John Owen
Temptation is like a knife, that may either cut the meat or the throat of a man; it may be his food or his poison, his exercise or his destruction.Collection: Food
If private revelations agree with Scripture, they are needless, and if they disagree, they are false.Collection: Scripture
The duties God requires of us are not in proportion to the strength we possess in ourselves. Rather, they are proportional to the resources available to us in Christ. We do not have the ability in ourselves to accomplish the least of God's tasks. This is the law of grace. When we recognize it is impossible for us to perform a duty in our own strength, we will discover the secret of its accomplishment.Collection: Law
Satan's greatest success is in making people think they have plenty of time before they die to consider their eternal welfare.Collection: Thinking
We are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement at His unspeakable love.Collection: Worship
If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation.Collection: Prayer
The person who understands the evil in his own heart is the only person who is useful, fruitful, and solid in his beliefs and obedience. Others only delude themselves and thus upset families, churches, and all other relationships. In their self-pride and judgment of others, they show great inconsistency.Collection: Heart
I do not understand how a man can be a true believer, in whom sin is not the greatest burden, sorrow and trouble.Collection: Men
The growth of trees and plants takes place so slowly that it is not easily seen. Daily we notice little change. But, in course of time, we see that a great change has taken place. So it is with grace. Sanctification is a progressive, lifelong work (Prov 4:18). It is an amazing work of God's grace and it is a work to be prayed for (Rom 8:27).Collection: Taken
Be killing sin or it will be killing you.Collection: Sin
Fill your affections with the cross of Christ that there may be no room for sin.Collection: May
To those to whom Christ is the hope of future glory, he is also the life of present grace.Collection: Grace
If the Word does not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.Collection: Doe
Let our hearts admit, “I am poor and weak. Satan is too subtle, too cunning, too powerful; he watches constantly for advantages over my soul. The world presses in upon me with all sorts of pressures, pleas, and pretences. My own corruption is violent, tumultuous, enticing, and entangling. As it conceives sin, it wars within me and against me. Occasions and opportunities for temptation are innumerable. No wonder I do not know how deeply involved I have been with sin. Therefore, on God alone will I rely for my keeping. I will continually look to Him.Collection: Powerful
The more I see of the glory of Christ, the more the painted beauties of this world will wither in my eyes.Collection: Eye
Christ did not die for any upon condition, if they do believe; but He died for all God's elect, that they should believe.Collection: God
Every time we say we believe in the Holy Spirit, we mean we believe that there is a living God able and willing to enter human personality and change it.Collection: Believe
When the Holy Spirit sanctifies believers, he does a complete work in them. He puts into their minds, wills and hearts a gracious, supernatural principle which fills them with a holy desire to live to God. The whole life and being of holiness lies in this. This is the new creation.Collection: Lying
The greatest sorrow and burden you can lay on the Father, the greatest unkindness you can do to him is not to believe that he loves you.Collection: Father
He that hath slight thoughts of sin, never had great thoughts of God.Collection: Sin
There is no death of sin without the death of Christ.Collection: Sin
The foundation of true holiness and true Christian worship is the doctrine of the gospel, what we are to believe. So when Christian doctrine is neglected, forsaken, or corrupted, true holiness and worship will also be neglected, forsaken, and corrupted.Collection: Christian
We can have no power from Christ unless we live in a persuasion that we have none of our own.Collection: Christian
Because he is; that is, because he is an infinitely glorious, good, wise, holy, powerful, righteous, self-subsisting , self-sufficient , and all-sufficient being; the fountain and author of all being and good; the first cause, last end, and sovereign Lord of all; therefore, he is to be worshipped: therefore, are we to admire, adore, and love him; to praise, to trust and to fear him.Collection: Wise
We speak much of God, can talk of him, his ways, his works, his counsels, all the day long; the truth is, we know very little of him.Collection: Littles
Christ's blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls.Collection: Blood
It is one thing to fear God as threatening, with a holy reverence, and another to be afraid of the evil threatened.Collection: Evil
If we do not abide in prayer, we will abide in temptation. Let this be one aspect of our daily intercession: "God, preserve my soul, and keep my heart and all its ways so that I will not be entangled." When this is true in our lives, a passing temptation will not overcome us. We will remain free while others lie in bondage.Collection: Prayer
