he afterwards rescue his Church from all her spiritual miseries by the precious blood of the Messiah. : "And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." Mal. iii. 2. A manifest prediction of the influence of the Holy Ghost under the Gospel dispensation, by which the hearts of men are to be purified, so that "they may offer unto the Lord an offering in righteousness." "But I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." Matt. v. 22. The Romanist maintained that the three degrees of punishment here specified will all be inflicted after this life; and that the last being eternal, the two former are temporal or purgatorial. Any of our commentators will give an interpretation far more satisfactory. "Make to yourselves friends of the mammon of unrighteousness; that when ye fail, they may receive you into everlasting habitations." Luke xvi. 9. The friends were said to be the saints, by whose services the dead are benefited. Surely such a perversion of a scriptural text was never before hazarded! "And he said unto Jesus, Lord, remember me when thou comest into thy kingdom." Luke xxiii. 42. This was interpreted into a prayer for remission of sin after death but the pardon was pronounced on the Cross, and the happiness promised was to be immediate. "Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death." Acts ii. 24. These "pains of death," by which the merest babe will understand the power, or the bands of death, were by Romanists supposed to be those of Purgatory. It was impossible that he who had life in himself (John v. 26), and the promise of a speedy resurrection (ver. 25), should be holden of them. "Else what shall they do which are baptized for the dead, if the dead rise not at all? why are they then baptized for the dead?” 1 Cor. xv. 29. The expression "baptized for the dead," sets forth the efficacy of Baptism, whereby we are made partakers of Christ's death, and assured of the certainty of a resurrection. See Romans vi. 4, and the arguments grounded by the Apostle thereon. It required some ingenuity to extract from the term both fire and water, and connect the latter with Purgatory. "That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth." Philip. ii. 10. "Things under the earth" were said to be souls in Purgatory; and the same meaning was affixed to Rev. v. 3. The two latter terms simply divide men into the quick and dead. "The spirits of the just made perfect." Heb. xii. 23. Since there are spirits of just men made perfect in heaven, there must be spirits of just men not yet made perfect somewhere else; and where, if not in Purgatory? A palpable non sequitur. Because there is a Pope at Rome, it does not follow that there must be an antipope at Avignon. "If the righteous scarcely be saved, where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?" 1 Pet. iv. 18. The righteous are scarcely saved, i. e. only by passing through the fire. An inference most logical, philological, and conclusive! By such a method of interpreting Scripture, it would be easy to build up any text whatsoever into a proof of Purgatory. Take, for instance, Gen. v. 32: "Noah begat Shem, Ham, and Japheth.” Now on the hypothesis that Shem went to Heaven, and Ham to Hell, there must be some third place for Japheth; ergo, there is a Purgatory. As the authority of Matt. v. 25 is now omitted by the Romish controvertists, Berington, Husenbeth, and Wiseman, and in "The Protestant's Trial by the Written Word;" we may fairly hope that this text will shortly be added to the number of the G rejected; and that ere long all claim to scriptural authority for the existence of a Purgatory will be universally, as it is already very generally, given up as untenable ground. Note PP, p. 67. Petrus à Soto in Sacerd. Instruct. Lect. I. de Purg. Dr. Fisher, formerly bishop of Rochester, Contra Lutherum, art. 18. Father Barnes, Catholico-Rom. Pacif. sec. ix. litt. D, ad fin. Paralip. p. 130. Oxon, 1680. Courayer, in Paol. tom. ii. p. 644. London, 1736. See p. 150-152. Dr. Trevern, bishop of Strasburg, after observing that much remains for us to expiate in the other world, produces no proof of Purgatory from the New Testament, and freely confesses that nothing is known respecting either its locality, or the manner of its operations. Discuss. Amic. Lett. XIII. vol. ii. p. 242. Dr. Wiseman himself confesses that the texts he quotes in proof of Purgatory lead to " no certain results," but only "guide us to some striking probabilities." Vol. ii. p. 58. Why then, without scriptural authority, make salvation to depend upon the baseless fabric of uncertainty? CHAPTER III. SCRIPTURAL EVIDENCE AGAINST PURGATORY. To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.-ISA. viii. 20. THE preceding chapter has been occupied with the examination of those passages of Scripture, upon which the Roman Catholics more generally rely, as affording the most decisive proof of the doctrine of Purgatory. After a close and impartial consideration of these authorities, it is not too much to assume that they are utterly inadequate to the weight which they are applied to support; and that the advocates not only fail in making out their case, but appeal to evidence, which is rather calculated to undermine than strengthen their position. It now remains to produce from the same Scriptures a series of texts, which positively condemn the doctrine, insomuch that, even if the alleged passages were far more conclusive than they really are, they would be altogether unavailable against the direct testimony by which the dogma is overthrown. Whatever may be the imperfections of human productions, the Bible at least is consistent with itself; and that it can give no countenance to the fiction of Purgatory without inconsistency, a reference to its inspired pages will clearly demon strate. In the first place, it is a leading doctrine of the Gospel, that "the blood of Jesus Christ cleanseth us from all sin;" that "God is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."1 But what says the Romish Church? Not from all sin; not from all unrighteousness; but, in plain contradiction to these declarations of Scripture, she asserts that there are some venial faults, some small transgressions, for which man himself must make satisfaction either in this world or in Purgatory. Thus, although "there is now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus;" though their guilt is forgiven, and the ransom paid, they must still endure some temporal punishment, to make it more complete. "No condemnation " must be interpreted some condemnation. 993 He Again: "Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth.' "blotteth out as a thick cloud their transgressions, and as a cloud their sins." He "casteth all their |