John Owen on Sin

I've been reading The Mortification of Sin by John Owen recently. This paragraph really stood out to me,

As sin weakens, so it darkens the soul. It is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself over the face of the soul, and intercepts all the beams of God's love and favour. It takes away all sense of the privilege of our adoption; and if the soul begins to gather up thoughts of consolation, sin quickly scatters them.

Owen writes this as an encouragement for believers to take seriously the biblical call to mortify (kill) the sin in our lives by the Spirit.

Dear Father,

Please do not let me let sin (known or unknown) go unmortified in my life. For the sake of my soul, my family, my church, and my ministry increase in me the desire to kill sin and strengthen me in battle against it. May my church and home be a place of humble vigilance. May You surround me with godly brothers and sisters in Christ who will lovingly speak the truth to me. And may my ultimate aim in mortifying the sin that is in me be Your honor and glory. Amen.

You can read Mortification of Sin for free here.

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Pray for Your Preacher

This Sunday I preached a sermon entitled "Hear the Word" from 2 Timothy 4:1-5.

At the beginning I asked the congregation to pray for me in regards to my charge to "preach the word."

Here are the five things I asked them to pray for:

1) Pray that I would preach the Word with accuracy. Pray that I would not add to it or leave something out.

2) Pray that I would preach the Word with clarity. Pray that I would be given a gift and I would work hard to make the truth clear and understandable (use of words and language).

3) Pray that I would preach the Word with power. Pray that I would have what the old timers called “unction in the pulpit.” Pray that God would use His Word to bring life.

4) Pray that I would preach the Word with perseverance. Pray that I would not be weary in well doing but faithful regardless of apparent fruitfulness.

5) Pray that I would preach the Word with my life. Pray that my walk would match a faithful preaching of the Gospel.

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Jonathan Edwards' Resolutions on the Tongue

When Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) was a young man he wrote several resolutions that by God's help he would seek to keep for the glory of God. Since I have been preaching on the tongue (from Ephesians 4:29) I thought I would post his resolutions that relate to the tongue: (obviously we talk a bit different than from the 18th Century)

16.Resolved, never to speak evil of anyone, so that it shall tend to his dishonor, more or less, upon no account except for some real good.

31. Resolved, never to say anything at all against anybody, but when it is perfectly agreeable to the highest degree of Christian honor, and of love to mankind, agreeable to the lowest humility, and sense of my own faults and failings, and agreeable to the golden rule; often, when I have said anything against anyone, to bring it to, and try it strictly by the test of this Resolution.

34. Resolved, in narration's never to speak anything but the pure and simple verity.

36. Resolved, never to speak evil of any, except I have some particular good call for it. Dec. 19, 1722.

70. Let there be something of benevolence, in all that I speak.

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Every Word Matters

Tomorrow I am preaching (Lord willing) on Ephesians 4:29:

Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

Here is a good video by Paul David Tripp from the 2008 Desiring God Conference.

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A Good Book on Understanding Catholics

I just started reading a very interesting book by Chris Castaldo called Holy Ground: Walking with Jesus as a Former Catholic. Castaldo is a former Roman Catholic and is now an evangelical pastor.

In His first chapter he gives the top five reason people have left Catholicism for evangelicalism (according to a questionnaire):


Five areas that they found in a non-catholic, evangelical faith...

1 - Every believer is called to full-time ministry.

2 - Relationship with Christ must take precedence over rule-keeping.

3 - We enjoy direct access to God in Christ.

4 - There is only one proper object of devotion - Jesus the Savior.

5 - God's children should be motivated by grace instead of guilt.

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