Book Review: Every Single Man's Battle

BOOK REVIEW

EVERY SINGLE MAN'S BATTLE
Staying on the Path of Sexual Purity
By Stephen Arterburn and Fred Stoeker
Published by WalterBrook Press

Prior to marrying my prized wife, Emma, I read Every Man’s Battle. This was an influential book in my attempt at biblical manhood. I recommend that book to all men regardless of their situations in life (not necessarily young boys though). In Every Single Man’s Battle Arterburn and Stoeker offer another work in the same vein. It builds primarily on their previous work together, thus the reader may be best served by purchasing it as well.

The authors tackle the issues of “Where Are We?”, “How We Got Here,” “Choosing Victory,” “Victory With Your Eyes,” “Victory With Your Heart,” and “Victory With Your Mind.”

Some wonder if God understands us. Arterburn and Stoeker offer a resounding “YES!” to this question. From there, particularly young men, deny this and use it as ammunition to rationalize sinful conduct. This is a book concerned primarily with sexual purity. High numbers of young men fall trap to pornography, lust, and adultery in their teen years, becoming highly addicted to temporal pleasures found online, in magazines, and in the movies.

This book is particularly beneficial for a men’s group, but can also be used solo. While I had mentioned previously it may be best to buy Every Man’s Battle it is not necessary. This book provides all the resources you need to take back your life from sinful lust and porn habits. But, that does not mean you can do it on your own. The book is clear that we are not the fictional characters played by the likes of Sylvester Stallone, Clint Eastwood, and Arnold Schwarzenegger. Even they are vulnerable off the silver screen.  

Men need to protect against disconnect from other Christian men. This is where lust and adultery creeps in, when you are all alone and are able to get away with sneaking a look at porn, at least for the moment. You need accountability and you need defense tactics. Arterburn and Stoeker have provided a book for single men to equip themselves for spiritual battle against Satan and sexual impurity. This is a book every young man needs to read, reread, and reread again before ever thinking they are safe from falling prey to sexual impurity.

**I was given this book by the publisher for my unbiased review of it.