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Purgatory
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"if anyone's work shall be burned, he shall suffer loss, but he himself shall be saved, yet so as through fire. " (1 Cor 3:15)
For Protestants, 1 Corinthians 3:15 certainly ranks as one of the Pauline passages of which Peter comments in his second epistle: "In his writings there are some things hard to understand . . ." The idea that Christ will someday judge the work of the Christian to determine its value, and that some Christians will suffer for their bad works done on earth but still be saved by fire, presents some difficult and complex ideas of Pauline theology that do not mesh well with the Protestant concept of justification by faith alone. Paul's emphasis on whether one is saved as a direct result of his works seems to defy the very tenets of justification by faith that Protestants thought he established so well in the Epistles to the Romans and Galatians. As a result, Protestant theologians have formulated surprising interpretations of 1 Cor 3:15 in a desperate attempt to corroborate this obscure passage with the principles of sola fide theology. In these efforts. Protestants find themselves stumbling over Paul's plain words, and as a consequence, end up producing all kinds of distortions to the text and contradictions to their own theology.
Classical Catholic interpretation has always understood 1 Cor 3:15 as referring to the state of purgatory in which the temporal punishment due to sins committed on earth is sustained, as well as the purging of all imperfections not acceptable for entrance into heaven. The doctrine of purgatory has the unanimous support of the Church Fathers who addressed the matter, either in direct references to an intermediate state prior to heaven, or in reference to prayers for the dead. Fathers Tertullian, Origen, Cyprian, Lactantius, Eusebius, Cyril, Gregory of Nyssa, Epiphanius, Jerome, Ambrose, John Chrysostom, Augustine, Gregory the Great, Venerable Bede and second-millennium theologians such as Anselm, Bernard, Aquinas and Bonaventure supported the doctrine of purgatory. Both purgatory and prayers for the dead were upheld by the major councils, beginning with the Council of Carthage in 394 A.D. to the Council of Trent in 1554 A.D. Evidence of prayers for the dead also appeared in inscriptions on the walls of Christian catacombs in the very early years of the Church. In addition, all the liturgies of the early Church, without exception, made references to prayers for the dead.
Despite this evidence, the Protestant Reformation rejected the doctrine of purgatory, as well as prayers for the dead.
However, not until the later stages of the Reformation was the doctrine of purgatory rejected outright. Luther, as late as 1519, had said that the existence of purgatory was undeniable. This view held sway until 1530 when he lessened his support, saying that its existence could not be proven. He later rejected it that same year. In 1543, however, he permitted the insertion of prayers for the dead in the official edition of his church directory.
Overall, Protestants said the doctrine of purgatory was superfluous for those who believed they could attain heaven strictly by "faith alone." In current anti-Catholic literature, purgatory is often used by Protestants as an example of the "unbiblical" doctrines held by the Catholic Church, claiming that the Bible makes no reference to purgatory. Catholic theologians have long taught that though the word "purgatory" is not found in the Bible, the implication of a state of purgation prior to entrance into heaven is quite evident in the Scriptures. The passage of 1 Cor 3:15 has been one of the biblical texts used by Catholic theologians to support the doctrine of purgatory. Hence, many Protestants have focused their attack on purgatory by advancing alternative interpretations to the passage.
James R. White, a staunch Calvinist and prolific anti-Catholic, has written the following on 1 Cor 3:15: "But aside from this, nothing can be found to substantiate a concept of purgatory. What is judged is the sort or kind of works the Christian has done. Sins, and their punishments, are not even mentioned. It is works that are judged and put through the fire ... we must strongly affirm that this judgment is not a judgment relative to sin but to works and rewards."
Similar to White's view, the typical evangelical/fundamentalist interpretation of 1 Cor 3:14-15 views it as a preliminary judgment for Christians in which those with an abundance of good works will be personally rewarded with a crown, or some other accolade, while those with an excess of bad works will lose their chance for a personal reward. The rewards depend on the type and amount of good work performed. For example, it is believed that those who have suffered more on earth will receive a "crown of life," (based on James 1:12), while those who have led obedient lives will receive a "crown of righteousness," (based on 2 Timothy 4:8). At the same time, lackluster Christians will not receive any of these rewards, and some, according to the clause, "saved, yet so as through fire" in 1 Cor 3:15, are said to be just barely saved. The notion of "barely being saved" is even borne out in Protestant translations of the verse which paraphrase it into a description of a man who narrowly escapes from a burning building, (e.g., The New International Version: "He himself will be saved, but only as one escaping through flames").
