Surviving the Trenches: Killing Sin Before Sin Kills You

by Joe Barnard

Christian men today are unprepared for the reality and scope of spiritual warfare they face. Some go about their lives naively ignoring the power that spiritual forces like sin and Satan have in their lives. Joe Barnard has written a book to help men not only wake up to the existence of sin in their lives, but, in the power of the Holy Spirit, to tackle it head on.   This may seem like a daunting task. Although few would admit it publicly, privately many share the deep anxiety that the resources of the gospel are inadequate to deal with – not the  guilt  of sin – but the  power  of sin. Sin may look like an insurmountable problem when measured by the stature of a fallen man, but to God, sin is no more than a weed planted in sand.   This book is for men who are willing to fight and it will arm them for the task at hand. Chapter headings

Genres: Christianity

136 pages, Paperback

Published March 11, 2022

About the author

I am the founder and director of Cross Training Ministries, a men's discipleship program. For eight years I pastored a church in the Scottish Highlands before returning to my hometown of Covington, Louisiana (Walker Percy's former residence, for fiction lovers). My first book has just been released with Christian Focus Publications: The Way Forward: a Road-map of Spiritual Growth for Men in the 21st Century. I am married to Anna, and we have four children. For more information about Cross Training Ministries, visit www.xtrainingministries.com.

Reviews

[Cameron McCartney · Rating 5 out of 5]

Another excellent book from Joe Barnard, targeted toward Christian men who are aware of the effect of sin on their lives and who want to do something about it. Joe helpfully discusses the deceptiveness of sin, and the difficulties in identifying it. Toward the end of the book, he focuses on four sins that are killing modern men: pride, lust, vanity and sloth.

One of the most helpful features of this book is that whilst Joe rightly discusses sin with an alarming attitude, he also outlines specific strategies which will help men to extinguish sin in their lives. I found Joe’s interaction with Heath Lambert’s great book “Finally Free” on pp.75-78 to be particularly helpful. I was also challenged by his encouragement to use journaling as a strategy for becoming more self-aware, but also less self-centred.

As with all of Joe’s content, I find this book to be a very practical and easily readable guide for many modern, Western, Christian men who are struggling in their Christian lives. I recommend it to all such men, and would like to encourage men who feel ashamed about sin in their lives to remember that sometimes admitting that you need help, and trying to get some help, may be the most important first step.

[Stephen Mccollum · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good distilling of John Owen for the modern audience applied particularly to men.

[James · Rating 4 out of 5]

Helpful.

[Joshua Stone · Rating 4 out of 5]

A helpful treatment on sanctification. Geared towards men's small groups.