John Owen
1616–1683
The foremost theologian of English Puritanism, called by Spurgeon the prince of divines; wrote on the Spirit, sin and communion with God.
In his own words
A man finds any lust to bring him into the condition formerly described; it is powerful, strong, tumultuating, leads captive, vexes, disquiets, takes away peace; he is not able to bear it; wherefore he sets himself against it, prays against it, groans under it, sighs to be delivered: but in the meantime, perhaps, in other duties, -- in constant communion with God, -- in reading, prayer, and meditation, -- in other ways that are not of the same kind with the lust wherewith he is troubled, -- he is loose and negligent. Let not that man think that ever he shall arrive to the mortification of the lust he is perplexed withal. This is a condition that not seldom befalls men in their pilgrimage. The Israelites, under a sense of their sin, drew nigh to God with much diligence and earnestness, with fasting and prayer, Isa. lviii. : many expressions are made of their earnestness in the work, verse 2 "They seek me daily, and delight to know my ways; they ask of me the ordinances of justice; they take delight in approaching to God. " But God rejects all. Their fast is a remedy that will not heal them, and the reason given of it, verses 5-7, is, because they were particular in this duty. They attended diligently to that, but in others were negligent and careless.
Quoted verbatim from the library, as an answer would quote it.
What we hold of him
Of Communion with God
Classic
Of Temptation
Classic
The Mortification of Sin
Classic
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