Does Purgatory Exist?

What exactly is purgatory, and doesn't really exist. That's just one of the questions will be answering on today's addition of core Christianity hi this is Bill Meyer along with Pastor Israel Sanchez and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day.

If you'd like to talk to Pastor Israel live you can call us right now with your questions at 833 the core that's 1-833-843-2673.

You can also post your question on our Facebook, Instagram or twitter accounts. You can watch us on YouTube and you can email us with your question at questions at core, Christianity.com hey billows or from reflecting yesterday after our program on one of the questions he received from from Rachel.

She called in. I think towards the end of the broadcast asking a question about her son or son who's a part of a cold right now not walking with the Lord just how we can encourage each other, especially our family members who aren't walking with Christ and you think of parents who long to see their children walk with Jesus know Jesus love Jesus and I was I was her flooding on that question more and I was reminded of you have read a bill at St. Augustine's confessions at the story of his conversion that he that he tells and he talks about how it was his mother's prayers every day praying for him. He says that she watered the ground with her tears and was so encouraging to me about the story that he tells it is essential yet he didn't come to faith until later in life and yet he came to be perhaps the greatest theologian in all of the Western churches, so he gets converted later in life. And yet God really use them in this mighty way and and he goes to his mother's prayers as we know, my mom prayed for me every day just what an encouragement. I think for mothers for parents to pray for their children.

Your your adult children not walking with the Lord necessarily. It's easy to feel like oh, and of the times up that kind of thing but no prey. Keep praying because the Lord can do mighty things, that is so true and that we do have so many parents listing right now I know who are just experiencing a lot of pain because of prodigal children who have really know they were brought up in the faith they they walked away for one reason or another.

And yes, to pray for them and not give up hope. God is in the you know he's in the business of miracles now absolutely certainly change someone's heart as he did with Augustine so great, great reminder for all of us will. Here's the phone number to call if you have a question for Pastor Israel. It's 1-833-843-2673 if you want to spell it on your phone is 833. The core let's go to Mike calling in from Kansas City, Missouri Mike, welcome to core Christianity. Thank you for having me appreciated Mike with your question brother get didn't get to hear from you again by Q call before I tell you a couple weeks ago.

So thank you for calling back. What's your question curious as to why God created the tree of knowledge not buying that Adam and Eve would eat also. Why even created in the first place.

You know, like, like a hungry state and from the hungry person are hungry stadiums are taken from a hungry person and then sand don't need it.

You know, yeah know what I mean is that's an interesting way of putting it. You think of all the things that the Lord did give to Adam and Eve there in the garden. I mean it just seems like he was lavished just an abundance of everything that you see it's it's for you, go ahead and take it.

Go ahead and eat it but there's one thing I don't want you to touch and what were thinking here about Genesis chapter 2 in verse 16 we read, and the Lord God commanded the man, saying, you may surely eat of every tree of the garden, but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat it for in the day you eat it when the day you eat of it you shall surely die. So I don't I don't fit so much. As you know, God putting a nice big stake in front of a hungry hungry, that man or woman and just okay what you get a do know the Lord had given them everything she got was over the top generous with Adam and Eve and he said here's the one thing you can't do and yet it's what they did. Now why did God, why did God put the tree of the knowledge of good and evil there in the first place a minute think were kind of getting into into some speculation here but but the purpose for the trees. It was the sort of test for Adam and Eve there in the garden. We might refer to this is a period of probation in the Lord is really saying it'll is man going to follow me as man going to obey my word. They were left to add, many will left to the freedom of their own wills and they chose to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil and sin entered into the world and and the rest is history. A be on the very next chapter you have the promise of the gospel in Genesis chapter 3 verse 15 were were told that the seed of the woman is going to crush the head of the serpent and so I think one thing we can say is that God doesn't allow anything to do take place that he hasn't purposed how is already going to resolve the issue in and we see that we see the promise of the gospel in the very next chapter, but the Lord was testing Adam and Eve.

There he left them to the freedom of their wills and they chose to eat of it and they fell and we fell in them as well. Paul says this and in Romans chapter 5 verses 12 and following it so I don't know that there's a lot more that we can say about that. But one thing I do want to stress is God's generosity.

