“HIT IT AGAIN!”

John Owen
on the Battle against Sin
Part 2.

by Robert E. Baxter

SCRIPTURE: Psalm 38:1-10; 78:10-20, 31-42

I saw a cartoon that pictured a man sitting in a chair with his feet and his hands chained, his eyes blindfolded, and his mouth taped. The man's wife was inviting their pastor into their home and was saying to him, "Fred is DETERMINED to have victory over sin." There is truth in that cartoon, but that's not the way the battle is to be waged.

I hope you are also DETERMINED to have victory over sin, but the strategy requires perseverance IN the world rather than withdrawal FROM the world.

This second message of the series, STRATEGIES AGAINST SIN, is entitled, "HIT IT AGAIN!" Indwelling sin must be hit again and again. It must receive fresh blows every day. Otherwise, it plays dead, until you turn your back, and then it's up and at your throat again. Thus I entitle this study, "HIT IT AGAIN!"

Some folks really want as little Christianity as they need to get to heaven. To put it more bluntly, they want to be able to get away with as much sin as they can without ending up in hell.

They are not really interested in living close to the Lord in THIS life anyway, though they may DECEIVE themselves into THINKING that they are.

Not many of that type are interested in reading what you are now reading. They are more comfortable listening to a little homily of 20-minutes or less that will make them FEEL good, and feel that they have done their religious DUTY for the week. For them sin is more of an ABSTRACTION than a DANGER to be FEARED or an UGLY thing to be LOATHED. They may even GRIN when they think of SIN, as if it were something to be ENJOYED if it doesn't get out of HAND!

Such folks usually hope the sermon will be short and they are satisfied if it contains a few funny stories and a useful idea or two that may help them get through the week. These folks NEED the Gospel. I don't want to turn them AWAY from the Church with advanced TRIGONOMETRY when they are only ready for kindergarten.

I don't want to give them a palate of 64 shades of OIL PAINT when they are just getting the hang of the big CRAYOLAS.

What I aim to bring YOU, however, in these studies from John Owen, is MEAT for people who are in earnest about a closer walk with God. This is for people who are not content with where they ARE spiritually, but who long for CLOSER communion with the Lord.

This is for people who know the DANGER of sin and want to win the VICTORY over it, rather than for those who want to get by with just as much sin as they can without getting caught or suffering God's wrath.

We noted in the first message of this series that the Spirit of God must do this work of killing indwelling sin. Romans 8:13 says, "If ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye THROUGH THE SPIRIT do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live."

God compares indwelling sin to a living person called "the old man." This is a metaphor. This "old man" must be killed, put to death, mortified. Its power must be taken away by the Spirit. We must be KILLING SIN or SIN will be KILLING US. Since sin is always at work in the business of killing our souls, we need to be always on guard against it.

There is no safety against it except CONSTANT WARFARE. "HIT IT AGAIN!" must be our motto.

Now in this lesson we are going to see HOW the Spirit goes about killing the sin within us.

In the past some earnest souls attempted to kill sin by their own religious practices.

1. The monks punished the physical BODY instead of that "old man of sin within." So they mistreated their bodies, denied themselves food, sleep, marriage, walked about in silence, sometimes lived as hermits, and in many ways made themselves miserable thinking it would somehow suffocate the sin within. They were right about the need to kill the old man within, but they were wrong in their METHOD.

2. Another wrong method is to try to overcome our guilt by getting busy for God. People guilty of a sin that has prevailed over them PROMISE to themselves and God that they will stop it and that they will do certain GOOD DEEDS. Perhaps they PRAY more, for a TIME. They come to CHURCH more. They GIVE more. They are kind to their CHILDREN.
Whatever they try to do, after awhile THIS kind of enthusiasm wears off, and their sense of sin DIMS, and the sin within comes back to rule.

The problem is that when a person is sick he CANNOT go out and RUN to build up his health. Neither can spiritually sick people shake off their deadly condition by working harder. It is the work of the SPIRIT.

God has promised the Holy Spirit to take away the stony heart--that is the stubborn, proud, rebellious, unbelieving heart.