The most curious aspect about these interpretations of 1 Cor 3:14-15 is that they seem more Catholic than Protestant, and as a result, are not very consistent with sola fide theology. Works are not supposed to be a criterion for how close or far one is from salvation since, in Protestant theology, one is saved strictly by faith, not works. The logical question that surfaces is: If faith, as Protestants believe, is the only virtue that justifies one before God, on what basis can someone's works advance or retard his chances for salvation? In addition, if works are just "fruits of salvation," as Protestants teach, why are these works being judged at all, and on what judicial basis are they rewarded or rejected'?
Bad Works And Sins: Is There A Distinction?
Most evangelical/fundamentalist theologians attempt to deal with these anomalies by simply inventing a distinction between works and sins. Most Protestants believe that Christ is not going to judge the sins of the Christian but only his "works," of which some are of good quality and others bad. "Works" are understood as judicially neutral actions that have no possibility of making one fall under God's eternal judgment. Hence, anytime the Scripture specifies a judgment for the Christian's works, Protestants presuppose that the bad works cannot be equated with sin. Since it is believed that Christ paid the punishment for all the Christian's sins, thus making judgment for sin complete, it is concluded that the judgment for bad works in 1 Cor 3:13-15 must necessarily exclude any evaluation or penalty for one's sins. Once they are made to be totally separate from sin, Protestant "works" are then available to be judged by their own merits or demerits.
Though this is a clever attempt to mesh sola fide theology with the Scripture's mandate that works are to be judged, it is seriously flawed and very unbiblical. To put it very simply, Scripture will not support a distinction between sins and bad works. Bad works are unequivocally understood as sin in the Scripture, while good works are virtues that stem from avoiding sin.
Sin And The Context Of 1 Corinthians 3
The fact that the "works that are burned" in 1 Cor 3:15 refer to sin can be gleaned from many biblical sources, not the least of which is the immediate and extended context of the passage itself. For example, in verse 17, Paul includes the warning that if anyone destroys the temple of God, God will destroy him. How one builds for God has been a pivotal point of discussion in the preceding context. For example, some are said to build with gold, silver and precious stone, while others build with wood, hay and stubble (verse 12). Apparently, those who persistently and deliberately build with defective materials, and end up destroying the temple of God, will receive the worst punishment - it is stipulated that they will be destroyed by God (verse 17). Obviously, in light of such harsh punishment, Paul does not view the actions of the brother who deliberately builds with defective materials and eventually destroys the temple as judicially neutral. He has committed a very serious sin which is adjudicated by a very serious punishment. Since the man of verse 15 has also built the temple with defective materials, albeit less destructive than the man of verse 17, his sin is of a lesser degree - but it is still sin.
When an examination of the preceding context of 1 Cor 3:15-17 is made, it can be understood how and why Paul leads up to the ultimatum of being destroyed by God for destroying His temple. In the opening verses of chapter 3, Paul accuses the Corinthians of being "fleshly" (i.e., immature or worldly) due to the "jealousy and quarreling" among them. The Scriptures are certainly clear that such selfish attitudes and bickering are sinful, even if the word "sin" is not mentioned. As noted above, if these sins become progressively worse such that one is found to be maliciously destroying the people (i.e., temple) of God, then God has no choice but to destroy the destroyer.
The Sinful Divisions In The Corinthian Church
Paul's stern admonishment of the Corinthian's immaturity is against the backdrop of the sinful divisions that were forming in the Corinthian church. The first indication of this is found in chapter 1:11-12, in which the initial reference to "quarrels" is made. Their quarrels have been the product of false allegiances created by the Corinthians themselves. One says, "'I follow Paul,' another, 'I follow Apollos,' another 'I follow Cephas,' and another 'I follow Christ."' Seeking to be like the world, the Corinthians vied against one another and thought themselves to be superior to their brethren (cf., 1:18-2:16). Paul's deep concern over these false allegiances is carried right into the context of 1 Cor 3 since in verse 4 he again refers to the same spiritual cliques formed under the names of himself and Apollos. Finally, in 1 Cor 3:22 and 4:6, Paul closes this context by a warning not to boast about men, again using the names of himself, Apollos and Cephas as reference points.
