What is Your Real Problem

As we begin our sermon this morning, I want you to stop and survey you life? If you could ask Jesus to fix one thing immediately, and finally what would it be? Perhaps you have a need needing supplied? Or a worry needing calmed? Or a problem needing solved? Or a relationship needing restored? Or a disease needing healed? And lets say for the sake of argument, you lived in Jesus’ day, and a friend of yours brings you to see the Lord. He tells you, I am telling you Christ can help you. You aren’t sure whether you believe the hype or not, but you go anyway— it’s what friends do. But as we shall see, when he meets Jesus this man gets much more than he bargained for.

Mark 2:1–12 ESV

1 And when he returned to Capernaum after some days, it was reported that he was at home. 2 And many were gathered together, so that there was no more room, not even at the door. And he was preaching the word to them. 3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.” 6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

We See a Savior Who Likes to Talk:

Mark 2:1–2 ESV

We See a Savior Teaching the Word:

We serve at God who likes to talk. He made the world with words. He reaches out into this world with Words— Words that define. Words that give perspective. Words that teach. Words that Direct. Words that Command. Words that Judge. Words that are alive. During His ministry on earth Jesus Christ was first and foremost a preacher (not a healer). He spoke to people the Word of God. He helped people see things from God’s perspective, He shared God’s mind with them. John of course makes this crystal clear. He introduces Jesus to us as the eternal Word of God:

John 1:1–5 ESV

John 1:1–3 ESV

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1:14–18 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

John 1:14 ESV

14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth.

John 1 ESV

1 In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were made through him, and without him was not any thing made that was made. 4 In him was life, and the life was the light of men. 5 The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. 6 There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. 7 He came as a witness, to bear witness about the light, that all might believe through him. 8 He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. 9 The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. 10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. 12 But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, 13 who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. 14 And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we have seen his glory, glory as of the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth. 15 (John bore witness about him, and cried out, “This was he of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me ranks before me, because he was before me.’ ”) 16 For from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace. 17 For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. 18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known. 19 And this is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites from Jerusalem to ask him, “Who are you?” 20 He confessed, and did not deny, but confessed, “I am not the Christ.” 21 And they asked him, “What then? Are you Elijah?” He said, “I am not.” “Are you the Prophet?” And he answered, “No.” 22 So they said to him, “Who are you? We need to give an answer to those who sent us. What do you say about yourself?” 23 He said, “I am the voice of one crying out in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way of the Lord,’ as the prophet Isaiah said.” 24 (Now they had been sent from the Pharisees.) 25 They asked him, “Then why are you baptizing, if you are neither the Christ, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” 26 John answered them, “I baptize with water, but among you stands one you do not know, 27 even he who comes after me, the strap of whose sandal I am not worthy to untie.” 28 These things took place in Bethany across the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29 The next day he saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30 This is he of whom I said, ‘After me comes a man who ranks before me, because he was before me.’ 31 I myself did not know him, but for this purpose I came baptizing with water, that he might be revealed to Israel.” 32 And John bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove, and it remained on him. 33 I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.’ 34 And I have seen and have borne witness that this is the Son of God.” 35 The next day again John was standing with two of his disciples, 36 and he looked at Jesus as he walked by and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God!” 37 The two disciples heard him say this, and they followed Jesus. 38 Jesus turned and saw them following and said to them, “What are you seeking?” And they said to him, “Rabbi” (which means Teacher), “where are you staying?” 39 He said to them, “Come and you will see.” So they came and saw where he was staying, and they stayed with him that day, for it was about the tenth hour. 40 One of the two who heard John speak and followed Jesus was Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother. 41 He first found his own brother Simon and said to him, “We have found the Messiah” (which means Christ). 42 He brought him to Jesus. Jesus looked at him and said, “You are Simon the son of John. You shall be called Cephas” (which means Peter). 43 The next day Jesus decided to go to Galilee. He found Philip and said to him, “Follow me.” 44 Now Philip was from Bethsaida, the city of Andrew and Peter. 45 Philip found Nathanael and said to him, “We have found him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote, Jesus of Nazareth, the son of Joseph.” 46 Nathanael said to him, “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?” Philip said to him, “Come and see.” 47 Jesus saw Nathanael coming toward him and said of him, “Behold, an Israelite indeed, in whom there is no deceit!” 48 Nathanael said to him, “How do you know me?” Jesus answered him, “Before Philip called you, when you were under the fig tree, I saw you.” 49 Nathanael answered him, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” 50 Jesus answered him, “Because I said to you, ‘I saw you under the fig tree,’ do you believe? You will see greater things than these.” 51 And he said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you will see heaven opened, and the angels of God ascending and descending on the Son of Man.”

