The Mortification of the Flesh, Chapter 3. Mortification of sin is an essential part of a Christian's life. I shall now move to the discussion of several questions about this doctrine. Number one, what is the nature of mortification? Number two, what is the necessity of it in reference to salvation? Number three, How may one know whether or not God has brought him into a state of mortification? 4. What are the mistakes that men run into regarding this great work of mortification? For example, some think they are mortified when they are not, while others think they are not mortified when indeed they are, which will be covered in chapters 4-6. 5. I shall show you the great difficulty of this duty and several other necessary things regarding this doctrine. This will come in chapter 4 also. Question number 1. What is the nature of mortification? Answer. Mortification is a holy disposition. in a regenerate man, derived from the power and virtue of Christ's death, whereby the strength of sin is weakened and the dominion of it destroyed, being utterly disabled from having a commanding power or rule over that man anymore. I say it is a disposition in a regenerate man, because an unregenerate man is an un-mortified man. And it is derived from the virtue and power of Christ's death, because the death of Christ not only takes away the guilt of sin with reference to its damning power, but also takes away the dominion and the power of sin. so that it shall no longer reign within us. And although in mortification the strength of sin is weakened, and its dominion and power are destroyed, yet this is not to say that there is an utter abolition and destruction of sin, but rather only a subduing and weakening of our corruptions. For sin remains in us, though its commanding power is taken away. Question number two. What is the necessity of mortification in reference to salvation? Answer. Well, the answer lies in these three things. Number one, mortification is very necessary for assurance of salvation. to know whether or not you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing in the world which will more clearly indicate your saving faith than seeing that the Lord has brought you into a state of mortification. You cannot have an interest in the living God if there are lusts and corruptions which remain alive and well within you. There is an island that lies between Scotland and Ireland, and these two nations quarreled over which of them the island belonged to. The matter was decided in this way. A great many snakes, toads, and other unclean creatures were put onto the island. And if these unclean and venomous beasts died, then the island must belong to Ireland, because no unclean beasts could live there. In the same way, there is a great dispute between God and the devil over which of them is in possession of your soul. Now, if venomous lusts and unclean corruptions live in your heart, ruling and reigning there, This is an argument that you belong to Satan. But if sin no longer lives or reigns in you, this is an undeniable argument that you belong to God. Number two. Grace cannot live in your soul unless sin and corruption are dead. Before there can be a life of grace, there must be the death of sin. In Romans chapter 6 verse 11, the Apostle Paul tells us to quote, Reckon ye yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Close quote. If corruptions live, grace cannot live in your heart. It is reported that doves cannot live in smoky and filthy places, and so also the Spirit of God will not live in a soul that is full of foul corners of sin and corruption. 3. The soul cannot live in glory until sin dies in the heart. grace cannot live in the heart here in this life until sin is subdued, and so neither can the soul live in glory hereafter until sin is dead and mortified. As one says it well, if sin does not die, the sinner must die. If God does not kill your sins, sin will kill your soul. In 1 Corinthians 15, verse 36, the apostle says, Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die. As the seed dies and rots in the ground before it is quickened and springs up again, so your soul cannot be quickened and made capable of living with God in glory until your corruptions are dead, rotten, and destroyed in your soul. And this shall suffice regarding the necessity of mortification as it regards salvation. Question number three. How may one know whether or not God has brought him into a state of mortification? Answer. I shall spend more time in this answer providing six signs by which you may know whether the Lord has brought you into a state of mortification or not. Number one. If you are now more fearful of running into occasions and opportunities for sin than you have been in times past, this is an argument that you are a mortified man. An un-mortified heart is bold and daring and will rush toward occasions for sinning. Whereas a mortified heart is quite careful to avoid every occasion, including thought, of evil. One may compare a mortified man to a dove or a partridge. Now those who participate in the sport of hawking tell us that there is such an innate fear and dread of the hawk implanted in a dove or partridge that they not only fear the hawk but also his very feathers. And in this way, a mortified man not only fears a downright sin, but also anything that may be a provocation or inlet to that sin. Now, if