Dressed for the Battle to Come - The Believer's Armor

Always enjoy our worship. Thank you. Well, let's take our Bible. Let's turn back to Ephesians chapter 6 We did read that large portion of Scripture verses 14 on down to verse 20 But this morning will only be dividing verse 14 and 15 And I'm sure I will mention a few other verses that will help us as we try to unpack these verses and understand this teaching Now we have had three messages dealing with the previous verses that would be verses 10 to 13 And in those two messages we divided those verses and what I called the believers battleground Walking and victory in our war rather lengthy title, but I think it summarized all of that teaching Then we had one message that was meant to complement and to continue that teaching I titled that message five lessons for the battle and for the war Now I would encourage you if you have not gotten that teaching you need to because all of these verses and all of this teaching Goes together and out of all of that teaching we saw that as true followers of Christ We are in the army of God We learned that we are called to be prepared for the spiritual battle and the spiritual war that all of God's people are in And you may ask pastor Why are we in a war you might even say something like this?

This is not the kind of Christian life that I want. This is not the kind of Christian life that I signed up for That's not my Christian life Well, we must understand that there is this massive spiritual war going on all throughout the entire universe Satan and his demonic forces are fighting an insistent war Against God and his angels, of course Satan is no match for God in any way Anything and everything that Satan and his demons are doing they are doing according to God's good and perfect will and we saw that Verses 11 to 12 really cracked the door and allow us to get a peek into this great spiritual war Well because we belong to God as his blood-bought redeemed people we are thrown into this great war That's because Satan wages war against God all that God created and all that God loves and that means Satan even wages War against us.

He especially wages war against the church the true church because there's a false church And he wages war against us as God's people So if we are true Christians born-again Christians, we are in this great war So we must see our duty in the war and we must assume our God-given Responsibilities in the battle and in the war that is before us and on top of us now this morning We transition into verses 10 into verses 14 to 20 I said that earlier in this teaching is slightly different but a part of the same teaching now. Let me explain and This explanation is good.

This will help us get our mind around all of the different parts and the total block of teaching in verse 10 We see the command to be strong in the Lord and as I said last week This is the main command in this portion of Scripture and in verse 11 We see how the believer can be strong in the Lord The believer is made strong in the Lord How by putting on the full or the whole armor of God and in verse 12 we see why this strength is needed That is because we have an enemy that is out to get us and he is even out to destroy us And then verse 13 is really a repeat kind of a summation of verses 10 to 12.

Let's read verse 13 Notice how it's a summary Paul says therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand Withstanding in the day of evil and having done all to stand and stand firm But verses 10 to 20 transition to an explanation of the believers putting on the actual armor of God But there's more here These verses are a personal call to commit to the battle and to the war Now let me take a step back and give you even bigger picture take note of the difference between verses 10 to 13 and verses 14 to 20 and verses 10 to 13 those verses are all about standing strong in the strength of the Lord while being in the battle and in the war and Verses 14 to 20 are all about standing strong and ready for the battle that is to come Verses 14 to 20 are all about Expecting the battle and making sure to be ready for the battle even anticipating the battle And how is the believer to be ready?

We're talking about being ready How is the believer to be ready being strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might because? They are fully dressed in the armor of God. Therefore the believer can stand and stand firm when the battle comes So to me verses 14 to 20 are all about being dressed in the full armor of God ready for the battle Even anticipating the battle.

So that leads me to the title of the message dressed for battle dressed for battle the believers armor Now I want us to read verses 14 to 15 and then we'll get into some introductory material and then we'll dive into these verses Verse 14 Paul says stand that's the fourth time he said that in this teaching therefore Having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness and as shoes for your feet having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace now when we get into these verses It is easy to see the different parts of armor That are listed and it really seems that paul is using different parts of a heavily armed roman foot soldier's armor for his teaching illustration But I said this two weeks ago There is no doubt that this language for this armor and the spiritual connections reach all the way back to the book of isaiah So to me there are two reasons paul was using this language and this illustration I believe paul was remembering old testament language and teaching about the armor of god from the book of isaiah In isaiah we see that this can be seen as the armor of god or the armor that god wears or even the armor that god is But paul had to be thinking of a roman soldier as well I have said that this is speculation, but it really seems that paul had a roman soldier's armor in mind here And this would have been a teaching example that every one of these afesian believers would have been very very familiar with they would have identified With this teaching example, but you know for me, this is a lesson here and this is a lesson for all of us who may teach god's word We should be good at taking the truth of god's word and teaching it in a manner that people can see and understand What good does it do to go over the top of the heads of people when you teach god's word?

