Stand Firm in the Armor of God, Part One

God gives us power in our relationship with Him and gives us strength in our union with Jesus Christ. We can be strong in the Lord because Jesus defeated death and the devil at the cross. With Him we’ve already won the war. Yet we are still engaged in an invisible battle with one who wars against our souls – with one who wants to destroy us. So here’s the deal. Even though we can have strength to stand against our adversary in our relationship with God, God wants us to take an active role in standing firm in the midst of battle.   In Ephesians 6:14-17 we see what God gives us so we can take an active role in our stand against our enemy.

Put on the Belt of Truth: The belt was the first piece a soldier put on.  The belt gathered his tunic together. It also held his sword. It ensured that he was unimpeded when marching. As he buckled it, it gave him a sense of hidden strength and confidence.

This is what truth does for us! Truth is foundational to all of Christian life. Jesus identified himself by saying, “I am the way, the truth and the life.” We come to faith in Jesus by “believing in the message of truth.” And Jesus himself said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” John 8:32.

Without the truth we are at the mercy of the Father of Lies, of whom Jesus said, There is no truth in him.” His strategy is to keep you away from the truth. If he can keep you from opening your Bible, learning His Word, believing in His unwavering grace and precious promises to you… he can keep you off balance; he can cripple you with doubt, anxiety and fear. If he can keep you from knowing His will, he keep you from loving your neighbor. If he can keep you from sound biblical teaching, he can keep you sidetracked, confused and engaged in foolish arguments rather than the mission of Jesus.

You see, God gives us His truth, not just so we might come to know him and learn his will, but he gave us his truth to protect our minds from the assault of the evil one.  The best way to protect your mind is to KNOW the truth!

Put on the Breastplate of Righteousness: No Roman soldier would go into battle without his breastplate, a tough, sleeveless piece of armor that covered his full torso.  The purpose of that piece of armor was pretty clear – it was to protect the heart, lungs, intestines and other vital organs.

Here is where the evil one launches his fiercest attacks. His tactic is to confuse our emotions and pervert our affections, morals, loyalties and commitments. He wants to get us to laugh at sin rather than mourn over it; to rationalize our sin rather than confess it; and to become so used to sin in and around us that it no longer bothers us… Here is where our adversary comes at us as the accuser. He is constantly looking for ways to point out how we don’t measure up, how we fall short, how we sin. His aim is to discourage us, steal our joy, and get us to feel guilty. And if he can do that, he will take us out of the battle.

To combat this onslaught we are to put on the breastplate of righteousness. What is this righteousness? It is the practical righteousness of a life lived in obedience to God’s Word.   The best way to protect your heart is to LIVE in righteousness! The more we embrace the way God intended us to live, the more we learn to love and serve our neighbor, the less ammunition we give to the evil one.

Strap on Your Gospel Boots:    A soldier wore special sandals or military shoes that protected his feet without slowing him down. Romans soldiers had special shoes made of soft leather with studded soles. This allowed them to march further in battle and faster as well as giving them facility of motion in battle – they could dig in and hold their ground when in hand to hand combat. You could say, a soldier’s very life depended on his boots.

The same could be said for us. For without solid footing in the truth of the gospel, we have nothing to stand on. So the best way to stand your ground is to stand ready with the gospel.       Let’s look a little closer at this verse:   with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.  

Where the first two pieces of battle armor are about protecting our mind and heart, the emphasis here is on our preparedness or a readiness to face our enemy with the gospel of peace. What did Paul have in mind for us when he wrote this?

Without his boots on, a soldier was not ready to march, climb, fight or do whatever his leader commanded him to do. So it is with us. This is a call for readiness. It is a call to be alert, to be available, to be equipped with the gospel of peace. One of the schemes of the evil one is to lull us into complacency. Kick back, kick off your gospel shoes and relax. You’re not that essential to the battle. So take it easy. But the truth is that God calls each and everyone of us to “be ready to give the reason for the hope you have” 1 Peter 3:15

One of the truths I’ve found out recently is that there are many people, even people our age who have never heard a clear presentation of the gospel: The good news, that God has provided a way for you to become friends with Him. God has made a way for your sins to be removed so that you can come home and rejoice in the arms of your creator. The Good News is found in Jesus. He’s done it all. His work is finished. When He gave his life on the cross, he took the punishment for every sin you’ve ever committed or will commit. As a result of His work on your behalf, you can experience forgiveness once and for all and forever.

Not only that, His death has set your free from the power of sin. And His death has made a way for you to come home – to enter into a relationship with God the Father. To know Him who loves you and pursues you with His everlasting love.

The good news found in Jesus Christ is that you don’t have to go it alone through life. You no longer have to carry the guilt and shame of sin. You no longer have to live in fear of judgment. Jesus took all your guilt, all your shame, all your judgment when He gave His life for you. That’s the good news. We need to stop being ashamed of this news and start seeing our mission in a new light. Like Isaiah once wrote: How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news Isaiah 52:7