It is clear from the consistent references to the false allegiances that the Corinthian church had a major problem with internal divisions. In mentioning these false allegiances, Paul strongly warns them that they should not build with defective materials that can ultimately destroy God's temple. Within this historical context, there is no other source to which to appeal for an interpretation of the metaphors of 1 Cor 3:13-17 other than that which is already established - a context that describes the divisions in Corinth fueled by jealousy and quarreling; actions that are indeed understood as sin in Paul's mind and in the rest of Scripture (cf. 2 Cor 12:20-21, 7:8-10, 13:2-5 and 1 Cor 6:1-11 and 8:12). This analysis can best be understood when we are reminded that, to Paul, anything not of faith is sin (Rom 14:23). We might also add James' admonition that those who know what is right, yet fail to do it, have also sinned (James 4:17). These definitions of sin do not leave much room for the so-called "bad works" of Protestant theology to be anything other than sin.
One of the typical ways in which Protestant theologians attempt to show some difference between sins and bad works is by stressing the "motivation" of the action. Hence, James White claims in his book "The Fatal Flaw,": "For the Christian, the idea of not being able to present to his Lord works that were done for the proper motivation ... is a terrifying one indeed." This is another example of a theological fabrication to make the verse fit into one's preconceived ideas. Scripture simply does not teach that bad motivations are sinless. In many instances, they are the worst types of sins since they show the hypocrisy of the one claiming to be doing good works. Anything not done in faith is sin (Rom 14:23).
For further evidence that Paul is referring to sin in 1 Cor 3:15, we can look at a similar situation that occurred among the Roman Christians. In Rom 14, Paul strongly denounced them for judging one another by mere external standards. As in Corinth, some in the Roman church were deliberately eating idol meat in front of other brothers who thought it to be sacrilegious. This caused the non-meat-eating brothers to stumble in their faith. These insensitive and unloving actions caused great tension and division in the whole church. Paul describes these actions as "judging your brother," "looking down on your brother," creating "stumbling blocks," "destroying your brother," "no longer acting out of love," finally causing him to say: "Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food" (Rom 14:10,13,15,20). It is clear from these detailed descriptions that these actions are indeed sinful. Paul lays stress on the word "destroy," even as he does in 1 Cor 3:17, in relation to making a fellow brother fall into sin and lose his faith (cf. Mt 18:6-7; Rom 13:8-10).
The Catholic Solution
Since the Scripture will not allow a distinction between sins and bad works, the Protestant exegesis of 1 Cor 3:10-17 cannot be correct. But without such a distinction, there is virtually no room in sola fide theology to account for passages such as these. Consequently, since "bad works" are sins, as Catholic theology teaches, then indeed Christians will be judged for their sins and recompensed accordingly. Some will be "destroyed," some will "be saved by fire," and others will receive their heavenly reward immediately.
When everything is taken into account, the Catholic interpretation of 1 Cor 3:15 is the only one that honestly addresses all the relevant Scriptural data concerning the future judgment for a Christian's works.
First, it is clear from 1 Cor 3:17 that those who deliberately and consistently build with defective materials in an attempt to destroy the temple of God are to receive the ultimate punishment - they will be destroyed by God Himself. The final destruction Paul has in view refers to eternal damnation (cf., Ezekiel 13:10-16; 22:28-30; Luke 12:47; Hebrews 10:26-39). Second, 1 Cor 3:8 and 3:14 speaks of those whose work survives the test of fire and who will be rewarded according to their labor. The better his work, the better his reward. The reward refers to the eternal state of heaven in which, as Catholic doctrine teaches, those who have been more dedicated to the work of Christ will receive a greater reward or higher place in heaven.
(Scriptures teaching that Christians will receive rewards are: Mt 5:12; 6:1-6; 10:40-42; 13:23; 25:14-30; 1 Cor. 15:40-41; 2 Cor. 4:17; Gal. 6:7; Eph. 6:8; 1 Tim. 6:19; Heb. 10:35; 2 Jn 8; Rev. 11:18).
Third, 1 Cor 3:15 speaks of a man who builds with defective material, but it is not to the same degree as the man in verse 17 who ends up destroying the temple. Based on the difference in degree, the man in verse 15 is eventually saved, but the man in verse 17 is not. The "fire" endured by the man in verse 15 that eventually leads to his salvation is what Catholic theology understands as the state of purgatory.
