Becoming God's Warrior

Fight:  Winning the Battles That Matter Most

Craig Groeschel

I remember as a boy that one of the favorite church songs was “Onward Christian Soldiers.”  In those post-WWII years, the concept of a war against Satan was still a regular topic of sermons.  As the culture has evolved over the past several decades, there is very little emphasis on men maintaining a “hawkish” attitude.  Blame it on the feminizing of society, or the anti-bullying of our day, but the effect has been to blunt the warrior like spirit that Craig highlights in this book.  Using Samson as an example of many men in current society was certainly apropos.

I remember the great evangelist, Leonard Ravenhill, declaring that what the church needed to confront the sinfulness of our day was a “baptism of holy anger.”  Craig seems to echo a similar theme.  Theologically, we understand that God’s nature is love.  But His holiness simultaneously demands justice and righteousness.  Those characteristics are not mutually exclusive, but are synergistically holiness.

Craig’s call for men to develop strong will is not out of balance.  He balances the presentation  with his insistence that men conquer their pride, lust and anger.  Many “world leaders” were abject failures in the end because they could not conquer themselves.  The book gives hope that regardless of the failures of our past that God can redeem us and change our hearts to holiness, which would form the basis for becoming God’s warrior.