He that hath his senses exercised to discern good or evil, being increased in judgment and experience by a constant observation of the ways of Christ’s intercourse, the manner of the operations of the Spirit, and the effects it usually produceth, is the best judge for himself in this case.
If the word of the Lord doth good to your souls, he speaks it; if it humble, if it cleanse, and be useful to those ends for which promises are given,—namely, to endear, to cleanse, to melt and bind to obedience, to self-emptiness, etc. Without the observation of it, sin will have great advantages towards the hardening of the heart.
John Owen. Mortification of Sin in Believers.
