The Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner satirizes an element of Scottish Calvinist belief that was prevalent in the 17th century. According to this much-debated doctrine, certain members of the designated church were predestined to enter heaven. Since they were members of the chosen church, they would be chosen by God for salvation. Since they were chosen by God, their actions were inherently moral, as they were pre-approved by an almighty divine being. The preacher Robert Wringhim is an advocate for this belief. Rabina and her son Robert are members of his congregation, believing that this makes them “justified” people. Robert is raised in this environment, though he struggles with the logical parameters of the doctrine. Robert knows that he has sinful thoughts, yet he has been raised to believe that he is inherently blessed by God. His sins are not like the sins of others, distinguishing him from those outside Wringhim’s church and lending him an arrogance and a sense of entitlement that is resented by many other people in the society. Outside of political and spiritual differences, men like Laird Colwan dislike Wringhim and his concept of predestination on a personal level.

Robert considers himself a justified person.