Psalm 143:11

Today I read Psalm 143 and I was struck by David's petition in verse 11. 

For your name’s sake, LORD, preserve my life.

Why did this strike me?

Reason 1. 

David wants the LORD to preserve his life for the sake of the LORD's name. Not his own name. The LORD's name.

I just found a soap in my bathroom called "all about me". Apparently everything is all about me. Even my soap. My prayers often reflect this kind of thinking. I make petitions before God for my name's sake. David prays for the LORD's name's sake. 

And so should we. 

Reason 2. 

It also struck me because I had to think about how God answers this petition. When God's people pray for the preservation of their life with a view to the priority of God's purposes, does he say "yes" or "no"? 

Answer: he says both.

He said "yes" to David. David lived on. But he also said "no". David died. 

In the garden of Gethsemane Jesus prayed, "Take this cup from me.  Yet not what I will, but what you will." 

Jesus prayed for the preservation of his life, but he also has a view to the priority of his Father's purposes. 

In his silence, God said "no". But he did not let his holy one see decay. He raised him to life. On the other side of God's "no" was God's "yes".

And when we pray  "For your name’s sake, Lord, preserve my life", the Father says both "no" and "yes". 

Every Christian dies with Jesus. We are "baptised into his death" (Rom 6:3). When we ask God to preserve our lives, he says "no". First, we must die. 

But on the other side of this "no" he also says "yes". 

We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. (Rom 6:4)

We die with Christ that we might live. Through union with Christ, God reckons life unto us. 

And our lives are transformed such that we now live through him unto God. 

In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. (Rom 6:11)

Following our death (spiritually now, physically later), God preserves our lives. God preserves our lives for his name's sake (i.e. God, the Father) through/in his name's sake (i.e. God the Son, Christ Jesus).  

Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. (Rom 6:12-13)

Mortification of Sin

Last night at youth group we were looking at Romans 8. In our leader’s meeting before hand we were chatting about verse 13:

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death (mortify) the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live.

I mentioned that the other leaders should read John Owen’s book Mortification of Sin which is based on that verse. (I suggested this version as Owen himself is incredibly hard to read.)

Anyway, I got home a few hours later and found this on the kitchen bench:

 

It’s a summary of the book. But it’s pretty helpful. It had been sitting on the whiteboard above my desk for a number of months. Emma had taken it off so she could use the whiteboard.

[Coincidence of divincidence?]

I was inspired to write a blog post about it as I found the book really helpful. And by ‘write a blog post’, I mean ‘summarise the book’. And by summarise the book, I mean give a summary of Justin Taylor’s summary of the book. I did actually read it though!

Here’s the general thrust.

PART 1. 

Owen starts by considering why mortification is necessary. Answer:

“lf you through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body you shall live”.

Then he gives three foundational principles for the mortification of sin:

1.     Believers, who are free from the condemning power of sin, ought to make it their daily work to mortify the indwelling power of sin.

2.     Only the Holy Spirit is sufficient for this work

3.     The life, vigor, and comfort of the believer's spiritual life depends much upon this work of mortifying sin.

PART 2

Then Owen tells what mortification isn’t and is.

WHAT MORTIFICATION ISN’T

1.     It’s not the utter destruction of sin

2.     It’s not the concealing of sin

3.     It hasn’t occurred if you’ve only concealed your sin

4.     It hasn’t occurred just because your sin has been diverted.

5.     It hasn’t occurred just because you experience occasional conquest.

WHAT MORTIFICATION IS

Mortification is the habitual, successful weaking of sin that involves constant warfare and contention against the flesh. 

CONDITIONS?

You must be a believer and you must seek universal mortification before you can mortify one sin.

SOME DIRECTIONS FOR MORTIFICATION 

1.     Consider dangerous symptoms attending the sin.

2.     Comprehend the guilt, danger and evil associated with your sin.

3.     Load up your conscience with the guilt of it.

4.     Get a strong longing for deliverance from its power.

5.     Work out if the sin is rooted in and exhacerbated by your temperament.

6.     Consider when are where this sin flourishes and watch yourseld.

7.     Right mightily the first actings and conceptions of your sin.

8.     Meditate and be self-abased at the vileness of your sin.

9.     Listen to what God says to your soul before you speak peace to yourself. But do listen to what he has to say to you. Hear the gospel!

And then we get to…

PART 3

THE WORK OF MORTIFICATION.

Owen gives two exhortations.

1.     Set your faith on Christ’s work on the cross for the killing of your sin.

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2.     The entire work of mortification must be done in the power of the Spirit.  

Welcome to the King Street Journal

Greetings Blogosphere.

Welcome to the inaugural post of the online edition of the King Street Journal. There is no offline edition of the King Street Journal. Thus welcome to the King Street Journal, period.  

Why does the King Street Journal exist? 

I have set up this blog in the hope that I can share stuff about God and the bible that other people find helpful. Sometimes I might also share stuff that I've been reading and which I think someone might find helpful.

Why 'King Street Journal'? 

1. I'm currently looking at a sign that says 'King Street'.
   
   
2. I'm hoping that Google will redirect readers of the Wall Street Journal here by accident. 

If I start writing at a different location, I might change the name. But for now, it's King Street Journal.

Who am I?
I am a Christian. I'm married to Emma. I'm the father of my son.  

I belong to the Protestant, Reformed, Anglican and Evangelical tradition (in chronological order, not order of priority). At the time I write this blog, I am a fourth year student at Moore Theological College and a candidate for ordination in the Anglican diocese of Sydney.

Regularity of posts? 

I intend to write every day. That means I'll probably write once a week or less. There is a good chance that I will forget to write anything for months at a time. We'll have to see how I go.

Comments?

I can't be bothered monitoring comments. If you have a passionate desire to share your thoughts with me, track me down on Facebook or find my email address. Or go for my preferred method of communication: a personal conversation. I'm very happy to chat. I just don't want to get into public fights with people. As I said, I just want to write stuff that I think will be helpful for others.

Grace and Peace,
Martin E. Robinson
Chief editor, King Street Journal