INDWELLING SIN IN BELIEVERS
(abridged and made easy to read)
By John Owen. Banner of Truth. 168 pages. £5.00
ISBN 978-1-84871-075-7
It doesn’t have such a catchy or attractive title, but this is a great book.
That is part of the trouble with the contemporary church. We focus on what we see as ‘positive’ and so a vital issue like how to deal with the ongoing presence of sin in believers gets neglected.
Based on Romans 7.21, ‘I find then a law, that, when I would do good, evil is present with me’, this excellent abridgement of the Puritan John Owen’s work on the subject takes us deep into our sinful hearts, exposes our self-deceptions, warns and advises us, and also exalts the grace of God. The core of the book is a detailed exposition of James 1.13-15: ‘…each one is tempted when, by his own evil desire, he is dragged away and enticed…’ Owen gives a thorough anatomy of sin and its workings in the believer which is hardly ever attempted today in most churches. As a result many Christians are either careless about their sin, in denial about it, or totally downcast by it. Inattention to this topic does much damage to Christians today and so this publication is very timely and has potential to do enormous pastoral good. There is also a brilliant chapter on how God often intervenes so that sin does not come to fruition in our lives.
This book deals with a dark subject, but actually brings much light and understanding to the Christian life.
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