Armor Of God: Gospel of Peace / Faith / Salvation

Articles

Kevin Heaton
12/30/18 - Zephyrhills Bulletin

Armor Of God: GOSPEL OF PEACE

(Kevin Heaton)

“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. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the GOSPEL OF PEACE” (Ephesians 6:10-15).

The Gospel. The good news of salvation. A message of forgiveness. Redemption. Peace with God. The Gospel of Jesus Christ is the power of God to save any and all who believe and obey.

When I believe and obey the gospel I am saved. I then am to live by the gospel. Follow God’s instructions for my life. Be the kind of person He wants me to be. Godly. Holy. Loving. Serving. I am at peace with God because my sins are forgiven. I no longer have guilt. Fear is gone. I am abiding in God and He in me.

As Christians saved by the Gospel of peace we need to be ready to defend our faith in the gospel and share that faith with others. We have to be ready to stand strong against the forces of evil that seek to challenge us or put us down. Stand strong in the Lord. Stand strong in the gospel. Be ready to share the gospel with souls still lost in sin. We are the messengers of the gospel. We have to go out and spread the good news of salvation in Jesus Christ.

Are you walking with the gospel every day? Am I? Let’s do it. Be strong. Be ready.

Armor Of God: FAITH

(Kevin Heaton)

In the days of the Roman army men fought with swords, bow and arrows, and spears. The soldiers needed something to help protect and defend themselves against an attack. So they used a shield. They used their shields to block the blows of a sword or stop an arrow that had been shot at them. It was a vital piece of their armor.

In Paul’s imagery of the armor of the God in Ephesians 6 he tells us “in all circumstances take up the shield of FAITH, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one” (6:16).

Satan is shooting darts, arrows at us all the time. And those darts are on fire! He is trying to hit us with anything. He is firing everything he’s got. Temptation. Doubt. Fear. Paul tells us that we can protect ourselves by having faith in God. By trusting in God. Relying on the Lord. It is our faith in God that leads us to choose righteousness over sin. Hope over doubt. Joy over fear. With the shield of faith we can defend ourselves against all the attacks of Satan. His arrows will fall flat onto the ground. He will fail to hit us. We will win.

We need to be growing in our faith daily. It takes work and effort. Time and energy. Study and prayer. Our faith in God enables us to say no to sin. Without faith we will fail. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). The stronger our faith the bigger our shield. How big is your shield? How strong is my faith?

Satan is going to be shooting at us. Are we ready for it? Are we prepared in our faith? Are we protecting ourselves? Take up the shield of faith! Trust in God. Hope in God. Take strength in God. Be strong and courageous. Grow in faith. Strengthen your faith. By doing so you will save your soul from sin and death.

Armor Of God: SALVATION

(Kevin Heaton)

Hope. That’s the one thing that Satan wants to take from us. He wants to cause us to sin so that we won’t have hope of eternal life. He wants to cause us to doubt and fear. He wants to take our hope of salvation away from us. That’s why Paul said we are to put on the “helmet of SALVATION”(Ephesians 6:17a).

God has given us hope in Jesus Christ. We can confess our sins, repent of them and God promises to forgive us. He has promised us eternal life. He has assured us of that in His Word. In Jesus. And in His Spirit. We have to guard our faith and hope. We can’t let Satan take it from us. Satan is a liar. He is going to try to mess with our minds and draw us away from God. Don’t let him!

It is so important that we spend time in God’s Word and in prayer. That is how we keep our helmet of salvation on. We need to constantly remind and assure ourselves with God’s Word. Growing in faith, hope, and love. Keep your focus on God. Set your mind on things above in Heaven with God. Keep that helmet on tight and continue to fight the good fight.