Category Archives: Christian Life

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 5

Christian Life,

Ephesians 6:15 NLT
[15] “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.”

A soldier can only stand firm on two feet. To use his weapons effectively, he must be able to balance with both feet firmly on the ground. So, God has provided us with equipment to stay in balance, and to help us recognise when one foot is not firmly planted.

Despite some interpretations of this Scripture, based on the King James Version…

Ephesians 6:15 KJV
[15]”and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

…this verse in context is not about the “going” of evangelism, but about “standing” against the enemy.

We need sturdy shoes on both feet to stand steady against the enemy’s attacks. What are the shoes of peace we wear to give us sure footing in our stand against Satan?

Romans 5:1 NIV
[1] “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have PEACE WITH GOD through our Lord Jesus Christ…”

“Peace with God” refers to our standing in grace. We are no longer at odds with the Father because Jesus has paid our debt of sin and reconciled us to the Father. There is peace between us and God since His anger at our sin has been removed.

This peace takes care of our guilty conscience. We are free to approach the Father without fear because we have a standing in righteousness and an Advocate, Jesus, who speaks for us if we sin. One foot is secure in our shoe of peace with God.

However, without the other shoe, we will easily be overcome when Satan launches His missiles at us. Yes, we are free from guilt but what of the day-to-day situations we face? How can we be sure of God’s love and goodness when stuff happens? How do we know who is responsible for our hardships and who we can trust?

Satan’s favourite ploy is to blame God, citing our troubles as punishment for whatever we might have done wrong. This tactic immediately sows doubt in our minds about our salvation. “Am I really saved because…?” Guilt, not peace, grips our hearts. How can we have the peace we need to stand on both feet?

Paul provides the perfect solution.

Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. [7] And THE PEACE OF GOD, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

God’s peace in our hearts and minds only comes when we turn our anxieties over to Him. I call it “spilling our guts to God.” God knows everything we think, including our doubts and fears, and the lies Satan tells us that can throw us off balance.

When we come clean with God about everything and choose instead to thank Him for His love and faithfulness IN OUR TROUBLES, something amazing happens! PEACE!!!

The other shoe provides the secure footing we need so that we are not pushed over by the devil’s lies. Peace with God and the peace of God keep us steady against the onslaught.

Paul completes his prescription for sure-footedness by revealing the source of our peace. Once again, when we fill our minds with truth, i.e., all the good things God is and dones for us, God Himself with be with us to stand guard over us and to hold us steady in times of testing.

Philippians 4:8-9 NIV
[8] “Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. [9] Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the GOD OF PEACE will be with you.”

Paul has one more piece of information about this peace that helps us “play the game of life” with peace as our “referee”.

Colossians 3:15 NLT
[15]”And let the peace that comes from Christ rule in your hearts. For as members of one body you are called to live in peace. And always be thankful.”

The peace of God is a very important part of our equipment. It’s like the referee’s whistle when we break a rule in the game of life.
The referee blows the whistle to alert us to a “foul”. God’s peace is disturbed. The Holy Spirit warns us to stop the game and go back to where we went wrong.

The devil will try to derail us with condemnation. God’s Word tells us to put the matter right with confession and forgiveness.

1 John 1:8 NLT
[8] “If we claim we have no sin, we are only fooling ourselves and not living in the truth.”

Hiding our sin from God will not restore our peace.

1 John 1:9 NLT
[9] “But if we confess our sins to him, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness.”

Our standing in righteousness remains intact. The peace of God, when we come clean with Him, is back in place to guard our hearts AND minds through Jesus.

1 John 3:21 NLT
[21]”Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence.”

The Holy Spirit does not make us feel guilty. It’s the work of our conscience to alert us when we have gone wrong. The Holy Spirit calls us to repentance and confession and restores our peace when we follow God’s instructions.
Without our shoes of peace, our feet are vulnerable. We must ensure that both feet always wear God’s protection of peace.

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 4

Christian Life, ,

Ephesians 6:14 NLT
[14] “Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.”

The next piece of “armour” covers our chest, protecting our lungs and heart, the most vital parts of our bodies without which we cannot live. What do our lungs and heart represent? Our lungs provide the oxygen our bodies need to function efficiently. Our hearts pump blood, carrying oxygen and nutrients to every cell in our bodies and waste matter away to be eliminated.

Air and nutrients are the essential ingredients that keep us alive. Truth is the spiritual counterpart that keeps us spiritually alive, drawn into our spirits as we take in the Word that influences our every thought and action.

Righteousness is our standing in God. He has cancelled the guilty verdict against us and rewritten our standing from “guilty” to “not guilty”. Regardless of our day-to-day thoughts and actions, we are permanently righteous because Jesus gave us His own righteousness.

