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What is the “Flesh” in Romans 6:19?

By Jeremy Myers
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What is the “Flesh” in Romans 6:19?
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There is no such thing as a “sin nature.” The Bible never refers to the “sin nature.” It is a myth of modern theology. However, the Bible DOES teach a lot about the “flesh.” This study looks at Romans 6:19 (and other passages from Romans) to learn what the flesh actually is, and what we are to live in the Spirit rather than in the flesh.

Note that this study is an excerpt from my Gospel Dictionary online course. This course considers 52 key words of the Gospel and thousands of biblical texts. The course contains over 100 hours Bible teaching. You can take the course by joining my online discipleship group.

So let us see what we can learn about the flesh from Romans 6:19 and other texts.

The Flesh in Romans 6:19

I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh โ€ฆ

For when we were in the flesh, the sinful passions which were aroused by the law were at work in our members to bear fruit to death.

โ€ฆ So then, with the mind I myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin.

For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.ย Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

The concept of flesh is prominent in the Pauline epistles. In general, when Paul refers to the flesh, he is referring to โ€œthe whole of manโ€™s physical existenceโ€ (TDNT, VII:125). This not only includes the tissue that makes up the body, but also a personโ€™s mental capacities, inner anxieties, and physical strength. For Paul, the term flesh โ€œdescribes earthly life in its totalityโ€ (TDNT, VII:126).

As a result of this way of thinking, Paul frequently differentiates between the earthly life of the flesh and the heavenly life of the Spirit. The earthly life is not inherently evil or hostile to God; it is simply limited in its scope and understanding. The early life of the flesh lacks all of the information needed to make proper decisions about what is important in life and how to understand the events of life.

So, for example, when Paul writes in Romans 6:19ย about speaking in human terms because of the weakness of the flesh, he is simply saying that he is describing how life works from physical, earthly, and human perspective. When humans sin, we do not think we are giving up our freedom to the sin. To the contrary, sin often seems quite liberating. But Paul point out that this is only because of the weakness of our flesh (or mind, in this case), to understand what is really happening.

We only gain proper perspective about slavery to sin and freedom in the Spirit through the regeneration that comes as a result of the indwelling Holy Spirit (Romans 6:1-14). The spiritual awakening and understanding that comes through Spirit baptism helps us see the world, ourselves, and our slavery to sin in a whole new light. Prior to this awakening, the flesh is unable to fully comprehend or grasp the danger of giving ourselves over to sin. But the way of slavery to sin is the way that leads to death (Romans 6:21-23).

This concept of ignorant flesh leading to sin and death is further explained in Romans 7.

The Flesh in Romans 7:5, 25

In Romans 7, Paul also shows how the law works together with the flesh to bring about sin and death. The flesh, being ignorant of the ways of the Spirit, loves to focus on externals as a way to determine what is right and wrong. The law is only concerned with external actions and behaviors. One can keep the whole law, and yet still not have the true, inner change of heart that is wanted and desired by God. This is why God did not want or desire to give the law to the people of Israel. He wanted a relationship based on love, rather than a religion based on law.

But when the law is followed in the blindness of the flesh, it leads a person to think that they are doing what God wants, and are therefore, โ€œin the rightโ€ with God. It further allows people to judge, accuse, and condemn other people for not obeying the law. Such condemnation and accusation leads them into a life of death. They themselves do not accomplish what God actually wants in life, but instead die to His purposes and plans for them.

Furthermore, as a result of their judgment of law-breakers, they feel justified in their zeal to call for the condemnation and killing of people whom they view as the enemies of God. The law and flesh work together to create a religion based on death. The โ€œsinful passionsโ€ that Paul speaks of in Romans 7:5, therefore, are not primarily the passions of lust and sensuality, but the zealous passions of religion which lead people to kill and condemn in Godโ€™s name.

In Romans 7:25, Paul contrasts the law of God with the law of sin. His mind, that is, his spiritual mind, serves the law of God, but his flesh serves the law of sin. Paul has already pointed out that the law of sin is the religious Mosaic Law that is based on externals. This means that the law of God cannot be the same as the religious law. Rather, the law of God is a spiritual law written upon the heart of the regenerate person. It is not based on a list of things to do, but on a relationship of love for God and others.

The Flesh in Romans 8:6-7

As a result of living according to the law of God, all condemnation and accusation is done away with. We are not condemned; nor do we condemn (Romans 8:1-8). It is only the fleshly, carnal mind that is still focused on the externals of the religious law of sin that condemns and accuses others. This way of life, as Paul already stated, leads only to death for all involved.

But true life and liberty is found by allowing the Spirit to work with our mind and show us what God really wants for us in life (Romans 8:6-7). We live our best life when we do not allow our fleshly mind with its limited perspective to rule and dominate, but instead allow the illuminating Spirit to guide our thoughts and actions so that we love, accept, and forgive others, just as God loves, accepts, and forgives us (Romans 8:16-17, 26-39).

The carnal mind therefore, is not evil. It is not the โ€œsin nature.โ€ It is simply ignorant. It does not have all the information about God and His true will for lives. The carnally minded person sees only externals, and bases its life and actions toward others on the external commands of religious law.

But this way of living results only in death. It is death for the person because they are not โ€œaliveโ€ as God intended or desired, and it is death for others because living according to the law of sin leads a person to condemn and kill others in the name of God. They think this is what God wants, but it is actually the opposite.

The spiritually minded person sees the whole truth, and knows that living like God means loving like God.

The Gospel DictionaryUnderstanding the Gospel requires us to properly understand the key words and terms of the Gospel. Take my course, "The Gospel Dictionary" to learn about the 52 key words of the Gospel, and hundreds of Bible passages that use these words.

This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: carnal, carnality, flesh, sin nature, spiritual living, spirituality

Study the Bible this Year

By Jeremy Myers
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Study the Bible this Year

I will be returning to publishing my Bible Studies and podcasts next week so you can learn the meaning of some tricky passages in Scripture. Hopefully these studies will continue to help you in your spiritual growth in 2020 the way they have for the past 20 years.

Can you believe it? I’ve been writing and teaching online for TWO DECADES!

If you want to study Scripture along with me and maybe even learn how to better study the Bible, let me recommend two resources.

1. Join my Discipleship Group

When you join my discipleship group, you get immediate access to ALL TEN of my online courses. Plus you get free ebooks, free audiobooks, and a numerous other resources to help you follow Jesus into the world.

How to study the BibleOne of the courses is about how to study the Bible. In this course, I walk you through some of the things you need to know to study the Bible and how I go about studying Scripture. This course is valued at $197, but you can start taking it for free after you join my discipleship group.

Can’t wait to see you there!

2. Get Logos Bible Software

Along with my ten courses, I’ve written nearly 20 books, and I publish a weekly podcast and blog article. People sometimes ask how I get so much done. One thing that has helped me is using Bible software. Right now, my preferred Bible software package is Logos Bible Software.

And for only two more days, you can get 20% off any of the base packages.

But that’s not all! Logos has extended their Christmas sale for two more days as well. Many of their best sets of commentaries and resources are now 40%-60% off. For example, you can get the entire NIV Application Commentary set (Old and New Testament) for only $399. This is 60% off the regular price of $999.

Furthermore, if you have Logos Bible Software, they are giving away three free books for Christmas.

  • Brazos Theological Commentary on the Bible: Acts
  • God Is in the Manger: Reflections on Advent and Christmas
  • Catena Aurea: Commentary on the Four Gospels, Volume 1: St. Matthew

If you already have Logos Bible Software, make sure you snap up those three free books today.

And guess what? I am partnering with Logos to give you even MORE free books. If you purchase Logos Bible Software through my partner page, they will give you five additional free bonus books. You can also use my Promo Code “REDEEMINGGOD8” at checkout to get these five free books as well.

And yes, when you buy through my link, Logos sends me a small referral commission. So this helps me out as well. Thanks!

Logos Bible Software appsI know this entire post sounds a bit like an advertisement. I’m sorry about that. But I want you to know that I would never recommend anything I don’t believe in or use in my regular study of Scripture. Logos Bible software is the best Bible study software suite available today. So if you want to study Scripture along with me in 2020, I highly recommend this Logos Bible software. Get it today and get studying!

If you have any questions about the software, let me know in the comments below.

See you in 2020!

God is Redeeming Scripture Bible & Theology Topics: bible software, Bible Study, Logos Bible Software

Give the Gift of Bible Study for Christmas!

By Jeremy Myers
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Give the Gift of Bible Study for Christmas!

HermeneuticsI read and study Scripture every day, not only for personal and spiritual growth, but also because I like to teach others what I have learned from the Bible.

As I study, I normally like to read and study using paper books, but in recent years, I have found that Bible study software is increasingly helpful. Bible study software reduces the time I spend reading and studying, and also helps me use the powerful search functions.

In the past, I have used two different Bible study software resources: BibleWorks and Logos Bible Software. I used BibleWorks for Greek and Hebrew studies, and Logos Bible Software for everything else.

But BibleWorks has gone the way of the Dodo. They shut down last year and will no longer be selling their software.

Thankfully, Logos has me covered. They have an excellent suite of original language tools for my Greek and Hebrew studies.

So if you are looking for a good piece of software to help you study Scripture, the choice is easy: Logos Bible Software is the way to go.

I’m telling you this because right now, they have a great bunch of sales running for Christmas. They have the 12 Days of Logos Christmas where some of their most popular study resources and commentary sets are on HUGE discounts. Some sets are 80% off!

If you don’t yet have Logos Bible Software, you can get it through my link here and get a discount off any of the software packages. And when you use my link, you also get several free books to go along with your purchase.

 

Logos Bible Software apps

I do want to tell you that if you use my link, I get a referral commission. But I would never recommend something to you that I do not use or endorse. So when you use my link, you get a good discount and free books, and you also support the work I am doing through my own teaching and writing. Thank you!

Logos Bible Software would be a great gift to give to someone for Christmas. Maybe to your pastor, parent, or seminary student in your life! Just chat with the good people over at Logos about how to give the gift of Logos to someone else for Christmas. And if you talk to them, remember to mention me and my referral code: REDEEMINGOD8

And remember to take advantage of the 12 days of Logos Christmas sales! I have never seen these sets of books priced this low! Merry Christmas!

God is Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: Bible Study, Bible Study software, Logos Bible Software

Speaking with God in Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:18-20)

By Jeremy Myers
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Speaking with God in Spiritual Warfare (Ephesians 6:18-20)
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Although we have already learned about the six pieces of spiritual armor which Paul mentions in Ephesians 6, there is still one vitally important element left. It is not exactly a piece of the armor, but it is nevertheless, still essential for victory on the field of battle.

It is the ability we have to call in โ€œair supportโ€ from heaven. It is prayer. Prayer is the messaging system between God and ourselves.

In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul writes about prayer. He writes about the importance of communicating with God and allowing God to communicate with us.

As we look at this final element of the spiritual warfare, we will consider it as we have the six pieces of armor. We will look at how messaging worked for the Roman military, how it works for us as soldiers of Jesus Christ, and then finally, how we can start communicating better with God and allowing Him to communicate with us.

Messaging for the Soldier

Communication is key on the field of battle. Commanders need to send instructions to their solders, and the different commanders of different units need to communicate with each other to coordinate their attacks and to help each other out as needed.

To achieve these goals, the Roman military used a variety of methods for sending messages. When they needed to send a message over a short distance, they would use runners. Roman officers always had a team of runners whose job it was to carry messages from one part of the battlefield to another. They would deliver these messages either verbally or with waxed tablets.

But sending a runner was not always the best option. Runners could not be used when the distance was too far, when the message was too urgent, or when enemy forces were in the way. So the Roman military devised an ingenious solution for such situations. They developed a system of communication which could quickly send short messages over long distances and even to other units that were separated from the main force.

The Romans developed an early form of text messaging using two sets of five flags. The flags were bright red with the numbers 1-5 painted on them, and were fixed to poles about 12 feet in length. The military then arranged the Latin alphabet into a grid of five columns and five rows, assigning each letter to one box on the grid.

So the โ€œAโ€ was in the first box which had a numerical value of 1-1 (Row 1, Column 1), the โ€œBโ€ in the second box with a numerical value of 1-2 (Row 1, Column 2), the โ€œCโ€ in the third box with a numerical column of 1-3 (Row 1, Column 3), and so on. Then they would send letter-by-letter messages using the numerical values of the alphabet. At night, they used torches instead of flags to accomplish the same goal, raising one to five torches to indicate the rows and columns.

To send a message, the sending side simply had to spell it out using the flags and alphabetical grid. The receiving side would write the message down on a wax tablet and pass it on to the commander.

With such methods, the Roman army was able to communicate back and forth. Commanders could send messages to each other and to their soldiers, and in so doing, all the parts could work together as a unified whole. This was one of the things that helped the Roman military gain victory on the field of battle.

The downside to this sort of messaging was that it was time consuming and could only be used to send short messages. Rather than send a message which said, โ€œThe enemy is in full retreat with our legions in pursuit,โ€ they would instead say, โ€œEnemy retreat.โ€

Even that short message would take a minute or two to send. But it was better than no messaging at all.

However, in Ephesians 6:18-20, if Paul is indeed hinting at another tool that is at our disposal for spiritual warfare, then the method of messaging that is available to us is not time consuming, is not slow, and is not for short messages only. Let us look at what this form of messaging is for the Christian.

Messaging for the Christian

In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul invites his readers to pray. Prayer is the Christian form of messaging. It is how we receive messages from God, and send our messages to Him. Prayer is how we ask for help, make our needs known, and seek help for other people around us.

This is the third time Paul has written about prayer in his letter to the Ephesians. He previously asked for prayer in Ephesians 1:15-23 and then again in Ephesians 3:14-21. So Paul mentions prayer at the beginning, middle, and end of his letter.

For Paul, prayer is the beginning, middle, and end of life and ministry. And in all three of these section, Paul writes that one of the main things he prays for, and one of the main things the Ephesian Christians should pray for, is power. Power from God. Power for our lives. Power to live. Power to defeat the enemy.

power prayer

Why power? Because are engaged in spiritual warfare, and if we are going to stay on our feet against the enemy forces arrayed against us, we are going to need power. And one of the best ways to receive power is to pray for it.ย  Prayer is what enables us to fight back against the enemy.

In his book (#AmazonAdLink) Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote that this world is enemy-occupied territory and that Christianity is the story of how the rightful king has landed, and is calling us all to take part in a great campaign of sabotage. And it is primarily through prayer that much of this sabotage takes place.

But many Christians donโ€™t think of prayer as warfare activity in which we sabotage the enemyโ€™s plans and goals. This is seen in where and how most Christians pray. The attitude of many Christians is that prayer should be a peaceful, soothing practice.

I have been in churches where there are prayer closets. Some peopleโ€™s homes have prayer corners, or prayer nooks. Usually, these areas have the dim lighting, cushioned seats, and padded kneelers. There is soft music playing above, some stained glass windows, a little counter for your Bible and pencils, and a cup holder for your latte.

But prayer is warfare activity. A prayer closet should be a foxhole, with sandbags and bullet shells. Why? Because prayer is not a leisure-time activity; it is a wartime activity. Prayer is not chatting on the phone with God as we stroll through a bed of tulips; it is the frantic radio calls of a platoon under heavy fire calling for air support: โ€œGod! Send help! We need your intervention, and we need it now, or we are not going to survive!โ€

It is often helpful to band together with other Christians in this sort of prayer. When the pioneers headed west, they would always situate their wagons into a circle to provide better protection. We should do that as well in prayer.

When we pray, it is wise and helpful to pray with others. This doesnโ€™t make our prayers more powerful or effective, but it is helpful to know that we are not alone in calling to God for help. We are in a war and we need to pray like it.

