Jesus died a horrible death and for what? He didn’t do anything? He was sinless.

But humankind was not.

For since the world began,

    no ear has heard

and no eye has seen a God like you,

    who works for those who wait for him!

You welcome those who gladly do good,

    who follow godly ways.

But you have been very angry with us,

    for we are not godly.

We are constant sinners;

    how can people like us be saved?

We are all infected and impure with sin.

    When we display our righteous deeds,

    they are nothing but filthy rags.

Like autumn leaves, we wither and fall,

    and our sins sweep us away like the wind.

Isaiah 64:4-6

When Adam sinned, sin entered the world. Adam’s sin brought death, so death spread to everyone, for everyone sinned.

Romans 5:12

For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Romans 6:23

We all are Sinners

Let’s face it. We live in a fallen world. God gave us all free will. Then he gave us the Bible to show us what to do, and what not to do. He only asked us to obey. Did we? No.

If you read the Old Testament after Moses got the Israelites out of slavery in Egypt, you learn that God kept telling them to obey and they didn’t. That’s what Isaiah wrote about in the verses I read just now. Over and over God used prophets to warn the people, but they still sinned — they disobeyed.

Enter Jesus

John the Baptist declared…

“Look! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!”

John 1:29

As sinners, we are guilty. When someone commits a crime, the person is brought before a judge and jury and if found guilty, sentenced. Imagine if the person’s brother then stepped up and said, I’m going to serve the sentence in the guilty person’s place. First, no innocent person in their right mind would do that. I’ve seen where a relative would say they committed the crime when it was really the other person. But, no, in this case, the person sentenced was guilty and an innocent person steps up to redeem their sentence.

Or remember the game Monopoly? There you can get a “get out of jail free” card.

Since the wages of sin is death, we are all facing a death sentence. But God loved us so much that he sacrificed His Son to die in our place. Jesus was our “get out of jail free” card. We don’t deserve God’s Grace.

For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace, freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins.

Romans 3:23-24

Jesus’ sacrifice covers ALL our sins. Jesus carried our sins away once and for all.

If Purgatory exists, the Jesus died for nothing.

Purgatory was invented by the Catholic Church leaders in 1247 at the Council of Lyon.

When Jesus died on the cross and defeated sin and death by rising after 3 days, He gave us a non-stop ticket to Heaven. Nothing we can do physically will ever take the place of His dying for us.

Indulgences

The Catholic Church used the idea of Purgatory to raise money. And they still do — in the form of Masses for the dead.

“When a coin in the coffer rings, a soul from Purgatory springs.”

The lie the Catholic Church tells people to take their money. This is what Martin Luther opposed.

When the Pope got on Twitter, he actually told people if they followed him, he would shorten their stay in Purgatory — that’s a lie. You can’t pray people into Heaven if they didn’t know Jesus before they died.

God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.

Ephesians 2:8-9

You inherit the Kingdom of God and a place in Heaven when you ask Jesus into your heart — not because you memorized a catechism. It’s way better to have salvation security than to constantly live in doubt.

If you want your sins purged, then ask Jesus into heart right now by praying this prayer…

“Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. I believe You died for my sins. Right now, I turn from my sins and open the door of my heart and life to you. I confess You as my personal Lord and Savior. Thank You for saving me. Amen.”

Below are a couple of videos with deeper explanations about the invention and lie of Purgatory…

Recommended Bible Study Apps:

The Bible App: https://bible.com
Through The Word: https://throughtheword.org