Thursday, May 14, 2020

The Fight: A Practical Handbook for Christian Living

by John White
1976 / 230 pages

We have already reviewed other books by John White, both fiction and non-fiction. This is another great non-fiction look at what it means to live the Christian life, which means to fight the good fight.

In White's fantasy series, the Archives of Anthropos, the protagonists fight evil in a world somewhat like Narnia. The Fight shows the spiritual fight that Christians must engage in, if they want to be faithful followers of their commander Jesus Christ.

White begins by showing how radically our allegiance has changed from the kingdom of darkness to the Kingdom of Christ. The next nine chapters deal with the impact of that change in the following areas:
  • "Prayer" as the expression of our relationship with God;
  • Bible study as our way to hear God speaking to us;
  • how "Being a Signpost" points others to our Savior;
  • what it means that the devil is now our enemy;
  • how we grow in "Faith" by responding to God;
  • our "Changed Relationships" with others;
  • the way to know God's "Guidance";
  • how we can progressively reflect more of God's "Holiness"; and
  • our "Deliverance from Drudgery" in our daily work.
White ends by encouraging us to fight against the devil, the world, our own flesh, and our fear of death. Two things make this a particularly helpful book. The first is that as a practicing psychologist, White reminds us not to confuse our natural emotions and desires or false guilt with genuine progress or setbacks in our relationship with God - and then directs us, through Scripture, to the truth about our spiritual fight. The second is that most of the chapters end with a study of Scripture that make a good focus for intensely practical devotions.

The only caution I might give is that, in a couple places, White may sound Arminian; however, when that happens,  he demonstrates within a few pages, that God is the one who enables us to get into the battle. If you think that John White can help you in The Fight, you can get his book here, and here in Canada.