The Two Johns On Old Testament Faith

John Newton and John Owen were two very different Christians but they were united in their view of how Old Testament believers were saved and what their faith was in.

John Newton taught that the Gospel of Jesus Christ was revealed immediately after Adam and Eve’s first sin and became the object of faith from that moment on.

The Lord Jesus was promised under the character of the seed of the woman, as the great deliverer who should repair the breach of sin, and retrieve the ruin of human nature. From that hour, he became the object of faith, and the author of salvation, to every soul that aspired to communion with God, and earnestly sought deliverance from guilt and wrath (Works, Vol. 3, p. 3).   Continue at David Murray

The Nature of Sanctification and Gospel Holiness

Paul's prayer for Christians is that the God of peace would sanctify them completely (1 Thess. 5:23). His assurance is that 'he is faithful, who will do it' (v. 24). 

From this prayer we learn firstly, that the one who sanctifies us is God. As God gave us our beings, so he gives us our holiness. It is not by nature but by grace that we are made holy. Secondly, we learn that the one who sanctifies us is emphatically declared to be God himself. If God does not do it, no?one else will. And thirdly, we learn that the one who sanctifies us is the 'God of peace' (Rom. 15:33; 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; Hel). 13:20). 

Sanctified by the God of peace

Sanctification is a fruit of that peace with God which he has made and prepared for us byJesus Christ. 'God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself' (2 Con. 5:19).

God, by sanctifying our natures, keeps that peace which we have with him. It is holiness that keeps up a sense of peace with God, and prevents those spiritual sins which still tend to break out from the corrupt nature still left within us. So God, as the author of our peace, is also the author of our holiness.  Continue at Banner of Truth

Can a Christian Be in Habitual Sin?

John Owen, with great pastoral care and sensitivity, answers the question:

Discourse IX (Delivered April 19, 1677)

 
Question. Whether lust or corruption, habitually prevalent, be consistent with the truth of grace?
 

Answer. This is a hard question; there are difficulties in it, and, it may be, it is not precisely to be determined. I am sure we should be wonderfully careful what we say upon such a question, which determines the present and eternal condition of the souls of men.
Supposing we retain something of what was spoken in stating a lust or corruption so habitually prevalent, because this is the foundation of our present inquiry, I shall bring what I have to say upon this question to a few heads, that they may be remembered.
 

I say, then, --
 

First. It is the duty of every believer to take care that this may never be his own case practically. We shall meet with straits enough, and fears enough, and doubts enough about our eternal condition, though we have no lust nor corruption habitually prevalent; therefore, I say, it is the duty of every believer to take care this may never be his case. David did so, Ps. xix. 12, 13, "Who can understand his errors?" saith he, "Cleanse thou me from secret faults. Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression."    Continue at Underdog Theology

How to Rout Sin

The truth is that we all sin. But it’s also true that we have the power to overcome sin. Consider Paul’s argument in Romans 6. He tells us that we have died to sin (Rom 6:2) and that the body of sin has been brought to nothing (Rom 6:6). He argues further that we are free from sin (Rom 6:7) and that sin will have no dominion over our bodies (Rom 6:14). This happened, says Paul, when we believed in Christ. Thus, we died with him in a death like his and were raised in a resurrection like his (Rom 6:3–5). In short, sin died when you believed.

Still, no one is sinless (1 John 1:10; cf. Rom 7). Remarkably, we both live with the power to overcome sin and yet daily battle sin. The tension between these two opposing principles will not disappear this side of eternity. Sin and the power to overcome it through the Spirit (Rom 8:4) describe the our life-long dual. This rough fabric of sin rubs against our flesh, causing all sorts discomfort and pain. At the same time, the smooth silk of holiness is a balm and refreshment to us. We wear a garment sewn with both cloths, though we true believers only want the garment of holiness.

