Paul's Testimony About Purgatory: A Lesson for the End of Life

"Fourth, we may say that the sanctification process continues after death with our willing cooperation until the process is complete, and we are actually made holy through and through" (Dr. Jerry Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, page 6). 

Before I get started, let me say that I welcome interaction with you, my readership. I know it seems as if most days, I post and then go my way---but your views and comments do matter to me. I am currently responding to a commenter’s responses on Annihilationism, a view I haven’t researched in some time. Let me say that even if you disagree with me, I still welcome comments that get me to stop and reconsider my own views on a subject. Don’t be afraid to comment here and ask me questions, or disagree with me. As “iron sharpens iron,” I want to be of aid to you---and desire that you would be of aid to me. We are all still growing in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, and no one is at such a point that he or she cannot be challenged by another.

Yesterday’s post dealt with the confession of the repentant thief on the cross in Luke 23 and Jesus’ words to him about the very moment in which he believed. If Dr. Walls is correct, the thief had not ridden himself of the corruption and moral deficiencies in his heart and mind. Though he believed in Christ, “it is not enough that we be forgiven of our sins,” Walls has stated in his introduction (4). If we believe Dr. Walls, then the criminal needed purgatory for moral reform. However, Jesus’ words that the thief would be with Him “today” (Grk. semeron) in to paradeiso (Grk. for “the paradise”) prove to the contrary. The word “today” means immediately, not far off in the future. If verbal-plenary inspiration (the very words of Scripture are inspired) means anything, Jesus’ word “today” means just that---today!

It is a passage like Luke 23 that poses problems for the Doctrine of Purgatory, since Jesus required no afterlife sanctification of the common criminal. Today’s post, however, will provide Paul’s own testimony about purgatory. Paul was at the end of his life when he wrote this text, and I think he provides some valuable insight into this disputed doctrine to which we currently devote our time:

“For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing”(2 Timothy 4:6-8, New American Standard Bible).

Notice the verbs in Paul’s words: “fought,” “finished,” and “kept.” All of these verbs are past tense, referring to actions in the past. Paul is saying that the good fight he fought is now in the past; the course he had to run is now in the past; the faith he had to keep is now in the past. At this point, he is looking forward to the reward he will receive. The phrase “in the future” (rendered by the NASB) is the Greek term loipon, meaning “remainder, henceforth,” and so on. The term comes from the noun loipos, meaning “remainder” or “that which remains.” When Paul says that the crown of righteousness is laid up for him, he is saying that his reward is all that remains for the journey to be complete. Does this sound like he believes there is a purgatory awaiting?

No. Now, some (perhaps Dr. Walls) may think that Paul, having been saved for over 30 years, may have well worked out his sin in his life such that he could enter heaven upon death. The problem with this, however, is that Paul confesses to his constant battles with sin all throughout Scripture. In one place, he states his sin before his conversion, in the other his constant struggle with sin:

“It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all” (1 Timothy 1:15, NASB).

“For the good that I want, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want...I find then the principle that evil is present in me, the one who wants to do good. For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man, but I see a different law in the members of my body, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members” (Romans 7:19, 21-23, NASB).

Paul served the law of God with his mind, but served the law of sin with his flesh (Rom. 7:25). This sounds as though he struggled in the Christian life, often enough that he hated how his flesh turned to sin---though he was saved by faith in the Lord Jesus.

Simply put, Paul did not consider himself to be one who had become completely holy in character such that he was ready to enter heaven; instead, he realized that he was a sinner saved by grace who was receiving a reward (“a crown of righteousness,” symbolic for eternal life, given to “all those that love His appearing,” which refers to all believers) that he did not deserve.

For him, the course he had run in his life was coming to an end. Once he finished his course, there would be no future course to run or endure. It seems that Dr. Walls and fellow proponents of the Doctrine of Purgatory would find an ally here with the apostle---though, again, they do not. God bless.

