“The Shield of Faith”
OPEN: Today we are going to be talking about the shield of faith – one more piece to the full armor that God has given to each of each to enable us to do what? – to stand. More than that – we are to stand firm. We’re learning how to stand – how to stand firm. Before you learn how to walk you first have to know how to stand. – That seems like a very simplistic concept, but my experience is that this is the very reason so many Christians end up walking away from the faith. They were not really taught how to stand when the trials of life come their way. When the real trial comes – they loose their footing and they fall over – or they run away. You have to know how to stand before you walk. Knowing how to stand involves knowing how to handle your armor. You have to pick each piece up and use it properly. It doesn’t do you any good if you have the belt of truth and you don’t know how to fasten it. You have to wear the breastplate of righteousness properly – which means we practice holy living on a day to day basis. It doesn’t do any good to have your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace if you don’t know how to lace them up properly. And it won’t do any good to have a shield of faith if you don’t know how to raise it up and use it when the arrows are flying in your direction. So this entire passage is geared towards teaching the believer how to stand.
- What the armor is really all about
– it’s about experiencing everyday victories in our life -
The Armor enables everyday victories.
When the Bible talks about our ability to stand firm – it’s referring to our everyday victories. Small everyday victories add up to a great life. Wars are won through a series of small wins. If you really want to experience change in your life you need to be able to begin with the small battles we face everyday. And that’s what the armor of God provides for us. The opposite of that is true as well – wars are generally lost not all at once –but through a continuous series of defeats. No follower of Jesus has to live that way. 2 Corinthians 1:24 says, “By faith you stand firm”
In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.
Notice it says “in addition to all this” KVJ says “Above all” it does not mean it’s the most important, that is not the emphasis – he’s saying on top of everything else, in addition to everything else, you have your belt, your breastplate, your shoes now in addition to that take up the shield of faith. It does seem place the first three pieces of armor in one group and the next three pieces in another group. “Now that you understand your commitment to truth – now that you understand your commitment to holy living – now that you understand how to experience the peace of God – having those things in place now take up your shield of faith. (analambano from ana = up + lambano = take) means literally to take up. To lift up.
Let’s talk for a few moments what Paul is referring to here. There are several kinds of shields used by different parts of the army in Roman times depending upon the kind of thing you were doing and what you were involved in. But two stand out; the first is a rather small round shield sort of like a giant frisbee, shaped in that kind of fashion and curled at the edges. It was strapped with two straps normally to the forearm, the left arm of the soldier. It was to be very light so that it could be carried about when a soldier was a mobil foot soldier, and he would use it to parry the blows of hand to hand combat.
That, however is not the word that is used here. The other, called a scutum, or war shield, was about 4 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide. It was the size of a small door. The old saying was, “you either return from battle with your shield or on your shield.” The shield was made of several layers of wood, with linen cloth placed between the wood layers covered with hardened leather and lined around the edges with metal. Usually, there was an iron ornament decorating the front. They were so large a man could kneel down and put his entire body behind it. These shields also could be linked together to form a moving wall.
When the Roman army would fight, usually this would be kind of the battle strategy if it was a major battle, there would be a long line of these soldiers in the front of the troops with these shields. Behind would be all of the soldiers with arrows and swords and everything else and, and as they moved along they would come to the enemy, they would plant those shields side by side creating a huge wall of protection
If they were storming a wall, the archers would stand on the wall shooting down at them. What they would do then would be to form into a formation the called “the tortoise.” It’s easy to see why they called it that. They would link together in the front and around the sides and the also place the shields above their heads as well. They were protected from every angle While the army would be trying to move forward the enemy would be doing everything they could to stop their progress. There were arrows and rocks and anything and everything else the enemy could gather together to stop their progress. But the shields would protect them provide the means for slow but steady progress. it would shield those soldiers against the arrows that would fly.
The Amplified version translates this verse:
Lift up over all the [covering] shield of saving faith, upon which you can quench all the flaming missiles of the wicked one. Lifting up is the idea. – You have to lift up your faith and use it as a defense. The idea is that faith is a covering over your life. (protection) When you sense that an attack is underway – you are feeling a temptation - or you are being assailed – what the response supposed to be? Pick your faith like a shield.
Throughout the Bible God is called our shield.
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a liar.” (Proverbs 30:5-6)
In other words what God said is true, if you believe it and obey it, it'll be a shield, if you mess with it you'll suffer, see? Satan comes along and says, oh well I know God said that but, let me add this. No. No, He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.
