From Chapter 10 in John Owen’s Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers
Owen’s second direction on overcoming sin:
Get a clear and abiding sense upon your mind and conscience of the guilt, danger, and evil of that sin wherewith you are perplexed (97).
Of the guilt of it (97).
Though the power of sin be weakened by inherent grace in them that have it, [so] that sin shall not have dominion over them as it has over others, yet the guilt of sin that does yet abide and remain is aggravated and heightened by it (98).
Consider the danger of it:
of being hardened by the deceitfulness
Can a sadder thing befall you? Is it not enough to make any heart to tremble, to think of being brought into that estate wherein he should have slight thoughts of sin? Slight thoughts of grace of mercy, of the blood of Christ, of the law, heaven, and hell, come all in at the same season. Take heed, this is that [which] your lust is working toward – the hardening of the heart, searing of the conscience, blinding of the mind, stupefying of the affections, and deceiving of the whole soul (99).
loss of peace and strength all a man’s days (99)
the danger of eternal destruction
Consider the evils of it (101).
It grieves the holy and blessed Spirit
The Lord Jesus is wounded afresh by it (102)
It will take away a man’s usefulness in his generation
. . . many men harbor spirit-devouring lusts in their bosoms, that lie as worms at the root of their obedience, and corrode and weaken it day by day.
Keep alive upon your heart these or the like considerations of its guilt, danger and evil; be much in the meditation of these things; cause your heart to dwell and abide upon them; engage your thoughts into these considerations; let them not go off nor wander from them until they begin to have a powerful influence upon your soul – until they make it to tremble (103).
