THE ARMOR OF GOD AND THE LIES OF THE ENEMY
Shield of Faith: Faith is the Opposite of Knowledge
Ephesians 6:10-18
#armorofGod
INTRODUCTION… Francis Shaeffer Quote, youngadults.ccphilly.org/is-faith-the-opposite-of-knowledge/
Francis Shaeffer (1912-1984) was an American theologian and philosopher and Presbyterian minister. He also lived much of his life in Switzerland. In his book, ‘He is There and He is Not Silent’ (1972), Francis Shaeffer speaks to faith with an interesting description [adapted]:
One must analyze the word faith and see that it can mean two completely opposite things. Suppose we are climbing in the Alps and are very high on the bare rock, and suddenly the fog shuts the hike down. The guide turns to everyone and says that the ice is forming and that there is no hope; before morning all will freeze to death on the shoulder of the mountain. Simply to keep warm the guide keeps everyone into the dense fog until no one has any idea of their location. After an hour or so, someone says to the guide, “Suppose I dropped down from the edge and hit a ledge ten feet down in the fog. What would happen then?” The guide would say that you might make it until the morning and thus live. So, with absolutely no knowledge or any reason to support his action, one of the group hangs from the mountain and drops into the fog. This would be one kind of faith.
Suppose, however, after moving into the fog and in the midst of the fog and the growing ice on the rock, all the hikers stopped and heard a voice: “You cannot see me, but I know exactly where you are from your voices. I am on another ridge. I have lived in these mountains for over sixty years and I know every foot of them. I assure you that ten feet below you there is a ledge. If you hang and drop, you can make it through the night and I will get you in the morning.”
I would not hang and drop at once, but would ask questions to try to ascertain if the man knew what he was talking about and if he was not my enemy. In the Alps, for example, I would ask him his name. If the name he gave me was the name of a family from that part of the mountains, it would count a great deal to me. In the Swiss Alps there are certain family names that indicate mountain families of that area. In my desperate situation, even though time would be running out, I would ask him what to me would be the adequate and sufficient questions, and when I became convinced by his answers, then I would hang and drop.
This is faith, but obviously it has no relationship to the other use of the word. As a matter of fact, if one of these is called faith, the other should not be designated by the same word.
ILLUSTRATION… Guy Richard Quote, ligonier.org/learn/teachers/guy-richard
Guy Richard is the President and Associate Professor at Reformed Theological Seminary in Atlanta. In his book ‘What is Faith?’ (2012) he says [adapted]:
Consider the following illustration [about faith]. Imagine three people are dropped without food or water into the middle of a very large field full of land mines. Suppose that one of the individuals blindly chooses a pathway through the field and then heads off in that direction without another thought. This is not an example of faith but something else that we might call silly. Genuine faith is not blind, but is based upon knowledge.
Suppose that a helicopter appears above the remaining two men and, from the helicopter, an interested party announces the way through the minefield. One of the men takes this interested party at his word and sets off at once through the field. Even this is not an example of faith. Yes, the man's actions are based on knowledge and they believe the guide is truthful, but it is not faith. There is a huge hole in what is going on… there is not personal trust in the one speaking.
Suppose, however, that the remaining two men ask the interested party certain questions in order to discern how he or she came to know the way through the field, why they want to help, and how positive they are to be a safe guide. In doing this, the two remaining men are gathering enough knowledge to decide whether they can trust the individual in the helicopter. This trust is built upon both knowledge and assent to that knowledge is what genuine faith is all about. Such faith is not at all "silly" but wholly reasonable.
ILLUSTRATION… blog.truthforlife.org/what-is-faith-and-what-its-not
Another good illustration about faith comes from Alistair Begg, pastor of Parkside Church near Cleveland Ohio:
A helpful illustration of biblical faith is marriage. Faith, like marriage, involves multiple stages. First, you must get to know the individual: you go out for dinner, you walk in the park, you listen to them talk, and you observe them with their family and friends. As you gain knowledge, you begin to ask yourself, “Could I spend my life with this person? Am I willing to commit myself to them?” Then, once you have satisfactory answers to these questions, you begin to tell yourself, “On the basis of the knowledge that I’ve gained, I am prepared to make a commitment. I want to move beyond mere knowledge and assent to trust. I want to give myself to them. I want to know them at the deepest possible level.”
