In verse 14, Paul tells us for the
third time in this passage (vss. 11,
13) that we’re supposed to “take a stand” against Satan’s “schemes.” I
forgot to mention yesterday that the Greek word for “schemes” is methodeias, from which of course we get
the word “method.” This again emphasizes the fact that the Enemy’s main weapons
in his arsenal, the main tools in his tool-bag, are lies. When we believe his lies, he wins. He only has true
power over us and anyone else to the degree that we believe him instead of God.
But getting back to this issue of
taking a stand (which Paul repeats for emphasis), that brings up the question, “How?”
Our Adversary’s a lot more powerful than we are. John in one of his letters says
that the “whole world” is under his control. We can’t fight him using physical
weapons like bullets or bombs. So what do we use? We’re going to look at two
pieces of this armor per day to answer this question.
The first thing on Paul’s list of
our armor is “the belt of truth.” We’re supposed to have this “buckled around [our]
waist.” What is that? Of course, Paul’s original readers in the 1st
century would’ve known automatically what he was referring to. The Roman
soldier (the type of warrior who’d conquered the known world and who seemed
unbeatable) wore a loose tunic (which was common for a lot of people), and in
hand-to-hand fighting this type of dress could hinder you and thus get you
killed. So soldiers used a belt to tie up the loosely hanging material. The
belt held everything together, and thus anything that hindered the soldier was
tucked away.
What’s Paul mean when he says that
we need to buckle this belt of “truth” around our waist before we head into
battle? What “truth” is he referring to? Some scholars (like MacArthur)
interpret this rather as “truthfulness,” in other words as self-discipline and sincere
commitment that you need to win. That’s entirely possible, and since Paul doesn’t
elaborate on his metaphors here, we can only make an educated guess. Others say
(and I happen to agree with them) that this is talking about basic knowledge of
God’s truth. This understanding of God (as revealed in Christ) holds everything
else together as we enter the fray.
The second piece of armor is the “breastplate
of righteousness.” According to MacAthur, “The breastplate was usually a tough,
sleeveless piece of leather or heavy material with animal horn or hoof pieces
sewn on, covering the soldier's full torso, protecting his heart and other
vital organs.” If something got past the soldier’s shield, the breastplate was
his last line of defense before becoming a casualty.
What’s the “righteousness” he’s
referring to? Well, as believers our ultimate righteousness is Christ himself.
Before God he’s our only
righteousness, and we’d be really foolish
to claim any other. The only problem I have with that is that Paul is telling
us to enter the battle having put this breastplate on, indicating there’s a possibility that a foolish soldier in
Christ’s army might be dumb enough to take it off. We can’t remove that
righteousness from ourselves even if we wanted to.
But there’s a sense in which we need
to cultivate personal righteousness
or holiness. True saving faith
must and will begin the process of making us more like Christ in how we
think, talk, and act. Here
are just a few Scripture verses which talk about a personal righteousness, not the righteousness which is credited
to our account when we’re saved by faith.
So which is it, Christ’s righteousness
or ours? A case could be made for either one. While we don’t “take off” Christ’s
righteousness (in other words, we can’t lose our salvation), we can lose focus on
the full righteousness of Christ which he’s given us, and thus negligently lose
the protection that this knowledge protects our hearts with. When my Accuser approaches
me, I can refer him to the righteousness of Christ which is forever mine and
which isn’t dependent at all on my performance. And I need personal righteousness if I’m going into this battle. If there’s an
area of my life in which I’m not submitting to my Lord, that’s my “Achilles’ Heel.” That’s the chink in my armor, a point at which
he’s going to attack me.
Again, I don’t believe anyone can lose
their salvation, but the Bible certainly teaches that a Christian can—through
disobedience—lose a lot that’s precious to him. This battle has eternal
consequences, and if you’re like me, you need to take it a lot more seriously
than you have been. Let’s.
Lord Jesus, I know that the war’s been
won, and I know that I’m secure in your arms. But this is a real battle with
real souls at stake. By your grace, help me strap on your truth and your
righteousness and keep them on.
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