Finally . . . "The Mortification of Sin"

There were many key points in “The Mortification of Sin” that were profound and life reforming, but I wanted to mainly expound on chapter 8-“Humility”. Owen’s opening statement was this (and the very skeleton of the chapter): “We need to be exercised with such meditations as will fill us at all times with self-abasement and thoughts of our own vileness.” That one statement already defiles everything our culture teaches. It denies self-esteem, the self-confidence that “you have the right to obtain”. In my own life I see that if the knowledge of neediness for God is absent in my life then I am not seeing the depths of my own ‘vileness’. When you thoroughly meditate on your own wretchedness and compare it to the glory of Christ you cannot possibly remain ignorant of your need. Then comes the awe of the deep love of God for wanting to save you. Another point of Owen (paraphrased): we can come to a deep realization of our ardent need for God by seeing our inconceivable and infinite distance from Him.
Humility is a very important tool for mortification any way you look at it. But, also, true mortification is a work of the spirit, but we still have an obligation as believers to pursue holiness and sanctification . . . accompanied by the grace of God.
Another point- Consider the men of old and their view of God. This slightly applies to my post “Access and the Cross”- the difference between our communion with God and the view of God the people of the OT held. A considerably large change has come to pass on this topic.
Habakkuk says: ‘I hear and my body trembles; my lips quiver at the sound; rottenness enters my bones; my legs tremble beneath me . . . .’ “Such were the thoughts of the men of old. When they saw God, they thought they would die. The Scriptures abound in these self-abasing considerations.”-John Owen.
I know that true mortification of sin will never be obtained until we leave this world, but the pursuit of it is a significant and (I’m sure) rewarding portion of the journey in the life of a believer. I could never convey every aspect of this magnificent and superlative read, hence my STRONG recommendation that you read it for yourself and discover its life altering truths.