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First of about the debt/purgatory thing. I think I said what you said but didn't say as much when I said it. Or at least I tried to.

My purpose in that regard was to clarify that anything like Purgatory simply is not in view. Purgatory is not a legitimate comparison to the orthodox understanding of the state of departed souls between death and the general resurrection. There is no further debt to be paid by the righteous, and the wicked have an eternal debt which cannot be paid off in order to attain heaven.

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The greek seems to indicate Paul is using a euphemism for "Those dead guys" but it seems to me that being dead, to the Christian anyway, is more like taking a nap than anything else.

I think part of Paul's purpose was indeed to point to the reality of the hope of eternal life for those Christians who have died. However, this is far from establishing that everyone remains in an unconscious state between death and the general resurrection. The story of the rich man and Lazarus, for one example, indicates that we remain conscious in that intervening period: the righteous dead in heavenly bliss and the wicked dead in hellish torments.

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I'm going with asleep. God's grace is sufficient to keep us out of Purgatory or we're all in a world of hurt.

We can certainly agree that the Christ's death is sufficient to cover ALL debts, none of which the redeemed will have to pay in some purgatorial state.

Kyle

I tell you, this man went down to his house justified.