this volume is a new edition of the three classic works on sin by John Owen. the folks at Crossway Publishers have worked hard at getting this new edition, which they are saying is “more accessible” (meaning it has been transcribed into more modern English than Owen wrote in), but without losing any of Owen’s content. and the editors of this volume, Justin Taylor and Kelly M. Kapic, handle this task marvelously.

one of the first questions that is always asked by people who are encouraged to read old, dead theologians is, “why should i? how can someone who wrote hundreds of years ago, in such a different cultural context possibly be able to speak to me?” questions like these fail to take into consideration, however, that even though humans may be located in different places at different points of history, the human condition is essentially the same. it is essentially cross-cultural. people that lived in the sixth century BC would have experienced similar struggles, similar joys, and similar desires that we still experience today, more than two thousand years later. and this is especially true in regard to sin, and so it is wisdom to listen to and learn from the insights and advice of those that have gone before us. and this is the reason that Owen is so essentially helpful to us today.

as mentioned, this volume, Overcoming Sin and Temptation, is actually a compilation of three works, Owen’s Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers, his Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It, and his treatise on Indwelling Sin. the first of these works, on mortification, is so helpful today that i will focus this review on it.

sin is a dirty word in the modern world today, especially, sadly, in the modern evangelical church. no one wants to talk about sin. no one wants to admit that they do sin. and, of course, no one wants to know how to mortify sin, for if they did then they would have to admit that they are a sinner. this is because of a lack of understanding of the nature of sin and the power that sin has over humanity. as Owen states in this work, a superficial understanding of sin will produce a lack of motivation in fighting it, and it is precisely such an attitude towards sin that Owen argues against. once the Christian is convinced of the power and true presence of sin (Owen’s Indwelling Sin is particularly helpful here), then they can start about the task of mortifying sin.

Owen, after noting what mortification does not mean, identifies three aspects of mortifying sin in a believer. these aspects are the habitual weakening of sin so that it has less and less of a chance to take hold, the constant warring and contending against sin, and being victorious in these battles so that sin no longer directs the desires of the heart. Owen then goes on to describe how this war is fought, both in the preparation for battle and the actual battle strategy that a Christian must develop if he is to have any kind of success in mortifying sin. and, of course, every step of the way, Owen emphasizes again and again the sheer necessity of the Christian’s relying upon the Holy Spirit to illumine, guide, and assist in this great task.

sin is, indeed, a dirty word. a dirty practice. and it is because of this that the church must face it head on and mortify it. it cannot be ignored, nor can it be underestimated. doing so only will give sin a stronger foothold and more opportunity to overcome individuals and communities. no, it must be mortified, and because of this the modern church is greatly indebted to those who have made this new edition of Owen’s works on sin available to a new generation of readers. Christians must see it as their duty to constantly be putting sin to death, and Christians should therefore be exhorted to flee to the wisdom and insight of John Owen in doing so.

in Owen’s immortal words, “to kill sin is the work of living men; where men are dead [Eph. 2:1, 5; Col. 2:13], sin is alive, and will live.” and so, saints in Christ, “be killing sin, or it will be killing you.”

two big pieces of news today from the Jonathan Edwards Center at Yale University. first, if you’ve seen the September cover of Christianity Today magazine, you may have chuckled (as i did) at the t-shirt displayed. well the fine folks at the JEC have made the possibility of owning such a shirt a reality. they are now available for $17.00 a piece and all proceeds go towards supporting the work of the JEC.

so what is this work that the JEC does? well i’m glad you asked. the second piece of exciting news from them is that access to the online archive project that they have been developing is now available for a free trial. included in this archive is about 25,000 transcribed pages of Edwards’ writings, a good many of which have been previously unpublished and therefore will give us a fuller understanding of Edwards’ mind. so go check it out while you can! at some point, access to the Edwards archive will be by subscription only.