Is Purgatory Real? The Inadvertent Help From R.C. Sproul
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2025
- RUclips: Purgatory
Is purgatory real? At a minimum, it should be admitted that the doctrine is not unreasonable. And support for this claim comes (inadvertently) from a surprising source: the famous Calvinist theologian, R.C. Sproul.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church defines purgatory as a “purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven,” which is experienced by those “who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified” (CCC 1030). It notes that “this final purification of the elect . . . is entirely different from the punishment of the damned” (CCC 1031).
Scripture says that:
“It is appointed for men to die once, and after that comes judgment” (Heb. 9:27).
“Nothing unclean shall enter [heaven]” (Rev. 21:27)
"If the work is burned up, the builder will suffer loss; the builder will be saved, but only as through fire." 1 Cor.3:15
Augustine said in The City of God that “temporary punishments are suffered by some in this life only, by others after death, by others both now and then; but all of them before that last and strictest judgment” (21:13).
Are you a Protestant seeking to understand Catholic teachings on Purgatory? Or perhaps a Catholic convert looking for solid arguments to defend the faith? This Chanel is for you! Join us as we examine scripture, historical context, and Protestant thinkers who, despite their Calvinist views, have unknowingly supported Catholic doctrines like Purgatory and the afterlife.
Karlo Broussard in his book Purgatory is For Real: Good News About the Afterlife, says that Purgatory is not a fantasy or worse, a wicked lie invented by the Church to make salvation complicated and keep people in fear. Instead it is a sign of Gods love and mercy.
Learn how to engage in meaningful Catholic vs Protestant discussions and strengthen your understanding of Catholic apologetics. Whether you're a Protestant examining Catholic doctrine or a Catholic seeking to explain your faith, this video will provide valuable insights.
Book Recommendation:
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#rcsproul catholic #purgatory #afterlife #apologetics #catholicfaith #justification
Thanks again - you are very clear and always helpful. I too used to listen to Sproul and in fact most of the Ligonier preachers, they were an important part of my Christian formation, but now I am converting and attending RCIA 😊
Congratulations! Are you going to be confirmed at the Easter Vigil?
@@NuLeif I hope so - but it will depend on my Catechist's appraisal.
A Perfect definition of the purgatory process. Thank you!
It is a simple argument and a humble one too, but it is also a good one. Many thanks.
Thanks, brother! I used to listen to Sproul and liked him too. Been considering Catholicism lately. Your argument makes sense. God bless!
When and if you feel the call, consider taking your bible and going to Adoration of Christ in the Blessed Sacrament (Holy Eucharist). Call any Catholic parish and find out when they offer it. Time spent in Christ's Presence is priceless. Sit in silence. Read scripture. Pray. Tell our Lord about your seeking heart, your questions, doubts, even fears. He will reveal His Presence to a seeking heart. When you receive the grace to know that He is there, you will be changed. Miracles occur in Christ's Presence. Of that I can personally attest.
Worst case: You read scripture and pray for an hour.
Best case: You are called to an intensely personal and eternal relationship with Christ.
Out of curiosity, how many of you ever struggled with this belief? As a former Protestant the concept of purgatory was hard for me to overcome, especially since it was tied to “eternal security” & “faith alone” (justification).
It is easy to deal with it if one is open minded.
It is accepted that sanctification is a process. So if we ask this question then, the issue of purgatory is addressed. The question is : when do final sanctification/ cleansing of the saved person takes place - is it at the born again event or at the moment of death or after death?
Sanctification is a process that one goes through in life. Many struggle with sin, they can't shake it off even though the desire is there, it's like Saint Paul says think of things i don't want to think do things i don't want to do. The bibles says no sin may enter heaven. The good news is that Jesus died for us so that our sins may be forgiven, however when we die if we still have those attachments to sin they must be cleansed , purified as through fire, before we enter into the presence of the Lord. Our Parents forgive us for playing in the mud but we must be cleaned before we enter our home.