Afterlife Sanctification? A Look at Scripture, Pt. 1

For the last three days, I have examined the introduction to Dr. Jerry Walls’ book, titled Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. What very few individuals know about me is that I have a secret interest in a study of the Doctrine of Hell. When I entered my Master of Theology (ThM) program last Fall (2011), I wanted to study the Doctrine of Hell for my theology degree; however, I decided that Inclusivism and Theology of Religions was probably a better route (conversationally) to head into. This private interest of mine in the Doctrine of Hell is one of the reasons why I turned to Dr. Walls’ book when deciding to return to the Center for Theological Studies and blog once more. Let me just say, before I start the subject matter of this post, that it is a blessing that the Lord has favored me to return to the blog I love so much. I pray that you have been blessed by the work done in the last few days...and that you would continue to allow the Lord to challenge your theological views, day in and day out. This is still my prayer; Master of Theology students still need the Holy Spirit to teach them theological truth daily. Praise the Lord that He is patient and teaches us in all things!

Today, I want us to continue to examine Dr. Jerry Walls’ quote about afterlife sanctification. The quote stems from a context in which Walls discusses four possible views on how sinful human beings (though believers) can enter the afterlife. The first view states that believers enter into heaven with their sin because it is not eliminated from them in this life. Walls dismisses this, and so do I. The second view says that no one enters heaven because all believers have sin---even up to the last moments of their lives. I disagree with this because of so many saints scripturally that are in glory with the Lord. Does the Roll Call of Faith in Hebrews 11 mean anything (cf. Heb. 11:13-16)?

View three says that the Lord makes believers holy in an instant, a theory that I find plausible and commendable based on texts such as 1 Corinthians 15 that say the Lord will transform our bodies “in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). Dr. Walls, however, finds the fourth view the most plausible for his convictions:

“Fourth, we may say that the sanctification process continues after death with our willing cooperation until the process is complete, and we are actually made holy through and through” (Dr. Jerry Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, page 6).

In my last post, I stated that this poses problems for married spouses who were unfaithful to each other in life (and battled infidelity until death). If they need a portion of the afterlife in which to learn how to be better husbands and wives, they are out of luck---for the marriage bond ends at death, according to Romans 7:2-3. Additionally, men and women do not marry in eternity (cf. Matt. 22:30). If sanctification in marriage cannot exist in the afterlife, then neither can sanctification in any sense still exist in the afterlife. Sin is no longer an issue when one lays down his or her flesh.

This was a rather indirect way to approach Dr. Walls’ proposition that there is such a thing as afterlife sanctification. In today’s post, I look to tackle Walls’ proposition based on direct references to the biblical text. That is, what do the Scriptures teach concerning purgatory, heaven, and hell?

A classic text that I think is pivotal to a Protestant defense against Purgatory is the repentant thief on the cross, a unique passage to Luke 23:39-43:

“One of the criminals who were hanged there was hurling abuse at Him, saying, ‘Are You not the Christ? Save Yourself and us!’ But the other answered, and rebuking him said, ‘Do you not even fear God, since you are under the same sentence of condemnation? And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong.’ And he was saying, ‘Jesus, remember me when You come in Your kingdom!’ And He said to him, ‘Truly I say to you, today you shall be with Me in Paradise’” (Luke 23:39-43, New American Standard Bible).

There were two thieves at the crucifixion event: one that was only concerned about saving himself from mortal death, the other that only wanted to be saved from spiritual death. He did not ask to be spared from mortal death. Why? Because, as he told the selfish thief,

“And we indeed are suffering justly, for we are receiving what we deserve for our deeds; but this man has done nothing wrong” (Lk. 23:41, NASB).

There is information in the passage above from Luke 23 that specifically pertains to Dr. Walls’ fourth view of afterlife sanctification. Notice that the man knows some things about Christ: 1) His name is “Jesus”; 2) Jesus has a kingdom; 3) Jesus is innocent of the crime for which He has been charged and convicted; 4) Jesus will rise from the dead. The fourth piece of information is pivotal, since it seems the thief had heard Jesus’ preaching and teaching about Himself and His coming kingdom for a while. The thief on the cross may have been a thief, but he was also a man who had heard Christ’s teaching and believed His message.