As for God, his way is perfect; the word of the LORD is flawless. He is a shield for all who take refuge in him. (Psalm 18:30)
As long as you believe God your shield is up. I hope you understand this, it's just that simple. Satan lies, you believe his lie, the shield comes down, you get it. Trust God in everything. First John 5:4, “This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith.” We win when we believe God, we win when we trust God. You may go through doubts and anxieties and fears and worries and concerns and problems and struggles and trials and tribulations and persecution, as long as you believe God, as you believe His Word -His power - His promise it doesn't have to be a point of loss, it can be a point of strengthening, a point of gain.
So Paul says - take up the shield of faith
What Is Faith?
What we are talking about here is not “the faith,” as in the body of Christian beliefs, but rather personal faith, our confidence in God, believing what God has said and being committed to it. There are many people in this world today are skeptical of the whole idea of faith, because they think of it as something not connected with the ordinary processes of the mind at all. “Faith is something that is opposed to the convictions of the intellect. If you have been through some kind of education and especially some kind of scientific education, you are told that to have faith you have to in some way close your mind, or put your intellect to sleep, or ignore the conclusions of science and research. Faith is irrational because there is disconnectedness between reality and what we are called to trust in faith.”
The truth is it is virtually impossible to live a single day without expressing faith in something.
I would go so far as saying no one on earth has ever lived a day without expressing faith in something, someone or some idea. You eat food that that comes in cans, that has labels that you actually believe in. You drink water that comes out of a pipe and you have faith that it is safe to drink. You go to a doctor, who you don’t know hardly at all and he says you’ve got a problem. We have to slice you open and take this out or move this around and bend this and straighten that – You say, “OK doc whatever you say.” You go into an operating room and there’s a whole group of people you’ve never met before – and they just cut you open and start playing around with your innards – doing anything they want to do and you’re laying there on the table just having faith that what they are doing is A-OK. That’s faith. And everybody lives that way. It’s not possible to live without it. Every time you get on an airplane – every time you eat – every time you breath – every time you sit on a chair – every time you drive your car, every business deal you make – you are expressing an enormous amount of faith. You never leave your house if you don’t carry faith. And you’ll never find your way home with out faith.
What is faith? Dear old Daniel Webster says: “Confidence or trust in a person or thing” “Allegiance to
duty or a person” - in other words faith is loyalty. It is sincerity. It is commitment.
Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. (Heb. 11.1-2)
The author of Hebrews says faith is what? It is assurance. Assurance = hupostasis It comes from two Greek words. Stasis means to stand and jupo means under. “To stand under” – remember that picture of the Roman soldiers standing under their shields – protecting themselves from the arrows of the enemy? That’s the idea here. Faith is the “standing under” of things hoped for. He also says that it is “the conviction of things not seen” – the conviction that the unseen exists. that phrase means almost the same thing as the first but there is a slight difference in its meaning – It means living on the basis of things not seen. In the first phrase, faith is standing under what we hope for – in the second phrase we are living out what we say we believe.
Conviction – is faith in action. Conviction is acting upon our faith.
Let me show you what I mean – I’ll use Noah for as an example. Noah believed God. God said, “Noah, it’s going to rain. Which didn’t mean one thing to Noah because rain didn’t exist. That would be like God saying to you it's going to “fribble.” You’d say “ah, run that by me again. It’s going to fribble?” It wouldn't make a bit of sense because it didn’t have any meaning. “Noah, it’s going to fribble – it’s going to rain, water is going to going to begin dropping out of the sky.” Now Noah believed that. it had substance in his brain. That thing for which God had made promise became a reality because he believed it. That’s the first step. And I imagine that he sat around a lot just thinking in his mind, “Water out of heaven, I wonder how that'll work? I’m sure he probably struggled with it at first – “Water falling out of the sky? Water weighs around 8 lbs. a gallon. And it’s going to fall from the sky. How it the world would it get up there in the first place? Is there some kind of heavenly faucet or celestial plumbing system I can’t see?” God speaks to him about something he has never seen before – Now catch this – It is unseen – but at that point - it is not unknown. It is not unknown because God had spoke it to him.
Even though Noah had not yet seen it – he had conviction to act upon it. He built a boat. Now he’s got assurance – he’s standing under what he believes to be true – and he’s got conviction – he’s putting his faith into action – in other words – he is living out his faith and he starts building a boat – and he works on it for 120 years. While everybody saying, “Noah has gone bananas, he’s over there building a ship and he says he doing it because God said it’s going to rain – it’s going to fribble.” And I would bet that there were a lot of times during that better part of a hundred and twenty years that he said to himself, “Noah, Noah, what are you doing?” But he not only believed it he acted on it. And his faith shielded him – His convictions protected him from the storm that brought judgment to the rest of the world.