That even means using illustrations and examples that people understand that help communicate and apply god's word If you think about it, is it that what jesus did when he taught parables? Yes He used regular everyday illustrations that the people would understand So this morning we're looking at being dressed for battle in the believer's armor That god has provided and we will look at each piece of armor one at a time So we have six that are before us We'll look at the first three this morning and the second three the next time we are in these verses. We have the belt We have the breast plate.

We have the shoes We have the shield and then we have the helmet and then we have the sword Now If paul Was using a roman soldier's armor to illustrate the armor of god and I think he is Well scholars tell us that the roman soldier would have put that armor on in a particular order And paul follows this order. So number one the belt of truth We see that in the beginning of verse 14 now when a soldier was getting ready for action in the field The first thing that he would do was buckle a belt very tight around his waist One scholar said that a loosen belt meant that the soldier was off duty I thought about how relevant that is for you and for me You know men when we get home and we're off duty.

We loosen our belt. Isn't that right? Some of you may even put on a pair of pants that are very loose I wouldn't be aiming that at me Now this belt was not for decoration. This belt was not for any kind of a style This belt had a very important practical purpose really it had two basic functions In their day men and soldiers wore a tunic which was an outer garment That was a large square piece of material with holes cut out for the head and the arms One half would go over the head and down the front of the man while the other half would go over the back of the man Simply the tunic was a loose-fitting garment and to us it would look more like a very long and large loose-fitting shirt And if the tunic was not tucked away The tunic would get in the way during combat or any other physical activity So when the roman soldier put on his belt The first thing he would do was to tuck his tunic in and get it out of the way for action Now notice something the new american says having girded up your loins The king james or the new king james uses similar language Now to us this this phrase girding up your loins is very strange.

It's very simple, but it's very strange to gird up meant to tie up To gird up meant to tie up. So here in verse 13 This meant to gird up or tie up one's loose-fitting clothing for some kind of an activity now for here. It was vital So in a very basic way this girding up the loins with truth spoke of being ready This was all about getting ready and being ready for action Now it's football season you may have watched a game or two yesterday So maybe a football illustration will help you You might not realize it but when I was in school, I played a little football I played football in junior high school But for some reason I was not offered a scholarship for the high school team.

So my career ended there But I went to junior high school at du maddox junior high school there in laurel and behind du maddox junior high Was this large hill and on top of the hill was this large flat open field? Well, that's what we practiced and that's why we would run hills up and down Well when I played football The starters were allowed to come out of the game and take off their helmet now You couldn't sit on your helmet you didn't sit on your helmet.

I can't repeat what would happen if you sat on your helmet But if you were second string or anything below You stood there with your helmet on in your chin strap buckled Why you were to be ready because if the coach called you in the sub if he called your name You better be ready. You better be ready. Otherwise you were going to run that hill So this girding up the loins This putting on the belt of truth at a very basic level spoke of being ready And look believer you have to decide You have to decide will you be a believer that is ready or will you be a believer that is not ready?

Now i'm really going to speak to those of you who are grace life church members of grace life church We all have to be ready. We have to be ready to stand Firm and stand firm in the lord. Yes, but we have to be ready to serve And my question for you is this if the pastor came to you and asked you to serve are you ready? Are you ready or do you have all kind of loose fitting things in your life that prevent you from being ready?

But the belt was also connected to certain other pieces of armor The belt was connected to the breastplate which helped to keep the breastplate in place which was vitally imported And the soldier's sword was attached to the belt when it was in its scabbard Which was vitally important and we will come back to the importance of this connection at the conclusion of the message But look at the verse here paul says that the belt of truth should be put on by those who were in the army of god Go back to the verse Paul says stand therefore having fastened on the belt of truth, but a question What is this truth?

