The Catechism of the Catholic Church states, “All who die in God’s grace, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification [in Purgatory], so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven (1030).”
There are many problems with this statement and doctrine, primarily because it undermines Scripture on various essential truths. First, it contradicts what the Bible says regarding believers’ justification and righteousness through faith in Jesus Christ. Second, it renders Jesus’ atoning sacrifice insufficient to cleanse believers from all sin. Third, it negates Scripture’s consistent depiction of believers immediately entering Heaven upon death. Fourth, it is primarily founded upon two sections of Scripture that have been grossly misinterpreted by the Catholic Church. Each of these points is addressed below.
Justification and Righteousness Through Faith:
The Bible clearly and consistently teaches that sinners who put their faith in Jesus for forgiveness and salvation are justified before God. Justification is not a process achieved throughout a believer’s lifetime and beyond but an instantaneous occurrence that takes place at salvation.
Biblical justification means that God sees believers through His Son’s imputed righteousness. In other words, He views them as perfect and sinless while still in the sinning state on Earth. This is because born-again believers are clothed in Jesus’ righteousness, enabling them to be declared holy.
In addition, the only way for believers to maintain their righteous state is to continually trust in the Righteous One, Jesus Christ. The Bible proclaims only one Savior, Jesus Christ (Acts 4:12), and only one way to the Father, which is exclusively through the one Savior (John 14:6). Therefore, the assertion that believers must undergo “final purification” after death in Purgatory to attain the holiness required for Heaven is false because believers' righteousness, justification, and purification are by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. (See the Scripture verses link at the top of the page for authenticating passages on justification and righteousness through faith.)
Jesus’ Atoning Sacrifice:
Scripture does not allude to or even suggest that believers are “imperfectly purified” at the moment of salvation. It also does not teach or imply that believers must suffer for certain sins or be cleansed after death to “achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” On the contrary, the Bible declares that Jesus' shed blood was sufficient to cleanse every sinner from all unrighteousness and purify them completely when they trust Him for salvation.
Jesus suffered and died on the cross for the entire world’s sins, once and for all. He bore God’s punishment and penalty for each one, as evidenced by Him crying out to the Father, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” As such, believers will never suffer for their sins after death because Jesus already paid their price in full on the cross.
Additionally, Jesus’ blood was sufficient to provide forgiveness and redemption to sinners on its own merits without requiring anyone or anything to add to it. His words on the cross, “It is finished!” and His glorious resurrection from the dead confirm God the Father’s acceptance of His death for all sins—past, present, and future.
For these reasons and more, Hebrews 10:29 issues a severe warning to those who undermine the power and provision of Jesus’ shed blood, stating, “How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace?” (See the Scripture verses link at the top of the page for authenticating passages on the sufficiency of Jesus’ atonement.)
Entering Heaven Immediately:
The Bible does not teach or support the claim that believers must wait to enter Heaven after death until they have undergone additional purification [in Purgatory] to “achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” On the contrary, Scripture consistently reveals that the souls of those who trusted Jesus by faith for salvation immediately enter Heaven when they die.
Passages depicting believers entering Heaven immediately after their death are not “exceptions to the rule” or special circumstances. Furthermore, their context does not allow for an alternate or intermediary destination prior to believers’ heavenly arrival. Rather, each Scripture provides a clear and accurate account of them going to Heaven immediately upon death without exception.
Therefore, since the divinely inspired Scriptures say, “Let God be true but every man a liar” (Romans 3:4) and “God is not a man that He should lie (Numbers 23:19), the Catechism of the Catholic Church’s assertion that believers must undergo “final purification” after death before entering Heaven is false. (See the Scripture verses link at the top of the page for authenticating passages on believers entering heaven immediately upon their death.)
Misinterpreted Passages Used to Support “Purgatory”:
The Catholic Church cites 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 as straightforward proof that believers must be purified after death in Purgatory before going to Heaven. These passages state, “For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each man’s work. If any man’s work which he has built on it remains, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
According to this text, all believers will undergo judgment after death, which is corroborated by passages like Hebrews 9:27 and 2 Corinthians 5:10. However, these verses do not state or even insinuate that God judges believers for their sins or purifies them by fire to “achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven.” Such an assertion contradicts multiple Bible passages to the contrary.
Instead, 1 Corinthians 3:11-15 describes a future judgment when God will test believers’ works by fire and reward them for those He deems “gold, silver, and precious stones.” Notice that this fire does not cleanse, refine, or purify believers, as the Catholic Church asserts, but simply reveals the purity of each one’s works by exposing their quality and type.
It is important to recognize that these verses do not describe God testing believers themselves by fire, putting them through the fire, refining, cleansing, or making them holy with or by fire. If so, it would contradict numerous passages that repeatedly proclaim righteousness comes exclusively through faith in Jesus Christ and His shed blood. Hebrews 9:22b says, “All things are cleansed with blood, and without shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.”
Consequently, the only correlation between believers and fire in these verses is that some Christians will emerge from this judgment with their works burned up but their salvation still intact and unaffected by the flames. In other words, some believers will escape through the flames of judgment without rewards but their redemption unharmed. Hence, “If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.”
The second portion of Scripture cited by the Catholic Church as evidence of Purgatory is Mark 3:28-29. In these verses, Jesus said, "Assuredly, I say to you, all sins will be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they may utter; but he who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is subject to eternal condemnation.”
The Catholic Church concludes from Jesus' words that “certain offenses can be forgiven in this age, but certain others in the age to come” (1031; St. Gregory the Great, Dial. 4, 39: PL 77, 396; cf. Mt 12:31.). Yet, Jesus’ words nor any other portion of canonical Scripture support this claim, rendering their interpretation and resulting conclusion false.
Jesus never said or inferred in Mark 3:28-29 that God will forgive some believers’ sins on Earth but cleanse others by fire after death. Instead and in context, He issued a severe and sober warning in response to the scribes accusing Him of satanic possession and attributing His deliverance miracles to Satan.
Jesus conveyed in these verses that every sin is forgivable except blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which the religious leaders were in danger of committing. Their vile accusations against Jesus pointed to hearts full of unbelief and persistent rejection of the Holy Spirit’s testimony of and miraculous work through Him. Therefore, Jesus warned that those guilty of blaspheming the Holy Spirit, which is a sin ultimately rooted in continued unbelief, would not be forgiven but result in eternal condemnation without rescue.
Additionally, Jesus’ statement to the religious leaders did not convey a timeline for cleansing forgivable sins as the Catholic Church claims. He simply articulated the fact that every type of sin is forgivable except the blasphemy of the Holy Spirit. However, other passages confirm that Jesus immediately forgives and redeems those who trust Him by faith for salvation. Those verses also depict believers as already possessing forgiveness--not obtaining it after death in "Purgatory.”
In closing, God's Word teaches that the only "holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven" is found in Jesus Christ, obtained fully by trusting in His sufficient, finished work on Calvary. Therefore, to adhere to the doctrine of Purgatory or any other claim that contradicts this truth is to reject God's clear and plain teaching on the matter.
(See the Scripture References link at the top of the page.)
