Preparation for Week 5 of "Kill or Be Killed" - this and good sleep Tuesday night!

Over the last 4 weeks it has been a great privilege to witness over one hundred humble men band together to grow closer to God and further away from sin. The effect of this united pursuit cannot be overstated. Press on to know the LORD men, the Kingdom of God is advancing.

(Oh yeah and get some good sleep on Tuesday, that's part of the battle as well).

Here are some preparatory quotations and our discussion questions for Wednesday.

"Such a man as opposes nothing to the seduction of sin and lust in his heart but fear of shame among men or hell from God, is sufficiently resolved to do the sin if there were no punishment attending it; which, what it differs from living in the practice of sin, I know not. Those who are Christ's and are acted in their obedience upon the gospel principles, have the death of Christ, the love of God, the detestable nature of sin, the preciousness of communion with God, a deep-grounded abhorrency of sin as sin, to oppose to any seduction of sin, to all the workings, strivings, rightings of lust in their hearts. So did Joseph. "How shall I do this great evil," says he, "and sin against the LORD," my good and gracious God? [Gen. 39:9]. And Paul, "The love of Christ constrains us" [2 Cor. 5:14]; and, "Having received these promises, let us cleanse ourselves from all pollution of the flesh and spirit" (2 Cor. 7:1). But now if a man be so under the power of his lust that he has nothing but law to oppose it with, if he cannot fight against it with gospel weapons, but deals with it altogether with hell and judgment, which are the proper arms of the law, it is most evident that sin has possessed itself of his will and affections to a very great prevalency and conquest. 

Such a person has cast off, as to the particular spoken of, the conduct of renewing grace and is kept from ruin only by restraining grace; and so far is he fallen from grace and returned under the power of the law. And can it be thought that this is not a great provocation to Christ, that men should cast off his easy, gentle yoke and rule, and cast themselves under the iron yoke of the law, merely out of indulgence unto their lusts?
...
"Yea, know that this reserve will not long hold out. If your lust has driven you from stronger gospel forts, it will speedily prevail against this also. Do not suppose that such considerations will deliver you, when you have voluntarily given up to your enemy those helps and means of preservation which have a thousand times their strength. Rest assuredly in this, that unless you recover yourself with speed from this condition, the thing that you fear will come upon you. What gospel principles do not, legal motives cannot do." - Owen, The Mortification of Sin (Chapter 9)

Discussion questions

Additional Resources
An Audio Introduction to "Kill or Be Killed"
The Lord Looks at the Heart (And the Battle Within) - message from week 1
The Fight for the High Ground of Affection - message from week 2
Fight the Right Battle ... And To Win - message from week 3
Worship: The Ends and Means of Mortification - message from week 4 (notes for your review)

"Kill or Be Killed" summary page at summitview.com (Including messages, blog posts and a twitter feed with hastag #killorbekilledFC or #kobkfc)
A Summary of Mortification of Sin from theResurgence
The Explusive Power of a New Affection - A very important sermon by Thomas Chalmers

Reading Schedule*
March 31st - Chapters 1 and 2 (Discussion Questions)
April 7th - Chapters 3 and 4 (Discussion Questions)
April 14th - Chapters 5 and 6 (Discussion Questions)
April 21st - Chapters 7 and 8 (Discussion Questions)
April 28th - Chapters 9 and 10 (Discussion Questions)
May 5th - Chapters 11 and 12
May 12th - Chapters 13 and 14
*please read the listed chapters prior to each meeting.