This wasn't God that you know setting them up for failure. That kind of thing know is that everything is yours every tree. Go ahead and eat of it, but of this tree, you shall not eat, and they fell they they sin, they chose to disobey the Lord and so thank you again Mike for your question.

Good to hear from you brother and may the Lord bless you. You're listening to core Christianity with Pastor Israel Sanchez would love to hear from you. 833. The core is the number that's 1-833-843-2673 voicemail comment from one of our listeners in New York State, I love your show. My question is about purgatory is purgatory saying that people go to and we have to pray for them. They are otherwise there stuck there forever as I heard that people go to purgatory and if nobody prays for them there stuck there. I think I read it in like a Fatima prophecy book okay I suppose I should look at myself but I wanted see what you guys think about that. Thank you so much God bless thank you for being there by any one let me to say thank you for your encouragement.

I'm so glad to hear that you enjoy the broadcast.

Keep listening want to keep encouraging you and up purgatory will one. I don't believe that purgatory is a biblical doctrine is taught in in some churches, like the Roman Catholic Church and the idea is basically that an individual who dies in a in it when I call a state of grace. You know that there there truly a believer, but they have not yet been perfected to the point of being able to enter into the presence of God and so they have to go through this sort of. Of purgation, a period of cleansing in order to get them ready to enter into the presence of God and you know what that you help had all sorts of doctrines it developed in the medieval church where you you had people who were told that they needed to pray for their deceased relatives who were in purgatory so that they might enter into heaven that puts a huge burden on the family members of of those who have died. The fact of the matter is, look, the Bible teaches that through Jesus is once for all sacrifice you when I enter into the presence of God is one verse that I want to point out for you in the book of Hebrews chapter 10 verse 14 and it's referring to the sacrifice of Jesus Christ the author. The Hebrew said for by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified, that is Jesus by his single offering, the offering up of himself on the cross through his blood, he has perfected for all time. The people of God.

Those who are being sanctified it so important that we understand this were not perfected by our works and were not perfected by our suffering here on earth or in in heaven and that word perfected by the way, in the book of Hebrews that sort of this technical term it means to be made fit to enter into the presence of God to come before God in worship actually can in two chapters after that, and in Hebrews chapter 12, the author, the Hebrews talks about coming to God in worship and coming before the heavenly Jerusalem that he says in Hebrews chapter 12 verse 23 says we go to the assembly of the firstborn who are enrolled in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and to the spirits of the righteous made perfect again there's that word again perfect will.

How are we made perfect, that is how we made fit to enter into God's presence is through the blood of Jesus.

The blood of Jesus was sufficient to get us into the presence of God to get us into heaven, and so that that's what we we rest in sister that's that's that's our hope ultimately is not my righteousness. It's not my suffering, it's the work of Jesus Christ. And so now I don't I don't believe that purgatory is a biblical doctrine that they we can rest in the work of Jesus to some people wonder what and where did this doctrine come from. It seems to have developed over time.

In some churches, a lot of a lot of people will appeal to what are known as the Apocrypha that is the sort of extra biblical books that were written around the time of after the book of of Malachi and in leading up into the time of the New Testament. These these apocryphal books and some people will appeal to those books in order to to make a case for the doctrine of purgatory, but we don't we don't view those books as a part of holy Scripture. And so we want to make sure that were getting our doctrine from the inspired word of God, and I think we look at God's word. You don't get the doctrine of purgatory.

Thank you so much for for your question you may the Lord bless you and there were certainly some misuses of that doctrine back in the Middle Ages's where the church would actually have people paid to get people out of purgatory. So if uncle Bob was, you know, being the toasted there. We would pay small homes to get them out right yeah well you know that there certainly were abuses that I think everyone is willing to admit that and it is a tragic thing you know when you think of using doctrine or theology in order to take advantage of people and that was happening in the medieval church is a part of why you had the Protestant Reformation, which was essentially a recovery of biblical doctrine say let's go back to the word of God. What does the Scripture teach and I think for each and every one of us that's the question we have to ask ourselves what we were thinking through what it is that we believe about God.

