Shouldn’t people hope purgatory exists?

[Jamdoc]

1Co 3:12 Now if anyone builds on this foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw,

1Co 3:13 each one’s work will become clear; for the Day will declare it, because it will be revealed by fire; and the fire will test each one’s work, of what sort it is.

1Co 3:14 If anyone’s work which he has built on it endures, he will receive a reward.

1Co 3:15 If anyone’s work is burned, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

Luk 12:47 "And that servant who knew his master’s will, and did not prepare himself or do according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes.

Luk 12:48 “But he who did not know, yet committed things deserving of stripes, shall be beaten with few.

That's not purgatory. That's describing someone losing all the rewards that they could have achieved, but because their works were not pure, they were motivated for bad reasons, those works show to be vanity, and so they come out just with salvation.

Saved, but like out of a burning house.
They lose everything but they get out alive.

 

[Jamdoc]

Imputed Righteousness is, by definition, not perfect. It is merely imputed ant actual. I really don’t see how you can disagree.

Catholics are not unified on everything you know. Haven’t you heard of the famous debates between Franciscans and Dominicans.


The Catholic Church never taught that indulgences could be sold. That would be simony. If there were priests selling indulgences they would be sinning.

If there’s one thing I have learned by reading Luther’s works is that he liked to flip flop a lot.

Are you sure about that? He did believe in the perpetual virginity of Mary yet Protestants say that contradicts Sola Scriptura.

The Righteousness of God, which is imputed, so far surpasses the righteousness you can achieve through sanctification that in comparison, you will be humbled by how far short your sanctification would get you compared to the righteousness that Jesus imputes.
You could not, not in a trillion years of any supposed purgatory.. be sanctified enough in yourself to be worthy of any final judgement of God other than being sent to hell.
Mind you, that sanctification, can actually earn rewards, not salvation but extra rewards on top of salvation, so it's not utterly worthless, but when it comes to life or second death, it doesn't even weigh in because of how comparably insignificant it is. NO ONE can boast "I deserve to be here, I paid my dues"
Not Saint Peter, not Mary even.

So don't look down on imputed righteousness. Because without that, all you'll get is hell.
If you want to be judged by your own righteousness.. you can do that, but that would be terribly sad, because you will learn that your own sanctification and works fall short of what is necessary.
so I'd cling to the imputed righteousness of God.

 

[YahuahSaves]

Many people, including many Catholics, view purgatory as a sort of punishment, something negative. But consider Martin Luther’s 29th thesis:

“Who knows whether all the souls in purgatory wish to be bought out of it, as in the legend of Sts. Severinus and Paschal.”

According to the legend, Saint Severinus and Paschal preferred to stay longer in Purgatory, so that they might have greater glory in heaven.

I think Luther has a good point here. After all, upon completeing the purification process, a soul has true righteousnees (infused). Because Protestants deny purification after death, their theology only promises imputed righteousness.

Why would anybody want to settle for imputed righteousness. If Protestants correct and I end up with imputed righteousness, I will be very disappointed.

Hoping for purgatory takes away the need to put our hope (and trust) in Christ. So then, what would be the point of the Cross?

 

[YahuahSaves]

Whether purgatory is in scripture is debatable, even according to Luther’s thesis. Also, that’s not the question. Wouldn’t you rather be truly perfect than partially perfect? Jesus did say we must be perfect.

That's what sanctification is for. The process of the work of the Holy Spirit after salvation. The scriptures indicate this will be enough.

1 John 3:2

2 Dear friends, we are already God’s children, but he has not yet shown us what we will be like when Christ appears. But we do know that we will be like him, for we will see him as he really is.

 

[YahuahSaves]

I like your name.

Well the word Trinity is Latin, not Greek. What do you think of that?

Purgatory is what after death purification is called in the western/Latin rite of the Catholic Church. It is only used in the western church, and so it is not the official term used by the entire Catholic Church. However, the doctrine of after death purification is very ancient, and all of the Apostolic churches believe it. Furthermore, while I’m sure you would disagree, there is nevertheless support for it in the NT.

Because you couldn't get the answer you were looking for, you created an alt account so you could answer yourself? How can you expect anyone to take you seriously now?

 

[Freth]

Regarding imputed righteousness, this might be helpful:

Zechariah 3:1-4

1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the Angel of the Lord, and Satan[a] standing at his right hand to oppose him.

2 And the Lord said to Satan, “The Lord rebuke you, Satan! The Lord who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is this not a brand plucked from the fire?”

3 Now Joshua was clothed with filthy garments, and was standing before the Angel.

4 Then He answered and spoke to those who stood before Him, saying, “Take away the filthy garments from him.” And to him He said, “See, I have removed your iniquity from you, and I will clothe you with rich robes.”

White robes are a symbol of righteousness.

Revelation 3:5 He who overcomes shall be clothed in white garments, and I will not blot out his name from the Book of Life; but I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

Revelation 7:14 And I said to him, “Sir, you know.” So he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Revelation 19:7-8 Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready.” And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints.

Romans 4:5-8 But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness, just as David also describes the blessedness of the man to whom God imputes righteousness apart from works: “Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, And whose sins are covered; Blessed is the man to whom the Lord shall not impute sin.”

Romans 4:9-12 Does this blessedness then come upon the circumcised only, or upon the uncircumcised also? For we say that faith was accounted to Abraham for righteousness. How then was it accounted? While he was circumcised, or uncircumcised? Not while circumcised, but while uncircumcised. And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had while still uncircumcised, that he might be the father of all those who believe, though they are uncircumcised, that righteousness might be imputed to them also, and the father of circumcision to those who not only are of the circumcision, but who also walk in the steps of the faith which our father Abraham had while still uncircumcised.

In these statements, it is God who imputes righteousness.

 

[Jesse Dornfeld]

I don't know a lot about purgatory, but one thing I will mention right off the bat is that pretty much every Christian goes to purgatory in Catholicism. So you either go to purgatory (for a time) or hell. The problem I see with purgatory is that it is merely theoretical and there is no good evidence to suggest purgatory is real. It's the same kind of argument universalists give when they say eventually people will repent of their sin in hell, which there isn't a shred of Biblical evidence for, but it makes sense (to them) philosophically.

So purgatory is a way of saying you have to pay your penance before you go to heaven. That's fine and all, but I think the rewards we get in heaven are based on how we lived on earth more than purgatory being a way to gain more rewards in heaven. Further, IMO, purgatory doesn't even make sense since Christ is coming to create the NHNE, and purgatory gives the impression that there is an "other spiritual place" besides the lake of fire and the NHNE. Heaven is more like a holding place for spirits before Christ comes back. Heaven is thought of as a place where that's where you go after you die. And it is if you are a Christian, but Christ is going to resurrect the dead from this supposed heaven (Abrahams's bosom really) and the dead will rise and then the Christians who are on the earth when Christ returns will rise, and then Christ will create a new heaven and new earth that is just as real if not more real than the place we live today. So the question becomes, if in Luke 16 there are only two places (Hades and Abraham's bosom) and if When Christ returns he is creating a whole new reality (the New Jerusalem), then where in the picture is purgatory and where is there room for it anywhere?