Arnie Cole

We all struggle with temptation and fall victim to our bad choices. Arnie Cole of Back to the Bible and journalist Michael Ross have teamed up to help us overcome our sin. Following up on their previous book, Unstuck, Cole and Ross examine the anatomy of temptation and the areas we each struggle with. As director of the Center for Biblical Engagement, Cole has conducted surveys on more than 100,000 people on the areas of temptation and spiritual growth. In the pages of Tempted, Tested, True: A Proven Path to Overcoming Soul-Robbing Choices they share the findings of their research, share stories of co-strugglers and offer a biblical remedy for temptation.


Cole and Ross market Tempted, Tested True as two books in one:
(1) A faith-building guide filled with practical solutions

(2) A personal and small-group workbook (19).

Each of the ten chapters concludes with the workbook section called 'a nudge'. The 'nudges' are loosely correlated to the chapter material so it is possible to do the workbook independent of reading. For the purposes of this review, I read the chapter material and skimmed the workbook. However I do plan to go back through the workbook exercises more in-depth because they will be helpful to me (though the table of contents does not tell you the page numbers for the nudge sections)
What I liked best about this book was the tone. This is a book dealing with sin and temptation but it is also gracious. Cole and Ross are fellow strugglers and they open up about this along the way and profile a number of other people. In fact several other writers contributed to chapters of this book, including: Theresa Cox, David Barshinger, Pamela Ovwigho, Kelly Combs, Sue Cameron, Deidra Riggs and Michelle DeRusha.
Their gracious look at temptation eschews easy answers and quick-fix solutions. The contributors have each pursued personal holiness, sometimes at personal cost. They have all experienced forgiveness and freedom but they also know how their sin has hurt the ones they loved. Some also have had to set up boundaries to protect themselves from other people's sin (i.e. Kelly's Story in chapter six, shares how her mother's addiction and manipulation made it impossible to remain in relationship with her). Despite the difficulties faced, Ross and Cole and company hold out the possibility of freedom in Christ.
This book is thoughtfully put together. The research basis for this book means that Cole and Ross do not simply spout off what they think women or men struggle with. Instead they speak empirically of what men and women have really struggled with and they guard from oversimplifying issues. Their objectivity makes this a useful book for Christians of different theological persuasions.
However I found this book limited in a couple of respects. Cole and Ross speak to where people feel tempted and to issues that besiege Christians. Yet a full-bodied treatment of sin has to go beyond the realm of felt-temptation. The biggest sins are not always lust, anger or addictions, there are sins of omission as well. One of the biggest sins in our churches is our failure to care about the world around us by reaching out with tangible love. To put it another way, James 1:27 says, "True religion is to care for widows and orphans and to keep yourself from corruption." Tempted, Tested, True does a great job of helping us keep ourselves from corruption, but says little to encourage us towards active care of widows and orphans. To do the one without the other, is still sin.
On a related note, this book focuses on individual, personal sins but does not explore the complementary theme of social, and institutional evils. Following Jesus calls us to stand against injustice and oppression. This is what brought Jesus into conflict with the religious leaders in his own day. Remember how the Pharisees had their own personal code of holy living but 'devoured widows houses'? (Mark 12:40). Let me clear, I think personal sins should not be glossed over and we need to pursue personal holiness. However our discussion of sin should be cognizant of social sin as well.
It is not that a book has to say everything. I think this book does a great job of articulating its theme. I just feel that you could put into practice the principles in this book and still fall short of all that God intends for your life. The way of Jesus is more radical than a personal means of transformation and behavior modification. Jesus is alive and that changes everything. That being said I think that this book can and should be read for benefit. Understanding the nature of temptation and how to stand up under it is a noteworthy goal.

I think this book is a good aid for personal study or discussion. I give it 3.5 stars.

Thank you to Bethany House for providing me a copy of this book in exchange for my honest review.… (lisätietoja)

I read Tempted, Tested, True, in exchange for review from Bethany House. The book was written by Arnie Cole and Michael Ross. I have discussed the book on my other blog,Celibacy Diaries, but have not done my full review for Bethany House. This is the full review.

I chose this book because I struggle with temptation. I struggle with anxiety. I struggle with women' struggles. I struggled with sex addiction. When I saw the book review list for Bethany House, I had to have this book. I had to have a print edition. When it comes to celibacy, abstinence, sex addiction, etc, there is a lot of information out there. There are plenty of books written, but not too many is written from a Christian perspective. I wanted practical, spiritual knowledge, and this book does that. I am glad I got chosen for this book. I did not read this book from start to finish. I started the book at the beginning, then moved to the sections on sex addiction and shame. A lot of good passages stood out and I marked them big time. The book also takes about alcohol, anxiety, shame, temptation, men struggles, women struggles, releasing the past, and unmasking the real you. for this review, I am choosing to focus on the things, which affected me personally.