So when you come to Jesus, you need to realize first and foremost, before He wants to do anything else in your life, before he wants to fix any other problem, he wants to teach you TRUTH.

John 1:1:1-3, 14, 18

JOhn 1:14

John 1:18 ESV

18 No one has ever seen God; the only God, who is at the Father’s side, he has made him known.

There is a great illustration of a street preacher by the Name of Charlie King who had a unique way of gathering a crowd to hear his message. He would throw his hat onto the ground and, pointing at it, he would run around it crying out, “It’s alive. It’s alive. I’m telling you its alive.” Needless to say people would quickly gather to see what all was the commotion was about. When a crowd gathered. He would pick up his hat. Under his hat was his Bible. And he would say, “This book is alive, living and active, sharper than any two edged sword. Can I show you?”

So when you come to Jesus, you need to remember that. Dont’ be coming to Jesus with your agenda, with what you want to see happen, or with what you want to see done. Come to Jesus and let Him speak to you— about His Father, the Creator of the ends of the earth, about what’s really wrong with this world, and more than that, about what’s really wrong in your life, and in your heart!

Have you done that? Will you do that?

This is always the primary context of Christ's work amidst His people. He works through His Word... We Worship a God who likes to talk.

We see a Savior Who Knows Us Well

He Knows Our Real Problem

He knows what’s really wrong with us. Everyone thought they knew this man. Everyone thought they had his real problem pegged. I mean it was obvious. His body was profoundly broken. He couldn’t walk for crying out loud. He wasn’t able to live life to the full. And Jesus had the power to fix Him. But Jesus saw a different problem. He saw through the broken body and He saw broken soul, paralyzed, and crippled by the cords of sin and iniquity.

Now remember the context here. We are in the middle of 3 stories, 3 cameo portraits that are linked together by the subject of sin. What sin is, and what sin does to people.

It all began last week, you remember, with the leper: the dirty sinner. Sin makes us dirty before the eyes of God. We are not fit to stand in His presence. The leper was an object lesson of this principle.

Next week we will Levi/Matthew the tax collector— He is he despicable sinner. Distasteful to nice people. The kind of man from whom you would normally like to keep your distance, and Jesus has dinner with Him. Jesus welcomes Him to table fellowship!

This week we see the man with the disabled body, but his real problem is a disabled soul. What does sin do to us? It cripples us. It prevents us from serving God as we ought.

I came across an interesting bug this week in my studies. It’s called Ambulex Compressa- The Jeweled cockroach wasp. The interesting thing about this wasp is that it has venom peculiarly suited to coackroaches. Here’s how it works. The beautiful green wasp finds a roach and then he quick as a flash jumps on top of him and stings him twice. The first sting paralyzes the roaches front legs. The second sting, he delivers to the base of the roaches skull, injecting its venom right into the roaches brain. This venom disables the roaches escape reflex, it removes its will to escape. Then the wash leads the stupiefied- Zombiefied roach by its antennae to its layer where it lays an egg in the soft place between the cracks of the roaches abdomen. In a few days the egg hatches. The larvae burrows into the roaches belly, and eats the roach alive from the inside out. Now get this the larvae is smart enough to start off with the nonessential bits of the roach so its food supply stays alive as long as possible! Amazing beastie!

I use this illustration because sin has exactly this kind of effect upon us. It makes us its willing slaves. We only see what we want to see. We only do what we want to do. And we bitterly resent God and His efforts to show us otherwise. The poison of sin, working in our brains makes us addicts to self serving, self satisfaction, self exaltation. All we care about is having it all our own way, and we will fight with anyone who stands in our way. We see this everywhere in everyone:

