Did Christ Need to Satisfy Divine Justice? Answering the Socinian Objections | John Owen

Deep Dive into A Dissertation on Divine Justice by John Owen - Objections of the adversaries answered — The Racovian catechism particularly considered — The force of the argument for the satisfaction of Christ from punitory justice — The catechists deny that justice to be inherent in God; and also sparing mercy — Their first argument weighed and refuted — Justice and mercy are not opposite — Two kinds of the divine attributes — Their second and third arguments, with the answers annexedIn his dissertation, John Owen addresses and refutes objections from the Socinians, specifically those found in the Racovian Catechism, regarding the necessity of Christ's satisfaction for human sin. The Socinians argue that neither punitory justice nor sparing mercy can be naturally inherent attributes of God. They present three primary arguments to defend this position.First, the Socinians claim that if mercy were a naturally inherent trait, God would never punish any sin, and if justice were inherent, He could never forgive any sin. They argue that God cannot act contrary to His inherent nature, just as He cannot act contrary to His wisdom. Therefore, they conclude that justice and mercy are merely effects of God's free will. Owen counters this by affirming that both justice and mercy are essential to God's nature. He explains that punishing the impenitent is not contrary to mercy, as equating the two would mean any just judge must be considered cruel. God's essence is completely simple and cannot oppose itself; therefore, punishing those without a surety does not contradict pardoning penitent believers through the satisfaction made by the Mediator's blood. Owen clarifies that God never leaves sin completely unpunished; it is always recompensed either in the sinner or in the surety, which satisfies justice.Second, the Socinians argue that the Scriptures refer to the punishment of sin as God's anger and fury, rather than calling it His justice. Owen refutes this by pointing out that the effects of God's anger are reducible to His justice, noting that what is termed wrath is also called righteous judgment.Third, the adversaries argue that Scripture actually attributes the forgiveness of sins to God's justice, citing passages from John and Romans. Owen responds that justice is a universal perfection with various expressions. The justice that forgives sin is the justice of God's faithfulness; because Christ has fully satisfied God's punitory justice, God faithfully and justly keeps His promise to forgive.Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologianYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@ReformedExplainerSpotify Music: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1t5dz4vEgvHqUknYQfwpRI?si=e-tDRFR2Qf6By1sAcMdkdwhttps://buymeacoffee.com/edi2730