So prayer the Christian form of military messaging. Through prayer, we communicate with our commander, calling for help and aid, and we also receive instructions and directions from Him, for how to proceed and what to do in battle. In Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul provides several instructions about what to pray for and how to pray. So let us to see how to engage in messaging with God.

Messaging with God

(#AmazonAdLink) The greatest problem with prayer is that many Christians donโ€™t know how to pray or what to pray for. Quite often, they have picked up some seriously bad habits about prayer from their parents, their pastor, or their church. In my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Prayer?, I write about a lot of these habits, and also explain why prayer should not be mysterious or difficult.

Prayer is not a magic incantation, where if you say the right words in the right way, God is required to act on your behalf. As I reveal in my book, prayer is nothing more (and nothing less!) than simply talking to God as you would talk to any other person.

And if prayer is simply a form of communication with God, then this means that prayer not only involves talking to God, but also involves allowing Him to talk to us. Prayer is not a monologue, but is a conversation with God.

So it is not surprising that in Ephesians 6:18-20, Paul writes about both aspects of prayer. Ephesians 6:18 provides instructions about talking to God in prayer, and Ephesians 6:19-20 gives instructions about how to hear from God. We will begin by looking at Ephesians 6:18, and how to communicate with God.

What is interesting about Ephesians 6:18 is that just as the Roman military used five numbered flags to help communicate with other parts of the military, Paul lists five things in Ephesians 6:18 about how to use prayer in spiritual warfare. Just as there were five flags in the Roman military, Paul lists five elements to praying as God wants. Let us consider them one at a time.

Perpetual Prayer (Ephesians 6:18a)

The first two words of verse 18 are praying always. The first aspect to warfare prayer is that it should be perpetual. We must constantly be in communication with God.

This is similar to what Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 that we should โ€œpray without ceasing.โ€ This does not mean that we should always be on our knees praying, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. But you can communicate with God about anything, at any time, and in any place.

You donโ€™t kneel, close your eyes, and fold your hands when you talk to anyone else, so you donโ€™t need to do this with God either. But you can talk to anyone else as you go for a walk, drive your car, work out, eat your meals, and go about your day. So also with God.

As we go about our day, we are to maintain a constant and perpetual sense of Godโ€™s presence and say in communication with Him always.

This is the truth that Brother Lawrence writes about in his book, (#AmazonAdLink) The Practice of the Presence of God. Since God is invisible, it does indeed take some practice to keep your mind and thoughts focused on the presence of God throughout your day. But it can be done.

As you begin to develop the recognition that God is always be your side, and you can always be in communication with Him, you will come to realize that He wants to have an ongoing dialogue with you. As this happens, you will find that all of your thoughts can be transformed into prayers.

As you drive to work, you can thank him for the job you have, and the car to get there. As you walk your dog, you can thank him for the companionship of animals, the beauty of the clouds in the sky and the birds in the trees. As you eat your lunch, you can thank him for the food and the wonder of taste. And whenever you face struggles, fears, questions, doubts, or temptations, you can cry out to God for help, strength, courage, and the power to resist.

Another key to aid you in praying without ceasing is to do away with the set times and places for prayer. I personally recommend doing away with prayer closets and prayer meetings. Such places and times subconsciously train us to hold off on praying until we are in one of those places and at one of those times.

When we become aware of a need in the life of a friend of family member, rather than pray about it right then and there, we tend to think to ourselves, โ€œI must remember to bring this up at the prayer meeting on Wednesday night.โ€ But why wait? When a need is made known to you, pray about it right then and there! Since God is always with us, we can always talk to Him about anything. Recognizing this truth is the key to perpetual prayer.

So the first step to warfare praying is to pray always. As we go about our lives, seeking to live for Jesus and stand against the devil, we must be in a perpetual state of prayer with God so that we can communicate with Him about our needs and struggles, and also so that He can communicate with us.

But what sorts of things should we pray for? Paul gets into this next. The second aspect to prayer is that it should be petitionary.

Petitionary Prayer (Ephesians 6:18b)

In the second part of Ephesians 6:18, Paul tells us to pray with all prayer and supplication. The first term, prayer, refers to general requests, whereas the second term, supplication (some translations have petitions or requests), is a word for specific prayer needs.

So Paul is just calling us to pray for all different types of requests and needsโ€”general and specific. Most Christians automatically make requests to God in prayer, and we often naturally transition between general and specific needs. For example, someone might pray generally for all missionaries around the world, but then also pray specifically for a certain missionary family and a specific need that they have.

Since it is obvious and natural for Christians to pray for general and specific needs, why does Paul even bring it up? I think it because our prayers are often too โ€œphysical.โ€ Christian prayer is often limited to the physical needs of ourselves and other people. If you listen to most prayer requests of most Christians, they primarily ask for prayer about sicknesses and money. They want their spouse to recover from the flue, their mother to have a successful surgery, and for themselves to find a job so they can pay their bills.

 

Prayer Requests

There is nothing wrong with such prayers, for all of our needs can be expressed to God, but such prayers only scratch the surface of what God wants us to pray for. In the context of spiritual warfare, God wants us to move past such prayers for physical needs, and start praying for greater power, influence, and courage to stand up against darkness, defeat temptation, and spread the light of Godโ€™s love to those around us.

As you look at what Jesus prayed for, what Peter prayed for, and what Paul prayed for, you see that they focused their prayers on the issues, needs, and requests that would break down the walls of the enemy, give spiritual sight to those who were blinded by Satan, and set free those who were enslaved to sin and the devil.

Warfare prayer is not primarily prayer about sick family members and unpaid bills, but is about the kingdom of God overtaking the kingdom of darkness on this earth.

Sometimes, I think that we only pray for health and financial needs because these are the needs that are foremost on our minds. If you are unsure what else you can be praying for, there are a couple things you can do.

The first is to draw your prayer requests from Scripture. You can do this by praying the biblical prayers of Jesus (cf. John 17), Paul (cf. Eph 1:15-23; 3:14-21), or other biblical characters (cf. Dan 9:3-19), but you can also simply pray Scripture itself. As you read through one of the prophetic books, or any of the letters of Paul, Peter, or John, you can take the teachings and ideas in those texts and change the wording around into prayers. This is a wonderful and easy way to pray according to the will of God.

But secondly, we can also learn to listen to what the Holy Spirit is speaking to our hearts so that we can pray according to the Spirit. This is the third flag in Ephesians 6:18 about how to pray to God. As we pray in the Spirit, our prayers will be powerful.

Powerful Prayer (Ephesians 6:18c)

When we pray, and whatever it is we pray for, the true effectiveness, the true answers to prayer, come when we are praying in the Spirit. This is not a reference to praying in tongues. Instead, the context reveals that praying in the Spirit refers to something else entirely. We see this in two ways.

First, by going back to Ephesians 5:18, we remember that being filled with the Spirit means to be controlled by the Spirit. In the context of Ephesians 5:18, one of the things the Spirit does is helps us sing songs, hymns, and spiritual songs. Songs, hymns, and spiritual songs are nothing more than prayerful words put to music. So Spirit-filled prayer is when the Holy Spirit guides and informs the words that come out of our mouth when we pray and sing.

But secondly, and in the more immediate context, we learned from Ephesians 6:17 that the sword of the Spirit is the Word of God. This means that when the Holy Spirit guides the words the come out of our mouth, these words will be based upon the truths and ideas of Scripture.

Spirit-filled prayer is Scripture-filled prayer. When we pray in the Spirit this way, we can know that we are praying according to the will of God. Prayers from Colossians 1 for our families, Romans 12 for fellow Christians, and Ephesians 4 for the church will always be powerful and effective prayers because such prayers are led by the Spirit, informed by Scripture, and in accordance to the will of God.

When we pray according to the will of God as it is recorded in Scripture, this helps us learn to pray according to the will of God for things that are not specifically mentioned in Scripture. As we following the guidance of the Holy Spirit in praying Scripture, we learn what God wants and doesnโ€™t want, and discover the way God thinks about various subjects and ideas.

This growing intimacy with the heart of God allows us to pray with better passion and certainty for other areas in our life, such as where we live, what kind of job we hold, what God thinks of current events, and how He wants us to get involved in our community.

As we go about our day, the Spirit helps inform us about how we should pray and what we should pray for. As we see a need in our community, or hear about an issue that a friend is facing, the Spirit gives us wisdom to know what words to use as we bring these needs and issues before God in prayer.

Even when we are unsure in our own human wisdom about what to say, the Spirit gives us the words to pray according to the will of God (Rom 8:26-27), so that God will respond with power to bring answers to our prayers. All of this brings great power and efficacy to our prayers, for if we are praying according to the will of God, then we know that our prayers will be answered.

After all, Jesus promised in John 16:23 that if we ask for anything in His name, it will be given to us. This doesnโ€™t mean that if we tack on the magical words โ€œIn Jesus name we prayโ€ to the end of our prayers that we will receive what we pray for.

No, to pray in the name of Jesus means to pray for the things Jesus Himself would pray for. It means to pray as if Jesus Himself was praying through us. When we pray in Jesusโ€™ name, it means that we should only pray for the things Jesus Himself would pray for, which means we should only pray for things that are according to the will of God.

A similar truth is taught in 1 John 5:14-15, which says, โ€œNow this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.โ€ The Holy Spirit teaches us to pray according to the will of God. And when we pray according to Godโ€™s will, we will receive the things we ask for. This makes Spirit-guided prayer extremely powerful!

John Wesley boldly stated that God does nothing but in answer to prayer. Wesley statement is a bit of an exaggeration, for it appears from Scripture that much of what God does, He does without anyone praying for it, but John Wesley has hit on something that few Christians really grasp. Prayer is an aspect of omnipotence that God has granted to us.

The more we pray in the spirit, or according to the will of God, the more is accomplished. There truly are some things God will not do unless we pray. When God works in human history, and in our lives, prayer is one of the central variables God takes into consideration.

Spirit-guided prayer is powerful prayer. Such prayer is the pipe-line to the power of God. Such prayer is the power that moves the world, changes history, and accomplished Godโ€™s will on earth. There truly is power in this sort of prayer.

So when we pray, it must be in the Spirit, according to the will of God. Such powerful prayer becomes exponentially more effective when we persevere in prayer, which is the fourth flag to messaging God.

Jonah 2:10 prayer

Perseverant Prayer (Ephesians 6:18d)

Ephesians 6:18 goes on to say that we must be watchful to this end with all perseverance. This means that we must continue to pray and keep on praying until we have received what we have asked for in prayer.

Persevering in prayer may be one of the more difficult aspects of prayer because it sometimes seems that we repeat the same prayer requests over and over to God, with little indication that He hears or is doing anything to grant our requests.

Furthermore, if God is all-powerful, then why would asking Him for something ten times (or a hundred) be more effective than asking Him only once? Is prayer a game with God by which He sees if we really want something before He responds and grants what we ask?

Some believe that Luke 18:1-8 teaches the importance of persevering in prayer. In this text, Jesus tells a parable about a widow who is trying to get justice from an unjust judge. According to this story, though the judge tried to ignore her, the widow finally received from him the judgment that she wanted. How? She was grated her request only because she constantly badgered the judge until he gave her what she wanted so that he could get some peace and be left alone.

This is a confusing parable because it appears to teach that God is an unjust judge who ignores the needs of His people until they annoy Him with their constant requests. But we know this understanding of the parable must be wrong, for God is not an unjust judge. He is the exact opposite.

The proper understanding of this parable emerges when we realize that Jesus is not comparing God to the unjust judge, but is rather contrasting God with the judge. Unlike the judge, God is as a loving Father, a kind and gracious God, who loves to hear and answer our prayers and do what is right for us. God does not give us a stone when we ask for bread, or a serpent when we ask for fish (Luke 11:11). Instead, God loves to give good gifts to His children. So although Luke 18 is sometimes used as a parable to teach about the importance of persevering in prayer, it actually teaches the opposite.

So then why should we persevere in prayer? If we are praying according to the will of God, why doesnโ€™t God immediately and quickly grant the requests we present to Him. There are three possible reasons.

First, it is possible that God did immediately answer our request, but various aspects of spiritual warfare are keeping Godโ€™s answer from getting to us. This, after all, is what the angel tells Daniel in Daniel 10. Daniel prayed for 21 days, and God sent the answer to his prayer immediately, but the fallen angel of Persia stood against the angel bringing the message to Daniel (Dan 10:12-13).

So although Danielโ€™s prayer was answered on the first day, the angel could not get through for three weeks. Danielโ€™s perseverance in prayer enabled the angelic realm to be victorious over the forced arrayed against them, and bring the message through to Daniel.

Daniel 10 seems to teach that what goes on in the spiritual realm may significantly affect how, when, and even whether or not God can answer any given prayer. Due to spiritual warfare, perseverance is required to receive answers to some prayers.

Second, it is possible that some requests are not granted by God because they do not fully line up with Godโ€™s will or Godโ€™s timing. In such situations, God might want us to wait until He grants our request, or to change our heart so that we donโ€™t make the request at all.

Either way, perseverance in prayer will maintain the lines of communication with God which will eventually allow us to see Godโ€™s perfect timing for our request, or will allow us to change our heart so that it is more in alignment with the heart of God.

prayer lifeThis bring up the third reason some prayers require perseverance. Sometimes, God does not immediately answer our requests because He wants us to remain in communication with Him. God is not playing games with us by making us wait for some of the things we request, but at the same time, God doesnโ€™t want us to play games with Him.

God does not want us to treat Him as a giant genie in the sky who grants all our wishes the moment we rub His magic bottle. God is not as interested in giving us what we want as He is in giving us what we need. And what we need more than having our prayers immediately answered is to grow in our relationship with Him, learning to trust and rely upon Him, His wisdom, and His timing as we remain in communication with Him about His plans for our life and this world.

So when you pray and do not see God immediately answer your requests, keep praying! Donโ€™t give up. Continue to bring your requests to God, until He either answers the request or changes your heart to see why the request does not fit His will.

God is working to bring about the answers to the prayers of many Christians, but sometimes, we give up too soon, before He can fully bring about the solution we seek. Spiritual warfare prayer requires persevere. This is the fourth flag to proper communication with God.

Purposeful Prayer (Ephesians 6:18e)

The fifth and final flag to sending our messages to God is that we must pray with purpose. At the end of Ephesians 6:18, Paul instructs his readers to make supplication for all the saints. The word for supplication is the same one that was used previously, referring to specific prayer requests, and here, we are to make such requests for other Christians. We are to intercede on behalf of other believers.

Paul mentions this because quite often, Christian prayers are self-centered prayers. When praying, we tend to focus on our own sickness, injury, job, finances, marriage, children, struggles, temptations, and problems. There is nothing wrong with praying for our needs and our concerns, but Paul wants his readers to expand their prayer horizon and pray for the needs and concerns of others as well.

We are, after all, a band of brothers on the field of battle (cf. Eph 6:10), and none of us are Lone Rangers in this battle. We need the people on either side of us to remain strong and healthy so that they can defend and help us in our times of need, just as we help and defend them in theirs.

But what should we pray? Victor L. Walter performed a study of all the prayers, prayer instructions, and prayer promises in the Bible and discovered some shocking insights about what biblical prayer looks like. For example, he noticed that many prayers were initiated by God instead of by a human.

Victor Walter also found that most prayers were for groups of people, rather than for individuals. If a prophet or apostle had an issue with a person or a solution for a problem they faced, they spoke directly to that person about it, rather than praying to God for it.

He also noted that the Bible doesnโ€™t contain any prayers for the unredeemed. All prayers are only for the people of God. This doesnโ€™t mean that the unredeemed should be ignored. Rather, while people pray for the redeemed, they witness to and evangelize the unredeemed.

Finally, prophetic and apostolic prayers seemed to focus primarily on strengthening and supporting what was already working, rather than fixing or correcting what wasnโ€™t. So if a church was known for its faith, Paul would pray that their faith would increase even more (cf. Col 1:4, 6).