The Jeweled cockroach wasp

How do you feel when your wife points out that you are watching too much TV? How do you respond when your parents limit the amount of time you are spending on your cell phone? How do you respond when someone drives just a little too slowly in front of you? I mean the speed limit is 40 miles an hour. And they are doing 37mph. For crying out loud? How do feminists respond when you remind them that God’s plan for their lives is that they submit to their husbands? How do young ladies respond when you remind them that they don’t have a right to do with their bodies whatever they want to do— and that the baby in their womb is not part of their body. He or she is another little person with the right to life, liberty, and pursuit of happiness? How does our culture— which is fast becoming a culture in which sexual gratification is becoming the right of all rights. That you have the right to sleep with whom you want, when you want, where you want, and how often you want to. How does such a culture respond when you remind it that God is the one who invented human sexuality and that he has a very simple rule: Y Chromosome = a boy. And that sex is such a precious gift with such far reaching consequnces that it is only to be enjoyed between a man and a women in the context of marriage--- a committed life long covenantal promise to be true to the other no matter the cost, no matter the consequences, and no matter my feelings to the contrary! Answers these questions and you see our culture’s — our heart’s posture towards God. And I put it to you it is not friendly....

Romans 8:7–8 ESV

7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

Romans 8:7–9 NKJV

7 Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.

Romans 8:6–9 ESV

6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. 8 Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

The mind set on the flesh is hostile towards God. It’s every posture towards the LORD, “I will not be subject to your commands. I will not do what you want. Pharaoh of old was the poster child of this attitude, “Who is the LORD that I should obey Him!”

Colossians 1:21 NASB95

21 And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds,

Sin is a mindset. It is a bondage to a way of thinking that is profoundly and absolutely, and deliberately hostile towards God. Jesus says we are enslaved to this attitude. WE cannot change because we won’t change:

Institutes of the Christian Religion 7. That Man Is Necessarily, but without Compulsion, a Sinner Establishes No Doctrine of Free Will

bMan will then be spoken of as having this sort of free decision, not because he has free choice equally of good and evil, but because he acts wickedly by will, not by compulsion. Well put, indeed, but what purpose is served by labeling with a proud name such a slight thing? A noble freedom, indeed—for man not to be forced to serve sin, yet to be such a willing slave37 that his will is bound by the fetters of sin!

John 8:31–36 ESV

31 So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, 32 and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” 33 They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. 35 The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. 36 So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Institutes of the Christian Religion 7. That Man Is Necessarily, but without Compulsion, a Sinner Establishes No Doctrine of Free Will

How can we be set free? Oh, well, Jesus says, “You make a decision!” There are many in the Church today who preach a gospel where this is the answer— But the problem of course is that man will never make a decision he absolutely does not want to make! No, Jesus says, “If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed!” THis is something you cannot do for yourself. But it is something I can and will do for you!

Stings the roach twice— the first sting disables its front legs. The second the wasp delivers straight into the roaches brain— disables its escape reflex. The wasp then leads the stupefied roach to her lair, where she lays a single egg on the roaches abdomen.

He Knows those who come to Him in Faith

We see this in verses 3-5 (especially v.5)...

Mark 2:3–5 ESV

3 And they came, bringing to him a paralytic carried by four men. 4 And when they could not get near him because of the crowd, they removed the roof above him, and when they had made an opening, they let down the bed on which the paralytic lay. 5 And when Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, “Son, your sins are forgiven.”

Mark 1:3–5 ESV

3 the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,’ ” 4 John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. 5 And all the country of Judea and all Jerusalem were going out to him and were being baptized by him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.

“When Jesus saw their faith....” What’s interesting here is that Mark tells us we are told of the faith of the one who brought the man to Jesus. We are not told of the faith of the paralyzed man. Was he a skeptic? Or Perhaps his handicap extended beyond his body, perhaps he was profoundly mentally and physically handicapped. Mark doesn’t tell us that. But what he does tell us is that Jesus responded to the faith of the ones who brought the paralytic to Jesus. How did Jesus know their faith, you might ask? The only way Jesus can ever see faith--- not by what we say but by what we do? Their faith in Jesus moved them to take action. Personal, diligent, persevering action. Their deeds revealed their faith. friends, they always do. What we do always tells the story of what we really believe?

Do you believe Jesus is the all satisfying Son of God, the pearl of great price, the treasure buried in the field? How do you know? Well, look at your life, how you spend your time, your money, and your energy? How much time to you devote to seeking to get to know Jesus?

Do you believe that reading your Bible in a posture of prayer brings you before the face of God? How often do you read your Bible?

Do you believe when the Word of God is preached the voice of God is heard? Do you believe you need to hear the preached word of God to grow as a Christian? Where do you go and what do you do Sunday morning and evening when God’s Word is preached from this pulpit? If you don’t bother showing up? If you miss church regularly? If you never attend evening worship? What does this say about what you really believe?