In the poignant moment between the repentant thief and Jesus, the thief asks Jesus to remember him. Jesus understands the request and says, “Today you shall be with Me in paradise.” What are we to make of this? Jesus did not tell the man, “You must first undergo the moral reformatory school of purgatory, since you have been a criminal for most of your life and you need sanctification in this matter before you can enter heaven...then, you will be with me in paradise.” No---Jesus’s words to the repentant thief were that, in that very day, at the thief’s last breath, he would be with Jesus in paradise, in glory.

The repentant thief needed only repentance and faith to spend eternity with Christ. And it is no different for us, either. All we need is repentance and a confession of faith. If the repentant thief shows us anything, it is that afterlife sanctification is not necessary---for, the very day in which believers leave earth, we too, will be with Jesus in paradise. God bless.

Acquiring Actual Holiness, Pt. 3: The Fourth View and Its Problems

“Indeed, there are Christians of many stages of spiritual maturity and growth in holiness and many, probably most, die far short of perfection... Faced with what seems to be this obvious empirical reality, the question remains about the fate of such persons. There are four broad possibilities. First, we might say that they go to heaven with their sins, imperfections, and the like intact, so heaven is not in fact essentially sinless. Second, we might think they will simply be lost and never make it to heaven if they die without actually becoming completely holy. Third, we might say that at the moment of death, God makes people holy by an instantaneous, unilateral act, however imperfect, sinful, and immature in character they may be. Fourth, we may say that the sanctification process continues after death with our willing cooperation until the process is complete, and we are actually made holy through and through” (Jerry Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, page 6).

In my last post, I examined the first three of Jerry Walls’ views on sin and eternity. The first one argues that Christians enter heaven with their sins intact---thus, heaven is sinful rather than sinless. I argued there that God, being light and having no darkness in Him (we are told from 1 John 1:5), cannot have sin enter into heaven. The apostle Paul goes so far as to say that flesh and blood cannot enter God’s kingdom (1 Cor. 15:50). Scripture refutes the first view. The second view is also refuted by Scripture because we know that the saints of God will spend eternity with Christ and reign with Him (Rev. 22:3, 5). Therefore, at least a multiple number of believers will go to Heaven. Although believers are imperfect on this earth, they enter Heaven by an act of God whereby they are made complete in an instant. Even 1 Corinthians 15 says that we are “changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye” (1 Cor. 15:52). I argued there that if God can give us new bodies in an instant, He can certainly make us holy in an instant. This is the third view, which most Protestants and I uphold, according to Dr. Walls.

Today’s post will explore the fourth view. I will repeat it here for our understanding:

“Fourth, we may say that the sanctification process continues after death with our willing cooperation until the process is complete, and we are actually made holy through and through” (Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, page 6).

According to Dr. Walls, Protestants often disagree with Purgatory as a sufficient doctrine because they say, “It’s not found in the Bible.” Don’t get me wrong: Purgatory does not exist in the Bible, in any form. Even in the Greek translation of the New Testament (or the Septuagint, the Greek translation of the Old Testament), we have no mention of “purgatoria” or any word similar to this one. It is not there in explicit terms---but many who argue for the doctrine believe it to be there implicitly. For them, it is there in principle, though not bearing the title we have come to place upon it. John Salza, in his The Biblical Basis for Purgatory, argues that the prison Jesus refers to in His teaching (about agreeing with the adversary quickly, see Matthew’s Gospel) refers to purgatory.

However, there are other biblical ways for the Christian to combat Purgatory as a doctrine other than to say, “it’s not in the Bible.” Let’s assume Dr. Walls’ theory for a moment---that is, that sanctification continues after death. If we do, the Scriptures themselves pose problems for Dr. Walls and purgatory. Why? Because of the institution of marriage.

