Stand Firm in the Armor of God, Part Two

No one is immune from troubles, trials, insults, suffering, temptations and lies thrown at us by the one who wants to deceive and destroy us.   But as we have been learning from God’s Word the last few weeks, we need not stand defenseless against his schemes. And one of those schemes – this lie that God is punishing you – is one of the devil’s most insidious attacks and therefore reminds us that we need to take protect our hearts and minds with the armor of God.

Last week we looked at the first three pieces of the armor of God. God gave us the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the readiness of the gospel to put on so we can stand firm. And what we learned was this: As we consistently put on truth we grow in a strength and confidence that protects our minds against the father of lies. As we put on the breastplate of righteousness, living in the ways of Jesus, our righteousness guards our hearts against the empty ways of the world. And As we strap on our gospel boots, we stand ready to bring the Good News wherever God might sends us. Now today, we are going to see how God helps us to stand by taking up the shield of faith, putting on the helmet of salvation and wielding the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God.

Take up the Shield of Faith: The faith he is speaking of here is not so much our own human belief, but God’s faithfulness to us.  It is our knowledge of God’s faithfulness to us that will help us to stand firm when we are personally attacked the arrows of the evil one. It will help us to stand firm when lies, insults, criticism and temptations come our way. Like David declared in Psalm 18:30, “He shields all who take refuge in him.”

So the idea of the shield of faith is to rely on what God says is true about our relationship with Him. Let me share with you what I mean. Here are some of the flaming arrows that the devil will shoot at you: The slanderer will say, “God has abandoned you.” But God is faithful. He says, “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.” Hebrews 13:5

The slanderer will say, “God is punishing you.” But God is faithful. His Word says,    “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.” 1 John 1:9 Our God forgives and restores. He is the God of grace: slow to anger and rich in love.

The slanderer will say, “God doesn’t love you.” Bur God is faithful. His Word says Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?  As it is written: “For your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35-39

God is for you and nothing can or ever will separate you from His love. Not the lies of the Father of lies. Not the criticisms or insults of those who hate God.

Take up the Helmet of Salvation: The devil wants you doubt God, Jesus and your salvation. The devil doesn’t want to know the certainty of your salvation. He wants to rob you of your hope of salvation. He wants to convince you that you do not belong to Jesus and you are not really forgiven. And he wants you to think that you have to keep earning God’s approval. He wants you to live as if your salvation is up to you. He doesn’t want you to rest in God’s grace. He wants you to live in fear of judgment. He is the thief who comes to steal, kill and destroy…. But when you put on the helmet of salvation that comes from God, you will stand firm and secure in God. For the salvation that God gives has nothing to do with you, but everything to do with Jesus. Salvation is God’s idea, God’s plan, God’s gift all found in God’s Son.

Your salvation was secured by Jesus the moment He hung on the cross and said, “It is finished.” (John 19:30) At that moment every sin of every person was paid for once and for all and forever. All that is left for anyone to do now is to either receive or reject God’s gift of Salvation. Because the moment you put your trust in Jesus you were forgiven.   And the moment you put your trust in Jesus you crossed over from the realm of death to life. Jesus himself promised this when he said:   “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” John 5:24   This is a permanent, irreversible relocation promised by Jesus. When you believe in Jesus, Jesus takes you home to be with Him forever.

Take up the Sword of the Spirit: The sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God is the only offensive weapon we are given. When Paul wrote this letter, he knew that the image that would come to mind was the short, doubled edged sword used by the Romans soldiers.   This double- edged sword was effective in winning battles because of its quick penetrating power. This is how God’s Word is described for us in Hebrews 4:12, For the word of God is alive and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.

All the devil’s schemes lead to one thing: If he cannot destroy us, he wants to deceive us so we will not trust God, obey His will, or worship Him. One of the ways he does this is by taking something that is good and perverting or twisting it for his advantage. The best example of this is recorded for us in the Gospel of Luke where he tries to take down Jesus by twisting Scripture. His first scheme was to get Jesus to use his divine power (that which is good) so that Jesus would stop trusting His Father. Jesus was hungry from fasting. So, the devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.” But Jesus understood that the devil was tempting to live independent of His Father’s care. He would not take the bait. So Jesus answered, “It is written, “Man does not live on bread alone.”

The Devil’s second scheme was to offer Jesus a short cut to success. The devil led him to a high place and showed him in an instant all the kingdoms of the world. And he said to him, “I will give you all their authority and splendor; it has been given to me, and I can give it to anyone I want to. If you worship me, it will all be yours.” But Jesus understood what he was offering was a lie. There is no easy path to glory. The devil was trying to get Jesus to throw out God’s will for Him. “You’re going to be King someday, why not take the easy way.” Again Jesus didn’t bite. Instead he answered with the Word: “It is written, Worship the Lord your God and serve Him only.”

The Devil’s third scheme was an attempt to manipulate Jesus’ faith in His Father. If he could get him to jump off the temple, wouldn’t God be obligated to rescue him? He was trying to make Jesus force God to prove himself. But if you really trust God you do not have to make God prove Himself. Again, Jesus saw through this deception and responded with God’s Word saying: “It is said, Do not put the Lord your God to test.”

So after three failed attempts to get Jesus to not trust His Father, he left him. God’s Word is powerful. It is life giving. Apart from the gift of Jesus Christ, God’s Word is the greatest resource He gives us. And with it, we can stand firm and resist the devil. Like James says, “Submit yourselves, then, then to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” James 4:7

The best way to resist the schemes of the devil is to wield the Word like Jesus!