All such prayers make sense in light of spiritual warfare. On the field of battle, our primary concern is the health and well-being of our fellow soldiers, rather than the prisoners we are trying to free and rescue. If the solders are wounded, we cannot rescue anybody.

Furthermore, rather than send communication to God about the soldiers to our right or left, it is much easier to simply talk to the soldiers on our right and left. And of course, on the field of battle, we want those who have special skills and abilities to grow in the power and effectiveness of those abilities.

In modern warfare, snipers are commanded to spend time practicing as a sniper. The same is true in spiritual warfare. Gifts are given so that we practice and use them. These are the sorts of things we can pray for when we pray for the saints. We should pray that teachers become better at teaching, that servants become better at serving, that givers become better at giving. We do not focus on praying to fix people’s weaknesses, but pray that they become more effective in their areas of strength.

Ephesians 6:18 has revealed the five flags of sending our messages to God. But what about receiving His messages to us? Victory on the battlefield requires two-way communication. It is essential that we not only send our messages to God, but also perceive His messages to us. Thankfully, there are many ways God communicates His will and commands to us. One of these methods of messaging us is discussed by Paul in Ephesians 6:19-20.

Perceiving the Messages of God (Ephesians 6:19-20)

In the last two verses of this section on the spiritual armor, Paul has invited his readers to pray for him so that he can properly communicate to them the words of God. Why does Paul give such an instruction? Because it is through the preaching and teaching of Scripture that we hear back from God.

Just as the Roman military had people who were tasked to receive the flagged messages from other units and commanders and then pass these messages on to their own commanders, so also, there are those within the church who are tasked to receive the messages from God and pass these messages on to the people. Paul was one such person, and so he asks the Ephesians to pray for him so that He can accurately and boldly proclaim Godโ€™s message to them.

When it comes to messaging with God, it is not a monologue in which we do all the talking. No, God communicates back to us. There are numerous ways He can do this. He can do it through the inner, whispered guidance of the Holy Spirit. He can do it through angels, dreams, and visions. He can do it through Scripture itself as we read and study. And God can communicate to us through those people who are specially gifted to preach and teach the Word of God.

Though many Christians say they never hear God hear God speak to them, every Christian receives direction from God by reading the written Word of God and by hearing it preached and explained to them.ย  Paul wanted to boldly and clearly proclaim the messages from God to the people of God, and so he asked his reader to pray for him so that he might do so with boldness.

There a few noteworthy things about Paulโ€™s statements in Ephesians 6:19-20. First, he wants utterance to be given to him. The Greek word he uses here is logosยธ which is the Greek word for โ€œword.โ€ In Ephesians 6:17, in speaking about the sword of the Spirit as the word of God, Paul used the Greek word rhema, but here he goes back to the normal term for Scripture, which is logos. This means that Paul wants to provide direct and clear revelation from God to those who hear him preach and teach.

And what is it that Paul wants to proclaim? He says that his message is about the mystery of the gospel. The gospel, of course, is the good news about Jesus as proclaimed in the pages of Scripture. The mystery of the gospel is a particular truth of the gospel that was hidden for ages and generations, but which had been made clear in the days of Jesus and the apostles (Col 1:26).

This mystery was that in Jesus, there were no longer any โ€œinsidersโ€ or โ€œoutsidersโ€ before God, for all were now insiders. Jews and Gentiles alike were now invited to become one family, one group, in Jesus Christ, thereby forming the church. This is the truth that Paul wanted to proclaim.

Why does he want to proclaim this truth? Because this is a central truth for spiritual warfare. The lies and deceptions of the devil lead humans to war against each other. But when we realize that we are all one in Jesus Christ, that our enemy is not flesh and blood, we can then work to make peace with other human beings, regardless of their race, religion, or culture.

The mystery of the gospel is a warfare truth, breaking down dividing walls of hostility (cf. Eph 2:11-22), and the human rivalries that lead to accusation, blame, and violence. The truth of the gospel is a rallying cry about how Jesus has defeated sin, death, and the devil so that we humans, who formerly hated one another, can now live at peace with one another, presenting a united front against our true enemy.

This is why preaching the gospel is warfare activity. It is how we advance the front line against our defeated foe. As the gospel is preached, the Kingdom of God advances, overtaking the enemy fortress of deception, death, and darkness.

Indeed, Paul has firsthand knowledge and experience of this front line warfare, and he indicates this by describing himself as an ambassador in chains. Paul wrote the letter of Ephesians from prison, likely while being chained between two Roman guards. And he was in prison because he had declared the gospel, and was facing a death sentence for the same reason.

Yet Paul wanted to boldly proclaim and live the gospel, regardless of the consequences that came upon him. So he likely preached the gospel to his captors, the Roman guards, and he prepared to preach the gospel to Caesar as well.

In this way, Paul reveals the gospel truth that neither the Roman guards nor the Roman emperor were his enemies. Rather, they too were his brothers, but they had been trapped by the deceptive lies of evil spiritual forces. Paul recognizes this, and sought to proclaim the gospel to them in hopes of liberating them from the prison they themselves are in.

Paul was not the prisoner, but was an ambassador to those who were in prison. Though he might have been sent to prison by the Roman government, he knew that he had actually been sent there by God, to boldly proclaim liberty and freedom to the people who were truly in prison. And so he asked for boldness to keep proclaiming the message of God to them.

There is power is the proclamation of the gospel, for it is through the truth of the gospel that lives are changed and the kingdom of God is unveiled upon this earth. For reason, Paul asked that others pray for him to boldly proclaim the gospel.

Conclusion

On the field of spiritual warfare, we must communicate with God, and God must communicate with us. Ephesians 6:18-20 has shown the five elements to our messages to God, and one of the primary ways that God sends messages to us. Without such back-and-forth messaging, the battle would be chaotic, many lives would be lost, and Godโ€™s rule and reign would not advance upon the earth.

The way we communicate with God and allow Him to communicate to us is through prayer. Prayer is a powerful warfare activity.

Through prayer, we make our needs known to God, and call down fire power from heaven to defeat the forces of darkness arrayed against us.

Through prayer, we listen for the leading and guidance of God, as He speaks to us through the Spirit and the power of biblical teaching.

Through prayer, we coordinate our attacks against enemy strongholds with the command and goals of God, so that enemy strongholds are destroyed, deceptions are laid bare, and people are freed.

If you want to be victorious on the field of battle, do not neglect the power of messaging God through prayer.

Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God? If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-20, Ephesians 6:18-20, how to pray, Luke 18:1-8, power of prayer, prayer, praying, spiritual warfare

Taking Up the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17b)

By Jeremy Myers
3 Comments

Taking Up the Sword of the Spirit (Ephesians 6:17b)
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In the book of Nehemiah we read about how the Israelites returned from captivity to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. They came with the blessing of King Artaxerxes, but not everyone was glad that Israel was returning to their land to rebuild Jerusalem and its walls. There were enemies in the land of Israel who sought to destroy and kill the Israelites, and keep them from returning to the land God had given to them.

Nehemiah was aware of these enemies, and so as he assigned tasks and went about overseeing the rebuilding of the walls, he instructed the workers to strap a sword to their side so that if enemies appeared, they could defend themselves in battle (Neh 4:18).

As we go about our own work as Christians, we too must keep a sword strapped to our side. Not a sword made from steel with which to kill other peopleโ€”for our struggle is not against flesh and bloodโ€”but a spiritual sword with which to demolish spiritual enemies and defend ourselves against all the wiles of the devil.

The spiritual landscape is full of enemies. When Christians lay down their sword and neglect the study and application of Scripture, we end up losing ground to the devil when he comes in and attacks our work, seeking to stop us from building our spiritual walls, defending our moral borders, and rescuing the perishing in our midst.

So we must take up the sword and carry it with us as we follow Jesus into the world. Let us keep our swords at hand. Let us keep them polished and sharp. Let us know how to use them best.

This is the instruction we receive from Ephesians 6:17 as we look at the sword of the spirit. As with every other piece of armor, we will consider the sword in three ways. First, what the sword was and the way it was used by Roman soldiers in Paulโ€™s day. Second, we will learn what the sword is for us as Christians in spiritual warfare. And third, we will discover how we can take up the sword for our use.

The Sword for the Soldier

Everybody knows what a sword looks like. And we have likely all seen pictures or movies of Roman soldiers carrying their sword. The swords that were typically used in Paulโ€™s day were made of iron, and were double-edged. Like many swords, they came to a point, had a hilt, and a guard to protect the hand of the sword bearer. The Roman sword also had a metal knob at the base of the hilt which could be used to bash an enemy in the face or head if needed.

One surprising characteristic about the Roman soldier sword, however, was that the blade was only about 18 inches in length.

Typically, when we think of a sword, we imagine one that is about three to four feet long, such as those carried by European Medieval knights. If you had to choose between a sword that was 18 inches or three feet long, most people would choose the longer sword. But the Roman military preferred the shorter sword.

This was not because they did not have the longer swords. They did. The longer sword was called a rhomphaia or spathe, and was closer to what we would call a broadsword. It was six to eight feet long and was used to hack off the limbs and heads of enemy soldiers.

But due of its size and weight, it had to be used with two hands, which didnโ€™t allow the soldier to hold a shield. And since they didnโ€™t have the full metal armor like the knights had in the medieval times, a soldier without a shield left himself exposed to arrows and spears. So the longer sword was nearly useless for the close hand-to-hand combat style that was common in the days of the Roman Empire.

Therefore, the Roman soldiers were primarily trained in use of the short sword, called a machaira or gladius. This is the sword that Paul refers to here in Ephesians 6:17. This sword was light and could be maneuvered quickly and with ease. It also only required only one hand to use it, which allowed the soldier to carry a shield.

To make a machaira, or gladius, the blacksmith would take a soft core of steel and surround it with several layers of hardened steel. This allowed the sword to be strong enough to inflict serious damage, but also flexible enough to not snap or break in battle.

In training with this short sword, the soldier was taught to stab and thrust instead of cut or slash. The reason is because the cut, even delivered with force, frequently does not kill. It only wounds because of the protective armor and bone. But a stab nearly always penetrates into the body, and when thrust into the torso, as Roman soldiers were trained to do, they had a much higher probability of hitting a vital organ, thereby killing the enemy soldier instead of just wounding him.

This was the same for spears and pikes. While Roman soldiers did often carry spears and pikes, these were only used when the soldiers sought to advance their position against an enemy position. They would form up in a tight unit, which shields interlocked, and then advance forward while thrusting with their spears. Once they arrived at the desired position, they would use the short sword to hold the ground which they had just obtained.

In this way, the sword that Paul mentions here is primarily defensive.

We would think that of all the pieces of spiritual armor, the sword would be the one piece with which the soldier could attack the enemy, but this is not really the case. Even here, as with all the other pieces of armor, the short sword was primarily used for defense. It was not used to advance against an enemy army, but was used to defend a position on the field of battle which had already been gained.

Yes, although the short sword could be used to attack enemy soldiers, it was only used this way when the enemy soldiers advanced upon position that the Roman soldiers sought to maintain. This fits perfectly with the basic Roman military strategy of standing their ground on the field of battle.

Remember, Paul has stated numerous times in the context that our number one task in spiritual warfare is to stand our ground. And now we have seen that for the Roman soldier, even the sword was used to simply stand their ground. It was not primarily a weapon for attacking or advancing, but was simply to defend the soldier as he stood his ground. This tell us a lot about how the sword works for the Christian on the field of spiritual battle.

The Sword for the Christian

What is the sword for the Christian? Paul explains what it is in two ways. First, Paul states that this is the sword of the Spirit, and then secondly, Paul goes on to clarify that the sword is the Word of God. Some have confused Paulโ€™s statement here by thinking that the sword is the Spirit; but it isn’t. Paul clarifies that the sword we use in spiritual battle is the Word of God.

But what is the Word of God?

Though the previous paragraphs have been referring to Scripture, the Word of God, as Paul writes of it here, is not precisely the same thing as the Bible. You see, many people think they have the sword of the Spirit if they have a Bible. But Paul does not agree. You do not have the sword of the Spirit if you own a Bible. You do not take up the sword of the Spirit by having possession of a Bible. We will discuss next about how to take up the sword of the Spirit, but in leading up to that, it is important to recognize that Paul does not use the normal term here for the Word of God.

Typically, when biblical authors want to refer to written Scriptures, they either use the term graphฤ“, which means โ€œwritings,โ€ or they use the term logos, which means โ€œword.โ€ Both terms refer to Scripture, in its entirety, as it was originally written down on paper by the original authors.

The graphฤ“, the writings, or the logos, the Word of God, refers to what we call the Bible, as a written revelation from God. It is important to note that the second term, logos, can also refer to Jesus as the living, incarnate Word of God (cf. John 1:1-11). There is a written logos, the Bible, and a living Logos, Jesus, and both are divine revelations from God.

So which terms does Paul use here in Ephesians 6:17? Neither.

Instead, Paul uses the Greek word rhฤ“ma. This term differs from graphฤ“ and logos in that while these latter two terms refer to the entire written Word of God, rhฤ“ma refers to speaking individual verses or passages from Scripture to help or aid in a particular circumstance or situation.

This is how Paul used the word in Ephesians 5:26 when he wrote about the washing of water with the word. The written Scriptures do not cleanse us or wash us unless they are spoken to use and applied to our lives.

So while logos is the written Word of God, rhฤ“ma is when the written words of Scripture are spoken into our lives for encouragement, instruction, and correction. As Harry Ironside said: โ€œThe Bible is not the sword of the Spirit, it is the armory. There are thousands of swords in [the Bible] and every one of them is powerful and two-edged.โ€

If Paul meant that the sword of the Spirit was the Bibleโ€”he would have used the word logos. But he didnโ€™t. He used the word rhema, which shows us that the sword of the Spirit is the individual verses and phrases and passages of the Bible which we can wield quickly in battle. The individual statements, promises, and truths of Scripture are useful for stabbing and thrusting into the weak spots of our enemy attackers.

Every time you memorize a verse, you have added another sword to your arsenal. Every time you learn a new truth about a verse, you have sharpened the blades on that sword. Every time you learn a new way to apply a verse, you have become quicker and more deadly in using that sword. This is why practice is needed in correctly handling and rightly dividing the word of truth (2 Tim 2:15). And when we practice using Scripture, the Word of God becomes powerful and effective.

It can destroy Satanโ€™s arguments and defend us against his temptations (Matt 4:1-11). Remember, this is how Jesus defeated the temptations of the devil in the wilderness. When Satan came at Jesus with three temptations, Jesus used verses from Scripture as a way to fend of the attacks of the devil. We can do the same thing.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 10:3-5 that the Word of God helps us tear down enemy strongholds and the false and deceptive teachings spread by Satan. So you need to know the Word of God to defeat the enemy.

The Word of God can also pierce menโ€™s hearts and show them the truth about their own sin and the only way of salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. (Jer 23:29; Acts 2:37; Heb 4:12; Rom 10:17). When we share the Gospel with people, we need to use Scripture. Witnessing without the use of the Word is like trying to win a battle without a sword. The Spirit uses the Word of God to convict sinners and convince them of their need of Jesus Christ (John 16:7-11).

It provides comfort, encouragement, instruction, and correction as Christians (Mark 4:20; 1 Thess 2:13; 2 Tim 2:15; 3:16โ€“4:4; 1 Pet 1:23ยญโ€“2:2). It is like a scalpel, carefully cutting away all the dead flesh and scar tissue that is left behind from our old way of life. It is a knife that cuts the bonds of sin that trip us up and drag us down. But it is also milk and meat (1 Cor 3:2; Heb 5:12; 1 Pet 2:2), providing us with sustenance and energy to grow strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.