If we have the have the belt of truth on what is this truth and how do we know what this truth is? Now when you look at what scholars say and how they divine what the truth is All begin with the truth or the content of god's word and some even go further But first and foremost This should be seen as god's truth and all that is contained in the truth of god's word And eph.

113 paul said in him you also when you heard the word of truth The gospel of your salvation and believed in him In john 17 17 jesus prayed to his father that he would sanctify his disciples in truth Jesus actually prayed Sanctify them in the truth your word is truth And then also this should be seen as god's truth, which is the gospel in afeasions 4 21 paul said Assuming that you have heard about him and you were taught in him as the truth is in jesus And this should also be seen as god's truth Which is the attitude the mind and the heart of truth and truthfulness This would be the truth of god's word Forming that which we would call truth and truthfulness Which is seen fleshed out in our hearts lives and minds Piles says in philippians 2 5 that we are to have the attitude or the mind of christ Which is christ's life thinking christ's like thinking So paul calls these aphasian believers to put on the belt of truth That would be the truth of god's word the truth of the gospel and the truth in the heart and in the mind that comes out in daily living But how does this apply to us?

And how do we today put on this belt of truth first readiness i've already spoken of that readiness When the roman soldier was about to go into the field of battle His first step in readiness was to put on his belt and getting anything that would interfere tucked inside and out of the way So church especially members of christ life church.

We must be a ready people We must be girded up for readiness and we must have all of those things that can get in our way of readiness out of our lives Question a rhetorical question And i'm trusting the spirit to take the question and apply it where it needs to be applied Are there things in your life that hinder your readiness? Are there? Are there things in your life that hinder your readiness?

I remember when I was a young christian and i began to volunteer in the life of the church and god opened up doors of Opportunity for me to minister and serve all of a sudden the lord started putting his finger on activities in my life Not simple things. No He started putting his finger on activities in my life That were in the way and I had to make a decision was I gotta step up and be ready and be used Or were was I gonna allow those things to stay in my life and get in the way Of readiness and then second we must know the truth of god's word We must know the truth of the gospel And then we must have god's word the truth of god's word in our mind in our thinking in and our daily living Now look church listen to your pastor Don't be the man with a marked up bible in a blank life Don't be the man don't be the woman with a marked up bible in a blank life I remember years ago It was a leader in the life of a particular church in which I served in I've never seen a bible like his worn out marked up He could quote chapter and verse anything And everybody knew this man had a marked up bible, but it was mighty strange and contradictory and Hypocritical when you got it close to his life.

He had a blank life and a marked up bible Don't be the man or the woman that has a marked up bible In a blank life Now before we move on I have a question for us as a church Of course, we as individuals have to answer the question But this question is for grace life church brook haven How much truth do we need? How much truth do we need Sunday morning you get the truth of god's word nobody no matter who's preaching and teaching Wednesday night you get the truth of god's word Right now on we see nights. We're going verse by verse in the book of philippians So notice our commitment here.

You get the truth of god's word sunny morning And we see night small group bible study There are a lot of things that go on go on in small group, but you're getting the truth We're teaching the truth of god's word. We finished up genesis 1 to 11 now. We're in a study about marriage You get the truth of god's word, but how much truth do we need in the life of the church?

You see we live in a day where churches are moving away from the truth In their preaching ministries, they're moving away from the truth shorter messages less doctrinal messages We live in a day when When churches in their teaching ministries like sunday school, we call it small groups. They're moving away from the truth We live in a day where churches have fewer services shorter services, you know You have to accommodate people less preaching and less teaching if churches add anything It seems that they add more music and more entertainments You know the summertime comes and everybody's busy So churches cancel sunday nights for the summer But how much truth do we need?

Summertime comes and people are busy they're on vacations, but they they cancel weasily night for the summer But how much truth do we need? But the question must be asked the question must be pondered the question must be really answered in the life of the church How much truth do we need and look folks when you look at the churches that do these things look at the lives of those people? Look at how they live And the question has to be asked is their truth and truthfulness in their life?