Do you believe Jesus is better than sin? What choice do you normally make when Jesus and sin are presented before you?

Your deeds tell the story in all these cases? And with these men, their deeds told the story. And Jesus knew it?

How encouraging this should be to those of you who are believing into Jesus? You are putting your faith into Christ? Jesus sees your faith and He knows it? He loves to see faith in the hearts of His people. It draws down His saving power? He cannot and will not ignore the smallest amount of true faith. If it is faith as a mustard seed, or faith as thin as a spiders web, it is faith directed towards Jesus, He sees it. He moves out towards it with omnipotent mercy.

He Knows Our Real Problem

2. We See a Savior Who Knows us Well... He knows how we are doing on the inside?

He knows those whose Hearts are Hard Towards Him

Mark 2:6–11 ESV

6 Now some of the scribes were sitting there, questioning in their hearts, 7 “Why does this man speak like that? He is blaspheming! Who can forgive sins but God alone?” 8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

He saw the faith of these friends, he saw the unbelief of the scribes. “This man speaks blasphemy,” they said? “Who can forgive sins, but God alone?” they said. And of course they were right. Only God can forgive sins, because sin is first and foremost against God. You remember when David sinned against Bathsheba— he profaned her sexual purity, he murdered her dear husband, the father of her children. You remember how David came before God in . What did he say?

Psalm 51:1–4 NASB95

1 Be gracious to me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; According to the greatness of Your compassion blot out my transgressions. 2 Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity And cleanse me from my sin. 3 For I know my transgressions, And my sin is ever before me. 4 Against You, You only, I have sinned And done what is evil in Your sight, So that You are justified when You speak And blameless when You judge.

Psalm 51:1–4 BHS/WIVU

3 חָנֵּ֣נִי אֱלֹהִ֣ים כְּחַסְדֶּ֑ךָ כְּרֹ֥ב רַ֝חֲמֶ֗יךָ מְחֵ֣ה פְשָׁעָֽי׃ 4 הַרְבֵּה כַּבְּסֵ֣נִי מֵעֲוֹנִ֑י וּֽמֵחַטָּאתִ֥י טַהֲרֵֽנִי׃ 5 כִּֽי־פְ֭שָׁעַי אֲנִ֣י אֵדָ֑ע וְחַטָּאתִ֖י נֶגְדִּ֣י תָמִֽיד׃ 6 לְךָ֤ לְבַדְּךָ֨׀ חָטָאתִי֮ וְהָרַ֥ע בְּעֵינֶ֗יךָ עָ֫שִׂ֥יתִי לְ֭מַעַן תִּצְדַּ֥ק בְּדָבְרֶ֗ךָ תִּזְכֶּ֥ה בְשָׁפְטֶֽךָ׃

. We See a Savior Who Knows us Well... He knows how we are doing on the inside?

“Against you, you only have I sinned.” Very emphatic in the Hebrew. My sin is all about you. My sin was all against you. It broke your law. Fell very far short of your glory. Profaned your daughter, Bathsheba. It deserves your judgment. My Sin has provoked your wrath!

Who can forgive sins, but God alone? And at first glance you might be forgiven for thinking, well this entirely proper logic on the Pharisees part. Only God can forgive sins? So surely they were quite correct to raise an eyebrow when Jesus claimed to do what only God can properly do? And of course, this would be correct were it not for the fact that Jesus’ deeds confirmed his words. And His words confirmed the Old Testament. So His teaching was Orthodox. And it was owned by God. The Pharisees couldnt’ deny this. We know this because of Nicodemus’ reaction to jesus. You remember how John describes their interaction in :

John 3:1–2 ESV

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. 2 This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, “Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher come from God, for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him.”

John 3:1 ESV

1 Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews.

Because for the hard heart, evidence is never the problem. For the heart hard, the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. These Pharisees reaction to Jesus was controlled and consumed by their posture towards God— which was one of enmity and hatred… They couldn’t change because they wouldn’t change. They wouldn’t give Jesus a fair hearing. They just wouldn’t budge— it didn’t matter what evidence was brought before them.

. We See a Savior Who Knows us Well... He knows how we are doing on the inside?