Let’s say that a man marries a woman, and a woman marries a man. Both married couples have trouble throughout their marriages: in each marriage, both partners struggle with faithfulness and fidelity toward their spouses. Each partner wonders what his or her life would be like if he or she decided to have an affair on the side. Each partner works late hours, so his or her spouse would never know otherwise, would never suspect cheating. Both partners in each marriage choose to cheat on one another with other married people, exacerbating the problem. In the last twenty years of their marriages, both sets of partners come to salvation in Christ and give up their unfaithful ways; they pledge to be faithful to one another and never eye another person, ever again. While they still struggle with fidelity, they have never had an affair against the other from the moment they came to faith in Christ.

After a scenario such as this, you would think that the two couples would be ready for heaven, correct? Dr. Walls would say that, while their hearts are inclined toward God, they may still need some sort of moral and spiritual transformation before entering glory:

“Now let us consider our unfortunate cowboy in light of this analysis...let us extend his story and assume he is a Christian believer, albeit one who is obviously rough around the edges, and clearly not very faithful at this point of his life. Let us assume, moreover, that before he died he repented of his sin and sought forgiveness for his murder, and even acknowledged that his desire for vengeance was wrong. Even if we assume all this, including that he was forgiven before he died, it is doubtful that he had cultivated a love of God and a taste for the holy such that he would be fully ready to enjoy heaven” (Walls, 6).

In short, though the cowboy confessed his sin, repented, and let Jesus into his heart, he still would not be ready for Heaven. Why? Because Heaven can only be enjoyed by those who have hearts disciplined for it. The cowboy would not have a heart sown in righteousness, since he did not have time to work through his sin and grow in discipline and moral character. The question remains: How would the Lord teach an unfaithful, tending-to-stray husband or unfaithful wife how to remain faithful in his or her marriage? The answer? According to Dr. Walls, send the man or woman to Purgatory and help him or her work through the marriage.

I hope you’re smiling at this point and that you know where I’m headed. The problem with the man learning how to be better in his marriage (or the wife) is that there is no marriage in the afterlife. Marriage ends at death:

“For the married woman is bound by law to her husband while he is living; but if her husband dies, she is released from the law concerning the husband. So then, if while her husband is living she is joined to another man, she shall be called an adulteress; but if her husband dies, she is free from the law, so that she is not an adulteress though she is joined to another man” (Romans 7:2-3, New American Standard Bible).

A woman is bound to her marriage if the husband lives; if he dies, the marriage bond is broken and she is free to marry someone else. This is why marriage vows often end with, “Til death due us part.” At death, husband and wife “part ways” and the marriage bond is dissolved. Thus, a husband cannot become a better husband in the afterlife, nor a wife a better spouse for her husband. In the afterlife, sanctification (at least in marriage here) is not an issue because marriage no longer exists (Matt.22:30).    

If sanctification does not exist in the afterlife in marriage, how can sanctification exist in the afterlife for any other issue such as drug rehabilitation, or any other sexual immorality? How can the afterlife teach you how to resist drugs when you don’t enter the afterlife in human flesh?

Simply put, sanctification is an issue of the flesh, an issue of earthly life. It is why we have to “kill” or “mortify” our human body parts on the earth (Colossians 3:5-7), and “walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit” (Rom. 8:7, 10, 13). There will be more on afterlife sanctification in my next post. God bless.

Acquiring Actual Holiness, Pt. 2: Four Views on Sin and Eternity

In my last post, I introduced Jerry Walls’ book and pointed out some problems that I have with his view that purgatory actually exists. It is pretty easy to tell that someone believes strongly in purgatory, particularly when his or her introduction begins with the excerpt I covered yesterday. I pointed out yesterday that Philippians 1:6 seems to be confident about the Philippian believers, that God would complete what He started in their lives. This indicates to me that the Lord, having started their transformation by way of regeneration, is certain to complete it. As a result, I don’t think the proper response is to argue that we need a prison sentence in eternity called purgatory to become thoroughly holy and upright in character and spirit. For Paul, John the Revelator, and others, eternity would reap the fruits of both a trusting walk with Christ and a rebellious life against Christ.