Faith in Jesus Christ is most definitely trust and commitment and giving of our whole selves and deep and abiding. Faith in Jesus Christ is a relationship of trust.
FAITH
Our topic today is faith. Not faith that is blind or silly or uninformed or irrational or a blind commitment or an arbitrary feeling. The word faith is one of those words that has as many different definitions as people who are asked to define it. We could say “belief” or “trust in something not seen” or “complete trust in someone or something” or “strong beliefs in a religion” or “a strongly held belief.”
As I did last week, I would like to offer a Biblical definition of faith to keep in mind as we talk about faith and also talk about the shield of faith and the fiery darts of Satan that are shot at us trying to tear down our faith. Faith is “believing loyalty.”
CONTENT/ILLUSTRATION… M Heiser, Naked Bible Podcast #350 adapted]
One of my favorite Bible teachers uses this definition to drill down to what faith and our relationship with God through Jesus Christ is really about and I like it. “Believing loyalty,” how we relate to God generally and also through Christ in faith, “means we need to be loyal to what we believe. We need to be loyal to the Savior in Whom we believe.” This means we are loyal to the God Who enacted the plan of salvation. We follow in Christ. “We have faith in God and we have believing loyalty so we don’t choose another way of faith. We keep on believing. We don’t throw our loyalty—align our faith and our loyalty—with anything else because there is no other way of salvation.” That is “believing loyalty.” That is faith.
ILLUSTRATION… M Heiser, The Unseen Realm [adapted]
So, when we put this all together, “Salvation means believing loyalty to Christ, who was and is the visible [God]. There is no salvation in any other name (Acts 4:12), and [our] faith must remain intact [in Him] (Rom 11:17–24; Heb 3:19; 10:22, 38–39).”
TRANSITION
The Apostle Paul describes in Ephesians 6 a shield for us and in his metaphor of the Armor of God, he assigns faith to that shield.
SHIELD OF FAITH
The Apostle Paul, in his vivid metaphor of the Roman soldier in Ephesians 6, has a particular shield in mind. The kind of shield the Apostle Paul has in mind is one called a ‘thureon’ and was a 4.5 x 2.5 feet tall shield made out of a thick plank of wood designed for head to toe protection. In addition, the outside of the shield was often covered with metal or even heavy leather. From my reading, heavy leather was preferred because the soldiers could soak their shields in water and would be able to extinguish flaming arrows that were shot at them by enemies. Verse 16 describes such a tactic and is exactly what Paul is talking about. The large shields of the Roman soldiers were a movable wall that provided head to toe protection in battle.
Our shield as Christians is our faith.
Our shield as Christians is our belief in God.
Our shield as Christians is our believing loyalty to God in Christ by the power of the Spirit.
Our shield is that we are in the Kingdom of God and we live like it and believe like it.
Our shield is that we are citizens of Heaven and as such, we have certain beliefs.
This shield allows us to “be strong in the Lord” (verse 10), “stand against the schemes of the devil” (verse 11), “wrestle” (verse 12), “withstand in the evil day” (verse 13), “stand” (verse 14), “keep alert” (verse 18) and more than anything to “extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (verse 16). It is our believing loyalty to God that allows us to be sharp on the offense and on defense.
READ EPHESIANS 6:10-18 (ESV)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 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…”
TRANSITION
This passage describes to us a shield of faith for us to hold up as the fiery darts of the enemy rain down on us and as he schemes and plots to tempt us away from God. This is real tension and real struggle.
SCHEME OF THE DEVIL: FAITH IS THE OPPOSITE OF KNOWLEDGE
Satan would like us to think and believe several false things about “faith.”
Faith is blind and there are really no answers to anything. Satan wants us to think that our “believing loyalty” to God is blind and stupid and has no basis in reality. Yes, Hebrews 11:1 (ESV) tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” because God is unseen. Unseen is different than unknown or unknowable. Yes, God is unseen because we are physical and He is spiritual, but God is not unknowable. Our faith in God is based on much evidence, which we will talk about in a moment. Our faith in God is not blind because He can be known by us. A result in believing that faith is blind is that God and Jesus and the Bible and the Church actually offer no answers when it comes to difficult things. Faith is not necessary.
