Seven Things That Christ Is

1) He is the Way; men without him are Cains, wanderers, vagabonds:—
2) He is the Truth; men without him are liars, like the devil, who was so of old:—
3) He is the Life; without him men are dead, dead in trespasses and sins :—
4) He is the Light; without him men are in darkness, and go they know not whither:—
5) He is the Vine; those that are not grafted in him are withered branches, prepared for the fire:—
6) He is the Rock; men not built on him are carried away with a flood:—
7) He is Alpha and Omega, the first and the last, the author and the ender, the founder and the finisher of our salvation.

~John Owen

P.S. He that hath not him, hath neither beginning of good, nor shall have end of misery.
from a sermon entitled A Vision of Unchangeable, Free Mercy ; Volume 8, page 36

The Remedy For Sin-Sick Souls

Set faith at work on Christ for the killing of your sin. His blood is the great sovereign remedy for sin-sick souls. Live in this, and you will die a con­queror; yea, you will, through the good providence of God, live to see your lust dead at your feet.

~John Owen~

Overcoming Sin & Temptation (Wheaton, IL; Crossway; 2006)

John Owen – On Sin That Is Not Being Put To Death

It untunes and unframes the heart itself by entangling its affections. It diverts the heart from the spiritual frame that is required for vigorous communion with God; it lays hold on the affections, rendering its object beloved and desirable, so expelling the love of the Father (1 John 2:15; 3:17); so that the soul cannot say uprightly and truly to God, “You are my portion,” having something else that it loves. Fear, desire, hope, which are the choice affections of the soul, that should be full of God, will be one way or other entangled with it.

~John Owen~

Overcoming Sin & Temptation (Wheaton, IL; Crossway Books; 2006) p. 64.

John Owen on Sin

"Sin aims always at the utmost; every time it rises up to tempt or entice, if it has its own way it will go out to the utmost sin in that kind. Every unclean thought or glance would be adultery if it could, every thought of unbelief would be atheism if allowed to develop. Every rise of lust, if it has its way reaches the height of villainy; it is like the grave that is never satisfied. The deceitfulness of sin is seen in that it is modest in its first proposals but when it prevails it hardens mens' hearts, and brings them to ruin."

John Owen

John Owen – “Sin,” says he, “is Crucified.”

As a man nailed to the cross he first struggles and strives and cries out with great strength and might, but, as his blood and spirits waste, his strivings are faint and seldom, his cries low and hoarse, scarce to be heard; when a man first sets on a lust or distemper, to deal with it, it struggles with great violence to break loose; it cries with earnestness and impatience to be satisfied and relieved; but when by mortification the blood and spirits of it are let out, it moves seldom and faintly, cries sparingly, and is scarce heard in the heart; it may have sometimes a dying pang, that makes an appearance of great vigor and strength, but it is quickly over, especially if it be kept from considerable success. This the apostle describes, as in the whole chapter, so especially .

“Sin,” says he, “is crucified; it is fastened to the cross.” To what end? “That the body of death may be destroyed,” the power of sin weakened and abolished by little and little, that “henceforth we should not serve sin,” that is, that sin might not incline, impel us with such efficacy as to make us servants to it, as it has done heretofore.

~John Owen~Overcoming Sin & Temptation – On The Mortification of Sin in Believers

John Owen on indwelling sin

"Sin also carries on its war by entangling the affections and drawing them into an alliance against the mind. Grace may be enthroned in the mind, but if sin controls the affections, it has seized a fort from which it will continually assault the soul. Hence, as we shall see, mortification is chiefly directed to take place upon the affections."
— John Owen (Sin and Temptation)