So number one we put on the belt truth and then number two We put on the breastplate of righteousness We see this in the second part of verse 14 the breastplate of righteousness Now the next piece of armor that the roman soldier would put on was his breastplate And the breastplate was a sleeveless piece of armor that covered the body from neck down to the thighs covering the front and the back historians tell us the breastplate was sometimes made of leather or heavy linen cloth and it would have an outer covering that served as the Protected part of the armor and that armor could be numerous things It could have been layers of animal hooves or animal horns or even small pieces of metal Or it could have been larger pieces of metal that were formed to fit the shape of the body And the purpose of the breastplate was obvious It protected the torso that would be the vital organs such as the heart and the lungs And other organs like the stomach.

So let's look at the verse verse 14 Paul says stand therefore how Having fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness So it is clear Paul says To put on the breastplate of righteousness, but what is this righteousness that we are supposed to put on? Now before we can see what this righteousness is we need to see what it is not First and foremost, this is not some type of religious righteousness or self-righteousness I like what the bible commentator leon morris here leon morris says here He says paul is not writing about armor forged by christian achievement I need to read that again Morris says paul is not writing about armor forged by christian achievement Now a question I want you to think about do you have a righteousness that has been forged by your christian achievement? do Look church one of the biggest schemes of the devil one of the biggest schemes that the devil uses today is to keep people lost in their religious self-righteousness satan literally blinds the lost and keeps them lost by fueling religious self-righteousness through the pride of life This is what the devil does He tells you things like this.

You've been baptized He says things like this to you to you. You've been a member of the church all your life He says things like this to you. You know your bible better than most you even know doctrine and theology He says things like this to you. You are the the best youth in the youth group growing up You even led fca and you're a part of extracurricular christian activities in school The devil says things like this. You never miss vacation bible school. You are great at bible drills The but the devil says things like this look at all that you've done in the church for the lord and all the things you do Now and even says things like this.

You're a better christian than most in the church and look church We must see religious righteousness as nothing but self-righteousness and self-righteousness is nothing but sin During his earthly ministry. Jesus confronted the religious leaders about this their sin of religious self-righteousness more than anything else So this is not some kind of self-righteousness Or religious self-righteousness, but before I move on I must ask you Are you trusting in self-righteousness for your salvation instead of christ's righteousness? Are you?

If you're trusting in self-righteousness And the pride that you have in your religious self-righteousness, would you please die to all that today and come to faith in christ? I firmly believe in my humble opinion. That's one of the greatest most difficult sins for people to get over to come to faith in christ but then second This is not the imputed righteousness of christ imputed righteousness is this when we savingly believe in christ god imputes or he ascribes christ's righteousness to us Paul says in second corinthians 5 21 for our sake he that's god made him That's christ to be sin who knew no sin so that in him that's christ.

We might become the righteousness of god The reason paul is not talking about imputed righteousness Is the fact that imputed righteousness cannot be taken off and put on Christ's righteousness is given to us and in us at the new birth and it's never ever ever taken away So what righteousness is paul talking about here in verse 14? Truthfully, this is more practical than we may know literally the breastplate of righteousness should be seen as practical righteousness or a christ-like righteousness that characterizes the way the believer lives But where does this righteousness?

Come from This is a practical righteousness that characterizes the way the believer lives But this is not a self-righteousness or religious righteousness. So how does all this work? This practical righteousness which is the breastplate of righteousness comes from three things First this comes from the new life in christ that the believer possesses Paul says in second corinthians 5 17 if anyone is in christ, he is a new creation the old has passed away Behold the new has come This means that the believer has become new morally They have become a new man as seen in etheians 4 24.

