Mortification

Yes, it's Psalm 27 and verses 1 to 5.

The Lord's my light, my Savior and my light, who will make me dismayed.

The Lord's the stronghold of my life, why should I be afraid?

When evildoers threaten me to take my life away, my adversaries and my foes will stumble

in that day.

And so on down to verse 5, for in his dwelling he will keep me safe in troubled days.

Within his tent he'll shelter me, and on a rock me raise.

The Lord's my Savior and my light.

If you could be able to stand, please stand to sing.

The Lord's my Savior and my light,

who will make me dismayed.

The Lord's the stronghold of my life, why should I be afraid?

When even you are set in me to take my life away,

my other side is on my foes, will stumble there in the day.

Although I'm heartily can't see, my heart will feel no dread.

Though war against me should arise, I will lift up my head.

One thing I need, O Lord, the Lord.

Lord, the Lord.

And bless us seek always,

that I may come within your sight,

and dwell there all my days.

And dwell there all my days.

That on the beauty of the Lord,

I constantly make his,

and in his eyes may see to your direction in his ways.

For in his way,

in me will be,

me save in trouble days.

When they may stand,

till shelterly and on a rock be raised.

Let's once more unite in prayer.

Let's call upon the Lord in prayer.

Lord, our gracious God, eternal and ever blessed,

we give thanks for the wondrous words that we have been singing in your praise.

Words that teach us of the security that belongs to your people,

of your own keeping of them,

of the way that you protect them,

of the way that they are assured victory ultimately over all their enemies.

And Lord, we thank you for the encouragement that that gives us,

in a world in which we know there is much at enmity with the gospel,

at enmity with your people,

and with their commitment to your cause,

and their profession of your ways.

And we thank you tonight that you have reminded us of these things,

so that we might praise you,

that we might seek to bring you further glory in our own lives.

And Lord, we thank you for all aspects of your word,

your word that guides us not only into these times of worship,

but also throughout all the avenues of life.

We give thanks, Lord, that we can reflect the psalmist's own conviction,

as he said, that your word was a light to his feet and a lamp to his path.

We ask, O Lord, that your light will shine upon us each day,

shine upon our path to give us the guidance that we need.

Even if we, at times, O Lord, cannot find exact answers to the questions

that may be in our hearts.

Yet we thank you, Lord, for the guidance of your word,

for the light that it brings us,

for the great principles that you call upon us through it

to follow and to apply in our own lives.

We thank you tonight, Lord, for the congregational life that we experience,

for your promises are directed to us,

not only as individuals, but also as congregations of your people,

gatherings of your people,

your church, Lord, throughout the world,

as a gathered people of God.

And we thank you tonight that there are so many benefits for us

in being gathered together.

But help us, Lord, to see that it is primarily our great duty and privilege

to gather before you to give evidence to our own hearts

and to one another and to the world around us

that you are God, that you are worthy of being worshipped,

worthy of being praised, worthy of being followed

in the way in which we seek to do daily.

We ask, O Lord, that you would bless to us this time together here under your word.

We pray that your word once again will be open to us.

We pray that our minds may be open to receive its teaching.

We acknowledge, Lord, that there is much in it that challenges us

as we come to your word and read it and take it at face value as it speaks to us.

We acknowledge, Lord, that there is much there that causes us to draw breath

and causes us to reflect deeply on our own relationship to you

and to sin and to the world in which we live and to one another as your people.

And we confess, too, O Lord, with thankfulness that these things are brought to us in your word

so that we might have our lives regulated by it.

We give thanks, too, for the many promises, for the many ways in which you assure your people

of your continuing love and of the way in which that follows them into all the circumstances of life

in which they may find themselves.

We treasure, Lord, these things for ourselves, too, as a congregation.

We thank you that as we reflect upon the life of the congregation

that we can look back over many years of your faithfulness,

many years where you have shown, O Lord, that you are indeed a God who is faithful and trustworthy,

one who is always true to his promises, one who does not withhold from his people that good that you intend to do for them,

that you have always purposed for them.

For you will withhold no good thing from those who walk uprightly, as your word tells us.

And we pray that we may be able with the psalmist also to sing in praise of your goodness,

how great is the goodness which you keep in store for those who fear you.

And we give thanks, O Lord, that that reminds us and encourages us that your goodness goes before us

into each and every day of our lives and on into eternity

when your people expect to experience yet more of your own goodness in providing for them.

We pray tonight, Lord, for all who gather in your name elsewhere,

not only in this town and locality, but throughout our land and throughout the world.

We thank you for faithful gatherings of your people in days when we know that the number of your people is relatively small

compared to the population that we are part of.

O Lord, our God, bless your word, we pray, to your people and make them living witnesses and effective witnesses in this world.

Help us, Lord, we pray, in all that we seek to do for you.

And by your grace, Lord, we ask that you would bless our efforts to make the gospel and the principles of the gospel known to our communities.

Help us as a congregation, O Lord, as we hold forth the word of life in different ways.

