True spiritual mortification does not consist in sin not being in you, nor in its being put upon the cross daily, nor yet in its being kept upon it. There must be something more to establish perfect peace in your con­science; and that is the testimony of God concerning the body of sin. He has provided for your perfect deliverance from it in Christ. Everything needful for this purpose was finished by Him upon the cross. He was your Surety. He suffered for you. Your sins were crucified with Him and nailed to the cross. They were put to death when He died; for He was your covenant Head, and you were legally represented by Him, and are indeed dead to sin by His dying to sin once. The law has now no more right to condemn you, a believer, than it has to condemn Him. Justice is bound to deal with you, as it has with your risen and ascended Saviour. If you do not thus see your complete mortification in Him, sin will reign in you. No sin can be crucified either in heart or life, unless it was first pardoned in con­science; because there will be lack of faith to receive the strength of Jesus, by whom alone it can be crucified. If it be not mortified in its guilt, it cannot be subdued in its power. If the believer does not see his perfect deadness to sin in Jesus, he will open a wide door to unbelief; and if he be not persuaded of his completeness in Christ, he gives room for the attacks of self-righteousness and legal tempers. If Christ be not all in all, self must still be looked upon as something great, and there will be food left for the pride of self-importance and self-sufficiency; so that he cannot grow into the death of Christ in sensible experience, further than he believes himself to be dead to sin in Christ. The more clearly and steadfastly he believes this, as the Apostle did, “I am crucified with Christ,” in proportion will he cleave to Christ, and receive from Him greater power to crucify sin. This believing view of his absolute mortification in Christ is the true Gospel method of mortifying sin in our own persons. Read Romans 6, and pray for the Spirit of revelation to open it to you. There you will discover the true way to mortify sin. It is by believing that you are planted together with Christ in His death. From here only your daily vic­tory grows.

Robert Haldane