We See a Savior Who has the Authority to Break our Fatal Bondage

4. We see a Savior Who has the Power to Break Bondage

Mark 2:8–12 ESV

8 And immediately Jesus, perceiving in his spirit that they thus questioned within themselves, said to them, “Why do you question these things in your hearts? 9 Which is easier, to say to the paralytic, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Rise, take up your bed and walk’? 10 But that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins”—he said to the paralytic— 11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.” 12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Which is easier? Well of course it is easier to say Your sins are forgiven. Because the effect is invisible. You can say them and no one down here knows whether or not the thing actually happened or not. I could go around every Tom, Dick, and Harry and say, “You’re sins are forgiven you. I’m telling you they are?” And how are you supposed to see the record being expunged in heaven? The long long file God has on everyone of us, detailing all our misdeeds. The countless times we did the things we ought not to have done. And the myriad of moments we left undone the things we ought to have done. And I can tell you my Almighty finger has deleted the record. You can doubt that it has happened, and you should. But you have no way of knowing whether or not it has happened!

Now the other thing— yes, the thing about picking up your bed and walking. That’s slightly more tricky, especially if you are dealing with a real person who is really paralyzed. Because everyone with eyes to see can immediately see whether or not my words have power to effect change or not?

Which makes it all the more striking,, does it not, when Jesus walks up to the man who cannot walk and says,

Mark 1:11 ESV

11 And a voice came from heaven, “You are my beloved Son; with you I am well pleased.”

Mark 2:11 ESV

11 “I say to you, rise, pick up your bed, and go home.”

and the man then does what he says....

Mark 2:12 ESV

12 And he rose and immediately picked up his bed and went out before them all, so that they were all amazed and glorified God, saying, “We never saw anything like this!”

Conclusion

Let’s see if we can’t tie all this up in a nice tidy bundle:

Christian, are you struggling with a particular sin? Do you find yourself as if dead in its grip. Is the devil trying to inject his zombie poison into your brain. NOw there are things you must do. You must reckon yourself to be dead to sin. But before you do that you must cry out to the One whose word has the power to make a difference. And might I suggest that you take every opportunity to expose yourself to the word of this Savior? So at 6.00pm tonight. If you are serious about doing busienss with God about your sin, where are you going to place yourself? Are you going to plunk yourself down before television- when heaven and hell are in the balance? Or are you going to come here and hear Christ preach through me the hope of glory and the power to be done with sin? You are sensible people!

Let’s say you are here and you are not yet a Christian? What are you to do? Cry out to Jesus Christ, the bondage breaker. If the Son shall set you free then you shall be free indeed. But if he leaves you alone, then you will die in your sins. Cry out with all your might, “Lord Jesus pass me not, O Gentle savior!”

Works of John Owen: Volume 6 Chapter 7: General Rules, without Which No Lust Will Be Mortified

Obj. You will say, “What, then, would you have unregenerate men that are convinced of the evil of sin do? Shall they cease striving against sin, live dissolutely, give their lusts their swing, and be as bad as the worst of men? This were a way to set the whole world into confusion, to bring all things into darkness, to set open the flood-gates of lust; and lay the reins upon the necks of men to rush into all sin with delight and greediness, like the horse into the battle.”

Ans. 1. God forbid! It is to be looked on as a great issue of the wisdom, goodness, and love of God, that by manifold ways and means he is pleased to restrain the sons of men from running forth into that compass of excess and riot which the depravedness of their nature would carry them out unto with violence. By what way soever this is done, it is an issue of the care, kindness, and goodness of God, without which the whole earth would be a hell of sin and confusion.

2. There is a peculiar convincing power in the word, which God is oftentimes pleased to put forth, to the wounding, amazing, and, in some sort, humbling of sinners, though they are never converted. And the word is to be preached though it hath this end, yet not with this end. Let, then, the word be preached, and the sins of men [will be] rebuked, lust will be restrained, and some oppositions will be made against sin; though that be not the effect aimed at.

3. Though this be the work of the word and Spirit, and it be good in itself, yet it is not profitable nor available as to the main end in them in whom it is wrought; they are still in the gall of bitterness, and under the power of darkness.

4. Let men know it is their duty, but in its proper place; I take not men from mortification, but put them upon conversion. He that shall call a man from mending a hole in the wall of his house, to quench a fire that is consuming the whole building, is not his enemy. Poor soul! it is not thy sore finger but thy hectic fever that thou art to apply thyself to the consideration of. Thou settest thyself against a particular sin, and dost not consider that thou art nothing but sin.