this holy fear of displeasing and offending God is found within you, I may safely pass this sure judgment upon you. that you are a mortified man. You are a mortified man when you are in such a gracious frame and temper of spirit as that described in Jude 23. Hating even the garment spotted with the flesh. Now this is a metaphorical expression alluding to those that had the plague of leprosy under the law in Leviticus 13. The children of Israel not only feared touching a man with leprosy, they wouldn't even touch his garment, nor come near his house or any of his possessions. Thus, we should hate the garment spotted with the flesh, avoiding everything that may hazard an occasion for sin. 2. When an occasion to commit a sin is fairly offered to a man, and all the circumstances which might provoke him to that sin are aligned toward it, yet he restrains and bridles his appetite and will not commit the sin, this is evidence of a truly mortified heart. Now if God has brought you into such a frame, he has thoroughly mortified your corruptions. Beloved, an un-mortified man may abstain from sin when there is no opportunity or occasion for committing that sin. but a mortified heart will abstain from sin even when it is presented with an ideal occasion for carrying out that sin. There are two instances of men who revealed their mortification in this regard. Letter A. The first was Joseph in Genesis 39 verse 9. He had a fair occasion offered him to commit the sin of adultery. He had opportunity, for he and his mistress were alone. He had importunity, for she urged and solicited him to do it from day to day. And he had secrecy, for the text says that the doors were shut and that they were the only ones in the house he might have received a great deal of preferment and advantage by it as well. Or perhaps she would have made him lord over her house. And here you see that there was opportunity, importunity, secrecy, and advantage. All these circumstances created an ideal invitation to the sin of uncleanness. And yet, Despite all of this, Joseph replied, quote, How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God? Close quote. And here you see that the power of sin was mortified in Joseph's heart. Now, test your own heart by this pattern. When there are ideal opportunities for committing a sin, do you then say no to your lusts? Letter B. Another instance is David in 1 Samuel chapter 24 verse 4. Saul came into the same cave where David and his men lay hiding, and the text says, quote, Then David arose, and cut off the skirt of Saul's robe privily." Now David might just as easily have cut off his head, and though Saul pursued David to take away his life, yet when David had an ideal opportunity for killing Saul, he would not do it. This shows that the sin of revenge was mortified in David's heart. Again, I beseech you, examine your own heart by this pattern and see how the case stands between God and your soul. Number three, if there is less tendency in your heart and a greater reluctance against the devil's temptations to sin than there were previously, this is good evidence that the Lord has brought you into a state of mortification. Perhaps in the past your sinful nature was like gunpowder ready to flame up in response to the least spark of any temptation. But now it is more like green wood which needs to lie upon the fire for a long time before it starts to burn. A temptation can hardly persuade you to yield to it. Now if this is the case with you, then you have made a great deal of progress in this work of mortification. Number four. If there is a fair proportion between the death of sin and the life of grace in your soul, then you are a mortified man. Beloved, the Lord's work is not a half work. killing corruptions in your heart, but doing no more. If the Lord has subdued sin in your soul, He will also produce a contrary work of grace within you that will live and act in your soul. Mortification and the death of sin must be counterbalanced by vivification and the life of grace, so that if sin is dead in your soul, grace is alive. And hence the Apostle Paul joins them together in Romans chapter 6 verse 11. Quote, Reckon ye also yourselves to be dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus Christ our Lord. Close quote. again in 1st Peter chapter 4 verses 1 through 2. For he that hath suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin, that he no longer should live the rest of his time in the flesh to the lusts of men, but to the will of God. Here, the Apostle Peter not only forbids us from spending our time fulfilling the lusts of the flesh, but also commands us to live our lives for God. Therefore, beloved, when there is only a forcible restraint laid upon your lusts, it is only a temporary cessation, not a mortification of corruption. They only seem to be dead, but are not so in reality. 5. True mortification is found where the keeping under of any corruption is the result of a deep humiliation. If the suppression of sin was never preceded by a true humiliation, it is not mortification, but a mere cessation from sinning. Your sins have not yet been truly mortified if your heart has not been truly humbled. Many men treat their sins as fencers do upon the stage. Sometimes they give one another a slight blow or a scratch, but they never inflict a mortal wound. Thus, some men play-act a duel with sin. yet are careful never to land a deadly blow. But if a truly mortified man is like a warrior, he will either kill or be killed. He will kill his sins lest his sins kill him. Now, examine yourselves in this regard. Are you merely fencing, making a sport, and playing with your lusts? Or are you a warrior that fights with an unrelenting opposition against sin? Do you only give a slight scratch to sin, or have you dealt it a deadly wound? 