The Christian Warrior

by Isaac Ambrose, Gerald Mick (Editor), Thomas Jones (Foreword)

In "The Christian Warrior", Isaac Ambrose (1604-1664) provides armament and strategy to fight our tireless adversary, the devil. He begins by showing, from Ephesians 6:12, how all God's people are warriors engaged in a battle, that our enemy is both powerful and malicious, and that we must wrestle and strive hard against him. He then gives specific examples of how Satan attacks us at different stages of life: in childhood, at our first conversion, during the prime of life, and at the time of death. Ambrose gives practical, point-by-point advice throughout the book on how to cope with these attacks. He illustrates how Satan attempts to foil the believer coming to Christ at each stage of his conversion. He then shows how Satan tries to convince the doubting believer that his conversion is not genuine, and how to answer those arguments. He continues by showing how to endure persecution, how to resist temptations of the flesh (lust, pride, anger, condemning others, dishonest gain), and how Satan attempts to exploit the special vulnerabilities of both weak and strong Christians. He concludes by preparing the believer for "the final battle" in the hour of his death (which is often his most intense time of attack), by illustrating how to avoid the extremes of presumption and despair.

Even readers not accustomed to Puritan works will find Ambrose's warm and engaging style both eminently useful and Christ-exalting. Much more than a copy-paste-publish e-book, this Digital Puritan Press reprint has been carefully edited from the original scans. The more difficult language has been smoothed out to make it more accessible to the modern reader. Every Scripture reference is also hyperlinked as an endnote in the ESV version (no internet connection is needed). Includes a helpful biographical preface to the life and times of the author.

Genres: Christian Living, Theology

168 pages, Kindle Edition

First published April 27, 2011

About the author

Isaac Ambrose (1591 – 20 January 1664) was an English Puritan divine. He graduated with a BA. from Brasenose College, Oxford, on 1624. He obtained the cure of St Edmund’s Church, Castleton, Derbyshire in 1627. He was one of king's four preachers in Lancashire in 1631. He was twice imprisoned by commissioners of array. He worked for establishment of Presbyterianism; successively at Leeds, Preston, and Garstang, whence he was ejected for nonconformity in 1662. He also published religious works.

Reviews

[Mwansa · Rating 5 out of 5]

A surprisingly good book. I picked it up on a whim because I thought the title and cover were interesting and found it exceeded expectations. Isaac Ambrose presents the Christian as reality depicts it. One who is at war with enemies foreign and domestic, with a series of battles that rage almost none stop from the time of conversion to the time of death. He spends the book showing the enemy and the dangers that come with it as well as the means to fight the good fight.

Three keys to unlock the power of the book are Humility, Prayer and Constant Vigilance

[Lissie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was encouraging and pastoral; written practically in short sections that could be easily read and meditated on.

[Al · Rating 4 out of 5]

Short work and very good advice from a Puritan on resisting sin and the world. All instruction is scripturally grounded. Very enjoyable and one of the classics of Puritan practical application.

[Rajesh Mallampati · Rating 5 out of 5]

Essentials that believers should not just know, but practice and have these principles abiding with them alive.

[Zak Schmoll · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of my friends had been posting quotes from this book over on MeWe, so I got interested and got a copy of it myself. Admittedly, I don't read a ton of old Puritan writing, but maybe I should start reading more.

This book is divided into two main parts. The first part is a more general conversation about our enemy, the devil. The second half of this book is a very interesting breakdown of the different temptations that face Christians at different times of life. This makes sense as some of the struggles that face the young Christians may not be the same as those that challenge more mature questions. That being said, there are interesting overlaps as well even though they might manifest themselves slightly differently.

One great thing about Puritan literature is that they never pull any punches, and this is a powerful, highly quotable book. It is well worth your time.

[Gary · Rating 3 out of 5]

Like many of the later Puritans, Ambrose just feels too polished, too neat. At the same time the robustness of the early Puritans is largely missing, as well as some of their greater emphasis on those things which are objective about our Faith. Watson and Owen have better books on this theme.

Liked it as far as it went.