And we ask that you would bless your word to that end, both to those who are adults, those who are in upper years,

those who are young, those who are children, those who are even in the stage of creche.

O Lord, we ask that as we know your word in our midst, so we as families and we as a congregation may grow in the grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.

And we commend ourselves to you, O Lord, as a people.

We pray that you would grant your blessing to those of our number who are away at this time on holiday.

Remember them, we pray, and keep them safe.

Remember those who are ill as well of our number and can't be with us during these days.

We think, too, of those who are recovering from surgery, those who are experiencing difficulties in regard to that.

We pray for those, Lord, too, who are anticipating surgery or treatment.

We pray for them and ask that you would quieten any anxieties they may have about these things.

Enable them, O Lord, in bringing them before yourself to draw their strength and comfort and assurance from you.

Remember those who mourn the passing of loved ones.

Once again, we pray for them.

O Lord, our God, virtually every week that we meet together here, we know that there have been those who have lost loved ones as the days have gone by.

And we pray for these families once again as we know them.

We pray, O Lord, that you would comfort them.

We pray for any of them who may not know you savingly, that you would use even such difficult providences as these to speak into their hearts.

And to assure them, O Lord, that they are welcome in your presence if they come in the name of Christ and come to seek your own forgiveness and acceptance as we all must.

We pray also, O Lord, tonight for those who have the happy experience of children born into their families.

We pray for them and give thanks for them.

We pray that you would, Lord, grant your own blessing to parents and to children alike.

We pray that these infants may grow under your favor and under your protective care.

We pray for them health wise as well.

And ask that you would be pleased, O Lord, to watch over them and to grant to them your blessing as the days go by.

And we pray, too, that you would bless our land at this time.

As we extend our prayers, Lord, to cover all our people, we ask that you would bless our circumstances to us.

Even though we know that there are many difficulties attending our present circumstances, Lord, in providence,

that we pray for those who have difficulties in regard to income.

Remember those who have lost work and are searching for work.

Remember those who face poverty and experience poverty.

Remember, we pray those who use food banks, both locally and throughout the nation.

Lord, give them not to be ashamed of such.

But we thank you for that provision.

And we pray for those who administer it and manage it from day to day.

And we pray, O Lord, that we especially as a people, you would turn us away from the things that have to do with sin and ungodliness.

Those things we know from your word are unacceptable to you.

And, O Lord, be merciful to us as a people, as a nation.

Bless our leaders at this time.

Bless especially the situation in Westminster.

Lord, we pray for all who are concerned in it.

And we pray that you would bring stability out of it.

And we ask, O Lord, that whatever you have in store for us as a people,

and we know that we are undeserving of the least of your mercies.

We have spurned your laws.

We have turned aside from righteousness.

We have exalted evil.

O Lord, we have done all this in your sight.

And yet we look to your word and find evidence in it of how even then in times of great evil in the past,

you overlooked these sins in your mercy and came with days of reviving power,

days of quickening, days of gospel, precious gospel blessing.

And it is, Lord, our prayer that this would be so for our day as well.

And we ask that you would continue to bless us here with your favor now as we wait upon you.

Guide and conduct us into your word, we pray.

And all we ask is in Jesus' name and for his sake.

Amen.

Let's sing again to God's praise.

We're singing from Psalm 65.

65 and sing.

Psalms page 82.

The tune this time is done.

Firmly in singing verses 1 to 5.

And Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.

To you our vows will pay.

To you all people will come near.

You hear us when we pray.

When we were overwhelmed by sins and guilt upon us lay,

you pardoned all our trespasses and washed our guilt away.

And so on to the end of verse 5.

In Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.

In Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.

In Zion, praise awaits you, Lord.

To you our vows will pay.

To you, O people, welcome near.

You hear us when we pray.

When we were overwhelmed by sins and guilt upon us lay,

You pardoned all our trespasses and washed our guilt away.

I bless our clothes you choose not bring,

Within your courts of grace.

We're filled with blessings in your hearts,

In your roles, holy place.

With awesome things of righteousness,

You have said us, O God,

Our Savior, hope of our besties,

And all the earth abroad.

Let's now read God's Word.

We're reading from Romans tonight.

A letter to the Romans, chapter 8.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Beginning at the beginning of the chapter,

And we'll read down as far as verse 17.

So Romans, chapter 8, and from the beginning.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus.

For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

For God has done what the law weakened by the flesh could not do.

By sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin,

He condemned sin in the flesh,

In order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us,

Who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh.

But those who live according to the Spirit set their mind on the things of the Spirit.

To set the mind on the flesh is death.

To set the mind on the flesh is death,

But to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God,

For it does not submit to God's law, indeed it cannot.

Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit,

If in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you.

Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to Him.

But if Christ is in you,

Although the body is dead because of sin,

The Spirit is life because of righteousness.

If the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you,

He who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies

Through His Spirit who dwells in you.

So then, brothers, we are debtors,

Not to the flesh to live according to the flesh,

For if you live according to the flesh you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear,

But you have received the spirit of adoption as sons,

By whom we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.

