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...

Paul Would Have Nothing to Do with “Let Go and Let God” If He Were Here

Kenneth Berding, Walking in the Spirit (Wheaton: Crossway, 2011), 48–51:

[P]utting to death the deeds of the body is active. There is no passivity here.

I grew up in a church setting that was into “higher life” teaching. This teaching goes by many different names, including “victorious Christian living,” “the exchanged life,” and “the crucified life.” A particular stream of higher life teaching that continues to be influential is known as the Keswick Movement (pronounced KES-ik), named after an annual Bible conference that has been taking place in Keswick, England, each year since the late nineteenth century. One key aspect of higher life teaching is probably traceable even further back to a movement referred to as Quietism, which was popular in Italy, France, and Spain during the seventeenth century. If you aren’t familiar with any of these labels, it is still likely that you are familiar with a slogan that gets used in connection with various strands of this teaching: “Let Go and Let God.” Said differently, the key to the Christian life is to “let go of reliance on yourself and let God do the work in you.”

 

So much of what is taught in evangelical higher life circles is right and helpful, and I want to affirm much of it. The emphasis on surrendering oneself to Christ, the importance placed upon overcoming sin and living in holiness, and the awareness of the need for empowering by the Holy Spirit to defeat sin, spread the good news, and live a life pleasing to God are all praiseworthy. Higher life emphases have also been affirmed by many who have been catalysts for significant missionary thrusts during the past couple centuries. Actually, the reason it sometimes gets referred to as “higher life” teaching is because these brothers and sisters are unwilling to settle for the mediocrity they see among so many professing Christians. They know that the Scriptures teach something better. On these points, for sure, I could not agree more.   Keep Reading...