Errors and Heresies

Pastor Martin addresses the first major error concerning propitiation — paganizing it. He distinguishes the heresy of the enemies of the gospel (who caricature propitiation as capricious appeasement of an angry deity and thus deny God's wrath altogether, holding God is nothing but love) from the error of the friends of the gospel (who pit a loving Christ against an angry Father, missing the Trinitarian unity and failing to see the Father's love as the very source of propitiation). He grounds his answers in Romans 3:21-26, 1 John 1:5, and 1 John 4:9-10.

Pastor Martin treats the second great error concerning propitiation: neutralizing the need for it. He exposes the heresy of the enemies of the gospel who deny divine wrath as an attribute of God (refuted by explicit Scripture statements, historical manifestations, and Calvary itself), and the serious error of the friends of the gospel who present the gospel without starting from divine wrath. He criticizes modern 'God loves you, smile' evangelism and the 'Four Spiritual Laws' approach for violating the pattern of Romans 1-3 where Paul begins his gospel exposition with the wrath of God.