Did Martin Luther accept or reject the existence of Purgatory?

Martin Luther rejected Purgatory. His primary objection that officially started the Protestant Reformation in 1517 was directed to the abuses in the church in general and the Pope and the sale of indulgences in particular. When he wrote about indulgences, he stated:

“There is no divine authority for preaching that the soul flies out of the purgatory immediately the money clinks in the bottom of the chest”

Some claimed that since he only argued against the sale of indulgences, he may still have believed in purgatory. However, as the teaching of Sola Scriptura (Scripture alone) became more defined, he later wrote in particular regarding purgatory:

"Of purgatory there is no mention in Holy Scripture; it is a lie of the devil, in order that the papists may have some market days and snares for catching money. . . We deny the existence of a purgatory and of a limbo of the fathers in which they say that there is hope and a sure expectation of liberation. But these are figments of some stupid and bungling sophist."

(Thanks to Pastor Jeff Robinson,Ph.D., Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, Credo Magazine and the book, 'Roaming Catholics: ending the wandering to embrace the wonder" by this author, Chapter 18: Purgatory - Dust on the chalkboard)

Before one asks the question, "what did Luther believe" about a given topic, it's good to ask a different question first: "When did Luther believe?" I mention this because, in many ways Luther was alone. Sure, there were many, many church fathers who often erred and contradicted each other (as he spoke at the Diet of Worms). But he was alone in sorting out the good, biblical voices from the less-than-helpful ones. I mention this because there were areas in which Luther grew over time (e.g. he started out with a less than savory evaluation of James. But, by the end of his life he was fine with it). There is evidently a tug of war in this issue in Luther's life. For example, in the 95 theses he writes:

• 1. When our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, said “Repent”, He called for the entire life of believers to be one of penitence.
• 82. They ask, e.g.: Why does not the pope liberate everyone from purgatory for the sake of love (a most holy thing) and because of the supreme necessity of their souls? This would be morally the best of all reasons. Meanwhile he redeems innumerable souls for money, a most perishable thing, with which to build St. Peter’s church, a very minor purpose.

Even though Luther in 1517 had much to learn about the bible, he knew enough to know that what was going on across the river as Tetzl sold indulgences from purgatory was directly against the bible.

Towards the end of his life Luther wrote the Smalkald Articles. They are a sort of Last will and testament of Luther as to what he believed. And they are among the official documents of the Lutheran church. In them he gives his final judgment on purgatory:

Confession worked like this: Each person had to enumerate all of his or her sins (which is impossible). This was a great torment. Whatever the person had forgotten was forgiven only on the condition that when it was remembered it still had to be confessed. Under these circumstances people could never know whether they had confessed perfectly enough or whether confession would ever end. At the same time, people were directed to their works and told that the more perfectly they confessed and the more ashamed they were and the more they degraded themselves before the priest, the sooner and better they would make satisfaction for their sin. For such humility would certainly earn the grace of God.104

Here, too, there was neither faith nor Christ, and the power of the absolution was not explained to them. Rather, their comfort was based on the enumeration of sins and humiliation. It is not possible to recount here what torments, rascality, and idolatry such confession has produced.105

Satisfaction is truly the most intricate of the three because no one could know how much should be done for each individual sin, to say nothing of all sins. Here they came up with the following solution: they imposed a few satisfactions that a person could easily fulfill, such as saying the Lord’s Prayer five times, fasting for a day, etc. For the penance that remained people were directed to purgatory.

Here, as well, there was only pure misery and destitution. Some imagined that they would never get out of purgatory because, according to the ancient canons, each mortal sin carried with it seven years of penance.106 Still, confidence was placed in our work of satisfaction and, if the satisfaction could have been perfect, confidence would have been placed totally in it, and neither faith nor Christ would have been of any use. But such confidence was impossible. If they had done penance for a hundred years in this way, they would still not have known whether they had been penitent enough. This means always doing penance but never arriving at repentance.

