I read a couple of books before this one that I didn’t take the time to write a report on but this one was impactful enough to do so. “The Mortification of Sin” by Puritan John Owen. The book has a sub title which is: “Dealing with sin in your life” Therefore the book is an exposition on the general idea laid out by Paul in his letter to the Colossians: “Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth…”
I will share the general lay out of the book, in summary, in hopes that you will go purchase this book for yourself. The books goal is to answer the question of “How do we go about dealing with ongoing sin in our lives?” Some traditions believe you do nothing about it, some traditions preach that you stay passive and wait for glorification, and some traditions say you must take the effort all on yourself to get rid of them. Owen takes the time to open God’s word and give a biblical view of how one is to confront the ongoing sin in their lives while they are a believer and follower of Christ. He exhorts us to watch, focus, pray, and ask.
Before I dig into each one of these it must be noted that John, throughout all these, wants the Christian to constantly keep in the forefront of his mind the holiness of God. In doing so you get a right view of who God is, as all His attributes stem from the fact that He is holy. In understanding God’s holiness we gain right understanding (Prov. 9:10) and get a right view of sin. Sin is not just a simple “mistake” but it is a failure to uphold the standard of God’s holiness. And anything that is not holy like God, just as the sun burns up anything that comes near it, so God’s holiness must burn up anything that comes near it that is not in itself holy. Therefore, before reading on, it must be understood that keeping the holiness of God ever before you must be first. As it also begets the fear of the Lord which, we know, is the beginning of wisdom. (Prov 9:10)
Watch
The first step in dealing with sin is to watch. Many Christians fail to do even this. The practice of examining oneself is obvious in the Bible (2 Cor. 13:5). And the first step to mortifying sin in your life is to find out where it is. You must see your enemy before you can attack them, right? There must be a great amount of time spent in self-examination and watching before God and before His open word which is “profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness” (2 Tim. 3:16) also “piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.” (Heb 4:12)
Some sins are more clear to you than others. For example, having an affair is much more obvious to see than having lustful thoughts toward another. Either way, the sin must be watched. Opened up by the word of God, condemned by the holiness of God, and mortified by the grace of God.
Focus
Once a sin is examined and watched (ie. you can now point and define with words what it is you are doing wrong with pin-point accuracy) it must now be your greatest effort to remove it from your life. This is what Paul refers to at some level when he says “work out your own salvation” (Phil. 2:12) There is nothing more hindering to your walk in Christ, nothing more quenching of the Spirit, and nothing more as a block between you and God (Deut. 32:20) than sin. Therefore it is of utmost importance that this practice takes all your time and attention and focus. To be passive towards sin is to allow it to build up and eventually shut us up from God. We must be proactive in our approach. Putting to death the deeds of the flesh and putting off all the acts of the old man (Col 3:8).
We are called to a new life (John 10:10). In Christ we are to walk in the newness of life (Rom. 6:4). But how are we do this when we have sin constantly hindering our walk with Him? This is why Paul is so insistent on this being done (Eph 4:22; Col 3; Gal 5:24).
Pray
If we were called to do this in our own strength this would be an impossible task. As the entire story of the Bible reaffirms this point. Therefore, Owen is insistent that prayer must be the means whereby we go about mortifying sin. We are to take our sins to God in prayer. Placing them on the cross of Christ to crucify them (Gal. 5:24). Watching to find the sin, focusing on mortifying the sin, and bringing them to God in prayer to put them to death at once. To neglect the practice of prayer is to essentially say to God without words that we are in no need of God’s assistance in the matter. Praying begs for the interference of the divine. Prayer pleads with God to rid us of any unholy and profane thing. As with David we should cry to God, “Search me, O God, and know my heart: Try me, and know my thoughts: And see if there be any wicked way in me, And lead me in the way everlasting.” (Psalm 139:23-24) or “Wash me thoroughly from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin… purify me with hyssop, and I will be clean; Cleanse me, and I will be whiter than snow.” (Psalm 51:2 & 7)
Ask
The last step to this process of mortification is to simply ask. At the end of the day if we do not ask it will not be given to us (James 4:3). God promises us that if we ask He will give (Matt 7:7). This is the most practical step and the most immediate step. Watching and Focusing will take some searching and some studying. Asking, however, can be done right now. You can literally stop reading and begin with asking God for wisdom. Ask Him for an understanding of yourself through scripture. Ask Him to help you watch and focus on mortifying the sin. Ask Him to help you actually act upon what is written here. Finally ask in faith (James 1:6). Looking to Jesus and reckoning your request answered in Him. Only then will you be able to see some progress made in mortifying sin in your life and getting closer to Christ in intimacy and looking more like Him.
Conclusion
This was a very short summary of a book that goes in beyond depth on these matters. The book was only about 150 pages as well so it was not that difficult of a read. I recommend you get it and read it. It opened my eyes to a practice that I was definitely neglecting or at least putting very little effort into. I look at sin in my life much more seriously now and it has been greatly beneficial to me (and those around me!).
I also wanted to add some quotes from the book that I highlighted to share some bits of gold!
Be killing sin, or it will be killing you
The rage and predominancy of a particular lust is commonly the fruit and issue of a careless, negligent course in general
Whilst the conscience hath any means to alleviate the guilt of sin, the soul will never vigorously attempt its mortification
God’s end in giving us any knowledge of himself is that we may glorify him as God; that is, love him, serve him, believe and obey him, give him all the honour and glory that is due from poor sinful creatures to a sin-pardoning God and Creator
John Owen – The Mortification of Sin
To Do
- Praise God for making you a new creature in Christ Jesus and giving you the ability to mortify the deeds of the flesh
- Confess to God your lack of concern and focus on getting rid of sin in your life
- Ask God to help you begin a more focused journey on mortifying the old man and his ways