Sproul hated the mass. he called it a re-sacrifice. That's intellectually dishonest at best.
Agreed. In Sproul’s essay “The Battle of the Table” (2006) he says “Catholicism says that though this sacrifice is not bloody, it nevertheless is a real sacrifice (Council of Tent used the word sacrificium). In this understanding, the Reformers saw a violation of the once-for-all offering of Christ on the cross”.
We can rest assured that he knows the pure truth now.
@@HAL9000-su1mz He might get a roommate some day like MacArthur.
@@NuLeif Protestantism has slowly relegated Christ to the distance, in time and space. He is a historic biblical figure Who is read about in past tense. At the same time, He is a future Person to be embraced in the future tense. What about NOW? The "reform" amounted to an assault on the Eucharist, Christ's True Presence either being diluted or completely dissolved.
Now, He is perceived only in the human realm where 2 or 3 humans are gathered; Protestants ignoring the fact that Christ said this ONLY to the Apostles.
They no longer consume Body and Blood. The True Presence being replaced by the paper and ink presence in scripture.
The motive: Christ could not be twisted in the Flesh. He is almost completely twisted in print. He is the distant and future Christ; the "best friend" Christ who supports you even in sin.
This is the inevitable.cost of rejecting the Eucharist.
@@JB91484 Looking at MacArthur, it appears he is already in hell. He is either scowling or smirking.
Holy Scripture teaches we must all strive for that holiness without which no one shall see the Lord, as we shall each be held accountable for every careless word we have uttered and we shall each be judged as we have judged others and we shall each be liable to judgment if angry with others and we shall each receive recompense for BOTH the good AND THE BAD we have done in the body! JMJ
strive |strīv|
verb (past strove |strōv| or strived; past participle striven |strivən| or strived) [ no obj. ]
make great efforts to achieve or obtain something: national movements were striving for independence | [ with infinitive ] : we must strive to secure steady growth.
• struggle or fight vigorously: scholars must strive against bias.
@po18guy-s4s excellent, and if we have not strived for that holiness without which no one shall see the Lord, we will not see the Lord until we have been made perfect, as we shall each be held accountable for every careless word we have uttered and shall each be judged as we have judged others and we shall each be liable to judgment if angry with others and we shall each receive recompense for BOTH the good AND THE BAD we have done in the body! Peace always in Jesus Christ our Great and Kind God and Savior, He whose Flesh is true food and Blood true drink!!
@po18guy-s4s !
@ Millions of "Jesus' finished work paid the price" believers are in for a shock.
@po18guy-s4s so true!! JMJ
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I agree with your point and approach here, as an entrée to what can be a more fruitful discussion about Purgatory.
Good theology does not require one to give up logic and reason. Theology is most compelling when it embraces and squares with and is complementary to logic and reason, as it certainly is on the matter of Purgatory. Thank you for your very fine work in explaining Catholicism and in defending the one Church established by Christ, and the beauty and fullness of truth (as well as logic and reason) found in it.
Logic, reason! Theology must be an emotion-free zone.
I recently had a talk with an anti-Catholic Evangelical friend. He told he's heard Baptists and other Evangelicals talk about a final sanctification after death. Now, I've never heard this in my Evangelical (Dispensational) circles, so this may be a sectarian or very minority position held by my friend's co-religionists. Regardless, this final, post mortem sanctification of the soul sounds a lot like Purgatory!
Interesting how they don’t see that “final sanctification after death” is similar to the Catholic teaching of purgatory. Would you say that these Protestants lean more towards the scholarly type?
Your reasoning in this video is the big reason why I came to believe that purgatory is true. I no longer saw it as an answer for, “if bad people go to hell and good people go to heaven than where does uncle Bobby go? He was not so bad! He luckily gets to go to purgatory. I looked at Purgatory as a slap in face to the very nature of the Gospel.
