Overcoming Sin and Temptation

THE NATURE, POWER, DECEIT, AND PREVALENCY OF INDWELLING SIN

PART 1: THE NATURE OF INDWELLING SIN

(Chapter 1)

Foundational text on indwelling sin: Romans 7:21 (p. 233)

A. Indwelling sin is a law (p. 233)

B. The law of indwelling sin is found in believers (p. 235)

C. The habitual inclination of believers’ wills is unto good (p. 236)

D. Evil is present within believers (p. 237)

PART 2: THE POWER AND EFFICACY OF INDWELLING SIN

(Chapter 2)

I. Characteristics of every law (p. 243)

A. Dominion (p. 243)

1. Moral authoritative dominion over a man (law of God) (p. 243)

2. Real effective dominion in a man (law of sin) (p. 243)

B. Efficacy to provoke (p. 244)

II. What kind of law indwelling sin is (p. 245)

A. Indwelling sin always abides in the soul (p. 246)

B. Indwelling sin is always ready to apply itself to its ends (p. 247)

C. Indwelling sin applies itself with great facility and ease (p. 247)

(Chapter 3)

III. The heart is the seat and subject of this law of sin (p. 249)

A. The heart is the principle of men’s good or evil actions, and also includes two other things: (p. 251)

1. A suitableness and pleasingness unto the soul in the things that are done (p. 251)

2. Resolution and constancy in such actions (p. 251)

B. Properties of the heart (p. 251)

1. The heart is unsearchable (p. 251)

2. The heart is deceitful (p. 253)

a) The heart abounds in contradictions (p. 253)

b) The heart’s deceit lies in its full promises upon first appearances (p. 254)

C. Some considerations (p. 255)

1. Never let us reckon that our work in contending against sin is at an end (p. 255)

2. Its variety, inconsistency, and deceitfulness above all else calls for perpetual watchfulness against it (p. 255)

3. Commit the whole matter with all care and diligence unto God (p. 256)

(Chapter 4)

IV. The natural properties of indwelling sin (p. 257)

A. Indwelling sin is enmity (p. 257)

B. Indwelling sin is enmity against God (p. 259)

1. Indwelling sin is universal (p. 260)

a) Indwelling sin is universal against all of God (p. 261)

b) Indwelling sin is universal against all of the soul (p. 261)

2. Indwelling sin is constant (p. 262)

C. Indwelling sin is constant (p. 262)

(Chapter 5)

V. The actings and operations of indwelling sin (p. 262)

A. Aversation (p. 263)

1. In the affections (p. 264)

2. In the mind (p. 265)

3. Directions with respect to our particular duty against this evil (p. 267)

a) Constantly keep the soul in a universally holy frame (p. 267)

b) Labor to prevent the very beginnings of the workings of this aversation (p. 267)

c) Be sure this aversation never prevails to a conquest (p. 268)

d) Carry about a constant, humbling sense of this close aversation unto spiritualness that yet lies in our nature (p. 268)

e) Labor to possess the mind with the beauty and excellency of spiritual things (p. 269)

(Chapter 6)

B. Opposition (p. 270)

1. By force (p. 270)

a) Sin’s general inclination: it lusts (p. 271)

(1) In a hidden, close, propensity unto all evil (p. 272)

(a) Discovered in its unexpected surprises of the soul into foolish, sinful figments and imaginations (p. 273)

(b) Manifested in its readiness and promptness to join and close with every temptation whereby it may possibly be excited (p. 274)

(2) In its actual pressing after that which is evil, and actual opposition unto that which is good (p. 275)

b) Sin’s particular way of contending: it fights or wars (p. 276)

(1) In its rebellion against grace, or the law of the mind (p. 277)

(a) Opposition unto the general purpose and course of the soul (p. 278)

(b) Opposition unto particular duties (p. 279)

(2) In its assaulting the soul (p. 279)

(a) Its positive actings in stirring up sin (p. 280)