And if children then heirs, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ,

Provided we suffer with Him,

In order that we may also be glorified with Him.

And so on may the Lord again follow with His blessing,

Our reading of His Word.

We are going to sing once again this time in Psalm 51 in the Scottish Psalter.

51 verses 6 to 13.

The tune this time is St. Kilda.

That is on page 281.

Behold thou in the inward parts with truth delighted art,

And wisdom thou shalt make me know within the hidden part.

Do thou with hyssop sprinkle me, I shall be cleansed so.

Yea, wash thou me, and then I shall be whiter than the snow.

Of gladness and of joyfulness make me to hear the voice,

That so these very bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.

We'll sing on until the end of verse 13.

Then will I teach thy ways,

And to those that transgressors be,

And those that sinners are,

Shall then be turned unto thee.

Behold thou in the inward parts.

With truth delighted art,

And wisdom thou shalt make me know,

When the Lord is in the midst of the kingdom of God.

Behold thou in the inward parts.

Behold thou in the inward parts.

With truth delighted art.

And wisdom thou shalt make me know,

With truth delighted art.

With truth delighted art.

And wisdom thou shalt make me know,

Within the hidden part.

And wisdom thou shalt make me know,

Within the hidden part.

And wisdom thou shalt make me know,

Within the hidden part.

And wisdom thou shalt make me know,

Within the hidden part.

whether art.

You'dahl with nieces of spring yel Oui,

I shall reclancen so ne-

Pull thy ways,

When the washclur be on thepai sele-

I shall be cleansed so,

Trow thou red,

You're dressed the geol,

TheYA.

And I shall be whiter than the snow.

All gladness and love, joyfulness, make me hear thy voice.

That so this very old switcher has broken, may rejoice.

All my iniquities, Lord, I, by this light, from my sin.

He is a clean heart, Lord, bring you, and my strength be with him.

Cast me not from thy side nor take thy holy strength away.

Restore me thy salvation's joy, with thy peace let me stay.

Then will I teach thy ways unto those that trespassers be.

And those that sinners are shall then be turned unto thee.

Well, let's turn now tonight to the passage we read in Romans, Romans chapter 8, especially verses 12 and 13.

Romans 8 · chapter mention

Very difficult in some ways to just extract a verse or two from the whole chapter because it's so wonderfully tied together.

And the way that Paul leads us through his own argument or reasoning throughout the whole of this really wonderful chapter.

We'll read from verse 12.

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh.

For if you live according to the flesh, you will die.

But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

It's virtually impossible to go through life without being indebted to someone or not to find somebody that's indebted to ourselves in some way or other.

We're very frequently under obligation to others, whether it's in monetary terms or even just, as we commonly say,

well, I owe you one when they've done us a favor.

In other words, you've come to be placed under obligation to return that favor to someone.

So, all the way through life, we're very familiar with the matter of being under obligation or being indebted to people in various ways and for different things.

And that's really the kind of idea that Paul has here in a spiritual sense.

He says, verse 12 here, we are debtors.

We are debtors.

He then says, not to the flesh.

And we're going to have to explore a bit about what that means, the flesh, and what he means not being debtors to the flesh.

But he doesn't actually complete the balance, if you like, that you might expect.

You might expect him to say, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh, but we are debtors to something else.

And he doesn't say that.

But what he does say, it makes it fairly obvious, I think, that what he really says is that we are indeed debtors to the Spirit of God, to the Holy Spirit.

We are indebted to the Holy Spirit for what He's done.

And, of course, you need to go all the way back to chapter 6, especially for that, and we'll maybe touch on that as we go through our study this evening.

But we are indebted to the Spirit.

We are debtors to the Spirit, not to live according to the flesh, but instead to put to death the deeds of the body so that we shall live.

That's the balance, I think, in these two verses where he's emphasizing for us.

This is the one we are indebted to, the Spirit of God.

And because we're indebted to Him, how do we actually, if you like, pay back our obligation to the Spirit?

Well, we live a holy life, essentially, is what it means.

We put to death the deeds of the body rather than live according to the flesh.

So, these are the things that we've got in this passage.

What does he mean, we are debtors not to the flesh?

What does he mean by the flesh?

Who is he talking to?

Well, he's talking to Christians.

He's writing to the Christians in Rome, to the church in Rome.

And he's saying to them here, we are debtors, including himself in that, we are debtors not to the flesh.

And the flesh really essentially means our fallen humanness in itself, our sinfulness.

And even when we're conscious of the fact that God has delivered us, as chapter 6 puts it so well,

if you look at chapter 6 and verse 20 there, for example, you'll see,

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

In other words, he's saying, this is what we're all naturally like.

This is how we are as we come into the world.

This is how we are until God changes us and changes things for us,

until it changes the direction of our life.

We are actually under the control or the directorship, if you like, of sin.

The sin that's true of every one of us.

The sin that is in us.

