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Delivered by Desire is a new book by Daryl Wingerd, a pastor at Christ Fellowship of Kansas City. I've mentioned Daryl before in connection with his excellent article on Romans 7, and I'm delighted to now direct you to his new book. I actually read Delivered by Desire several months ago prior to publication, and ever since then I've been eagerly awaiting its arrival. Let me mention just two reasons why I think this is such an important book:
- The focus of the book is helping Christians to walk victoriously in the area of sexual purity. Can anyone deny that this is the "battle of the age" for Christians in our day? How many believers - pastors and missionaries included - have been knocked off-course by the dragon of lust? There is a definite need for a book like this!
- This book approaches the Christian's battle with sexual purity from the standpoint of a solid understanding of the doctrine of regeneration. There have been many books written about fighting sin in the Christian life (some about fighting lust in particular), but most of them are unhelpful because they don't proceed on the basis of a good understanding of this vital doctrine. The key to fighting sin in the Christian life is understanding regeneration, and Daryl does an excellent job of explaining what it means for the believer to be "dead to sin, but alive to God" (Rom. 6:11) as it relates to fighting for sexual purity. To say it another way, if you read Charles' Justification and Regeneration and wondered what it would look like if someone took the truths regarding regeneration explained in that book, and applied them specifically to battling sin in the Christian life, Daryl's book is the answer! And like Charles' book, Delivered by Desire is written simply and in a very down-to-earth style with an abundant use of illustrations.
Who should read this book? In short, ALL Christians should read this book. Yes, it's primarily geared toward men, but as Jim Elliff mentions in the preface:
Women may wish to read this book also. It will help them understand what their husbands and sons may face. Though writing from the man's perspective, the author is not unaware of how lust can become a woman's problem as well. In fact, believers in general may wish to read Delivered by Desire to discover how to overcome habitual sins. The biblical principles will apply.
I want to echo what Jim says by emphasizing that the biblical principles Daryl explains for fighting lust are the same biblical principles that apply when dealing with ANY sin in the Christian life. In other words, if you want to know how to fight ANY sin in your life, this book will be a tremendous help to you!
Delivered by Desire can be purchased directly from Christian Communicator's Worldwide HERE. To give you a feel for the book, I've reproduced the table of contents below:
Preface
Face Reality
- Chapter 1 - Two Men, a Park Bench, and a Confession
- Chapter 2 - The Significance of Desire
- Chapter 3 - The Anatomy of Desire
Despise Darkness
- Chapter 4 - Irrationality 101
- Chapter 5 - Marriage Poison
- Chapter 6 - Fool's Vomit
Acknowledge Deliverance
- Chapter 7 - New Creation
- Chapter 8 - Obedient from the Heart
- Chapter 9 - Body Language
- Chapter 10 - The High Calling of Being Yourself
- Chapter 11 - It Only Works by Faith
Experience Freedom
- Chapter 12 - The Weapon That Works
- Chapter 13 - Be Ready for Battle
- Chapter 14 - Prepare Your Mind for Action
- Chapter 15 - Kill the Enemy
- Chapter 16 - Follow Your Love Drive
- Chapter 17 - Fight With the Church and For the Church
Appendix A - The Danger of Being Deceived
Appendix B - Is the Regenerate Heart Deceitful and Desperately Sick?
Appendix C - Abusing the Body Language of the New Testament
Appendix D - The Relationship Between Nature and Behavior
Appendix E - Have Christians Laid Aside the Old Self or Not?
Appendix F - Before Telling Your Wife
Appendix G - My Personal Story
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