Main page

Field note 01

John Owen on mortification

Fight sin.

“Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”

John Owen · Chapter II

Scripture for the fight

Keep the word near.

Read slowly. Carry one passage into the next temptation, and answer sin with what God has said.

Colossians 3:1–17

1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.

5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. 11 Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.

12 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassionate hearts, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, 13 bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive. 14 And above all these put on love, which binds everything together in perfect harmony. 15 And let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body. And be thankful. 16 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom, singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, with thankfulness in your hearts to God. 17 And whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

Romans 6:11–14

11 So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus. 12 Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. 13 Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. 14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Galatians 5:16–24

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God.

22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.

Matthew 5:29–30

29 If your right eye causes you to sin, tear it out and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body be thrown into hell. 30 And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. For it is better that you lose one of your members than that your whole body go into hell.

Psalm 119:9–16

Beth

9How can a young man keep his way pure?
By guarding it according to your word.

10With my whole heart I seek you;
let me not wander from your commandments!

11I have stored up your word in my heart,
that I might not sin against you.

12Blessed are you, O LORD;
teach me your statutes!

13With my lips I declare
all the rules of your mouth.

14In the way of your testimonies I delight
as much as in all riches.

15I will meditate on your precepts
and fix my eyes on your ways.

16I will delight in your statutes;
I will not forget your word.

James 4:7–8

7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.

Hebrews 12:1–4

1 Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.

3 Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted. 4 In your struggle against sin you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood.

1 Peter 2:11

11 Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul.

Titus 2:11–14

11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, 12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, 14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.

Psalm 51

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David, when Nathan the prophet went to him, after he had gone in to Bathsheba.

1Have mercy on me, O God,
according to your steadfast love;
according to your abundant mercy
blot out my transgressions.

2Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity,
and cleanse me from my sin!

3For I know my transgressions,
and my sin is ever before me.

4Against you, you only, have I sinned
and done what is evil in your sight,
so that you may be justified in your words
and blameless in your judgment.

5Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity,
and in sin did my mother conceive me.

6Behold, you delight in truth in the inward being,
and you teach me wisdom in the secret heart.

7Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.

8Let me hear joy and gladness;
let the bones that you have broken rejoice.

9Hide your face from my sins,
and blot out all my iniquities.

10Create in me a clean heart, O God,
and renew a right spirit within me.

11Cast me not away from your presence,
and take not your Holy Spirit from me.

12Restore to me the joy of your salvation,
and uphold me with a willing spirit.

13Then I will teach transgressors your ways,
and sinners will return to you.

14Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God,
O God of my salvation,
and my tongue will sing aloud of your righteousness.

15O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth will declare your praise.

16For you will not delight in sacrifice, or I would give it;
you will not be pleased with a burnt offering.

17The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit;
a broken and contrite heart, O God, you will not despise.

18Do good to Zion in your good pleasure;
build up the walls of Jerusalem;

19then will you delight in right sacrifices,
in burnt offerings and whole burnt offerings;
then bulls will be offered on your altar.

Romans 12:1–2

1 I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. 2 Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.

1 Corinthians 6:18–20

18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body.

Hebrews 4:15–16

15 For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but one who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.

1 John 2:15–17

15 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. 16 For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. 17 And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.

Proverbs 4:23

23Keep your heart with all vigilance,
for from it flow the springs of life.

Proverbs 22:3

3The prudent sees danger and hides himself,
but the simple go on and suffer for it.

Psalm 1:1–2

1Blessed is the man
who walks not in the counsel of the wicked,
nor stands in the way of sinners,
nor sits in the seat of scoffers;

2but his delight is in the law of the LORD,
and on his law he meditates day and night.

Proverbs 5

1My son, be attentive to my wisdom;
incline your ear to my understanding,

2that you may keep discretion,
and your lips may guard knowledge.

3For the lips of a forbidden woman drip honey,
and her speech is smoother than oil,

4but in the end she is bitter as wormwood,
sharp as a two-edged sword.

5Her feet go down to death;
her steps follow the path to Sheol;

6she does not ponder the path of life;
her ways wander, and she does not know it.

7And now, O sons, listen to me,
and do not depart from the words of my mouth.