2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV
[21″God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.”

Keeping our standing in righteousness always in mind, even if we sin, is the safeguard we have against one of Satan’s favourite tactics…condemnation!

Oh, how he enjoys accusing us when we have stepped out of line! He piles on the condemnation, trying to convince us that God is finished with us!

What an indictment against a merciful and faithful God who has assured us that we are forever righteous which is our standing in His grace and can never be taken away. We may blow it, but God has made provision even when we sin.

1 John 2:1-2 NLT
[1] “My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. [2] He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world.”

Hiw do we deal with condemnation?

First, we identify the voice of the accuser. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit convinces us of righteousness. What does He mean?

John 16:8 NLT
[8]”And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

Although three groups are not specifically categorised, the Holy Spirit has a focus on, first, unbelievers (the world). He convicts them of sin. Second, He convicts believers, not of sin since our own conscience does that for us…

1 John 3:21 NIV
[21]”Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God…”

Romans 2:14-15 NIV
[14] “(Indeed, when Gentiles, who do not have the law, do by nature things required by the law, they are a law for themselves, even though they do not have the law. [15] They show that the requirements of the law are written on their hearts, their consciences also bearing witness, and their thoughts sometimes accusing them and at other times even defending them.)”

…but of righteousness. He draws attention to our standing before God. Sin is a temporary lapse but the Spirit calls us to righteousness. His strategy is not to intensify our guilt but to call us back to who we are!

The third category in the Holy Spirit’s trilogy of focus is Satan. His destiny is judgment from which he can never escape. When he tries to condemn the sinning believer, the Spirit convinces him of his fate.

Our protection against the devil’s accusations, then is to remember and stand on our standing in righteousness before God. No matter what, we are forever righteous, guaranteed by Christ’s righteousness in us, and nothing can change our position.

We must breathe righteousness so that it can circulate and nourish our every thought and action. No matter what strategy Satan uses to try to breach our breastplate of righteous, it remains impenetrable because God said so, we believe it, and we are safe!

“This is the air I breathe
This is the air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me/2/
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word
Spoken to me
And I… I’m desparate for you
And I… I’m lost without you
This is air I breathe
Your holy presence
Living in me
This is my daily bread
This is my daily bread
Your very word
Spoken to me
And I… I’m desparate for you
And I… I’m lost without you”
REPEAT.
(Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Joseph Oscar Mettle
This Is the Air I Breathe lyrics © Ghmusic Publishing And Management)

We have a safeguard, a gauge if you like, that helps us to stay on track if and when we sin. We’ll examine this piece of our armour in our next post.

To be continued…

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 3

Christian Life, ,

Ephesians 6:13-14 NLT
[13] “Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. [14] Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness.”

The belt of truth…this is the most significant piece of armour to which every other piece is attached, holding each piece in place and protecting every vital part of our person from attack.

Unless we know, and believe the truth of the gospel, we have no protection against the devil’s subtle and convincing lies. Satan’s design is to cast doubt on what God has said and done in us, and to undermine our faith in His character, His faithfulness and reliability.

So, what God has said about righteousness, salvation, and all the benefits of Jesus’ death are written in His Word, and His Word in its entirety, is truth.

John 17:17 NLT
[17] “Make them holy by your truth; teach them your word, which is truth.”

It’s only through God’s Word that we can be saved, made holy, and be protected from Satan’s onslaughts. Without God’s Word, we have nothing to keep us from falling away.

How can we “put on” the belt of truth? To put on means to wear as we would put on and wear our clothing. Wearing implies keeping the garment on to cover our nakedness and vulnerability.

We can only “wear” the belt of truth if we make it a permanent part of our spiritual clothing. Every day, we take off our used clothes, and put on fresh garments. So, we need, constantly, to “take off” and discard our old ways of thinking by replacing them with God’s truth.

Romans 12:2 NLT
[2] “Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.”

Learning to think differently requires much more than reading the Bible. We must “put on” those qualities of which the Bible speaks.

We must read, then think about what we have read until we believe what God has said and act accordingly.

Colossians 3:2-3 NLT
[2] “Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth.
[3] “For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God.”

Thinking, then, must lead to application. If we have died to our old way of thinking and have read and thought about our new life in Christ and the way He lived out His character as, rife perfect Son, we must do as He did. We must put on the ways in which the Bible teaches us to love one another.

We will slowly become what we think and believe as we practise putting on love.

