The Puritan classic on putting sin to death - complete and unabridged. "I owe more to John Owen than to any other theologian, ancient or modern; and I owe more to The Mortification of Sin than to anything else he wrote." - J. I. Packer
John Owen's classic treatise takes up one of the most practical and painful question in the Christian life: what is a believer to do with the sin that - though truly forgiven and truly hated - will not die? First preached to the young men of Oxford and published in 1656,
Of the Mortification of Sin is his answer: a searching, exact account of what the killing of sin really requires, why it is the daily and lifelong work of even the strongest Christian, and why it can never be won by willpower, temperament, or religious discipline, but only by faith in Christ and the power of his Spirit.
Owen is unsparing, but never severe for its own sake. He strips away the counterfeits - the sin merely quieted, diverted, or dressed up as respectable religion - and leads the weary believer to the one place sin is truly put to death: the cross of Christ. Famous for its warning that the Christian must
be killing sin, or it will be killing you, the book is at heart about freedom - not grim self-improvement, but the way back into living communion with God.
In these pages Owen shows:
- Why mortification is the constant, lifelong duty of every believer - not a task for the especially sinful
- How to tell true mortification from its many counterfeits
- The dangerous symptoms of a sin that has been indulged too long
- Clear, practical directions for striking at sin before it takes root
- Why lasting victory comes only through faith in Christ crucified and the work of the Holy Spirit
About this edition. This volume in The Puritan Treasury presents Owen's treatise complete and unabridged, set from the third edition of 1668 - the last published in his lifetime. The text has been freshly typeset and formatted. It includes a new introduction to Owen's life and work and a glossary for the modern reader.
More than three centuries after it was written,
Of the Mortification of Sin remains the book serious Christians return to again and again in the pursuit of holiness - a cornerstone of Puritan and Reformed spirituality, and one of the most trusted guides to sanctification ever written.