Ezekiel 36:26 says, "I will give my Spirit, and take away the stony heart."

Jesus said, "Without me ye can do nothing." (John 15:5)

It is the work of the Holy Spirit to APPLY to us the benefits of Christ.

We ask, HOW does the Holy Spirit kill the indwelling sin?

He does it by weakening and eventually destroying the ROOT and HABIT of sin. He is the fire, which burns up the very root of lust.

He brings the cross of Christ into the heart of a sinner by faith and gives us communion with Christ in his death, and fellowship in his sufferings.

Although this IS the work of the Spirit, He does exhort US to COOPERATE with Him.

Phil. 2:13 says, "He works in us to will and to do of his own good pleasure."

Isaiah 26:12 says that he works "all our works in us."

Col. 2:12 says that he causes us to PRAY.

Let me illustrate the importance of this principal.

I sincerely believe that I could beat a world wrestling champion in the ring. I won't mention any particular wrestler, lest he ask me to TRY. But I do believe I could win, IF his hands were securely tied behind his back, AND his legs were securely bound together so that he could only hop around in the ring, AND his eyes blindfolded.

I MIGHT have considerable trouble landing my punches even then, but I THINK I might eventually DECK him. If you know me, you are probably not too sure of that!

Well, I would probably hurt my hands, and I know I would have to watch out for his head, and shoulders, but I MIGHT win if I had a GUN too.

I hate to cast myself in the roll of SIN, but following this analogy you see how unfair a fight it is for your soul, even though born again and saved, to have to fight sin. It is an unfair contest IF your soul is BOUND while SIN is free to fight its DIRTIEST.

Worse yet is it to let sin have its freedom against US and to bind the HOLY SPIRIT who is the One who actually accomplishes the work of killing indwelling sin in us.

Always we must remember that it is "THROUGH THE SPIRIT" that we mortify the deeds of the body.

Are we to do nothing then and be pacifists in this war? No, for the Holy Spirit works IN us and WITH us, not AGAINST us or WITHOUT us.

Here is an important principle to remember: The Holy Spirit works IN us, not WITHOUT us.

He works WITH us, not AGAINST us. His assistance ENCOURAGES us IN the work.
He does not cause us to NEGLECT the work.

The saddest warfare that any poor creature can be engaged in is to fight against sin but have no STRENGTH for the combat. Such folks FIGHT but cannot CONQUER. The LAW of God drives them on; but SIN beats them back.

They THINK they have KNOCKED OUT sin, but all they have done is to raise some DUST so that they don't SEE the sin. Soon enough the dust SETTLES, and there the old sin is grinning at them.

Christ's work on the cross in dying for our sins is God's work FOR us; the Holy Spirit's work in killing indwelling sin is God's work IN us.

Every indwelling sin that is not killed will do two things.

1. It will weaken the soul and deprive it of its vitality, and

2. it will darken the soul and deprive it of its peace.

When David had for a while harbored a lust in his heart, he complained that he was sick, weak, wounded, faint. "There is," said he, "no soundness in me." (Psalm 38:3)

Psalm 38:1-10 was David's CONFESSION and plea to God for help. It shows how sin robs a man of peace, makes him weak, sick, and ready to die. The Psalmist confessed, "There is no soundness in my flesh because of Your anger, Nor any health in my bones because of my sin. For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden they are too heavy for me. My wounds are foul and festering because of my foolishness. I am troubled, I am bowed down greatly; I go mourning all the day long. For my loins are full of inflammation, And there is no soundness in my flesh. I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart. Lord, all my desire is before You; And my sighing is not hidden from You." (Psalm 38:3-9)

And we could read on and on, in this and other descriptions of God's saints who suffered from the DEBILITATING effects of indwelling sin.

