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I n T h e i r O w n W o r d s
FINAL PURIFICATION
Protestants often scorn the idea of purgatory, yet many of them believe in it, or a form of it, without realizing. Common sense tells us that our sanctification is usually not complete when we die, though we know we will be perfectly sanctified in heaven. Thus between death and glory must come a purification. Certain passages of Scripture, such as Romans 14:10 and 1 Corinthians 3:11-15, speak of a judgment after death which will not be entirely pleasant even for the saved. Though Protestants do not have a developed theology of purgatory, some acknowledge it, or aspects of it, as the following quotations show.
C. S. LEWIS
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY ANGLICAN)
"Of course I pray for the dead. The action is so spontaneous, so all but inevitable, that only the most compulsive theological case against it would deter me. And I hardly know how the rest of my prayers would survive if those for the dead were forbidden. At our age the majority of those we love best are dead. What sort of intercourse with God could I have if what I love best were unmentionable to him?" (Letters to Malcolm).
C. S. LEWIS
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY ANGLICAN)
"I believe in purgatory. . . . The right view returns magnificently in Newman’s Dream [of Gerontius]. There, if I remember it rightly, the saved soul, at the very foot of the throne, begs to be taken away and cleansed. It cannot bear for a moment longer ‘With its darkness to affront that light.’ . . . Our souls demand purgatory, don’t they? Would it not break the heart if God said to us, ‘It is true, my son, that your breath smells and your rags drip with mud and slime, but we are charitable here and no one will upbraid you with these things, nor draw away from you. Enter into the joy’? Should we not reply, ‘With submission, Sir, and if there is no objection, I’d rather be cleansed first.’ ‘It may hurt, you know’—‘Even so, sir’" (ibid.).
JOHN MacARTHUR
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY BAPTIST)
"Many humanly impressive and seemingly beautiful and worthwhile works that Christians do in the Lord’s name will not stand the test in ‘that day.’ It ‘will become evident’ (v. 13) that the materials used were wood, hay, and straw. The workmen will not lose their salvation, but they will lose a portion of any reward they might be expecting. They ‘shall be saved, yet so as through fire.’ The thought here is of a person who runs through flames without being burned, but who has the smell of smoke on him—barely escaping! In the day of rewards, the useless evil things will be burned away, but salvation will not be forfeited" (1 Corinthians, on chapter 3).
J. P. MORELAND
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY EVANGELICAL)
"So, if purgatory is understood as a temporary, incomplete, joyful existence that involves growth and anticipation of reembodiment in heaven, then we can accept it, as long as we remain clear about what the concept really means and includes" (Immortality: The Other Side of Death).
CLARK PINNOCK
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY EVANGELICAL)
Although not accustomed to thinking much about purgatory because I have shared the knee-jerk reaction against it in Evangelical thinking . . . I cannot deny that most believers end their earthly lives imperfectly sanctified and far from complete. . . . Obviously, Evangelicals have not thought this question out. It seems to me that we already have the possibility of a doctrine of purgatory. . . . Ask yourself, are you not going to need some finishing touches in the area of holiness when you die?" (Four Views on Hell).
CLARK PINNOCK
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY EVANGELICAL)
"There are many respected [Protestant] theologians who have thought the same. One finds sympathy with an idea of purgatory in George MacDonald, J. B. Phillips, William Barclay, and many others. . . . I would defend a doctrine of purgatory in this way. It is obvious that Christian character is not perfectly transformed at death. Therefore, it is reasonable to hope that there might be a perfecting process after death" (ibid.).
J. VERNON MCGEE
( TWENTIETH-CENTURY FUNDAMENTALIST)
"My friend, you and I need to recognize that we have to give an account of ourselves to him [Jesus]. I’ll be honest with you; that disturbs me a little. I am wondering how I am going to tell him about certain things. So I can’t sit in judgment upon you; I’m worried about Vernon McGee" (Through the Bible, on Romans 14:10).
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