OK – so let me place you in Noah’s sandals for a few moments. 120 years of people mocking you and calling you names and the entire culture laughing at you saying, “You are a nut” They are saying, “Listen our best scientists have gotten together and studied the issue and we’ve found no evidence of it ever fribbling before. Fribbling doesn’t exist. You have no scientific data that fribble will ever arrive. On top of that, our philosophers have determined that you’ve invented the concept of fribble because it meets some deep psychological or emotional need in your life – but no modern intelligent men would believe in the concept of fribble. It has never fribbled before! – what makes you think it is going to fribble in the future?” Constantly attacking – constantly accusing – constantly shooting arrows at him. Doing every thing they could to try to cause doubt – fear – infuse disappointment. What could Noah say? “You’re right – It hasn’t fribbled in the past. And you’re right, I don’t have the wherewithal to prove to you scientifically that it will fribble in the future – but this one thing I know: GOD SAID. This one thing I know, “God Promised” “I stand on the promise of God.”
Noah has assurance – assurance is trust, confidence, security – a freedom from doubt. Now where does that assurance come from? It is established in his heart because he trusts what God has said more than what the world says. Why would a man do that?
Noah made a decision that the character of God was more trustworthy than the character of man.
Noah saw the same world the Lord saw. It says, The LORD saw how great man's wickedness on the earth had become, and that every inclination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil all the time. The LORD was grieved that he had made man on the earth, and his heart was filled with pain. (Gen 6:5-6) Noah’s decision to believe God wasn’t made in a vacuum. He looked at the world around him and so the sinful behaviors, the greed, the corruption, the selfishness & the pain that causes. And then he looked at the Lord. You see Noah had to know something about the character of his God. He had to know that God is completely trustworthy. That he never tells a lie. That God is faithful and he always keeps His word. He had to know that once God says he is going to do something he will not change his mind. You see assurance comes not only from knowing about God –but knowing God’s character. If you don’t understand the character of God – you will not have a shield of faith to protect you from the fiery darts of the enemy. You got on know and understand and accept that this God that we serve is loving and great and awesome and full of grace and mercy and desires good for your. That he is a good shepherd and watches over you and protects you and loves you. And like a good Father he disciplines us and molds and counsels us encourages us and guides us. That he intercedes on our behalf and even makes great sacrifice for us. You see that where the assurance comes from – it comes from knowing the character of God. His faith is grounded in the trustworthiness of God’s character.
Now Noah also had conviction – because he acted upon that which he believed. He was so convinced that what God had was true – even though the world kept firing those fiery darts of doubt, and skepticism at him – that he kept building that ark – he lived out his faith. His faith was his shield - both from the arrows of those who did not believe and the judgment that came with the flood. His faith enabled him to stand firm.
His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires. (2 Peter 1:3-4)
He has given us everything we need. What is lacking? Nothing. He’s equipped us – he’s prepared us – He’s revealed to us what is available to us. I looked up the word “everything” Know what it means? It means everything. Total sufficiency is ours in Christ. When we are born into the family of God by faith in Christ, we are born complete in Christ. God gives you everything you will ever need “for life and godliness.” Nothing has to be added! Where does that sufficiency come from? From our knowledge of His divine power. The word knowledge here is epignosis - this is knowledge gained by experience. There is knowledge gained intellectual understanding and there is a fuller more complete knowledge gained by understanding and experience. This is personal relationship knowledge. It’s that kind of knowledge that enables the believer to stand when the arrows are flying from the enemy.
Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.
It’s what God has spoken – what God has revealed that brings the believer victory. It’s on his very great and precious promises that we stand. That’s the defense. That’s what our faith is built upon. It stops every arrow of the enemy because every promise of God is backed up by the very character of God. Someone has estimated that there are at least 30,000 promises in the Bible.
Here comes an arrow of fear –“Fear not For I am with you”
here comes an arrow of doubt: And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him
– here comes an arrow of lust No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. 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 stand up under it. (1 Cor. 10:13)
– here comes an arrow of guilt – Let's have a feast and celebrate. 24For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate. (Luke 15: 23-24)
- here comes an arrow of worry “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Phil 4:6)
God has great and precious promises throughout his word which the arrows of the enemy cannot penetrate.
In Paul’s day, archers’ arrows were often wrapped in cloth and dipped in pitch or a tar-like substance. This pitch was ignited and the arrow was shot at the enemy. On impact, the pitch would spatter and start several smaller fires all around it. The large, Roman shields were especially effective at thwarting flaming arrows. It is said that in the heat of battle the shields often bristled with smoking arrows like roasted porcupines. Every day, Satan and his evil minions launch dozens of fiery darts at us. In our lifetimes as believers, we face hundreds of thousands of flaming arrows from hell.
