Biblical Objections To The False Doctrine Of Purgatory
Bodie Hodge, M.Sc., B.Sc., PEI
Biblical Authority Ministries, August 13, 2026 (Donate)
Purgatory is a teaching of the Roman church. Due to biblical
teachings, Protestant Christians objected to many of Rome’s teachings—including
that of purgatory.
Protestants rightly reject purgatory because it conflicts
and contradicts with several clear biblical teachings. When something
contradicts God’s Word, it is wrong. So, what is purgatory and why is purgatory
wrong biblically? Let’s dive into it.
What Is Purgatory?
Purgatory is a [false] doctrine taught by the Roman Catholic
Church concerning what happens after death to certain people who die in God's
grace. It isn’t considered a second chance for unbelievers to be saved. Rather,
Catholic teaching describes purgatory as a temporary state of purification for
those who die ultimately destined for heaven but who still require purification
from the effects of sin (i.e., a secondary “purging” of sin process).
According to Roman Catholic theology, Christ forgives the
eternal punishment of sin, but temporal punishment or remaining
consequences of forgiven sin may still need to be purified. This purification
can allegedly occur during one’s earthly life or, according to the doctrine of
purgatory, after death.
Catholics have traditionally connected this teaching with
prayers for the dead, indulgences, and apocryphal books (e.g., 2 Maccabees
12:42-46). Some might even appeal to an odd interpretation of 1 Corinthians
3:10-15 to suggest purgatory, but that is without warrant.
Christ's Sacrifice Fully Pays For Sin
Most Protestants reject purgatory because it isn’t taught in
the 66 books of Scripture and conflicts with the complete sufficiency of
Christ's atonement. We point instead to passages such as Hebrews 10:10-14,
Romans 8:1, Luke 23:43, and 2 Corinthians 5:8, arguing that believers who die
are with Christ rather than undergoing additional punishment or further
sin purification before being pure enough to enter heaven.
One of the strongest objections to purgatory, therefore, is
the sufficiency of Christ's atonement. Scripture presents Jesus' sacrifice as
completely sufficient for the believer's sins. Nothing else is required—no
works, and definitely no purgatory to further satisfy God’s wrath on your sin.
"For by one offering He has
perfected forever those who are being sanctified." (Hebrews 10:14, NKJV)
Jesus declared from the cross, "It is finished!"
(John 19:30). The Holy Spirit in the book of Hebrews points out that Christ
offered Himself "once for all" (Hebrews 7:27; 9:12; 10:10). To say we
still need our sins purged in purgatory is in clear violation and in mockery of
what Christ did on the Cross.
Therefore, Protestants argue that believers don’t need a
post-death purification involving punishment or satisfaction for remaining
temporal penalties. Christ has already borne the punishment their sins deserve
(Isaiah 53:5-6; 1 Peter 2:24).
Purgatory isn’t merely a doctrine lacking sufficient
biblical evidence. It strikes at the sufficiency of Christ's atonement. The
believer's hope should, therefore, rest entirely upon Christ's work and His righteousness
rather than Christ's work plus additional punishment after death.
Believers Are Fully Justified By Faith
Scripture teaches that those who trust in Christ are
justified, or declared righteous, before God.
"Therefore, having been
justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ."
(Romans 5:1, NKJV)
Likewise,
"There is therefore now no
condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus" (Romans 8:1, NKJV).
Protestants therefore object that purgatory appears
inconsistent with the believer's complete justification. The Christian's
righteousness before God rests upon Christ, not upon additional suffering after
death (Romans 3:21-28; Philippians 3:9).
When we receive Jesus Christ, His pure, perfect
righteousness is imputed or transferred to us. Christ took our sin and the punishment for it and clothes us in His perfection. This is why we are seen as
spotless on Judgment Day. So, when one says, “Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t good
enough and you still need to have your sins purged in purgatory”, it is a
blatant denial of Christ’s perfect righteousness and His imputation of that
righteousness to us (see Romans 4:5-25).
Believers Who Die Go To Be With Christ
The New Testament commonly presents death for the Christian
as departure to be with Christ rather than entrance into an intermediate place
of purification.
Paul desired "to depart and be with Christ"
(Philippians 1:23). He also wrote that being "absent from the body"
meant being "present with the Lord" (2 Corinthians 5:8).
Jesus told the repentant thief:
"Assuredly, I say to you,
today you will be with Me in Paradise." (Luke 23:43, NKJV)
There is no mention of the thief first being confined to purification
in purgatory!
Judgment Follows Death
God states in the book of Hebrews:
"And as it is appointed for
men to die once, but after this the judgment." (Hebrews 9:27, NKJV)
Scripture speaks of death followed by judgment—not purgatory.
The destinies of the saved and lost are one of two places (Heaven and Hell)—not three—even if it
is alleged to be temporary (Matthew 25:46; Revelation 20:11-15). Christians
argue that Scripture never clearly establishes a third post-death state in
which justified believers suffer temporarily to be purified before entering
heaven.
Christians certainly undergo sanctification during this
life, and their works will be evaluated by Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15; 2
Corinthians 5:10). But the testing of a believer's works isn’t the same thing
as the believer being punished in purgatory.
Purgatory Isn’t Clearly Taught In Scripture
Protestants argue that no passage in the 66 books of Scripture explicitly teaches the doctrine of purgatory. Some Roman Catholic
arguments appeal especially to 2 Maccabees 12:38-46, but rightly Protestants don’t
recognize the books of the Apocrypha/Deuterocanon as inspired Scripture.