At this point, the Holy See of Rome came to the rescue of the poor church and established indulgences. With these the pope forgave and remitted the satisfaction, first for seven years in a particular case, and then for a hundred years, etc. He also distributed indulgences among the cardinals and bishops, so that one could grant a hundred years and another a hundred days. However, the pope reserved for himself alone the right to remit the entire satisfaction.107

Once this practice began to bring in money and the market in bulls became lucrative, the pope devised the jubilee year — which offered the forgiveness for all penalties and guilt108 — and attached it to Rome. The people came running, because everyone wanted to be set free from this heavy, unbearable burden. This was called “finding and digging up the treasures of the earth.”109 Immediately, the popes rushed headlong and established many jubilee years, one after another. The more money he swallowed, the wider his gullet became. Therefore, through his legates he dispatched his jubilee years across the lands, until all the churches and every home were overflowing with them.110 Finally, he stormed into purgatory among the dead — first with Masses and the establishment of vigils; after that, with indulgences and the jubilee year. In the end, souls became so cheap that one could be sprung for a nickel.111

Even this did not help at all. For although the pope taught the people to rely on and trust in such indulgences, he himself once again made the process uncertain when he asserted in his bulls, “Whoever desires to partake of the indulgence or the jubilee year should be contrite, go to confession, and give money.”112 We have heard above that such contrition and confession are uncertain and hypocritical among them.113 Similarly, no one knew which soul was in purgatory, and, of those that were supposedly there, no one knew which had been truly contrite and had confessed. Thus, the pope took the money, comforted people with his authority and indulgence, and nevertheless directed them once again to their uncertain works.

Robert Kolb and Timothy J. Wengert, eds., The Book of Concord: The Confessions of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (Accordance electronic ed. Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2000), 315-316.

Summary Luther grew in his understanding of the bible. Luther begins, early on questioning purgatory. Then there's a tug of war. Finally, for almost the last 20 years of his life he was clearly and definitely against purgatory (as the quote from the Smalcald Articles shows).

Pastor Steve Bauer (http://stevebauer.us)

Reading through Martin Luther's sermons, it appears he clearly rejected purgatory as early as 1524, with doubts beginning as early at 1522

Luther on Purgatory A Sermon by Martin Luther; taken from his Church Postil of 1522.

Christmas Eve service

THE APPEARING OF THE GRACE OF GOD.

Many depend upon purgatory, living as it pleases them to the end and expecting to profit by vigils and soulmasses after death. Truly, they will fail to receive profit therein. It were well had purgatory never been conceived of. Belief in purgatory suppresses much good, establishes many cloisters and monasteries and employs numerous priests and monks. It is a serious drawback to these three features of Christian living: soberness, righteousness and godliness. Moreover, God has not commanded, nor even mentioned, purgatory. The doctrine is wholly, or for the most part, deception; God pardon me if I am wrong. It is, to say the least, dangerous to accept, to build upon, anything not designated by God, when it is all we can do to stand in building upon the institutions of God which can never waver. The injunction of Paul to live rightly in this present world is truly a severe thrust at purgatory. He would not have us jeopardize our faith. Not that I, at this late day (when we write 1522), deny the existence of purgatory; but it is dangerous to preach it, whatever of truth there may be in the doctrine, because the Word of God, the Scriptures, make no mention of a purgatory.

Sermon for the Epiphany

A Sermon by Martin Luther; taken from his Church Postil of 1522.

However, should it be said: In this way purgatory will also be denied, I will answer: You are not a heretic for disbelieving in purgatory, as there is nothing said about it in the Scriptures. And it is better not to believe that which is outside of the Scriptures, than to depart from that which is in the Scriptures. Let pope and Papists here rage as they please, who have made purgatory an article of faith because it has brought to them the wealth of the earth but also countless souls to hell, souls that depended and relied on good works for redemption from it. God gave no command concerning purgatory, but he did command us in no way to consult the dead nor to believe what they say. Consider God more truthful and trustworthy than all angels, to say nothing of the pope and the Papists who, as all their work is but lying and deceiving, awaken but little faith in purgatory. However, if you want to pray for the dead, I will not interfere. I am of the opinion that purgatory is not so general as they say, but that only a few souls will enter it. Still as I have said, it is without any danger to your soul if you do not believe in a purgatory. You are not called upon to believe more than what the Scriptures teach.

But should they advance also the sayings and comments of Gregory, Augustine and other saints concerning purgatory, then remember that I have already told you how far these saints are to be followed and believed. Who will assure us that they did not err and were not deceived here as in many other things.

Easter Tuesday, or Third Easter Day

A Sermon by Martin Luther; Taken from His Church Postil, 1524

But the Scriptures do not say, nor give any example, that such are the souls of dead persons walking among the people and seeking help, as we, in our blindness and deluded by the devil, have heretofore believed. Hence the pope has, also, invented purgatory and established his shameful annual market of masses. We may well see in this false doctrine and abomination as a fruit, that the foundation on which it is built, namely the doctrine of the migration of souls, comes from the father of lies, the devil, who has deluded the people in the name of the dead.