The Word of God does all of these things and more for the Christian who knows how to use it. And since it does all of these thingsโ€”keeping the enemy at bay, helping us bring light to sinners, showing us how to become more Christlike, the Word of God should be our constant companion. Like a sword, Scripture should always at our side, as a ready defense in times of need.

And just like the people of Israel in the days of Nehemiah as they went about rebuilding the walls of Jerusalem, we need to make sure we always have our sword at our side, as we go about our days and do whatever it is Jesus has called us to do in life. Toward this end, let us consider a few brief ways to take up the sword as a Christian on the field of battle.

Taking up the Sword

Since the Sword of the Spirit is made of the individual promises and truths of Scripture, this means that the only way to take up the sword of the Spirit is to become familiar with the Scriptures.

The only way to arm ourselves with the word of God is to memorize, study, and learn the word of God. We must practice using the Scriptures. We must drill with the Bible. Through endless repetition and training, must learn the forms and stances of the Bible.

study the BibleWe must exercise with the Bible until it is stamped into our minds, so that when it is needed, our muscle memory kicks in and the use of the sword becomes second nature and automatic.

There are no short cuts or fast tracks. The only way to take up the Sword of the Spirit is to spend as much time as you possibly can in the word of God. Read it. Study it. Memorize it. Talk about it. Meditate upon it. Pray through it.

Think about it.

Just as the Roman soldiers spent hours every day drilling with their sword, so also, we must spend plenty of time drilling with ours. This is the only way to take up the sword of the Spirit so that it is ready and available on the field of spiritual warfare.

When I was younger, my parents sent me to summer Bible camp, and one of the activities I remember from this Bible camp were the โ€œSword Drillsโ€ as part of the chapel time. During the sword drill, the camp director stood up in front of the chapel, would shout โ€œBibles High!โ€ and all of us would raise our Bibles into the air. Then he would shout a verse reference, such as โ€œEphesians 2:8!โ€ and we would shout the verse reference back to him. Then, after a small pause, he would shout โ€œCharge!โ€ and we would all pull our Bibles out of the air and frantically flip through our Bibles for Ephesians 2:8. The first person to find it would stand up and read it. If they were right, they would get some points for their team. These sword drill were an early way of teaching us to use our Bible and find the swords within them.

It would be helpful, I sometimes think, for adults to do similar sorts of sword drills, but rather than trying to find Bible verses within the pages of Scripture, we would be invited to discuss what sorts of truths or ideas the Bible contains which would help us in the various temptations and troubles that life throws our way.

We could sit in a circle and say, โ€œVery often, we feel like God does not love us and cannot forgive us for some sin we have committed. What truths or verses in Scripture can remind us of Godโ€™s infinite love and complete forgiveness?โ€ (Some possible answers: John 3:16; Rom 5:8; 8:38-39; 1 John 2:1-2; 4:7-10).

Or someone could propose this: โ€œA Jehovahโ€™s Witness has just knocked on your door, and he is telling you that Jesus Christ was just a god, but He was not the one and only God. Where would you turn in Scripture?โ€ (Answer: John 1; Mark 2; Luke 18). Or someone could say, โ€œA coworker has gone through some troubling times in her life, and she walks up to you some day, and says, โ€˜Youโ€™re a Christian right? What must I do to get to heaven?โ€™โ€ What would you tell her? (Answer: John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47; 1 John 5:11-13).

Through such sword drills, we are training and practicing with the sword of the Spirit, learning to defend ourselves against the lies and deceptions of the devil. Through such practice with our sword, we are preparing to give an answer to anyone who asks about the hope we have in Jesus Christ (1 Pet 3:15).

We must know the Bible well enough so that we are ready for any challenge that comes our way. ย We must take it up in the morning, take it up on our lunch break at work, take it up at night with our family, and take it up as the last thing we do before bed.

Many Christians are weak and ineffective at defending themselves against the attacks of the devil because they have no skill with their sword. We might have the shiniest armor, the newest sandals, a perfect leather belt, and a helmet with no dents or rust, but if they cannot handle the word of truth, then Satan can press his attack with no though of getting harmed or chased off. He can take his sweet time in wearing us down until we fall to the ground from fatigue.

To truly stop the attacks of the devil, we must defend ourselves with a counter-attack, which we can only do with the sword of the Spirit. As we resist the devil in this way, he will flee from us, just as he fled from Jesus (Jas 4:7).

So what can you do? Study Scripture. Memorize Scripture. Learn what the Bible says and apply it to your life. Attend a Bible study. Read books and articles about the Bible. Listen to good teachings about the Bible on the radio or through podcasts.

How to Study the Bible - LadiesAnd you must keep immersing yourself in Scripture, day in and day out, so that you know what the Scripture says and how to apply its promises to your life when lies and deceptions of the devil start to tear you down. If you want to have your sword with you in spiritual battle, you need to be skilled with the Word of God. And the only way to gain skill in Scripture is to practice using Scripture as much as possible.

Roman soldiers knew that their skill with the sword was their lifeline in battle. The better you were with your sword, the greater your chances were of survival. And so that is why the best soldiers spent almost all of their free time practicing with the sword.

The same is true for you.

Spend as much time in the Bible as you can. Fight the good fight. Become heroes of the faith. Take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. In this way, you will be able to stand our ground against our enemy the devil for the praise and glory of our commander and chiefโ€”Jesus Christ.

Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God? If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-20, Ephesians 6:17, satan, spiritual warfare, sword of the spirit, temptation, word of god

Putting on the Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17a)

By Jeremy Myers
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Putting on the Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17a)
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It has been said โ€œYou are what you eat.โ€ A truer statement however is that โ€œYou are what you think.โ€ Few people realize the significance of our thoughts. It is our thoughts that guide our lives, control our world, shape our future, and create our destinies.

This does not happen in a magical way, or through the much-discussed and often-mocked โ€œpower of positive thinkingโ€ but rather through a single basic principle of human psychology.

If you have ever been to a counselor, therapist, or psychologist, they will likely tell you at some point in your session that thoughts create emotions, and emotions lead to certain behaviors and actions. So our actions and behaviors are determined by how we think.

body, soul, spiritTherefore, if we want to change our actions, we must begin by changing our thoughts. To change how we act, we must begin by changing how we think.

If there is destructive habit in your life you wish to change, or a negative behavior you desire to get rid of, the first step in this process is to start thinking in new and different ways. These different thought patterns will lead to different emotions which will, in turn, generate new actions and behaviors.

This basic connection between thought patterns and human behavior is revealed all over the place in Scripture.

For example, Paul writes in Romans 12:1-2 that we can begin to transform our lives into what God wants and desires by the renewal of our minds. As we learn to think differently about ourselves and others, this leads us to live differently as well.

It is for this same reason that Paul instructs the Corinthians to take every thought captive, making it obedient to Jesus Christ (2 Cor 10:5). As we learn to control our thinking, conforming our thought patterns to the values and vision of Jesus Christ, our lives will change as well, becoming more like Jesus every day.

And then there is Philippians 4:8, where Paul tells his readers to think on whatever is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, right, and praiseworthy. Why? So that we can experience the peace of God in our lives and with other people (Php 4:7, 9). The entire world wants peace, and Paul says we can have it by changing how we think.

This is the truth we come to in Ephesians 6:17a as we look at the fifth piece of spiritual armor, the helmet of salvation.

We have seen already learned about the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the sandals of the gospel, and the shield of faith, and now we learn about the helmet of salvation.

As with the previous four pieces of spiritual armor, we will consider the helmet in three ways. First, we will learn how the helmet helped the Roman soldier in battle. Second, we will look at what the helmet is for the Christian, and how it can help us in life. Finally, we will learn how to put on the helmet of salvation.

The Helmet for the Soldier

The Roman soldiers had the best helmets in the ancient world. While many other nations used helmets made by wrapping cloth or leather around animals bones or hooves, the Roman helmet often had a chinstrap, a visor, and was designed to cover the back and sides of the neck.

The helmet in Paulโ€™s day was most often made of heavy bronze or iron, and had additional pieces of metal which came down to protect the side of the face. The soldiers would often pack their helmets with some sort of cloth or padding to make them more comfortable on the head.

The highest ranking officers might also have helmets that were plated in gold or silver. Many helmets also sported large, colored crests or plumes made from feathers or horse hair. These were often used to signify rank or to show identification with a particular legion, but most archaeological evidence suggests that these decorations were not used in battle, but were only used during celebrations and military parades.

The helmet often had a little ring attached to the top of it, by which the soldier could fix the helmet to his belt or backpack when marching. The plume could also be attached to this ring. But since the helmets were hot and uncomfortable, the helmet was typically only worn during battle or military parades. At most other times, it would be taken off and set aside.

But what purpose did the helmet serve?

Obviously, just as with any helmet today, the helmet was designed to protect the head. Construction workers wear helmets to protect their heads from falling objects, football players wear helmets to protect their heads during clashes on the football field, and motorcycle riders wear helmets to protect their heads for when they get in an accident.

Similarly, the Roman soldierโ€™s helmet protected his head from damage that would come from swords, arrows, and rocks on the battlefield.

In this way, the soldierโ€™s helmet was a last line of defense.

The shield, which we considered in the previous section, was the first line of defense. The shield took most of the damage and was used to fend off the worst of the attacks. If any attack got past the shield, the soldier would hopefully be able to fend it off with his sword, which will be considered next. If the sword missed, it was probably best to take the attack on the breastplate.

But the helmet was the last line of defense.

Nobody wants to get hit on the head, even if they are wearing a helmet. If you have ever worn a helmet, you know that it does not feel good to have your head hit, even with a helmet on. No soldier would go into battle and stick his head out into harmโ€™s way, thinking, โ€œGo ahead and whack away on my head with your sword. Itโ€™s okay, because Iโ€™ve got my helmet on.โ€

No, the helmet is there so that if you get hit in the head, it will protect you from getting greater damage.

After all, it is much better to get a dent in the helmet than to get an arrow or sword in the head, right? Even a person who is wearing a helmet can receive great damageโ€”such as a concussionโ€”if they are hit in the head, but the helmet will protect the head from receiving even greater damage than if the helmet had not been worn at all.

But why is it so important to protect the head? Obviously, because thatโ€™s where the brain is! You protect the head because of what is actually inside your headโ€”the brain. Without the helmet, if you sustain an injury to your head, depending on the damage, anything can happen from loss of certain bodily functions like walking or talking, to partial or complete loss of memory. You can get something like a concussion, or enter into a coma.

If the damage to the brain is severe enough, you could become paralyzed or even die. Furthermore, it is not just the brain that the helmet protects, but also the eyes, nose, ears, and mouth. Humans have five senses, and the helmet protects four of them.

With all of that in mind, letโ€™s move on to discuss what the helmet is for the Christian.

The Helmet for the Christian

So what is the helmet for the Christian?

In Ephesians 6:17, Paul compares the helmet to salvation.

salvation and saved

But what is salvation? When most people hear the word โ€œsalvationโ€ they think of having their sins forgiven so they can escape hell and go to heaven when they die. Or something along those lines.

But this is not what โ€œsalvationโ€ means in the Bible.

The word โ€œsalvationโ€ (and similar words like saved and Savior) is the most misunderstood word in the Bible. Despite how the word is used by most Christians, there is not a single passage in Scripture which clearly equates it with gaining eternal life or going to heaven when we die.

So what does the word mean? The basic definition of โ€œsalvationโ€ is โ€œdeliverance.โ€ It means โ€œto be rescued, delivered.โ€ (My course, The Gospel Dictionary, will eventually have a lesson on the word “Salvation”.)

And we can be delivered, or rescued, from almost anything negative. Whenever you see the words โ€œsalvationโ€ or โ€œsavedโ€ in the Bible, you should pause, substitute in the word โ€œdeliveranceโ€ or โ€œdeliveredโ€ and then look in the context to discover what sort of deliverance is in view.

When you do this, you will see that salvation in the Bible is deliverance from enemies, sickness, premature death, the devastating consequences of sin in our life, and a wide variety of other calamities.

But not once does โ€œsalvationโ€ refer to going to heaven when we die.

When the disciples are out in a boat on the Sea of Galilee and a great storm comes upon them, they cry out to Jesus, โ€œLord! Save us!โ€ (Mark 4:35-41). When they say this, are they asking Jesus to forgive their sins and help them go to heaven? No. They want to be delivered from the storm. They donโ€™t want to drown.

So here in Ephesians 6:17, when we see the word โ€œsalvation,โ€ we should stop, substitute in the word โ€œdeliverance,โ€ and then look in the context to discover what kind of deliverance is in view.

When we do this, we see that in the immediate context, we are struggling against the wicked spiritual forces that Paul listed in Ephesians 6:11-12.ย So the salvation of Ephesians 6:17 is the deliverance from wicked spiritual forces and their evil schemes. The helmet of salvation protects our minds, thoughts, will, and emotions from the wiles of the devil and the evil plans of the principalities and powers of this dark age.

Once we realize this, the astute student of Scripture might recall that salvation was also mentioned back in Ephesians 2:8-9. And not surprisingly, in the context of talking about salvation, Paul referred to the prince of the power of the air which is at work in this world to deceive and destroy (Ephesians 2:1-3).

So even in Ephesians 2, the salvation, or deliverance, that Paul has in mind, is deliverance from the wiles of the devil and the ways of wickedness that dominate this world. When Paul writes about salvation in Ephesians, he is not thinking about going to heaven when we die, but about living in this life free from the deceiving powers of wickedness that guide and direct the lives of most other people.

“Salvation” in Ephesians is to live free of satanic deception in this life, with our eyes open to see things as they really are so that we can know how to think about and treat other people.

Ephesians 3Specifically, in Ephesians 2, Paul describes the exact form of deception he wants his readers to be liberated from. In Ephesians 2:11-22, Paul writes about the racial and religious divisions that occur between various people groups, and how these divisions were caused by the spirits of accusation and wickedness, but Jesus has torn all such divisions down.

In Jesus, we have seen the truth that all are accepted, all are loved, and all are forgiven by God. Since this is the truth revealed in Jesus, we can now live at peace with other people rather than at war with them. We can love and accept, rather than condemn and kill.

The greatest deception of the devil in this world is that God hates people who are not like us, who do not look like us, who do not behave like us, who do not believe like us, and that God wants us to condemn and shun them. Such ideas are the lies of the devil.

Jesus revealed the truth, and now, we who have seen that God loves, accepts, and forgives all, can live in similar ways toward others. When we do this, we will experience the salvation of God. We will experience peace with other people (Ephesians 2:14-18). This is what Paul has in mind when he writes about salvation in his letter to the Ephesians.

Salvation in Ephesians is not about going to heaven when die, but about living at peace with other people in this life.

Salvation in Ephesians is deliverance from the lies and deceptions of the devil that cause us to hate, condemn, and kill other people.

Salvation in Ephesians occurs when we change how we view and treat other people, especially those people we would rather hate.

So the helmet of salvation is a change in the way we think, view, speak, and talk about other people, especially those people we used to consider our enemies. How we view and treat other people all begins in the head, with how we think about them.

And since our thoughts come from the brain, this is why Paul equates salvation with the helmet. The helmet protects our head.

Our head, or our brain, forms our thoughts. Our head also contains our eyes, allowing us to properly see other people as loved, forgiven, and accepted by God. Our head contains our ears, allowing us to hear other people, with their perspective, ideas, and concerns. Our head contains our mouth, allowing us to speak friendly words of encouragement and acceptance toward others.

And this truly is what spiritual warfare is all about.

Previously, in Ephesians 6:12, Paul stated that our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the spiritual forces of wickedness.

Yet we humans continue to think that we struggle against other humans. The helmet of salvation reveals to us that we can be saved, or delivered, from thinking about other humans as our enemies. We can see that they are victims of spiritual lies and oppression just as we are, that they also are fellowship solders in this battle against the spiritual forces that wish to tear us down and pit humans against one another.