Our sinful nature.

Our sinfulness.

Our fallenness.

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

In other words, you did not have righteousness in your life.

You were cut off from it.

You were free from that.

But now, he says, what fruit were you getting in those times?

The end of these things is death.

But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God,

the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life.

In other words, when God saves us, when God changes us inwardly,

when He changes our hearts, when He takes us out of the dominance of sin,

when He takes us out of being controlled by sin,

of sin being the director, if you like, of our life,

He doesn't just take us out of that and leave us in our neutrality.

He takes us under the directorship of the Holy Spirit.

So, instead of the power of sin working in our life as it once was,

we have the power of the Holy Spirit in its place.

Sin has not gone away.

We're not sinless as Christians, but we have a big change taking place in our life.

God has set us free from sin, from the power, from the dominance of sin,

and He's brought us under the wonderful directorship or control of the Holy Spirit.

And that essentially is what He's saying here,

you have your fruit unto holiness.

Instead of following the ways of sin,

God has turned His people into following the ways of holiness.

They're not perfect people.

They're not perfectly holy.

It's obvious from our lives we're not.

But this is the direction that our life is now in,

as we're in Christ, as we're led by the Spirit,

as we're under the directorship of the Spirit.

That is essentially the great change in someone's life

when they've gone from being directed by sin and in the ways of sin

to being directed by the Holy Spirit.

So, that's really the flesh.

He's delivered us from the flesh,

and therefore, He's saying it isn't logical,

it isn't in keeping with that deliverance,

that we should actually give our allegiance to the flesh anymore.

He says that in chapter 6 itself.

What shall we then say?

Are we continuing sin that grace may abound?

By no means.

How shall we who die to sin still live in it?

He's really arguing that sin is not now the controlling feature or principle in our life,

so we can't live for it.

We can't live after.

We can't live as we once did in a desire to please the flesh,

to please sin.

We are debtors not to the flesh.

We are not under obligation anymore to the flesh.

God has delivered us from that.

We're now under obligation to the Holy Spirit,

and that means being led by the Holy Spirit into holiness of life.

That's what He said in chapter 6, wasn't it?

You have your fruit unto holiness,

and the end of that, the terminus of that,

is eternal life.

Now, it's great to see young folks here tonight.

There's some big words here,

and I'll try and explain them if I can,

but it's wonderful to see children here at the evening service as well.

Well, as you know, sanctification is what the Bible,

a word the Bible uses for God taking our lives

and setting them apart to be for Himself,

and delivering us from sin and making us holy is part of that as well.

And that's really what these passages,

these verses here deal with as well,

because when we're delivered by God from the power of sin,

from the dominance of sin,

and placed us under the leadership,

the directorship of the Holy Spirit,

it comes to involve what we're going to call as our heading tonight,

mortification of sin.

The word mortification is not here,

but it's in the older translation,

and I think it's a good word.

It essentially means the same thing as what Paul is saying here,

you put to death the deeds of the body.

Mortification is putting something to death.

And what he's saying here, mortification,

what is it we put to death?

The deeds of the body,

the flesh,

the workings of the flesh,

the things of sin.

That's what holiness really is about, isn't it?

You follow the Holy Spirit's direction,

you're concerned to live a holy life,

to turn from sin,

to put sin more and more behind you,

so that you live a life that's pleasing to God.

And that's really what mortification here is about.

It's dealing with sin as a new creation,

as a Christian,

as someone in Christ,

so that you're actually putting sin to death.

Now, it's not an easy subject to deal with.

It's not something palatable to ourselves.

The flesh doesn't like to be killed.

The flesh doesn't like to be put to death.

That sinful aspect of our being

is very reluctant to actually be done away with.

That's why, as we'll see,

we need the strength and the energy

and the power of the Holy Spirit to do that.

But first of all,

let's try and define what mortification is.

And then we'll look at practicing mortification.

So, defining mortification.

Well, as we said,

it has to do with putting the deeds of the body,

putting the things of the flesh,

putting sin to death.

But it's interesting,

the way that Paul uses different terminology,

and here he's talking about something

that applies to us,

that we, as we'll see,

are required to do.

Now, when you think about mortification,

putting to death the deeds of the body,

the flesh,

the deeds of the body,

or different ways of describing it,

we must not begin with what is physical.

We must not begin with the physical side of our being,

our bodies.

It does here talk of,

specify the deeds of the body.

We'll come back to that in a minute.

But when you try and define what mortification is,

what it is to pursue holiness,

you don't begin with your body.

You don't begin with the physical.

You begin with your mind.

You begin with the things of the soul.

Because that's essentially what he's saying throughout this chapter,

isn't it?

At the beginning of the chapter,

we read through it,

where he talks here about those who walk not according to the flesh,

but according to the Spirit.

What does he then say?

Those who live according to the flesh,

verse 5,

set their minds on the things of the flesh.

But those who live according to the Spirit,

set their minds on the things of the Spirit.

To set the mind on the flesh is death.

To set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.