Faith is silly and irrational and only those who are weak and need a crutch have to believe in God. Our world run by the Father of Lies wants us to believe that we are the center of our existence and to have “believing loyalty” and rely on God is irrational and makes no sense. Psalm 14:1 (ESV) actually takes the opposite approach and says: “The fool says in his heart, ‘There is no God.’ They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.” Most of the time when someone says they think a belief in God is silly or irrational, there is more than likely a sin they just don’t want to give up. A result in believing that faith is silly or irrational or only for the weak is that a person wrongly concludes that faith is only for children and we can grow out of it.
Faith is uninformed and at best arbitrary or some kind of religious feeling. Satan wants us to ignore faith and to be what James 1 describes: “a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind” (verse 6). Satan wants us to rely on our feelings of closeness with God to show that we are real Christians. A result in believing that faith is uninformed or arbitrary or some kind of religious feeling is that a person will only go to church or read the Bible or pray when they feel like it or when their life crashes down and they expect God to make it all better.
Faith is also not a secret code for the type of church you attend. Faith also isn’t demanding God show us visible proof before we put our trust in Him. Faith isn’t for use only during a crisis and then put back on the shelf until the next time. Faith isn’t an ‘it.’ Faith isn’t trying to manipulate God through our prayers to make Him give us what we want out of the vending machine of life. Faith is not a positive mental attitude.
TRANSITION
Faith is believing loyalty to God in the Name of Jesus Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. We need to apply 2 Corinthians 13:5 (ESV) which challenges us: “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you? —unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”
So how do we combat this attack of Satan? How do we fight off the temptation to believe that faith is the opposite of knowledge? How do we strengthen our shield of faith? How do we dismiss the idea that faith is arbitrary or uninformed or a crutch for the weak or blind? I think we do it by having the right kind of faith… the right kind of shield.
APPLICATION
General Revelation: Look Around
You and I can build the right kind of faith by trusting in general revelation and just looking around us at the evidence that God exists. Our world is amazing and is not here by chance, but by His imaginative design. Our faith can be strengthened by properly looking around us.
Did you know that giraffe have the same number of neck bones as people?
Did you know a black bear can smell food 18 miles away and walk right to it?
Did you know elephants have more muscles in its trunk that we have in our whole bodies?
ILLUSTRATION… creation.com/charles-darwin-vs-the-eye
Even the human eye, a very complicated organ, is amazing. Charles Darwin himself realized that it seemed incredible that evolutionary processes had to explain human vision. He said:
‘To suppose that the eye with all its inimitable contrivances for adjusting the focus to different distances, for admitting different amounts of light, and for the correction of spherical and chromatic aberration, could have been formed by natural selection, seems, I freely confess, absurd in the highest degree.
READ ROMANS 1:18-23 (ESV)
For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. 19 For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. 20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. 21 For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. 22 Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
Specific Revelation: Object of Faith
You and I can build the right kind of faith by trusting in the specific revelation of Jesus Christ as the object of our faith. We do not have faith in an unknown God or a God Whose will is not known or Whose expectations are not known. We do not just have aimless faith, but we have faith in Jesus Christ Who is the image of the invisible God and demonstrated His love and dedication to us by not only living perfectly without sin, but also dying on purpose to save us.
READ 1 CORINTHIANS 1:20 (ESV)
For all the promises of God find their Yes in Him [Jesus Christ]. That is why it is through Him that we utter our Amen to God for His glory.
READ HEBREWS 3:5-7 (ESV)
Now Moses was faithful in all God's house as a servant, to testify to the things that were to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful over God's house as a Son. And we are His house, if indeed we hold fast our confidence and our boasting in our hope.
READ HEBREWS 12:1-3 (ESV)
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, 2 looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider Him who endured from sinners such hostility against Himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.
Keeping our eyes on Jesus as the object of our faith is what a relationship with God is all about. Keeping our eyes on Jesus as the object of our faith is believing loyalty in action. Jesus is the key of our faith that takes it from blind or silly or uninformed or irrational or a blind commitment or an arbitrary feeling to seen and serious and educated and rational and a sure commitment worthy of trust and faith rooted in life experience.
History: Conclusions
You and I can build the right kind of faith by adding in what history and archeologists find because those records show the Bible to be true and factual and historically accurate. Thallus, Phlegon, Josephus, Pliny the Younger, Tacitus, Hadrian, Suetonius, Lucian of Samosata, Mara Bar-Serapion, and Rabbi Eliezer are all examples of people who were NOT Christians in the years following the life of Jesus and yet factually knew about Jesus.