Colossians 3:10, 12-15 NLT
[10] “Put on your new nature, and be renewed as you learn to know your Creator and become like him.
[12] Since God chose you to be the holy people he loves, you must clothe yourselves with tenderhearted mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. [13] Make allowance for each other’s faults, and forgive anyone who offends you. Remember, the Lord forgave you, so you must forgive others. [14] Above all, clothe yourselves with love, which binds us all together in perfect harmony.”

The outcome is amazing, the miracle of God’s nature slowly becoming part of us.

Now, the evidence of God’s nature in us is what Satan hates. He wants to lure us back into sin so that he can discredit God both to ourselves and to others.

God’s Word in us and practised in our thinking, behaviour and responses, will keep the other pieces of our armour in place. They will guard our vital organs by reminding us of the truths we believe, deflecting the lies that would lure us away from our safety in Christ Jesus. God’s truth must become so much a part of us that it will keep us in His will and out of harm’s way.

To be continued…

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PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD – 2

Christian Life, ,

Before we examine the pieces of God’s armour, we must first answer the question, “What is our strategy in this war?”

Our position in the battle will determine our strategy.

Unfortunately again, those who believe that we must fight for new ground are mistaken, and their strategies are misleading. We are not in this war to gain new territory. We are participants in this war to protect the territory inside us that Jesus won for us.

What is the territory we now occupy with Him? Salvation, eternal life, the practical ways in which we live under His authority, and the power to overcome Satan’s strategies. Let’s look at what He has done to deliver us from Satan’s domain.

Colossians 2:13a NLT
[13] “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away…”

Did you get that? From birth, Satan has held us captive to sin because…

  1. We were dead to God and could not respond to Him in any way.
  2. We were slaves to sin and could not obey God’s laws.
  3. We were condemned to eternal death and could do nothing to save ourselves.

So, we had a lifetime of charges against us, we were accountable to God, and guilty as charged. Satan had a foothold in our lives we could not shake off and a grip on our inner man we could not escape. We were just like him in nature, doomed to eternal death, and utterly cut off from God. We lived in Satan’s territory, trapped and unable to escape from his power.

Romans 8:7-8 NLT
[7] “For the sinful nature is always hostile to God. It never did obey God’s laws, and it never will. [8] That’s why those who are still under the control of their sinful nature can never please God.”

Only God could intervene and change the situation. How did He do it?

Colossians 2:13b-15 NLT
[13]”Then God MADE YOU ALIVE with Christ, for he FORGAVE all our sins. [14] He CANCELED the record of the charges against us and took it away by nailing it to the cross. [15] In this way, he DISARMED the spiritual rulers and authorities. He SHAMED them publicly by his victory over them on the cross.”

He sent Jesus who obeyed God’s laws perfectly then died in our place to take our punishment for failing to obey God’s instructions. He delivered us from Satan’s grip. Now Satan has no power over us because…

  1. God made us alive to Him so that we can hear and respond to Him.
  2. God rescued us from Satan’s domain, brought us into His kingdom, to live under His authority and standards.
  3. God cancelled our debt of disobedience and nailed it to the cross.
  4. God gave us His nature to want to be and do what He wants us to be and do.
  5. We died to sin and our old nature, self. We are free to live in, under, and for God.

Tha battle continues in us because Satan still tries to convince us that God is lying, that He is unreliable, that His promises are not true. He tells us that he is still in charge, that we belong to him, and that we must still do what our old nature tells us to do.

We still have the old nature in us. The desires of our old nature towards Satan and evil and our new nature towards God and good pull us in two opposite directions.

The Apostle Paul realised how powerful this struggle was once he became a believer in Jesus.

Romans 7:9-12, 14-20 NLT
[9] “At one time I lived without understanding the law. But when I learned the command not to covet, for instance, the power of sin came to life, [10] and I died. So I discovered that the law’s commands, which were supposed to bring life, brought spiritual death instead. [11] Sin took advantage of those commands and deceived me; it used the commands to kill me. [12] But still, the law itself is holy, and its commands are holy and right and good….
[14] So the trouble is not with the law, for it is spiritual and good. The trouble is with me, for I am all too human, a slave to sin. [15] I don’t really understand myself, for I want to do what is right, but I don’t do it. Instead, I do what I hate. [16] But if I know that what I am doing is wrong, this shows that I agree that the law is good. [17] So I am not the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it. [18] And I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. I want to do what is right, but I can’t. [19] I want to do what is good, but I don’t. I don’t want to do what is wrong, but I do it anyway. [20] But if I do what I don’t want to do, I am not really the one doing wrong; it is sin living in me that does it.”

How was he ever to escape sin’s grip?

