Quotes from John Owen

This is that whereon we believe the Scripture to be the word of God with faith divine and supernatural, if we believe it so at all: There is in itself that evidence of its divine original, from the characters of divine excellencies left upon it by its author, the Holy Ghost, as faith quietly rests in and is resolved into; and this evidence is manifest unto the meanest and most unlearned, no less than unto the wisest philosopher.

For by illumination in general, as it denotes an effect wrought in the minds of men, I understand that supernatural knowledge that any man hath or may have of the mind and will of God, as revealed unto him by supernatural means, for the law of his faith, life, and obedience.

And those who pretend to be teachers of others, and yet despise his teaching assistance, will one day find that they undertook a work which was none of theirs.

what it is that troubles us, we must refer it to one of these heads: -- either we want strength or power, vigour and life, in our obedience, in our walking with God; or we want peace, comfort, and consolation therein.

Every unmortified sin will certainly do two things: [1.] It will weaken the soul, and deprive it of its vigour. [2.] It will darken the soul, and deprive it of its comfort and peace.

God will justify us from our sins, but he will not justify the least sin in us: He is a God of purer eyes than to behold iniquity.

The true and acceptable principles of mortification shall be afterward insisted on. Hatred of sin as sin, not only as galling or disquieting, a sense of the love of Christ in the cross, lie at the bottom of all true spiritual mortification.

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. And this is a second principle of my ensuing discourse.

By some men's too much understanding, others are brought to understand nothing at all.

Do you mortify; do you make it your daily work; be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you. Your being dead with Christ virtually, your being quickened with him, will not excuse you from this work. And our Saviour tells us how his Father deals with every branch in him that beareth fruit, every true and living branch. He purgeth it, that it may bring forth more fruit

A truly gracious, praying frame (wherein we pray always) is utterly inconsistent with the love of or reserve for any sin. To

Whatever impeacheth the universality of obedience in one thing overthrows its sincerity in all things.