So in order to be saved from the lies that create disunity, hatred, bloodshed, and violence in our world, we must put on the helmet of salvation and learn to see others, think about others, and talk to others in ways that reflect Jesus, rather than in ways that reflect Satan.

Toward this goal, let us turn now to learn how to put on the helmet of salvation.

Putting on the Helmet

To begin with, we must first of all recognize that the helmet, like all the other pieces of spiritual armor, belongs to God. Isaiah 59:17 speaks of God putting on the helmet of salvation when He goes out to do battle against wickedness.

The fact that the helmet is something God wears when He battles against wickedness proves that this salvation does not occur when we gain eternal life so we can go to heaven when die, for God does not need such salvation.

But God does work to bring peace to this world by destroying the wicked works of the devil. God puts on the helmet of salvation to deliver the world from the lies and deceptions that lead people to hate and fight one another. God wants us to join Him in this struggle for peace, and so gives to us His helmet of salvation to wear.

So how do we wear it? How do we put on the helmet of salvation?

I go now to prepare a place for youIt begins with how we think about other people. The helmet protects our brain, and the thoughts of our brain guide our emotions, which in turn determine our actions. So if we want to treat people like Jesus treated them, we must learn to think about people the way He thought about them.

And what did Jesus think about people?

He thought every single person on earth was worth dying for. Jesus thought that each and every person had unsurpassable worth. Jesus infinitely loved every person, including those who hated Him and wanted to kill Him. When Jesus thought about people, He didnโ€™t think of anyone as an enemy, but only as people who had been trapped by sin and the devil.

So we can begin to think about people in similar ways.

Rather than judge and condemn people who are different from usโ€”whether they are of a different race or religion, of a different economic or political position, or of a different age or sexโ€”we can start thinking about people as worthy of our love and concern.

We can refuse to believe that anyone is our enemy. We can begin to think about others as trapped in sin and deception, so that our job is not to fight against them, but to rescue and deliver them from their enslavement.

When we put on the helmet of salvation, we begin to think about other people differently.

But we also begin to see other people differently, for the eyes also are part of the head. We can view people as God views them.

God views all people as His children. He infinitely loves each and every person. He sees the dignity and value of every person, and desires that each person discover and develop their unique characteristics so that each person can shine with glory and beauty in this world.

God does not view any person with loathing or hate, but only with love and respect. God views each person as worthy of His time and attention. God never rejects anybody based on how they look, how they dress, or how they behave.

In Godโ€™s eyes, every person is beautiful and amazing to behold.

spiritual gifts

We can learn to develop similar eyes in viewing other people. Rather than try to get on another to conform to a mold or pattern of what we think the perfect Christian looks like, we can encourage one another to discover our unique areas of giftedness and passion, and then help one other pursue those with wild abandon (See my course on Spiritual Gifts for more about this.)

We can look at people as God views them, with eyes of wonder and amazement at our diversity.

We can view people as worth loving and knowing.

We can put on the helmet of salvation by learning to speak differently about other people. The Bible warns us everywhere about the dangers of the tongue, and so if we are going to fight for peace, love, and unity among all people, we must watch the words that come out of our mouths. We must speak the truth, but say it in love (Ephesians 4:11), so that others are built up, encouraged, and edified by what we say.

forgivenessWe must tell people that they are forgiven and accepted, not just by God, but by us as well. We must speaks words of beauty and praise to other people for the good things they do and the accomplishments they attain.

The words that come out of our mouths are one important way of donning the helmet of salvation.

Finally, related to the words we say, we can be careful about hearing the words that others say.

The Christian soldier who wears the helmet of salvation seeks to protect what comes into his or her ears, especially in regard to other people.

We will not listen to baseless accusations, slander, or gossip about others. We will not listen to negative and cutting remarks that someone might say about someone else. We will allow only statements about others that are positive and uplifting to enter into our ears. In this way, we will make sure that the helmet of salvation stays strapped firmly on our heads.

In all these ways, we wear the helmet of salvation, thereby creating and encouraging peace in this world. As we think about people, view people, and talk about people in ways that reflect Jesus, we will no longer view others the way the world does, as people who are different from us, and need to be shunned, condemned, or even killed.

Instead, we will begin to see that the vast array of differences are all part of the beauty of humanity, and that we can celebrate these differences with wonder and joy. In this way, we will be wearing the helmet of salvation, and will be led into the way of peace.

Conclusion

As you know, the Roman Empire eventually crumbled and no longer exists. At least not as a political power upon the earth.

And do you one of the factors that led to the decline of the Roman Empire? Some historians argue that the beginning of the downfall of the Roman Empire was when Roman soldiers stopped wearing their helmets. Gibbon, in his book (#AmazonAdLink) The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, notes that relaxation of discipline and the disuse of exercise made the soldiers unable to survive the fatigue of service. They complained of the weight of the armor and finally obtained permission to lay some of it asideโ€”in particular, the helmet.

This lack of protection and discipline led to weaker armed forces and ultimately, to the decline and fall of the Roman Empire.

The church has been given an important piece of spiritual armor with the helmet of salvation.

It helps us maintain unity, love, and forgiveness within the church and in how we treat other people. The helmet of salvation creates peace between people groups who formerly were at war. It creates love where there was previously only hate.

But if the church sets aside the helmet of salvation and returns to the ways of accusation, blame, slander, hate, and violence toward other people, we will crumble and fall, just as did the Roman Empire.

So wear the helmet of salvation. Watch what you think and say about other people.

Make sure you view people with the eyes of Jesus Christ, as people of unsurpassable worth.

Speak to other people, or about other people, with words of love, grace, compassion, and forgiveness.

When we think, see, hear, and talk about other people in this way, we will be wearing our helmet of salvation and will be transforming this world into a place of love as peace, allowing the kingdom of God to live, thrive, and grow in our midst.

Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God? If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, z Bible & Theology Topics: armor of God, Ephesians 6:17a, helmet of salvation, salvation, spiritual warfare

Taking Up the Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16)

By Jeremy Myers
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Taking Up the Shield of Faith (Ephesians 6:16)
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This study looks at the shield of faith in Ephesians 6:16, which is another part of the armor of God.

As with all the other pieces of spiritual armor, we will first consider how the shield worked for the Roman soldier, then how the shield works for the Christian, and finally, how we can take up and use the shield of faith in our daily lives.

The Shield for the Soldier

The Greek word Paul uses for shield in Ephesians 6:16 is thureon, which is the generic word for shield, but there were two kinds of shields used by soldiers in Paulโ€™s day.

The first, called a parma shield, was smaller and round and could be used by moving the arm to defend a certain part of the body which was being threatened. It was about 3 feet in diameter, and was the lighter of the two shields. However, while this is generally the type of shield we think about when we imagine a soldier carrying a shield, it was not the shield of choice for the Roman legions.

The shield of choice was the scutum shield. It was somewhat larger in size, nearly four feet tall and about 2.5 feet wide, and weighed over 20 pounds. The shield was made by gluing several layers of wood together, similar to how plywood is made today, and was then covered with leather for extra protection and durability.

It was not a flat shield, but was somewhat curved so that the soldier could hide behind it if needed. This curve also allowed for rocks and arrows to be deflected from the shield, rather than hitting it directly. If the shield was flat, a rock or sword hitting the shield would cause more blunt force, requiring the soldier to expend more energy in absorbing the blow. But the curve of the shield allowed a large percentage of that power to be deflected off to the side, thereby conserving the soldierโ€™s strength.

Due to its size and weight, the soldier was not able to move this shield around very well, and so once a soldier was in position, he would typically plant it on the ground and crouch behind it for protection while darting out with his right hand to attack enemies with his sword.

Remember, the strength and genius of the Roman military was their ability to stand firm and stay in once place on the field of battle, defending their small piece of land from any and all attackers. The shield served a significant role in this strategy.

Due to the nature of this shield, it was sometimes referred to as a โ€œdoor.โ€ To would a Roman soldier, the enemy first had to get past the door, that is, past the shield. These shields could also be interlocked by a line of soldiers to create a nearly impenetrable wall against attacking forces. Sometimes the front line of soldiers would create this shield wall, allowing a second line of soldiers to thrust with their spears over the top of the shields at the enemies on the other side. The shields could also be raised overhead to create a barrier against arrows and rocks from above.

Often, when seeking to advance on the field of battle, a number of soldiers would create a formation called a testudo, or โ€œtortoise,โ€ in which the soldiers would gather close together in a tight, square group, with the soldiers on all four sides creating a wall of shields, and the soldiers on the inside raising their shields above to protect from arrows and rocks.

In this way, they could advance onto almost any area of the battlefield with minimal damage, or even up to the gates of a city to set it on fire or to start tearing them down with a battering ram.

In this way, the shield also helped the Roman soldiers work together as a unit. The shields not only protected the soldier himself, but also the soldier on either side of them. The soldiers, remember worked as a band of brothers, as a unified whole, and the shields were one of the primary methods of defense for the soldiers on the shield of battle.

When a soldier fell, the two soldiers on either side would close ranks, protecting their fallen comrade from further damage, while the soldiers behind would drag the fallen soldier backward into safety and protection. So the shields were extremely effective in helping maintain unity and mutual protection among the soldiers.

Finally, the center of these shields often had a raised mound of bronze or iron that could be used as a weapon. The shield could be raised and bashed into the chest or face of an enemy soldier, causing blunt force trauma, possibly disabling the other soldier.

In light of all this, Paulโ€™s choice of words in Ephesians 6:16 is interesting. He introduces the shield in a way that is unique from the other pieces of armor. He says, above all, taking the shield of faith. Some Bible translation say, โ€œin addition,โ€ which loses some of the force of what Paul appears to be saying. When Paul talks about the shield, he is not just writing about another piece of armor we are to take up and put on. He wants this one to be above all.

This doesnโ€™t mean the shield is the most important piece of armor, for all of the pieces are critically important. Instead, Paul means that the shield is above all, over all, before all, or in front of all. The shield is the first line of defense for the Roman soldier. It was โ€œthe door.โ€ You canโ€™t get to the soldier unless you first all get past the door.

To get to any other piece of the armor, or to get to the soldier himself, the enemy had to get past the shield first. The shield not only protected the body of the soldier, but the other pieces of armor as well. Since the shield was over all, in front of all, and above all, the shield protected everything.

Specifically, Paul says in Ephesians 6:16 that the shield is the primary form of defense against the fiery darts of the wicked one. These fiery darts Paul writes about were the most advanced weapons in Paulโ€™s day.

Archaeologists have discovered that some arrows and spears had tips made of a combustible material which was then lit on fire and shot or thrown into the enemy forces where it would ignite or even explode. Military forces also used some arrows and spears with hollow tips which were then packed with this combustible material. When it struck a soldier or a shield, it would splatter and burn.

This was before the days of gunpowder, so these weapons were ingenious and effective at decimating enemy forces. These fiery darts came in quickly so they were hard to see, and when they hit, they would burn or explode.

But Paul says that the shield is effective at quenching the most dreaded and cunning weapons of his day. They come in too quickly to react, but if the soldier has his shield in place, then he doesnโ€™t need to see the flaming darts, for the shield will stop them.

In this way, the shield protected the Roman soldier from all sorts of attacks; the swords and spear attacks he could see, the rock and arrow attacks from above, and the flaming dart attacks that came in too quickly to see. The shield was above all and over all, protecting the soldier himself as well as the soldiers on either side.

So that how the shield worked and functioned for the Roman soldier in Paulโ€™s day. Let us now consider what the shield is for the Christian.

The Shield for the Christian

(#AmazonAdLink) What is faithPaul states in Ephesians 6:16 that the shield is faith. He instructs us to take up the shield of faith. So what is faith? How do we get faith? And how do we know that we have faith? For example, since Scripture tells you to believe in Jesus for eternal life, how do you know that you have really believed? I have written a book on (#AmazonAdLink) the topic of faith, which answers these sorts of questions in much more detail, but let me summarize the content of that book for you here.

Many people are confused about what faith is, how faith works, and how to know if they have really believed something. Part of this confusion is because there are numerous popular illustrations used to describe faith which really only just obscure the reality of faith.

There is the illustration of the man pushing a wheelbarrow across Niagara Falls, saying that unless people get into the wheelbarrow with him, they donโ€™t really believe he can do it. There is the illustration of faith as a deck of cards so that if you pull one out, the entire deck comes tumbling down. There is an illustration about faith being one wing on an airplane, with good works being the other wing, so that you need both to properly fly. All of these illustrations mislead and confuse people about the true nature of faith.

Then there are adjectives used to describe faith, such as head faith, heart faith, temporary faith, spurious faith, false faith, small faith, great faith, and numerous others which usually only create confusion about the nature and character of faith. Curiously, only two of thoseโ€”small faith and great faithโ€”are biblical and even these two are widely misunderstood and misapplied.

So what is faith?

faith is certaintyFaith, as taught in the Bible, can be defined as a reasonable certainty about any truth claim or statement of fact.

In other words, if you know that something is true, then you believe it. We believe, or have faith, when we agree or give assent to a factual statement.

If you know that the earth is round, then you believe the earth is round. If you know that 2+2=4, then you believe that 2+2=4. If you know that the sky is blue, then you believe that the sky is blue.

So we have faith about something when we know it to be true. I know this explanation might raise more questions than it answers, and if so, I direct you to my book, (#AmazonAdLink) What is Faith? Let us turn now to see how to get faith, grow our faith, and know that we have faith so that, as Paul writes, we can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

And what are these fiery darts of the wicked one? While looking at how the shield worked for the Roman solider we also briefly considered how the fiery darts and flaming arrows functioned on the field of battle, so what are these fiery darts for Christians in spiritual warfare?

Since the wicked one is a reference to Satan and the wicked forces that Paul mentioned in Ephesians 6:12, the fiery darts are the weapons that Satan uses to trick and deceive us.

We previously discussed the one tactic and the three types of temptations the devil uses in sending these temptations. The wicked forces arrayed against us always questions the promises of God in an attempt to get us to fall prey to the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.

Yet even though we know what sort of weapons these wicked forces use, it doesnโ€™t mean that we are always ready for them when they come. They are fiery darts that come in quickly and without warning.

Sometimes they come one at a time, like sniper fire from afar, while other times they fall in a heavy barrage, as a storm of arrows falling from the sky. When the hit, they are painful and destructive, causing great devastation in our lives.

Thankfully, the shield of faith causes the flaming darts to lose their fire and their force. The shield is able to protect us from each and every one of the trick, traps, and temptations that the devil sends our way. Not just some of them, but all of them.

And the shield doesnโ€™t just stop the arrows; it is able to quench them. It snuffs out the flame of the fiery darts so that when they strike the shield, the shield does not burn, but remains intact and able to defend us on the field of battle.

But, just as with all the other pieces of armor, this protection is not automatic. Just as we have to put on the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the sandals of the gospel, so also we have to take up the shield of faith.

Taking up the Shield

Before we look at how to take up the shield of faith, it is important to be reminded that, just like all the other pieces of armor, this piece also is from Godโ€™s armory. The image of faith as a shield is everywhere in Scripture, but with a small twist.

For example, when we read that Abram believes God and his faith was credited to him as righteousness, we are told in Genesis 15:1 that God Himself will be Abramโ€™s shield. God will protect Abram as Abram places faith in God.

We find this same idea throughout the entire Old Testament. The concept of God being our shield when we place faith in Him is found at least twenty times in the book of Psalms alone. Over and over again, God is described as our shield and fortress, the One who protects us from the enemy. In Psalm 91:4, Godโ€™s faithfulness itself is described as a shield, and in Psalm 76:3 we read that God breaks the arrows of our enemies. In Proverbs 30:5, we read that God is a shield to those who put their trust in Him.

