Ephesians 6:13-17 “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waste, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”

You may recognize that all of these pieces of armor are related to God’s saving work. And some of them may be hard to distinguish from each other. Paul lists them in the order a Roman soldier would put them on. I am going to talk about them by grouping them according to function.

Some of these pieces make it possible for the Christian soldier to maneuver properly when he comes under attack–the belt of truth, and the gospel of peace worn on the feet. Paul isn’t talking about truth as an abstract concept–everything that may be true as opposed to everything that may be false. He certainly doesn’t mean to use “truth” the way that so many people use the word today: “It is true if it works for me.” I once met a man who had struggled with a gambling addiction. He almost lost his business and his family. Today he keeps his addiction under control by following the spiritual disciplines and meditation of some Eastern swami. When another pastor and I tried to share the gospel with him, he didn’t want to suggest that there was anything wrong with our version of truth. I mean, if Jesus worked for us, who was he to say there was anything wrong with that. But he already had a truth that was working for him, and he wasn’t willing to trade it for the truth we were offering.

There is only one truth Paul has in mind when he urges us to put on the belt of truth–Jesus, the Way, the Truth and the Life. This is the truth Jesus meant when he said, “If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.” It is the truth of Jesus’ teaching, the truth that sets us free to belong to him, not just any old truth. It is the truth Jesus had in mind when he told Pilate, “I came into the world to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.” This truth that Jesus is our only Savior keeps everything in place around our souls and our Christian life, so that Satan can never trap us or corner us with his lies. And with the gospel of free forgiveness on our feet we can stand our ground, or make our escape–whatever the situation calls for at the moment.

Much of this armor is protective. It covers the most vital parts: the head and the heart. So we have God’s righteousness over our heart. What is it that steals the heart out of your faith and Christian life most easily? Isn’t it feelings of guilt? Isn’t it the burden of some sin? Look at Adam and Eve. Didn’t their guilt just cut the heart out of their relationship with God? They no longer run to him as the Father who loves them. They are afraid, and they hide. Adam makes God out to be the enemy and blames God for giving him a wife and making him sin. The beating heart of faith has been cut right out of him.

Righteousness covers the heart–not a righteousness that is full of holes because it is produced by sinners. It is the righteousness of Romans chapter 3. “This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” God sets the righteousness of Jesus Christ–his perfect life and his innocent death–over our hearts, and the devil can’t turn us against God or make us feel afraid anymore.

So, too, the faith God has given us–not so much my act or my virtue in trusting God, but more the wonderful truths of God’s love and mercy my faith takes hold of–acts as a shield and puts out the little fires of temptation, doubt, or fear the devil tries to light in my soul before they do real damage. Maybe I will never be so wise and intelligent that I can win a battle of wits with the devil. But if I can just keep salvation in front of me–I know my Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep; I know that my Redeemer lives–then I have a helmet to protect my mind from Satan’s deceptions.

At last, we have one weapon to go on the attack, “The sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” You know, the devil must laugh his pants off when some Christians come after him with rubber and wooden swords, like “the sword of man-made science and scholarship” or “the sword of feel-good messages” or “the sword of empty-emotionalism” or “the sword of false tolerance and political correctness.” Those swords do nothing but give him a nice massage, or a good back scratch.

But take the sword of the spirit, which is the Word of God, out of its sheath and start swinging, and the devil will start running. God gives us spiritual weapons for spiritual battles. Don’t be afraid to use them.