(b) Its importunity and urgency (p. 280)

(Chapter 7)

c) Sin’s success in this contest: it leads the soul captive to the law of sin (p. 284)

(1) Success in and upon the actings of the law of sin (p. 284)

(a) Much of it is from Satan when the captivating sin has no peculiar footing nor advantage in the nature, constitution, or condition of the sinner (p. 285)

(b) It is from Satan when a lust is prevalent unto captivity, where it brings in no advantage to the flesh (p. 286)

(2) It leads the soul captive not to a particular or actual sin, but to “the law of sin” (p. 286)

(3) This leading captive argues a prevalency against the contrary actings of the will (p. 286)

(a) The power of sin is great (p. 287)

(b) This leading captive intimates manifold particular successes (p. 287)

d) Sin’s growth and rage upon success: it comes up to rage and madness (p. 288)

(1) Its nature consists in violent, heady, pertinacious pressing unto evil or sin (p. 288)

(2) Sin does not rise to this height ordinarily, but when it has a double advantage: (p. 289)

(a) That it be provoked, enraged, and heightened by some great temptation (p. 289)

(b) It must be advantaged by some former entertainment and prevalency (p. 289)

(3) What accompanies this rage, its properties, and the effects it produces (p. 290)

(a) There is in it the casting off, for a time at least, of the yoke, rule, and government of the Spirit and law of grace (p. 290)

(b) Madness or rage is accompanied with fearlessness and contempt of danger (p. 291)

(i) When the soul is broken loose from the power of renewing grace, God often deals with it by preventing grace (p. 291)

(ii) These hindrances that God lays in the way of sinners are of two sorts: (p. 292)

(a) Rational considerations (p. 292)

(b) Providential dispensations (p. 292)

(Chapter 8)

2. By deceit (p. 293)

a) The general nature of deceit (p. 295)

(1) It hides (p. 295)

(2) It is carried on by degrees (p. 296)

b) The way, manner, and progress of sin in working by deceit (p. 296)

(1) Its ultimate aim is death (p. 297)

(2) Its general way of acting toward that end is by temptation (p. 297)

(a) Drawing away the mind from its duty (p. 299)

(i) In general, the duty of the mind is to keep itself and the whole soul in a frame and posture that will render it ready for all duties of obedience (p. 299)

(a) It endeavors to draw it off from a due consideration, apprehension, and sensibleness of its own vileness and danger (p. 299)

(b) The duty to keep the soul unto a constant, holy consideration of God and his grace (p. 305)

(Chapter 9)

(ii) In particular, the duty of the mind is to attend to all actions (e.g., prayer and meditation) that they may be performed as God requires (p. 306)

(a) Meditate of God with God (p. 307)

(b) Meditate on the word in the word (p. 307)

(iii) The suitableness and usefulness of this duty unto the ruining of sin (p. 307)

(a) It is the proper work of the soul in this duty to consider all the secret workings and actings of sin (p. 308)

(b) In this duty there is wrought upon the heart a deep, full sense of the vileness of sin, with a constant renewed detestation of it (p. 309)

(d) Faith in prayer countermines all the workings of the deceit of sin (p. 310)

(iv) The means whereby the deceitfulness of sin endeavors to draw off the mind from a due attendance unto them (p. 311)

(a) It makes advantage of its weariness unto the flesh (p. 311)

(b) It makes use of corrupt reasonings (p. 312)

(d) It feeds the soul with promises and purposes of a more diligent attendance unto this duty when occasions will permit (p. 313)

(Chapter 10)

(v) For the right performance of any duty, it is not enough that the thing itself required be performed, but that it be universally squared and fitted unto the rule of it (p. 316)

(a) There are some special things which the rule directs unto that the mind is to attend in every duty (p. 317)

(i) That it be full and complete (p. 317)

(ii) That it be done in faith (p. 317)

(iii) That it be done in the right manner (p. 318)

(iv) That it attend unto the ends of duties (p. 318)

