The Armor of God: How to Fight God's Enemies 2

This is the fifth segment in my sermon entitled, "The Armor of God", delivered to Marion Park on 8/15/09. Before reading on make sure you've read Ephesians 6:10-20.

1. Belt of Truth

So then, buckling on the belt of truth is not first and foremost about trying harder not to tell lies. It's about Jesus living a life of perfect truth-telling, to the point of making the good confession at his trial that led to his crucifixion. It is about believing Jesus who is the Truth, and trusting his work in rescuing you from the Father of Lies who once held you captive as his child, so that lying was your natural language. Someone who is fastening on the belt of truth will certainly become more truthful, but in gratitude and because of a new nature, not just by trying harder.

2. The Breastplate of Righteousness

And having put on the breastplate of righteousness, then, is not about gritting your teeth into being more strictly fair with people. It's about getting the very righteousness of Christ that he wore throughout his earthly ministry. It's about his righteousness being reckoned to you by faith, and now serving to protect you from any spear-thrusts of accusation that the devil might throw at you. Pleading Jesus' perfect righteousness there is not a flaw in your armor that the enemy could exploit. Certainly you will become more righteous by putting on his righteousness, not least of which because you will have ceased trying to justify yourself through your own feeble efforts.

3. Shoes of Gospel Readiness

Slipping on the shoes of gospel readiness is not first about carrying tracts in your back pocket so that you'll be ready to share the gospel at the grocery store. It's about accepting the fact that Christ has made peace between man and God, that he has ended the war between you and God. No longer are you forced to fight on the devil's side! Of course, the joy of this fact will lead you to ready to snatch others out of bondage in any way that you can.

4. Shield of Faith

Taking up the shield of faith is not mainly about protecting yourself against the evil day by your positive attitude. It's not about manipulating your emotions or beliefs. It's about having a sure and certain hope that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. It is about your faith in God's promises, God's work, God's love extinguishing the flaming arrows of the evil one that would set any other defense on fire. Only the shield of faith will not be set on fire when Satan tempts you with either pride or despair.

5. Helmet of Salvation

Placing on your head the helmet of salvation is not first and foremost about telling yourself you're saved over and over again. It's not about looking back to that climactic salvation experience that you had. It's about the fact that Jesus took off the helmet of salvation, and received instead the crown of thorns, so that we might put on the helmet of the salvation that he accomplished for us. And if we have a God that did that for us, how will he not also continue the process of salvation that he began in us, until that last great day when we are saved to sin no more, to no more experience death or crying or pain.

6. Sword of the Spirit

And finally, arming ourselves with the only weapon in this list, the sword of the Spirit, is not entirely about my memorizing hundreds of different Bible verses, in order to shout them at the devil every time he comes at me. It's mainly about Jesus, the true embodiment of Israel, spending 40 days of fasting in the wilderness, hearkening back to the 40 years Israel wandered in the wilderness. And it's about this same Jesus when the devil came to tempt him in his evil day, rebuking the devil with all authority with three powerful quotations from Deuteronomy. It's about Jesus going forward on our behalf to fight on the ultimate evil day, the cross, 2000 years ago, in the power of the Spirit, with every word of his having been the very words of God, shouting forth on the cross from the Scriptures that foretold his suffering and death, "My God, my God why have you forsaken me?" And then, "Into your hands I commit my Spirit." And so on the basis of his victory over Satan, sin, and death, the victory of the Word who was God and who was in the beginning with God, we can now take up his sword, the Word of God, to battle against our defeated foe.