HeadTheology

I finally finished The Mortification of Sin by John Owen for the second time. I must say that it is a book that gets much richer the second time around. I can’t say though that of all the Puritans I have read it transformed my Christian walk like J. I. Packer’s, The Doctrine of Repentance by Thomas Watson holds that place. Nonetheless, The Mortification of Sin is a superb book well worth its arduous read and worth apply to one’s Christian sojourn.

One of the things that I wish more book reviews had in them were more quotes from the book. I know that pulling quotes out of context can be deadly but I’d rather those of you who have not read the book get the highlights from Owen himself. I want you to taste this work itself to inspire you to read it, not to tell you what it tastes like. So without further ado, here are my favorite quotes from The Mortification of Sin.

“the vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depend on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.” (p.24)

“Be killing sin, or it will be killing you” (p.26)

“When sin lets us alone, we may let it alone: but as sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be the most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still, so ought our contrivances against it to be vigorous at all times, in all conditions, even where there is least suspicion.” (p.28)

“[Sin] is modest, as it were, in its first motions and proposals; but having once got footing in the heart by them, it constantly makes good its ground, and presseth on to some degrees in the same kind.” (p.31)

“Not to be daily mortifying sin is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace and love of God, who hath furnished us with a principle of doing it.” (p.32)

“Let not that man think he makes any progress in holiness, who walks not over the neck of his lusts.” (p.34)

“The root of an unmortified course is the digestion of sin, without bitterness in the heart. When a man hath fixed his imagination to such an apprehension of grace and mercy, as to be able without bitterness to swallow and digest daily sins, that man is at the very brink of turning the grace of God into lasciviousness, and being hardened by the deceitfulness of sin.” (p.36)

Concerning the Holy Spirit:

“Spiritually sick men cannot sweat out their distemper with working.” (p.43)

“This renewing of us by the Holy Ghost, as it is called (Titus 3:5), is one great way of mortification: he causes us to grow, thrive, flourish and abound in those graces which are contrary, opposite, and destructive to all the fruits of the flesh, and to the quiet or thriving of indwelling sin.” (p.45)

“He [the Holy Spirit] is the fire which burns up the very root of lust.” (p.45)

“The Holy Ghost works in us and upon us, as we are fit to be wrought in and upon; that is, so as to preserve our understandings, wills, consciences and affections, agreeably to their own natures: he works in us and with us, not against us or without us: so that his assistance is an encouragement as to the facilitating of the work, and no occasion of neglect as to the work itself.” (p.46)

“A man may easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit.” (p.75)

Unmortification removes our assurance of salvation:

“Every unmortified sin will certainly do two things; first, it will weaken the soul, and deprive it of its vigor; secondly, it will darken the soul, and deprive it of its comfort and peace.” (p.51)

“An unmortified lust will drink up the spirit and all the vigor of the soul, and weaken it for all duties.” (p.51)

“As sin weakens, so it darkens the soul. It is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself over the face of the soul, and intercepts all the beams of God’s love and favour. It takes away all sense of the privilege of adoption.” (p.52)

“A sin is not mortified when it is only diverted. … A man may be sensible of a lust, set himself against the eruptions of it, take care that it shall not break forth as it hath done; but in the mean time may suffer the same corrupted habit to vent itself some other way; as he who heals a skins a running sore thinks that himself cured, but in the mean time his flesh festereth by the corruption of the same humour, and breaks out in another place. … He hath changed his master, but is a servant still.” (p.58-59)

“Occasional conquests of sin do not amount to mortifying it.” (p.59)

“Now the first thing in mortification is the weakening of this habit of sin or lust, so that it shall not, with that violence, earnestness, rise up, conceive, tumultuate, provoke, entice, disquiet, as naturally it is apt to do.” (p.64-65)

“It is to be feared that very many have little knowledge of the main enemy that they carry about them in their bosoms.” (p.69)

Concerning the unregenerate:

“Unless a man be a believer, that is, one that is truly ingrafted into Christ, he can never mortify any one sin.” (p.74)