(b) There are some things about sin which the mind should attend to (p. 320)

(i) The sovereignty of God (p. 321)

(ii) The deceit of sin (p. 321)

(iii) The love and kindness of God (p. 322)

(iv) The inhabitation of the Spirit (p. 324)

(a) It is from the deceit of sin that the mind is spiritually slothful, whereby it becomes negligent unto this duty (p. 324)

(i) Inadvertency (p. 324)

(ii) Unwillingness to be stirred up unto its duty (p. 324)

(iii) Weak and ineffectual attempts to recover itself unto this duty (p. 324)

(iv) Heartlessness upon the apprehensions of difficulties (p. 325)

(b) It draws away the mind from its watch and duty in reference unto sin by surprises (p. 325)

(c) It draws away the mind by frequency and long continuance of its solicitations, making as it were at last a conquest of it (p. 326)

(Chapter 11)

(b) Enticing the affections (p. 326)

(i) What it is to have the affections entangled in sin (p. 327)

(a) When they stir up frequent imaginations about the proposed object which this deceit of sin leads and entices toward (p. 327)

(b) When the imagination can prevail with the mind to lodge vain thoughts in it, with secret delight and complacency (p. 327)

(c) Inclinations or readiness to attend unto extenuations of sin, or the reliefs that are tendered against sin when committed, manifest the affections to be entangled with it (p. 328)

(ii) How sin entangles the affections (p. 328)

(a) It makes use of its former prevalency upon the mind in drawing it off from its watch and circumspection (p. 328)

(b) It proposes sin as desirable and exceeding satisfactory to the corrupt part of our affections (p. 329)

(d) It raises up perverse reasonings in the mind, to fix it upon the sin proposed, that it may be conceived and brought forth (p. 330)

(iii) How to observe this duty (p. 331)

(a) Keep your affections as to their object (p. 331)

(i) In general: fill your affections with heavenly things (p. 331)

(ii) In particular: let the cross of Christ be the object of your affections (p. 332)

(b) Look to the vigor of the affections toward heavenly things (p. 332)

(Chapter 12)

(i) The will is the principle, the next seat and cause, of obedience and disobedience. (p. 333)

(ii) Twofold consent of the will unto sin (p. 333)

(a) That which is full, absolute, complete, and upon deliberation (p. 333)

(b) There is a consent of the will which is attended with a secret renitency and volition of the contrary (p. 334)

(iii) There cannot be an absolute, total, full consent of the will of a believer unto any sin (p. 334)

(a) There is in his will a principle fixed on good (p. 334)

(b) There is also a secret reluctancy in it against its own act in consenting unto sin (p. 334)

(iv) Repeated acts of the consent of the will unto sin may beget a disposition and inclination in it unto the like acts (p. 335)

(v) This consent of the will may be considered two ways: (p. 335)

(a) As it is exercised about the circumstances, causes, means, and inducements unto sin (p. 335)

(b) As it respects this or that actual sin (p. 335)

(i) The will is a rational appetite (p. 335)

(ii) It chooses nothing, consents to nothing, but as it has an appearance of some present good (p. 335)

(iii) The reason why the conception of sin is here placed as a consequent of the mind’s being drawn away and the affections being entangled (p. 336)

(a) The will is imposed upon by that corrupt reasoning, that grace is exalted in a pardon, and that mercy is provided for sinners (p. 336)

(b) The deceived mind imposes on the will, to obtain its consent unto sin, by proposing unto it the advantages that may accrue and arise thereby (p. 338)

(Chapter 13)

(d) The bringing forth of sin in its actual accomplishment (p. 342)

(i) When sin is conceived, the Lord obstructs its production by his providence, in taking away or cutting short its power (p. 343)

(a) By taking away life, which is the foundation of all power (p. 343)

(i) God does not judicially cut off and take away the life of any of his (p. 344)

(a) This is directly contrary to the very declared end of the patience of God toward them (p. 344)

(b) They must perish forever who are so judicially cut off (p. 345)

