From Chapter 6 of Triumph Over Temptation by John Owen as edited by James Houston. The Chapter is entitled The Effects of Indwelling Sin.

Tests to determine the extent of our moral decline.

1. Evaluate your zeal for God. "Is our zeal for God what it used to be-warm, living, vigorous, and effective? Or has the abundance of iniquity dulled us and made our hearts cold?" (121)
2. Examine your delight in the worship of God. "Are we irked by duties and obligations that we once rejoiced in doing?" (121-2)
3. Inspect your sensitivity to sin. "All decline comes from indwelling sin." (122)

What are the sources of God's power for overcoming sin?

1. His gifts to the body of Christ.
2. His commands, exhortations, and promises in the Scripture.
3. Supplies that come from the grace of Christ.

"The fresh taste of spiritual things keeps Christians from worldly contentments...But the process of decay begins with the tainting of these fresh springs." (124)

1. The development of sloth and negligence of God's grace.
2. The loss of reverence for God.
3. The loss of the simplicity of the gospel.
4. The lack of vigilance against Satan.
5. The imitation of the poor example of professing Christians.
6. The enjoyment of some secret lust in the heart.
7. The negligence of private communion with God.
8. The increase in knowledge without answerable practice.
9. The growth in worldly wisdom.
10. The failure to repent of some great sin.

"Theoretical knowledge swells to undue proportions...like a plant with much greenery but no fruit. When believers view evangelical truths as mere head knowledge, they become empty and barren. Those who ere once humble and walked closely with God become mere talkers. Their empty knowledge becomes food for sin. It produces vanity in the mind without any rebuke from the conscience.

When Christians enjoy merely talking, writing, and studying about religion, their conscience becomes pacified. It lodges no protest in the soul. Thus men content themselves with notions of truth, without laboring to experience the power of truth in their hearts. They bring forth no fruit in their lives. Decay ensues. (128)