A Fight Worth Picking (week 2)

The following blog entry is part 2 in a series of blog posts entitled “A Fight Worth Picking,” in which I’m writing practically about John’s Owen’s Biblical principles for fighting sin in ‘The Mortification of Sin.’  I’ll be referencing Banner of Truth’s 2004 edition, abridged by Richard Rushing.

As stated last week, click here for a more detailed outline of Owen's work.

In Owen’s first four chapters he lays out 3 guiding principles that must overarch a Christian’s fight against sin.  As we battle our own sin, we need to meditate on these principles so that right thinking precedes right living.  They are:

1.     The Mortification of sin is essential to the Christian life.

2.     The Mortification of sin is the work of the Holy Spirit.

3.     The Mortification of sin is key to living an abundant life.

To summarize:  (1) We all must fight sin, (2) we can’t fight sin on our own, and (3) we won’t be joyful apart from fighting sin.

First, we must not view this fight, whatever it entails, as optional (Col 3:5).  “There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled” (p.7).  Mortifying sin is not for mature Christians only, or for those who ‘feel’ the weight of sin.  Each Christian has unmortified sin abiding and active (Phil 3:12; Gal 5:17; 2 Cor. 7:1) and must, therefore, continuously render death blows.  If we see this work as a maybe, and not as a must, we can expect spiritual decay.  (Rev 3:2; 2 Pet 3:18; Gal 5:19-20; Heb 3:13)

…even though there is in this generation a growing number of professors, a great noise of religion, religious duties in every corner, and preaching in abundance, there is little evidence of the fruit of true mortification…

…the number of true believers is not as multiplied as it appears from those who have made a mere profession.  Some speak and profess a spirituality that far exceeds the former days, but their lives give evidence of a miserable unmortified heart.” (p.11)

Second, we mustn’t view the mortification of sin as something we undertake, or accomplish, on our own strength.  In fact, though Owen will discuss ‘our role’ in mortifying sin, he makes this Biblical point clear – the Holy Spirit alone can destroy the sin that remains in us (Ez 11:19; Is 4:4).  Amazingly, and consistent with Scripture’s teaching on God’s sovereignty and our responsibility (Phil 2:13; Is 26:12), God’s work in us does not negate our own effort.  “He works in us and with us, not against us or without us.” (p.19).  Thus, this battle won’t be fought, (and certainly won’t be won), apart from prayer and deep reliance on the Holy Spirit of God.

And third, while the mortification of sin does not guarantee joy, don’t expect joy apart from it (Ps 38:3; Rev 3:2).  While it’s the common experience of many Christians to go through seasons of little joy, the joyless should still be quick to make certain there is no link between their unrest and unmortified sin.  As Owen says, “The soul and its affections, that should be full of God, cannot be full of Him, since it is entangled in worldly pursuits.” (p.23).  When joy is gone, are you standing firm in the ring, or lying spiritually unconscious on the mat? 

So, again, ponder these overarching principles:

We all must fight sin, we can’t fight sin on our own, and we won’t be joyful apart from fighting sin.