(ii) There are some cases wherein God may and does take away the lives of his own to prevent the guilt that otherwise they would be involved in (p. 345)

(a) In the coming of some great temptation and trial upon the world (p. 345)

(b) In case of their engagement into any way not acceptable to him, through ignorance or not knowing of his mind and will (p. 345)

(b) By taking away and cutting short the power of them that had conceived it (p. 345)

(i) It is so only in cases of extraordinary temptation (p. 347)

(ii) God does it to awaken them to their condition and what they are doing (p. 347)

(d) By removing or taking away the objects on whom, or about whom, the sin conceived was to be committed (p. 348)

(e) By some eminent diversions of the thoughts of men who had conceived sin (p. 348)

(i) This may give us a little insight into the providence of God (p. 349)

(ii) Our own concerns will in a special manner enforce us to adore the wisdom and efficacy of the providence of God in stopping the progress of conceived sin (p. 349)

(iii) The miserable condition of wicked men (p. 350)

(iv) Do not despair when you see the floodgates of men’s lusts and rage set open against the church and the interest of it (p. 351)

(v) Those who have received benefit by any of the ways mentioned may know to whom they owe their preservation, and not look on it as a common thing (p. 351)

(vi) We may also see hence the great use of magistracy in the world, that great appointment of God (p. 351)

(ii) The way whereby God obviates the production of conceived sin is his working on the will of the sinner (p. 352)

(a) By restraining grace (p. 352)

(i) The general medium of restraining grace is in certain arguments and reasonings presented to the mind of the sinner (p. 353)

(ii) No arguments or reasonings as such are sufficient to stop or hinder any purpose of sinning (p. 353)

(iii) Some of the arguments God uses toward this end (p. 354)

(a) By arguments taken from the difficulty, if not impossibility, of doing that they aim at (p. 354)

(b) By arguments taken ab incommodo (p. 355)

(d) By arguments taken ab honesto (p. 356)

(b) By renewing grace (p. 357)

(i) This is one part of the mystery of his grace and love (p. 357)

(ii) God does it by special assisting grace (p. 358)

(iii) God does it by the way of afflictions (p. 360)

PART 3: THE EFFECT AND STRENGTH OF INDWELLING SIN

(Chapter 14)

I. The effect of sin in the lives of believers (p. 363)

A. The fearful eruptions of actual sin that have been in the lives of believers (p. 363)

1. In Scripture, many of them had a peculiar eminency in them on the account of their walking with God in their generation (p. 363)

2. These men fell not into their great sins after a long course of walking with God (p. 363)

3. They fell when they had newly received great and stupendous mercies from the hand of God (p. 364)

B. It manifests its power in believers’ habitual declensions from zeal and holiness (p. 365)

1. Declension from zeal (p. 366)

2. Declension from delight (p. 368)

3. Declension from the universal course of obedience (p. 368)

C. The cause of all actual sin and habitual declensions in believers is indwelling sin (p. 369)

1. It appears to be a work of great power and efficacy from the provision that is made against it, which it prevails over (p. 369)

a) The word itself and all the ordinances of the gospel are appointed and given unto us for this end (p. 369)

b) That which adds weight to this consideration (p. 370)

c) Supplies of grace continually afforded the saints from their head, Christ (p. 371)

d) There is a readiness in the Lord Christ to yield peculiar succor to the souls of his (p. 372)

(Chapter 15)

2. The ways and means whereby indwelling sin prevails on believers unto habitual declensions and decays as to degrees of grace and holiness (p. 374)

a) Their experience during the first conversion and calling of sinners unto God and Christ (p. 374)

(1) They have a fresh, vigorous sense of pardoning mercy (p. 375)

(2) They have a fresh taste of spiritual things (p. 375)

(3) Indwelling sin taints these springs (p. 376)

(a) By sloth and negligence (p. 376)

(b) By unframing the soul (p. 377)

b) Indwelling sin does this by taking men off from their watch against the returns of Satan (p. 379)

