Most times, our Protestant
brethren feel the teachings of the
Catholic Church are not biblical,
but my joining this debate group
is to prove that ALL Catholic
teachings are Biblical. It's not
their fault that they read and
understand the Bible how their
pastors want them to do it.
THE BIBLE TEACHES PURGATORY
There is proof for Purgatory in
the Bible. It’s in 1 Corinthians
chapter 3, verse 15. Let’s
examine this Biblical proof for
Purgatory. I will use 1611 King
James Version of the Bible, a
famous Protestant translation.
1 CORINTHIANS 3:15 IS
IRREFUTABLE PROOF FOR
PURGATORY
1 Corinthians 3:11-15- “For other
foundation can no man lay than
that is laid, which is Jesus Christ.
Now if any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every
man’s work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare
it, because it shall be revealed by
fire; and the fire shall try every
man’s work of what sort it is. If
any man’s work abide which he
hath built thereupon, he shall
receive a reward. If any man’s
work shall be burned, he shall
suffer loss: but he himself shall
be saved; yet so as by fire.”
Now let’s look at the last part of
this passage again. In 1
Corinthians 3:15, we see: “If any
man’s work shall be burned, he
shall suffer loss: but he himself
shall be saved, yet so as by fire.”
So we have a man whose works
have been judged. His works are,
in fact, burned; and he suffers
loss; yet he is saved, but by fire.
He suffers loss, but is saved by
fire.
WHAT DOES “SUFFER LOSS” MEAN
IN THIS PASSAGE?
The Greek word which is
translated as “suffer loss” is
zemiothesetai. It comes from the
Greek word zemioo – which is
translated as “suffer loss” in 1
Cor. 3:15 – are found in other
passages in the Bible. The word
is used to mean punishment. In
Exodus 21:22, Proverbs 17:26,
Proverbs 19:19 and elsewhere,
this very Greek word zemioo is
used to mean punishment. That
means that zemiothesetai, the
word translated as suffer loss in
1 Cor. 3:15, can mean
punishment.
So, the man who suffers loss and
is saved by fire can mean a man
who is punished and is saved by
fire. Doesn’t that sound just like
Purgatory? Yes, it sounds exactly
like Purgatory because that’s
what it’s referring to. But there is
more from the context to
demonstrate the point. Who is
this man, and why is he suffering
loss or punishment and being
saved by fire?
THE CONTEXT OF 1 COR. 3
CONCERNS CHRISTIANS AND
CERTAIN SINS OR BAD WORKS
The context of 1 Corinthians 3
deals with members of the
Church of Christ; it deals with
Corinthian Christian believers. 1
Corinthians 3:3 tells us that some
of these Corinthian Christians
were falling into sinful
imperfections and offenses
against God. Some of these bad
works or sins are identified in 1
Corinthians 3:3 as strife, divisions
and envying.
1 Corinthians 3:3- “… for
whereas there is among you
envying, and strife, and divisions,
are ye not carnal, and walk as
men?
So the context of 1 Corinthians 3
deals with the different kinds of
works of believers; some of them
are not so good. These different
kinds of works (good and bad)
are described in 1 Corinthians
3:12.
1 Corinthians 3:12-13- “Now if
any man build upon this
foundation gold, silver, precious
stones, wood, hay, stubble; Every
man’s work shall be made
manifest: for the day shall declare
it, because it shall be revealed by
fire; and the fire shall try every
man’s work of what sort it is.”
There are good works, which are
called: gold, silver and precious
stones. These signify a better or
more perfect adherence to the
Gospel of Christ. Then there are
other works, which are not so
good. These bad works or sins
included unnecessary quarrelling,
strife, jealousy and division (as
mentioned above). These are
described as: wood, hay and
stubble. These are the works that
are burned in 1 Cor. 3:15, for
which the man suffers loss or
punishment; but he is saved, yet
so as by fire.
This context fits perfectly with
the Catholic teaching on
Purgatory. The Catholic Council of
Lyons II defined Purgatory this
way:
Pope Gregory X, Council of Lyons
II, 1274: “Because if they die
truly repentant in charity before
they have made satisfaction by
worthy fruits of penance for sins
committed and omitted, their
souls are cleansed after death for
purgatorial or purifying
punishments….” (Denzinger 464)
Purgatory is not for those who
have died in the state of serious
(i.e, mortal) sin. All such persons
go to Hell, as is made clear in
Galatians 5:19-21, 1 Cor. 6:9, and
Ephesians 5:5-8. Purgatory is for
those of the true faith who have
been forgiven for their sins, but
have yet to make full satisfaction
for the sins they have committed
(more on this below).
Therefore, in 1 Corinthians 3:12,
the wood, hay and stubble
(which are burned) signify the
works of a man who has died in
the state of justification and has
been forgiven of any mortal sins
he might have committed. He is
therefore eventually saved, but
he hasn’t made satisfaction for
sins committed after baptism.
ANOTHER INDIRECT PROOF FOR
PURGATORY: MATTHEW 5:25
Other indirect proofs for
Purgatory are found in other
parts of the New Testament, but I
will pick just one for now. The
following parable of Jesus is an
example.
Matthew 5:25-26- “Agree with
thy adversary quickly, while thou
art in the way with him; lest at
any time the adversary deliver
thee to the judge, and the judge
deliver thee to the officer, and
thou be cast into prison. Verily I
say unto thee, thou shalt by no
means come out thence, till thou
hast paid the uttermost
farthing.”
We see that Jesus tells the
parable of the man who, for his
faults, is cast into prison until he
pays up or satisfies for his debt.
That’s exactly like Purgatory.

Nice write up with great insight