Instead I began to see it for what it really is, a place where people are prepared for eternity with God. A place where we are made perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect. It’s actually a gift of God. We finally have the barnacles and shackles of life removed. We are made whole so that we can completely receive the Love of God and the love of others as we we’re always meant to. We also are made to reciprocate that love in return without all the hindrances of our sinful nature and tendencies.
Couldn’t agree more! I too see it now as such a merciful gift from God.
For most of us, purgatory is our only hope of entering heaven. This hope is possible only because God is merciful, only because of the merit of the death and resurrection of Jesus. Without purgatory, I don't know, how many of us will be fit at the time of our death and in the way we live, to enter the glory of heaven. Therefore, I believe purgatory is a revealed truth.
Rather than only hope, I see it as a necessary process which demonstrates God's mercy.
Does Jesus teach the purgatory?
@@gameniacplay9108 Yes. The blind cannot see it. Paul teaches it, as he is superior to Christ in many eyes.
@@gameniacplay9108 I am a MEDIATOR. Via water Baptism and hands-on imposition of the Holy Spirit (Acts 19:1-6) I am a member of Christ's living Body on earth. He is the Head. The Head listens to the Body. He is infinitely superior, but he hears me and considers.
@gameniacplay9108 Of course, Jesus teaches purgatory. Jesus said that sins against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this world or in the world to come. These words indicate that some sins may be forgiven after death.
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I agree with St. John of Damascus (7-8th century Saint) who said after death, there is no more possibility of repentance. At death, what we have become, will be set and will finally be revealed at the Final Judgement. Immediately after death, we experience a foretaste of paradise or hell, depending on the kind of life we lived here on earth (Hebrews 9:27). Our souls remain in this state until the Final Judgment after Christ's Second Coming and it is in that context that the 'fruits of our faith' will be judged and we will receive our rewards (1 Cor 3).
I would say that Catholics and protestants look at many things differently, including what happens when a person leaves this world. Protestants would probably say that you are justified, sanctified, and then glorified in many protestants would tell you that believers have the imputed righteousness of Jesus Christ through faith in his finished works on their behalf in that the sanctification process is never completed in this life. But was it ever meant to be completed? Glorification is a process in which God completely changes you from corruptible to incorruptible! And I think that’s where Catholics and Protestant’s differ in a huge way! “I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: “Death is swallowed up in victory.” “O death, where is your victory? O death, where is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.”
1 Corinthians 15:50-57
What would you say the Catholic view is?
@ @NuLeif I would say that the Roman Catholic view is, you have to believe in the Roman Catholic doctrine for salvation. Which are way too many to discuss for Roman Catholicism. It starts with baptism and continues with the other sacraments, followed by whether you are in a state of mortal sin or Venial Sin as to what happens to you. There is no assurance in your salvation because that’s considered a sin in Roman Catholicism so Salvation is all based upon you and where you are with the condition that you were in with the Roman Catholic Church. So when a Roman Catholic dies, the Roman Catholic Church really doesn’t know where that person stands with God and neither does that person whether they have done enough for either the church or God. Hence unless you are some huge saint, 98% of Roman Catholics will have to go to purgatory to be purged of anything that is unworthy in the church’s eyes or God‘s eyes. Go ahead and tell me where I am wrong and laugh about it because you could ask 10 different Catholics the same question and get 10 different answers.
@@Ebreeze1976I wouldn’t ask 10 different Catholics, just like I wouldn’t ask 10 different Protestants/Evangelics - Instead I would read the official teaching of their church. For Catholics, I don’t have to wonder or be confused because they have the official teachings of the Catholic Church (Catechism).
@@Ebreeze1976 You're partially right, but what you're really doing is bringing up the assurance of salvation argument. I would completely and utterly reject assurance of salvation. By the way...the "ask 10 Catholics A, B, or C and get 10 different answer is not a argument coming from a Protestant. There seems to be some preconceived notion in Protestantism that because Catholics don't subscribe to assurance of salvation, we're just aimlessly wandering through our lives, shaking in our boots doubting where we are going after death. It just doesn't work that way friend. We strive to live in a state of grace. It's a pretty clear process, it's not hard to understand, it's not a mystery. What we don't do is go around acting like we know how we're going to be judged because judgment belongs to God alone, not you, me, the pope or anyone else.
