Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Mortify Sin

Mortify sin.
This is the command of God’s word that has been on my heart so heavily lately. The importance of mortification has been echoed in the lives of two close friends who feel the same conviction regarding the subject.
It all started at the Desiring God Pastor’s Conference in February. R.C. Sproul listed several books that have had a great impact on his life. One of the titles interested me. The Mortification of Sin by John Owen was highly recommended by Dr. Sproul. The bookstore at the conference had the book in stock so I picked it up after the session. I also picked up a copy of the January edition of Table Talk (Dr. Sproul’s monthly publication). The topic for that month was, unbeknownst to be, The Mortification of Sin. It’s funny to see how God uses little things to pound ideas into my little head.
This morning I listened to a lecture by Dr. John Piper on John Owen from a conference in 1994. All this to stay that God has been moving me to the important command that Owen, Sproul, Piper, and many other Christ exalting theologians consider so important. This command is found clearly Colossians 3:5-6:

“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming.”

In an article entitled The Practice of Mortification Sinclair B. Ferguson points out that we need to
“learn to admit sin for what it really is. Call a spade a spade- call it ‘sexual immorality,’ not ‘I’m being tempted a little’; call it ‘impurity’ not ‘I’m struggling with my thought life’; call it ‘evil desire, which is idolatry,’ not ‘I think I need to order my priorities a bit better.’”


All too often we voice our sin as less violating than it actually is. How are we to mortify it if we are denial of its severity? Paul meant what he said in verse 6: On account of these the wrath of God is coming. We are new men in Christ (Col.3:9). We should seek to destroy the deceitful pleasures of our flesh! A constant killing of sin and the flesh provides an entry way for the true joy that is found in obedience to Christ! Why should we dance around the truth of our sin in order to save face and keep our pride intact? Why shouldn’t we run to the promises of Christ and put of our old self for the joys of the new? It is my hope and prayer that Christians everywhere will seek to master this concept as the move upward in the process of sanctification.

PS- Reading ANYTHING by John Owen is stinking hard!!

Seeking to Mortify,
Kevin

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