Purgatory - A Non-Negotiable?

When it comes to doctrinal differences between church denominations, is the belief in purgatory a primary, non-negotiable issue or more of a secondary issue with room for compromise?

That's a big question to try to tackle in a short social media essay, so I won't make that attempt. I've written against the belief in purgatory in past essays, so I'm only going to look at one new aspect here that I haven't written about.

Many Catholics view purgatory as a necessary time of suffering needed, in addition to Jesus' death on our behalf, in order to "justify" salvation for us as unworthy sinners. My disagreement with this view would be that it cheapens what Jesus did for us on the cross and teaches that we must somehow "earn" salvation in order to deserve it.

But more thoughtful Catholics, such as a man named Rudolfo whom I talked with in a Menards parking lot cart shelter during a sudden rainstorm, look at purgatory not as a part of "justification" but as a part of "sanctification". This means it isn't what SAVES us for Heaven - Jesus did that - but it PREPARES us for Heaven.

"Justification" is what happens when we are saved through faith in Jesus. God forgives us and no longer counts our sins against us because the punishment we deserve was taken by Jesus at the cross.

But "sanctification" is what happens after we are saved, as we grow to maturity as Christians. Old sinful habits and ways of thinking are gradually replaced by the fruits of the Spirit - love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal. 5) These attributes grow throughout our life as we walk with Jesus and serve His people.

This process involves all that life has to offer in our relationship with our heavenly Father - the times of abundance, the hard lessons, the discipline and, yes, suffering at times. But I believe the Catholic view would be that more is needed, that in order to fully understand the suffering Jesus underwent for our justification we need to suffer likewise ourselves, and that is believed to happen in the process of purgatory, or "purging" us of our sins.

There is so little biblical support for the belief in purgatory that it wasn't taught in Catholic churches for over the first thousand years of it's history. When it was taught it proved to be a powerful way to control people by guilt and fear, and feeds into the mistaken idea that we "aren't sinful enough for hell, or holy enough for heaven" - an idea I often hear people express.

I see the teaching of purgatory as a distraction from and even a distortion of the good news of the Gospel. If suffering helps us better appreciate and glorify Jesus, then let it be willingly, in His service, during this life just as He willingly laid down His life in obedience to the Father.

So do I see my view about purgatory as a non-negotiable issue, or a point of compromise? Well, when it came to my conversation with Rudolfo there at Menards, I didn't let it get in the way of my respect and fellowship with a fellow believer.