For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God.

You, however, are not in the flesh,

but in the Spirit.

So, you see,

he's taking us to the mind.

He's taking us to the depth of our being.

He's taking us to our soul.

He's taking us to the workings of our soul.

So, the flesh is really very much part of…

The flesh is very much to do with that whole complex

or combination of what you have in your soul,

your attitude,

your thoughts,

your desires,

your appetites,

your aspirations,

your motives.

Everything you could say are the motions of your soul

where the flesh is concerned,

where these are sinful appetites,

sinful motions,

sinful desires,

sinful attitudes.

That's what he's saying we have to put to death.

That's the flesh.

That's defining mortification for us.

These are the things that he's dealing with.

But, of course,

you start with what's in your soul.

You start with the mind,

but you can't leave the body out of it

because it's through our bodies,

our bodily faculties,

that sin,

the flesh,

those things that we have in us

as sinful appetites and thoughts and desires,

they actually work through our bodies,

don't they?

Because they don't just lie in our souls

and never involve our bodies.

The whole person is actually involved.

The root of our sin and our sinful behavior,

the root of our following the ways of sin,

the root of that is in our souls.

But sin in us uses our bodies,

our eyes,

our mouths,

our hands.

That's why he calls it here

the deeds of the body.

In other words,

he's saying the workings of the flesh

are essentially the deeds of the body

as the workings of the flesh,

our inner part,

our spiritual inner being

comes through in the workings of our flesh.

You remember how Jesus put it?

And this is really a definition

that Jesus gave.

Essentially,

it comes to the same thing

because you remember in Mark chapter 7,

Mark 7 · chapter mention

this is people were called by Jesus to him

and he said to them,

hear me all you and understand.

And we're talking about

what is it that defiles a person?

What is it that makes a person defiled,

dirty, grubby, spiritually, morally?

He says,

there is nothing outside a person

that by going into him can defile him.

But the things that come out of a person

are what defile him.

And when he had entered the house,

he left the people.

His disciples asked him about the parable.

He said,

are you also without understanding?

Do you not yet see

that whatever goes into a person from outside

cannot defile him

since it does not enter his heart?

But his stomach and is expelled.

And he said,

what comes out of a person

is what defiles him.

And then he gave a list.

He said,

it's from within,

from inside a person,

from our soul,

from out of the heart of man,

as he put it,

comes evil thoughts,

sexual immorality,

theft,

murder,

adultery,

coveting,

wickedness,

deceit,

sensuality,

envy,

slander,

pride,

foolishness.

All these evil things

come from within

and they defile a person.

Where does,

where do all of these things

actually come from?

He says,

they come from the heart.

You find a person

committing adultery.

You find a person

engaged in theft.

You find a person

using really bad language.

Those things

don't come from the body,

even if the body

is used

in actually

engaging in them.

You don't find somebody

who's set on committing adultery,

blaming,

or being in a position

to blame the body

for what's happened.

The sinful appetite

behind that,

as it is of all these

other things

that Jesus mentions,

actually comes from within.

And once that sinful appetite

has reached a certain point,

and then that person

wants to follow it through,

then your body comes

to actually be the means

by which that sinful appetite

reaches accomplishment.

That's the flesh.

And mortification

is putting these things

to death.

Dealing with these

inner sinful appetites,

the flesh,

in a way that actually

puts them

to death,

killing them

at the root,

if you like.

That's one of the things

that defines

the difference

between a person

who's in Christ

and a person

who's not.

Because if you look,

if I look back

over my own life,

I can't say that

as a youngster

I wasn't taught

right and wrong.

I can't say that

I didn't know

a definition of sin

and what it was.

And I would be told

the implications

of living a sinful life.

But it didn't concern me.

I didn't want to do away

with these things.

And any time

I was in church

and any time

listening to the gospel

or listening to Christians

talking about their lives

and giving me some advice,

I didn't like that

because it asked me

to face up

to these inward appetites

that I didn't want

to get rid of,

that I didn't want

to mortify,

that I didn't want

to put to death.

But when the Lord

came into my life

and when the Lord

came into your life

as a Christian,

things changed.

The things that you

weren't once concerned with,

the things that

characterized the world

out there

to a great extent tonight,

the things that

characterized so much

of our society,

they're not things

which concern people

inwardly

to an extent

that they really think,

well, I've got to

get rid of this,

I've got to deal with this,

I've got a problem

inside me,

I've got a problem

of my mind

and my soul

and I need to have

it dealt with,

it only comes

when the Holy Spirit

takes over your life,

when your life

is in the hands

of Christ,

then things change.

And that's what defines,

one of the things

at least,

that defines the difference.

Because the person

that's now under

the directorship

of the Spirit

hates sin,

doesn't want

to live for sin,

is concerned

about any remnant

of sin

being left

in your life.

