Scriptural Reference:
"The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is
completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you."
John 13:10

"If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we
make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
1 John 1:9-10

"Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved
from wrath through Him. For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to
God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we
shall be saved by His life. And not only that, but we also rejoice in God through
our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation."
Romans 5:9-11

"not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy
He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit,"
Titus 3:5

"For the life of the flesh is in the blood, and I have given it to you upon the altar to
make atonement for your souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for the soul."
Leviticus 17:11

"In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance            
with the riches of God’s grace."
Ephesians 1:7 

Reflection:
History: The Church of England, which is the main church of the Anglican Communion, officially rejects what it refers to as "the Roman Catholic teaching on Purgatory." Within Article XXII it clearly states that Purgatory, according to the Roman Catholic view, is considered a foolish concept, made up without any solid backing from Scripture, and actually goes against the teachings of the Bible. When the English divines (a group of educated men of the scripture) were going through their reformation, they really put a lot of energy into proving that some key beliefs of the late medieval Roman Catholic Church were off base. The main issues they tackled included ideas about salvation, church authority, and what happens after we die, with Article 22 specifically zeroing in on the afterlife.

Considerations: The "Romish (i.e. of or relating to Rome as the centre of the Roman Catholic Church) Doctrine" about what happens after we die is pretty intricate and consists of several connected elements. At the heart of it is Purgatory, thought to be a sort of waiting room for hell. This is where those who are saved but still need some cleaning up go after they die. They endure a painful process to get rid of the guilt from their sins, and this can drag on for an incredibly long period of time: Potentially over many thousands of years. Next up were Pardons, which were basically the Catholic Church's way of easing that purgatory suffering. People could get these by either making specific financial contributions or by going through certain rituals to show their devotion and humility.

Finally: Worshipping images and relics, along with calling on saints, were all part of the saintly cult that was a huge aspect of late medieval English Catholicism. This wasn't some secretive or weird religious group like today's cults; instead, it was a widespread fascination with those who had passed away and were thought to have skipped purgatory, heading straight to heaven because of their virtuous lives. People often idealised these saints by honouring their memories and showing respect to their images and relics, which were believed to hold or transmit special grace. In many cases, folks would even reach out to the saints directly to help with their prayers in assisting them in somehow redeeming their loved ones.

Naturally, the Protestant Reformers found all of this totally unacceptable. They understood that these beliefs had allowed the Roman Catholic Church to wield a massive amount of power and control over the people in Christendom. Plus, they saw the whole Roman perspective on the afterlife as just a "fanciful idea, made up without any backing from Scripture, and actually contrary to the Word of God."

Reflections: The Roman perspective on the afterlife faced challenges right from the start of the Reformation. Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 mainly tackled the issues surrounding the Catholic Church's system of indulgences. It's interesting to point out that England's first major step away from the traditional Roman belief in purgatory came with the Ten Articles of 1536. These Articles stated that for those who had passed away, "the place they are in, its name, and the type of suffering there are uncertain to us according to Scripture," emphasising that only God knows their true state. This was quite a bold statement, especially considering that just fifteen years earlier, Henry VIII had argued for purgatory in his Defence of the Seven Sacraments, which earned him the title Defender of the Faith from Pope Leo X.

So where does this leave or lead us today? The idea of purgatory suggests that Christ's sacrifice isn't enough. It's funny because the author brings this up in the article but doesn't really explain why purgatory contradicts that idea. Purgatory implies that after we die, we still have some sins that need to be cleaned up. But the Bible actually says the opposite. That is that through and by the blood shed by Jesus the Christ on the Cross we are cleansed. No vestige of sin remains. Although we may sin after baptism; we are able to repent of these and continue in our salvation.

In other words we may understand clearly that Jesus' sacrifice on the cross was a unique moment and perfect point in time and history; and through it, He covered the sins of His followers once and for all. Since He made this payment just once, and it grants redemption to believers, it means He took care of all our sins past, present, and future. Thanks to His blood, we've been given eternal redemption. By simply having faith in Him, not by our own actions, we instantly receive this eternal life and are made clean, just like the Bible tells us. God has promised to forget our sins; if He doesn't remember them anymore, why would we need to be "purified" from them?

Some might bring up verse from the book of Habakkuk; which state that nothing unclean can enter heaven. However, Jesus reassures us that if we belong to Him, we are already clean (John 13:10). While some might argue that very few will be perfectly sanctified when they die, Hebrews 10:13 clarifies that "For by one offering He, Jesus the Christ, has perfected for all time those who are sanctified," indicating that all believers are indeed perfectly sanctified.

It would seem that perhaps the concept of a place called Purgatory is more a human desire and a human creation. A place we can emotionally justify to our own consciousness that someone we know, but had never repented would be safe from judgement. So the bereaved may seek solace in a pseudo spiritual place; where some extra prayers and donations of money can sway Gods' judgement. Sadly there are plenty of religions that hold to this practice. The most obvious is of course the Roman Catholic Church. Who have published perhaps the most documents regarding in support of this doctrine. While in Buddhism has a ritual of chants for the departed. While Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox encourage followers to pray for those who have passed away, as it's thought to be beneficial for them, even though the exact way these prayers help isn't clearly explained. In the Eastern Orthodox tradition, it's just accepted that praying for the dead is somehow important. Even without justification for the practice.

Closing: In closing I'd like to emphasise the importance that we are only saved by the precious blood of Jesus the Christ. We are made clean and presentable before God, our Father and Creator, only through our salvation through the precious blood of His Son. Any human forms of intercession will never suffice. No man made rituals or practices will replace the blood of our saviour on the cross.

Prayer:

Heavenly Father,
Creator of all that is,
As well of all that is to be,
I praise your Holy Name.

For by the name of Your Son,
Jesus the one and only Christ,
I am cleansed of my many sins.
And prepared to approach you.

May my faith stay clean of,
False doctrine in mans words,
Seeking to twist your Word,
In perverse and crude ways.

Keep me ever steadfast,
In your Holy Word of truth,
In the gospel of salvation,
And my love of Jesus.

Amen