Theological Fitness: Why We Need a Fighting Faith, by Aimee Byrd
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Theological Fitness: Why We Need a Fighting Faith, by Aimee Byrd
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Your spiritual life should be a battle! The writer of Hebrews tells us to “hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering” (10:23 ESV). What (and whom) do we need to meet this challenge? How does simply “holding fast” turn into such a workout of faith? Author and blogger Aimee Byrd invites us to join her in some “theological fitness” training as she unpacks our call to perseverance and explores the great metaphor that physical fitness lends to theology. Learn about the “fighting grace” God has given us, and discover how we are equipped to live lives of obedience even amidst the suffering and irritations of ordinary life.
Theological Fitness: Why We Need a Fighting Faith, by Aimee Byrd- Amazon Sales Rank: #178472 in Books
- Published on: 2015-05-18
- Original language: English
- Number of items: 1
- Dimensions: 8.40" h x .50" w x 5.50" l, .0 pounds
- Binding: Paperback
- 192 pages
Review What a gem this book is—so full of encouragement and so honest and genuine. . . . Wonderfully practical and readable . . . grounded in good theology. --Thomas R. Schreiner, The Southern Baptist Theological SeminaryIn this Scripture-saturated book we are rightly warned of the rigors as well as promised the rewards of holding fast to Christ when we feel the burn and want to give up. --Nancy Guthrie, Author, Seeing Jesus in the Old TestamentAimee drives the point home vividly in her distinctive, memorable, and popular style. Challenging yet enjoyable and valuable. --Fred G. Zaspel, Reformed Baptist Church, Franconia, Pennsylvania
About the Author Aimee Byrd is just an ordinary mom of three living in Martinsburg, West Virginia. Aside from that amazing gig, Aimee has made a fool of herself in martial arts training, survived college, dabbled in ceramics, owned a coffee shop, braved leading the youth group with her husband, become a Bible study teacher and blogger, and done a little speaking on the side. Since her children’s schedules have majorly cut into her social life, she has resorted to writing.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Great book! By Rachel G. Miller Ah, fitness. Such a hot topic these days. It's everywhere: from exercise routines to the latest diet trends to electronic gadgets and apps to keep track and stay focused on your goals. Everyone wants to be fit, or at least, laments that they aren't as fit as they'd like to be. Fitness can be a controversial topic because everyone has a different opinion as to how to go about it.For example, I hate to run. If you ever see me running, please stop and help me, someone is chasing me. I do, however, enjoy working out in water. This is for three reasons. You don't get all sweaty. If you make a mistake, no one can see it. And most importantly, if anything jiggles that shouldn't, they can't see that either.Kidding aside, fitness is an important concept in our society. But what about theological fitness? Are our bodies strong, but our "theological muscles" wasting away? Does it matter if they are? What can we do about it? This is the focus of Aimee Byrd's new book, Theological Fitness: Why We Need a Fighting Faith. Aimee Byrd, also known as the Housewife Theologian, is part of the team of contributors for the Mortification of Spin podcast. She and her co-hosts, Carl Trueman and Todd Pruitt, regularly discuss topics of interest in the Reformed world.One of Byrd's recent concerns has been the lack of discernment and doctrinal precision in many of the popular Christian books. I share her concern and am thankful for her solid and helpful contribution in her most recent book. Theological Fitness is an excellent study, and not just for women.At the heart of Theological Fitness is a discussion of Hebrews 10:23 and what it means for believers. Hebrews 10:23 says, "Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful." Byrd writes about how, why, and what we're to "hold fast" to:Are you tempted to backslide? Hold fast! Are you being persecuted? Hold fast! Through suffering, fear, and chastisement, and in the ordinary, everyday life of faith and obedience, we are encouraged to hold fast. It may sound like an easy adage, but my goal in this book is to show you that it is a workout. And this kind of workout, this exhortation, in fact, promotes a theological fitness. (14)What is "theological fitness"? Byrd says, "Theological fitness, then, refers to that persistent fight to exercise our faith by actively engaging in the gospel truth revealed in God's Word. (16)" Fighting, exercise, actively engaging ... these words emphasize the effort we are called to make in our daily walk. It's about the process of sanctification.There are some today who prefer not to talk about our efforts as part of sanctification. They point to Christ's work and our inability. But the idea that we are called to strive towards holiness is not unbiblical. The Westminster Shorter Catechism (Question 35) defines sanctification this way:Sanctification is the work of God's free grace, whereby we are renewed in the whole man after the image of God, and are enabled more and more to die unto sin, and live unto righteousness.Sanctification is God's work of making us holy, but part of that work is making us able to "die unto sin and live unto righteousness." And Paul uses frequent examples from sports and warfare to illustrate that this means effort on our part.Byrd makes this point