Chapter 14: Directions for the Work Itself

Previous chapters were on preparing for mortification, this final chapter is what will effect mortification. Owen actually only gives one specific direction: “set faith at work on Christ for the killing of your sin” (p. 131). The majority of the chapter is answering questions. I’ve summarized them below:

Question: How does faith on Christ play a role in mortification?

1. Have faith that Christ has provision enough for all your sin. Owen draws on narratives such as the prodigal son, who was able to return to his father’s house. Christ is our supply and can deliver us at any time for his “grace is sufficient for you” (2 Cor. 12:9).
2. Expect, by faith, relief from Christ. Christ is sovereign in temptation and will come at the appointed time (Hab. 2:3).

Question: How can I expect Christ to come to my aid?

Without Christ we can do nothing (John 15:5). Mortification of any sin is by grace because we cannot do it ourselves. Owen has already previously explained how mortification all relies on the Spirit, and it is Christ who has promised the Spirit to us, so our hope remains in Christ alone. All mortification without expectation that Christ will relieve us, will have no effect. Owen provides aspects of Christ that we should meditate on to cultivate this expectation by faith:

1. Christ’s role as High Priest at the right hand of God shows his mercy and kindness. “For we have not a high priest who cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin. Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:15-16). Christ is willing and able to provide relief from sin in his appointed time, thus we should not attempt to mortify sin without expectation by faith of relief from Christ.
2. Consider God’s faithfulness. God has promised to relieve, so David waited for relief (Ps. 130:6) as something that will come in God’s appointed time.

Owen then lists benefits from this expectation of Christ’s relief:

1. He will be lifted up in this expectation. When we expect relief, we are no longer depressed at our helplessness against sin.
2. If we expect relief from Christ, we will search all the ways and means by which this will arrive. The heart is not idle, but is constantly searching for the relief and thus makes the utmost of all graces given.

Owen now lists a few particulars about faith acting on Christ:

1. Faith should act on the death, blood and cross of Christ. Mortification comes from the death of Christ, by which he destroyed the works of the devil (1 Jn 3:8, Titus 2:14). It was Christ’s aim so that we might no longer be under dominion of sin (Eph. 5:25-27). Thus we are dead to sin and alive in Christ. We are baptized into Christ’s death (Rom. 6:3). “Christ by his death destroying the works of the devil, procuring the Spirit for us, has so killed sin as to its reign in believers, that it shall not obtain its end and dominion” (p. 138).
2. Faith should act on the death of Christ, expecting power and striving for conformity. Concerning striving for conformity, Owen provides the verse Galatians 3:1.

Owen now closes with one point with several qualifications: all that Owen wrote in this book, “Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers” cannot be accomplished without the power of the Spirit. His qualifications:

The Spirit alone convicts the heart of sin and its dangers (John 16:8).
The Spirit alone reveals the fullness of Christ in our relief (Col. 2:8).
The Spirit alone cultivates this expectation of relief (2 Cor. 1:21).
The Spirit alone applies to us Christ’s death and its sin-killing power (Rom. 6:3; 1 Cor. 12:13).
The Spirit is both author and finisher of our sanctification (Eph. 3:16-18).
The Spirit supports all our cries to God.

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Chapter 13: Particular Directions for Mortification (5)

This is the ninth and last of Owen’s list of particular directions for mortification. It surprises me at times when the Puritans seem to have a completely different grasp of reality. They really deal with certain emotions, or maybe we can broadly label them ‘concepts’, that I’m unfamiliar with. I think the same may go for some people concerning assurance of salvation, I have spoken to many people about the issue before and they do not understand this questioning of assurance (common responses of “what do you mean?” or “you’re in or you’re out”). I feel that Owen was on a different plane than I am in this concept of God “speaking peace” to the soul. I have always believed that long-lasting guilt is self-examination without faith in the cross, but Owen seems to have a different concept of guilt, whereby the length of time we struggle with guilt is tailored for maximum sanctification. And that we try to find ways to cut that time of struggle short for our own convenience.

#9 Do not be at peace unless God gives it, but instead listen to what He has to say to your soul.

God will give peace to who he will have peace, just as he has mercy on whoever he will (Rom. 9:18). God is the consoler and consoles believers in different ways. Owen lists ways to know whether God is giving someone peace, or if someone is making it for themselves:

Men make peace for themselves when peace is achieved without strong hatred of sin and detestation of themselves. Men should first be in despair over sin before seeking mercy through Christ’s blood, so that God may be exalted for being gracious. If there is no hatred of sin before peace comes, then we are only skimming the surface of sin and not really looking at the disgusting core of it. And soon enough, this fake peace will fall away.

