An Act of God

In this part of the sermon: This section introduces the core question: 'What exactly does God do when he justifies sinners?' and identifies the two distinct but inseparable activities from the catechism…

Martin uses the relationship between repentance and faith (inseparable but distinct) to explain how pardon and acceptance in justification are also distinct but always joined.

So justification according to the larger catechism involves the pardon of all of our sins and the acceptance and accounting of our persons as righteous in his sight. And although these two activities of God, which constitute, his action in the justification of sinners, are always joined, always together, each one assuming the other, they are nonetheless distinct and ought to be understood in their distinctions. They're like repentance and faith. All true saving faith is permeated, is laced with repentance. All true repentance unto life is laced and permeated, and permeated with faith. Therefor...

11:16 - 12:28 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Martin provides biblical demonstration for the pardon of all sins, expounding Acts 13:38-39 and Romans 4, and referencing numerous other passages (Exodus 34, Psalm 103, Micah 7…

He notes that the sermons recorded in Acts are summaries, implying that Paul preached longer than the two to three minutes it takes to read them, to manage expectations about the depth of his own sermon.

And then he gives a bit of Hebrew history. He shows his thorough acquaintance with how God worked in redemptive history in the past and then in this summary and remember these are but summaries. You read these sermons in the book of Acts and most of them can be read in two to three minutes. God does not want us to think all they did was preach for two to three minutes.

21:08 - 21:30 Read in full sermon

The point: Take seriously that God is infinitely holy, just, and omniscient, knowing every sin, and that every sin provokes His justice and wrath.

The metaphor 'as far as the east is from the west' is used to illustrate the complete removal of transgressions by God.

oh God show me your glory and God passes by and proclaims his name central to his name he proclaims himself as the God who forgives sin Exodus 34 and verse 6 in Psalm 103 a Psalm we often sing in this place bless the Lord oh my soul and all that is within me forget not all his benefits and what's the first one mentioned who forgives all of your iniquity later on in that Psalm as far as the east is from the west east and west always chasing each other around the equator but never never meeting as far as east is from west so far hath he removed our transgressions from us and then the Psalm with ...

28:46 - 30:14 Read in full sermon

The point: Take seriously that God is infinitely holy, just, and omniscient, knowing every sin, and that every sin provokes His justice and wrath.

God's promise to remember sins no more is described as a 'self-imposed amnesia' to convey the finality of His pardon.

this is my blood of the covenant which is shed for what the remission of sin is Matthew chapter 26 and verse 28 and then when that covenant is expounded in Hebrews 8 and Hebrews 10 the crowning blessing of that covenant is found in these words their sins and their iniquities I will remember no more God has a kind of self-imposed amnesia with regard to the sins of justified sinners he says I will remember them no more I will to put them behind me and that's why he uses these different images in the book of Isaiah he talks of blotting them out like a thick cloud he says though your sins be as sc...

30:14 - 31:39 Read in full sermon

The point: Rejoice in the provision in Jesus Christ for the full, complete, and irreversible pardon of all sins.

He uses the common marital dynamic of reviving old arguments to contrast with God's complete and irrevocable forgiveness, emphasizing that God does not bring up pardoned sins again.

I will to remember them no more in a full complete irreversible act of pardon listen to how one man obviously with a flaming heart expressed it when God pardons he pardons all sins original sin and actual sins sins of omission and of commission secret and open sins sins of thought of word and deed one unpardoned sin would destroy a soul forever a single transgression can rouse an enlightened conscience of conscience to the wildest fury and every sin deserves the wrath and curse of God both in this life and in that which is to come language from the shorter catechism yet to those who believe in...

34:30 - 35:59 Read in full sermon

The point: Have a distinct apprehension of the truth that when God justifies, He not only pardons sins but accepts and receives your person as righteous in His sight, to adequately estimate this gospel privilege.

Martin quotes James Buchanan's definition of justification to underscore that it is more than just pardon; it includes acceptance as righteous and admission to divine favor.

but then I must hasten on not only does justification involve the pardon of all of our sins but the catechism says the accepting and receiving of our persons as righteous in his sight justification is an act of God in which he accepts and receives our persons as righteous in his sight before I begin to open up several key scriptures that clearly teach this I want you to listen to the words of a man who wrote what many consider to be the finest work on justification in the English language and it's not been superseded though it was written over a hundred years ago listen to it James Buchanan th...

38:52 - 40:20 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Him Jesus who knew no sin who was no sinner in himself but by imputation in the court of heaven he was constituted sin him who knew no sin he God the Father made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteous…

He quotes Bishop Hopkins to emphasize that justification is not merely a negative mercy (removing curse) but also a positive one (lifting to heaven with a right to inheritance).

forgiveness and the inheritance you find a similar emphasis in the text in Titus 3 4 to 7 we don't have time to look at all the text that are there in the word of God this again has caused one man to write how precious such doctrine is how faith lays hold of it with both hands Bishop Hopkins says it is not therefore oh my soul a mere negative mercy that God gives you in the pardon of your sins it's not merely the removing of the curse and wrath which is which your sins deserve though that alone can never be sufficiently admired but the same hand that plucks you out of hell by pardoning grace a...

49:08 - 50:38 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Him Jesus who knew no sin who was no sinner in himself but by imputation in the court of heaven he was constituted sin him who knew no sin he God the Father made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteous…

Isaiah 61:10 is presented as a picture of being clothed with the 'robe of righteousness,' like a bridegroom decking himself or a bride adorning herself, to illustrate the positive conferral of Christ's righteousness.

truth by what it sounds to us but by what God says to us in His word and I want you to consider with me in closing this morning two beautiful pictures of this aspect of justification that is that it is not only the pardon of our sins but it is God accepting and receiving our persons as positively righteous in His sight and they are but pictures if I were expounding these passages I would have to begin by saying what they were intended to say and mean in their context to Israel at this point in her history and so I'm very carefully and purposely saying they're just two beautiful pictures analog...

50:38 - 52:07 Read in full sermon

Driving home: Him Jesus who knew no sin who was no sinner in himself but by imputation in the court of heaven he was constituted sin him who knew no sin he God the Father made to be sin on our behalf that we might become the righteous…

The vision of Joshua the high priest in Zechariah 3, stripped of filthy garments and clothed in rich apparel, serves as a powerful analogy for God removing sin and imputing righteousness.

in all of His responses to His siblings later on to those who hurled insults into His faith His holy soul never felt the twitch of sinful resentment think of it never once never once His holy lips never spoke a word that in any way had the slightest flavor of untruth unkindness and that life of perfect obedience constitutes a robe of righteousness which to the penitent believing sinner becomes His when God justifies Him He is clothed in that robe of righteousness another beautiful picture an analogy that's all it is is found in the book of Zechariah second to the last book in the Bible Zechari...

53:35 - 55:04 Read in full sermon