Book Reviews

Puritan Book Reviews – The Mortified Christian
Reviewed by Dr. C. Matthew McMahon

The Mortified Christian
by Christopher Love
Soli Deo Gloria Publications, Morgan, PA: 1998.
148 Pages, Hardback

These sermons and teachings concern mortification, in which Love’s judgment is more to be valued because his heart was a commentary upon his text, and his own experience was a seal to his doctrine. These sermons particularly were not compiled from notes, but were taken by faithful note takers whiles the sermons were given. They are fresh and vibrant, filled with good counsel against the natures of men, of the corruption of men, which still lingers within the bosom of the Christian though eh be converted. But now, how does the Christian deal with remaining sin?

What does it mean to mortify the sins of the flesh? How should a Christian arm himself against his own flesh? What should he look for? How may he know he is actually about the process of mortification? Christopher Love demonstrates the duty of the believer in a series of chapters on this top0ic. He covers such aspects of the topic as the Necessity of Mortification, The Mistakes of Those who do not Recognize their Mortification, The Ground and Mistakes of Deluded Men who may think they have mortified their flesh, and more.

I especially enjoyed the aspects Love brought out concerning the “conscience” and how he dealt with the the habitual, or as he called it “the bosom”, sin of the Christian. He explains what this is, how to recognize it, and how to mortify it. He very forward when he shows us that those sins which we are most likely to commit, those habitual sins, are those which we love to commit. This is difficult to hear, but very true. Those sins we delight in are the most deadly of sins since they hinder the sanctification we should be about.

Some quotes:

“Take this for your consolation: inward stirrings and working of sin in your soul may in some cases argue more that sin is near its dissolution that that you are void of mortification…”

Mortification: It is a holy disposition in a regenerate man derived from the efficacy and virtue of Christ’s death whereby the strength of sin is weakened and the dominion of it destroyed, being utterly disabled from having a commanding power or rule over man any more.”

“That sin which of all others most insinuates itself into your heart when you are in the service of God and performing holy duties, that sin which can be so impudent as to intrude upon your heart when you are in the presence of God – that is your unmortified sin.”