July 27, 2023
Lay your particular corruption next to the law and let its pressure weigh heavily on your conscience. Consider the law in its holiness, spirituality, severity, and see if you can stand before it in your corruption. Allow the terror of the Lord as displayed in the law to affect you greatly. Consider how righteous it is that every one of your transgressions should receive a just reward of judgment.
John Owen, The Mortification of Sin
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People today often dismiss the Mosaic law as obsolete under grace and skip over these sections in the Pentateuch. However, these books are essential to establishing a foundational understanding of the cost of sin. As the author suggests, we can gain a greater appreciation for the gospel by examining our sins in the light of the Mosaic law and observing the painstaking measures necessary for atonement. Then we can bring our sin before Christ and see how it disgraces the sacrifice he made. If you’re harboring lusts or unmortified sins, you should meditate on these things until you feel the proper level of guilt. Imagine holding the hammer in your hands and driving the nails into Christ; this is the cost of your sin. Think on this until it makes your soul tremble and the shame of your sin brings you to your knees. Now, through the glory of the gospel and with the help of the Spirit, you can begin to mortify it.