@NeLeif they might have the official teachings of the church, but it doesn’t mean that every catholic agrees on every single thing that the Roman Catholic Church says about any subject even at the Vatican
What's with the phrase ".....if you will "???
I means "if you will"
Quoting from the Ligonier Ministries youtube video 'Lawson, MacArthur, Mohler, and Sproul: Questions and Answers' of March 21, 2017 [youtube com /watch?v=MfnYgz_e17M]
Months before his death, R.C. Sproul is hooked up to an oxygen tank. Near the end of the video he says the following at 40:45 - 41:16:
"I believe the first question, if I'm not mistaken, was something about what is Reformed theology? What does it mean to be Reformed? And anybody who is Reformed is first of all catholic, namely that we embrace the classic ecumenical truths of the ecumenical councils, the Council of Nicea, the Council of Chalcedon, and so on, that we all share the same basic structure of Christianity."
Interesting
I'm not a Protestant, but the concept of purgatory remains unreasonable. After death, we all await the resurrection-one for the believers and one for the wicked. Nowhere in Scripture does it mention the soul being separated from the body. In Genesis, it says that we *became* living souls, not that we *have* souls distinct from our bodies. The idea of a soul existing independently from the body originates from Plato, not Scripture. If we are living souls, as Scripture describes, and if we return to the dust at death while awaiting the resurrection in a state described as "sleep," how could our souls exist separately from our bodies? The notion contradicts the biblical depiction of humanity as a unified whole.
Have you ever read Aquinas?
@@NuLeif Aquinas’ writings are not God-inspired, nor do they hold any authority over Scripture. The doctrine of purgatory is blasphemous because it directly contradicts God’s Word. The Bible teaches that Christ’s atonement is complete and final (Hebrews 10:14), that all sins are fully cleansed by His blood (1 John 1:7), and that there is no condemnation for those in Christ (Romans 8:1). Purgatory nullifies the Gospel, reinstitutes the curse of the law (Galatians 3:13), and calls God a liar (Titus 1:2) by claiming that suffering is still required for sins that Christ already paid for. If purgatory is real, then Christ’s work was insufficient, His words “It is finished” (John 19:30) were false, and salvation is incomplete. But **God cannot lie. If purgatory were true, then Christ is dead in vain (Galatians 2:21). The real deception is not in Scripture-but in those who preach another gospel (Galatians 1:8-9).
@@rebuildspirit I was simply asking if you have ever read Aquinas (Summa) as it very clearly defines and demonstrates WITH SCRIPTURE the concept of the soul separate from the body. I agree that it’s not scripture, but just as you are trying to defend your position, he does as well. Along with all the early church fathers. You say you aren’t Protestant, what do you describe your denomination affiliation?
@@NuLeif The idea of the soul being separate from the body originates from Plato, not Scripture. Plato taught the soul exists independently of the body, but the Bible presents humans as living souls, where body and soul are united.
In Genesis 2:7, it says man became a living soul when God breathed life into him, showing the soul and body are not separate but united. 1 Corinthians 15:45 also calls Adam a living soul, reinforcing the unity of body and soul. The Bible teaches that we are one unified being, not two separate parts.
@@rebuildspirit the soul is the form of the body. At death the soul separates from the body. Although physical human bodies die, human souls never die.
Luke 16:22; 23:43; 2 Cor. 5:8; Phil. 1:23.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that every spiritual soul “is immortal: It does not perish when it separates from the body at death, and it will be reunited with the body at the final Resurrection” (CCC 366).
So at the moment of death, the soul separates from the body, is judged immediately, and enters either heaven (immediately or through purgatory) or hell.