“There is no death of sin, without the death of Christ.” (p.74)

“All attempts, then, for mortification of any lust, without an interest in Christ, are vain.” (p.76)

“men must be gold and silver at bottom, or else refining will do no good.” (p.77)

“I say, then, mortification is not the present business of unregenerate men. God calls them not to it as yet. Conversion is their work; the conversion of the whole soul, not the mortification of this or that particular lust.” (p.77)

He that shall call a man from mending a hole in the wall of his house, to quench a fire that is consuming the whole building, is not his enemy. … Thou settest thyself against a particular sin, and dost not consider that thou art nothing but sin.” (p.83)

“To break men off from particular sins, and not to break their hearts, is to deprive ourselves of advantages of dealing with them.” (p.84)

“Hatred as sin as sin, not only as galling or disquieting; a sense of the love of Christ in the cross; lies at the bottom of all true spiritual mortification.” (p.89)

“As [sin] never dies of itself, so, if it be not daily killed, it will always gather strength.” (p.95)

“By applying grace and mercy to an unmortified sin, or one not sincerely endeavoured to be mortified, is this deceit carried on.” (p.97)

“It is true, indeed, a resolution to this purpose to indulge a man’s self in any sin on the account of mercy, seems to be (and doubtless, if for any course, is) altogether inconsistent with Christian sincerity, is a badge of a hypocrite and is the turning of the grace of God into wantonness (Jude 4).” (p.97)

“When a man fighteth against his sin only with arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, it is a sign that sin hath taken great possession of the will, and that in the heart there is a superfluity of the naughtiness.” (p.99)

“But now, if a man be so under the power of his lust that he hath nothing but law to oppose it with; if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law; it is most evidentthat sin hath possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest.” (p.100)

“Paul’s main argument to evince that sin shall not have dominion over believers is that they are not under the law, but under grace.” (p.101)

“This is the proper issue of lust in the heart; it darkens the mind so that it shall not judge aright of its guilt.” (p.109)

“There is conceivably more evil and guilt in the evil of thy [Christian] heart that doth remain, than there would be in so much sin if thou hadst no grace at all.” (p.109)

“whilst any one lies under an abiding power of sin, the threats of destruction and everlasting separation from God are to be held out to him.” (p.114)

“this is the proper work of the law, to discover sin in the guilt of it, to awake and humble the soul for it, to be a glass to represent sin in its colours.” (p.121)

“Was my soul washed that room might be made new defilements? Shall I endeavour to disappoint the end of the death of Christ? Shall I daily grieve that Spirit whereby I am sealed to the day of redemption?” (p.122)

“Consider what ways, what companies, what opportunities, what studies, what businesses, what conditions, have at any time given, or do usually give advantages to thy distempers [sin]; and set thyself heedfully against them all. … Know that he who dares to dally with occasions of sin, will dare to sin.” (p.129)

“As sin gets ground in the affections to delight in it, it gets also upon the understanding to slight it.” (p.130)

“When men truly look upon Christ whom they have pierced, without which there is no healing or peace, they will mourn (Zech. 12:10); they will mourn for him even upon this account, and detest the sin that pierced him.” (p.148)

“yet when peace is spoken, if it be not attended with the detestation and abhorrency of that sin which was the wound, and caused the disquietment, that is no peace of God’s creating, but of our own purchasing.” (p.150)

“God will justify us from our sin, but he will not justify the least sin in us; he is a God of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.” (p.157)

“God’s peace is humbling peace, melting peace, as it was in the case of David (Ps. 51:1).” (p.158)

“Set faith at work on Christ for the killing of thy sin. His blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls.” (p.162)

If you were convicted and encouraged by Owen’s thoughts and words, as I hope you were, you may want to purchase and read the book yourself. You can purchase it here at Westminster Theological Seminary Bookstore at one of the lowest prices ever. If you don’t want to wade through the original older English it was written in you can check out this contemporary English version updated by Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic.

Note: I am quoting from the 2003 Christian Heritage/Christian Focus reprint, so all page numbers correspond to that book.