reformed blogging.

Objection. But it may be said, “Surely this course of procedure can never be acceptable to Jesus Christ. What! shall we daily come to him with our filth, our guilt our sins? May he not, will he not, bid us keep them to ourselves? they are our own. Shall we be always giving sins, and taking righteousness!”
Answer. There is not any thing that Jesus Christ is more delighted with, than that his saints should always hold communion with him as to this business of giving and receiving. For,–
This exceeding honours him, and gives him the glory that is his due. Many, indeed, cry, “Lord, Lord,” and make mention of him, but honour him not at all. How so? They take his work out of his hands, and ascribe it unto other things; their repentance, their duties, shall bear their iniquities. They do not say so; but they do so… Herein, then, I say, is Christ honoured indeed, when we go to him with our sins by faith, and say unto him, “Lord, this is thy work; this is that for which thou camest into the world; this is that thou hast undertaken to do. Thou callest for my burden, which is too heavy for me to bear; take it, blessed Redeemer Thou tenderest thy righteousness; that is my portion.” Then is Christ honoured, then is the glory of mediation ascribed to him, when we walk with him in this communion.
- John Owen, Works, Vol. 2: Communion With God, 195.

Never was sin seen to be more abominably sinful and full of provocation, than when the burden of it was upon the shoulders of the Son of God. God having made his Son, the Son of his love, his only begotten, full of grace and truth, sin for us, to manifest his indignation against it, and how utterly impossible it is that he should let the least sin go unpunished, he lays hand on him, and spares him not… is it not most clear from hence, even from the blood of the cross of Christ, that such is the demerit of sin, that it is altogether impossible that God should pass by any, the least unpunished? If he would have done it for any, he would have done it in reference to his only son; but he spared him not.
- John Owen, Works, Vol. 2: Communion With God, 96.

The love of God in itself is the eternal purpose and act of his will. This is no more changeable than God himself: if it were, no flesh could be saved; but it changeth not, and we are not consumed. What then? loves he his people in their sinning? Yes; his people,–not their sinning. Alters he not his love towards them? Not the purpose of his will, but the dispensations of his grace. He rebukes them, he chastens them, he hides his face from them, he smites them, he fills them with a sense of [his] indignation; but woe, woe would it be to us, should he change in his love, or take away his kindness from us!
…But now our love to God is ebbing and flowing, waning and increasing. We lose our first love, and we grow again in love;–scarce a day at a stand. What poor creatures are we! How unlike the Lord and his love! “Unstable as water, we cannot excel.” Now it is, “Though all men forsake thee, I will not;” anon, “I know not the man.” One day, “I shall never be moved, my hill is so strong;” the next, “All men are liars, I shall perish.” When ever was the time, where ever was the place, that our love was one day equal towards God?
- John Owen, Works, Vol. 2: Communion With God, 31.

“It is in the nature of faith to mortify, not only corrupt and sinful lusts, but our natural affections, and their most vehement inclinations, though in themselves innocent, if they are any way uncompliant with duties of trial of the sincerity and power of faith. Our lives, parents, wives, lawful objects of our natural affections. But when they, or any of them, stand in the way of God’s commands, if they are hindrances to the doing or suffering any thing according to His will, faith doth not only mortify, weaken and take off that love, but gives us a comparative hatred of them” - John Owen

“David professeth himself to be a stranger and a pilgrim, not only when he was hunted like a partridge upon the mountains, but when he was in his palace, and in his best estate. We are not to renounce our comforts, and throw away God’s blessings; but we are to renounce our carnal affections. We cannot get out of the world when we please, but we must get the world out of us. It is a great trial of grace to refuse the opportunity; it is the most difficult lesson to learn how to abound, more difficult than to learn how to want, and to be abased; to have comforts, and yet to have the heart weaned from comforts; not to be necessarily mortified, but to be voluntarily mortified.” - Thomas Manton

“It is easy to be good when we cannot be otherwise, or when all temptations to the contrary are out of the way. All the seeming goodness there is in so many, they owe it to the want of a temptation and to the want of an opporuntiy of doing otherwise.” - Thomas Manton

“It is not the absence of temptation, but the resisting of and prevailing over them which evidences the efficacy of indwelling grace. ” - Arthur W. Pink

“We are hence to conclude that there is no place for us among God’s children except we renounce the world, and that there will be for us no inheritance in Heaven except we become pilgrims on earth.” - John Calvin

What imputation is not:

1. Imputation does meant to judge or esteem people to be righteous “who truly and really are not so.”

2. God cannot simply declare a person to be righteous, as if the words alone could change the actual state of affairs. “God declares no man to be righteous but him who is so.”

3. Imputation is not the transmission or transfusion of the righteousness of another into them that are to be justified, that they should become perfectly and inherently righteous thereby; for it is impossible that the righteousness of one should be transfused into another, to become his subjectively and inherently.” While forgiveness does allow a person to be “not guilty” that alone is insufficient grounds for entrance into eternal life: “We must also be actually righteous.” Not only must sin be dealt with, but “all righteousness is to be fulfilled.”

What, then, is imputation?

