Is Purgatory "Biblical"?

I wasn’t just raised Evangelical, I was formed by it. From the time I was baptized at age 20, Scripture shaped my prayer life, my theology, and my understanding of God. I loved the Bible, studied it seriously, and belonged to a tradition that insisted all doctrine must be anchored in its pages. That formation still shapes how I think and write today, and I’m deeply grateful for it. When I finally stepped into a Catholic Mass after years of wrestling, it wasn’t because I had drifted from Scripture- it was because I had followed it. Many Protestants assume Catholic theology is extra-biblical or “man-made.” I understand that instinct because I used to share it. What I’ve discovered is the opposite; Catholic theology is not a departure from Scripture- it is deeply rooted in it.

Of course, the Bible doesn’t address every topic with modern vocabulary. For example, there are no verses that explicitly say “abortion is wrong,” yet Christians across traditions and generations recognize that Scripture clearly leads us to that conclusion. Theology has always worked this way: the Church reflects on what God has revealed and, guided by the Holy Spirit, comes to understand and express it more clearly over time.

When it comes to purgatory, one of the first objections I personally had and one I often hear is, “Well, that word isn’t even in the Bible.” That’s true, but neither are other foundational Christian terms, like Trinity, Incarnation, or even the word Bible. And yet virtually all Christians believe in the realities these words describe. The Church did not invent these truths, it named them. In the same way, “purgatory” is a word the Church uses to describe something Scripture consistently points toward: God purifies, perfects, and completes His people so that nothing unclean remains when they come before Him.

At the heart of this is a deeply biblical idea: nothing unclean can stand before God or enter into Heaven.

The Old Testament: Holiness and Purification Before God

When God speaks at Sinai, the people beg Moses, “Do not let God speak to us, lest we die” (Exodus 20:19). His holiness is not comfortable but fatal to unpurified hearts. When Moses later asks to see God’s glory, the Lord responds, “You cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live” (Exodus 33:20). Even the greatest prophet cannot yet bear full divine presence; humanity, in its fallen state, is not ready for unmediated glory.

Throughout Scripture, access to God’s presence is consistently preceded by purification. Before the priests could even enter the Tabernacle, they were commanded to wash their hands and feet in the bronze basin, “that they may not die” (Ex. 30:17–21). Psalm 24:3-4 says “Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord?” only “he who has clean hands and a pure heart.”

In Zechariah’s vision, Joshua the high priest stands before God in filthy garments until the Lord Himself removes them and clothes him in clean robes (Zechariah 3:1–5). When Isaiah stands in the presence of the Lord, he cries out, “Woe is me… for I am a man of unclean lips” (Isaiah 6:5). Before he can remain in God’s presence, a seraphim touches his lips with a burning coal and declares his guilt taken away and his sin atoned for (Isaiah 6:6–7). Even a prophet must be purified before standing before God.

2 Maccabees explicitly displays the practice of praying for the dead. In CHapter 12:44–46, Judas Maccabeus offers prayers and sacrifices for fallen soldiers, calling it a “holy and pious thought.” The passage assumes that prayer for the dead is meaningful which logically implies that their state is not yet one of final condemnation (I know that Protestant Bibles don’t contain Maccabees and that’s content for a future post! For now, it is worth noting that Maccabees was part of the Septuagint, the Greek Scriptures widely used and quoted in the time of Jesus and the apostles).

The Old Testament pattern is consistent: God is holy, and those who approach Him must be purified.

The New Testament: Purification and Perfection in Christ

This theme of the believer requiring purification does not disappear with the coming of Christ. Jesus says, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God” (Matthew 5:8). Who sees God? Not merely believers or forgiven sinners, but the pure in heart; purification precedes vision. At the Last Supper, Jesus tells Peter, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me” (John 13:8). When Peter protests, Jesus explains that the disciples are already “clean” (they already belong to Him) yet they still need to be washed (John 13:9–10). They are justified and still being purified.

In Matthew 5:25–26, Jesus urges His listeners to “make friends quickly with your accuser” lest they be handed over to the judge and thrown into prison, “and you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.” This parable emphasizes the urgency of reconciliation with others and with God; failure to reconcile carries serious, lasting consequences (ie spiritual judgment). Early Christians noticed something striking about Jesus’ words: this imprisonment cannot simply refer to Hell, because Hell has no release. Yet it also cannot be reduced to ordinary earthly prison, because Jesus is speaking in moral and spiritual terms within the Sermon on the Mount. Many of the early Church Fathers (Origen, Cyprian of Carthage, Augustine, Jerome, Gregory of Nyssa) saw in this passage a hint of post-death purification- a temporary state in which what remains unpaid is finally set right before full restoration.

Then there is Matthew 12:32, where Jesus says that certain sins will not be forgiven “either in this age or in the age to come.” Why mention forgiveness in the age to come at all unless some form of forgiveness or purification remains possible after death?

The apostles continue this same thread. Paul writes that those whom God justified He also “predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son… and those whom he justified he also glorified” (Romans 8:29–30), tracing salvation from justification to full conformity to Christ. Our citizenship is in heaven, and Christ “will transform our lowly body to be like his glorious body” (Philippians 3:20–21), implying that entrance into glory involves transformation. Paul even prays, “May the God of peace himself sanctify you completely… at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Thessalonians 5:23). God’s sanctifying work in us will not be left unfinished.