(1) It entangles the soul in the things of the world (p. 380)

(2) By making the soul negligent and taking it off from its watch (p. 381)

(3) By the evil examples of professors among whom they live (p. 381)

(4) By cherishing some secret particular lust in the heart (p. 383)

(5) By negligence of private communion with God in prayer and meditation (p. 384)

(6) By growing in notions of truth without answerable practice (p. 386)

(7) By growing in carnal wisdom (p. 386)

(8) By some great unrepented sin lying long in the heart and conscience (p. 387)

(Chapter 16)

II. The effect of sin in the lives of unbelievers (p. 388)

A. It appears in the violence it offers to the nature of men (p. 388)

1. Sins against the natural principle of love unto and a care for the preservation and nourishing of their young (p. 390)

2. All other sins against the prime dictates of the law of nature that mankind is or has been stained and defamed with (p. 391)

B. It evidences its efficacy in keeping men off from believing under the dispensation of the gospel (p. 391)

1. Under the dispensation of the gospel, there are but few that do believe (p. 391)

2. There is proposed to men in the preaching of the gospel, as motives unto believing, everything in conjunction that severally prevails with men to do whatever else they do in their lives (p. 392)

a) It is most reasonable (p. 392)

b) It is most profitable (p. 392)

c) It is most pleasant (p. 393)

d) It is surely necessary (p. 393)

3. Indwelling sin both disenables men unto and hinders them from believing the gospel (p. 393)

C. It is evident in their total apostasies (p. 393)

1. It gives stop or control unto that exceeding greatness of power which is put forth in the word in their conviction and reformation (p. 394)

2. It takes them off from those hopes of heaven which, upon their convictions, obedience, and temporary faith or believing, they had attained (p. 396)

3. It turns them off from the way of righteousness after they have known it (p. 397)

4. It evinces its strength in them by prevailing with them unto a total renunciation of God as revealed in Christ, and the power of all gospel truth—in the sin against the Holy Ghost (p. 397)

(Chapter 17)

III. The strength of indwelling sin evidenced by its resistance to the power of the law (p. 398)

A. The law discovers sin (p. 398)

B. The law discovers sin to be a very bad inmate (p. 399)

C. The law judges the person (p. 400)

D. The law disquiets and affrights the soul (p. 400)

E. The law slays the soul (p. 400)

1. It is not conquered (p. 401)

2. It is only enraged (p. 401)

F. Question: It seems that the preaching of the law has an effect on sin (p. 401)

G. Answers (p. 402)

1. It is acknowledged that the power of the law of God is very great and effectual (p. 402)

2. Whatever effects it have upon some, yet we see that in the most, such is the power and prevalency of sin, that it takes no impression at all upon them (p. 402)

3. When any of the effects mentioned are wrought, it is not from the power of the letter of the law, but from the actual efficacy of the Spirit of God putting forth his virtue and power for that end and purpose (p. 402)

4. Notwithstanding all that may be observed of the power of the law upon the souls of men, yet it is most evident that lust is not conquered, not subdued, nor mortified by it (p. 402)

a) Though the course of sin may be repelled for a season by the dispensation of the law, yet the spring and fountain of it is not dried up thereby (p. 402)

b) In such seasons sin is not conquered, but diverted (p. 403)

(1) The great endeavors of men ignorant of the righteousness of Christ, for the subduing and mortifying of sin, which are all fruitless, do evidence the great strength and power of it (p. 403)

(a) They will promise and bind themselves by vows from those sins which they have been most liable unto, and so have been most perplexed with (p. 404)

(b) Beyond bare vows and promises, with some watchfulness to observe them in a rational use of ordinary means, men have put, and some do yet put, themselves on extraordinary ways of mortifying sin (p. 406)

(2) The strength, efficacy, and power of this law of sin may be further evidenced from its life and in-being in the soul and in the continual opposition that is made unto it by grace (p. 407)