KILLING SIN
1:10 JOURNEY GROUP DISCUSSION GUIDE 1.
Opener: Did you ever get in any big fights when you were a kid?
2.
Read Romans 8:12-13. What did you hear in the sermon that made an impression on you as a new, significant, or helpful insight?
3.
What did you think of the statement, “If you want to be a faithful Christian, you need to have a mean streak in you… a violent tendency”?
4.
How does the warning of v 13 square with the truth of justification by grace alone, through faith alone?
Sunday, July 19, 2015 • Summit Evangelical Free Church, Alta, IA • Pastor Doug Corlew Series: The Righteous Shall Live By Faith (Romans), Message #26
KILLING SIN ROMANS 8:12-13 John Owens: “Be __________________ or it will be _____________________.”
The ____________________ For if you live according to the flesh you will die... (v 13a)
5.
Read Matthew 5:29-30. What drastic measure have you ever taken to kill sin?
6.
Is there a sin you are “playing games with,” instead of seeking to mortify it?
7.
How can we practically “starve” the flesh and “feed” our new nature in Christ?
8.
If God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17), what are some of the promises of Scripture that you have trusted in the face of temptation?
9.
How does v 12 help us apply v 13 in terms of motivation for holiness?
The ____________________ ...but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (v 13a).
10. In what ways do you consider yourself a debtor to Christ? 11. How do you need to preach and apply grace to yourself in your fight against sin?
FAMILY FAITH TALK — Romans 8:12-13 Questions progress from targeting younger children (#1-2) to teens (#5-6).
1. What kinds of things are OK to kill? Why? 2. What do these verses tell us to kill? Why? 3. Whose help do you need to kill sin? Why? 4. Have you ever been in debt to someone? How did you get out of debt? 5. According to v 12 whom do we owe? What does that mean? 6. What things can you and the Spirit do to kill deeds of the flesh?
The ____________________ So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh (v 12).
Monday, July 20
Read Romans 8:12-13
Thursday, July 23
Read Romans 8:12-13
JOHN OWEN: “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… Be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you... Sin does not only still abide in us, but is still acting, still laboring to bring forth the deeds of the flesh. 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… Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism, might it grow to its head… Sin has no bounds but utter relinquishment of God and opposition to Him.”
JAMES BOICE: “Paul is not talking about sinning Christians. He is distinguishing between Christians, who live by the Spirit, and unbelievers, who live according to the sinful nature. So his point seems to be rather that those who live according to the sinful nature, that is, unbelievers, will die spiritually—indeed, they are already spiritually dead—while those who live by the Spirit, that is, Christians, will live spiritually. Paul must be saying this, because this is what he has been saying all along… May I put it bluntly? Paul is saying that if you live like a non-Christian, dominated by your sinful nature rather than living according to the Holy Spirit, you will perish like a non-Christian—because you are a non-Christian. If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. On the other hand, if you really are a Christian, you will not live according to the sinful nature. Instead, you will acknowledge what you actually are in Jesus Christ and live accordingly…The way of sanctification is the way of realizing the truth about ourselves as Christians, and then putting it into practice.”
Matthew 5:27-30 Romans 6:6-7
Ezekiel 18:30-32 Luke 9:23-24
Galatians 6:7-8 Colossians 3:5-8
Tuesday, July 21
Read Romans 8:12-13
1 Peter 4:1-7 2 Peter 1:5-11
Friday, July 24
Read Romans 8:12-13
JOHN OWEN: “The persons to whom this duty is prescribed… is you believers; you to whom ‘there is no condemnation’ (v 1)... Mortification is not the present business of unregenerate men… 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… There will be no mortification of any sin unless one be a believer… There is no death of sin without the death of Christ… A man may easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit… Men must be gold and silver in the bottom, or else refining will do them no good… Let the soul first be thoroughly converted, and then, ‘looking on him whom they had pierced,’ humiliation and mortification will ensue… To kill sin is the work of living men; where men are dead (as all unbelievers, the best of them, are dead), sin is alive, and will live… Be sure to get an interest in Christ—if you intend to mortify any sin without it, it will never be done.”