"My heart pants, my strength fails me; As for the light of my eyes, it also has gone from me." (verse 10)

"But I, like a deaf man, do not hear; And I am like a mute who does not open his mouth." (verse 13)

"I am feeble and severely broken; I groan because of the turmoil of my heart." (verse 8)

The indwelling sin lays hold on the emotions, making sin SEEM desirable. It fills the THOUGHTS of the person so ENTANGLED. As long as that sin remains alive in the heart, it will make its host to be ever making PROVISION for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof.

It causes a defiled IMAGINATION. People who are sick and wounded under the power of lust make many applications for HELP; they cry to God when the PERPLEXITY of their thoughts OVERWHELMS them.

The heart is like the lazy man's GARDEN, so overgrown with WEEDS that you can scarcely see the vegetables. But if you will WEED your life CONSTANTLY of indwelling sin, daily rooting up such weeds, grace will thrive and flourish, and you will know peace with God.

SUPPOSE a person is a true believer, and yet he finds IN himself a powerful indwelling sin, leading him CAPTIVE to it, PERPLEXING his thoughts, WEAKENING his soul, ROBBING his peace. WHAT shall he DO?

He shall AIM at nothing less than utterly KILLING the sin, of rooting it out, so that it shall not stir anymore, nor SEDUCE or TEMPT him. Though this be his AIM, he knows that it will not be entirely reached in THIS life.

God sees it best for us that we should be complete in nothing in OURSELVES, that in all things we must be "complete in CHRIST;" which is best for us.

Therefore the man who aims at killing the sin within, knows that the sin is not DEAD when it has only been DIVERTED.

He who exchanges PRIDE for worldliness has not KILLED indwelling sin.

He who trades SENSUALITY for PHARISAISM, has not succeeded in the mortification of sin.

He has merely changed his MASTER, but he is a SERVANT STILL. He serves a different demon, as it were, but he is still not free.

He knows also that OCCASIONAL CONQUESTS of sin do not amount to a MORTIFYING of it. The sin is not DEAD just because it ACTS dead for a TIME.

When a particular sin has had a bad ERUPTION, a person's CONSCIENCE is stricken. He fears the WRATH of God. His PEACE is gone. He is filled with ABHORRENCY of sin. He cries out to God and sets himself against it. What happens?

Sin SHRINKS BACK and lies as dead before the man, like some enemy spy in the camp who kills an officer. The alarms go off, the guards are aroused, inquiry is made, but the spy lies low and is the model of patriotism and circumspect behavior. Yet his firm resolution is to do the same mischief AGAIN when he gets the same OPPORTUNITY.

So also lust is quiet for a SEASON when once it has startled the CONSCIENCE, but when the INQUEST is past, it arouses itself AGAIN and gets as busy as EVER in its evil work.

When God has sent judgment, calamity or affliction upon the individual, that person may for a time conclude that he must relinquish his sin to gain peace with God. He resolves to be FINISHED with such sin.

"I'll never take another drink," says the frightened alcoholic.

"I'll never look at another man," sobs the wife whose husband has caught her flirting.

Accordingly, at such a time the indwelling sin is quiet and SEEMS to be killed. But later, when the TROUBLE is removed, the old sin pops up as powerful as ever.

We read of this phenomenon in Psalm 78:32-37 "In spite of this they still sinned, AND did not believe in His wondrous works. Therefore their days He consumed in futility, And their years in fear. When He slew them, then they sought Him; And they returned and sought earnestly for God. Then they remembered that God was their rock, And the Most High God their Redeemer.
Nevertheless they flattered Him with their mouth, And they lied to Him with their tongue; For their heart was not steadfast with Him, Nor were they faithful in His covenant."

Many are the ways whereby poor souls deceive themselves, and suppose they have killed their indwelling sins, when those sins are merely PLAYING POSSUM and will be up and at them when the opportunity is right.

Now comes the best part so far. The killing of indwelling sin consists of three things:

1. Habitual weakening of it.
2. Constant contending against it.
3. Repeated successes over it.

1. First, as to the habitual weakening of it, we need to know that every sin is a depraved habit, continually inclining our heart to evil.

Gen. 6:5 says, "Every imagination of the thoughts of his heart is only evil continually."

