A Biblical Point of View on Spiritual Warfare
by Kerby Anderson
GoodBookStall Review:
Spiritual warfare is a subject many Christians ignore, yet, as the author convincingly demonstrates, it is one that affects everyone. All Christians are involved in a spiritual battle against the flesh, the world and the Devil.
Writing from a conservative evangelical position, the author seeks to explain what the Bible teaches. He writes in a simple and clear way. Anderson constantly quotes the scriptures with upwards of 10 scriptures cited per page. The result is a sane and balanced approach in an area where Christians have gone to excess. He warns against the extremes of the spiritual warfare teachers and those who have become over fascinated with angels. Towards the end of the book he wisely counsels that our major area of conflict is with the flesh (our sinful nature) and not the Devil.
An excellent feature of this book is that each chapter consists of a series of questions. This makes it very easy to find the answer on a specific subject. Here are some examples: What is our spiritual armour? What do demons know? Does each person have a guardian angel? Can Christians bind Satan?
On every controversial point he carefully sets out different views before reaching a conclusion. Usually he sides with a traditional evangelical view although he does go out on a limb in his answer to “Can Christians be demon possessed?” He concludes that the Bible is unclear. This is despite there being no example in the Bible of a Christian being possessed.
Personally I would have also liked a greater emphasis on the fact that God is sovereign over the devil, but overall this is a good clear book that is well worth reading.
Reviewer: Alan Hill (28/05/10)
Spiritual warfare is a subject many Christians ignore, yet, as the author convincingly demonstrates, it is one that affects everyone. All Christians are involved in a spiritual battle against the flesh, the world and the Devil.
Writing from a conservative evangelical position, the author seeks to explain what the Bible teaches. He writes in a simple and clear way. Anderson constantly quotes the scriptures with upwards of 10 scriptures cited per page. The result is a sane and balanced approach in an area where Christians have gone to excess. He warns against the extremes of the spiritual warfare teachers and those who have become over fascinated with angels. Towards the end of the book he wisely counsels that our major area of conflict is with the flesh (our sinful nature) and not the Devil.
An excellent feature of this book is that each chapter consists of a series of questions. This makes it very easy to find the answer on a specific subject. Here are some examples: What is our spiritual armour? What do demons know? Does each person have a guardian angel? Can Christians bind Satan?
On every controversial point he carefully sets out different views before reaching a conclusion. Usually he sides with a traditional evangelical view although he does go out on a limb in his answer to “Can Christians be demon possessed?” He concludes that the Bible is unclear. This is despite there being no example in the Bible of a Christian being possessed.
Personally I would have also liked a greater emphasis on the fact that God is sovereign over the devil, but overall this is a good clear book that is well worth reading.
Reviewer: Alan Hill (28/05/10)