JAMES BOICE: “(If you are a Christian), I am sure you will find strength to do what is right, and the reason I am sure you will find strength is that I know you already have it. You can do it! I do not mean that you have the necessary strength or willpower in yourself, because none of us do. The reason I know you have the strength you need is that you have the Holy Spirit, which is true of every Christian. The reason you are troubled by the need to do right and are not willing simply to drift along in wrong living, as unbelievers do, is that you know you belong to Jesus Christ and therefore really want to please Him. God’s Spirit is within you. So if you were to say, ‘I don’t have the strength to serve God,’ you would really be saying that the Holy Spirit is inadequate… To be a Christian means this. God has already done everything necessary to save you, not only from sin’s penalty but from its power, too. You have God’s Spirit within you, and as a result you can live for Him. You do not need some secret method, esoteric formula, or mystical experience. God has already equipped you for every good work.”
Isaiah 32:9-20 John 6:63
Ephesians 1:15-23 Philippians 2:12-13
Wednesday, July 22
Galatians 5:16-25 Ephesians 5:3-7
Read Romans 8:12-13
JOHN OWEN: “The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh… Not to be daily mortifying sin is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who has furnished us with a principle of doing it… By the omission of this duty grace withers, lust flourishes, and the frame of the heart grows worse and worse… Sin is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself over the face of the soul, and intercepts all the beams of God’s love and favor. It takes away all sense of the privilege of our adoption; and if the soul begins to gather up thoughts of consolation, sin quickly scatters them… Among those who walk with God, there is no greater motive and incentive unto universal holiness, and the preserving of their hearts and spirits in all purity and cleanness, than this, that the blessed Spirit, who has undertaken to dwell in them, is continually considering what they give entertainment in their hearts unto, and rejoices when His temple is kept undefiled.”
Psalm 66:16-20 116:16-19
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Ephesians 4:30
Saturday, July 25
Colossians 2:6-10 2 Peter 1:3-4
Read Romans 8:14-17
As you prepare for next Sunday’s message, meditate on what it means to be adopted as children of God.
Monday—Wednesday devotional thoughts by: John Owen (1616-1683), Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers; from Overcoming Sin & Temptation: Three Classic Works by John Owen, Edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor; Crossway 2006 Thursday—Friday devotional thoughts by: James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000), ROMANS, An Expositional Commentary, Vol 2: The Reign of Grace (Rom 5-8); Baker 1992
Opener: Did you ever get in any big fights when you were a kid?
2.
Read Romans 8:12-13. What did you hear in the sermon that made an impression on you as a new, significant, or helpful insight?
3.
What did you think of the statement, “If you want to be a faithful Christian, you need to have a mean streak in you… a violent tendency”?
4.
How does the warning of v 13 square with the truth of justification by grace alone, through faith alone?
Sunday, July 19, 2015 • Summit Evangelical Free Church, Alta, IA • Pastor Doug Corlew Series: The Righteous Shall Live By Faith (Romans), Message #26
KILLING SIN ROMANS 8:12-13 John Owens: “Be __________________ or it will be _____________________.”
The ____________________ For if you live according to the flesh you will die... (v 13a)
5.
Read Matthew 5:29-30. What drastic measure have you ever taken to kill sin?
6.
Is there a sin you are “playing games with,” instead of seeking to mortify it?
7.
How can we practically “starve” the flesh and “feed” our new nature in Christ?
8.
If God’s Word is the sword of the Spirit (Eph 6:17), what are some of the promises of Scripture that you have trusted in the face of temptation?
9.
How does v 12 help us apply v 13 in terms of motivation for holiness?
The ____________________ ...but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live (v 13a).
10. In what ways do you consider yourself a debtor to Christ? 11. How do you need to preach and apply grace to yourself in your fight against sin?
FAMILY FAITH TALK — Romans 8:12-13 Questions progress from targeting younger children (#1-2) to teens (#5-6).
1. What kinds of things are OK to kill? Why? 2. What do these verses tell us to kill? Why? 3. Whose help do you need to kill sin? Why? 4. Have you ever been in debt to someone? How did you get out of debt? 5. According to v 12 whom do we owe? What does that mean? 6. What things can you and the Spirit do to kill deeds of the flesh?
The ____________________ So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh (v 12).
Monday, July 20
Read Romans 8:12-13
Thursday, July 23
Read Romans 8:12-13
JOHN OWEN: “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… Be always at it while you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you... Sin does not only still abide in us, but is still acting, still laboring to bring forth the deeds of the flesh. 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… Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, might it have its own course, it would go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could; every covetous desire would be oppression, every thought of unbelief would be atheism, might it grow to its head… Sin has no bounds but utter relinquishment of God and opposition to Him.”
