How do we mortify sin? part four

One of the first great lessons that every Christian should learn about their new life in Christ is that while they are now redeemed they are not yet without sin. In other words, the grace of God has not eradicated every remnant of sin's corruption and effects in their life. With Paul the apostle, we all can say:

"So I find it to be a law that when I want to do right, evil lies close at hand. For I delight in the law of God, in my inner being, but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members" (Rom.7:21-23).

Here is the Christian life in daily experience. Our reach exceeds our grasp. We strive to follow the desires of our new nature (which is consistent faithfulness to Christ) but we find a roadblock in our way each time. And that roadblock is "the law of sin" housed in our members which works like a gravitational pull on our affections, thoughts, words, and deeds.

So, what are we to do? Are we helpless victims to the downdrag of indwelling sin? Thankfully we're not. For our face off with remaining sin is in God's strength through means of grace He has provided, whereby we can deal sin a mortal blow. This exercise is called "mortification." And for my past three posts I have been unpacking from Scripture the "how to" of mortifying or putting sin to death.

In this present study, we will look at the final means of grace for mortifying sin: it is by fixing our hearts on Jesus Christ. In Hebrews 12:1-2, the writer of Hebrews calls on his fellow Christians to "run with endurance the race that is set before us" - which is the race of Christian perseverance. Or as A.W. Pink (1886-1952) describes it: "...it is a call to constancy in the Christian profession; it is an exhortation unto steadfastness in the Christian life; it is a pressing appeal for making personal holiness our supreme business and quest." And in this strong call to "run with endurance the race that is set before us," the writer of Hebrews urges us to do two things: first, we are "to lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely" (12:1). This is a call to mortify sin. But the word-imagery used here is powerful. It is that of a runner who would remove anything that would hinder him from winning the race - whether it would be clothing or extra physical weight. Thus, in the Christian race there is nothing that hinders us most than "sin which clings so closely" to us. Hence, we are called to "lay aside" that sin!

But how do we do this? The answer to this question is the second call issued from Hebrews 12:1-2. We "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely" by "looking to Jesus...the founder and perfecter of our faith." This is another way God gives us to kill sin. We fix our gaze on Christ, who is the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.

When Hebrews 12:2 says, "looking to Jesus", the verb translated "looking" means "to look away from one thing and to concentrate on another." So, rather than gazing and concentrating on sin and all its allurements - we fix our hearts and minds on Christ, treasuring Him, not only above sin - but above life itself (Phil.3:7-14). He is the goal, the aim, the sustainer, and the keeper of all that we are as His people (Rom.8:29).

In his classic book on the subject of mortification, John Owen (1616-1683) explained the practical outworking and effect of fixing our eyes on Christ as a means for putting sin to death. He noted four applications: First, by faith fill your heart with a right consideration of the provision that God has made in the work of Christ for the mortification of sins. Second, raise up your heart in faith with an expectation of relief from Christ. Third, place your faith particularly upon the death, blood, and cross of Christ; that is, on Christ crucified and slain. Finally, when you meditate upon the death of Christ, keep in mind the power available to us, and your desire to be conformed to Christ.

How often do we really think hard about all that Jesus did by His suffering and dying to save us from our sins? Whenever we are tempted to sin, do we fight to fix our gaze on Christ and remember what He did to kill this sin for us? Do we also remember that by His death we are forever set free from sin's enslaving power, therefore, through Him we have the grace to "lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely to us?" To kill sin is to "look to Jesus." It is to be satisfied in all that He is for us and cast ourselves on all that He has done to liberate us from sin's power.