Sin is never to be kept within a secure safe box or cage. Sin is a poisonous snake which must be crushed to death.

The works of the Puritan divine John Owen (1616-1680), especially his works on the Mortification of Sin, are well worth the reading but they can be deeply challenging to 21^st century readers. Even the well-read Spurgeon said of Owen: “To master his works is to be a profound theologian”.

In an age of instant coffee, sound bites, and constant distractions, Owen is nearly impossible to read. But read him we must because Owen more than any other Puritan divine delved the deepest into the how and why of killing sin.

Many Christians secretly struggle with putting to death stubborn, deep rooted heart sins. Every genuine Christian who has the Holy Spirit dwelling in him will naturally have an aversion to sin and a deep desire to be holy.

But some sins are so deeply rooted that uprooting them and throwing them out of their temple into the Brook Kidron seems like an impossible task (2 Chronicles 29:5,16). They fall for the same sin again and again.

If you are struggling against sin and have an intense desire to repent and live a holy godly life, John Owen’s works are for you. James Packer argues that “For solidity, profundity, massiveness and majesty in exhibiting from Scripture God’s ways with sinful mankind there is no one to touch him”.

Below are some choice quotes for those Christians who may not have the time or the patience to wade through Owen’s great work on the mortification of sin.

Point One: On the need for the work and the power of the Holy Spirit to kill sin in the daily life of the believer.

Biblically-minded Reformed Christians can sometimes have a tendency to forget the person and the work of the Holy Spirit in mortifying sin and building holiness in the life of the true believer. The work and power of the Holy Spirit is essential in the life of a Christian who struggles to put sin to the death. How often we forget this and attempt to kill sin on our own self-strength. Listen to Owen’s admonition and advice:

All other ways of mortification are vain…. It must be done by the Spirit … Mortification from a self-strength carried on by ways of self-invention unto the end of a self-righteousness is the soul and substance of all fake religion in the world.

In another area Owen writes: “True and lasting resistance to sin comes not through willpower and self-improvement but through the Spirit who empowers believers with a knowledge and love of God”.

As Christians we must always be on our guard in attempting to kill sin through our own effort without the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

Point Two: Does this mean that Christians should sit back and do nothing?

Owen answers this question with a distinct negative. Christians are to be watchful. They are to be on guard and vigilant. Alert Christians will certainly progress faster and further than dull Christians who do not strive to kill sin.

Owen wisely points out: “If sin is subtle, watchful, strong and always at work in the business of killing souls, and if we remain slothful, negligent and foolish in our attempts to ruin it, can we expect a comfortable outcome? There is not a day but sin foils or is foiled, prevails or is prevailed on; and it will be so as long as we live in this world”.

On the surface, this might seem to contradict Owen’s first quote on the need for the Holy Spirit in mortifying sin. Is it the work of the Holy Spirit alone or are we are also active participants in killing sin as well?

The 20^th century theologian John Murray clarifies this: “God’s working in us (sanctification) is not suspended because we work nor our working suspended because God works … God works in us and we also work. But the relation is that because God works we work”.

In other words, Christians are not to be mere passive observers in putting sin to death. If the Holy Spirit is working in mortifying sin in you then you too will be co-opted to work hand in hand with the Spirit. Christians who mortify sin are no couch potatoes; they are actively involved because the Spirit gets us off the sofa.

Point Three: Killing sin is a lifelong duty. Expect long drawn-out battles against sin our deadly enemy. Christians who are not engaged in the battle may not be true believers.

The 17^th century Scottish Puritan Samuel Rutherford has a quaint saying that bears this out: “The devil’s war is better than the devil’s peace. Suspect dumb holiness. When the dog is kept out of doors he howls to be let in again”.

The choicest Christians will tell you that they are not exempt from battling against sin. They will tell you of their great battles to mortify sin. Even when the Christian life seems to be going smoothly and you are living a holy life – beware!

Owen warns us: “Sin is never less quiet when it seems to be the quietest; its waters are for the most part deep when they are still. Therefore, our working against it ought to be vigorous at all times and in all conditions – even when there is less suspicion”.

Owen’s best-known command to Christians is: “Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work: be killing sin or it will be killing you”.

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