The reason why an unconverted person is not constantly in the pursuit of one lust is only that he has so MANY sins to serve, every one crying to be satisfied.

Therefore there is considerable VARIETY in his sins, but his propensity is still toward the satisfaction of SELF.

The Bible says that men have their "hearts set upon evil." We are inclined to "make provision for the flesh." The Bible says that lusts "fight or wage war against the soul."

Thus the FIRST strategy against sin is to weaken this habit of lust that it shall not rise up and entice as it is inclined to do.

Lust gets strength by temptation. When a suitable temptation presents itself, it gives new life to the old sin.

I Corinthians 6:18 advises, "Flee fornication."

It is necessary in dealing with any sin to weaken its impelling HABIT. This is called "crucifying the flesh with the lusts thereof." (Gal. 5:24) Sin is crucified; it is fastened to the cross. This is the HABITUAL WEAKENING of sin.

2. Secondly, as to the constant contending against sin, we need to know what is our OWN PLAGUE. Many have little knowledge of the main enemy that they carry about with them They don't realize when they are in danger.

David was WISER than that. He said, "My sin is ever before me." Psalm 51:3.

We need to know what advantages our own enemy uses to tempt us, what are its pleas, pretences, excuses, "to trace this serpent in all its turnings and windings" (as John Owen puts it so vividly).

We need to be able to observe our personal weaknesses and say to our sin, "This is your old way; I know what you aim at;"

This is the way to be always in readiness in our warfare. Do you know yourself that well? Do you, like a good General, plan your warfare against sin with such skill, or do you just saunter out on the battlefield thinking you're going on a picnic?

A believer should never think his lust is dead merely because it is QUIET. He will ever endeavor to give it new blows EVERYDAY. It is only then that sin is under the sword, and DYING. We must "HIT IT AGAIN!"

3. The third strategy for the mortification of any sin is repeated SUCCESS over it.

When you discover any sin at any time, forming imaginations to make provision for the flesh, to fulfill the lusts thereof, you need to APPREHEND it instantly and bring it to the law of God, INDICT it, and bring it to EXECUTION promptly. Don't give it any BAIL or pardon it for a MOMENT.

It's your MORTAL ENEMY, and it's your enemy because it is GOD'S enemy. You can have peace with God when you can find out your sin and have success against it REPEATEDLY.

You get such repeated success by implanting the OPPOSITE grace, which is destructive of its CORRESPONDING sin.

Follow me carefully now. This is the essence of the warfare.

The implanting of HUMILITY weakens PRIDE.

The implanting of PATIENCE weakens the short fuse of TEMPER.

The implanting of PURITY of mind weakens UNCLEANNESS of thoughts.

The implanting of HEAVENLY-MINDEDNESS weakens worldliness.

The implanting of ZEAL weakens spiritual laziness.

The wise general in planning the strategy of his soul against sin will stay out of the devil's TERRITORY.

God will one day cast the devil into the lake of fire, but it is enough for us to hold the FORT of our own soul from his forces. That is to say, the alcoholic ought to know better than to go into a bar; or to pour himself a drink of liquor with the intention merely of LOOKING at it, while he prays, "Lord, deliver me from this temptation."

That's no way to win the war. Stay off the devil's turf.

Every success leads to further successes in the daily battle against sin.

In his book Three Steps Forward Two Steps Back, Charles Swindoll wrote, "Do not try to co-exist peacefully with temptation . . . If you are weakened by certain kinds of music, you are playing into the hands of Satan himself to listen to it. If you're weakened by certain . . . pictures that bring before your eyes things that build desires within you that you can't handle, then you're not counteracting sin and temptation. You're tolerating it. You're fertilizing it. You're prompting it. If the newsstand is something you can't handle, stay away from it! Quit clucking your tongue and shaking your head as you linger over the PAGES. If you're weakened by relationships with certain people, abstain from them . . . There's a word for those folks who linger and try to reason with lust: That word is… VICTIM."

In dealing with sin, there is no way of success except "HIT IT AGAIN and again and again!"

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The series continues on the next page with John Owen--Part 3.