Could there be a heaven free of sin unless there were extensive transformation experiences after death, which Catholics call purgatory?

It is true that “without holiness, no-one can see the Lord” God – Hebrews 12:14 – and verse 23 adds that, in heaven there are “the spirits of righteous men made perfect”. At first glance, that might appear to support the Catholic teaching about purgatory as a place of refining the saved, to prepare them for the sinlessness of heaven. However, the chapter before had just listed all the faithful saints of old, like Noah and Abraham and Rahab and David, of whom we learn that God considered them righteous because of their faith, demonstrated before they died.

The chapter before that (10) explains how “we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all… because by one sacrifice he has made perfect for ever those who are being made holy [through the ongoing process of sanctification while they are alive on earth]… Their sins and lawless acts I will remember no more. And where these have been forgiven, there is no longer any sacrifice for sin. Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place [the very presence of God in heaven] by the blood of Jesus, opened up through his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God [Christ], let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful.” (v10-23)

Now, Catholicism treats justification as a process, so the idea of purgatory and indulgences would make sense if that was the case. Yet there in Hebrews we read that souls have been made holy (past tense once and for all by Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That one event has made perfect for ever those whom God justifies, and the process of sanctification from that point till they die makes them holy. God casts all their sin into His symbolic sea of forgetfulness (as in Micah 7:18-19). God’s forgiveness is total and those who believe his promises have assurance of salvation.

It is the Catholic idea of Jesus only unlocking the door of heaven, but the Christian having to turn the handle to get in, that deprives Catholics of the joy of assurance of the totality of God’s forgiveness, entirely dependent on the finished work of Christ, not their own efforts to merit enough approval before attaining a sufficiently high standard by progressing through the school of purgatory. The Catholic system teaches satisfaction for sins paid by the souls of the dead. Well, the Bible says that the blood of Christ is the SOLE satisfaction for the sins of believers, the sole expiation, the sole purgation.

Holiness is not reserved until a Christian gains entry into heaven. Even now, we find ourselves “transformed into his image with every-increasing glory” precisely as we “contemplate the Lord’s glory” (2 Corinthians 3:18). When Christ finally appears back on earth, “we shall be like him for we shall see him as he is” (1 John3:2). That is why the Heidelbeg Catechism asks, ‘What comfort is it to you that Christ will come to judge the living and the dead?’ The response of all Christians should be:

‘In all my sorrow and persecution, I lift up my head and eagerly await as judge from heaven the very same person who before has submitted himself to the judgment of God for my sake, and has removed all the curse from me.’

Yet in November 1998 pope John Paul II presented the ‘Bull of Indication for the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000’ where he mentioned the granting of indulgences. In the year 2000, they were awarded to Catholics for the performance of good deeds such as visiting sick or handicapped people, performing the rosary, or even giving up alcohol for a day. Such indulgences are said to grant amnesty from certain forms of divine punishment, to cleanse their souls in purgatory before they can be admitted to heaven. The implication is that, although a sinner may be forgiven, works must be carried out to remove the guilt associated with sin. Thus Christ’s death was only sufficient to unlock the door to heaven – not to actually throw it open wide to all repentant sinners! They still have to merit entrance by working their way through purgatory!

No - total transformation takes place at the point of God justifying sinners. That is a forensic change in standing before God and happens in a moment of time, while we are here on earth. A new creature in Christ is born; the old has gone, the new has come – 2 Corinthians 5:17, Ephesians 4:22-5:21. The assurance of heaven is given as the justified sinner grows in grace. As John Stott put it,

I have been saved - in the past - from the penalty of sin - by a crucified Saviour.

I am being saved - in the present - from the power of sin - by a living Saviour.

I shall be saved - in the future - from the presence of sin - by a coming Saviour.

too bad you never read the Scriptures, lots of questions are answered......

Sad, simply sad.

... By the which will we are sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all....

... For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.

1 Cor. 15:52 in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed. (God changes us)

I don't believe in purgatory, and cannot find anything in the bible to substantiate this idea.. Reading the story of Lazarus the beggar (a parable told by Jesus, himself) in Luke 16:19, Lazarus goes to Heaven, the rich man who wouldn't help him, went to Hell, and we are told that between Heaven and Hell is a great chasm that no one cross over.. I do not believe that Jesus would mislead us about this, even though it is just a parable..

Heaven is free of sin because Satan (the source of lies) will not be there and the ONLY thing we can do is God's will.

We will be forgiven of sin.

Impossible! Everyone has Sinned here.

Jesus got to be the Christ because he is the Only angel that has Never Sinned!