Satan’s quiver is full of different kinds of arrows. For some, he shoots arrows of lust and that is the one that finds its mark. For others it’s the arrow of greed. Self-esteem, power, loneliness, worry, all of these are arrows that Satan has loosed on many men and women with deadly accuracy.
Ill of the temptation of Jesus in the wilderness – Christ has been fasting forty days and forty nights, led into the wilderness by the Spirit of God as God prepared Him for His ministry, at the end of that time Satan comes to Him to tempt Him. And how does he tempt Him? He tempts Him to not believe God, it's the same old deal, don't believe God, believe me. And this is the approach, take those stones and turn them into bread. Satan is saying, “God has forsaken you – God has abandoned you – don’t put your trust in God. Why are you out here in this wilderness? Why God said He would take care of You, God said He would sustain You, God said He would replenish Your needs and You're the Son of God, what’s going on? Grab some satisfaction You can't wait for God, He’s forgotten You.” You see it was a temptation to distrust God, a temptation to not believe God, a temptation to take things into His own hands. Then Satan said, “Look didn't God promise to make You the Messiah? Didn’t God promise that every knee would bow before You? Didn’t God promise that You’d be the King and, and all of these things didn’t God promise You homage and worship? – Where’s it at? Look at You out here, come with me and we'll go to the temple and You’ll dive off and they’ll say, wow, what a deal, this is the Messiah and You'll get all the stuff You’ve been looking for, and by the way didn’t God tell You He’d give You the kingdoms of the world? You’re not doing too well, You don’t have any of them, come with me and I’ll give them to You. In other words, don’t believe God He doesn’t keep His word, He didn’t give You the whole picture, He didn’t tell You the truth, - believe me, do it my way.”
Three times Satan attempts to tempt Jesus. Three times Jesus answer to him is what? “It is written” “It is written man does not live by bread alone.” It is written, “Worship the Lord your God and serve him only.” It is written, “Do not put the Lord your God to the test.” One arrow after another – It was faith that was his shield. It was his assurance in God’s character and his conviction that was his protection.
Ill - In the margin of many pages in D. L. Moody's Bible, he wrote the letters T and P, meaning “Tried and Proved.” He had put into practice passages (including precious and magnificent promises) from God's Word, proving that they “work”, which of course they always do. You too can try and prove God's wonder-working, supernatural, precious and magnificent promises that provide everything needed for life and godliness - He is the same trustworthy God to you as to D L Moody
What Are You Holding Up As A Defense To The Attacks From The Enemy?
The shield is faith, it’s made up of layer after layer of God’s promises fulfilled in our lives, it’s made to put out Satan’s fiery arrows. If you don’t have this shield of faith, you may get lucky and block an arrow now and then; but sooner or later a flaming arrow is going to sneak past and while you’re trying to put that one out, another and another will hit you until you are a burnt out, washed up, bitter, defeated Christian incapable of experiencing the joy and victory that is your in Christ.
- Every Shield Has To Be Tested.
Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. (James 1:2-4)
No Roman soldier would carry a shield made of cardboard. What good would it do to hold your shield up and have arrows come zipping right through it in the heat of battle? Nobody would do that. Great care would go into the construction of the shield because a person’s life depended upon it. Not just one – but many people’s lives. Because the moment one shield failed – the rest become vulnerable. The enemy is constantly trying to find people who carry a poorly constructed shield – he does that by sending temptations – his purpose is to destroy you. God on the other hand is constantly trying to better equip us – he wants the shield to stand and withstand every attack b y the enemy – so what does He do? He tests the strength and integrity of our shield. God builds your faith and my faith by testing it. He builds our faith by putting it to the test, by trying it. Faith is like a muscle and when it’s stretched and it’s pulled then it develops. Tested faith is strong faith. When you test your muscles against weights then your muscles develop. And your faith develops as it is tested. You don’t develop your faith just setting on your blessed assurance in church.
Every Shield Has To Be Strengthened
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. (2 Peter 1:5-7)
You don’t want a papier-mâché shield when the enemy is throwing flaming arrows at you. You want a shield that is battle worthy. Roman shields were built layer upon layer – each one laid up top of the next – each one lending strength to the next. This is exactly how God works in our lives.
For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. (2 Peter 1:8-9)
CLOSE: The shield of faith is the consistent application of what we believe about God to the issues of life. It all goes back as everything does in the Christian life, to your relationship to Jesus Christ. If it’s there; if it’s down deep in the heart. If you love God with all your heart, soul, mind and strength, if you believe that God is who He claimed to be, if you believe all that God’s promises that He gave to you are really true, then you’re going to stand – if not you need to make a decision today before you leave this room. God told Abraham “I am your shield and your very great reward” - Receive that today.