You want to put it out,

you want to kill it,

you want to put it

beneath your feet,

you pray to God,

help me Lord

to get rid of it,

you pray for the Holy Spirit's

energy to help you

deal with it,

because essentially

it makes you

unlike Jesus,

it makes you

unlike Christ,

and you know

that likeness

to Christ

is the objective

of sanctification,

of living a holy life,

because that's

the perfection

that God

is aiming at

and that you desire

as well

in your own life.

So,

defining mortification

involves

understanding

something

of what the flesh

is,

and how the flesh

is the inward

side of us,

and how the appetites

and actions

and movements

of our souls

sinfully

take our bodily

functions

and use these

in the service

of sin.

Well,

what he's saying

here is

that's not

the kind of life

you now live.

God has delivered

you from that.

He has made you

bond servants

of the Spirit,

bond servants

no longer of sin

to serve sin.

You're no longer

debtors to the flesh,

but you are debtors

to the Holy Spirit,

to follow holiness

of life.

And how then

is mortification

practiced,

if that's briefly

a definition of it?

Well,

it is indeed

we who need

to put it to death.

So then,

brothers,

we are debtors

not to the flesh,

for if you live

according to the flesh

you will die,

and so on.

But if by the Spirit

you put to death

the deeds of the body,

you shall live.

Now,

notice what it's saying.

He's not saying

that this is something

that's done for us,

it's not something

that's done in us,

it's something done

by us.

If you,

by the Spirit,

put to death

the deeds of the body,

you shall live.

You see,

the Lord gives

the Holy Spirit

to His people,

and He's not saying here

that this is a salvation

by works

or you'll get some reward

if you try and attend

to the works

of the flesh

and you pray for the Spirit

to help you.

The outcome of that

will be the reward

for that will be

that you will have

eternal life.

It's not what He's saying

at all.

He's saying that

those who have come

under the directorship

of the Spirit,

those who have come

by the grace of God

to give their lives

over to Jesus,

over to Him,

they have this great benefit,

they have this amazing resource,

they have the Holy Spirit

living within them.

And the Holy Spirit

that lives within them

under His leadership

leads them

into the ways

of sanctification.

And the ways

of sanctification

involve mortification,

putting sin to death.

That's how it works.

It's not an optional extra.

It's not something

we can afford

to leave aside

in our definition

of a Christian.

It's very much

part and partial

of what the Christian life

is and is about.

That's why it's a vital thing

to understand something

about what mortification is,

but it's even more vital

that you followed through

in your life.

That is something

you are busy doing

in your life

and I with you.

Because either we

put sin to death

or else we'll come to die

as a result

of not doing that.

Die eternally.

But you see,

yes, we must kill sin.

We must kill

the works of the flesh.

We must put them to death.

But we cannot do it

by ourselves.

That's why he's saying,

if you by the Spirit

put to death

the deeds of the body,

you shall live.

I must put the deeds

of the body to death,

but if I try and do it

on my own,

I will miserably fail.

I will end up

with self-righteousness

or something like that

and I will not be saved

and I will not actually

be in the category

are in the position

of those who are

actually putting to death

the deeds of the body.

Why are you saying,

by the Spirit

you'll do it?

One of the

great theologians

of the church,

John Owen,

has a marvelous

section on mortification

in volume 7

of his complete works.

You have access,

you can get it online as well.

This is what he's saying

in terms of trying

to deal with sin,

in terms of trying

to do away with it

and deal with it

successfully yourself.

This is what he's saying.

Mortification,

this is one of the

great quotes really,

I remember when I came

across it first of all.

Mortification

from a self-strength

carried on

by ways of self-invention

unto the end

of a self-righteousness

is the soul

and substance

of all false religion

in the world.

I'll read it again.

Mortification

from a self-strength

that's by our own efforts

carried on

by ways of self-invention

other than

the way God

has actually set

before us

by His Spirit

unto the end

or for the reason

of a self-righteousness

is the soul

and substance

of all false religion

in the world.

You look at all the false religions

in the world

and that's exactly

what lies

foundationally to them

at the heart of them

because they are

ways of mortification

by self-strength,

by ways of self-appointment

or self-discovery

unto the end

of a self-righteousness.

