Justice of God

Pastor Martin begins the section on 'The God Whom We Worship and Confess' by laying down the fundamental proposition that there is but one true and living God. He then develops the first of four major assertions about Him: that this God is the God of absolute perfection, perfect in Himself (self-sufficient and needing nothing), perfect in all His attributes (every attribute infinite and held in perfect balance with the others), and perfect in all His ways and works as testified by Moses, David, and the redeemed in heaven.

Pastor Martin begins a focused study on Christ's priestly sacrifice, establishing first the fact of His priestly sacrifice from Ephesians 5:2, Hebrews 9:24-28, and Hebrews 10:10-12. He defends the Bible's unequivocal presentation of Christ's death as a true, bona fide priestly offering to God rather than a mere example of self-giving. He then begins to unfold the context of sacrificial activity — the reality of God as holy, just, and gracious, and of man as accountable, guilty, and polluted.

Pastor Martin sets the doctrine of justification within the supportive framework of three indispensable truths without which it cannot be rightly understood: the character and position of God as holy and just Creator and Judge, the character and position of man as accountable creature and guilty sinner, and God's overall ultimate purpose to conform His people to the image of His Son. He warns that whenever justification has been wrenched out of this larger context, it has suffered grievously even at the hands of its friends.