This
is a book for counselors. It is about how to help people stand up to
evil. Many Christians do not understand they are in a spiritual
battle, that it is an everyday part of every Christian's life.
Since
the term, spiritual warfare, does not appear in the Bible, Powlison
explores what it means. He identifies three areas: being on the
Lord's side in battle with His enemies, the moral struggle in our
hearts, and the struggles in our Christian life, including lordship.
Powlison
reviews the armor Paul lists in Ephesians. He had some insights I've
not seen before, relating the pieces of armor to counseling. Truth,
for example, refers to the lies of the world, the devil, and our own
hearts. They could be lies about God or about others. Counselors help
uncover the lies and apply the truth of Scripture. Righteousness
embraces not only our salvation but also living out that
righteousness in how we treat others – doing right and good.
An
Appendix in included regarding demons and exorcism, downplaying them
both. This seemed like it might be a controversial issue to me.
Counselors who want to have nothing to do with confronting demons
will like this Appendix.
I
am not a counselor but I learned a great deal from this book.
Counselors and pastors would do well to read it. While you may not
agree with everything in the book, there are many insights about
helping others in spiritual warfare included.
My
rating: 4/5 stars.
David
Powlison (1949-2019), MDiv, PhD, was a teacher, counselor, and the
executive director of the Christian Counseling & Educational
Foundation (CCEF). He wrote many books and was also the editor of The
Journal of Biblical Counseling.
New
Growth Press, 160 pages.
I
received a complimentary egalley of this book from the publisher. My
comments are an independent and honest review.
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