John Owen Quotes on Work & Career (4 Quotes)

Do you mortify? Do you make it your daily work? Be always at it whilst you live; cease not a day from this work; be killing sin or it will be killing you.

Faith is the leading grace in all our spiritual warfare and conflict but all along, while we live, it hath faithful company that adheres to it and helps it. Love works, and hope works, and all other graces self-denial, readiness to the cross they all work and help faith. Yet when we come to die, faith is left alone. Now, try what faith will do. Not to be surprised with any thing is the substance of human wisdom not to be surprised with death is a great part of the substance of our spiritual wisdom.

God hath work to do in this world and to desert it because of its difficulties and entanglements, is to cast off His authority. It is not enough that we be just, that we be righteous, and walk with God in holiness but we must also serve our generation, as David did before he fell asleep. God hath a work to do and not to help Him is to oppose Him.

I do not know a warning that I judge more necessary to be given to those who are called this day, than to charge them not to trade too much with their natural gifts, and abilities, and learning. These are talents in their kind but it is the Spirit that must manage all that learning they have, or it will prejudice them, and you also. I have known some good men who have been so addicted to their study, that they have thought the last day of the week sufficient to prepare for their ministry, though they employ all the rest of the week in other studies. But your business is to trade with your spiritual abilities.... A man may preach a very good sermon, who is otherwise himself but he will never make a good minister of Jesus Christ, whose mind and heart are not always in the work. Spiritual gifts will require continual ruminating on the things of the Gospel in our minds.