Stand firm therefore,
HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH… Ephesians 6:14a
As we have been studying about
the last three days, Paul has set the scene for us in the spiritual war that is
being waged against Satan, his advocates, God and His soldiers. We are fighting a war, and the stakes
are higher than they have ever been in human history. Satan and his troops have one main objective: to obliterate
God’s children. t
One thing: This battle
in which you and I are engaged is first and foremost the Lord’s battle, not
ours. We are his troops and we are really not to
battle Satan but to simply withstand the attacks of the enemy. The battle is won already. The victory is already God’s. But the enemy continues to attack. The Armor of God will protect us.
We have learned about the
weapons we are to use in this battle.
Now let’s explore the armor we are to don - God’s perfect provision to
protect His children against Satan.
The Belt of
Truth
Girding your loins with truth
means to be firmly established in the word of God. Reading the bible and meditating on the word allows it to
become a part of your mind set.
Saturate your being with God’s truth and make it a fortress to keep out
the lies of Satan. God’s word is
truth and therefore makes it foundational to all other pieces of armor.
What does a belt do for a
soldier? It holds everything
important. A holster, a scabbard, it allows for freedom for the soldier. It
keeps everything in place. Real Truth
is immovable; non-truth does not stay in place. Truth is eternal and unchangeable, regardless of what people
think. The Bible is God’s truth
that is unchangeable. It is the
same yesterday, today, and forever.
We are not talking about “truths” as in principals, but the truth upon
which all other truth stands. There are multiple “truths” in the world. Above
them all is the Truth, which is that which God says to be true, in which He
graciously allows followers of Christ to share. That Truth inevitably conflicts
with all other “truths.” Any
so-called “truth” in conflict with God’s Truth is no truth at all; it is a lie,
a manifestation of the one great Lie that tells us the God of the Bible is not
the one God and King over all. The war between the Truth and “truths” is really
the war between Truth and the Lie. But the Lie doesn’t come to us openly
announcing, “I’m false, I’m deceptive.” It comes to us pretending it is true.
Satan attacks with lies. As we
said yesterday, he is the father of all lies. When we gird ourselves with the truth we are able to
withstand his attack. He
especially zeroes in on discrediting God’s promises, just like he did with Eve
in the Garden of Eden. Are you sure that’s what God said… He only has to be successful in
getting us to believe one lie, and then it snowballs into discouragement,
confusion, and defeat. We must
know what we believe and cling to it.
Satan even uses other believers at times to try to get us to compromise
a standard and then once that is done, it is even easier to do it again. We have to be strong. Bring
security to your life with the unchanging word of God. It is impossible for God to lie (Hebrews 6:18)
and His truth
offers steadfast and sure hope for the soul. (Hebrews 6:19)
Satan will also try to make a
strong Christian believe lies about themselves. These lies may come in the first person like My
life is not worth living, or God does not care about me at all. He knows that we are more likely to
believe his lies if we acknowledge them as our own thoughts and speak them from
our own mouths. That is exactly
what Satan wants. He knows our
weaknesses, he knows where our confidence wavers and he will attack to cause us
to be less useful for the purposes God has for us. 1Corinthians 10:13 tells us No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to
man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you
are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that
you will be able to endure it. This is a truth of God
we need to gird ourselves with!
Scripture to Claim:
But when He, the Spirit of
truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on
His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose
to you what is to come. John 16:13
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