I’m currently reading Overcoming Sin & Temptation by John Owen. The book is a compilation of three classic works by John Owen, edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor. I think John Owen has written the best books regarding sin, and that anyone who desires to overcome sin and understands its methods should read his works.

An excerpt from the book:
“Sin will not only be striving, acting, rebelling, troubling, disquieting, but if let alone, if not continually mortified, it will bring forth great, cursed , scandalous, soul-destroying sins.”
…
“Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism, might it grow to its head.”
- John Owen, The Morification of Sin in Believers

How true it is… if we entertain our sinful nature, it will carry out its deadly plot to the fullest. Our sin will overcome us and be uncontrollable to the point where our conscience is seared, and we won’t even recognize it as sin anymore. “Be killing sin or it will be killing you,” says Owen.

This is not something we can accomplish on our own, but it must be done by the Spirit. Thank God He has given us the Spirit to help us in this process of destroying the sin in our lives!

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” Romans 8:26