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Arming For Spiritual Battles
The Full Armor of God
Part 1 - The Belt of Truth


Are we in the "end-times" ?
What is the condition of the world around us today? Does Satan continue to do battle with us on a daily and even hourly basis? God's Word teaches us to prepare ourselves for the spiritual battles which we face with the enemy. As Paul wrote in his letter to the Romans,
Rom 13:11-12 And this {do,} knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is at hand. Let us therefore lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. (NAS)

Quite an alarm Paul was trying to send to Christian believers. To tell us that it is time to throw off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light because the day of the coming of the Lord is at hand. Every battle which we face counts, every day is important!

The enemy is busy working in the world. Two of his key methods of attack are the use of (1) lies and (2) accusations.
John 8:44 "You are of {your} father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own {nature;} for he is a liar, and the father of lies. (NAS)
Zech 3:1 Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right side to accuse him. (NIV)

Satan will attempt to convince us to do something with the use if a lie, "Go ahead, you're not hurting anyone. God will understand that you have to do it," and then afterwards he will accuse us of the very thing we did saying that we are not worthy to go to God now, God won't accept us because of our sins.

So what do we do to battle this treachery?
Well, Ephesians 6 reminds us :
Eph 6:10-17 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual {forces} of wickedness in the heavenly {places.} 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming missiles of the evil {one.} 17 And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. (NAS)

We are going to take a look at each of these pieces of "invisible armor" that can help to protect us against the spiritual battles we face. It is important that we see what each is designed to do and then to use the "full armor". If we pick and choose only the parts which we want, we will be ill-prepared when facing the enemy.

What if you put on your breastplate, your helmet and your shield but carried no sword? You would maybe be able to defend yourself and maybe even hold your own ground, but you would be unable to move forward because you had no offensive weapon. Or if you had on your sandals, belt and sword and fought with the enemy, you would quickly lose what you might gain due to improper defense. And once we have clothed ourselves, with God's armor, we must practice using each piece constantly and consistently lest we fall into the same troubles David had:
1 Sam 17:38-39 Then Saul clothed David with his garments and put a bronze helmet on his head, and he clothed him with armor. And David girded his sword over his armor and tried to walk, for he had not tested {them.} So David said to Saul, "I cannot go with these, for I have not tested {them} " And David took them off. (NAS)

The armor which Paul lays out is designed for offense and defense. As we all know from battles and sporting events, both are equally important. Paul did not haphazardly introduce these items to us, but was led by the Holy Spirit to present them in a certain order with the significance of each piece well in mind.

First, we look at the Belt of Truth.

The Belt of Truth is for long range preparation and protection it is an item which we should never take off at any time. The Roman soldier wore a belt that bound together his loose garments, his robe and toga. When relaxing, he loosened it but did not remove it. When he was ready to travel or fight, he would tighten his belt or "gird himself." The belt was also important because of two other strategic pieces which it held in place. The soldier's breastplate was attached to the belt as well as the sheath for his sword. If an enemy removed your belt, your garments would drop interfering with your ability to move, your breastplate would be unloosed and you'd lose the sheath for your sword. No matter how well trained you might be, if your belt fell off, you'd be in big trouble.

Although we may not think of the belt as an important piece, Paul obviously did. It is important to see that Paul starts off with the "belt of truth" because it is central to the Christian life and preparation for action.

Moses told Israel concerning the Passover meal:
Exod 12:11 'Now you shall eat it in this manner: {with} your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste?? it is the LORD'S Passover. (NAS)
The Israelites were to eat the Passover meal poised for action, ready to go should they get the word to move.

Jesus warned us to be prepared when He said:
Luke 12:35-37 "Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; "and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. "Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. (NKJ)

Peter used the same expression saying:
1 Pet 1:13 Therefore, gird your minds for action, keep sober {in spirit,} fix
your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. (NAS)

To gird our loins or tighten our belts, means that we Christians need to be prepared for action. We need to be alert, on guard. What does that mean to us today? What are we to be prepared for? To be on guard for? One thing is the coming of the Lord. Jesus said; Matt 24:44 "For this reason you be ready too; for the Son of Man is coming at an hour when you do not think {He will.} (NAS)

We sometimes hear news of someone who claims to know exactly when Jesus will return to this earth. But the Bible teaches us: Matt 25:13 "Be on the alert then, for you do not know the day nor the hour. (NAS)
Acts 1:7 He said to them: "It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. (NIV)
Read Matthew 24, we do not know when Jesus will return but we can see the signs, we know that "of the times and the seasons you will know."

Do you recall the story of Gideon's army? In Judges 7, God reduced the size of the army by having Gideon ask those that were afraid and fearful to go home. Immediately 22,000 men left. God then told Gideon to test the remaining 10,000 men.
Judg 7:4-5 Then the LORD said to Gideon, "The people are still too many; bring them down to the water and I will test them for you there. Therefore it shall be that he of whom I say to you, 'This one shall go with you,' he shall go with you; but everyone of whom I say to you, 'This one shall not go with you,' he shall not go." So he brought the people down to the water. And the LORD said to Gideon, "You shall separate everyone who laps the water with his tongue, as a dog laps, as well as everyone who kneels to drink." (NAS)
Only 300 men passed the test. 300 men who remained alert while they were drinking. The other's were oblivious to the surrounding while fulfilling their own desire. God wants us to be alert, be watching and be ready and available for him to use.

But we must remember that Paul calls us to be girded with the belt of truth. We aren't merely to be ready in a general sense. We are always to be prepared with truth. This part of the armor is essential. Other pieces are dependent upon it. This tells us that truth is the first thing that we must put on. Without truth, we are completely unprepared! Exactly what does Paul mean by "truth"? He means we must have a firm conviction in our heart with regard to the facts. No uncertainties, no doubts, no lack of clarity. Satan will try to confuse us and we must know what is true. We need to know what God has said to us.
2 Cor 11:3 But I am afraid, lest as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, your minds should be led astray from the simplicity and purity {of devotion} to Christ. (NAS)
James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. (NAS)

But instead, Eve had a conversation with the devil and ended up believing him instead of the Word of God which is Truth. Jesus prayed to the Father in John 17:17 "Sanctify them in the truth. Thy word is truth."

How much time do we spend looking into the Word of God. When we don't spend enough time studying the truth of the Scriptures, we don't know fact from fiction. Our faith is weakened and doubts are raised when we neglect God's Word and listen to other counsel.
1 Tim 4:1 But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, (NAS)

Failing to be ready with the truth and girding our lives with it can produce defeat before we have the opportunity to put on the rest of the armor. We must live for and by the truth. It is absolutely essential for us to be honest, especially with God. We may be able to lie and deceive each other, but like Adam, we cannot hide from God behind excuses. Never forget that Jesus harshest words were used on religious hypocrites, the Pharisees. We are called to put on the belt of truth and be prepared at all times. Unlike the world, we must not put it aside when it is convenient for us to lie or misrepresent the truth. If we believe that God is Truth, then we are to cling to Him, to seek Him, to do all we can to become more like Him and closer to Him. The only way to approach God is truthfully, be honest with Him.

May the Truth of God's Word be wrapped around your life,
Dr. Larry
Visit us at: The Rickity Rack Shack
scribbled with crayon by dr. larry at 10:46 PM