8Keep your way far from her,
and do not go near the door of her house,

9lest you give your honor to others
and your years to the merciless,

10lest strangers take their fill of your strength,
and your labors go to the house of a foreigner,

11and at the end of your life you groan,
when your flesh and body are consumed,

12and you say, “How I hated discipline,
and my heart despised reproof!

13I did not listen to the voice of my teachers
or incline my ear to my instructors.

14I am at the brink of utter ruin
in the assembled congregation.”

15Drink water from your own cistern,
flowing water from your own well.

16Should your springs be scattered abroad,
streams of water in the streets?

17Let them be for yourself alone,
and not for strangers with you.

18Let your fountain be blessed,
and rejoice in the wife of your youth,

19a lovely deer, a graceful doe.
Let her breasts fill you at all times with delight;
be intoxicated always in her love.

20Why should you be intoxicated, my son, with a forbidden woman
and embrace the bosom of an adulteress?

21For a man’s ways are before the eyes of the LORD,
and he ponders all his paths.

22The iniquities of the wicked ensnare him,
and he is held fast in the cords of his sin.

23He dies for lack of discipline,
and because of his great folly he is led astray.

Psalm 19

To the choirmaster. A Psalm of David.

1The heavens declare the glory of God,
and the sky above proclaims his handiwork.

2Day to day pours out speech,
and night to night reveals knowledge.

3There is no speech, nor are there words,
whose voice is not heard.

4Their voice goes out through all the earth,
and their words to the end of the world.
In them he has set a tent for the sun,

5which comes out like a bridegroom leaving his chamber,
and, like a strong man, runs its course with joy.

6Its rising is from the end of the heavens,
and its circuit to the end of them,
and there is nothing hidden from its heat.

7The law of the LORD is perfect,
reviving the soul;
the testimony of the LORD is sure,
making wise the simple;

8the precepts of the LORD are right,
rejoicing the heart;
the commandment of the LORD is pure,
enlightening the eyes;

9the fear of the LORD is clean,
enduring forever;
the rules of the LORD are true,
and righteous altogether.

10More to be desired are they than gold,
even much fine gold;
sweeter also than honey
and drippings of the honeycomb.

11Moreover, by them is your servant warned;
in keeping them there is great reward.

12Who can discern his errors?
Declare me innocent from hidden faults.

13Keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me!
Then I shall be blameless,
and innocent of great transgression.

14Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart
be acceptable in your sight,
O LORD, my rock and my redeemer.

The word

Mortify /ˈmɔːtɪfʌɪ/

To put sin to death—not by hiding it, punishing yourself, or waiting for the desire to pass, but by weakening its hold and turning toward obedience.

Owen’s point is both severe and hopeful: remaining sin must be fought for a lifetime, yet the fight is never carried by willpower alone.

“It must be done by the Spirit.”

John Owen · Chapter I

The order of battle

Do not negotiate.
Bring it into the light.

Owen’s counsel moves from honest diagnosis to decisive resistance, and from self-reliance to Christ.

  1. Expose the root

    Do not merely remove the visible fruit. Name the desire beneath it, the promise you believe, and the moment your heart begins to turn.

    Ask: What am I wanting more than faithfulness?

    Psalm 51:3 · 1 Kings 8:38

  2. Learn its approach

    Trace the familiar occasions, excuses, and first small permissions. Sin does not honor the limits you imagine you can set for it.

    Ask: What path keeps bringing me here?

    Hebrews 3:13 · James 1:14–15

  3. Cut off its supply

    Resist at the beginning. Remove the opportunity, refuse the excuse, and replace the old action with a concrete act of obedience today.

    Ask: What faithful action can I take right now?

    Colossians 3:5 · 1 Corinthians 9:27

  4. Look to Christ

    Do not make self-control your savior. Bring the fight to Christ, trust the power of his death, and ask the Spirit for strength to walk in newness of life.

    “Set faith at work on Christ.”

    John Owen · Chapter XIV

    Romans 6:6 · Titus 2:14

For today

One honest fight.

Confess without softening

Call the sin what God calls it. Refuse euphemism, secrecy, and self-defense.

Remove one occasion

Make one practical change before the next moment of temptation arrives.

Practice the opposite

Do the next faithful thing in love, truth, humility, patience, or self-control.

A prayer for the fight

Spirit of God, uncover what I excuse, cut through every lie, and turn my eyes to Christ. Give me courage to refuse sin at its first approach and grace to choose what pleases you. Amen.