So the little twist or surprise in Ephesians 6:16 is that when Paul tells us to take up the shield of faith, we learn from the Old Testament that the shield is actually God Himself. When we believe in Him and His promises, it is He Himself that protects us.

Think about what this means.

Remember that the shield Paul has in mind was like a wall, or a door, behind which the Roman soldier hid. The shield was considered to be the first line of defense. For an enemy to get to the soldier, the enemy first had to get past the shield.

But with God as our shield, what have we to fear? Nothing! There is nothing that is large enough, powerful enough, or strong enough to get past God when He has set Himself to protect us from harm.

Therefore, as Christians, we have nothing to fear from Satan, or wicked men, or future events. God is on our side. To get through to the other pieces of armor, the enemy has to get past God first.

As Paul writes in Romans 8:38-39, nothing in death or life, among the angels, principalities, or powers, in the present or the future, in heaven above or the depths below, nor any created thing, can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. He shields us and protects us from all such things.

Like the shepherd protecting the sheep in the pen by laying himself down as the door so wolves have to go through the shepherd to get to the sheep (cf. John 10:11-18), so also any fiery dart of temptation that comes our way has to first go through God, because He is our shield; He is our door.

dead in sins Ephesians 2:1When temptations do get through, and when we get wounded by the fiery darts of the devil, it is because we have dropped our shield. The only way the fiery darts of temptation get past the protective shield of God is when we have not properly taken up the shield of faith, as Paul instructions in Ephesians 6:16. When the shield drops, when we let down our guard, it is then that the fiery darts are able to get through and wound us.

So how do we take up the shield, and how do we keep it up? Since this is the shield of faith, we take it up by believing in what God has said. The more we believe, the more effective our shield becomes at protecting us from the fiery darts of the wicked one.

As we believe in Godโ€™s Word, Godโ€™s promises, and the truth revealed by God in Scripture, we are taking up the shield of faith and gaining the protection God provides.

But this is where the problem begins, because some people think that faith has to be โ€œall or nothing.โ€ I have talked with numerous people throughout the years who want to believe the Bible and what God has said, but there are some things in the Bible that they just cannot believe, such as the idea in Genesis 5:27 that Methuselah lived to be 969 years old, or that the world was created in six days (Gen 1), or that an ax head could actually float on water (2 Kings 6:1-7).

Some people donโ€™t believe in God or some of the various truths of Scripture because they cannot believe that God would allow bad things happen in this world, or that God wants blood sacrifice and commanded the genocide of the Canaanites (I don’t believe God wanted the genocide of the Canaanites either … but I do believe God wanted the historical record of Canaanite genocide in the Bible… I will explain why in a future book).

And since they cannot believe some of these more difficult truth claims of Scripture, they decide they cannot believe any of it. They stop believing in God, in Scripture, and in what Jesus has showed us through His life, death, and resurrection. As a result, they drop their shield of faith entirely, and leave themselves open to the attacks of the devil.

But thankfully, faith does not work like this.

Biblical faith is not an โ€œall or nothingโ€ house of cards. It is completely possible to believe some, or many, of the things taught in the Bible, while being unsure about, or even not believing, many other ideas and concepts of the Bible.

Nobody becomes a Christian by knowing and believing everything in the Bible.

We become a Christian by knowing and believing a few simple facts about God, ourselves, and Jesus. We become a Christian by believing in Jesus for eternal life. Our shield of faith strengthens as we build upon these facts over time and as we come to learn and believe more truths from Scripture.

In other words, our set of beliefs grow over time as we follow Jesus on the path of discipleship and as believe more of what God has revealed in the Bible.

faith in GodSo to grow our faith, to walk by faith, to live by faith, and to take up the shield of faith, we must begin with the facts and truths we know to be true, and then build upon these ideas with more truths and ideas from Scripture.

Building our faith in this way allows our faith to act as a shield against the tricks, traps, and fiery darts of the devil. Our enemy tries to get us to doubt Godโ€™s promises and fall into the pitfalls of sin.

When we begin to think that God cannot love us because of what we have done, we can remember the promise of God in Romans 8:38-39 that nothing, absolutely nothing, can separate us from the love of God.

When we are tempted to think that God cannot forgive some sort of sin we have committed, we can remember the truth of Scripture that God has already forgiven us for all sins we have committed, past, present, and future (Col 2:13).

If you ever begin to wonder if you matter to God, all you need to do is believe the promises that God knows your name (Isa 43:1), knows every detail about you, even to the point of numbering the hairs on your head (Luke 12:7), has specifically gifted you with special talents and abilities so that you can serve a significant role in His plan for the world (1 Cor 12; Rom 12; Eph 4; 1 Pet 4), and wants nothing but the best for you and your life and He works nonstop to bring these good plans to fruition in your life (Prov 3:5-6; Heb 13:20-21; Jas 1:5).

When temptations to sin come our way, we can believe the promises of God that sin only leads to destruction (Matt 7:13-14; Rom 6:23; Jas 1:15).

When we face doubts about whether or not we have eternal life, we can remember the numerous promises of Jesus that anyone who believes in Him has everlasting life (John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47).

Do you see? As we come to learn and believe these promises of God, they become a shield and a barrier protecting us from all the lies of the devil.

Faith in the promises of God keeps us bold and strong in the face of sin, temptation, and doubt. This is why faith is so important to our life as a Christian.

Believing what God has said is the shield that protects us from the darts of the devil which question and challenge what God has said.

So where are you at with your faith? What is it that you believe? Start with the basics, and then go from there.

For example, do you believe that God exists? This is a basic biblical belief, but many people are not sure that there is a God. But a person cannot move on to believe much of anything in the Bible until they first believe that God exists. Thankfully, there are ways to learn that God does indeed exist, such as (#AmazonAdLink) books on apologetics and various evidences for the existence of God.

And once you come to believe that God exists, you can move on from that belief and add further beliefs to your system of beliefs. You will come to believe that God wants to communicate with humans, as He has done in various ways, such as through Jesus and the revelation of Scripture.

You will come to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, and that Jesus explains how to receive eternal life and live this present life in the best way possible. You will learn how to treat other people with love, grace, and forgiveness.

As you learn all these things, you come to believe them, because you see that they are true. And as you develop this ever-widening system of beliefs that are based on the truth reveled in Scripture and through Jesus Christ, your shield of faith becomes ever-more effective at protecting you from the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The temptations and doubts he shoots at you are quenched before they can reach your mind and heart.

God, as our shield, protects us from all harm. Living by faith in the promises of God eventually allows you to walk by faith in what God has said He will do, for you know that God is on your side and God will do what He has said.

So take up the shield of faith. Believe in what God has said. Then go forth with the certain knowledge that victory is at hand.

Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God? If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: armor of God, belief, Ephesians 6:10-20, Ephesians 6:16, faith, shield of faith, spiritual warfare, temptation

Putting on the Sandals of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:15)

By Jeremy Myers
2 Comments

Putting on the Sandals of the Gospel (Ephesians 6:15)
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In Ephesians 6:15, Paul instructs Christians to โ€œshod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace.โ€ This is another piece of the armor of God, even though Paul doesnโ€™t specifically mention a piece of armor. Since he writes about having something on our feet, he is clearly referring to the sandals that Roman soldiers wore into battle.

So Ephesians 6:15 is referring to the Sandals of the Gospel. And as we did with the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness, we will consider the sandals in three ways.

First, we will look at how the sandals were used by the Roman soldiers in battle. Second, we will consider how Christians are to use them in spiritual battle. Finally, we will learn how Christians can put on the sandals of the gospel as we fight alongside Jesus in spiritual warfare.

The Sandals for the Soldier

The sandals of the Roman soldier were very similar to some sandals you might see today. They were made primarily from leather and were fastened to the feet with leather cords that went around the ankle and partway up the calf.

Upon initial inspection, the sandals appear to be quite flimsy, providing little protection or stability to the soldier. But such was not the case.

The sandals were light and airy, which allowed the feet to breathe and stay cool and dry, even when the soldier marched, worked, or stood guard all day long.

While a soldier might have sore feet after marching 25 miles, they would not have blisters, and they would quickly and easily dry after marching through a stream or river. The leather strips were designed in such a way so that they did not rub or cause sores on the feet, ankles, or calves.

One aspect of the sandals, however, made them essential pieces of armor for the Roman soldier, and this aspect to the sandal set these sandals apart from those that the average Roman citizen might wear around town or in the marketplace.

The Roman soldier sandals were fitted with metal spikes on the bottom of the sole. These spikes helped them maintain their footing. The spikes allowed them toโ€”in the words repeated four times in Ephesians 6:10-14โ€”stand firm in the battle.

Often, the soldiers would be fighting in slick or muddy terrain. The grass and soil might get trampled and become slippery with dew, rain, or blood. The spikes on the bottom of the sandals helped the soldier maintain his footing in battle. It helped the soldier stand firm.

It is similar to the shoes that many athletes wear today. Track, soccer, football, and baseball shoes all have some sort of spikes or plastic knobs on the bottom to help the athlete maintain their speed and footing while playing on the field.

The sandals of the Roman solider provided similar stability. While they sandals did not provide much in the way of protection, they certainly helped soldiers stay on their feet in the midst of battle. After all, a soldier flat on his back because he tripped or slipped is at a great disadvantage to an enemy solider who is still on his feet.

So these sandals had one purpose: to keep the soldier on his feet.

The spikes and studs on the bottom of the sandals were also used as weapons. When enemy soldiers fell before an advancing Roman legion, the Roman soldiers would stomp on the fallen combatants, thereby inflicting greater harm and damage on the soldier, making it much less likely for them to rise up and fight again.

What then are the sandals for the Christian?

The Sandals for the Christian

In Ephesians 6:15, Paul states that the sandals are the preparation of the gospel of peace.

There are three key terms in this phrase that must be considered before we can know what the sandals are for the Christian: preparation, the gospel, and peace. Let us consider the central term first, the gospel.

The word gospel means โ€œgood news,โ€ and when it is used on Scripture, it refers to all the good news about Jesus.

definition of the gospelThe gospel is not just the good news about everlasting life and how to spend eternity with God. The gospel is also about how to live this life now, in friendship and fellowship with God and with each other, and also in fulfillment of who God made us to be. The teachings and example of Jesus show us the truth about all such things.

So the biblical gospel is every truth related to the person, work, and teachings of Jesus Christ, not just about how to gain eternal life, but also how to live our lives now as God wants and desires.

Lots of people get confused about what the gospel is and how to share it with others. That is why there is so much confusion in Christianity today about the nature and message of the gospel.

And while it is true that the gospel is centered on the person, work, and teachings of Jesus Christ, it is essential to recognize that there is one central truth of the gospel which forms the foundation for all other gospel truths.

The one central gospel truth is this: Jesus gives eternal life to those who believe in Him for it.

This truth can be stated in various ways. For example, we could say, as Paul does, that justification is by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, or as we read numerous times in the Gospel of John, eternal life is by faith alone through Jesus Christ alone.

The gospel is good news and this is the best news there is. But you must get this central truth firmly set in your mind before the rest of the gospel makes any sense. If this central gospel truth is not firmly planted in your life and theology, the gospel of good news quickly becomes bad news.

You see, there are lots of Christians who think that in order to gain eternal life, or keep eternal life, they have to perform a set of good works.

Gospel According to ScriptureSome Christians think they have to get baptized, or attend church, or read their Bible and pray every day. Others believe that they have to live a good life and try to obey the Ten Commandments in order to keep their eternal life or prove that they have it.

But as soon as they start to add these sorts of good works to the central promise of the gospel, eternal life is no longer free, but becomes something we have to work for in order to gain or keep.

And when eternal life is something we have to work for, it is no longer attainable, because we can never be good enough, or work hard enough to gain, keep, or prove that we have eternal life.

Eternal life is based solely and completely on the promise of God that He gives eternal life to anyone and everyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it (cf. John 3:16; 5:24; 6:47). Only by recognizing the freeness of the gospel are we then able to live our lives with assurance, stability, and peace.

This is why Paul calls refers to the gospel as the gospel of peace.

Once we know that we have eternal life through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone, peace enters into our lives because we no longer have to worry about where we stand with God.

We no longer have to strive to perform enough good works.

We can know with complete certainty and assurance that we are part of the family of God, that He has accepted us and welcomed us into His family, and that there is nothing we can do to separate ourselves from His love (Rom 8:38-39).

There is great peace in knowing that we are safe and secure in the arms of God.

pacfismWhen you do not know that you are safe, your life becomes filled with doubt and fear, which causes you to stumble and fall into the mud and muck of life. You also become fearful of stepping out in faith to follow Jesus into dark and dangerous places on the battlefield of life.

If you donโ€™t know for sure that you have eternal life, or if you are afraid that there is something you can do which will cause you to lose your eternal life, then you will become immobilized with fear.

But when you know without a shadow of a doubt that you are safe, then you can step out in faith to follow Jesus wherever He leads, because you know that He will never let you fall, that you are safe and secure with Him.

Such knowledge will also allow you to interact with other people in ways that bring peace to their lives also.

Paul calls these sandals the gospel of peace, and this is not just peace with God, and personal peace in your life, but also peace with other people.

Ephesians 2 is all about how Jesus created peace on the cross, not just between God and ourselves, but also between ourselves and all other people on earth. Jesus broke down the religious dividing walls of hostility that exist between various groups of people.

Jesus showed us, through His sacrificial death on the cross, how to die to ourselves and create peace with other people.

So the gospel truly is a gospel of peace. It brings peace to our own lives, and it also creates peace between ourselves and other people.

So the gospel of peace is the good news about Jesus that leads to peace in all areas of our lives.

The third key term, then, is preparation.

Gospel PeacePaul writes that we are to shod our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The sandals are not precisely the gospel itself. Rather, the sandals are the preparation of the gospel.

The preparation of the gospel is accomplished in two ways. We become prepared in the gospel by first knowing what the gospel message is, and then secondly, by preparing and planning to share it with others through our words and our actions.

Just as the sandals helped keep the soldier on his feet in battle, being prepared to share the gospel with others will help you stay on your feet as a Christian.

If you are not really clear what the gospel is, and if you donโ€™t really know how to share the gospel with others, then you donโ€™t really know if you yourself have believed the gospel or if you have believed the right thing, or believed enough.

We must, as Peter writes, always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks to give the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).

Just like with the other pieces of spiritual armor, it is not enough to own the sandals, you have to put them on. In order to get firm footing on the slippery ground of life in this world, you need to put on your sandals.

You need to get those steel-studded soldier sandals so that you can have firm footing and not slip around in fear and uncertainty while on the field of battle. And Paul says we put on the sandals by being prepared with the gospel of peace.

You must be prepared by knowing how the gospel impacts your own life, and you must be prepared in knowing how to share and live the gospel with others. This is what we learn in the final section: how to strap the sandals of the gospel on your feet.

Putting on the Sandals

We already know from the previous section what the gospel is, but it is important to elaborate on the gospel a little bit further in order to properly prepare ourselves with the gospel.

The gospel is every truth and concept related to the person, work, teaching, and ministry of Jesus Christ.

This means that there are thousands and thousands of gospel truths. After all, since the entire Bible is somehow related to the person and work of Jesus Christ, this means that every biblical truth is a gospel truth.

Roman SoldiersSince there are so many gospel truths, this is why the gospel presentations of Christians becomes so garbled. Some Christians prefer to share one set of truths, while other Christians prefer to share a different set of truths.

For example, many Christians like to talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus. And these are good things to talk about, for they are gospel truths (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-8). But other Christians like to get into prophecies about Jesus, or how all people are sinners in need of grace. These too are gospel truths and can be mentioned.

But you can see how it gets confusing for Christians and non-Christians alike. One person shares one set of gospel truths and another person shares a different set, and both claim that they are sharing the gospel.