Imputation is an act of God…–of his mere love and grace; whereby, on the consideration of the mediation of Christ, he makes an effectual grant and donation of a true, real, perfect righteousness, even that of Christ himself, unto all that do believe; and accounting it as theirs on his own gracious act, both absolves them from sin and granteth them right and title unto eternal life. - John Owen, The Doctrine of Justification by Faith

(Taken from Kelly M. Kapic, Communion with God: The Divine and the Human in the Theology of John Owen, pp. 137-138)

Here is a two paragraph excerpt which pretty much summarizes Owen’s “Mediations and Discourses Concerning the Glory of Christ.” Can recovery from spiritual decay really be treated in two paragraphs (which could probably be reduced to just one)? The solution to spiritual decay is often very simple, just difficult to apply. Here it is:

A steady view of the glory of Christ, in his person, grace , and office, through faith,–or a constant, lively exercise of faith on him, according as he is revealed unto us in the Scripture,–is the only effectual way to obtain a revival from under our spiritual decays, and such supplies of grace as shall make us flourishing and fruitful even in old age. He that thus lives by faith in him shall by his spiritual thriving and growth, “Show that the Lord is upright, that he is our rock, and that there is no unrighteousness in him.” - John Owen, Meditations and Discourses Concerning the Glory of Christ, p.459

The most of our spiritual decays and barrnenness arise from an inordinate admission of other things into our minds; for these are they that weaken grace in all its operatoin. But when the mind is filled with thoughts of Christ and his glory, when the soul thereon cleaves unto him with intense affections, they will cast out, or not give admittance unto, those causes of spiritual weakness and indisposition. p.461

Cursed be the man that shall encourage you to come to Christ with hopes of indulgence unto any one sin whatever… your choice must be absolute, without reserves, as to love, interest, and design; –God or the world,–Christ or Belial,–holiness of sin; there is no medium, no terms of composition. - John Owen, Meditations and Discourses Concerning the Glory of Christ, p. 431

Objections: 1. “What is it that you would have us to do?–We heard the word preached, we believe it as well as we can, we do many thing willingly, and abstain from many evils diligently; what is more required of us?” (p.427) In other words, “We have done enough to be saved.”

Response: It is usual for those who do some things that are externally right to think that they have done enough. These people argue with God. Many in the Bible who were not saved indignantly asked Christ what more they needed to do (John 6:28; Matt. 19:20). All the right things may be present, yet lack one spark of saving faith. True faith is known by its singularity, there is no separation between receiving Christ as Savior and as Lord. To subject oneself to Christ, is to become His totally. Unless Christ is thus received, He has not received at all.

2. Some will say that they don’t know how to believe, that they have tried, but have been unsuccessful in this work. There is no progress and no satisfaction. Thus, they give up trying thinking that they have done their part. “They have a secret despondency, which keeps them safe from attempting a real closure with Christ on the tender of the gospel.”

Response: Remember that the Disciples were fishing all night but caught nothing (Luke 5:3,4) yet once Christ exhorted them to cast their nets once more, they had success. Therefore, try again for you know not what success Christ will give you. It is not your failing attempts after Christ, but rather your giving up that will be your downfall. Those who wait upon Christ without giving up will be blessed (Prov. 8:34). Though presently you may be unaware of whether you are saved, but if you give in to despair, you will know certainly that you are not saved.

3. Some acknowledge the necessity of Christ and belief upon Him, yet they put it off until another season thinking that now is not the right time. They think that they will believe when the time is “right”.

Response: “Can any thing be more foolish, sottish, and stupid, than for men to put off the consideration of the eternal concernment of their souls for one hour, being altogether uncertain whether they shall live another or no?–to prefer present trifles before the blessedness or misery of an immortal state?” (p.429) Under this deceit, that after a little while “we will rouse ourselves” (Prov. 6:9-11), do multitudes perish. Those who, even momentarily, put off coming to Christ are clearly under the power of Satan, and “he is like enough to hold you fast unto destruction.” (p.430) The openly rebellious man who is honest with himself is safer than a “trifling promiser” who deceives himself that in due time he will take heed and follow Christ. “Redeem the time or you are lost forever.”

4. Some are afraid to come to Christ fearing that if they do come they must relinquish all their earthly pleasures and lusts. It would be a different matter if they could hold to some of their old ways, but this “total relinquishment” is too severe for them.

Response: “If you are discouraged by [such a call], we cannot help it.” (p.431) And any man who offers the gospel without telling you the cost of discipleship preaches no true gospel. “Cursed be the man that shall encourage you to come to Christ with hopes of indulgence unto any one sin whatever… your choice must be absolute, without reserves, as to love, interest, and design; –God or the world,–Christ or Belial,–holiness of sin; there is no medium, no terms of composition.” Those who think that their worldly pleasures are too much to give up show that they do not really know what true please is. In Christ alone are true pleasures and durable riches to be obtained. “A few moments in these joys are to be preferred above the longest continuance in the cursed pleasures of this world.”

5. Another objection may be that those who profess to be Christians do not seem much better than those in the world. “What good will coming to Christ do if I am already like so many Christians?”

Response: Not all who profess to be believers really are. These will bear their own burden and judgement. Yet some who have reason to be considered true believers may have unmortified sin in their flesh. God is not pleased with this, yet this is not proposed unto you. The world cannot properly discern a right judgment of believers, this is of the spiritual man alone, who is able to discern the things of God.

What is the reason that controversies hang so long between God and your souls, that it may be despondency of spirit? You will not gird up the loins of your minds, in dealing with God, to put them to a speedy issue in the blood of Christ. You go on and off, begin and cease, try and you scarce see a good day all your lives? Is it not, for the most part, from your sloth and give over; and, for the most part, though your case be extra-ordinary, content yourselves with ordinary and customary applications unto God. This makes you wither, become useless, and pine away in and under your perplexities. David did not so; but after many and many a breach made by sin, yet, through quick, vigorous, restless actings of faith, all was repaired, so that he lived peaceably, and died triumphantly. Up, then, and be doing; let not your ‘wounds corrupt because of your folly.’ Make thorough work of that which lies before you; be it long, or difficult, it is all one, it must be done, and is attended with safety. - John Owen, “An Exposition Upon Psalm CXXX” 

We lack the spirit of the puritans so clearly manifest in such writings. We ought not be content in any sort of rest until it be found in Christ.