Let's not invent it, make it up in our minds. Let's go to what God is revealed in his word and and so that's we want to do here on this program with you. Give us a call 833-843-2673 we got an email from Marcy, and here's what she asks is having a prayer language biblical Marcy sounds like your you're probably referring to the gift of tongues that's described in the Bible you know sometimes people call that a heavenly prayer language and in the first thing I was is what we just did understand what the gift of tongues was there's a lot of confusion about this in the church today. The gift of tongues and you really see in the book of acts in acts chapter 2 the day of Pentecost the spirit of God fell on the church and on the apostles. They are gathered together in the upper room and they began to speak with new tongues and Luke records that the whole thing.

In acts chapter 20 says that they were declaring it of the mighty works of God and people were there gathered gathered together for the feast. Hearing the disciples speak in these languages that they had never heard as their proclaiming God's praises and so the gift of tongues. There is, it was these real languages given to these these disciples of our Lord, by the grace of the Holy Spirit the ability to speak in a in a language that they had never heard to essentially communicate the truth of what got it done now.

Other places talk about this gift as well. You see Paul with that extended discussion on spiritual gifts in first Corinthians 12 through 14. There he refers to the gift of tongues. In chapter 14 the importance of having an interpreter present. If the gift was being used in the context of the local church and apostles. If there is no interpreter. How are people going to say amen at your giving of thanks and so again it was this prayer language to God where the individual had never learned had never learned the language with the spirit of God was was working in them miraculously to pray in this unknown tongue and their praising God worshiping God, thanking God in this language they had never learned to pulses of it. If it's happening in the church there needs to be an interpreter so other people can say amen let me to say and a lot of charismatic churches today from from what I've seen you don't have interpreters when when people are speaking in in tongues cortical and I think that's that's what caused it to ask some questions. Now is it biblical for Christians today to have a heavenly prayer language. I believe that those languages those gifts of the Holy Spirit were especially given for the early apostolic error of the church as a way of confirming and attesting to the reality of the gospel. The signs and wonders were never an end in and of themselves they were always meant to point us to the work of Jesus.

What he had done for us on the cross and this is absolutely clear in places like Hebrews chapter 2 beginning in verse one. Listen again. What the author the Hebrews that he's talking about the importance of hearing the gospel, the word of God. He says therefore we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it for since the message declared by angels proved to be reliable, and every transgression or disobedience received a just retribution. How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation. This is this it was declared at first by the Lord and it was attested to us by those who heard while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by the gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will is easy to see with the author. The Hebrews is saying they think these these sign gifts. These gifts of the Holy Spirit were given as a confirmation of the holy gospel to attest to the reality of what God had done in his son Jesus Christ has. I take it that those gifts were, in particular for that time, that now that the gospel has gone out that we have the word of God that ordinarily God doesn't do those things that he doesn't need to, and is what I think that we want to be really careful and, ultimately, is, as I've been saying go back to the Scriptures in order to determine what it is that we believe about God's word and how we should live as Christians, and we don't, there can be a lot of confusion. This is core Christianity with pastor Israel Sanchez and by the way, today we have a very special resource we want to tell you about. It's actually one that Israel created himself, and is called seeing Jesus. We want to help you fix your eyes on Jesus Christ through the Scriptures now in their all these stories in the Gospels that I think believers have not dug deep enough into Jesus in such a beautiful way reveals himself over and over and over again in the Gospels and in so seeing Jesus takes a number of these stories in the Bible and it unpacks them week we do a deep dive sort of it. In order to understand better who Jesus is one of the one of the stories I get into in seeing Jesus is when Jesus cleansed the temple.

I love that story because it's so shocking of you think of where Jesus would go and turntables upside down. If he was on earth today, we might say how he would go to you know that the bars he would go to the strip clubs that kind of thing.

