The argument misunderstands the nature of Purgatory. The souls which are in Purgatory do nothing for themselves and do not merit anything - everything that happens there, all the purification, is done by God. That is actually the cause of their greatest suffering - the souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves in any way. The reality is that nothing impure can enter Heaven (Revelation 21:27), therefore we must be perfectly good in objective sense to enter Heaven. We know that till the end of our lifes we are sinful (you certainly agree that even born again Christians commit sins). But to enter Heaven we must be perfect - thus, something must happen after death to remove sinful habits, imperfections etc. from us, for no one will sin in Heaven.
This is also why the doctrine of imputed righteousness of Christ cannot be true - according to this doctrine the believers are legally declared righteous on the basis of merits of Christ, but they are not actually righteous (famous comparison of dung covered by snow vs. dung turned into snow attributed to Luther). But this is not possible - if you are not actually and objectively righteous, you will not enter Heaven (Hebrews 12:14, Revelation 21:27). This is why righteousness has to be infused to make man objectively good and worthy of Heaven in the eyes of God.
"The reality is that nothing impure can enter Heaven (Revelation 21:27)"
That isn't describing the intermediate state but the final state.
"But to enter Heaven we must be perfect - thus, something must happen after death to remove sinful habits, imperfections etc. from us, for no one will sin in Heaven."
And what makes you assume God can't instantly sanctify Christians at the moment of death?
"This is also why the doctrine of imputed righteousness of Christ cannot be true - according to this doctrine the believers are legally declared righteous on the basis of merits of Christ, but they are not actually righteous (famous comparison of dung covered by snow vs. dung turned into snow attributed to Luther). But this is not possible - if you are not actually and objectively righteous, you will not enter Heaven (Hebrews 12:14, Revelation 21:27). "
i) Protestant theology doesn't deny the necessity of sanctification.
ii) What makes you think Heb 12:14 is referring to actual righteousness? The operating framework Hebrews is consecration rather than transformation.
The argument misunderstands the nature of Purgatory. The souls which are in Purgatory do nothing for themselves and do not merit anything - everything that happens there, all the purification, is done by God. That is actually the cause of their greatest suffering - the souls in Purgatory cannot help themselves in any way. The reality is that nothing impure can enter Heaven (Revelation 21:27), therefore we must be perfectly good in objective sense to enter Heaven. We know that till the end of our lifes we are sinful (you certainly agree that even born again Christians commit sins). But to enter Heaven we must be perfect - thus, something must happen after death to remove sinful habits, imperfections etc. from us, for no one will sin in Heaven.
ReplyDeleteThis is also why the doctrine of imputed righteousness of Christ cannot be true - according to this doctrine the believers are legally declared righteous on the basis of merits of Christ, but they are not actually righteous (famous comparison of dung covered by snow vs. dung turned into snow attributed to Luther). But this is not possible - if you are not actually and objectively righteous, you will not enter Heaven (Hebrews 12:14, Revelation 21:27). This is why righteousness has to be infused to make man objectively good and worthy of Heaven in the eyes of God.
"The reality is that nothing impure can enter Heaven (Revelation 21:27)"
DeleteThat isn't describing the intermediate state but the final state.
"But to enter Heaven we must be perfect - thus, something must happen after death to remove sinful habits, imperfections etc. from us, for no one will sin in Heaven."
And what makes you assume God can't instantly sanctify Christians at the moment of death?
"This is also why the doctrine of imputed righteousness of Christ cannot be true - according to this doctrine the believers are legally declared righteous on the basis of merits of Christ, but they are not actually righteous (famous comparison of dung covered by snow vs. dung turned into snow attributed to Luther). But this is not possible - if you are not actually and objectively righteous, you will not enter Heaven (Hebrews 12:14, Revelation 21:27). "
i) Protestant theology doesn't deny the necessity of sanctification.
ii) What makes you think Heb 12:14 is referring to actual righteousness? The operating framework Hebrews is consecration rather than transformation.