Every single religion

that relies on that

and please don't think

that it's just

every religion

apart from the Christian religion

there are people

inside the Christian religion

inside the Christian church

if you like

for whom this teaching

is simply not acceptable

sadly

because what they'll tell you

well I've

I live a good Christian life

I do my best

I've never killed anybody

as far as I know

I've not engaged

in anything wicked

or evil

that's really brought

public disgrace

in myself

or anybody else

so no

but have you ever

you have to ask them

have you ever

lusted

have you ever

had in you

any of the things

that Jesus mentions

in Mark chapter 7

Mark 7 · chapter mention

have you ever

coveted

have you ever

engaged in deceit

have you ever

told lies

have you ever

been envious

have you ever

slandered anyone

have you ever

had any sense

of pride

did you have

any element

of sensuality

did you act

in any way

foolishly

see these are the things

that we tend

to neglect

as being

really not

all that sinful

if you like

or the world

certainly would

but Jesus is not

Jesus is not

in the business

of leaving out

any sins

whatever we might

think of them

the flesh

is the flesh

and the flesh

the works

of the flesh

the works

of the body

the deeds

of the body

have to be

mortified

Paul is saying

it's perfectly

in line

with that

so he's given

us his spirit

if you by the spirit

put to death

the deeds

of the body

you shall live

you see

it's by the Holy Spirit

you really come

to appreciate

at least to some

extent

what sin is

how do you come

to actually appreciate

that sin

is evil

in its workings

that sin

is as it puts

there

enmity against God

that the sinful

mind is enmity

against God

because many people

in the church

would say

well I wouldn't

go that far

I wouldn't say

that I've ever had

I've ever been

in the situation

or in the category

where you could

class me as an

enemy of God

but this is what

the Bible is telling us

we are inwardly

natively

as we are in

ourselves

we are in the

workings of the flesh

in the workings

of sin

we are at enmity

with God

that sinful mind

that mind

of the flesh

is hostile

to God

it does not

submit to God's

law

we need to

deal with it

we need to

mortify

the deeds

of the body

and not only

does the Lord

give us his Holy

Spirit to show

us what sin

is like

to enable us

to hate it

and to detest it

but more so

than that

he gives us

the Holy Spirit

to deal with it

we deal with it

by the Holy Spirit

we seek to

mortify the deeds

of the body

by the Holy Spirit

we seek to put

sin to death

by the Holy Spirit

we rely on the Holy Spirit

though we are required

to do the killing

that's the relationship

that Paul

has in mind here

and in fact

that's really no different

essentially

to what Jesus said

in chapter 8

of Mark

and in the other

Gospels as well

you know yourselves

the definition

he gave

of following him

and what following him

actually entailed

he called him

the crowd

and with his disciples

he said to them

if anyone would

come after me

that's to say

follow me

let him deny himself

let him take up

his cross

and follow me

for whoever would

save his life

will lose it

whoever loses

his life for my sake

and the Gospels

will save it

for what does it

profit a man

to gain the whole world

and forfeit

his soul

in other words

Jesus is saying

if you don't

give your life

over to God

and seek to save it

some other way

you're going to lose it

and if you give it

over to God

for you to be saved

then what accompanies

that is

crucifixion

mortification

you take up

your cross

daily

and you follow

Jesus

we didn't make up

these terms

the church

didn't invent them

the church

didn't discover

all of a sudden

or invent

this kind of ideology

that says

you know

as a Christian

we're now saying

we're now saying

to you

you have to actually

put sin to death

if you really want

to be a Christian

if you want to

enter into eternal life

no this is the Lord's teaching

the Lord was really saying

to the disciples

when you see somebody

bearing a cross

or the horizontal part

of a cross

as it was often

in those days

you had to

if you were going

to be crucified

you carried that

to the place

of your crucifixion

and everybody

who saw you

walking with that

on your shoulder

were able to say

instantly

as they saw you

that man is going

to his death

or that woman

is going to her death

they're going

to the cross

they're going

to be crucified

and that's the language

Jesus used

of the terms

he said

for discipleship

of following him

of what it meant

to really follow Christ

as we should

you must take up

your cross

you must say

to the works

of the flesh

every day

I have to crucify you

today

I have to put you

to death today

I have to deal

with you

or else you're

going to kill me

that's the balance

that's what

Paul is actually

saying here

and in fact

you remember

also how he

wrote very similarly

to the Galatian church

in Galatians

where he talks there

so much about the law

and that we're not

saved by the works

of the law

but by faith

in Jesus Christ

in Galatians chapter 5

Galatians 5 · chapter mention

he says

as follows

in verse 24

especially

those who belong

to Christ Jesus

have crucified

the flesh

with its passions

and desires

if we live

by the Spirit

let us also walk

by the Spirit

those who belong

to Christ Jesus

have crucified

the flesh

with its passions

and desires

now there are many

Christians that find

a problem with that

because sometimes

you'll find people

saying well

I don't find myself

yet having actually

completely put

the workings of the flesh

and sinned to death

so I can't be a Christian

that's not what Paul is saying

Paul is saying

this is something

you're engaged in

every day

something you're engaged in

as your life goes on

something you're engaged in

as you come to know

more and more

of the truth of God

and of fellowship

with Christ

and your fellow Christians

it's something

that you're engaged in

and you want to be engaged

in more and more

it's something

that you're engaged in

the more you find out

about sin

and what sin is like