Other passages sometimes used to support purgatory, such as
Matthew 12:32 and 1 Corinthians 3:15, are interpreted by Protestants
differently using proper hermeneutics (interpreting Scripture with Scripture).
First Corinthians 3, for example, describes a person's works being tested by
fire, not a saved person's soul being purified through suffering.
Purgatory Undermined Assurance Of Salvation
Christians should rest in God's promises and Christ's
finished work rather than live in uncertainty about whether punishment for sin
remained after death.
Do not forget to connected assurance of salvation with
justification by faith through God's grace. If a justified Christian must still
undergo punishment after death, then this would render our rest and comfort in
Christ meaningless (Romans 5:1, Romans 8:1, and Romans 8:33-39).
Purgatory Was Closely Connected With The Abuse Of Indulgences
To Drive Money-Making
This was enormously important historically for Luther—just look
at the 95 Theses. The Roman system of indulgences was connected with the
remission of temporal punishment for sins, including concern for souls
believed to be suffering in purgatory. If you “pay” the church, they could
relieve this punishment being dolled out by God on people they cared about. It
was quite the scheme!
Luther's 95 Theses of 1517 repeatedly addressed purgatory and indulgences. He especially objected to claims that purchasing indulgences could benefit departed souls. His controversy over indulgences became one of the sparks of the Protestant Reformation.
It is important historically, however, that Luther didn’t
reject every concept associated with purgatory immediately in 1517. His
position developed as his conflict with Rome progressed as can be ascertained
by his extensive writings.
Scripture Does Not Authorize Christians To Make
Satisfaction For Sin After Death
The Reformers distinguished God's fatherly discipline of
Christians in this life from judicial punishment intended to satisfy divine
justice. In other words, God growing us and disciplining us for sanctification
and maturity in our faith here on earth is not the same thing that a post-death
punishment, pre-heaven punishment.
Hebrews 12:5-11 certainly teaches that God disciplines His
children. But this is different from saying Christians must suffer after death
to satisfy temporal punishment remaining because of forgiven sins. Christ's
satisfaction was sufficient:
"And He Himself is the
propitiation for our sins." (1 John 2:2, NKJV)
This became particularly important in theologies coming out
of the Reformation.
Purgatory Encouraged Practices The Reformers Considered
Unbiblical
Purgatory did not exist merely as an abstract doctrine. It
was connected with prayers and masses for the dead, indulgences, almsgiving on
behalf of the deceased, and other practices intended to assist departed
Christians.
The Reformers asked a basic question: Where did Christ or
the apostles command the church to conduct such practices to shorten the
suffering of departed believers? We should echo this same question!
Because Reformers believed Scripture to be the church's supreme
authority, the absence of clear biblical authorization was a serious objection.
If Rome appealed to themselves (mere men compared to God), which they did when
they proclaimed papal and church authority, they lost the debate immediately. People
in church—including leaders—are not in a position to supersede God and His Word.
The Biblical "Fire" Passages Were Being
Misinterpreted
First Corinthians 3:13-15 became particularly important:
"If anyone's work is burned,
he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through
fire." (1 Corinthians 3:15, NKJV)
Catholic theologians sometimes associated this passage with
purgatorial purification. Note the contextual shift—Paul says the person's
"work" is tested. The context concerns the quality of what someone
has built upon the foundation of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 3:11-15), not a
description of souls suffering in purgatory. Thus as mentioned, the Roman claim is without
warrant.
Conclusion
During the Reformation, believers objected to more than
simply saying, "The word purgatory isn't in the Bible." Luther,
Calvin, and other Reformers believed the doctrine was tied to a larger
system involving indulgences, masses for the dead, satisfaction for temporary
punishment, and uncertainty about one's standing before God. And they were correct indeed!
Protestants underlying concern was that these teachings and
practices not only lacked scriptural support but denied many passages that
clearly taught something else. The idea of purgatory negates justification by
faith and the complete and perfect sufficiency of Christ's work. In other words,
via this view, Christ didn’t do good enough.
Our primary objection to purgatory ultimately centers on the
finished work of Jesus Christ. Christ paid for sin completely, believers are
justified by faith, there is no condemnation for those in Christ. Christians
who die are with the Lord, and Scripture nowhere clearly establishes purgatory.
As Protestants, we generally regard purgatory as an unnecessary,
burdensome, and errant addition to the biblical doctrines of
justification, sanctification, judgment, and Christ's sufficient atonement.
Bodie Hodge, Ken
Ham's son in law, has been an apologist defending 6-day creation and opposing
evolution since 1998. He spent 21 years working at Answers in Genesis as
a speaker, writer, and researcher as well as a founding news anchor for Answers
News. He was also head of the Oversight Council.
Bodie
launched Biblical Authority Ministries in 2015 as a personal
website and it was organized officially in 2025 as a 501(c)(3). He has spoken
on multiple continents and hosts of US states in churches, colleges, and
universities. He is married with four children.
Mr. Hodge earned a
Bachelor and Master of Science degrees from Southern Illinois University at
Carbondale (SIUC). Then he taught at SIUC for a couple of years as a
Visiting Instructor teaching all levels of undergraduate engineering and
running a materials lab and a CAD lab. He did research on advanced ceramic
materials to develop a new method of production of titanium diboride with a
grant from Lockheed Martin. He worked as a Test Engineer for Caterpillar,
Inc., prior to entering full-time ministry.
His love of science
was coupled with a love of history, philosophy, and theology. For about one
year of his life, Bodie was editing and updating a theological, historical, and
scientific dictionary/encyclopedia for AI use and training. Mr. Hodge has over
25 years of experience in writing, speaking and researching in these fields.
*Image generated by
ChatGPT