Men make peace for themselves when peace is achieved by convictions and rational principles. Owen gives a scenario: A man is convicted of a sin in his life, he has not lived in a way that meets the standard of the gospel. So he now thinks about what should be done. He remembers how he was formerly forgiven of his sin, so he finds promises of God that are suited for his condition and then makes for himself a bandage with that promise and so creates his own peace. But this is without the Spirit, simply rational outworking of intelligence. The Spirit alone can “convince us of sin, and righteousness, and judgment” (John 16:8). People take verses such as “The LORD will have mercy, and our God will abundantly pardon” (Isa. 55:7) and “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely” (Hos. 14:4) to create their own peace without the Spirit applying such verses to them.

Question: How do we know when we are creating peace ourselves or when the Spirit is the one who gifts it?
A counterfeit peace will not stay for long. Reasoning will soon fade as soon as temptations come.
If we have peace too quickly. Although God sometimes speak peace to the soul immediately, peace often needs to be waited for (Isa. 8:17). Peace does not come immediately, but instead it is self-healers that are in a hurry. Such self-healing does not heal the evil or cure the problem, only when God “speaks peace” are we guided and kept from turning “again to folly” (Ps. 85:8).
When we heal our wounds too easily and not mixed with faith. We should not just look at mercy in a promise and then have our convictions put to rest. We need to have faith for the Word to speak peace (Heb. 4:2).
Lack of humiliation in our souls. God’s peace is humbling, not pride-filling.

Question: When can our conviction of a sin be put to rest?
Generally speaking, when God gives the rest. He may allow guilt of a certain sin to tarry or be healed. But when God speaks, we must accept. We should not be too quick to put guilt to rest, nor should we allow guilt to tarry after God has already given us consolation.

Question: When will we know when God speaks peace?
Owen contends that there is a “secret instinct in faith” that allows us to know when Christ speaks to us (John 10:4). If we become more acquainted with Christ, we can discern his voice more clearly. Another indicator is when the word of God works on the heart and is creating humility and obedience.

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Chapter 12: Particular Directions for Mortification (4)

In this chapter, Owen’s particular direction is to meditate on your own sinfulness. Owen deals with some objections concerning the limit of our understanding of God, but i have not noted them here since it seems to be a slight detour of our immediate concern of mortification of sin.

Owen suggests some things to meditate on:

The righteousness of God and our own vileness in comparison. Scripture is full of this self-abasement, in Job 42:5-6 and Isaiah 40:12-25.

Our lack of knowledge of God. This will lower our pride as we think about how little we know about God and his nature. None of our expressions of God’s glory can match his perfection.

We know so little about God because God has willed it so and because it is only by faith that we know Him while here in this life. We know enough of God to love him and put our trust in Him.

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Chapter 11: Particular Directions for Mortification (3)

Load your conscience with the guilt of sin.

Consider the holiness of God’s law. This is the proper function of the law, so that man may know his sinfulness. Do not let your conscience stray from the truth, but bind it fast to God’s law so that it can do nothing but carry the burden of guilt.

Bring your sin to the gospel. This is not for relief of sin, but so that guilt may increase. By bringing our sin to the gospel, we look at the crucified Christ (Zech. 12:10; John 19:37). Owen writes of what we should say to our souls:

What have I done? What love, what mercy, what blood, what grace have I despised and trampled on! Is this the return I make to the Father for his love, to the Son for his blood, to the Holy Ghost for his grace? Do I thus requite the Lord? Have I defiled the heart that Christ died to wash, that the blessed Spirit has chosen to dwell in?

Descend to particulars. This is a continuation of the gospel, but looking at the benefits of it to aggravate the soul.

• Meditate on the patience God toward us in particular. There is hell and wrath as the reward of sin, yet God still returns with troves of love. How many times have we been in great sin yet God, with riches of grace, allows us to return to communion with Him.

• Meditate on God’s gracious dealings with us. Remember times of deliverance, afflictions, mercies and joy. Both hard times and good times, God’s grace has been sufficient.

Constantly long for deliverance from sin.
We cannot allow ourselves to be content with where we are. We need to have a desire for the mortification of sin, and a wish to conform to the image of Christ. Unless we have this desire, there will be no deliverance. The saints have this desire of deliverance (Rom. 7:24).

Consider whether the sin is from our nature and increased by our constitution.
Our disposition to certain sins may definitely lie in natural temper.