But if we can focus on one central idea, this helps bring every gospel explanation into proper focus. There is one central gospel truth to which all other gospel truths point, and it is this: Jesus gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it.

Or to state it another way, eternal life is received by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.

This is the central truth of the gospel which must always be kept in mind, and which must always be our focus. Once we keep this truth in the center, all other gospel truths flow from it and support it.

So is it true that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead? Yes. And you can share these gospel truths with people if you want. These truths helps support and defend the idea that the promise of Jesus can be trusted. If Jesus was just any other person, then when He died, He would have stayed dead.

But the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, proves that Jesus was who He said He was, and is able to offer what He offered, namely, eternal life. The death and resurrection of Jesus proves that Jesus can give eternal life to those who believe in Him for it.

Can we talk about prophecy and human sinfulness? Sure! Prophecy about Jesus helps show that God was planning and preparing the world for the truth that would come through Jesus, which is that we donโ€™t need good works and religion to earn our way back into Godโ€™s good graces.

From the very beginning, God predicted and promised that He would send a Messiah who would show the world the one true way back to Him, which is through faith alone in Jesus. Due to our sinfulness, we can never be good enough to work our way into Godโ€™s family, so He freely welcomes us into His family when we believe in Jesus.

Do you see how the one central truth of the gospel helps bring clarity to every other truth of the gospel? The truth of eternal life by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is the central, unifying truth of the gospel which pulls all of the rest of the gospel truths together into a coherent whole.

gospel preparation truthsWhen you keep this central truth in mind, you can share a lot of other gospel truths with others without sounding like you are speaking gibberish. You can share a lot of truths, or a few truths. You can answer questions and objections they might have. The gospel becomes simple to share with others, because you no longer have to worry if you have shared enough truth or the right truth. You have one simple truth to share, and everything else flows from that.

When you share the gospel with others, keep it simple and keep it scriptural. Share the central gospel truth with others the same way Jesus did. Whenever Jesus told someone about how to receive eternal life, He told them to believe in Him for it. If this was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for us. We do not need to try to change these words or improve upon them. For example, I hear many Christians invite others to do one of the following things:

  • Believe and ___________ (Repent, confess, be baptized, etc.).
  • Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.
  • Repent of your sins.
  • Confess your sins.
  • Be sorry for your sins.
  • Be willing to give up your sins.
  • Confess Christ.
  • Follow Christ.
  • Accept Jesus as your personal savior.
  • Commit/submit/surrender your life to Christ.
  • Put Christ on the throne of your life.
  • Turn your life over to Christ.
  • Give your heart/life to Christ.
  • Let go and let God.
  • Believe in God.
  • Have faith.
  • Believe that Jesus died on the cross.
  • Ask/invite Christ into your heart/life.
  • Pray this prayer.
  • Walk an aisle.
  • Come forward.
  • Raise your hand.
  • Sign this card.

Some of those things are good things to do. Some of them are even biblical things to do. But not a single one of those is stated anywhere in the Bible, or ever used by Jesus, Paul, or any other biblical author, as a way to receive eternal life.

In fact, a person can do or believe every single one of the items on that list, and still not believe in Jesus for eternal life.

Some of the items on that list are good works, so when we use them, we are telling people to perform good works in order to receive eternal life.

what is the gospelSo when Christians start to use practices and phrases like these as a way to share the gospel, it gets confusing for them and for those who hear us.

Rather than use such muddled messages, let us use the words that Jesus used and simply invite people to believe in Jesus for eternal life. Itโ€™s simple; itโ€™s clear; and itโ€™s biblical.

Now, this central gospel truth about eternal life also helps us in our own life. As indicated earlier, it helps keep us on our feet as followers of Jesus. If you donโ€™t know that you have eternal life, then you will be uncertain about what you need to do, or how good you need to be, in order to gain eternal life.

This uncertainty creates much fear and instability in your life.

But once you believe in Jesus, and you know that you have eternal life as a result, you no longer have to worry about whether you are doing enough, or obeying enough, or performing enough good works.

discipleInstead, you can step out in faith to follow Jesus without fear because you know that He will keep you safe and secure, no matter what.

Once we know we have eternal life in Jesus, we can begin to practice all the rest of the gospel truths that are contained in Scripture. After all, if the gospel contains every truth related to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and since many truths related to Jesus are about how to live our life here and now, then this means that the gospel contains many truths about how we are to live.

The gospel is not just about what we believe or what we say, but also about what we do.

But again, if we think that we need to live a certain way in order to gain or keep eternal life, then we will live in constant fear and will never be surefooted on the field of spiritual battle.

But maintaining a hold on the central truth of the gospel, that eternal life is the free gift of God to anyone who believes in Jesus for it, helps us then maintain a proper perspective on the purpose of every other gospel truth. Many of the other gospel truths are given to help us live in this life the way God wants and desires.

greatest sinsWhen we live out the truths of the gospel, we will get rid of sin in our lives, because sin trips us up and causes us to stumble into the muddy ground at our feet. When we live out the truths of the gospel, we will love our enemies, forgive others, and serve those who mistreat us and abuse us.

In other words, we will be creating pockets of peace in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We will be standing on our feet in the field of battle, living out the truths of the gospel of peace with those who surround us. We will have our feet firmly planted on the ground.

So do you have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace?

You must first know that you have eternal life by faith in Christ.

This will then allow you to know how to simply and clearly share this message with others.

And finally, the clear and central gospel message will enable you to live out the rest of the gospel in your life right now.

This is how you shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Knowing the central truths of the gospel, knowing how to share it with others, and knowing how to live in light of the gospel will greatly aid you in staying on your feet during spiritual battle. It will keep you from becoming muddled and unclear as you bring good news of peace to a world that needs to hear.

Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God? If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, The Armor of God, z Bible & Theology Topics: armor of God, Ephesians 6:10-20, Ephesians 6:15, good news, gospel, peace, sandals of the gospel, sin, spiritual armor, spiritual warfare

Good Questions About the Death of Jesus that Make no Sense

By Jeremy Myers
11 Comments

Good Questions About the Death of Jesus that Make no Sense

A reader sent an email today with these questions:

  1. If Jesus died in the place of others, why does everyone else also die?
  2. If the penalty for sin is hell forever, and if Jesus paid the penalty for all the sins of the world, why is Jesus not the only one in hell forever?
  3. Did God punish Jesus by making him die and go to hell, or did God reward Jesus by raising him up from death and lifting him up to heaven?
  4. If Jesus died on a Friday afternoon and rose from the dead by the next Sunday morning, was the penalty for all the sins of the world less than two days dead?
  5. If God punished Jesus for all the sins of others by making him die on a cross, why are Judas Iscariot, Pontius Pilate, and Caiaphas not all heroes and saints for fulfilling the will of God?
  6. If people should rejoice at the suffering and death of Jesus, as if his pain were their gain, should they mourn his resurrection and ascension, as if his gain is their pain?
  7. If we live because Jesus died, do we die because Jesus rose to live again?
  8. If people go to heaven because Jesus went to hell, do people go to hell because Jesus went to heaven?
  9. Did the crucifixion of Jesus cancel the sins of others, or was it really the worst sin of all?
  10. Would God be just if He punished the innocent in place of the guilty?
  11. If Jesus paid the penalty for all the sins of others, and salvation in unconditional, is not everyone saved, no matter what he believes, says, or does?
  12. If the purpose of Jesus was to die, why did his story not end with his death?
  13. If good deeds make no difference, because no one can earn salvation, why did Jesus say so much about what persons should and should not do?
  14. How could the penalty for sins be paid hundreds of years before those sins were done?
  15. If Jesus, like a scapegoat, took away our sins when he died, did he bring back our sins when he came back from the dead?
  16. How could Jesus be a substitute to go in our places and also be a leader and example whom we should follow?
  17. If we do not follow Jesus, but he goes one way so that we can go another way, how do we expect to end up where he is?
  18. If Jesus were God, and God demanded that Jesus die to pay the penalty for the sins of everyone else, did God commit suicide?

As I read through these excellent questions about the death of Jesus, I realized that I couldn’t answer ANY of them because I didn’t accept the presuppositions that were within each question.

For example, with question #1,ย I do not believe Jesus died in the place of others. I do not believe in “substitutionary” atonement.

With question 2, I do not believe that the penalty for sin is hell forever.

With question 3, I do not believe that God punished Jesus by making him die and go to hell…

And so on throughout the list of questions….

This is the problem with the vast majority of theology today. We are asking wrong questions because we are beginning with wrong ideas about God, Jesus, sin, and hell.

All of the questions above disappear when we learn just a few things from Scripture. Like what?

  1. God does not require punishment for sin, or blood payment to forgive.
  2. God is infinitely gracious, forgiving, and loving.
  3. Jesus didn’t die to appease God or buy forgiveness from God.
  4. Hell isn’t what you think…

Start with those ideas, and the way you read and understand the Bible will forever be transformed. If you want help, here are three books to get you started:

  • (#AmazonAdLink) The Atonement of God
  • (#AmazonAdLink) Nothing But the Blood of Jesus
  • (#AmazonAdLink) What is Hell?

Enjoy!

God is Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: atonement, Bible and Theology Questions, Books I'm Writing, death of Jesus, hell

Putting on the Breastplate of Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14b)

By Jeremy Myers
1 Comment

Putting on the Breastplate of Righteousness (Ephesians 6:14b)
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As we continue to look at the spiritual armor God has given us for our spiritual battle, we look at the breastplate. Specifically in Ephesians 6:14, Paul calls it the breastplate of righteousness.

And just as with the belt of truth, we will look at this second piece of the armor in three ways. First, how it was used on the soldier, second, how it is to be used for us as Christians in spiritual battle, and then finally, how we can put it on for battle.

Let us begin with what the breastplate did for the soldier.

The Breastplate for the Soldier

As the name implies, the breastplate of the Roman soldier was worn on the chest or torso of the soldier. Although at times, they were made out of leather, the breastplates worn by soldiers in Paulโ€™s day were typically made from iron.

But the breastplates were not made from one solid piece of metal the way we might imaging seeing on a knight in medieval England. It was not plate armor.

The Roman soldierโ€™s armor was scale armor. The Roman military breastplate was made of overlapping bands of metal that were then tied together with leather cords. This made the Roman breastplate more flexible and maneuverable than the kind of breastplates the knights wore.

The scale armor of the Roman soldier was much lighter and more flexible than the suits of armor worn by medieval knights. Remember, the Roman soldier had to run 24 miles in five hours while wearing his armor. I doubt that a medieval knight, wearing a full suit of armor, could run five miles in five hours.

This type of breastplate construction helped the Roman soldier on the field of battle. They were light on their feet, and the flexible breastplate enabled them to make quick maneuvers and changes during the battle.

And what was the purpose of the breastplate? It helped protect the soldierโ€™s vital organs, such as the heart, lungs, and the entire digestive tract. If any of these organs were damaged in battle, the soldier was almost certain to die.

So the breastplate was obviously important. It was made of strips of metal so that it could be light and flexible, and itโ€™s main purpose was to protect the vital organs of the soldier.

With this in mind, let us move on to see how the spiritual breastplate is to be used for the Christian in spiritual warfare.

The Breastplate for the Christian

As we seek to discover the role and function the spiritual breastplate serves for the Christian, it is important to remember that the breastplate is connected to and held in place by the belt of truth (cf. how the two are connected in Ephesians 5:9).

And the belt of truth is Scripture, the Word of God. We put on the belt of truth by reading, studying, and learning what Scripture says. The breastplate of righteousness then, is the right way of living that comes from learning and obeying the truth of Scripture.

There is a major difference between understanding the truth and living the truth.

There is a difference between being able to recite verses and list Bible facts, and actually living or applying those verses and Bible facts to your life.

Religious Leaders missed ChristmasDo you remember the Pharisees? They were Bible scholars. They were experts of the law. Most of them had the entire Torahโ€”the first five books of the Bibleโ€”memorized. They knew the history of Israel forward and backward. They prayed and sang the Psalms. They could recite passages from the Prophets.

But this group of religious leaders disagreed with most of what Jesus said and taught, and it is for them that Jesus reserved His most scalding rebukes. For example, in Matthew 23:27-28, Jesus says,

Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which indeed appear beautiful outwardly, but inside are full of dead menโ€™s bones and all uncleanness. Even so you also outwardly appear righteous to men, but inside you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

These men were outwardly righteous. They appeared righteous to others. They had all the right words, and all the right actions, and all the right behaviors. But Jesus says to them, โ€œIt doesnโ€™t matter what you look like on the outside. All that matters is how you look on the inside. What does your heart look like?โ€

This is what the breastplate of righteousness is for. Just as the breastplate was made of many interlocking strips of metal tied together to protect the vital organs of a soldier, so also, all the numerous passages of Scripture, when they are rightly understood and applied, work together as interlocking truths, to protect the vital functions of our life as a Christian.

Scripture keeps the desires of our heart on the right track, so that we desire the things of God, rather than the things of this world. In other words, to wear the breastplate of righteousness, we have to protect our heart, the center of who we are, by keeping our conscience pure.

Scripture also keeps our spiritual lungs breathing deeply from the indwelling life of the Holy Spirit so that we can be guided and shaped into the image of Jesus Christ. Scripture allows us to properly digest and comprehend the things we experience in life so that these experiences can be used to guide and direct ourselves and others on the path toward peace and unity.

When properly protected and informed by Scripture, our godly desires, the indwelling Holy Spirit, and our life experiences lead us into the life of righteousness that God wants for us.

But what is righteousness?

Before we can learn how to put it on, we must know what it is. There is a whole set of English words that are all related to one another and attempt to explain a single biblical concept. The words include terms like justification, justice, justify, righteous, and righteousness. They all come from the Greek words dikฤ“, dikaiosunฤ“, dikaioล, and dikaios. If you want to learn more, my Gospel Dictionary Course will eventually have a lesson on “Righteousness”

The words are all related in concept and themes, and refer to the judgments, decisions, or announcements of an authority figure about the condition or โ€œrightnessโ€ of someone or something else. All of these words carry the idea of something being โ€œin the right.โ€

So, for example, a judge or justice might declare a person to be โ€œin the right,โ€ that is, not guilty (cf. Rom 3:23-25). An accountant might declare a set of ledgers or financial records โ€œin the right,โ€ equaled, or properly balanced. Government officials might ratify (or โ€œrightifyโ€) a treaty with another government or organization, thereby stating that both parties of the treaty agree that the terms of the treaty are correct, or โ€œin the right.โ€

So this word family is one of those biblical terms where various English words have been used to translate the one set of Greek words, which then leads to some confusion about the meaning of the words. Some of this conclusion could be cleared up if Bible translators picked a word and stuck with it.

The two best options are the English words โ€œrightโ€ and โ€œjust.โ€ If they went with โ€œrightโ€ then we would talk about righteousness, rightness, being in the right, and ratify. If we went with the word โ€œjustโ€ we could speak of justice, justification, and justify.

Regardless of which term is used, however, there is something that must be noticed about this particular word family. When something is ratified, justified, or declared right, it is only a statement about the present and current condition of the person, ledgers, or treaty. It says nothing about their future condition.

If an accountant looks at a set of financial books and discovers that they are balanced, he will declare them to be justified. They are balanced. But this does not mean that an error or mistake will not be made tomorrow or next month which will put them out of balance.

Similarly, if two governments ratify a treaty, there is the expectation that they will abide by the terms of this treaty in the future, but history has shown that countries and governments break the terms of treaties all the time. So the current agreement on the terms of a treaty do not guarantee that the treaty will always be in effect.

Furthermore, even if a judge declares a person to be โ€œnot guiltyโ€ of a particular crime, this does not mean that the person will not commit that particular crime in the future. So the declaration of โ€œrightnessโ€ is only about the present condition of something; it says nothing about the future.

