Reformed Reading Guide · 14 books
The Best Books on Spiritual Warfare
Spiritual warfare is the Christian's ongoing conflict against sin, the fallen world, and the devil, fought not with human strength but with the armor God supplies in Christ. A sober, confessional Reformed approach roots this battle in Ephesians 6, resting on Christ's finished victory rather than sensational demon-hunting or deliverance techniques. It treats prayer, the Word, and everyday obedience as the real weapons of the fight.
Spiritual warfare is one of the most misunderstood topics in the Christian life, drawing either sensational excess or quiet neglect. This guide gathers the best in-print books on spiritual warfare from a confessional Reformed and evangelical perspective, all of them sober, biblical, and centered on Christ's victory. We have sorted 14 titles into basic, intermediate, and advanced tiers so you can start where you are. Every recommendation has been checked for author, current edition, and ISBN.
Basic
5 books
The Whole Armor of God: How Christ's Victory Strengthens Us for Spiritual Warfare
Iain M. Duguid · 2019
A short, warm walk through each piece of the Ephesians 6 armor that keeps the reader resting in Christ's finished victory rather than technique.
Fighting Satan: Knowing His Weaknesses, Strategies, and Defeat
Joel R. Beeke · 2015
A brief, accessible, and thoroughly practical overview of the enemy's tactics and certain defeat, with reflection questions ideal for group study.
Spiritual Warfare: A Biblical and Balanced Perspective
Brian Borgman and Rob Ventura · 2014
The best all-around confessional starting point, exposing both superstition and neglect while grounding the whole battle plan in Ephesians 6:10-20, prayer, and the Word.
Safe and Sound: Standing Firm in Spiritual Battles
David Powlison · 2019
Powlison humanizes the struggle against self, world, and the powers of darkness with vivid case studies, showing spiritual warfare as ordinary Christian faithfulness.
The Serpent and the Serpent Slayer
Andrew David Naselli · 2020
A concise biblical-theology tracing the serpent from Genesis to Revelation, framing the whole conflict as Christ's promised crushing of the snake.
Intermediate
5 books
Precious Remedies Against Satan's Devices
Thomas Brooks · 2021
A beloved Puritan classic cataloging Satan's specific schemes and the biblical remedies for each, rich in pastoral counsel and still eminently readable.
Satan Cast Out: A Study in Biblical Demonology
Frederick S. Leahy · 1975
A lucid, Reformed and Presbyterian survey of Satan, demon possession, and the occult that stays sober where popular treatments sensationalize.
The Christian in Complete Armour (3-Volume Abridged Set)
William Gurnall · 1990
A modernized abridgement of the greatest Puritan work on spiritual warfare, the ideal on-ramp to Gurnall before tackling the full text.
Power Encounters: Reclaiming Spiritual Warfare
David Powlison · 1995
A modern classic that critiques the deliverance-ministry movement and recovers a genuinely biblical, non-sensational model of fighting the devil.
3 Crucial Questions about Spiritual Warfare
Clinton E. Arnold · 1997
An accessible yet scholarly evangelical answer to the hard questions of warfare, demonization, and territorial spirits, careful with both text and experience.
Advanced
4 books
The Christian in Complete Armour (Unabridged, 2-Volume Clothbound)
William Gurnall · 1864
The unabridged 1864 Banner edition of the Puritan masterwork on Ephesians 6, so weighty that John Newton would choose it above every book but the Bible.
Overcoming Sin and Temptation: Three Classic Works by John Owen
John Owen, edited by Kelly M. Kapic and Justin Taylor · 2015
Owen's unmatched treatises on mortification, temptation, and indwelling sin, lightly updated, addressing the fiercest front of warfare within the believer's own heart.
The Whole Armor of God
William Gouge · 2020
A modern reprint of the foundational Westminster-divine treatise that shaped all later Puritan writing on the armor, courage, and prayer.
Powers of Evil: A Biblical Study of Satan and Demons
Sydney H. T. Page · 1994
A rigorous exegetical theology working through every biblical text on Satan and demons, the reference-level foundation beneath the more popular titles.
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