In today’s post, I’m back to examine Walls’ four views on sin and eternity. He provides four views in his book that combat questions about how sin exists in eternity, does it exist, and how are believers made completely holy. Walls writes:

“And the cowboy is far from alone in his predicament. Indeed, there are Christians of many stages of spiritual maturity and growth in holiness and many, probably most, die far short of perfection. In another sermon, Newman reflected on this reality, observing that there are many persons who may be sincere servants of God who are ‘dark and feeble’ in their religious state. Many others repent late in life, if not on their death bed, and leave few traces of Christian fruit in their lives. And beyond all such cases as these, he pointed out that there are many others who have made a good start and persevered, yet have hardly begun the process of sanctification ‘when death comes upon them;--many who have been in circumstances of especial difficulty, who have had fiercer temptations, more perplexing trials than the rest, and in consequence have been impeded in their course.’

Faced with what seems to be this obvious empirical reality, the question remains about the fate of such persons. There are four broad possibilities. First, we might say that they go to heaven with their sins, imperfections, and the like intact, so heaven is not in fact essentially sinless. Second, we might think they will simply be lost and never make it to heaven if they die without actually becoming completely holy. Third, we might say that at the moment of death, God makes people holy by an instantaneous, unilateral act, however imperfect, sinful, and immature in character they may be. Fourth, we may say that the sanctification process continues after death with our willing cooperation until the process is complete, and we are actually made holy through and through” (Jerry Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, page 6).

While Walls presents four views, two are of the utmost attention. The first two can be discarded: heaven is a sinless place because God dwells there—and He has no sin, and in Him is no sin at all (1 John). Next, the idea that you must be completely holy to enter heaven would discard the entire human race. No one person is holy enough that at the end of their lives, they can enter heaven based on their actions. Until our dying breath, there are still things that we will want that are sinful and against God. If we must get to heaven on personal holiness, we will all fail and enter eternity in Hell. Hell is really all we deserve, had it not been for the atoning work of Jesus Christ. We deserve Hell; He is the one that has given us Heaven instead.

Views three and four are the two most interesting to examine. View three says that we enter Heaven because of a unilateral act of God whereby He makes us holy in an instant. This seems plausible and commendable as a theory. After all, are believers not changed “in a moment, in a twinkling of an eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52)? 1 Corinthians 15 speaks of the end, when believers put on immortality. Read Paul’s words further:

“But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about 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 the sin is the law; but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 15:54-57, NASB).

When is “death swallowed up in victory?” At the resurrection, when believers who died in Christ put on immortality---and those who are alive put on immortality. At this point, we are given immortal bodies, bodies that do not long or yearn for sin of any kind. In a moment, as fast as an eye can sparkle, believers will be made holy. This is a rather damaging truth to the fourth view Walls proposes. The fourth view is one in line with Walls’ conviction, and I will discuss it in my next post.

If you take nothing else away from this post, take 1 Corinthians 15. Let it challenge you to begin thinking about whether or not a long time in purgatory matches 1 Corinthians 15 and its sanctified “transformation in the blink of an eye.” I have no qualms against Dr. Walls presenting a philosophically-appealing view; I do disagree, however, with his view when it contradicts what I see found in Scripture. God bless.

Acquiring Actual Holiness: An Introductory Examination of Jerry Walls' Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation

I know that I have been rather absent from The Center of Theological Studies for the last several months now. I am thankful to the Lord Jesus that the work He graced me to publish here over the last two or three years is still bringing comments to the site, and visitors daily. The Lord continues to show me His grace and goodness in all that I do; for that, I am grateful beyond words.