Not an excuse of the guilt of sin. But this natural disposition is not an excuse because all sin has the same root. Our nature is inherently sinful (Ps. 51:5). This depravity comes from the fall, and any sin is a particular result of the original sin in our nature. Our natural dispositions are an advantage to sin and Satan, so we must be vigilant.

Mortification of any sin rooted in the nature needs a particular remedy. Paul says that he “discipline[d] [his] body, and [brought] it into subjection” (1 Cor. 9:27). This is an ordinance of God to mortify sin. We must check our natural disposition to sin, but not do so like the Roman Catholics, who sought mortification of sin through voluntary services and penances. So when mortifying sin, there must be limitations, which Owen lists some:

Outward weakening of sin should not be looked on as good in itself. These outward means of weakening sin (watching, fasting, etc.) should not be seen as able to produce true mortification of any sin. If this were possible, what use is the Holy Spirit? These means are means in themselves for the Spirit to work.

Consider situations and advantages your disposition to particular sins has used and be vigilant against them.
Watch against all outbursts of sin. Study what situations create opportunities for your sin, what particular time of day, what company, what means, what businesses, etc. Avoid these conditions that occasions sin. Owen notes that this is a massive topic, and so he covers it in another treatise-Owen’s Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It.

Fight against first actions and conceptions of your sin.
Do not allow sin even one step. If it is allowed to take that first step, it will take another.. There are no boundaries to sin (James 1:14-15). Owen paints sin with the imagery of water, going wherever there is an open channel. Consider what an unclean thought can lead to, what envy can lead to.

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Chapter 10: Particular Directions for Mortification (2)

The second direction Owen gives for the mortification of sin is to “get a clear and abiding sense upon your mind and conscience of the guilt, danger and evil of that sin wherewith you are perplexed.” He goes on to list the “senses”…

Of the guilt of it. Guilt is cultivated when the grace given for the defeat of sin is remembered (Roma. 6:1-2). Further, consider that God sees more evil in the hidden sins of the heart than in the open, outward expressions of sin.

Consider the danger of it. Owen lists some dangers: 1) hardening by deceitfulness, 2) danger of God’s disciplining, 3) loss of peace and strength (Hos. 5:15), 4) eternal destruction (elaboration: Owen has in mind the fact that those who are of the Spirit cannot continue to pursue sin, lest it be a sign of unregeneration).

Consider the evils of sin. Owen lists some evils: 1) grieving the Holy Spirit (Eph. 4:25-30), 2) Christ is rewounded by sin (Heb. 6:6), 3) takes away a man’s usefulness for his generation.

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Chapter 9: Particular Directions for Mortification

This chapter begins Owen’s discourse on practical steps in the process of mortification. The following chapters till chapter 13 all discuss mediums of introspection and examination as well as mortification strategies. Puritans were known for their ability to dissect the human heart and explore its deepest recesses. Owen is a great example of this surgical analysis of human motives and ulterior ones as well.

Owen lists some dangerous symptoms that accompany our sin.

Hardened, habitual, deep-rooted state. The sinful habit has lain in the heart for a long period of time and become familiar with it, it is no longer startling or shocking. Owen brings in the element of assurance and how this symptom will blur the line between whether it is an unmortified sin or the unregenerate dominion of sin.

Petitions in the heart to allow sin. Owen delves further and describes how this may be done: we may search our hearts for signs of good as an excuse to sin.

Applying grace and mercy to unmortified sin. We sanction sin as if it’s alright because grace will cover it. The classic argument of “letting grace abound”.

Sin is frequently victorious. Owen again goes further and says that victory is not only constituted as the completed, acted-out sin (James 1:14-15), but even the willingness to act out the sin when the outward expression of the desire is not possible.

We fight against sin only with the fear of punishment. Paul’s main argument against sinning was not fear of hell and repercussions, but that we are not under the law, but under grace (Romans 6:14). We should not fight sin on legal accounts and motives, or else what assurance will you have? Gospel principles, not legal motives.

Judiciary hardening in our sin. God leaves His sheep under the temptation of certain sins. This is definitely a way that God deals with unregenerate men, but how do we know if we are regenerate or not when under this condition? Examine the time previous to the onslaught of this sin and try to discern signs of grace.

God has dealt against it, but it remains. God may convict the man of his sin, he repents, but slides back into the sin.

First particular direction for mortification is therefore examining your sin and seeing if it bears any of the above symptoms. Owen is quick to remind his readers that if these symptoms are present, it does not mean we are Christians, but may in fact mean we are unregenerate.

