How to Mortify Sin

Introduction: What makes you happy? Now, before you answer this question, let me ask you a question: what does happy even mean? I think that, quite often, we can set out with a goal of happiness, without giving much thought to what we truly even mean by that word, or whether or not our pursuit is a biblical goal. The number of times that I have thought this year, as I wrestled through the fog of sorrow “I just want to be happy again” has been very high, but I will be honest with you: I didn’t always spend a great deal of time thinking about what I even meant. I mean, think about how we use this word:

When I purchase a sugar and carb-packed meal designed for children, that’s conveniently packaged and easy for parents as well, I have bought a “happy meal.” So, is convenience happiness?

When I am sufficiently entertained by a show or, in my case, the outcome of a sporting event, I can respond with that made me “happy.” So, is happiness being entertained?

When I go to a place where I can feel free from responsibility or obligation and can do something I desire to do, I have gone to my “happy place.” So, is happiness freedom from obligation?

The truth is that I think no other word has both undergone more transformation, and yet become so hard to define, as the word “happy.” But this hasn’t always been a problem for Christians. In fact, up until the last 2 centuries, the majority of Christians would have had no problem at all with defining the word happy. But they viewed it in a very, very different way. You see, for most of Christian History, true happiness was communion with God. When you hear them talk of being happy in Jesus, they aren’t talking about being all smiles and laughs, or of being entertained or freed from responsibility or made convenient. They were talking about having communion with God, of being in Christ, and of rejoicing in being owned by Christ.

It is no mystery that one of my favorite books is John Owen’s The Mortification of Sin. There is a very specific reason for this. You see, for Owen, and I believe the Bible teaches this as well, sin is that which robs us of happiness by distorting, destroying or disrupting our communion with God. Sin is at war to separate us from God and so, Owen says, we must be at war to kill sin, because sin is at war to kill us. It will destroy our communion with God, poison our souls and, finally, keep us from true happiness, which is communion with God.

If we define happiness the way the Bible defines it, the concept of killing sin becomes way, way more important to us. So, how do we do it? These four verses, from 19-22, are written for us as a field manual for killing sin. We have three weapons here that we can use to practically put sin to death in our life, and I want us to explore how to use each one to kill sin: Remember, Reach, and Reject.

1. Remember whose you are and who you are!

Romans 6:19 ESV

I am speaking in human terms, because of your natural limitations. For just as you once presented your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification.

last week: pursue Christ with the same energy that you used to pursue sin! At the end of this passage, Paul gives us a helpful spiritual principle. I had several come to me last week and say they had never thought of this before, so let me repeat it in summary:

Lawlessness leads to more lawlessness, and it progresses over time. This concept revolves around the word “practice.” The way to get better at something is to practice it! If you practice sin, you will get better at it!

Righteousness leads to sanctification, and it progresses over time. But the opposite is also true. If I practice righteousness, I will get better at it. This doesn’t mean it will be “easy.” this is a common misconception about getting better at anything.

I have spent the better part of 25 years or so teaching karate. In that 25 years, no part of karate has gotten easier. But as I teach, I get to watch students improve, a little each day, and I have seen a few even become very, very good at it. But you know what happens as they practice? Karate itself doesn’t get easier; they improve at doing it! They become familiar with the techniques, they grow in what it required of them, and they get better! But karate didn’t get easier; they got better!

You improve at what you practice! For the Christian, our identity in Christ is essential, because we must constantly remember that we are in Christ, bound to Christ, new creations. “I don’t live there anymore.”

This means that it is possible for me to resist sin and live for righteousness! And when I do this, I grow in my maturity, in my skill as a slave to righteousness. This is the principle from last week; those who practice wickedness and deceit will get better at it, and those who practice righteousness will get better at that too!

But not just a mental “remembering” - BE who you ARE! Don’t be controlled by your feelings, or your emotions, or your sinful patterns; be controlled by the realities of the Gospel!

The reality of living in a fallen world: there are a million things that are vying for your affections and attention. There are a million things that want you to worship them. All of these things desire to enslave you, so that you will serve them exclusively. Every person is a slave. And so slave can serve two masters.

