Armor Of God: A Spiritual Battle / Truth / Righteousness

Articles

Kevin Heaton
12/23/18 - Zephyrhills Bulletin

Armor Of God: A Spiritual Battle

(Kevin Heaton)

This world has seen many, many wars and battles among men. Nation against nation. Peoples against peoples. Physical warfare. Fights. Weapons. Victory and defeat. We still see wars and battles being played out among men today. There have been critical wars throughout history with great consequences. Peoples have come and gone. Nations rise and fall. The world continues on.

But there has been a war being fought since the beginning of time that is far greater than any physical war among men. It is the longest, most vitally important battle over them all. It is the spiritual battle that all mankind must face. The fight for our souls. It has eternal consequences.

Paul reminds us of this spiritual battle when he writes in Ephesians 6:10-13, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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.”

You and I are in a spiritual fight against the forces of evil. Against sin. Against Satan and his army. We are in a fight for our souls. The devil is scheming against us all of the time. Satan wants us to lose our souls in eternal fire with him. But we have to fight against him and his schemes! We have to defeat Satan.

The only way we are going to be able to defeat the devil and sin is by going to God. Receiving strength and power from Him. Only by His might and power will we be able to win our spiritual battles. We are to take up the armor that God gives us. And stand firm in the LORD.

In the articles to come I want to spend time talking about the armor of God and what each piece of it is. What it means to us. How we use it in our daily lives.

The good news is that we can win! God has already defeated Satan through Jesus Christ. All we have to do is get on the Lord’s side. Victory is guaranteed by our God. If we faithfully trust Him and obey Him.

Armor Of God: TRUTH

(Kevin Heaton)

We are at war. Every day. Spiritually. Against Satan. The flesh against the spirit. Temptations abound. It is a fight for our minds. Our hearts. Our eternal souls. Paul reminded us of this spiritual battle when he wrote in Ephesians 6:10-13, “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 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. 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.”

Paul tells us we have to fight. We have to be strong. If not then we’ll lose our souls. The only way to stand strong is to put on the armor of God. The whole armor. If we do then we will save our souls by the grace and strength of God. So what is the armor of God? Thankfully Paul tells us.

The first thing he tells us to do is “Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth” (Ephesians 6:14a). TRUTH. The truth that God gives. God’s Word alone is truth (John 17:17). We are to listen to God’s truth and follow Him.

The opposite of the truth is a lie. Satan is filling this world with a lot of lies that are contrary to God’s truth. Eve gave in to a lie in the garden in Genesis 3. Ever since then mankind has been falling for Satan’s lies. He is the father of all lies. We are not to listen to him or anyone who proclaim lies.

Paul told the Galatians that even if he or an angel from Heaven came speaking anything contrary to what they had already been taught by the apostles then they were not to listen. God’s Word the Bible is truth and if anyone teaches anything that is contrary to what we find in the Bible then we are not to accept it.

Proverbs 23:23 says to buy truth and do not sell it. Don’t listen to lies and false doctrines of men. Listen to and abide by God’s truth. Nothing more. Nothing less. In doing so we can overcome Satan’s schemes to draw us away from God. Be faithful to the truths found in God’s Word. Make sure you are wearing truth at all times.

Armor of God: RIGHTEOUSNESS

(Kevin Heaton)

Satan is fighting for our hearts. His weapons are temptation and sin. He wants us to live in sin. When we sin, we lose. So can’t let Satan get to our hearts. We have to fight to protect our hearts. In order to do that we must wear the armor God gives us.

In addition to having the belt of TRUTH, we are to “put on the breastplate of RIGHTEOUSNESS” (Ephesians 6:14b).

We fight against sin by living in righteousness. We are not to be overcome by evil but are to overcome evil with good (Romans 12:21). God calls us to abandon the side of sin and instead live on His side. He calls us away from the forces of darkness to come into His marvelous light. We are to seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness (Matthew 6:33).

Satan is throwing all kinds of temptations at us in an attempt to get us to sin. Satan wants us to live a life of unrighteousness without considering the consequences. But sin leads to death (Romans 6:23). If we choose to sin then Satan wins. We have to choose righteousness. To live God’s way. We are to have righteousness in our hearts. If we live a righteous life then we will be protected from sin. We will be able to overcome the devil and all his schemes.

Put on righteousness. Live in righteousness. Don’t give up. Don’t give in to sin. Don’t let Satan win! Protect your heart with all that is good and right in the eyes of God.