Purgatory and the Bible
Some Christians reject the Church's affirmation of purgatory because the word is not explicitly mentioned in the Bible. For that matter, neither are the words "Trinity" or "Incarnation". But for all three the teaching is there, as recognized for nearly 2,000 years in the Sacred Tradition of the Church, the very Tradition which Paul places alongside Scripture as the rule of faith (2 Thes. 2:15) and praises adherence to (1 Cor. 11:2). Jesus commands us to listen to the Church (Lk. 10:16), promising that she will never stray from the truth (Jn. 16:13, Mt. 16:18).We are saved by God's grace (Eph. 2:5). It is not earned, but a free gift merited by Christ's sacrifice (Eph. 1:6-8, Rom. 3:24). We receive grace through faith; not through our own works (Eph. 2:9), nor through the legalistic works-righteousness of the Mosaic Law (Rom. 3:28). But true saving faith is more than mere intellectual assent to Gospel facts. God in His love makes us co-workers in our own salvation (1 Cor. 3:9), and our faith must be lived, by the strength of God's free grace, in obedience (Mt. 7:21, Rom. 1:5, 16:26) and love (1 Cor. 13:2, Matt 25:31-46, Gal. 5:6). Otherwise it is dead faith which cannot justify us (Jas. 2:14-26). When we
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Some common words found in the essay are:
St Paul, Lord Heb, Gospel God, Lord's Prayer, God God, Holy Spirit, Church Lk, God Spirit, God Seraphim, Pentecost Acts, 1 cor, god's grace, god's free, free grace, christ's own, god's free grace, consuming fire, virtually fallen short, fire 1, sin earthly, love god, forgiveness world, fire 1 cor, merited christ's sacrifice, sin earthly attachments,
Approximate Word count = 1648
Approximate Pages = 7 (250 words per page double spaced)
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