They have a new heart They have been made a new all over so they truly have become new So because they have been made new in christ that believer can live righteously and righteous Then second this comes from the spirit-filled life Paul commands us in etheians 5 18 do not get drunk with wine But be filled with the spirit This means that the believer should be filled or controlled or guided by the holy spirit in the life As a new creation in christ the believer has the holy spirit living in them So they should be controlled and guided by the spirit if they are they are obedient to the command So because they are spirit-filled and controlled the believer can live righteous and live righteously And then third this comes from the truth of god's word being in the heart and in the life Again, jesus prayed in john 17 that after he left his disciples that his father would sanctify his disciples by the word of truth Jesus prayed sanctify them in truth.

Your word is true so with the truth in them sanctifying them The spirit-filled believer can live righteous and righteously Now look at how all three come together to show us this practical righteousness The believer is a new creation in christ The oldest passed away the new man has been born and this believer has the ability to live the spirit control life because the spirit lives in them So that means they can become guided and controlled by the spirit and if the word of god is planted in by the Spirit of god into the spirit-filled man, then that life can be marked and characterized by practical righteousness in everyday christian living So what else do we need for righteousness and a righteous life?

John MacArthur says This part of god's armor is holy living For which god supplies the standard and the power But for which we must supply the willingness God himself puts on our imputed righteousness, but we put on our practical righteousness So paul calls these believers to put on the breastplate of righteousness practical righteousness This is the life that is characterized and marked out by practical christian righteousness Now at this point I want to touch on this willingness I'm borrowing that word from john MacArthur. I like that word willingness.

We need to spend a little time here God supplies what we need for the breastplate of righteousness, right? But the question are we willing to do the work to put on the breastplate of righteousness? And what happens when the believer is not willing? I ran across this list of what happens when the believer is not willing to put on the breastplate This came from john MacArthur's material. I've added a few things and i've added one. He had four.

I have five This is very practical and much needed So when the believer does not put on the breastplate of righteousness first the believer loses their joy In first john 1/4 the apostle john says and we are writing these things so that our joy may be made complete And what that means is this john was saying that if those believers obey the instructions in the letter Their joy would be made complete even his joy would be made complete.

But the opposite is true as well If they did not obey they would lose their joy and look brother look sister Disobedience always crushes our christian joy And if we do not put on the breastplate of practical christian righteousness and righteous living we lose our joy And then second the believer becomes fruitless instead of fruitful Simply disobedience leads to fruitlessness and more and more fruitlessness Here we are commanded to put on the breastplate of righteousness and to do otherwise is disobedience and disobedience always leads to fruitlessness And if we stay in disobedience even more fruitlessness and then third This can lead to a loss of reward Yes a loss of reward the believer that lives in disobedience Because they are not willing to put on the breastplate of righteousness ultimately becomes less fruitful as a believer and Remaining in that state can cause the believer to serve god in their own strength and then also for their own purposes Therefore their lives are built on what wood hay and stubble and wood hay and stubble are burned up on the day of judgment So rewards are lost first Corinthians 3 12 to 15 and then fourth this can bring disgrace Dishonored to God's name and glory when a believer sins it is a reflection on God And when a believer is unwilling to put on the breastplate of righteousness And they become less fruitful even more less fruitful that sin Bring shame to God's name and that sin can even bring a reproach on God's reputation and his glory Think with me here How many believers do you know?

They bring a reproach on God's name Because of their lack of practical righteousness in their lives Let me repeat that let's don't call names now How many believers do you know by the way they live the lack of practical righteousness? They bring reproach on God's name and God's reputation and God's little glory and then on a more personal note Do you like personal practical righteousness? And if you do you need to see that you could be bringing reproach on God's name and glory and then fifth This leaves the believer open to Satan's attacks and more When we do not have on the breastplate of personal practical righteousness.

We are open for attack Our own sinful flesh will rise up and wage war against our own souls First Peter 2 11 and then Satan has this great opening to our sin nature And he takes advantage of that opening to hurl flaming darts into our lives Ephesians 6 16 so notice There are consequences for the believer who is not willing to put on the breastplate of practical righteousness and righteous living in the everyday life so number two we put on the breastplate of righteousness and then next our number three feet made ready by the shoes of the gospel of peace Feet made ready by the shoes of The gospel of peace.