The exclusive nature of our service is the heart of what Paul is doing when he compares the Christian life to slavery. John Stott puts it this way: “Slavery is not an entirely accurate or appropriate picture of the Christian life. It is an accurate indicator of the exclusivity of our allegiance to the Lord Christ, but does not describe the easy fit for his yoke, the gentleness of the hand that lays it on us, or the liberating nature of his service.”

We are owned by God in a glorious and liberating ownership. Submission to His rule is submission to His ownership. It’s laying down our arms against Him, but it is not laying down our arms. Paul describes this in 2 Cor. 10:3-5

2 Corinthians 10:3–5 ESV

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ,

we have been purchased, and armed, by God, and we are called to wage war! And this begins by simply remember whose you are - you are owned by God; and who you are - you are a child of the King, with access to all the resources of heaven to wage war against sin and to fight against the Kingdom of Darkness!

Here is what I believe - if we truly, really believed this, the church would have less sin and more joy. Period. We have to remember who we are! And that is precisely why we need to read God’s Word. We are prone to spiritual amnesia, where we simply either forget or forget to apply the truths of the promises of God.

And so, I present my mind, my body, and my spirit to God as an obedient slave, with exclusive allegiance to God Almighty, and an expectation that He will give me everything I need to bring glory and honor to His name! And that work of being a more obedient slave? That is what we call sanctification. Remembering who we are is step one of killing sin in our lives. So, what is step 2?

2. Reach for true freedom

Romans 6:20 ESV

For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness.

This little verse gives us a truth in two directions. Both of the slaveries we have talked about bring a freedom:

as a slave to sin, I’m free in regards to righteousness

as a slave to sin, I wanted to be “free to do what they want,” and that is precisely what I had - freedom from righteousness, from living in the most fulfilling way, from enjoying life as God intended it. Slavery to sin doesn’t mean that we are somehow forced to do wickedness; wickedness is our natural language. Rather, our wills are so enslaved by sin that sin isn’t just what we do; it is what we want to do!

God has “given them over” and they are “free” in this way; but in every other way, they are slaves. When we were slaves to sin, we may have even wanted to be free from sin from time to time, but that desire to be freed from slavery was never greater than the desire to drink the poison of sin.

This is why we must always begin with repentance, not reformation. A gospel message that is “clean up, follow these rules, and do these things” first is a false gospel. The true Gospel of Jesus Christ begins with life transformation by God Himself, which happens through repentance and faith!

As a slave to righteousness, I’m free in regards to sin.

As a slave to righteousness, what I want to do has changed! I am now free to do what I want, but what do I want? To pursue righteousness and love God. This is precisely how Augustine, who we studied earlier today in Equip class, could say “love God, and do as you please.” How can that be? Because what I want to do has changed!

As a slave to righteousness, instead of being free to sin, but in every other way a slave, I am now a slave to righteousness, and in every other way I am free! I have everything I need to pursue righteousness, including both the desire, and the power given by the Holy Spirit to resist my sin, to resist the evil one, and to reject the world!

All this is because of the work of Christ! When I was saved, I was justified; I became a different creature, with different motives, and headed to a different end, and with different freedoms! For the first time in my life, I can reach for true freedom. I can reach for righteousness, I can reach for holiness. But I can’t hold on to my sin and do this at the same time; something has to give.

There is a progression at work here in the weapons we use to kill sin. I remember to whom I belong, and so I move my will and my eyes towards my master, then when I see Him rightly, and myself accurately, I can reach out towards true freedom, which is being totally owned by Him! Doing this leads me to the third weapon of my warfare:

3. Reject the fruit of death

while you are at remembering who you are and whose you are, it is a good idea to have a realistic picture of exactly the fruit that was borne in your life, and the fruit that would be born if you continue in that slavery. The Bible explicitly speaks of fruit in many different ways to demonstrate that the results of living your life either for or against God will show themselves over time.

when you were free from the power of righteousness, the fruit you produced was horrific:

v. 19 - lawlessness

v. 20 - shame

v. 21 - death

how many times I have seen this - 13 funerals for drug overdoses. Multiple people in our community who rejected both Jesus and His church, who died alone, without hope and without God. And what fruit did that life of pleasure seeking bring? Death.

