Logic dictates that because of the severity of certain sins and the amount of people affected by these particular sins, some sins must be worse than others in the eyes of God. Sacred Scripture concurs with this idea in at least a couple of different places. The clearest example in scripture indicating different classes of sin is in 1 John 5:16 where the writer denotes serious sin as "deadly" and lesser sins as "not deadly". The Catholic Church uses the term "mortal" or "deadly" to describe serious sins, and they classify lesser sins with the term "venial". Consider the word deadly as it is used in the above passage. If the sin were deadly it could only mean that it is an offense so great that it merits eternal death, meaning the soul of that sinner would be in hell. Now consider the lesser sin. It is not deadly, so it does not send the sinner to hell, and Jesus said that there would be those in heaven who have broken the "least" of his commandments (Matthew 5:19). But Revelation 21: 27 says that nothing profane shall enter heaven, no one who has committed a detestable act. Since scripture cannot contradict itself, both verses must be equally true. So it must be shown how they coincide. It has always been the teaching of the Catholic Church that once the Christian has asked God for forgiveness in the proper manner, he is forgiven but he still has a debt to be repaid. For example, if he has stolen something, he must not only feel sorrow and ask God for forgiveness, but he must return the stolen goods as well. Many will read this and say that a person doesn’t have to make atonement for his or her sins; that Christ's sufferings covered it all. However, that's not what scripture says. Read Colossians 1: 24 where Paul says that he fills up with his own personal sufferings what is lacking in the sufferings of Christ. What could be lacking from the sufferings of Christ that Paul is hoping to make up for? According to the Church when a person suffers that person can use it to help repair the damage caused by his or her sins. In the above passage from Colossians Paul says he is using his sufferings for the sake of the Church. This is in conjunction with the passage that was mentioned from 1 John where he advises people to pray for their brothers who are guilty of lesser sins. The teachings of the Church are in perfect harmony with these two scripture passages due to the fact that Paul enjoys his sufferings because he is using them to repair the damage caused by the lesser sins committed by the members of the Church. Since a person must atone for his or her sins before he or she can enter heaven, there exists a case where one dies guilty of a lesser sin that has not been atoned for. The sin is not deadly so the soul does not deserve hell. It is still profane because it has some sin, so the soul is not worthy of heaven, yet Christ in the above verse from Matthew said lesser sinners may enter heaven. So that only leaves a third place outside of heaven and hell. A prison where the soul can make atonement for its sins. A place where sin is purged and the soul is purified, thus the Catholic Church named this place purgatory .It is true that the word purgatory is not directly used to describe it in Scripture, but that does not mean that it does not exist. For example when Christ was baptized it is known that he is God the Son, and a voice was heard from heaven that is known to be God the Father, and also seen is the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove. (Matthew 3: 16-17) Often times when people speak of these three they call them the Holy Trinity, yet they are never called that in Scripture. The point is that purgatory, like the Trinity, is not mentioned in Scripture, even though both are referred to indirectly. Purgatory is mentioned indirectly in Scripture in many places. In 1 Peter 3:18 it speaks of Christ after His death while He was in the form of a spirit He went and preached to the spirits in prison. In the next Chapter 1 Peter 4:6 it says that Christ preached to the dead so that even though they were dead in the flesh, God might give them life in the spirit. Remember that many scriptures mention that hell is eternal (Matthew 25:41, Revelation 14:11, Isaiah 66:24) so it is known that the dead in hell were not the ones Christ preached to, and the ones in heaven had already been given life so that only leaves a third place for those dead to have resided in. In Matthew 12:32 Christ mentions a sin that will not be forgiven in this lifetime or the next, which implies that some sins might be forgiven in the next lifetime. For example, a lesser sin that has not been forgiven is profane or unclean, so a person guilty of it could not enter heaven. Yet, it is not a deadly sin so one could not go to hell for it, which leaves a place where God could, in his mercy, purify them, that they might be made worthy to enter heaven. 1 Corinthians 3: 10-15 describes how a man will build different works, and that if his works fail the test of fire that will be given to them, he will be saved but he will still suffer as one fleeing from a fire. It is the belief of Catholics that the person will have to suffer for their every sin, and if he or she does not suffer enough in this lifetime, then when they are tested in death (judged) , the person will have to suffer in purgatory as one fleeing through fire. If the sins are deadly, then, as many other scriptures show, they will not even be fit for purgatory, rather they will face that everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels (Matthew 25:41). Christ mentions in the Gospels, the fact that if you do not settle the grievances you have with your neighbor you will be imprisoned until you have paid the last penny, just as Catholics believe that they will remain in purgatory until they've paid for every last sin (Matthew 5:25-26 & Luke 12:58-59). Revelation 5:13 speaks of an area under the earth that might be regarded as purgatory .It is not heaven or earth. And it cannot be hell because of the chant that is being recited. For those in hell, scripture tells us, will be wailing and grinding their teeth, not praising God. (Matthew 8:12 & Luke 13:28) In 2 Maccabees 12:39-46 we see the story of a man named Judas Maccabeus who upon finding an army of dead men took up a collection and sent it to Jerusalem to atone for the sins that he realized God had slain them for. If they were in heaven there would have been no need to atone for their sins, and if they were in hell then no atonement could save them, for hell is not temporary . (2 Thessalonians 1 :9) I ask you Who are reading this right now to picture your dearest loved ones. Now ask yourself, if they were to pass away today, would you not say at least some small prayer that God might have mercy on them for whatever small sins they might have been guilty of at death, and that he might make them fit for heaven?
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