(Scriptures that are understood to be referring to purgatory are: Mt 5:26; 12:32; 12:36; Luke 12:47-48; James 3:1; 1 Peter 3:19; 4:18, Ecclesiasticus 24:45; 7:37, Philippians 2:10; Jude 23; Hebrews 12:22b; Psalm 141:8; Daniel 12:10; Micah 7:9; Zechariah 9:11; 2 Maccabees 12:44-47; Rv 21:27. Some examples in which temporal punishment for sin is sustained in this life are: Numbers 20:1-13; 1 Chronicles 21:1-17: 2 Samuel 12:1-23; 1 Cor 11:29-30. Some examples of prayer, penitent mourning or concern for safe passage of the dead are: Genesis 50:10; Numbers 20:29; Deuteronomy 34:8; 2 Maccabees 12:44-45; 1 Cor 15:29; 2 Timothy 1:16-18; 4:19.)
Hence, the three divisions of 1 Cor 3:14-17 are describing: heaven (verse 14), purgatory (verse 15) and hell (verse 17).
The Catholic understanding of mortal and venial sins also comes into play here. The man of 1 Cor 3:17 has committed unrepentant mortal sin, and thus he is banished to hell (1 Jn 5:16). In God's eyes, blaspheming His name and destroying His Church are very serious sins. On the other hand, the man of 1 Cor 3:15 has also committed sin, but not as seriously or consistently. These types of sins are what Catholic theology calls venial sins (1 Jn 5:17). They do not take away sanctifying grace that leads to eternal life, but one is accountable to God for them, and will suffer the temporal punishment due them either in this life or in purgatory.
(It is interesting to note that whereas Catholic theology distinguishes between mortal and venial sin, Protestants distinguish between sin and bad works. Any exegesis of 1 Cor 3:13-17 must make some kind of distinction, yet the Protestant distinction is clearly at variance with the Scripture.
The Catholic exegesis of 1 Cor 3:15 is further supported by Paul's use of the Greek word zemiothesetai (translated as "suffer loss" in many translations). Its verbal root zemioo, has a wider meaning than merely suffering loss. It can also refer to punishment. Hence, there is a component of punishment associated with the word that is not brought out in most translations. Interestingly enough, in the Septuagint, zemioo is used only in reference to punishment. Since Catholic doctrine understands purgatory as a place to expiate temporal punishment for sin, then the lexical meaning of zemiothesetai which refers to suffering punishment fits in very well with classical Catholic teaching on 1 Cor 3:15. The Christian will suffer punishment for his bad works.
It should also be noted that the Greek word "houtos" ("yet so") in 1 Cor 3:15 is an adverb modifying the verb "sotheesetai" ("shall be saved") and points to how the man is saved, i.e., by fire. "Houtos" can best be translated as "likewise," "similarly," "just as," "in the same way," "even so," "in the same manner," etc. These words are comparative.
In context, compare the fire of verse 13 with the fire of verse 15. Hence, Paul is saying that in the same way that God's fire will purge any dross or foreign material from the work accomplished (verse 13), similarly, the fire will purge the man himself of any imperfections (verse 15). The Scriptures use two images of God's fire. One is a refining fire which makes good material better by purging out impurities (e.g., Malachi 3:2-3; 1 Peter 1:7); the other is a consuming fire that totally destroys the object in view (e.g., 2 Thessalonians 1:8; Hebrews 12:29). Those who suffer temporal punishment for sin, either in this life or in purgatory, do so under God's refining fire. On the other hand, those destined for eternal damnation suffer God's destroying fire. Catholic theology holds that these respective judgments occur for the individual immediately after death. It is referred to as the "particular" judgment. At the final judgment, one's eternal destiny is finally sealed.
Conclusion
In their interpretations of 1 Cor 3:13-15, Protestants have brought themselves back full circle to the very thing they tried to escape in the Reformation - that works play an integral part in God's final judgment of the Christian. Because the clear language of 1 Cor 3:13-17 will not allow them to avoid facing the reality of a fixture judgment for Christians, they are forced to distort the text in order to salvage the tenets of sola fide theology. Hence, in most Protestant interpretations, the judgment of 1 Cor 3:13-17 must necessarily be a judgment AFTER one is already saved, and as such, is said not to be judging the Christian's sins but only his "works." But the most important dimension in this whole discussion that Protestants fail to see is that passages in the New Testament specifying an evaluation of one's works are not speaking about a judgment after salvation, but a judgment to determine whether one will be saved or not (cf. Mt 16:26-27; Jn 5:28-29; Rom 2:6-8; 14:11; 2 Cor 5:10; Rv 20:12-13; 22:11-12).
By: Robert A. Sungenis
a former Protestant radio Bible teacher who converted to Catholicism in 1992
Published in the November/December '94 issue of The Catholic Answer
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