Purgatory and Indulgences
The Roman Catholic Church teaches that many who die in God's grace must still be purified after death, and that indulgences from the Catholic Church's treasury of merit can remit the punishment they owe; Scripture teaches that Christ by Himself purged our sins, so that a believer who dies is at once present with the Lord.
The lesson walks through the topic one card at a time. The full study is the complete written article, with its sources.
What the Catechism and the Council of Trent teach about purgatory, temporal punishment, and indulgences
How the doctrine grew over many centuries, and how indulgences provoked Luther's theses in 1517
Why Christ's finished work leaves no debt for a believer to pay after death
How to read the passages Rome cites, and how to comfort a grieving Catholic friend with the Gospel