JAMES BOICE: “Paul is not talking about sinning Christians. He is distinguishing between Christians, who live by the Spirit, and unbelievers, who live according to the sinful nature. So his point seems to be rather that those who live according to the sinful nature, that is, unbelievers, will die spiritually—indeed, they are already spiritually dead—while those who live by the Spirit, that is, Christians, will live spiritually. Paul must be saying this, because this is what he has been saying all along… May I put it bluntly? Paul is saying that if you live like a non-Christian, dominated by your sinful nature rather than living according to the Holy Spirit, you will perish like a non-Christian—because you are a non-Christian. If you live according to the sinful nature, you will die. On the other hand, if you really are a Christian, you will not live according to the sinful nature. Instead, you will acknowledge what you actually are in Jesus Christ and live accordingly…The way of sanctification is the way of realizing the truth about ourselves as Christians, and then putting it into practice.”
Matthew 5:27-30 Romans 6:6-7
Ezekiel 18:30-32 Luke 9:23-24
Galatians 6:7-8 Colossians 3:5-8
Tuesday, July 21
Read Romans 8:12-13
1 Peter 4:1-7 2 Peter 1:5-11
Friday, July 24
Read Romans 8:12-13
JOHN OWEN: “The persons to whom this duty is prescribed… is you believers; you to whom ‘there is no condemnation’ (v 1)... Mortification is not the present business of unregenerate men… 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… There will be no mortification of any sin unless one be a believer… There is no death of sin without the death of Christ… A man may easier see without eyes, speak without a tongue, than truly mortify one sin without the Spirit… Men must be gold and silver in the bottom, or else refining will do them no good… Let the soul first be thoroughly converted, and then, ‘looking on him whom they had pierced,’ humiliation and mortification will ensue… To kill sin is the work of living men; where men are dead (as all unbelievers, the best of them, are dead), sin is alive, and will live… Be sure to get an interest in Christ—if you intend to mortify any sin without it, it will never be done.”
JAMES BOICE: “(If you are a Christian), I am sure you will find strength to do what is right, and the reason I am sure you will find strength is that I know you already have it. You can do it! I do not mean that you have the necessary strength or willpower in yourself, because none of us do. The reason I know you have the strength you need is that you have the Holy Spirit, which is true of every Christian. The reason you are troubled by the need to do right and are not willing simply to drift along in wrong living, as unbelievers do, is that you know you belong to Jesus Christ and therefore really want to please Him. God’s Spirit is within you. So if you were to say, ‘I don’t have the strength to serve God,’ you would really be saying that the Holy Spirit is inadequate… To be a Christian means this. God has already done everything necessary to save you, not only from sin’s penalty but from its power, too. You have God’s Spirit within you, and as a result you can live for Him. You do not need some secret method, esoteric formula, or mystical experience. God has already equipped you for every good work.”
Isaiah 32:9-20 John 6:63
Ephesians 1:15-23 Philippians 2:12-13
Wednesday, July 22
Galatians 5:16-25 Ephesians 5:3-7
Read Romans 8:12-13
JOHN OWEN: “The vigor, and power, and comfort of our spiritual life depends on the mortification of the deeds of the flesh… Not to be daily mortifying sin is to sin against the goodness, kindness, wisdom, grace, and love of God, who has furnished us with a principle of doing it… By the omission of this duty grace withers, lust flourishes, and the frame of the heart grows worse and worse… Sin is a cloud, a thick cloud, that spreads itself over the face of the soul, and intercepts all the beams of God’s love and favor. It takes away all sense of the privilege of our adoption; and if the soul begins to gather up thoughts of consolation, sin quickly scatters them… Among those who walk with God, there is no greater motive and incentive unto universal holiness, and the preserving of their hearts and spirits in all purity and cleanness, than this, that the blessed Spirit, who has undertaken to dwell in them, is continually considering what they give entertainment in their hearts unto, and rejoices when His temple is kept undefiled.”
Psalm 66:16-20 116:16-19
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 Ephesians 4:30
Saturday, July 25
Colossians 2:6-10 2 Peter 1:3-4
Read Romans 8:14-17
As you prepare for next Sunday’s message, meditate on what it means to be adopted as children of God.
Monday—Wednesday devotional thoughts by: John Owen (1616-1683), Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers; from Overcoming Sin & Temptation: Three Classic Works by John Owen, Edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor; Crossway 2006 Thursday—Friday devotional thoughts by: James Montgomery Boice (1938-2000), ROMANS, An Expositional Commentary, Vol 2: The Reign of Grace (Rom 5-8); Baker 1992
