Indwelling Sin in Believers
By: John Owen
The Pastor’s Monthly Book Selection – February, 2019
Banner of Truth Trust has hit another home run with the publication of an abridged and modernized version of Indwelling Sin in Believers. The title might seem somewhat unappealing, but I have found Owen’s thought-provoking treatise to be a refreshment to my soul.
Not only does the author speak to the experience of every believer in his/her battle against sin, but he does so in a manner that gives us confidence in the grace of Christ, brings comfort to our hearts, and causes us to rejoice in our relationship with our all-sufficient God. As I read Owen’s material, I found myself enlightened by his insights regarding the inner working of sin and encouraged to draw nearer to God in sweet communion.
I recommend this book to the congregation of Grace & Peace Presbyterian Church as a companion to our current series through Galatians or simply as a cup of cold water to a thirsty soul.
https://www.heritagebooks.org/products/Indwelling-Sin-in-Believers.html
One of the great disappointments in the ministry of the apostle Paul was the abandonment of the gospel by the Galatian churches. Throughout that New Testament letter, Paul agonized over the ignorance and distortion of the most basic aspects of what it means to be accepted by God.
often feel overwhelmed with a sense of guilt, trying desperately to relieve their conscience by doing more work to please God. Although the author writes in a very humorous manner, his subject matter is serious. Knowing that personal scruples can turn the Christian life into a prison, the author invites his readers to experience the freedom for which we are redeemed in Christ. For some, liberty from rules and regulations might seem dangerous, but Brown points out that it is only by learning to live free that we can truly enjoy our God and delight in His marvelous grace. I have found this book helpful in my own life, and I recommend it to anyone wishing to experience the joy of the Lord.
By any standard, Abraham Kuyper was a giant of the Reformed faith and the national life of Holland during the second half of the nineteenth and into the twentieth centuries. Like most of Europe, the Dutch society into which Abraham Kuyper was born had been greatly affected by the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. Seeing these as destructive influences on both church and state, Kuyper sought to implement a Calvinistic worldview that would stand against a purely humanistic philosophy.
In a culture where men and women and boys and girls question their basic biological identity, it seems logical that we might ask ourselves, “How did we get here?” That is the question that the late Francis Schaeffer tackled in the latter half of the 20th Century when he wrote Escape from Reason. In this short but powerful work, Schaeffer critiques the vanity of modern philosophy that has destroyed any unity between faith and reason and has bankrupted public morals, leaving us with no solid basis for law and unable to adequately address the reality of evil.
The word “repent” or “repentance” is one of those theological terms that seems antiquated, old-fashioned, or foreign to many Christians today. It’s not uncommon to hear someone articulate a gospel message that is void of any reference to this teaching. Although many assume that this is simply characteristic of the 21st century state of the Church, Thomas Watson’s classic work on this topic reminds us that Christians are constantly in need of studying and applying this doctrine regardless of the age in which they live.