Romans 7:4-6 NLT
[4]”So, my dear brothers and sisters, this is the point: You DIED to the power of the law when you DIED WITH CHRIST. And now you are united with the one who was raised from the dead. As a result, we can produce a harvest of good deeds for God. [5] When we were controlled by our old nature, sinful desires were at work within us, and the law aroused these evil desires that produced a harvest of sinful deeds, resulting in death. [6] But now we have been released from the law, for we died to it and are no longer captive to its power. Now we can serve God, not in the old way of obeying the letter of the law, but in the new way of living in the Spirit.”

By dying to the old life of sin through his identity with Jesus’ death, Paul was made alive to Jesus’ life in him. He died to Satan’s power and rose to a new life in and under Jesus’ rule. He was living in new territory.

Can you see, then, that our struggle is not to gain ground but to hold the ground which Jesus gained for us?
We are to STAND, not to fight for the territory in which we now live… righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.

Romans 14:17-18 NLT
[17] “For the Kingdom of God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a life of goodness, (righteousness), and peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit.
[18] because anyone who serves Christ in this way is pleasing to God and receives human approval.”

The Christian’s armour, then, is mostly defensive because our strategy is to STAND against lies by holding on to truth. We are never to give ground in our thinking and believing to the lies we once believed and followed.

Ephesians 6:13 NIV
[13]”Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.”

To be continued…

PUT ON THE WHOLE ARMOUR OF GOD

Christian Life, ,

Ephesians 6:10-12 NLT
[10] “A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. [11] Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. [12] For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

How often we quote this Scripture without really understanding what Paul meant. Paul often used everyday word pictures to illustrate spiritual truth. The importance is always the spiritual truth behind the picture that should give us greater understanding of its application when we need help.

Even before we examine each piece of the Roman soldier’s armour and how to apply it to spiritual warfare, we must first understand what “spiritual warfare” is.

Unfortunately, some streams of the church have become muddied through misinterpreting where the battles take place and who is engaged in this war. The scene of the struggle has shifted from the heart and mind of the individual to the physical and circumstantial battles we face. So, Satan gets the blame for everything that goes wrong in our lives. Sickness is his fault, troubles are his doing, loss is his work etc. We disregard God’s absolute sovereignty in our circumstances, ignore His good work in us IN ALL THINGS, and fail to recognise that the devil is not God’s equal but God’s tool to refine and mature our faith in Him, in His love, and His goodness.

So, Satan gets more attention than God. We spent more time and effort foolishly trying to take him on instead of learning to trust God as He tests us and teaches us to walk with Him.

What is the war we are fighting and where do the battles take place? Again, it’s Paul who clearly answers our questions.

Galatians 5:16-18 NLT
[16] “So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. [17] The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. [18] But when you are directed by the Spirit, you are not under obligation to the law of Moses.”

The war and the war zone are inside us, not in our circumstances. Satan only steals our stuff to trick us into mistrusting our Father and His ways.

We have two opposing natures inside, slugging it out for control. The flesh…our old sinful nature before it was reined in by the Holy Spirit’s power in us when we came under His control at our “new birth”, fights against our new, divine nature, God’s gift to us through Jesus.

Two opposing sets of desires battle it out to be satisfied, the desires of our sinful nature which are selfish, pressing, and insistent, and the godly desires prompted by the Spirit which draw us towards our new nature of love and peace.

Since both natures cannot tell us the truth, the nature we choose to satisfy is the one we believe. Now we get to the crux of the battle. Satan uses lies to convince us that he is to be trusted rather than God, that he is our master, not Jesus, that his way, the way of self, is the way to satisfy our desires, not God’s way. He does this by subtly discrediting what God has done in our hearts. He tells us that God is lying and His Word us not to be trusted.

God’s “modus operandi” is to provide us with the truth. We need truth to protect our minds and to neutralise the lies the devil and his minions fire at us to throw us off balance.

Lies have no substance. They have no meaning or influence unless we believe them. Truth, on the other hand, is objective, infallible and indestructible because truth is rooted in God, expressed in His Word, and truth is a person, Jesus. Truth is reliable; lies are not because the liar invents lies to obscure the truth. Everything God is, says, and does is true.

By contrast, Jesus stated categorically, to His opponents,

John 8:44 NLT
[44] “For you are the children of your father the devil, and you love to do the evil things he does. He was a murderer from the beginning. He has always hated the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, it is consistent with his character; for he is a liar and the father of lies.”

Verse 4 from the old hymn,
“All people that on earth do dwell,
Sing to the Lord with cheerful voice…”

says it all….

“Because the LORD our God is good;
His mercy is forever sure;
His truth at all times firmly stood,
and shall from age to age endure.”

We shall examine, step by step, the truths Satan attacks by explaining the truth which is our “spiritual armour” that protects us.

To be continued…