This brings us back around to the breastplate of righteousness that we are to wear. Itโ€™s is Godโ€™s breastplate, and He gives it to us. Why? Because we could never achieve it or earn it on our own. Godโ€™s standard of โ€œrightnessโ€ is perfection. God, as the divine judge, the heavenly accountant, will not and cannot declare any person to be โ€œrightโ€ unless they are perfectly holy and without sin.

But that is impossible for any human being. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23). In and of ourselves, not a single human being (other than Jesus) is โ€œin the right.โ€ But this was not acceptable to God, and so He decided to make His own perfect righteousness available to us. This is what Paul has in mind when he writes here about the breastplate of righteousness.

When God gives His breastplate of righteousness to us, He is saying, โ€œNo matter what you have done and no matter what you will do, your ledgers are balanced, your accounts are correct, you are justified because I have given My holiness to you.โ€

But of course, God doesnโ€™t give His righteousness to everyone. As Paul states repeatedly in Romans and Galatians, God gives His righteousness only to those who believe in Jesus for it. God cannot force His righteousness on people; it can only be received by faith.

This righteousness we receive from God by faith then guides us into how God wants us to live the rest of our life by faith. This brings us to the discussion of how to take up and put on the breastplate of righteousness.

Putting on the Breastplate

To put on the breastplate of righteousness, we must first recognize that, just as with all the pieces of Spiritual armor, the breastplate of righteousness belongs to God. In Isaiah 59:17, we read that God wears righteousness as a breastplate. Isaiah 59 further reveals that this righteousness is not the positional, imputed righteousness that God gives to all believers the moment they believe in Jesus for everlasting life. Instead, it is the practical, day-to-day righteousness that God expects and desires all Christians to live by. It is living the holy life.

But before we can wear the breastplate, we must have it. And as just indicated, we receive the righteousness of God by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone. We cannot earn or buy the breastplate of righteousness for ourselves. It is the free gift of God to anyone and everyone who simply and only believes in Jesus for it.

However, receiving the righteousness of God by faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is not the same thing as living the righteous life that God wants and desires for us. Just as a declaration by an accountant that the books are balanced is no guarantee that the books will not make mistakes in the future, so also, though we have been declared right by God, we still often make mistakes in our lives.

Just as a judgment by a judge that a person is not guilty is no guarantee that the person will not break the law in the future, so also, the declaration of rightness by God is no guarantee that we will not break Godโ€™s law in the future.

Once we have received the righteousness of God, we must make sure we put it on and wear it. The breastplate of righteousness is only helpful in spiritual warfare if it is strapped around our chest.

So how do we put on the breastplate of righteousness? How do we make sure that the free gift of Godโ€™s positional and imputed righteousness becomes the practical and applied righteousness of God in our lives?

How do we make sure that Godโ€™s declaration that we are โ€œin the rightโ€ with Him becomes the true reality of our life as we walk with Him? Since there is a difference between being declared right and actually living right, how can the spiritual reality of our righteousness from God become the practical reality of a righteous life?

The key to practical righteousness is to recognize that while all of us will continue to sin during this life, there are steps we can take to purify our lives and refrain from sin as we follow Jesus on the path of discipleship.

The breastplate of righteousness, remember, covers the vital organs of the body, such as the heart, lungs, and digestive tract. So when we seek to take up and put on the breastplate of righteousness, we seek to protect the vital and essential elements of our life as a Christian.

We seek to protect our heart and its desires. We maintain contact with the indwelling and purifying work of the Holy Spirit as we maintain a pure conscience before God. We make sure that the spiritual food we eat is healthy for the growth and development of our spiritual bodies.

The biblical practices of confession, purification, and repentance help us maintain righteousness and holiness in our lives. The first letter of these three terms form the acronym CPR, which is interesting because CPR is the practice of reviving a person when their heart or lungs stop working.

The breastplate protects these vital organs, but we can also restore them to proper functionality through spiritual CPR. Heart attacks often occur as a result of poor diet, but we can get a heart beating again and return breath to the lungs through spiritual CPR. If there is an area in your life where you are having a spiritual heart attack, or where you are about to be drowned by sin, God wants to get your heart beating and your lungs breathing again through spiritual CPR: Confession, Purification, and Repentance.

These three practices will help us achieve and maintain the practical righteousness of God in our lives. Let us briefly consider each.

Confession (1 John 1:9-10)

There is much confusion about confession. People wonder what they should confess, how they should confess, and who they should confess to. And then there is the question of how confession differs from repentance.

The basic definition of confession is that it occurs when we admit or agree that something we said, did, or thought was wrong. When we agree, admit, or confess that a behavior were wrong, this stops sin dead in its tracks. See “Confess” in my Gospel Dictionary course for more.

Quite often, we Christians do things we know are wrong. We know we are not supposed to lie, lust, steal, covet, or commit any number of other sins, but sometimes, in a moment of weakness, we engage in such sins anyway.

Afterwards, the Holy Spirit works with our conscience to convict us of our sin. The Spirit points out to us what we already know, that what we did was wrong. And if we agree with the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, then we confess our sin, and the sin does not take further root in our life.

John is teaching that when we sin, God often points out to us that what we did was wrong. When this happens, we are faced with a choice. We can either agree with God that our actions were wrong and then turn from them, or we can disagree with God and continue in our sinful behavior.

If we agree, then we are released from the potential addiction and destruction that this sinful behavior might bring upon us and are cleansed so we can follow Jesus in righteousness again.

If, however, we do not confess, if we do not agree with God that our behaviors were wrong, then we will continue in these destructive behaviors, and will likely become enslaved to a damaging and destructive pattern of sin in our lives. Sin will sink a hook into us, and will drag us down deeper into its destructive tendencies.

confess our sins

All patterns of sin begin by committing the particular sin the very first time. When this happens, God confronts us on it. He might do this through Scripture, or by the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, or maybe even through the gentle words of a trusted friend. If we ignore the corrective prodding from God, we will likely continue in this sin, committing it more and more frequently, until we become enslaved to it.

Sin will sink its claws into it. It will hook into us and not let us go. We will become addicted to this sin, until it becomes a destructive habit or pattern in our life.

John gives the solution to this problem in 1 John 1:9. He says that when we sin and God confronts us about it, we should own up to what we did. We should confess our sin, agree with God that what we did was wrong.

If we do this, then sin will not gain a foothold in our life. Instead, we will be released from the addicting power and destructive consequences of that sin. We will be cleansed from the unrighteous behavior, and will maintain the practical righteous life that God wants and desires for us. See “Confess” in my Gospel Dictionary course for more.

Now, there is a way to break free from the addicting and enslaving patterns of sin in our life as well, but confession will not be enough. We will need repentance for that. However, before we talk about repentance, let us consider purification.

Purification (James 4:8)

While purification and confession are similar, there is one main difference. Confession is necessary when we do something we knew was wrong. We knew it was wrong to lie, but we lied anyway, and then our conscience kicked in, so confessed to God and to the person we lied to.

Purification is different. Purification is necessary when we do something wrong that we didnโ€™t initially know was wrong. Purification is required when we discover that some action or behavior we performedโ€”maybe many yearsโ€”is actually sinful and wrong, but we didnโ€™t know it.

While confession is necessary when we do something we knew was wrong, purification is necessary when God reveals the truth to us about a sinful behavior we didnโ€™t know was wrong.

God doesnโ€™t really hold these sins against us, for He constantly cleanses and purifies us from all sin anyway, but once He takes our sanctification to the next level and start pointing out new areas in our life He wants us to work on, it is our responsibility to purify our lives from these sinful activities, beliefs, or behaviors.

Believe it or not, there are many sorts of activities in life that most peopleโ€”including Christiansโ€”do not recognize as sinful. We all come to Christianity with a host of bad habits.

And thatโ€™s okay.

God doesnโ€™t expect us to get rid of them all before we become a Christian, or even in the first few weeks, months, or years of being a Christian. He takes us just as we are, and works with us slowly over time. The process of sanctification is a life-long process.

After we become a Christian, God begins to deal with us and some of our sinful ways of living, many of which most people donโ€™t even think of as being sinful. As we seek to follow Jesus on the path of discipleship, He begins to show us that some of the things we are doing are not really what we should be doing.

Some of the behaviors God wants to purify from our lives might seem a little surprising, because we didnโ€™t even realize that what we were doing was wrong. ย Almost everyone knows that murder and adultery are wrong, but there are many sinful condemned by Scripture which few people realize are wrong.

Take money as an example. Many people, Christians included, think that the money they make is theirs to spend. Even though many Christians give a tithe, they assume the rest is theirs to keep, to do with as they please. But all money belongs to God, and He wants us to use money to love, serve, feed, and clothe others.

Gossip and slander also are a normal way of life for most people. We like to hear the newest juicy tidbit of news about other people. We Christians even like to spread gossip under the guise of sharing a โ€œprayer request.โ€ We say things like, โ€œDid you hear about how Mr. and Mrs. Jones are going to marriage counseling? Yes, I heard they had a fight, and he went down to the local bar and had a few too many drinks. He ended up kissing a woman down there in front of everyone, and who knows what else they didโ€ฆ I wonder if they are going to get divorced. We should pray for them.โ€ This is not a prayer request. This is Christian gossip.

Some of us have been engaging in these sorts of practices for years. Maybe even decades. And we never really knew they were wrong, because this is just how the world works. But eventually, through Bible study, prayer, a sermon, or the kind counsel of a Christian friend, we hear that a behavior we have always practiced is actually wrong and displeasing to God.

When this happens, we must make the choice to purify our lives from such behaviors. James 4:8 says, โ€œDraw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.โ€

When we draw near to God, He draws near to us, and His closeness to us ends up shining light into the dark corners of our life, pointing out dust and cobwebs we never knew were there.

When God reveals to us that these behaviors are sinful, we are to cleanse our hands from such actions, and purify our hearts. In so doing, we will draw closer to God, and He will draw closer still to us. And of course, the process of purification will begin again.

The process of purification is a never-ending cycle of becoming more and more like Jesus, and more like the person God wants us to be.

So purification is different than confession. We purify our lives of sinful behaviors that we didnโ€™t know were sinful until God pointed them out to us. But we are to confess the sins we commit which we knew were sinful when we committed them.

But what about when we engage in sinful practices that we know are sinful, and which we practice for a long time?

In other words, if we refuse to confess the actions we knew were sinful, or refuse to purify our lives from the sinful behaviors God revealed to us, what happens then? In this case, we continue to practice the sin. We will chase after it. It will become a pattern, a habit, or addiction, in our life. When this happens, there is only one way out: repentance.

repentance

Repentance (Luke 15:11-32)

One of the classic biblical stories about repentance is the Parable of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15:11-32. It is story about a father who has two sons. The younger son asks for his inheritance early, and then goes off to a far country to squander his inheritance on feasting and parties. He eventually finds himself living among the pigs, without food, shelter, or clothing, and decides to return home. When he returns home, his father throws a big โ€œWelcome Homeโ€ party for his son.

Most Christians think this is a story about how God welcomes non-Christians in His family. They think the prodigal son represents non-believer, and the party occurs when this person becomes a Christian.

But that is not true to the story. The son was a son before he ever left home. He did not become a son by going home.

In the two previous parables of Luke 15, the lost sheep belonged to the shepherd before he went looking for it, and the lost coin belonged to the woman before she swept her house clean. It is the same with the lost son. The father doesnโ€™t adopt a son he never had before. The son rebels and leaves and then returns. In this way, the son represents a Christian who went off into sin, and lived in sin for a very long time.

And at the end of the stories, Jesus says that there is great rejoicing in heaven when one sinner repents. Who is the sinner Jesus has in mind? It is the sinful Christian.

The sinner who has turned away from the path of discipleship and decided instead to live in sin and rebellion against God. This sinner still remains a Christian, a son, but they are in a far off land, away from the light, love, joy, and fellowship that is found in the fatherโ€™s household. But when the wayward Christian returns, God throws a party.

How is this return accomplished? Through repentance. The son journeyed to a far country, then when he realized that his sinful rebellion wasnโ€™t good, enjoyable, or satisfying, he turned away, repented, and started the journey back. He was headed one way, and then he repented and started heading the other way. This is repentance.

It is for those Christians who have refused to confess their sin when God points it out to them, and have ignored Godโ€™s revelation about purifying their lives from sinful behaviors. Instead of follow Godโ€™s guidance, they continue to follow sin. But eventually, the find themselves wallowing in the mud with pigs. Once they realize how wrong they were, and how right God was, they can then begin the journey of repentance back toward God.

But this journey doesnโ€™t happen overnight. If we spent a decade walking into the woods, we wonโ€™t get out in an hour. The journey back toward God will often take less time than the journey away, for after all, when the son was still a long way off, the father ran to meet him.

When God sees us coming back, He will run to meet us as well, so that He might walk with us, and even carry us, on the return journey. But the return journey of repentance must be made. Only through learning from our mistakes and journeying back toward obedience to God will we learn to avoid more mistakes in the future.

And the return doesnโ€™t happen in an hour. If it took us 20 years to journey into the woods, we wonโ€™t get out in 20 minutes. Thankfully, it wonโ€™t take 20 years to get out of the woods, for the Father, when He saw his son returning from a long way off, ran out to meet him.

prodigal sonGod is watching for our return, and when we turn, and begin to journey back toward fellowship with Him, He casts aside all dignity, and runs with haste to meet us on the road, carrying and helping us when we are tired and weary from the journey. But we must journey back, if we are to return to fellowship in the family.

And the return journey requires repentance. It requires us to take the time, energy, resources, and locations that we used to use to aid us in our sin, and transforming or redeeming such items to be used in the pursuit of godliness and holiness. We turn away from our habits of sin and turn toward developing habits of righteousness.

Repentance is turning away from patterns and habits of sinful rebellion, and beginning to take the journey back toward God.

Conclusion

So the three elements of spiritual CPR can be summarized in this way: Confession is for those one-time sins we knew were sinful, but which we committed anyway. It keeps sin from setting its hooks and claws into our lives.

Purification is for those one-time or long-term sins we commit, which we didnโ€™t know were sinful until it is pointed out to us through Scripture, the convicting work of the Holy Spirit, or a good friend.

Repentance is for breaking free from the sinful habits or behaviors we have practiced for a very long time which we knew were sinful, but which we practiced anyway. Repentance is needed when sin has hooked into us deeply, and we need the careful hands of the Great Physician to cut the sin out of our bodies, and the healing touch of the Holy Spirit to restore our life and health. Repentance is often a long process, but it is the only way to recover from sinful habits and patterns.

Together, confession, purification, and repentance allow us to practice spiritual CPR in our lives as Christians. Such practices keep our lives free from sin and on the path of righteousness that God wants for us.

Righteousness keeps us healthy and strong as soldiers of Jesus Christ so that we can fight against wicked forces in spiritual warfare. Righteousness keeps our lungs breathing in the pure air the indwelling Holy Spirit, our heart focused on the desires of God, and our belly fill with the meat of the truth of Godโ€™s Word.

We take up and put on Godโ€™s breastplate of righteousness by removing our filthy clothes stained with sin and replacing them with His practical righteousness. When we get the breastplate of righteousness on, when we get it firmly in place, it becomes much easier to protect our heart.

Only in this way will you protect your life from the deadly and suffocating consequences of sin. Only then will we be able to stop the fiery darts that the devil shoots our way.

Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God? If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. This course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group, you can to take the entire course for free.

God is Redeeming God, Redeeming Scripture, Redeeming Theology, z Bible & Theology Topics: armor of God, breastplate of righteousness, confess, confession, Ephesians 6:10-20, Ephesians 6:14, Luke 15:11-32, prodigal son, purification, repentance, righteousness, spiritual warfare

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