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Chapter 8: There Will Be No Mortification of Any Sin Without Sincerity and Diligence in a Universality of Obedience

John Owen’s point in this chapter is clearly presented in the title…mortification requires universal mortification, not just of particular sins. The probing question Owen poses to us is whether our motive to mortify sin is because of our conscience or because of genuine hatred of sin? If it is simply because of our conscience, we will be quick to emphasize specific sins we are struggling with, much to the neglect of other ‘minor’ sins that Christ also died for. Owen writes:

“There are no less sins and evils than those under which you groan. Jesus Christ bled for them also. Why do you not set yourself against them also? If you hate sin as sin, every evil way, you would be no less watchful against everything that grieves and disquiets the Spirit of God, than against that which grieves and disquiets your own soul. It is evident that you contend against sin merely because of your own trouble by it (p. 87).”

How often do we neglect ‘respectable’ sins? We’ve discussed this previously I believe, but I think that we can oftentimes become so overwhelmed by large sins in our lives that we turn a blind eye to other sin. And we do this with the excuse that we are doing well mortifying this major sin, whether it be pornography, jealousy, anger, homosexuality and other ‘major’ sins that are a lot more apparent to us.

The title for Desiring God’s national conference this year is “The Power of Words and the Wonder of God” and what an incredible topic to think about in relation to mortification of Sin for “no human being can tame the tongue” (James 3:8). I would contend that our careless words are one of the consistent sins that we simply pass over as minor offenses. However, this appears completely contradictory to Jesus’ declaration that “men will have to give an account on the Day of Judgment for every careless word they have spoken.”

Are we careful when we speak? Is our speech edifying to others? I think a very interesting thing to ponder also is where do we draw the line in humor?

C.J. Mahaney gave a sermon a few weeks ago under the title “Don’t Waste Your Humor.” I have yet to listen to it, but if any of you find the time to do so, feel free to send me some of your thoughts and I’ll post them up.

You can listen to it below or download it here.

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Chapter 7: General Directions for Mortification

In this chapter, Owen wishes to discuss the ways and means in which mortification occurs. He lays down principles and rules that are necessary to understand for mortification:

There Will Be No Mortification Unless a Man Be a Believer
Mortification is the work of believers (Rom. 3:18, Col. 3:1-5). “There is no death of sin without the death of Christ (p. 79).” Paul speaks of those who seek mortification, but fail to become righteous. Why? Because they seek mortification through the law, not through faith (Rom. 9:31-32). All believers must mortify sin as a duty, but something must be done first before mortification can happen. Unless we are in Christ we cannot please God (Rom. 8:9). Thus the only way to please God is through the union with Christ achieved by the Holy Spirit (v. 11), when we are dead to the flesh and live in the Spirit. It is the duty of the regenerate to mortify sin and the duty of the unregenerate to be converted. That is why when the Jews were convicted of their sins and asked Peter what they must do, Peter told them to repent and put their faith in Christ, not mortify such and such sin (Acts 2:37-38).

Chapter 6: What Mortification Is

Mortification Consists in a Habitual Weakening of Sin
An individual is only truly mortified once he lusts no more, for “every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually” (Gen. 6:5). Even when Christians try to serve others he is nonetheless moved towards selfishness. It is because of our sinful nature that men’s “hearts are set upon evil” (Eccles. 8:11) and they try to “make provision for the flesh” (Rom. 13:14). By not mortifying sin, the believer gives heed to everything that distorts his original state of being—his convictions, his reason, etc. There are, however, two limitations to sin’s complete corruption of the believer:

One lust, or a lust in one man, may receive many accidental [non-essential, incidental] improvements, heightenings, and strengthenings, which may give it life, power, and vigor, exceedingly above what another lust has, or the same lust (that is, of the same kind and nature). It is when our lusts have been either captured by our natural inclination to sin or by Satan’s hand that the lust is multiplied in strength. The believer’s capability is then minimized and he is then stirred by corrupt emotions. Most of lust’s strength comes from temptation by which is it invigorated and empowered.
Some lusts are far more sensible and discernible in their violent actions than others.

Chapter 5: What Mortification Is Not

John Owen now comes to the primary concern in mortification of sin—how to mortify in practical ways and real circumstances. Owen provides an example that is the overarching example or at least where problems of mortifying sin can usually be reduced to. Suppose that a man is a true believer, but finds himself to have great indwelling sin. It still leads him to feel under the condemnation of the law and he cannot find peace of mind. He feels as if there are just so many duties to fulfill and feels himself hardening through the deceitfulness of sin. What will he do? What steps should he take to mortify this sin, not to utterly destroy it, but to be able to stay strong and find peace with God.