Quotes about Struggle

A man may easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit.

Mortification is the soul's vigorous opposition to self, wherein sincerity is most evident.

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. [1.]

A man may beat down the bitter fruit from an evil tree until he is weary; while the root abides in strength and vigour, the beating down of the present fruit will not hinder it from bringing forth more. This is the folly of some men; they set themselves with all earnestness and diligence against the appearing eruption of lust, but, leaving the principle and root untouched, perhaps unsearched out, they make but little or no progress in this work of mortification.

Suppose a man to be a true believer, and yet finds in himself a powerful indwelling sin, leading him captive to the law of it, consuming his heart with trouble, perplexing his thoughts, weakening his soul as to duties of communion with God, disquieting him as to peace, and perhaps defiling his conscience, and exposing him to hardening through the deceitfulness of sin,—what

A soul under the power of conviction from the law is pressed to fight against sin, but hath no strength for the combat.

When sin lets us alone we may let sin alone; but as sin is never less quiet than when it seems to be most quiet, and its waters are for the most part deep when they are still, so ought our contrivances against it to be vigorous at all times and in all conditions, even where there is least suspicion.

So 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.

When we give vent to the soul, to try what grace is there, corruption comes out; and when we search for corruption, grace appears. So

There is not a day in our lives in which sin does not either defeat us or is defeated, prevails over us or is prevailed over, and it will be like this as long as we live in this world.

4. When a man fighteth against his sin only with arguments from the issue or the punishment due unto it, this is a sign that sin hath taken great possession of the will, and that in the heart there is a superfluity of naughtiness.

for Owen, circumstances—whether amiable or painful—were not an excuse to stop resisting sin.