Let's read verse 15 And then we're going to read it a little later on in the new American Standard Paul says and as shoes for your feet having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace Now after the Roman soldier had put on his belt and then his breastplate next He was ready for his shoes that were specifically designed for the battle now the translations that use the word shoes I'm reading from the English Standard version this morning really do not get it the meaning here for two reasons First because the Roman soldier did not wear shoes.

He didn't even wear sandals He wore a particular type of boot that was designed to give him stable footing in any kind of terrain historians tell us that Roman soldiers were a type of boot that had nails or spikes in the bottom of the boot for traction and Then second shoes is not the best word because of the meaning of the original If you look at this verse in the King James of the legacy Standard Bible, you will see another word that is used the word shod Let me read the legacy Standard It reads and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace Now this word shod literally means to bind under which speaks of a foot that has something up under it Think of an example When a horse is shod or shod a farrier Bind something under the horse's foot.

What is that a horse? She rather simple And it is the same or it was the same with these Roman soldiers. They were well shod They had boots that were specifically designed for great traction in fighting in the battle and that boot also protected their foot But what does that mean for us today? Paul says and I'm reading from the English Standard version as shoes for feet Having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace The King James reads and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace in this word readiness This word preparation is key to understand what Paul is aiming at here He is saying that the believer is made ready for the battle When he is shod with or has the gospel of peace under his feet Simply this expression speaks of the believer being prepared.

They are shod with the gospel But prepare for what? Is this preparation for evangelism? Is this a readiness for going out with the gospel to evangelize? Now right here is where we must slow down and keep this verse in the context of this teaching Paul was about preparing these believers and us for spiritual battles He was about preparing these believers for the schemes of the devil and how they were to wrestle against the devil's demonic forces He was about equipping these believers and us with the ability to stand We stand stand firm and stand so remember keep verse 15 in the context of all of this teaching Simply Paul's purpose here was not about evangelism He was helping these believers and us have the ability to stand We stand and stand firm and stand against the attacks from Satan and his minions Now is the believer to go out and share the gospel?

Yes, of course, but that is not what Paul's point was here I like what Warren Wiersby says here. I'm quoting He says because we have the peace with God Romans 5 one that comes from the gospel we need not fear the attack of Satan and men We must be at peace with God and with each other if we are to defeat the devil James 4 1 to 7 But what does all this mean to us? If you were an unbeliever If you've not been converted to Christ you have no peace The gospel has not brought peace to your heart and your mind in your life Romans 5 10 says that you are an enemy of God So you do not have peace with God and my question is this is that you?

Is that you do you have no peace? Do you have no peace in your heart in your mind in your life? Listen dear one you need to see that you're an enemy of God You're not at peace with God and you need to rush to Christ die to your religious self-effort die to your pride rush to Christ But if you are a believer because you have savingly believed in Christ you enjoy peace with God The gospel has brought peace into your heart and into your mind and in your life in Romans 5 10 says you have been Reconciled to God therefore you have peace with God So the unsaved person has no ability to stand against the schemes of the devil the unsafe has no gospel Footing they have no gospel readiness So they are open to the schemes of the devil But the saved person has the ability to stand and to withstand and to stand firm against the devil Having feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace the believer can stand and stand firm So number three having been made ready by the shoes the gospel peace Now as I conclude I want to quickly mention how these three pieces of armor the armor of God are connected series of questions How important is the gospel of peace?

We cannot stand against the schemes of the devil without it and remember this is not preaching and proclaiming the gospel This is first and foremost about standing and standing firm So how important is the gospel of peace we cannot stand against the schemes of the devil without it? And where do we find the gospel? How do we know what the gospel is? from the scripture from the truth of God's Word and How important is practical personal practical righteousness? We cannot stand against the schemes of the devil without it and where do we find? Practical righteousness.

How do we know what personal righteousness is from the scriptures from the truth of God's Word? So church you tell me how important is truth? How important is the belt of truth remember the belt of truth is all about being readiness? And that is where we start how important is the truth and how much truth do we need in our personal lives? and also in the life of the church so the title of the message dressed for the battle to come The believers armor and we will cover the remaining three pieces of God's armor the next time We're in the book of Ephesians.