Overcoming Sin and Temptation [Paperback]

John Owen (Author), Kelly M. Kapic (Editor), Justin Taylor (Editor), John Piper (Foreword)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 25, 2006

The writings of John Owen are a challenge to any reader, to say the least. His intricacy and complexity are intimidating and his language is downright befuddling at times. However, the depth of thought and the immense value of Owen's works cannot be quantified. His three classic works on sin and temptation are profoundly helpful to any believer who seeks to become more like Jesus Christ.

In this volume, the editors have made updates to the language, translated the Latin, Greek, and Hebrew and footnoted difficult or unknown phrases, all without sacrificing any of the wonderful content of Owen's work. It is a uniquely accessible edition of John Owen's previously daunting work.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"The editors of this volume have worked hard to make Owen's unrivalled insight into the Christian's inner war with sin accessible to all, and the result is truly a godsend."
—J. I. Packer, Board of Governors' Professor of Theology, Regent College

"To read Owen is to mine spiritual gold. Unfortunately, as in mining, reading Owen is hard work. Now, Kelly Kapic and Justin Taylor have made Owen's work accessible to modern readers while still retaining his unique writing style."
—Jerry Bridges, author, The Pursuit of Holiness

"With brilliant editorial efforts and insightful introductions by Kapic and Taylor, John Owen's magnificent treatises on sin and sanctification have been made available for a new generation."
—David S. Dockery, President, Union University

"Sin is tenacious, but by God's grace we can hate it and hunt it. John Owen provides the master guide for the sin-hunter. Kapic and Taylor bring together three of Owen's classics, clarifying them in simple ways-but all the substance, the careful, hounding arguments are still there."
—Mark Dever, Senior Pastor, Capitol Hill Baptist Church, Washington DC; President, 9Marks

"John Owen understood how the gospel makes us well. Three cheers for Kapic and Taylor for introducing a new generation to Owen's peerless works."
—Sinclair B. Ferguson, Senior Minister, First Presbyterian Church, Columbia, South Carolina

"John Owen is a spiritual surgeon with the rare skill to cut away the cancer of sin and bring gospel healing to the sinner's soul. Apart from the Bible, I have found his writings to be the best books ever written to help me stop sinning the same old sins."
—Philip Graham Ryken, President, Wheaton College

"No writer has taught me more about the dynamics of the heart and the deceitfulness of sin than John Owen. Read this book carefully; it will help you understand your heart and experience God's grace."
—C. J. Mahaney, Sovereign Grace Ministries

Product Details

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Crossway (September 25, 2006)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1581346492
• ISBN-13: 978-1581346497
• Product Dimensions: 1 x 6.7 x 8.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (41 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,217 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #23 in Books > Religion & Spirituality > Religious Studies > Ethics

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

71 of 73 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful Update to Owen October 31, 2006

By N. D. Lee

Format:Paperback

John Owen has been a stern, difficult, challenging teacher, but a much needed one for my life. Several years ago I purchased Volume 6 in the Banner of Truth edition of the Works of John Owen, "Sin and Temptation." This volume is weighty in content and thought. But Owen, unlike anyone else I had ever read, was able to address the issues of sin and temptation in my life like no other writer has been able to do.

Numerous theologians and scholars whom I respect hold Owen in high esteem. I believe their estimation of Owen's worth is correct.

Justin Taylor and Kelly Kapic have done a marvelous service to Christians and the world in general with their updated edition of three of John Owen's works on sin and temptation. Overcoming Sin and Temptation includes three of his works: "Of the Mortification of Sin in Believers," "Of Temptation: The Nature and Power of It," and "Indwelling Sin." The only work not included in this volume that appears in the Banner of Truth volume is "A Practical Exposition of Psalm 130." Perhaps Taylor and Kapic will tackle that project next.

Taylor and Kapic's work is significant for at least five reasons.

1. They have provided us with an unabridged but updated text. Spelling is modernized and Americanized, mistakes from previous editions are corrected, and archaic words are updated.

