Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (Ephesians 6:10-17 NIV)
The world seems like it’s on edge right now, doesn’t it? Our country seems like it’s on edge too. There was another assassination attempt. It kind of shakes you. “There are really people out there doing that?” Everyone seems tense. Across the world, thousands of people’s pagers suddenly exploded. It kind of shakes you, doesn’t it? “That’s possible? How did they do that?” It seems like people everywhere are preparing for war. The world seems like it’s on edge, doesn’t it?
And I hear Christian voices joining the call. Joining the call to be prepare for war. “Soon it’s going to be time to fight! Get your guns ready. It getting time for Christians to rebel. To revolt. To stand up for ourselves. To make people respect Christians again! Someone’s got to defend God in this godless world. We should do like they did back in the crusades. Christians should take back the world! Are you ready for battle?” Have you heard Christian leaders talk like that?
I hope you realize how completely foolish and faithless that kind of talk is. We Christians need to defend God with violence? Really? In the New Testament, do you know how many times a believer in Jesus used a sword? Just once. Once in the whole New Testament. Remember when? On Maundy Thursday evening, when Jesus was being arrested, Peter pulled out his sword and cut off someone’s ear. He was answering the call! He was going to defend Jesus. Except, do you remember what Jesus immediately said to him? “Put your sword back in its place.” Then Jesus added, “…for all who draw the sword will die by the sword” (Matthew 26:52). If you think you can fight Jesus’ battles with weapons, then Jesus says, “Expect to die by those same weapons.”
We Christians ought to know better. If we were actually paying attention to God’s Word, we would know better. Is the greatest enemy of Christianity one particular person? No. Is it one group of people, like a political party or a foreign country or a group of immigrants? Of course not! Listen: “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” If you think the struggle is Republicans against Democrats, you’re missing it. If you think the struggle is American citizens against foreigners, you don’t get it. Who is our struggle against? The devil and his demons. “Our struggle is not against flesh and blood…”
Can you shoot the devil with a gun? No. In fact, if Christians were to fight a war in America for Christianity, how many new converts to Jesus would we get? Zero. If, in the name of Jesus, Christians were to overthrow the government, would that help spread the gospel of Jesus? No way! The truth is, the devil would love for those things to happen. The devil would love to have Christians forsake the Word of God and pick up guns and kill people. The devil would love to have Christians disrespect authority and trample on laws and overthrow the government. In fact, that’s exactly what the devil is working for: Anarchy. Violence. War. Just as long as people don’t think about Jesus. Just as long as people don’t trust in Jesus. Can you see what he’s doing?
God wants us to. God wants to open our eyes. There’s a battle going on, but it’s not really people against people. The real battle is good versus evil. It’s God against the devil. And the devil does not fight openly. He schemes behind the scenes. The devil gets Christians to think about politics instead of God. He gets Christians to trust in guns instead of in God. He fills Christians with anger instead of with love. He gets Christians to be worried instead of hopeful. The devil is so good at his schemes. As Christians get sucked into politics, the devil runs wild behind the scenes.
Know what we really need? “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Let me say that again, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power.” Where does true strength come from? The Lord. “Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.” Like a Roman soldier needed armor, we need God to give us his armor. “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.” What we really need is the armor of God!
It starts with this: “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist…” Your belt holds everything together. What holds everything together? God’s truth. The devil is the “father of lies” (John 8:44), but Jesus said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31-32). The belt of “I think,” doesn’t hold your pants up. The belt of “my friends say,” doesn’t hold things together. If you want to withstand the devil’s lies, you need the belt of God’s truth buckled around your waist.
“With the breastplate of righteousness in place…” Of course, as armor goes, the breastplate is the most important piece. What does it protect? Your heart. So what protects your heart? What gives you peace in here? The breastplate of righteousness. When you believe in Jesus, God declares you righteous. “In the gospel, the righteousness of God is revealed—a righteousness that is by faith from first to last” (Romans 1:17). The devil loves to make you feel guilty. Sinful. Dirty. All those attacks don’t stand a chance against Jesus’ cross. You are forgiven. You are righteous in God’s eyes. Trusting that you are righteous before God by faith protects your heart.
