“The papists quote Augustine and some of the Church Fathers who are said to have written about purgatory. They think we do not understand why they spoke as they did. St. Augustine does not write that there is a purgatory. Nor does he have evidence from Scripture as a basis. Rather, he leaves it in doubt whether purgatory exists…Our papists, though, cite such human opinions so people will believe in their horrible, blasphemous, and cursed traffic in Masses for souls in purgatory.”
The Smalcald Articles, Article II: The Mass (Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions, page 291, 13-14)
Lutherans laugh at the very notion of a purgatory primarily because it is found nowhere in Holy Scripture. Yet, a deeper reason exists for one to giggle when the word is uttered. For if there is a purgatory, then Christ’s sacrifice wasn’t enough to pay for our sins. And if Christ’s sacrifice isn’t enough, then we’re all in trouble.
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The Roman teaching, just to be clear, is that Jesus’ sacrifice fully paid our *eternal* punishment, but then they make a distinction between that and “temporal” punishment. Christ’s sacrifice apparently didn’t cover that, for some reason. So you have to work it out yourself, in purgatory.
And I do agree it’s all nonsense. But I have a question for you. You say Lutherans laugh at it “primarily because it is found nowhere in Holy Scripture.” But I have just been rebuked by a Lutheran for supposing a thing had to be in Holy Scripture for Lutherans to accept it. What she told me is, unless it is *contradicted *by Holy Scripture, it might be acceptable. even if it isn’t IN Scripture. Is she right?