Some of you have joined CTS in the last few months and have not so much as read a recent post written by me. I am sorry for my long absence. I have taken upon myself the responsibility of work and have had to spend gruesome hours online researching, writing articles, and crafting advertisements. I enjoy my work and take pride in what I do for a living; nevertheless, I have missed my theology blog and the joys that come with recording my convictions as I believe stem from the Word of God. Do not worry any longer; by God’s grace, I will be present at The Center for Theological Studies throughout the reading and blogging on Jerry Walls’ entire book.

Today’s post is simply an introduction to get us to think about purgatory as a doctrine and a place. For those of you who rarely dive into discussions on purgatory, let me give you a brief definition of purgatory: purgatory is a place that people go to when they die in order to have some sort of afterlife moral reformatory process. The logic behind purgatory is that we need to be completely transformed in order to enter into heaven. Jerry Walls states his case here:

“The requirement that we must actually become holy and thoroughly upright in spirit and character is one of the foundation stones of the doctrine of purgatory, the subject of this book. It is not enough that we be forgiven of our sins, or have righteousness imputed to us in a legal or formal fashion. Nor is the initial work of salvation in regeneration sufficient to accomplish the complete transformation we require. While regeneration begins this transformation, it does not entirely rectify our corruption or repair all our moral and spiritual deficiencies. So we are left with the question of how we acquire the actual holiness that is essential for those who want to see the Lord, to know him in the deeply personal sense of enjoying a genuinely loving relationship with him” (Jerry Walls, Purgatory: The Logic of Total Transformation. New York: Oxford University Press, 2012, page 4).

First, Walls states that forgiveness of sins is not enough to inherit eternal life (“enter heaven”). According to the apostle Paul, sinners become saints by “redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins” (Ephesians 1:7). To be “redeemed” means to be bought again---thus, forgiveness of sins by Christ indicates that we are His children and have been freed from our bondage to sin. Righteousness must be imputed to us because we cannot merit the righteousness of God. As Romans 4 details, Abraham had to “believe God” (Genesis 15:6, Romans 4:3) in order to receive righteousness. Righteousness must be imputed to us because without it, we cannot see the kingdom of God. We cannot be looked upon with favor in God’s eyes until we are clothed in Christ’s righteousness. This is the problem with the Jewish nation, Paul states (Rom. 10:1-4). The Israelites sought to become righteous in their own eyes instead of seeking the righteousness of God. This explains why they believed circumcision and Law-keeping were the requirements for salvation.

Walls also goes on to say that regeneration “initiates” transformation but does not complete it. However, does this not contradict the words of Paul in Philippians 1:6 that “He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus” (Phil. 1:6, NASB)? If regeneration is the good work that Christ has begun in believers, does Paul not sound certain that Christ will complete it? And if so, does the phrase “the day of Christ Jesus” not complicate a view of purgatory that believes we must be transformed in the afterlife, post Christ’s second coming?

If Philippians 1:6 has anything to say about regeneration, there are problems with Walls’ theory that regeneration only starts transformation but does not complete it. He seems to think that regeneration is a one-time act, instead of a process that occurs throughout the whole of the Christian life. The Bible tells us that regeneration is synonymous with salvation (John 3:3, 14-18). Thus, passages that use the word “salvation” are also talking about regeneration. It is in the spirit of this truth that 2 Thessalonians 2:13 argues against Walls’ notion that regeneration is not enough, and we need sanctification too. Sanctification is a component of the regeneration process---which occurs day by day, not in one moment of time. The Dutch Reformed theologian James Arminius writes,

“This sanctification is not completed in a single moment; but sin, from whose dominion we have been delivered through the cross and the death of Christ, is weakened more and more by daily [detrimenta] losses, and the inner man is day by day renewed more and more, while we carry about with us in our bodies the death of Christ, and the outward man is perishing” (James Arminius, Works II: 409-410).

Arminius seemed to believe that the sins of man would diminish daily until they would be no more. When would man completely be ridden of sin? When he stepped into eternity, at his last breath.

There is much more to say, but this will suffice for now. In my next post, I will discuss Jerry Walls’ four options for sin and eternity. God bless.