“With your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” The prophet Isaiah once wrote, “How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say…, ‘Your God reigns!’” (Isaiah 52:7). The devil says, “You’re defeated. Look around. You can’t win!” But the good news of the gospel says, “No! Jesus won. The battle may be raging, but Jesus already won. Jesus defeated sin on the cross. He defeated death when he rose from the dead.” No matter what it looks like around the country, don’t be deceived. A Christian’s feet have good news to share!
“In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ancient Roman soldiers would carry a rectangular shield that was four feet tall and two and a half feet wide. They would soak it in water, so that flaming arrows didn’t damage it. That’s what faith in God does. The flames couldn’t stop the three men in the fiery furnace. The lions couldn’t stop Daniel. The giant Goliath couldn’t defeat David. Even the waters of the flood didn’t wash Noah away. How were they saved? By faith. All by faith in God.
“Take the helmet of salvation…” A helmet protects your head. Your brain. What protects your mind? Jesus’ salvation. Mind battles are the worst, aren’t they? This is where the devil does his dirtiest work. “Who could love you?” he says. God does! “You can’t do anything right. Aren’t you worthless?” No! Jesus died for you! “It’s over. Death is the end. There’s nothing more.” Not true! The one who believes in Jesus lives even though he dies. “You’re not going to make it. You’re not good enough. To hell with you!” That’s what we deserve, but Jesus saved us! God’s righteousness guards your heart, and God’s salvation is like a helmet to protect your mind.
I hope you’re noticing something. In this battle against the devil and his schemes, who is actually doing everything? God is. God is doing it all for us. God makes us strong. God puts his armor on us, like a father dresses his little child. The most foolish thing about how Christians talk today is the idea that we need to defend God. Just think about that for a second. God needs us to defend him? That’s crazy. The battle is the Lord’s! “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes.”
So where do we get this armor? God doesn’t say, “Go and look around and see if you can find a breastplate of righteousness.” Do they sell those at Walmart? Maybe Aldi’s? No! Do you know where you get this armor? You already have it. God has already given it to you. When? When you were baptized. “All of you who were baptized into Christ have clothed yourselves with Christ” (Galatians 3:27). When you were baptized, God clothed you with a belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness and the shield of faith and the helmet of salvation. You have it all in Christ. The full armor of God! That’s how you can stand. You are strong in the Lord!
Have you noticed that we haven’t heard about any weapons yet? The only weapon comes at the very end. “And the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” There is a sword. One sword. But it’s not even your sword. Whose sword is it? The sword of the Spirit. Who is going to do all the fighting? The Spirit. All the convicting and converting? The Spirit. All the changing of hearts and lives? The Spirit. And what is his sword? The Holy Spirit fights with the Word of God.
Brothers and sisters in Jesus, believe this! The one weapon that God has given to Christians is the Word of God. Physical violence has no place in the kingdom of God. Unlike a gun, God’s Word can kill and bring back to life. Both. I’ve seen it. I have seen the Word of God completely change hearts and lives. I have seen big strong men say they will never believe in Jesus and then after a few months of hearing God’s Word say they believe every word of it. No gun can do that. No sword can do that. Except this sword of the Spirit. The Word of God! If we really want this country to be different, there is only one thing that can accomplish that—the Word of God!
Know what I notice about politics? Nobody is saying this. Nobody! No candidate is running on a platform of the Word of God. No political leader is devoted to using the gospel of Jesus Christ to change people’s hearts and lives. No one! They are all fighting other battles. Their battles. Let them! Focus on the battle God’s given to us Christians. Instead of somehow trying to reclaim a country, focus on reclaiming people’s souls, one at a time. One by one. Using the Word of God.
Because there is a battle going on, but it’s not a battle for the soul of this nation. The nation doesn’t have a soul. Know who has souls? People do! The battle that matters is for people’s souls. They don’t need a certain president. They need the one and only Savior—Jesus Christ. So put on the full armor of God. See how God’s righteousness and salvation protect your heart and your mind. Then go and fight for someone’s soul. So that one soul more can have the truth and righteousness and peace and faith and salvation that only come from Jesus. So there can be one more soul in heaven. And one more. And one more. That’s a battle worth fighting. All to the glory of God. “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God.”
(To listen to this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior podcast, please click HERE. To watch this sermon on my Upside-Down Savior YouTube channel, please click on the link below.)
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