It is because of this tension that believers must learn to rout sin. After all, if we have the power to overcome sin, we had better learn to use that power. A major reason why our fight against sin seems powerless is because we have wrong views of sanctification. There are about four ways people try to rout sin. The first three ways unconsciously weave sin into our coats, while the last way allows believers wear a a coat of holiness. To be clear, I am not advocating a sinless existence before Christ returns, but I am advocating that through the Spirit we can put to death the deeds of the flesh (Rom 8:13).   Continue at Wyatt Graham

Pastors Leaving Their Flocks

A particularly sensitive subject concerns the issue of pastors leaving their local ministry for another ministry.  In today’s ecclesiastical climate, including confessionally Reformed churches, we are facing a serious problem because of pastors treating the ministry as if they are professionals. The ministry today has more in common with worldly advancement than it does with some of the principles we find in the Scriptures.

This topic is something the Puritans were not silent about. John Owen, the so-called “Prince of the Puritans” – and I happen to think he is rightly called the “Prince” – remarks that the reason the early church had great ‘provisions’ against moving from one congregation to another is due to the practice of ‘professionalism’. Owen writes:

“for when some churches were increased in members, reputation, privileges, and wealth, above others, it grew an ordinary practice for the bishops to design and endeavor their own removal from a less unto a greater benefice” (Works, 16:94).

As we say here in Canada, plus ça change, plus c’est la même chose. The practice of the early church has much to teach us moderns. Owen continues, “[t]his is so severely interdicted in the councils of Nice and Chalcedon as that they would not allow that a man might be a bishop or presbyter in any other place but only in the church wherein he was originally ordained; and, therefore, if any did so remove themselves, decreed that they should be sent home again, and there abide, or cease to be church-officers” (Conc. Nicea. can. 15,16; Chalced., can. 5, 20).

The whole concept of “open contending for ecclesiastical promotions, benefices, and dignities, were then either unknown or openly condemned” (Ibid).   Continue at Mark Jones

Some Thoughts on the Mortification of Sin

"Listen to what God says to your soul.  Do not speak peace to yourself before God speaks it." John Owen writes some very convicting words about how we are to handle sin in our lives.

I believe it is pretty safe to say that with regard to sin "They have healed the wound of my people lightly." (Jeremiah 6:14). In fact, Jeremiah Chapter 6 is a startling revelation at the hardness of unrepentant hearts who were not very concerned about their sin.

They have healed the wound of my people lightly, saying, 'Peace, peace,' when there is no peace. Were they ashamed when they committed abomination? No, they were not at all ashamed; they did not know how to blush. Therefore they shall fall among those who fall; at the time that I punish them, they shall be overthrown," says the LORD. Thus says the LORD: "Stand by the roads, and look, and ask for the ancient paths, where the good way is; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls. But they said, 'We will not walk in it.'  Jeremiah 6:14-16

That's just sheer rebellion!

As Christians we need to know and feel the seriousness of indwelling sin. (Romans 7:20).  We need to know how to fight it and kill it (Romans 8:13).  Instead of the depth, complexity, and ugliness of sin, we have minimized the dangers of sin.  John Owen calls this a "tragically light healing."   Continue at Whitt Madden

The Guilt of Your Sin

This is my once-monthly post on the Puritan John Owen. In this series of posts I am sharing some of what John Owen says about putting sin to death, or what he calls mortification. I have been going through his book Overcoming Sin and Temptation and trying to distill each chapter to its essence—to a few choice quotes that capture the flavor of what Owen is trying to communicate.

So far we’ve looked at The Foundation of Mortification, we’ve been encouraged to Daily Put Sin to Death, to understand that It Is the Holy Spirit Who Puts Sin to Death and to acknowledge that Your Spiritual Life Depends Upon Killing Sin. Then we saw What It Is Not to Put Sin to Death and What It Is to Put Sin to Death. Then, at least, he began to move to the actual instruction on putting sin to death. First he dealt with a couple of foundational issues and then with dangerous sin symptoms. Last month he told us that when you identify a sin in your life you need to get a clear and abiding sense upon your mind and conscience of the guilt, danger, and evil of your sin. Now he adds that you need to load your conscience with the guilt of sin and that you need to long for deliverance from sin’s power.

