Day 1081 · Year 3 · The Great Tradition
Owen on the Spirit's work against sin
A Puritan pastor taught that sin must be actively killed.
Today's passage
Romans 8:12-14
12Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation, but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it.
13For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.
14For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
John Owen famously said, 'be killing sin, or it will be killing you.' Paul says it almost as starkly: 'if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.' Notice 'by the Spirit.' Owen did not preach moralism; he preached Spirit-empowered honesty. Sin dies when it is brought into the light, named, prayed over specifically, and starved of the conditions that keep it alive. Today, pick one. Name it. Bring it into the light. Ask the Spirit to do what only he can do.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
John Owen · Puritans & Post-Reformation · 17th c. · England
John Owen taught that sin is not managed by willpower but mortified by the Spirit — through honest naming, specific prayer, and the deliberate cutting off of the conditions that keep it alive.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- What does Paul say to put to death, and how?
- Why is Spirit-power so different from willpower?
- What specific sin is the Spirit asking you to bring into the light today?
A prayer to pray
Name the sin specifically. Bring it into the light before the Spirit. Ask him for the courage to remove the conditions that keep it alive.