Christians naturally treat themselves so lightly. I know it is true for me, and I am sure it is too for you dear reader. We may speak of great desires for holy living and advances in Christian godliness, but little do we speak of devoting our energies to mortify our lusts in constant conscious watching over our own souls.

I personally often find myself in a lackadaisical attitude towards my own soul. Like Elijah of old many of my Heights of Progress are followed with great Valleys of Humiliation, all because I have estimated myself too highly and deemed the power of God’s grace too lowly.

Is it not true that we are far too little acquainted with our own selves?

Part of treating persons as holistic beings is recognizing the similarities and differences among them. With this in mind, it seems strange that “psychology” is so often a negative term among Christians. Certainly people have used this science in a problematic manner at times, reducing human persons to mechanistic behavioral responses without any reference to God. However, many Christians have created problems on the other end by their overly simplistic view of human persons, failing to account for such important factors as physiological distinctions, diverse backgrounds, and deep-seated socioeconomic impulses.

While it is true that all humans are made in God’s image, and that everyone is called to resist sin and seek righteousness, these commonalities do not cancel out undeniable particularities. In other words, what does righteousness look like in the lives of concrete individuals? How does sin tempt people in different ways?

In many respects Owen’s three treatises can be read as early modern attempts to explore human psychology as affected by sin and renewed by the Spirit.ⁱ

Faithful living does not always look the same. Sensitive pastors have long recognized this, learning the art of taking the wisdom of Scripture and applying it with care to the lives of those they counsel. Cookie-cutter molds simply will not work.

In this vein, one reason that Owen consistently calls his readers to understand their own temperaments is because this will help them better appreciate how sin and temptation arise in their own lives.

He recognizes that some people are by birth and experience “earthy,” while others are “naturally gentle,” and still others tend to have “passionate” dispositions. The challenge for all is to learn about their own constitution: “He who watches not this thoroughly, who is not exactly skilled in the knowledge of himself, will never be disentangled from one temptation or another all his days.”ⁱⁱ

According to this Puritan pastor, there is no temperament that is free from temptation, and the trick is to be aware of the threats that are easily overlooked.

For example, those who are naturally gentle and pleasant may be surprised to find themselves far down a path that they should have courageously departed from long ago. Such a person may, for instance, turn a deaf ear to slander or a blind eye to injustice because acknowledging these wrongs might require the person to act courageously. Although it would be easier to mind his own business, he may need to risk discomfort by standing up for those mocked or being willing to express righteous anger in the face of discrimination.

Others who tend toward the “earthy” may rightly uphold what is now commonly called authenticity, but in the process they foster “selfishness” and “harsh thoughts of others.” We all have “peculiar lusts” due to our particular constitution, education, or prejudice, and such things have “deep rooting and strength in them.”ⁱⁱⁱ

Satan tends to attack us according to our particular personalities, moving against a confident person much differently than an anxious one, but tempting both nonetheless. Thus, we must learn our dispositions, for in so doing we are more prepared to avoid the stealthy arrows directed at us.

A persistent danger among Christians is that we confuse certain personalities with sanctification, creating an inaccurate hierarchy within the kingdom of God. In fact, Owen believes that because of our various backgrounds and temperaments, it is very hard to discern the most faithful Christians, since looks can be deceiving:

Remember that of many of the best Christians, the worst is known and seen. Many who keep up precious communion with God do yet oftentimes, by their natural tempers of freedom or passion, not carry so glorious appearances as others who perhaps come short of them in grace and the power of godliness.^iv

Not only can appearances be misleading, but people in positions of leadership in the church often suffer greater falls than the average congregation member. When considering countless examples of the saints in Scripture (e.g., Noah, David, Hezekiah), Owen concludes that great “eruptions of actual sin” often occur not in “the lowest form or ordinary sort of believers,” but in people who have in the past “had a peculiar eminency in them on the account of their walking with God in their generation.”^v Past faithfulness is not a protection against present dangers.

In this life there is no escaping the challenges of temptation, and thus all—young and old, pastor and parishioner, poor and rich, wise and simple—must commit themselves to battle against sin. “Be acquainted, then, with thine own heart: though it be deep, search it; though it be dark, inquire into it; though it give all its distempers other names than what are their due, believe it not.”^vi

Do not justify your own particular sin, but seek to recognize it so that you might fight against it with all your strength.

Although sin and temptation affect everyone differently, none can escape the constant onslaught. Christians are called to wage war against this enemy, knowing that there are only two options: “Be killing sin or it will be killing you.”^vii While battlefield language may sound extreme to our ears, that is how Owen—following the Bible—conceives of this struggle. With this in mind, the only hope Owen can promise comes not through further self-examination but by embracing the love and provision of God.

—Kelly M. Kapic, Introduction; Life in the Midst of Battle: John Owen’s Approach to Sin, Temptation, and the Christian Life.

John Owen, Overcoming Sin and Temptation (Wheaton, Illinois: Crossway, 2006), p28-31

Read more of “Overcoming Sin and Temptation” here.

You can also purchase the book in paperback here, or read it in pdf here.

If you’ve found great help in John Owen’s Mortification of Sin I am persuaded that you would find the same in this work, if not more so. It is my hope and prayer that it would lead you ever close to the Lord Christ Jesus as you tread the Pilgrim’s life of holiness for the glory of God.

P.S. Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor has done an awesome job in this. I’m sure you would appreciate it as much as I have.

Footnotes

1. Cf. Timothy J. Keller, “Puritan Resources for Biblical Counseling,” Journal of Pastoral Practice 9/3 (1988): 11-43. [↩]
2. Works, 6:132. [↩]
3. Works, 6:132. [↩]
4. Works, 6:298, emphasis original. [↩]
5. Works, 6:279. [↩]
6. Works, 6:132. [↩]
7. Works, 6:9. [↩]