I’ve seen the mother of three boys die and leave them behind because she could not shake the pursuit of her addiction.

I’ve seen the kind, gentle man who couldn’t resist one more hit, die alone and abandoned in a parking lot. Why? the fruit of these things is death.

I’ve seen the beloved brother and son, the life of the party, end his own life because he couldn’t see past the shame his sin brought. Why? The fruit of these things is death.

I’ve seen the marriage implode because the two were two busy pursuing their own interests and unwilling to forgive and humble themselves. Why? The fruit of these things is death.

Over and over again, the deceitfulness of sin enslaves, and then produces death. It’s not a new pattern. Why? Why would you want this? What lie is the enemy selling you to get you to choose death over life?

When you are free from the power of sin, your fruit is indescribably glorious:

v. 19 - righteousness

v. 20 - freedom from shame

v. 21 - life

And I have seen this too. Over and over again, people who were enslaved and ensnared by sin run to Christ, and find hope and life in Him.

I’ve seen the person mired in secret sin confess, repent and follow Jesus and be set free from the power of sin and experience true life, and true joy.

I’ve seen the one hell-bent on destroying themselves come to their senses and, like the prodigal some, come home running to the Father.

I’ve seen the couple on the verge of ruin submit their lives to Jesus Christ and experience the true hope and promise of relationship in and with Him.

I’ve seen people who chased the lies and promises this world sold them have their eyes opened, and behold the majesty and beauty of Christ for the first time.

I’ve not only seen this; I’ve been this. I can distinctly remember the lies, the shame, the darkness and lawlessness that sin was producing in me, and the freedom and hope that came in my life when my chains were broken.

Over and over again, the fruit of righteousness produces eternal life. I have seen it, I’ve tasted it, and I know it to be true and real. And I know this can also be true for you, friend.

What is Romans 6:19-22 telling me to do?

Get to work! There is no shortcut to maturity, and there is no easy way to kill something that doesn’t want to die.

call a spade a spade - don’t minimize or justify sin; use war language:

You didn’t just “lose your temper a little;” you murdered your brother in your heart.

It isn’t just a “little look;” you committed adultery in your heart.

It is more than “a little laziness;” you rob God of glory in your workplace.

When we talk like this, we find ourselves far more motivated to make war against sin. If it doesn’t seem so bad, we don’t feel so motivated to kill it!

Grab sin by the ears and drag it to the cross - repent! Often! bring your sin before the cross and remember Jesus’ work: he died so I would be free from this and bound to Him forever.

Put on your new slave clothes: Colossians 3; put off, put on. Put on righteousness. Find the opposite behavior, and practice it relentlessly!

to kill anger, practice gratefulness and pursue peace. Forgive others as you have been forgiven, and do it alot!

To kill lust, find your satisfaction in Christ, and receive the God-given boundaries and structures as good and right.

To kill laziness, consider the responsibility you have been given to steward the time you have been given!

Starve it out: discipline yourself for godliness. Refuse it. Reject it. Starve it. Replace it. Go to war!

There is no mortification of sin without pain. But it is a good and glorious pain.

Friends, I have prayed and considered the kindest way to tell us all a hard truth today. So often, we simply don’t grow because we are too lazy to put in the work. We don’t kill sin because it is, in many ways, easier for sin to kill us. it slowly poisons us, and it makes us numb through the antiseptic of pleasure. It is easier to just go along than it is to go against the grain. It is easier to stay in poor habits and poor choices than it is to work to live in Christ honoring ways. But we have been justified, and when we are justified, we have already received all things pertaining to life and godliness.

Gospel: you ARE a child of God. Unless you aren’t!

Benediction: 2 Cor. 10:3-6

2 Corinthians 10:3–6 ESV

For though we walk in the flesh, we are not waging war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not of the flesh but have divine power to destroy strongholds. We destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive to obey Christ, being ready to punish every disobedience, when your obedience is complete.