The (personal) mortification of sin - Particular directions to prepare the soul to mortify a sin – Part 1

The (personal) mortification of sin

Matthew 7:21-23

Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’

Particular directions to prepare the soul to mortify a sin – Part 1

This is a multi-part post that is an attempt to internalize practical ways by which to mortify sin in our lives. This is directly lifted from John Owen’s work, The Mortification of Sin. I make no apology, for his work is incredible. The depth of Owen’s communion with God in his soul cannot be expressed in words. It is very easy to see that he loved his Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. Owen’s mind was deep, and the way he mines a topic until it is either exhausted, or you are exhausted in travelling with him is incredible.

Because there is so much here, I will break this apart into several posts. The first point to consider about mortifying a sin is:

If the symptoms are dangerous, extraordinary remedies are to be used

Have you ever thought through all the times in your life when your sins have gotten so deep and powerful that you didn’t know what to do?

Have you ever launched a frontal assault on a sin only to be repelled and it came back worse?

Have you ever felt a deep battle cry in your soul to mortify a particular sin and you left it alone and thought to yourself: “Well, I will take care of it some day?” If you have, then no simple attack on sin will do. You need to attack it with full strength.

In other words: big sins call for big artillery!

There are two things in particular that we must consider: (1) long standing enemies must be attacked hard, (2) ignored enemies are reason for alarm and full power is needed.

First, long standing enemies must be attacked hard.

If a sin has been in your life for a very long time or if a sin is very strong powerful in your life. You must attack launch an extreme attack.

Are your sins like a garbage dump? Do they look like this image?

The psalmist in Psalm 38:5 says, "My wounds stink and fester because of my foolishness."

Have lusts overtaken your constant communion with God? Worldliness? Ambition? Greediness?

Has it been awhile since you have cleaned up the garbage in your soul? Has your sin grown big and bold?

If so, the normal humiliation of looking at your sin and seeing it in light of the word may not be enough. Why?

1. If it is so bad, and has been left for so long, you may not be able to even distinguish between an unmortified lust and the dominion of sin.

In other words, an unregenerate person is controlled by sin. Their life has been completely dominated by it, so if you started in search of where their sin starts, you wouldn’t find a beginning, because there was no regeneration, the whole man is sick.

It is the same if a sin has been left for years and years. You may not be able to find the beginning, and your whole life may be dominated by it.

This calls for some massive artillery.

2. How can you promise yourself that you will stop? How do you know that if you stop for a short time that the lust will stop tormenting and seducing you?

It is probably best thought of like this: I see a sin and it is dreadful to me. I know it has been there for years. I have left it alone and let it turn into the garbage dump above. I hear a sermon, read the word and I am cut to the quick. I see my sin in relationship to Christ and know it must be put to death. I promise myself that I will stop doing it. Yet, it is Déjà vu for me. I have been down this road before, I know it.

As soon as I try to stop, the temptations, the lusts come right back and redouble their efforts. It seems hopeless to me.

This calls for some massive artillery.

3. It has weathered many storms fighting against it.

You have launched assaults on it before, and even the Spirit has through the means of grace. The sin has been preached at from the pulpit. Bible studies have been done on it. Books have been read on it. Friends have helped you with it. Prayers have been made against it.

Many graces have waged ware, but none have succeeded to quell the tide of this enemy.

This calls for massive artillery.

Second, ignored enemies are reason for alarm and full power is needed

If your heart has been deeply and secretly crying out for help in mortifying a sin, and you have ignored it and you haven't attempted a strong gospel attempt to mortify it, a heavy remedy is needed.

There are six very scary things that tell you that you need a massive remedy.

1. If when your heart is troubled with thoughts about sin, instead of trying to destroy it, you search your heart to find out how good you are doing. You may have a heart that is in love with sin.

When Jesus preached against the Pharisees in John 8, there response to him was that they were children of Abraham. Their sins were thrown before them, and they looked for ways to justify themselves in completely unrelated areas.

If you do this, these are red flags indicating to you that you are in love with your sin.

This calls for massive artillery.

2. If you are desirous to keep a sin even when grace and mercy are applied to it.

This is a dangerous condition, when the love and kindness of the Lord have been given to you to try to lure you away from your sin, but you hold onto it and cherish it.

Two scenes from the Lord of the Rings scream out to me. The first is when Gandalf is trying to have Bilbo relieved of the cursed ring, yet Bilbo does not want to let it go and snaps at Gandalf. The second is many scenes as Golem keeps saying, “my own, my precious.”

If this is the case for you regarding a sin: massive artillery is needed.

3. If the sin is acted upon, an attempt is made to mortify it, yet secretly, down deep, your will still delights in it.

This is a dreadful place to be in. You know that a sin is not right, it is hindering your relationship with God, so you begin to mortify it. Yet, deep down, in the secret parts of your soul you would be sad if it went away. This is a bad place to be in.

You need massive artillery.

4. When the way you have fought against a sin and your only motivation to get rid of it is that you will be punished if you do it.

People who belong to Christ, should be driven by gospel principles. They can use the death of Christ, their communion with God, a deep hatred of sin to help battle sin, not just servile fear, and self-love.

Listen to what Joseph says in Genesis 39:9b, "How then can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?"

Paul, in 2 Corinthians 5:14-15 says, "For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised."

And again in 2 Corinthians 7:1 he says, "Since we have these promises, beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from every defilement of body and spirit, bringing holiness to completion in the fear of God."

If the law is the only power that you have to oppose sin, and not gospel weapons, you are in deep trouble. To cast off Christ's easy yoke for the iron yoke of the law in order to indulge lusts is a terrible thing.

As a Christian, sin does not have power over us because we are under grace, not law (Rom. 6:14). If gospel principles won't help you mortify a sin, the law won't either.

If this is the case for you, you need heavy, heavy artillery.

5. When you have great anxiety or worry in your heart concerning a sin, but you can’t do anything about it.

This is perhaps the chastening of the Lord towards you. It is sometimes called judiciary hardness.

If this is the case, you need heavy artillery.

6. When God has already judged a sin in your life through affliction and you have not mortified it, or when God has deserted you and left you in spiritual depression and the sin still remains strong.

The prophet says in Isaiah 57:17, "Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry, I struck him; I hid my face and was angry, but he went on backsliding in the way of his own heart."

This is a difficult place to be, and you need heavy artillery.

The cure

For any or all of these, only God's grace can cure.

Isaiah 57:18-19 says, "I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and his mourners, creating the fruit of the lips. Peace, peace, to the far and to the near,” says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”"

For all of these types, ordinary mortification will not do, only prayer, fasting and the word will do.

A word of warning: Just because these things happen to you, doesn't mean you can conclude you are a believer. A wise man can be sick and wounded and do foolish things, but not everyone who is sick and wounded and does foolish things is wise. If these things are you, and you are a believer, it means you are a miserable one, and in desperate need of repair.

Tune in next time. Same bat time, same bat channel as we wrestle with trying to mortify sins. Don’t worry and don’t despair, there are remedies for life dominating sins. We will begin to see these remedies next time.