and what sin is like

in God's sight

you pray Lord

by your Spirit

help me today

to crucify the flesh

to put to death

the works of the flesh

to deal with this

inward motion of my heart

even though

I am one of yours

even though you've saved me

or perhaps you might say

because you've saved me

I need to deal with this

I need to live a life

that's honoring to you

a life that will

more and more

lead me into

the ways of sanctification

what he's saying is

if you do this

you will live

if you by the Spirit

put to death

the deeds of the body

you will live

and it doesn't just mean

that you will live

after you've left this world

and the life of heaven

by no means

is that left out of it

but it's not confined

to that

I think the thought

of the apostle is

if you do this

then your ongoing

Christian believing life

will be life

you will have life

in terms of

all the benefits

that God gives

to his people

the rich and full

and satisfying life

of fellowship with Christ

of the Lord's favor

in your soul

of comfort from him

of assurance

of peace

of all of these things

to do with God's presence

and you could add to that

all the other things

the Bible tells you

that's the life

that's the rich

the full life

that we can have

and should have

in Christ

John Owen again

if I can quote him

puts it this way

the vigor

and power

and comfort

of our spiritual life

depends on the mortification

of the deeds

of the flesh

that's how he put it

the vigor

the power

and comfort

of your spiritual life

depends on

the mortification

of the deeds

of the flesh

so one of the questions

we've got to ask ourselves

if we don't have

that sense

of God's nearness

of God's favor

of God's comfort

in our souls

we have to ask ourselves

is it in any way possible

that it's because

I'm not mortifying

the flesh

is it because

I'm not dealing

with my sinful

appetites

the way I should

is this

the reason

I'm not enjoying

God

the end

for which I was created

remember that's what

the catechism says

the very first one

what is the chief end

of man

you could translate that

for what reason

was man created

by God

man's chief end

is to glorify God

yeah

but there's more than that

and to enjoy him

forever

and for me to enjoy

my God

I need to crucify

I need to mortify

the deeds of the body

I cannot expect

to have

the favor of God

enjoyed in my soul

if I'm not engaged

in

what Paul is telling me here

putting to death

the deeds

of the body

and if I am

doing that

I'm assured

that I will live

I will live

because

it will be for me

part of

the process

of my sanctification

under God

under the directorship

of the spirit

more and more

leading me to become

like Christ himself

two questions

are you in Christ

are you saved

are you under

the directorship

of the Holy Spirit

is your life

the way it's always been

since you came

into the world

has it changed

at all

are you still

led by sin

even quietly

even in a way

that perhaps

isn't obvious

but is known

to yourself

friend

here again

God is saying

to you

to be found

in Christ

to give your life

over to him

so that he

will take control

and give you

all that you

were designed

to have

and to enjoy

as one of

God's creatures

second question

Christian

myself included

after all

Paul included

himself in this

we are debtors

he didn't exempt

himself from

what he was saying

to the Romans

Christian

myself

are we

tonight

engaged in

killing our sins

daily

is it our concern

to put to death

the deeds

of the body

the workings

of the flesh

if so

we are assured

we shall live

God will give us

his assurance

and comfort

that we are

his

that we are

his adopted

children

that we have

heaven

to expect

at the end

of our journey

let's pray

almighty God

we thank you

for the extensive

teaching of your

word

on the life

that you have

given to your

people to follow

and to see

through to the

end of their

course in this

life

we thank you

Lord for your

Holy Spirit

we thank you

for the power

of your Holy

Spirit

power greater

than the power

of sin

itself

a power

that has brought

all things

into being

that exist

in the creation

that we are

part of

a power

that has

raised us

to life

from the

deadness

of our

sin

a power

that enables

us to face

our sin

and to seek

Lord to

mortify it

and put it

to death

day by day

help us

we pray

to do so

help us

by your

Holy Spirit

to follow

through

with the

teaching

of your

word

and these

great

issues

that are

so much

a part

of your

people's

experience

and grant

your blessing

Lord today

to the

gospel

wherever it

has been

proclaimed

and in

our own

midst as well

we ask

that may

bear fruit

that will

be unto

eternal

life

and to

the praise

and glory

of your

great name

we pray

in Jesus

name

Amen

let's sing

a conclusion

now from

Psalm 119

page 157

to tune

before the

throne

Psalm 119

Psalms 119:1–8

verses 1

to 8

blessed

are those

of blameless

ways

who live

according

to God's

word

blessed

are those

who keep

his laws

who with

their whole

heart

seek the

Lord

they keep

themselves

from doing

wrong

by walking

in his

perfect ways

you have

established

laws for

us

that are

to be

obeyed

always

that opening

section

verses 1

to 8

to God's

praise

verse 1

blessed

are those

of blameless

ways

who live

according

to God's

word

blessed

are those

who leave

his laws

who with

their whole

heart

seek the

Lord

Lord

they keep

themselves

from

doing

wrong

by walking

in his

perfect ways

you have

established

laws for

us

that are

to be

obeyed

always

that

are

to be

obeyed

always

that

are

to be

obeyed

always

that

are

to be

obeyed

always

oh

that

thy ways

were

steadfast

Lord

our

commands

I

would

not feel

disgrace

or shame

I

praise

you

with

an upright

heart

as

you're

just

all

suffered

by me

all

your

defeats

I

will

obey

do

not

forsake

me

after

me

do

not

forsake

me

after

me

I'll

go to

the door

to my right

this evening

now may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ the love of God the Father and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and always

Amen