What part of, “It is Finished”, do you not understand? The dead know nothing but what their fate is. There is no praying for the dead, and there are no more blessings to be brought for the dead that they did not gain while they were alive.
You come off like you are trying to educate me on the benefits of “Purgatory”, all the while admitting I am right, that it does not and never has existed.
All works do is prove ones faith. As James says, without works, ones faith is dead. So those of us who have faith are saved, but if we do not act upon that faith by advancing the Kingdom Of God by working, then chances are we truly are not saved.
Works are the proof of our salvation, just like the fruits on a fig tree is the proof the tree is healthy. Like the fig tree that Christ cursed and thus it withered and died, so to is the works of a Christian. They are dead in their faith if they do not desire to work for Christ.
As for Purgatory, there is no works one can do while alive that will effect any dead Christian. Other than bringing a sinner to Christ, and advancing the Kingdom of God on earth, the benefits one receives from their works for Christ can only be received by the one doing the works.
No dead Christian will ever be effected by the works of those who are still living in the world, because the dead know nothing of the world and the living cannot effect the blessing of the dead.
Christ said very clearly that He provided us the salvation, and He works IN our lives to sanctify us, this ending in the purgatory/final sanctification before heaven for those saved.
Read the Bible and you will see that
you were savedRom. 8:24 " For we are saved by hope:"
you are being saved Phil. 2:12 " Wherefore, my dearly beloved, (as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but much more now in my absence,) with fear and trembling work out your salvation."
you will be saved 1 Cor. 3:12–15 "12 Now if any man build upon this foundation, gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, stubble: 13 Every man's work shall be manifest; for the day of the Lord shall declare it, because it shall be revealed in fire; and the fire shall try every man's work, of what sort it is. 14 If any man's work abide, which he hath built thereupon, he shall receive a reward. 15 If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."
1 Corinthians 6: 9-11 do you not know that wrongdoers will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men[a] 10 nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God
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The Bible does not contradict itself, it is clear that Christ's sacrifice was one-time salvation for our sins.
Those who repent, believe, eat of His body and blood and endure to the end accept this salvation
They are sanctified for heaven, right up to the final sanctification/purgatory
If you, OneVike say All works do is prove ones faith. then you contradict the Bible which says "with fear and trembling work out your salvation." and "If any man's work burn, he shall suffer loss; but he himself shall be saved, yet so as by fire."
You say "No dead Christian will ever be effected by the works of those who are still living in the world, because the dead know nothing of the world and the living cannot effect the blessing of the dead." yet ignoring scripture ""In doing this he acted in a very excellent and noble way, inasmuch as he had the resurrection of the dead in view; for if he were not expecting the dead to rise again, it would have been useless and foolish to pray for them in death. But if he did this with a view to the splendid reward that awaits those who had gone to rest in godliness, it was a holy and pious thought. Thus he made atonement for the dead that they might be freed from this sin" (2 Macc. 12:43–45)"
It is entirely correct to say that Christ accomplished all of our salvation for us on the cross. But that does not settle the question of how this redemption is applied to us. Scripture reveals that it is applied to us over the course of time through, among other things, the process of sanctification through which the Christian is made holy. Sanctification involves suffering (Rom. 5:3–5), and purgatory is the final stage of sanctification that some of us need to undergo before we enter heaven. Purgatory is the final phase of Christ’s applying to us the purifying redemption that he accomplished for us by his death on the cross.