in Theological Fitness:We persevere not because of our own faithfulness, but because he who promised is faithful. … Only Jesus had the fitness for the work of our salvation. But he has now qualified us for the race of the Christian life. (17)I love the image of Jesus having qualified us for the race. It's God's work, and He will finish it. But we are called to work, and work hard, in this life. And that is what Byrd focuses on in her book. Using many fitness metaphors and examples, thankfully well-explained for those of us less fitness savvy, Byrd encourages us all to struggle and to fight the good fight.Because we have been justified by God's grace and Christ's death and resurrection, we are now free. Free to struggle against our indwelling sin and free to struggle for growth in holiness:We are new creations under the reign of grace! Sin no longer reigns in us, and knowing this new status changes everything. We are not fighting to improve our old selves, but we are striving to live as new creations in Christ. (46)And the struggle is a good thing! It's a gift:The great gift of faith doesn't stop at our justification, but it causes us to continue to trust in God to sanctify us as we press on. That same faith that looked to Christ for a declaration of holiness now looks to him for the strength and ability to live in holiness. Surely, sanctification is not passive process; it is a daily struggle. But the struggle is part of the blessing. (50)What I loved about this book is that it's an encouragement, even an exhortation, to be serious about our sanctification, but it's not a burdensome checklist kind of book. It strikes the right balance between struggling against our sin and resting in the finished work of Christ. Our efforts cannot save us, but we are called to "hold fast" because "He is faithful."If you are looking for a good study for yourself or a group, I highly recommend Theological Fitness. There are even study questions that can be used in a small group setting. It may not popular these days to be serious about holiness and piety (not to be confused with pietism), but we are in a very real struggle and need to be encouraged in our own fight and to encourage others. This book helps us do that. I am very thankful for Aimee Byrd and her work.Note: I was given a copy of this book to review. I was not asked or expected to review the book in a positive light. Other than the book, I received nothing in exchange for this review.
13 of 14 people found the following review helpful. An Excellent Work of Readable Theology By Michael Dean Hutchinson I have a difficult time reading, much less recommending, Christian books written by women, as they are all too often filled with sentimental emotionalism that borders on eroticism and undergirded by horrific theology. Upon reading this book, my first thought was “Thank God for Aimee Byrd!” I finally have a Christian book written by a female author that I can unreservedly recommend.This book is something of an extended meditation on Hebrews 10:23, “Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful.” In Theological Fitness she uses the idea of fitness and physical exercise as vehicle to explore what it means to be an active and theologically well-informed believer in Jesus Christ. In this work, Aimee is focused on answering one central theological query: “What is perseverance?” As she seeks to answer this question, Aimee focuses on the five constituent phrases that form Hebrews 10:23. Therefore the book is structured in five parts, each composed of two chapters focusing on the five phrases, “Let us,” “Hold fast,” “The confession of our hope,” “Without wavering,” “For he who promised is faithful.”As I read this work, I found something worth highlighting on every page; that is the sort of interaction I usually reserve for works of high theology. But, surprising though it may seem, that’s precisely what this book is—a work of erudite and capable theological acumen. In seeking to answer the question, “What is perseverance?,” Aimee Byrd winds up answering a host of other questions as well, and delving into topics that you wouldn’t expect. In the end, she makes a very persuasive case that our ability to persevere—whether that be through a fiery trial, or through the banality of our lives, day-in and day-out—is directly related to our knowledge of what we believe. At the center of perseverance is our ability to doggedly hold on to what is true about Jesus Christ in both his person and his work on behalf of his people.If you would obey the command to persevere in Heb. 10:23, you must hold fast to a theological statement, or confession of faith—in sum, you must be a good theologian. And Theological Fitness has this goal firmly in its sights.This is a work full of wit and insight, and its written in extraordinarily readable prose. Difficult theological concepts are explained without recourse to dense theological language, and are well illustrated at every turn.If you’re a minister and you’re looking for works to recommend to the female parishioners in your church as an alternative to Ann Voskamp and Sarah Young, I would not only recommend that you buy this book, but that you buy lots of copies. It’s high time we stop disrespecting the women of our congregations by providing them with books that amount to theological fluff at best and absolutely heretical twaddle at worst. Here’s a book of theology that will encourage every reader, male or female, to dig deep in God’s word and to recognize that perseverance takes hard work, and will help all of us get “theologically fit” as we grow in grace.