Chapter 8 discusses the story of Mark and how he struggled with sexual sin (pornography). Porn helped Mark cope with stress. But over time, his heart became darker and more hardened (p. 167). He was pretending everything was ok, when everything was not. He was addicted. His wife called in an intervention with their pastor because she suspected something was wrong. One line, which stood out wasPorn is a counterfeit that can ruin our ability to experience the real thing (p. 171). Pornography can also be an idol and the Lord does not allow us to put idols before him. The chapter also discussed accountability. People need an accountability partner when they are struggling with addiction. The book also discussed ways to move forward past porn and sex addiction(. I wrote the steps on my other blog Celibacy Diaries). The book also does nudges after each chapter, with spaces to write down thoughts and concerns.

For example, the nudge for chapter 8 focuses on shaking the shame. The section allowed you to think and write about soul-robbing traps; why breaking free is hard for you; and what you would like for Jesus to help you with.

Then, the book moves into toxic shame. First, the book discusses the difference between shame and guilt. "Guilt has to do with our behavior, what we do; shame, has to do with our identity, who we are" (p. 180). "Toxic shame causes us to expect the worst from ourselves because we believe that's who we are inside"(p. 180). We must let go of those thoughts, which say we are a loser, a failure, a disappointment, no use to God, etc (p. 181). This is something I definitely struggle with.

There is also an amazing chart on the characteristics of shame, with space to list specific examples and emotions (p. 184). P. 185 also has a spiritual life rating scale. I am a level 3 believer. The scale starts at skeptic, seeker, believer, grace-filled, and servant-minded. You look at the characteristics of each row and determine where you fall in. a worksheet follows immediately after to note your results. You will need access to a bible to complete some of the notes.

Chapter 9 focuses on Danielle's story. Danielle discussed how even when she knew the right thing to do, she did the wrong thing anyway. I knew having a lot of sex with random men was wrong, but i did it anyway. suffered the consequences too. A few passages, which stood out:

Temptation is big and it's sneaky, and it knows my weak spots. It can tell when I'm wavering and slip in a zinger at just the perfect moment--sending me right back to square one. It doesn't have to be that way. More and more, I realize, there is a way out. (p. 197)

No temptation has overtaken you except what is common to mankind. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it (p. 198).

Your sin is not unbeatable. Your temptation isn't too big for God. You aren't even close to being the only one tempted in that way (p. 200).

Finally, I will focus on the four stages of Temptation (Chapter 2) p. 54)

Enticement: starts with a pang of desire. a thought, a fantasy. what ifs. then eventually the decision to commit. go through the stages of intimacy: sight, sound, smell, taste, touch.

Conception: desire becomes strong. wants to conceive the real thing, whether it's sex, or drugs, or alcohol, whatever it is. we continue to engage with our temptor and ignore God more.

Gestation and growth: sin continues to grow. it affects us mentally, spiritually, and physically. we know the sin intimately. we are enjoying our secret lives. the temptation begins to define us: thoughts, identity, purpose. we don't consider the long-term effects of the sin. we continue to live in darkness and the light can not penetrate us.

Delivery: the sin matures. it gives birth to death inside of us.
This is definitely a good book. Definitely will keep reading as temptation shows up in my life. The book felt like more than a regular non-fiction. More than another book to read once. It provided practical, biblical knowledge to temptation and the consequences of each temptation.… (lisätietoja)

The first book I will review is Unstuck. I got it through LibraryThing Early reviewers program but it sat on my shelf for months. Then I went to a revival at church. I was looking for something to read and this title jumped out at me. It is amazing how just the right book can do that. I was felling stuck myself so I opened this book and learned what the authors recommended.
This book was the result of extensive research done by collecting questionnaires from a random sample of the population. It is not biased by the author’s view.
The big thing they found was that people who read the bible and engaged with scripture 4 times or more a week was the key to growing in your faith.
The book goes on about how how to do just that. They offer advice on what it really means to engage in scripture and to have an active faith. They give bible verses and thoughts to ponder as you read. At times this is not an easy book to read as they force to to confront some truths about yourself.
This is a well written book. The style is easy to read and the authors provide engaging insights into the word of God.
Pick up this book if you are looking to grow in your faith and the hard work that it requires.
They also have a website to supplement the book it is Gotandem… (lisätietoja)