Answer: I respect you efforts for your parents. According to the scriptures, the protestant believers do not believe the doctrine of purgatory. There are several reasons.
1) First let’s explain the meaning of the Purgatory. The Roman Catholic Church holds the belief that if a believer is perfect then he can be with God immediately after death. For those who sinned after baptism, he/she will be in the purgatory to pay the price.
2) The Scriptures do not teach this doctrine. The basis of this doctrine of RCC is from Apocrypha. Even those books do not talk much about it. It is based on one verse only. Those teachings were not accepted by Jesus or the Apostles.
3) In fact, from the scriptures, we can conclude that the believers are with God
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a) God will be a respecter of people, which the Bible does not teach. If the rich can buy favor from God, He is not a God of true justice.
b) Salvation is not a free gift. The scriptures taught us that salvation is only through faith in Jesus Christ, not based on our own merits (Gal. 2:16).
c) The church history tells us that the RCC is corruptive and perverted the doctrines to gain money. Its leaders are going to be punished by God.
In conclusion, we can see that there is no such doctrine of Purgatory. You should not pay to the RCC. What you should do is to look into the Bible and find your true salvation. We can only be saved through the work of Jesus Christ. He died for our sins. If we accept Him as our Savior, we will have eternal life with Him when we die. You should also try to find a church that teaches Biblical
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20:10, 15).
3) Jesus taught that the goat will go to the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his servants (Matt. 25:41). The wicked servant will also be thrown into the darkness and will be weeping and gnashing teeth (Matt. 25:30).
4) Paul taught the nonbelievers will suffer eternal destruction (2 Thess. 1:9).
5) If the doctrine of annihilation is true, God’s justice is challenged.
Therefore, we can know that instead of annihilated, the bodies and souls of the nonbelievers will be thrown into the fire lake and suffer consciously and eternally. That is why we should take every opportunity to share the gospel with the non-believers. I hope you can be encouraged and really preach Jesus Christ and His salvation.
5. Many of the members of your church are confused over matters concerning eschatology because of all the different books and articles that are available. As a result your session (governing board) asks if you will take a Sunday evening to present the 4 major views held by Evangelicals--Dispensational Premillennialism; Historical Premillennialism; Amillennialism; Postmillennialism---giving the basic areas of agreement, disagreement, and the strengths and weaknesses of each. Share the major points of your