A natural man hath no such thing as free-will at all, if you take it for a power of doing that which is good and well-pleasing unto God in things spiritual.Collection: Spiritual
For a man solemnly to undertake the interpretation of any portion of Scripture without invocation of God, to be taught and instructed by His Spirit, is a high provocation of him; nor shall I expect the discovery of truth from any one who thus proudly engages in a work so much beyond his ability.Collection: Men
And as men diversions increase from the world, so do their entanglements from Satan. When they have more to do in the world than they can well manage, they shall have more to do from Satan than they can withstand.Collection: Men
By faith ponder on this, that though thou art no way able in or by thyself to get the conquest over thy distemper, though thou art even weary of contending, and art utterly ready to faint, yet that there is enough in Jesus Christ to yield thee relief.Collection: Jesus
Our great Pattern hath showed us what our deportment ought to be in all suggestions and temptations. When the devil showed Him "all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them," to tempt Him withal, He did not stand and look upon them, viewing their glory, and pondering their empire.... but instantly, without stay, He cries, "Get thee hence, Satan." Meet thy temptation in its entrance with thoughts of faith concerning Christ on the cross; this will make it sink before thee. Entertain no parley, no dispute with it, if thou wouldst not enter into it.Collection: Prayer
To some men it is hard seeing a call of God through difficulties; when if it would but clothe itself with a few carnal advantages, how apparent it is to them! They can see it through a little cranny.Collection: Christian
There neither is, nor ever was, in the world, nor ever shall be, the least dram of holiness, but what, flowing from Jesus Christ, is communicated by the Spirit, according to the truth and promise of the gospel.Collection: Jesus
I have known some good men who have been so addicted to their study, that they have thought the last day of the week sufficient to prepare for their ministry, though they employ all the rest of the week in other studies. But your business is to trade with your spiritual abilities. ... A man may preach a very good sermon, who is otherwise himself; but he will never make a good minister of Jesus Christ, whose mind and heart are not always in the work. Spiritual gifts will require continual ruminating on the things of the Gospel in our minds.Collection: Spiritual
When we realize a constant enemy of the soul abides within us, what diligence and watchfulness we should have! How woeful is the sloth and negligence then of so many who live blind and asleep to this reality of sin. There is an exceeding efficacy nad power in the indwelling sin of believers, for it constantly inclines itself towards evil. We need to be awake, then, if our hearts would know the ways of God. Our enemy is not only upon us, as it was with Samson, but it is also in us.Collection: Heart
We admit no faith to be justifying, which is not itself and in its own nature a spiritually vital principle of obedience and good works.Collection: Principles
The choicest believers, who are assuredly freed from the condemning power of sin, ought yet to make it their business all their days to mortify the indwelling power of sin.Collection: Sin
I wish thy lot, now bad, still worse, my friend, for when at worst, they say, things always mend.Collection: Wish
Leanness of body and soul may go together.Collection: Soul
It being our duty to mortify... we must be at work. He that is appointed to kill an enemy, if he leave striking before the other ceases living, does but half his work.Collection: Enemy
Not to be daily mortifying sin, is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who hath furnished us with a principle of doing it.Collection: Kindness
The least grace is a better security for heaven than the greatest gifts or privileges whatsoever.Collection: Heaven
A man may be carried on in a constant course of mortification all his days; and yet perhaps never enjoy a good day of peace and consolation.Collection: Good Day
Consider that it is not failing in this or that attempt to come to Christ, but a giving-over of your endeavors, that will be your ruin.Collection: Failure
The vigour, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh.Collection: Spiritual
He, then, that would really, thoroughly, and acceptably mortify any disquieting lust, let him take care to be equally diligent in all parts of obedience, and know that every lust, every omission of duty, is burdensome to God, though but one is so to him.Collection: Omission
A man preacheth that sermon only well unto others which preacheth itself in his own soul. And he that doth not feed on and thrive in the digestion of the food which he provides for others will scarce make it savoury unto them; yea, he knows not but the food he hath provided may be poison, unless he have really tasted of it himself. If the word do not dwell with power in us, it will not pass with power from us.Collection: Men
Men think all things would be very glorious if they might be done according to their mind. Perhaps, indeed, they would-but with their glory, not the glory of God.Collection: Men