6. True mortification is mortification of all sin. It does not consist of the killing of just some particular sins, but rather strikes at the root and whole body of sin. Therefore, the apostle exhorts us to, quote, mortify your members which are upon the earth, fornication and uncleanness, close quote, and so forth. Colossians chapter 3 verse 5 and that quote, they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts, close quote. That's Galatians chapter 5 verse 24. Thus overcoming the whole body of sin. Mortification of sin is like the death of the body. Death is not a fit of illness which affects only an arm or a leg, but extends to every part of the body. All the parts of the body die together. And the same is true with mortification of sin. It is not an assault upon any one member of sin. but the killing of the entire body of sin. The subjugation of some particular sins does not argue mortification, unless you have given a mortal wound to the very body and bulk of your corruption. Thus have I finished the doctrinal part of these three questions. But before I come to address the other queries, which I shall spend a great deal more time discussing, I will first say something by way of application. Encouragement for those that think they are not mortified, when in reality they are. Perhaps this doctrine may trouble a conscientious heart. making a godly man pass a hard censure upon himself by thinking sin is still alive in his soul and grace dead. Well, to such a soul, I have seven words of encouragement and comfort. The first word I have to say to those that complain that their corruptions are un-mortified is this, number one, a heart that is greatly agitated by its corruptions may still be truly mortified. The devil may stir up corruptions in your heart, and yet you may still be in a mortified state. I will address this topic more fully later on, but for now I shall only remind you of the text I previously quoted, where the Apostle Paul says, I was alive without the law once, but when the commandment came, sin revived and I died." Romans chapter 7 verse 9. Before, Paul thought himself alive and sin dead. In his own mind, he considered himself blameless with regard to the law. But when the Lord gave Paul a spiritual insight into his own heart, he was made aware of his spiritual corruptions, and sin appeared to have been revived. Thus there may be a stirring up of sin in the heart, even though those very sins have already been dealt a deadly wound. take this for your comfort, that a repetition of the same sin does not argue your heart to be void of mortification. And I make mention of this here only briefly, but will later expound and expand upon the question of whether a man that has truly mortified a corruption may still fall repeatedly into the same sin. Number three, Understand that the mortification of corruption was never intended by God to extend so far as to the total abolition and utter abolition of all sin. But if the sovereignty of sin is destroyed, the Lord looks upon it as mortification. If sin is like the tree spoken of in the book of Daniel, which I previously alluded to, whose branches were cut off, but the stump remained, that was Daniel chapter 4 verses 14 through 15, so too, if the dominion and ruling power of sin is taken away, you are in a good enough condition. Reverend Mr. Perkins, uses a very clear analogy to explain this great work of mortification. Though the farmer washes his corn ever so clean before sowing it, yet notwithstanding, when it springs up, it will not come up clean, but will have some weeds among it, though they were never sown with the corn. Well, in the same way, though you wash your heart ever so clean from sin, yet some corruption will spring up from within your heart. God reserves the utter abolition of sin for the state of glorification and not mortification. Number four. God will never expose you to more violent temptations to sin than that which you shall be able to vanquish and overcome in the end. You may be sure to have no more laid upon you than you have the strength to grapple with. What is it if temptations to sin are strong God gives a sufficiency of grace and strength to withstand and conquer them It is a very good observation which some make from comparing Genesis chapter 26 verse 2 with Genesis chapter 46 verse 3 Where we read that there were two great famines in the land where Isaac and Jacob lived and Now, when there was a famine in Isaac's day, he inquired of the Lord whether he should go down into Egypt to buy corn, and the Lord told him that he should not. But when there was a famine in Jacob's day, he likewise asked of the Lord whether he should go down into Egypt to buy corn, and God bid him go. Now, why did the Lord forbid Isaac, yet permit Jacob to go down into Egypt? God would not let Isaac go down into Egypt because he was a weak believer. In effect, God says, you are feeble in the faith and