The New Testament also speaks of God Himself as a “consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29). His presence exposes and heals and His love burns away what does not belong. Hebrews 12:14 makes the principle explicit: “Strive… for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord.” A few verses later we read about “the spirits of the righteous made perfect” (Hebrews 12:23). In Revelation’s final vision, John writes, “Blessed are those who wash their robes, so that they may have the right to the tree of life” (Revelation 22:14), while also declaring that “nothing unclean shall enter” the heavenly Jerusalem (Revelation 21:27).

Finally, one of the most compelling passages is 1 Corinthians 3:12–15. Paul describes believers who have built their lives on Christ, the true foundation. Their works are tested by fire; some endure, others are burned away: “...the fire will test what sort of work each one has done. If the work which any man has built on the foundation survives, he will receive a reward. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss, though he himself will be saved, but only as through fire.” Notice that this is not condemnation, because the person is saved- but there is loss. There is purification, a testing that burns away what cannot remain. For many Christians throughout history, this has been one of the clearest biblical windows into post-death purification.

The Difference Between Protestant and Catholic Interpretations

Protestants and Catholics actually agree on something fundamental: God purifies, perfects, and completes His people so that nothing unclean remains when they come before Him. The disagreement is not about whether holiness is required. It is about how that holiness is brought to completion.

Many Protestants believe that when a believer dies, they are immediately perfected and declared fully righteous because of the Cross. To suggest any purification after death, they argue, would render Christ’s sacrifice insufficient. In their view, the Cross bridges the gap between our imperfection and the holiness required for heaven. On this last point (the sufficiency of the Cross) the Catholic Church wholeheartedly agrees.

Because of the Cross, the eternal consequence of sin has been dealt with. Christ’s sacrifice is once for all (Hebrews 10:10) and nothing can or needs to be added; it is infinite and sufficient. Because of His sacrifice, the gates of Heaven are open and our status as God’s children is secure.

But salvation does not eliminate the reality of sanctification- the process of becoming actually holy. If that sanctification is unfinished at death, the same grace that saved us continues to purify us.

One common image in Protestant history is that we are like a dunghill covered in fresh snow: Christ’s righteousness covers us, and God sees only the snow. Catholicism teaches that Christ’s righteousness does not only cover us- it also heals, purifies, and transforms us.

Paul writes in Colossians 1:22 that Christ died to present us “holy and blameless and above reproach.” If I’m honest, I cannot yet say that my soul is fully “above reproach.” I still struggle with pride, impatience, selfish habits…most of us do. The question is not whether Christ has paid for those sins, because He has. The question is whether He intends merely to cover them or to fully cleanse them.

“For by a single offering he has perfected for all time those who are being sanctified” (Hebrews 10:14). Notice the tension between being perfected, and yet being sanctified. The work is finished in one sense and still unfolding in another. This passage holds together a completed sacrifice and an ongoing process of transformation.

Purgatory, then, is not a second sacrifice, a second chance, a good work, or a human repayment. It is the final application of the redemptive grace already won by Christ, bringing sanctification to completion.

The more I’ve sat with these passages, the more the message seems consistent to me from the Gospels to the final page of the Bible: salvation is real, forgiveness is complete, and holiness still matters.

God Finishes What He Begins

Heaven is not merely a change of location, it is a state of complete holiness.

So what happens to those who die loving Christ and trusting Him, yet are still deeply attached to patterns of sin and imperfection? Scripture promises, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion” (Philippians 1:6). If God is committed to finishing His work in us, why would that commitment *have to* end at death?

All Christians affirm life after death. Catholic theology simply follows that belief to its logical conclusion: if sanctification is not finished here, it is brought to completion there.

The Catechism puts it this way: “All who die in God’s grace and friendship, but still imperfectly purified, are indeed assured of their eternal salvation; but after death they undergo purification, so as to achieve the holiness necessary to enter the joy of heaven. The Church gives the name Purgatory to this final purification of the elect…” (CCC 1030–1031)

So I want to end with a sincere question for my sola scriptura friends: What evidence in Scripture points away from purgatory? What about this teaching is counter to the Bible itself- not merely to certain interpretations of it? Where does Scripture say that the process of sanctification must stop at death if God’s work in us is not yet complete?

Something I learned in my journey is that there is a difference between disagreeing with a doctrine and demonstrating that it contradicts Scripture. For purgatory (as with other Catholic teachings) the real debate is not whether it is “not biblical”, but whether it fits within the fullness of biblical revelation. And if the God of Scripture is both infinitely holy and infinitely merciful, then the idea that He lovingly completes what He began does not diminish the Cross or Biblical revelation.

It magnifies it.

REMINDER: I am not a theologian! Here are some helpful resources on this topic from Catholic experts:

Considering Catholicism (Podcast): What is Purgatory?

Ascension Press: Furnace of Divine Love

Catholic Answers: What Is Purgatory?

The Catechism of the Catholic Church, Paragraphs 1030-1032

Crash Course Catholicism (Podcast): Life Everlasting!

What you should know about Purgatory- Father Mike Schmitz

The Best Arguments Against Purgatory- and Why They’re Wrong

The Biblical Basis for Purgatory by John Salza

Ascension Press: Why Catholics Believe in Purgatory- and Why It’s Good News

Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Heaven by Peter Kreeft