Page:Delineation of Roman Catholicism.djvu/378

 370 PURGATORY. [BooE II. this blasphemy sludl not bforgisn him. Luke xii, 10. 4. Sins which are forgiven are not punished; mid sins which are punished are not forgiven. But purgatory, as Roman Catholics teach, is a place not where sins are remitted, but where they are punished with the greatest severity; nay, what is still more, punished after they are remitted; nay, what is still moro extraordinary, therefore punished because they are remitted. For, if the guilt were not remitted the sinner could not go to purgatory, nor have the fayour of being punished there. And, consequently, it is utterly impertinent, from the remission of some sins in the world to come, to conclude, that there is a place where a//sins, even the least, ao exacted; and that so rigidly, that there is no escaping thence, till, either by themselves or their friends, they have paid the very uttermost farthing. 5. In "the grounds of the Catholic doctrine, contained in the pro- fession of faith, published by Pope Pins IV.," we have what is meant for an argument from Scripture, on behalf of purgatory, as follows :-- "The Scripture in many places assures us, that ' God will render to every man according to his works,' Psalm xii, 12; Matt. xvi, 27; Rein. ii, 6; Rev. xxii, 12. Now this would not be true if there were no such place as purgatory; for how could God render to every one according to his works, if such as die in the guilt of any, even the least sin, which they have not taken. care to blot out by repentance, would nevertheless go straight to heaven ?" That God will render to every man according to his works is certain; and the Church of Rome gives a proof of her gross perversion of Scripture, by saying this would not be true but for her purgatory. Such declarations of Scripture have nothing to do with purgatory. If men "die in the guilt of any, even the least sin," the Bible tells us they must go to hell. But those who die in Christ do not "die in the guilt of any, even the least sin," because all their sins are washed away through the blood of Christ. It is also true of such a man, titat God will render to him according to his works. The judgment of the great day will proceed according to evidence. A man's works are the evidence of his state before God. Those who have done nothing but evil, will have their evil deeds produced as evidenc against them, and will receive the condemnation which they deserve. Those who believe in Christ are created anew to good works; they serve God, and their services and persons are accepted for Christ's sake. Not that there is merit in their works, so as to deserve a reward. There is a broad and intelligent distinction between occord/ng to works, and on account of works. But what have these passages to do with purgatory ? They speak of God rendering to men acarrding to their worlds; but the avowed language of Rome is, that the rendering to men in purgatory is not according to teir orks, but by mer/t of their works. Or, what is 'still moro unecriptural, aex. ording to the nerit of the aMr of others; or, w,lat is yet much more preposterous, according to their walth, or  rn/z/on to tAe clergy, or the suffrages of good, or even wicked men earth. They speak with great solemnity, when they choote to bt serious, of God's requiring punishment for the gtdlt o[the least sin; and yet they do most blasphemously represent him as relaxing such punishment, or remitting it altogether, for certain sums of money to be paid to the priests for saying masses. By the more grave of their 1 24'

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