ILLUSTRATION… history.com/news/was-jesus-real-historical-evidence
For example, Tacitus (56-120) a Roman historian (not a Christian) wrote that Jesus was a real human being and stated facts about Jesus. Talking about the fire in Rome under Emperor Nero he wrote:
“But all human efforts, all the lavish gifts of the emperor, and the propitiations of the gods, did not banish the sinister belief that the conflagration was the result of an order. Consequently, to get rid of the report, Nero fastened the guilt and inflicted the most exquisite tortures on a class hated for their abominations, called Christians by the populace. Christus, from whom the name had its origin, suffered the extreme penalty during the reign of Tiberius at the hands of one of our procurators, Pontius Pilatus, and a most mischievous superstition, thus checked for the moment, again broke out not only in Judæa, the first source of the evil, but even in Rome, where all things hideous and shameful from every part of the world find their centre and become popular. Accordingly, an arrest was first made of all who pleaded guilty; then, upon their information, an immense multitude was convicted, not so much of the crime of firing the city, as of hatred against mankind.”
From other historians like Josephus (a Jewish historian), certain facts about Jesus come to the surface not from the Bible, but from other sources. To summarize what all these sources tell us:
1. Jesus was a real human being who lived.
2. The personal name of this human being was Jesus.
3. He was given the title Christ or Messiah.
4. He had a brother named James who was stoned to death for his faith.
5. Faith in Jesus won over both Jews and Greeks.
6. Jewish leaders of the day did not like Jesus.
7. Pilate rendered the decision for Jesus to be executed.
8. Jesus died by crucifixion.
9. Followers of Jesus died while singing to Him like He was a god.
None of those things come from the Bible but from historians and politicians and even Jewish rabbis just writing down facts that were present in their world. You see Christian faith is not blind faith or opposite of knowledge, but based in verifiable history and objective truth and real human lives.
Artifacts: Trustworthy Things
Christian faith is not blind faith or opposite of knowledge or factual evidence or even verifiable history. For example, old copies of the Bible exist and can be dated. For many ancient books, there are a few hundred copies or perhaps even a few dozen and we take them as historical and teach from them. For example, ‘Homer’s Illiad’ has 643 copies.
CONTENT…aleteia.org/2020/12/04/where-to-find-the-four-oldest-new-testament-manuscripts
Copies of the Bible have been found more than any other work of ancient literature. There are an estimated 5,800 ancient Greek manuscripts of the New Testament as well as thousands of others in languages such as Latin, Coptic, Syrian and Armenian. At current count as of 2018: 23,986 manuscripts and fragments exist.
For example: stored at the Sackler Library Papyrology Room of Oxford University in England, “Papyrus 90,” as researchers have named it, contains words from the Gospel of John in ancient Greek on both sides. Also kept at Oxford’s Sackler Library Papyrology Room, “Papyrus 104” dates to the 1st century and contains ancient Greek verses from Matthew 21:34-37 on one side and lines from verses 43 and 45 on the other side. There is also at the French Institute of Oriental Archeology in Cairo, Egypt, a manuscript that contains verses from the first chapters of the Book of Revelation and was probably copied in the year 100 in Egypt. Also, Papyrus 52 is on display at the John Rylands University Library in Manchester England and contains fragments of John 18:31-33 on the front side and parts of John 18:37-38 on the back.
Why do I mention these things? Because what is written on those Bible manuscripts from 2000 years ago matches exactly with what we have today. God’s Word is God’s Word and He protects His Word.
READ ISAIAH 40:8 (ESV)
“The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God will stand forever.”
SUMMARY
Our topic today has been faith. Not faith that is blind or silly or uninformed or irrational or a blind commitment or an arbitrary feeling, but believing loyalty that is based on knowledge and evidence and more than anything a trustworthy object of our faith… Jesus Christ. Our believing loyalty to Christ is our shield when Satan sends fiery arrows at us and tries to make us think faith is the opposite of knowledge or that faith in Christ is blind and dumb.
In all circumstances take up the shield of faith which is based on general revelation of God, focused on Jesus Christ our Savior, and is bolstered by historical facts and evidence with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
PRAYER
INVITATION
