Ol' John Owen

I'll be the first to admit that I have a soft spot for Puritain writers.  Very few modern writers or readers, for that matter, can explore the depths or soar to the heights where these men dwelt spiritually.  They are masters of the basic Gospel truths, and explain things with such detail and sound Biblical analysis that it is a breath of fresh air.  A entire book which passes for spiritual meat these days is almost like baby food in a jar compared to the side of beef these divines slap down on a single page.  The book I am enjoying right now has been re-titled Indwelling Sin in Believers by John Own and it very compelling.  He clearly explains the law of sin which works in our members which Paul spoke about in Romans 7:21.  Although I am not finished with the book, I already recommend it.  The wisdom, practical advice, and insights into the dangers of sin which so easily besets us is quite thrilling.  My heart and spirit bear witness that although this book was first written in 1667, it is completely relevant for today.  I leave you with paragraphs from page 33:

I believe that most apostasy from a profession of any length begins either with some great and shameful sin which wounds the conscience and takes away all delight in having to do with God, or with a course of neglect in private duties, arising from weariness in fighting against a powerful aversion to these duties.  And, through the craft of Satan, some develop the foolish and sensual opinion that one can live to God without the need for communion with Him.  So we find that after men have choked and blinded their consciences for a while with this pretense, they crown their folly with cursed wickedness or sensuality.  And the reasons for all this is that giving way to the law of sin gives strength to it.  Leaving it alone lets it grow; not to conquer it is to be conquered by it.

What is true of private duties is also true of public duties which have anything extraordinary in them.  How the heart struggles against them, especially against the spirituality of them!  If we give indwelling sin the least liberty, or if we do not guard against it constantly, it will bring about result we do not expect.  It begins with reluctance and indisposition, goes on to entangle the mind and affects with other things, and ends, if not prevented, in weariness of God, which He complains of in His people (Is. 43:22).  They ceased to call upon Him because they were 'weary of Him.'