Load Your Conscience with the Guilt of Sin

 

Owen is going to take you to the gospel to put your sin to death, but he doesn’t want to get there too quickly. Before you begin to put that sin to death, he wants you to acknowledge the actual guilt of that sin, not just your guilt in a general sense. Here is how to do that:

Charge your conscience with the guilt which comes when you compare your sin with God’s holy law. You need to ponder God’s holiness as reflected in his revealed will, admit how far you have missed the mark, and then allow yourself to acknowledge the weight of that guilt. “Bring the holy law of God into your conscience, lay your corruption to it, pray that you may be affected with it. Consider the holiness, spirituality, fiery severity, inwardness, absoluteness of the law, and see how you can stand before it. Be much, I say, in affecting your conscience with the terror of the Lord in the law, and how righteous it is that every one of your transgressions should receive a recompense of reward. … Persuade your conscience to harken diligently to what the law speaks, in the name of the Lord, unto you about your lust and corruption. Oh! If your ears be open, it will speak with a voice that shall make you tremble, that shall cast you to the ground and fill you with astonishment.”   Continue at Tim Challies

Book Review: Overcoming Sin and Temptation

I had previously read the Banner of Truth edition's The Mortification of Sin; this current edition is not abridged which is a plus for me. Furthermore, this volume is far more handsome. One of my favorite features is the facsimile of the books' covers.

Without further ado.

John Owen is a man God greatly used and one of my favorite Puritans. Owen starts off by answering the question Why this topic? "This was seconded by an observation of some men’s dangerous mistakes, who of late days have taken upon them to give directions for the mortification of sin, who, being unacquainted with the mystery of the gospel and the efficacy of the death of Christ, have anew imposed the yoke of a self wrought-out mortification on the necks of their disciples, which neither they nor their forefathers were ever able to bear [cf. Acts 15:10]." (41).

John Owen provides some Proverbs-like wisdom through out the book. . . here are my favorite two:

1. "Always be killing sin or it will be killing you."
2. "[B]y the omission of this duty grace withers, lust flourishes, and the frame of the heart grows worse and worse; and the Lord knows what desperate and fearful issues it has had with many."

Further on in the book, Owen defines what mortification is not (chapter 5) and is (chapter 6).  Read On...

The Holy Spirit Puts Sin to Death

Once again, don’t run away from this blog post just because it has a Puritan flavor to it. I mentioned last month that I’ve been running through John Owen’s Overcoming Sin and Temptation and trying to distill each chapter to its essence—to a few choice quotes that capture the flavor of what Owen is trying to communicate. I recently summarized the first chapter, The Foundation of Mortification and then the second chapter, Daily Put Sin to Death.

Today I am offering up this short summary of chapter 3, “The Holy Spirit Puts Sin to Death.” This chapter was often focused rather narrowly on the Roman Catholic Church, so I passed quickly over those parts (not that they are any less true today). Here is what Owen says about the work of the Holy Spirit in mortifying sin.

“The next principle relates to the great sovereign cause of mortification. [The Holy Spirit] only is sufficient for this work; all ways and means without him are as a thing of naught; and he is the great efficient of it—he works in us as he pleases.”

Other Remedies Are Vain

In vain do men seek other remedies; they shall not be healed by them. … The reasons why [some] can never, with all their endeavors, truly mortify any one sin, among others, are:   Keep Reading...

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About John Owen

John Owen

(1616-1683)

 

by Dr. Joel Beeke and Randall J. Pederson

 

John Owen, called the “prince of the English divines,” “the leading figure among the Congregationalist divines,” “a genius with learning second only to Calvin’s,” and “indisputably the leading proponent of high Calvinism in England in the late seventeenth century,” was born in Stadham (Stadhampton), near Oxford. He was the second son of Henry Owen, the local Puritan vicar. Owen showed godly and scholarly tendencies at an early age. He entered Queen’s College, Oxford, at the age of twelve and studied the classics, mathematics, philosophy, theology, Hebrew, and rabbinical writings. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1632 and a Master of Arts degree in 1635. Throughout his teen years, young Owen studied eighteen to twenty hours per day.

