I was blessed Sunday to be able to hear a very good lesson on being a soldier for Christ. It was encouraging and also challenging. The teacher reminded us that we are always in a constant battle between good and evil. As much as God and Christ loves us and wants us all to be saved; so the devil wants us to be lost. We must always rise to the challenge of the fight. If we are faithful and obedient, then God will give us the power to succeed in our battles. Naturally, the preacher also mentioned the armor of God.
In Ephesians 6, when Paul calls us to stand against the wiles of the devil, he tells us to "put on the whole armor of God." (Ephesians 6:11) A soldier must be prepared for battle. Part of being prepared means having on the proper armor and having the proper equipment to be able to fight. Each item had its own importance and the armor would not be complete if any item was missing. Many of us have studied the armor of God before. As a Christian these passages should carry a special meaning.
As I read back over these scriptures, I began to look at them differently. I thought about some things that I have never thought about before. Why do you think we are told to protect our feet, our heads, our hearts -- what about what we are protected with?
Our feet are to be shod with preparation of the gospel of peace. Didn't Christ tell us to go into all the world preaching the gospel to every creature? Aren't we supposed to go and teach in peace and love? If we don't protect our feet - we may stumble and fall. If we don't hold onto the gospel - we might lose our way. Without the gospel of peace, we could stray from the path of light. So we must keep our feet shod with the gospel of peace - so that we can keep going. If our feet are injured, we cannot take the gospel to anyone - anywhere. If we are to be good soldiers we must protect our feet.
We are to have on the belt of truth. What does a belt do? A modern day belt holds a person's pants up and helps keep a shirt tucked in. A belt kind of holds everything all together. So the truth of God's word holds us together. Christ said "I am the Way, the Truth and the Life." Without the Truth on our side, we cannot hope to win this battle at all. If we hold on to Christ -- He will help us keep us all together. He will protect us. If we are fighting for the truth - fighting for Him - of course He will be there for us.
Another way to think of this is to think of our instincts. This may be somewhat indelicate, but have you ever heard of "gut instincts?" Well, if we are training ourselves in the way of Truth it will become so ingrained in us that the Christian life - knowing the Truth and knowing the right thing to do will become instinctive.
As we protect our "gut" with the Truth; then we are also to protect our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate covers and protects our hearts. We learn about what is right from God's word. We learn of God's love for us. Christ's willing sacrifice to save our souls fills our hearts with love. It is what we feel in our hearts that gives us the courage and strength to act. So we protect our hearts. Righteousness protects us and keeps us loving and compassionate. With our hearts in the right place we are able to hold on -- to keep fighting the good fight.
I know I am not going in the same order that Paul did in Ephesians; but we are to take the helmet of salvation -- so we are to protect our heads - which means protecting our minds. In order to function properly on any task at hand, we must have a clear mind. So it is true with being a good soldier. We must protect our minds - so that we don't become addled. We don't want to lose our train of thought when fighting against the wiles of the devil. Having on the helmet of salvation will keep our mind in the game, because we will rest easy in the knowledge that our Lord has died for our sins. He has given us a way out. God's word tells us that we will never be tempted without having a way of escape. Being a child of God and knowing that He will save us in the end gives us the peace of mind we need to fight this battle. Knowing we have salvation for our souls gives us a reason to fight and to try to bring others to Christ.
Head, heart and "gut" all work together - truth, righteousness, salvation -- all work together to make a top notch soldier for Christ. When we add the shield of faith and the sword of the Spirit - nothing can defeat us. The shield of faith protects the entire length of the body. Paul says we quench the fiery darts of the devil with our shield of faith. He is right (of course) -- our faith chases away our doubts and fears. Our blocks any attacks on our goodness, righteousness and truth. If we have a good shield, if our faith is strong - then we are able to withstand any battle that may come our way.
After we are armed - after we have protected ourselves with faith, salvation, truth, righteousness and the gospel of peace -then we are ready to go on the offensive. We take the sword of the Spirit - we take the word of God with us every time we face our enemy the devil. We resist Him and he flees from us. Christ faced the devil with the sword of the Spirit. When he was tempted in the wilderness He answered every one of the devil's taunts with what? Well, He used His sword. He quoted the word of God and the devil left Him. Jesus was fully armed that day. He knew the truth. He was full of righteousness. Even then He knew that His mission was to die on that cross; to become the gospel. He died and rose again so that we could wear the helmet of salvation.
So my friends - with these thoughts in mind -- in the words of Paul --"Put on the whole armor of God --why? that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil."
(Ephesians 6:11)
And verse 13 says - "Wherefore take unto you the whole armor of god, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand!"
Stand and fight. Don't let satan put even one chink in your armor.
Christ above all things,
Robin
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