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful. Workout for the Soul By Megan Hill This review first appeared on my blog, www.SundayWomen.comI hate to exercise. So the irony was not lost on me when I recently found myself sweating on the elliptical at my local Planet Fitness (“The Judgement Free Zone”) reading Aimee Byrd’s new release, Theological Fitness.Regarding physical fitness, I fall squarely into the fitness faker category—high metabolism, non-competitive, and sweat-avoidant—and I initially wasn’t convinced Byrd’s book would hold my attention for the length of several trips to the gym. To be sure, for a non-exerciser, Theological Fitness reads a bit like a science fiction novel; every turn of the page reveals a new world: sit-ups, hammer curls, nun chucks, and something called “weighted-side-plank-T-stand-pushups” (p. 82). I don’t even want to know.But Byrd is an excellent writer, and her alternate universe of physical fitness is paralleled in the familiar spiritual fitness illustrations used in Scripture, particularly in the book of Hebrews. Byrd’s grand thesis is to encourage her readers to pursue the kind of tough, conditioned, and thorough fitness in their spiritual lives that they might desire in their physical bodies. Byrd writes: “Faith is a gift of God, but faith is a fighting grace. Theological fitness, then, refers to that persistent fight to exercise our faith by actively engaging in the gospel truth revealed in God’s Word.” (p. 16, italics original) And this is going to require some sweat.Like a good coach, Byrd is not apologetic about the discipline required to exercise faith. She is encouraging, but she doesn’t offer any magic bullets or quick fixes: “[The Christian life] involves struggle and wrestling, unceasing warfare, and many bruises. If we despair under the hard blows, we will not yield the peaceable fruit of righteousness. Like a good martial arts instructor, we need to encourage one another not become weary under the blows.” (p. 68) Her perspective is refreshing in a Christian culture that often lacks true grit, and Theological Fitness would make an excellent basis for a mentoring relationship or a book study.One of the illustrations I found most compelling was Byrd’s description of a women’s self-defense class she attended. In the session, the students were asked to get out their purses and find whatever items might be useful as weapons if they needed to practice some real-world self-defense. The instructor then taught the women to use their keys, pens, and magazines as tools for a fight. Everyday objects became defensive essentials, but woe to the woman whose purse contained only a used Kleenex or a tube of Chap Stick. The things we carry with us can make the difference between life and death. Refocusing on our life-long spiritual fight, Byrd then asks her readers, “What’s in your theological bag?” (p. 88)For fitness fanatics, fitness fakers, and everyone in between, the searching questions and robust exegesis of Theological Fitness contain a workout plan for the soul. Writing about 1 Pet. 3:15, Byrd explains: “There are two qualifications of fitness here: knowing God’s truth, and the patient endurance of suffering for the sake of it. This requires conditioning, strengthening, and training. Just as our bodies need continual practice in any kind of physical training, so do our minds in theological growth.” (p. 85)I guess it’s time to exercise.
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