STAYING CURRENT

Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Colossians 3:5

For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Romans 8:13

I was speaking to a young man in our congregation the other day and he asked me if I had read “The Mortification of Sin” by John Owen. I immediately thought mortified, (i.e. “I was mortified”) doesn’t that mean humiliated? How can I humiliate sin? He set me straight by telling me it meant; “put to death” and two days later he handed me the book to read. If you have never picked this book up, I highly recommend you purchase it (the abridged version). I’ve touched on this subject before in past articles discussing the flesh, repentance, your heart, etc. But this book goes deep…..I mean real deep.

Let me quote just one page of the book:

“4. The duty itself.

Let us consider three things concerning the duty before us:

i. What is meant by the ‘the body’;

ii. What is meant by ‘the deeds of the body’; and

iii. What is meant by mortifying or putting them to death.

i. ‘The body’, at the end of the verse, is the same as ‘the flesh’ in the beginning of the verse. It is indwelling sin, the corrupted flesh or lust, that is intended.

ii. The outward ‘deeds’ of the body are here expressed, yet the inward cause is chiefly intended. The apostle calls them ‘deeds’ in that they are an outward expression of a yielding to an inward lust. Indwelling lust and sin is the fountain and principle of all sinful action.

iii. To ‘mortify’ means to put any living thing to death. To kill a man, or any other living thing, is to take away the principle of all its strength, vigour, and power, so that it cannot act, or exert, or put forth any proper acting’s of its own. Indwelling sin is compared to a person, a living person, called ‘the old man’, with his faculties, and properties, his wisdom, craft, subtlety, and strength. The ‘old man’ is utterly mortified and slain by the cross of Christ. He is said to be ‘crucified with Christ’ (Rom. 6:6), and ourselves to be ‘dead’ with him, verse 8. This takes place in regeneration. The work of the Holy Spirit, Who is planted in our hearts, also opposes the lusts of the flesh (Gal. 5:17) This whole work is done by degrees, and is to be carried on towards perfection all of our days.

Thus it is the constant duty of believers to render a death blow to the deeds of the flesh, that they may not have life and strength to bring forth their destructive influence.

5. The promise is life.

The life promised is eternal life. This is the very opposite of the penalty: ‘If you live after the flesh, you shall die.’ However, the word may not only mean eternal life in heaven, but also the spiritual life in Christ which we have here, the joy and comfort and vigour of our life yet in this world.

This is a second motive for the duty prescribed: the vigour, power, and comfort of our spiritual life depend on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.”

Have you been struggling with a particular sin for a long, long time? Are there relationships in your life that are broken and seem un-reparable? Has life seemed to have lost it’s meaning for you? This is a great book on the battle that we fight every day, from the moment we arise till the time we go back to bed.

It’s not about us, it’s all about Him! We are here to spread the good news and glorify God. How can we do that if we are not mortifying sin?

Vertical focus—Not horizontal!