Quotes from John Owen

God."—Mic. vi. 8.

By some men's too much understanding, others are brought to understand nothing at all.

Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. Your being dead with Christ virtually, your being quickened with him, will not excuse you from this work. And our Saviour tells us how his Father deals with every branch in him that beareth fruit, every true and living branch. He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit

A truly gracious, praying frame (wherein we pray always) is utterly inconsistent with the love of or reserve for any sin. To

Whatever impeacheth the universality of obedience in one thing overthrows its sincerity in all things.

Wherefore as condemnation is not the infusing of a habit of wickedness into him that is condemned, nor the making of him to be inherently wicked, who was before righteous, but the passing a sentence upon a man with respect to his wickedness; no more is justification the change of a person from inherent unrighteousness to righteousness, by the infusion of a principle of grace, but a sentential declaration of him to be righteous.

There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.

It is, then, the work of the Spirit. For, — (1.) He is promised of God to be given unto us to do this work. The taking away of the stony heart, — that is, the stubborn, proud, rebellious, unbelieving heart, — is in general the work of mortification that we treat of.

Mortification of any sin must be by a supply of grace. Of ourselves we cannot do it. Now, it hath pleased the Father that in Christ should all fullness dwell, Col. 1:19; that of his fullness we might receive grace for grace, John 1:16.

It grieves me ofttimes to see poor souls, that have a zeal for God and a desire of eternal welfare, kept by such directors and directions under a hard, burdensome, outside worship and service of God, with many specious endeavours for mortification, in an utter ignorance of the righteousness of Christ, and unacquaintedness with his Spirit, all their days.

The Spirit of God createth a new nature in us, which is the principle and next cause of all acts of the life of God.

I suppose, therefore, this may be fixed on as a common principle of Christianity, namely, that constant and fervent prayer for the divine assistance of the Holy Spirit is such an indispensable means for the attaining the knowledge of the mind of God in the Scripture as that without it all others will not be available.

Temptation, then, in general, is any thing, state, way, or condition that, upon any account whatsoever, has a force or efficacy to seduce, to draw the mind and heart of a man from its obedience, which God requires of him, into any sin, in any degree of it whatsoever.

Hatred of sin as sin, not only as galling or disquieting, a sense of the love of Christ in the cross, lies at the bottom of all true spiritual mortification.

It is granted that God hath given us his word, or the holy Scripture, as a declaration of his mind and will; and, therefore, he hath given it unto us for this very end and purpose, that we may know them and do them.

God's work consists in universal obedience;

Audax omnia perpeti Gens humana ruit per vetitum nefas.

As a means of retaining communion with God, whereby we sweetly ease our hearts in the bosom of the Father, and receive in refreshing tastes of his love. The soul is never more raised with the love of God than when by the Spirit taken into intimate communion with him in the discharge of this duty; and therein it belongs to the Spirit of consolation, to the Spirit promised as a comforter.

A ministry devoid of spiritual gifts is a sufficient evidence of a church under a degenerating apostasy.

Nor can we be any of us delivered from this snare, at this season, without a watchful endeavour to keep and preserve our minds in the constant contemplation of things spiritual and heavenly, proceeding from the prevalent adherence of our affections unto them, as will appear in the ensuing discourse.

The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to him is not to believe that he loves you.