Pressured to accept Archbishop Laud’s new statutes, Owen left Oxford in 1637. He became a private chaplain and tutor, first for Sir William Dormer of Ascot, then for John Lord Lovelace at Hurley, Berkshire. He worked for Lovelace until 1643. Those years of chaplaincy afforded him much time for study, which God richly blessed. At the age of twenty-six, Owen began a forty-one year writing span that produced more than eighty works. Many of those would become classics and be greatly used by God.   Keep Reading...

John Owen and The Mortification of Sin

What if a Christian finds his indwelling sin weakening his communion with God, destroying his peace and assurance, giving him a wounded conscience, and hardening his heart? 

 

John Owen’s answer is two-fold: he must be counseled to do “mortification” and to “set his mind on things above.” On the basis of (“if by the spirit you put to death [mortify] the deeds of the body, you will live”) and (“those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires,”) Owen wrote his treatises on mortification and on “The Grace and Duty of Being Spiritually Minded.” Keep Reading...

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John Owen on the Authority of the Pope

Yesterday I gave a paper on Puritan Attitudes Towards Rome Reloaded to the Bradford on Avon Ministers' Fraternal. Here's an excerpt:

One of Cane’s main arguments in the Fiat Lux was that before England departed from Rome during the reign of Henry VIII, the nation was at peace with itself. Since relinquishing the authority of the pope, however, the country had been beset by terrible divisions between the various Protestant sects. There was nothing for it but to return to Rome, only then all would be well again, ‘we have no remedy for our evils, no means of ending our differences, but by a return unto the rule of the Roman see.’

The legitimacy of the pope’s authority was one of the key points at issue between John Owen and his Roman opponent, John Vincent Cane. He deployed five main lines of argument against the Roman Catholic claim that the pope has universal authority over the Church. Continue Reading>>>

Looking to Christ + Loving Sin = Futility

We are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, and in Christ alone. The recovery of the doctrine of justification was the crowning achievement of the Reformation, and the Gospel is the good news not only for the unbelieving sinner but for the believing one as well.

But in our daily looking to Christ for the assurance of our salvation—which, the Reformers taught, is of the essence of faith—are we perhaps missing a key ingredient? Do we look to Christ in the manner with which the Apostle Paul did in his description of the normal Christian life in Romans 7, i.e., in utter abhorrence of the sin that still clings to him like a strapped-on carcass, "Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord!" (Rom. 7:24-25)?

John Owen strips off our cloaks of deceitful comfort in the ff. statements: Read it HERE

Sensual Worship — A Sign of Impending Apostasy

When interest in the churches begins to centre round the visual and the sensual it is commonly a sign of impending apostasy. By ‘sensual’ I mean that which appeals to the senses of man (sight, smell, hearing), as opposed to ‘spirit’, that is, the capacity that belongs to those born of the Spirit of God. Hence the antithesis, ‘sensual, having not the Spirit’ (Jude 19). ‘Sensual’ is also translated ‘natural’ or ‘worldly’; the meaning is the same. It does not take regeneration to give the sensual or the aesthetic a religious appeal to the natural man or woman. In the Old Testament the people of God were in measure taught by their senses as God imposed the form of worship. As a check against any misuse of that means of teaching no additions to or subtractions from it were allowed. But with the finished work of Christ, and the coming of the Holy Spirit, a momentous change took place. The church was raised to the higher privilege of worship in ‘spirit and truth’ (John 4:24). She belongs to the ‘Jerusalem which is above’ (Gal. 4:26). Continue Reading>>>

The Utility of Indwelling Sin

Indwelling sin—it is the scourge of the Christian life, even more so than the world or the devil. Though the Christian has been made a partaker of the nature of Christ through the regenerating work of the Holy Spirit, still, absolute freedom from sin is not to be had in this present age.

To be sure, it is the Christian's duty to be mortifying sin in his life, as far as he is aware of particular instances of dominance. However, it may come as some comfort to know that this enemy has both a God-glorifying and man-benefiting function, the knowledge of which can never be a warrant for lawlessness, but is actually the impetus behind the pedagogical use of the Law. Continue Reading>>>

The Essentials of Covenant Theology

The Old v. The New Gospel

The Foundation of Mortification: Romans 8:13

Be Acquainted With Thine Own Heart

War Against Sin by Engaging the Whole Person