we receive a
reward. Our works done out of a selfish motivation and not for God’s glory will not survive the testing fire of His justice to serve as a reward. It says nothing about that fire being upon and around us, causing torment of any kind.
So, we will suffer loss in that we will receive no reward. More importantly, notice where the text says that we will be saved, even if we have no works worthy of a reward. This passage, therefore, says
nothing about purifying our sins.
If I may introduce into this mix a related passage is in 1 Peter 1: “
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials, 7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”
God gives us trials to demonstrate the proof of our faith. This will produce works tested by fire, and that will survive so that, when our Lord comes, He will give us praise for these works.
The fire in this passage, therefore, reveals the quality of a believers’ works where some are burned up and others pass the test for a reward. The way the fire of "purgatory" is defined is to "purify" a person’s sins. If the intent for this passage were to support "purgatory," it would speak of a fire that
purifies the gold, wood, hay, etc. Therefore, this argument doesn't support "purgatory" so far as I can see. It's apples to oranges.
It also seems to me that the doctrine of purgatory begs the question: If God intended for us to believe in "purgatory," why would He cloak this teaching in such veiled verses that the catechism and its apologists suggest? Why would the defenders of the doctrine not simply explain it as the Catholic church has in the catechism above? I'm simply unable to glean that the doctrine of "purgatory" is true...not from the texts I've seen presented from the Bible in this thread so far.
What I think we can both agree upon is that the Catholic teaching, concerning purgatory, is anything but good news. Scripture says the gospel is good news because Christ has paid, once and for all, for every sin we have committed or will commit, and because we are declared righteous in God’s eyes because He has credited Jesus’ righteousness to us after having made Jesus sin for us.
Rev 21:27 says: "but nothing unclean will enter it nor any who does abominable things or tells lies. Only those will enter whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life."
The use of this verse, among many others, suggests that the Blood of Christ Jesus is inadequate at doing what scripture demands is the power of His Blood"
[1 John 1:9] If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us [our] sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
It appears to me that you confusion is based upon the sola scriptura idea. The book as sole authority idea caught fire from two Christians (William of Ockam and Marsilius of Padua) who were quite taken by an Arab theologian who pushed the Quran as the sole authority. The Bible itself says, as the Catholic Church teaches,: “Hold onto the tradition which you were taught, whether by word or by letter" 2 Thes. 2:15 Ockam and Marislius lived over nine hundred years after the Catholic Church settled on the 73 books of the Bible.
Well, I don't know those people, and never read their works. What I DO believe is what the apostles said:
[2 Timothy 3:16]
All scripture [is] given by
inspiration of God, and [is]
profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:
Now, granted, that verse doesn't say that other assumed authorities can't come along and claim to be on the same level as scripture, but what you called "sola scriptura" is the baseline authority for any and all acid tests for anything and everything that comes along laying claim to said authority.
Does that sound reasonable to you? That verse above lays claim to the fact that scripture is sufficient for our instruction "in righteousness." There is no indication that it only instructs partial righteousness, but that is instructs us in what is righteousness. If we're so easily going to draw inferences from verses throughout, then this one leaves us no wiggle room than to assume that the scriptures instruct us in ALL righteousness that is at the level of pleasing unto the Lord.