2. The work is footnoted to define essential and difficult words. This will help the reader with comprehension.

3. All the Greek, Hebrew, and Latin words and phrases and transliterated and translated for the reader. A great example of this is on page 48 where the reader who has no knowledge of Greek will be greatly helped in the discussion with the transliterations and translations.

4. The General Index and Scripture Index at the end of the work is fabulous. All books ought to have indexes like this. Pastors and teachers will be well served in sermon and lesson preparation.

5. The most important feature of this updated work are the outlines for all three of Owen's books at the end of this edition. The reader should begin here and orient himself to the flow of Owen's thought. In fact, much can be gained by reading just the outline.

Thank you, Taylor and Kapic, for making this valuable contribution to the study of Owen.

50 of 51 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Worth Reading 400 Pages? ABSOLUTELY!!! December 10, 2006

By James John Hollandsworth, M.D. VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I recently spent five grueling hours (grueling for a hopelessly out of shape bookworm) climbing a steep, winding mountain trail. Why? That was the only way I could see the view from the top of Mount LeConte. There were no shortcuts; I just had to put in a lot of hard work. But once I completed my quest and saw the view, I would have spent double the effort if necessary: what I saw was THAT spectacular.

The same can be said of reading the great Puritan theologian John Owen. It is HARD work, and a lot of it. So facing a 466 page anthology containing his 3 books on sin seemed more daunting than climbing LeConte, but I am pleased to report that the view is even more spectacular: it is life-changing.

This anthology, put together by Justin Taylor & Kelly Kapic, is not an abridgement: aside from some spelling updates and a few footnotes you've got the original manuscripts. There is an excellent introduction to Owen and his thought, as well as overviews of each of the three books. In the back are extremely detailed outlines of each book, as well as several indexes and a glossary of antiquated words (there are plenty of words Owen uses that will make you scratch your head so you will find yourself frequently consulting it!).

As stated before, this is an anthology of three different works by Owen. The first is his famous Mortification of Sin. I had read and reviewed an abridged version earlier this year, so I was interested in seeing how I would fare reading the original. Strangely, I actually like the original language better, it seemed more piercing and powerful.

The second book, Of Temptation, concerns itself on the nature and danger of temptation, and our duty against temptation and how to accomplish it. Owen simply amazes me: whereas most of us would exhaust our intelligent explanation of "temptation" in a few sentences, he spends eighty pages poring over the Scriptures, mining deep to bring insight that is both wise and cutting.

The last book, Indwelling Sin, is the longest and most thorough. Seventeen chapters that bring insight after insight on every page on the nature of the enemy within us, concerning its nature, power, and effect in our lives.

It has been said that once you finish reading what Owen says about a subject, you are convinced that he has covered it all. You may wonder, is it really worth reading over 400 pages on sin? And I will tell you, yes, it is hard work, but it is well worth the view. And just as I am planning on climbing LeConte again next year, I am going to reread this book next year as well, for I am sure that God has much more to teach me from its pages.

25 of 26 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent - Get it, read it, muse on it February 6, 2007

By Anthony O. Odukoya

Format:Paperback

I can't over recommend this book, its awesome, for any and every Christian.

There are some things you don't hear out there in churches about your fight against sin, how to overcome, how to mortify it, how to "take away all that invigorates the flesh"(in the words of Owen). I have read all the other versions, the oldish English, the new type printed by banner of truth, and even the paraphrased ones, but this beats them all it sets your mind working and your heart pumping its a tool for good in the hands of God.

How I would wish that every Christian read it every year, it will help you on the road to living a holy life before God. The Editors have done a good work I had the works of Owen, it was hard to read but with the changes that have been made, this is easier and you lose none of the inclinations to thought that characterises all of Owens works and with thought comes passion "While I mused the fire burned" Ps.39:3 it is only as we think on this truths that our passion for God begins to rise, that is why the puritans works have always helped unto Godliness because they make us "muse". Get this, read it, muse on it.