Where did Jesus go to turn the tables upside down when he was on earth during his earthly ministry he went to the temple. What a shock to everyone. He was essentially he was essentially exposing the hypocrisy there and I think sometimes we don't see Jesus as that mighty warrior who exposes hypocrisy in and goes to war against sin and and it's important that we do because we need that today and so that's one of the things I talk about is seeing Jesus hope to get a hold of this resource. It's yours for free. All you have to do to sign up to get the resources head over to core Christianity.com/Jesus that's core Christianity.com/Jesus. You can also call us at 833-843-2673 for help getting any one of our offers again that numbers 833 the core by the way, one of the ways you can connect with us here at core Christianity is through our YouTube channel. You can actually watch the broadcast live every day. 11:30 AM Pacific time. 130 central time. 230 Eastern time. You can check it out on YouTube. You can also check out previous episodes on our YouTube channel and Linda posted this on YouTube. She says does fasting have to be from all food in our church we say fasting can be giving up anything that we think we can't do without. I'm a diabetic on insulin so I just fast from all junk food and wheat and I thank you so much for that question sister. I personally don't think that that fasting just has to be Bill fasting from food, or even from all food you know there were different kinds of fasts in the Bible, Daniel, for example, when he fasted he didn't fast from all food he just fasted from the king's delicacies.

Jesus said in Matthew chapter 6, verse 16.

When you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that there fasting may be seen by others. Truly I say to you they have received their reward. But when you fasten on your head and wash your face that your fasting may not be seen by others by your father who is in secret, and your father who sees in secret will reward you.

I think it's important that we understand you know what fasting was and is, I think it's a legitimate spiritual practice that we can do as Christians typically was associated with with times of great difficulty and trial. When the people of God were suffering under some calamity or struggling with something they would fix their faces on the Lord and they would they would proclaim a fast. It was a look. We need that we need to focus on God and drawing near to him were knocking to be distracted by these other things and so fasting is really an opportunity for us occasionally to draw near to the Lord to fix our eyes upon him.

We don't fasted you to lose weight.

We don't have them that at least the not it is a spiritual practice we fast first and foremost to commit ourselves to prayer and to drawing near to the Lord and Jesus tells us right there. How how we how we ought to do it as his followers. And in verse 16 of Matthew chapter 6 and so whether that's you know fasting from all food or some foods or maybe other things that distract you in your life.

Maybe it's social media. I think most of us could probably do without social media for some time to fix our eyes upon the Lord, and so that so that's what I was said you sister thank you so much for your question and may the Lord bless you about ice cream fasting from ice cream yet no definitely not cream.

You never want to set that aside, man. That's my favorite. And so I would say no. This is core Christianity with pastor a drill Sanchez. Here is our phone number is 833. The core let's go to Sheila from Omaha, Nebraska Sheila, what's your question for pastor. Israel I can hear you Sheila will answer that you know all the hairs on your hand, your body knows everything about your life.

Now that we can make the tree now not know these things ahead of time and know what you know all the other that he knows man is going to choose or not and and also what creates you create that that that the devil has about all so she let it sounds like it sounds like you're asking alike. God knows everything. This is a good question and one that we get all the time God knows everything.

Why would he allow these things to take place.

Why would God create a world in which he knew we were going to sin, and I sort of touched on it in the first question. Like you said, but the fact of the matter is, God is able and this is the amazing thing about the God that we serve God is able to use and to take even the sinful actions of people like you and I and turn them around for our good and his glory, me, this is this is wild but it just shows us how powerful our God is and I think that the way wheat we can prove this is by looking at passages like acts chapter 2, what, where, basically, you have Peter preaching that he says in acts chapter 2 verse 22 men of Israel, hear these words, Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst as you yourselves know this, Jesus delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. In other words, Jesus, the eternal son of God was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, and yet God is not guilty in the sins of the people they crucified Jesus the empiricist you crucified and killed him a little bit later in in acts chapter 4, you have something similar.

Peter says for truly, in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place not let this just blow your mind for a second Peter is saying here as he sprang to the Lord is saying God you're in control, the crucifixion it happened, according to your definite plan. What you foreknew what you predestined and yet somehow God was using the sinful actions of people in order to accomplish the redemption of humanity. They crucified him, but it was the crucifixion of Jesus Sheila that led to the salvation of his people and so we can praise God because we can say wow God you are so powerful you're so in control you can use our sins, even for your glory. Thanks for listening. Christianity request your copy of today's special offer. Visit us at core, Christianity.com and click on offers and the menu bar or call us at 1-833-843-2673. That's 833 when you contact us. Please let us know how you been encouraged by this program and be sure to join us next time.

As we explore the truth of God's word together