The Christian is in a daily battle with the three-fold enemy of the soul: Flesh, World, Devil.
We also fight the same battle for our children.
This passage tells us we are in a battle against dark, demonic forces all around us.
We are living in a time when evil is being glorified as good, and good is vilified.
- Children in schools are discouraged from prayer and bible reading, but encouraged to blindly accept that science has answers to the origins of life.
- Christianity is defamed as radical, and Islam is lauded as foundational for our nation.
- Traditional families are mocked, and “alternative lifestyles” are celebrated.
Al Mohler has described, a “massive moral revolution” happening in our nation.
- What once was lauded as virtuous is now considered heinous.
- What once was considered heinous is now lauded as virtuous.
Isaiah 5:20 “Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!”
We are in a daily battle, not only with our own sinful desires, but with a culture which is actively opposed to the God we serve — and by extension actively opposed to us.
John 15:18-19 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. [19] If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you.”
Question: Am I am conspiracy theorist? Yes. I believe there is a conspirator: Satan.
1 Peter 5:8 “Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour.”
Because we will be fighting this battle AND equipping our children for the battle, the Bible gives us an outline of the things which we need for the fight; Paul likens this to the armor worn by the soldiers of his day.
I. WE NEED PROTECTIVE GEAR
A. Breastplate represents our battle with guilt — keep the righteousness of Christ in our heart
- We are not righteous in ourselves; we are righteous because of the work of Christ
- Satan attacks our unrighteousness, and we must cling to Christ as our advocate
B. Helmet represents the battle with doubt—we keep our salvation in our mind
- Christianity is not a mere intellectual exercise; but it does begin in our mind
- We must have the mental confidence of who Jesus is and what He has done
C. Shield represents our battle with the devil — stand behind the faith which God has given us
- The world is constantly throwing flaming arrows in our direction (mocking, scorn, hatred)
- Our faith is the barrier which keeps those arrows from piercing us
II. WE NEED A WEAPON
A. Sword represents our offensive tool — battle our enemy not with our wisdom, but God’s Word
- The worst thing that people believe is that our battles must be fought with philosophy
- When faced with the Devil’s temptations, Jesus said, “It is written…”
III. WE NEED SOMETHING TO HOLD EVERYTHING TOGETHER
A. Belt represents our binding agent — we are confident that we are held together by truth
- The world says truth is relative; we say truth is held in God
- Truth is whatever is consistent with God’s perspective
IV. WE NEED A REASON TO ENGAGE THE ENEMY
Shoes represent our mission — we go out into the world and share the Gospel
Christians are not meant to live in monasteries or separate from the world
We are supposed to engage the world and transform it for Christ
CONCLUSION: I put the shoes last in my list because I think they are often overlooked.
We get excited about the sword and the shield, and the helmet and the breastplate.
But we often forget about the shoes.
Beloved, the shoes are our mission from God.
We have a mandate to tell the world that judgment is coming, and that Jesus Christ is the only Savior which God has given to man.
We are ambassadors for Jesus Christ.
After Paul speaks of our armor, he says these words…
Ephesians 6:18-20 “praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, [19] and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, [20] for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
Someone may say, “Well that was just Paul”…. but slow down… we are ALL ambassadors…
2 Corinthians 5:17-20 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. [18] All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; [19] that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. [20] Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God.”
If we really want to arm our children for the fight of their lives, we need to constantly be reminding them of the reason for the battle — and that reason is Jesus Christ.
We battle for the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
We battle against the greatest enemy of the earth.
We battle with the Armor of God, which He has given us so that we may stand.
