Mortification of sin - Owen - IV - Chapters 10, 11 & 12

Required reading
Mortification of sin by John Owen (Available from Amazon or free here) - Read Chapters 10, 11 & 12.

My summary
Owen continues to give us particular directions to mortify sin.  Last week he gave us the first, this week we see seven more directions:
(ii) get a clear and abiding sense in your mind and conscience of the guilt and danger and evil of the sin which you are perplexed about;
(iii) load your conscience with the guilt of the sin;
(iv) get a constant longing after deliverance from the power of it;
(v) consider whether the sin is rooted in your nature and cherished, fomented, and heightened from your constitution;
(vi) consider what occasions, what advantages your sin has taken to exert and put forth itself and watch against them all;
(vii) rise mightily against the first actings of your sin, its first conceptions and suffer it not to get the least ground;
(viii) use and exercise yourself to such meditations as may serve to fill you at all times with self-abasement and thoughts of thine own vileness through thinking of the excellency of God and your unacquaintedness with him.

What grabbed me
So much excellent material in this book! 

The eighth direction certainly flies in the face of pop psychology's teaching about self-esteem!

But I particularly found helpful the first point about awakening yourself to the danger of sin: 'Sin will grow a light thing to thee ; thou wilt pass it by as a thing of nought ; this it will grow to. And what will be the end of such a condition? Can a sadder thing befall thee? Is it not enough to make any heart to tremble, to think of being brought into that estate wherein he should have slight thoughts of sin? Slight thoughts of grace, of mercy, of the blood of Christ, of the law, heaven, and hell, come all in at the same season. Take heed, this is that thy lust is working towards, the hardening of the heart, searing of the conscience, blinding of the mind, stupifying of the affections, and deceiving of the whole soul. '

May we not have slight thoughts of the danger of sin but see its treachery clearly.

Next week's reading
Read Chapters 13 & 14.

Now it's your turn
Please post your own notes and thoughts in the comments section below.