yet not able to grapple with temptation. You could not resist all of the opportunities for sinning that you would encounter in Egypt and therefore you must not go. But Jacob was a strong believer and was able to fight against any temptation, and thus God bid him go. Now here you see that the Lord will not lay upon his children more than they are able to bear. Consider further 1 Corinthians 10. What a great comfort this is to us that we serve such a good God Who carries such tender affections toward all his children? And the same purpose is seen in a passage from Isaiah When you are weak and young converts He stayeth his rough wind Isaiah chapter 27 verse 8 He will proportion temptations according to your strength. And so also in Isaiah chapter 28 verse 27. The fitches are not threshed, or fishes, are not threshed with a threshing instrument. And neither is a cartwheel turned about upon the cumin. But the fitches are beaten out with a staff and the cumin with a rod. Close quote. As the smaller seeds, fitches, and cumin must not be beaten out with great weights, but with a rod and a staff. So weak Christians shall not be exposed to great afflictions and temptations, but rather only those proportionate to their strength. And strong believers also, they shall only have temptations answerable to their strength. God will lay upon his children no more than they are able to bear. Number five, take comfort in this, that in some cases strong temptations to sin do not reflect any sin on the part of the person being tempted, but rather in the person who is doing the tempting. If the devil dogs a believer day after day, from this place to that, and at all hours of the day, continually urging and soliciting him to wickedness, that believer may be apt to conclude that the Lord will charge all of this guilt to his own account. But temptations to sin do not necessarily argue the presence of that sin in the person being tempted, but rather in the person who is doing the tempting. For if a temptation to sin were always accounted a sin in the person being tempted, then the Lord Jesus Christ himself would have had sin in his nature, which is absolute blasphemy to say. where he was tempted by the devil to the two great sins of self-murder and covetousness. But there was no sin in the Lord Jesus Christ when he was tempted, rather in Satan, or instead, the sin was in Satan who tempted him. Therefore, when you resist temptation, doing what you can to resist and repel it, And when sin does not arise from your own nature and inward corruptions, but comes to you through the devil's suggestion and instigation, these sins are not yours and instead shall be charged to the tempter. Number six. Take this for your comfort, beloved, that a principle of steadfast and uncompromising opposition against every corruption is accounted by God as mortification. For on our part, mortification is nothing more than choosing to stand up and fight against sin. Here I cannot help but make use of the passage that I quoted before from Leviticus chapter 11 Where the Lord made a law that if any unclean thing fell into a vessel of water That water would be unclean But if it fell into a river or fountain of water, it would not be unclean and The reason is this because a vessel of water has no ability to purge and cleanse itself from any filthiness that falls into it. Yet, a fountain or river, by its continual running, purges and cleanses itself from any unclean thing cast into it. And so here, though corruptions are in your heart, yet if you are like a running river, cleansing yourself from these sins, then the Lord looks upon you as a mortified man. 7. Take comfort, beloved. Take comfort in knowing that in the mortification of every sin, you have Christ's strength to help you as well as your own. Therefore, in some places, He commands us to mortify sin, but in other places, He promises to do it for us. Oh, what a good master we serve! He does our work for us, yet pays us our wages. He commands us a duty, and does it all for us. We do nothing, and yet He rewards us as if we had done it ourselves. For discussion or personal reflection, number one, using your own words Define mortification Number two What reasons does the author give for the necessity of mortification in reference to our salvation? How does your own experience prove the truth of this teaching and again to interrupt the narration here really should go and get the book and mortification of the flesh and paperback that way you can See these questions and be able to answer them right writing out yourself very important or you could do it by just Pausing the recording writing it down and then answering the questions there, but you really should Take the time to examine yourself Through these questions, okay number three The author provides six signs that show whether a man has been brought into a state of mortification. List them, briefly commenting on how each of these truths are, or are not, reflected in your own life. The author also provides seven signs that show a man to be mortified, even when those same signs might cause him to doubt his mortification. List them, briefly commenting on how they relate to your own experience. And finally, number five, does any of this teaching raise any questions that you would like to see answered? perhaps later in the book. And that's the end of the chapter.