Wednesday, September 16, 2009
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 waist, 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.
THE ARMOR OF GOD
Your armor in the battle against temptation comes courtesy of the cross of Christ. It is in the cross that you find your defense against the devil and your victory over him. To the Ephesians, Paul described it in terms of the customary soldier's outfit. From head to toe you are protected from temptation by the death of Jesus.
With the truth that your Lord died for you and paid the price for all your sin, sin's hold over you has been broken, for another Master has claimed you as His own. With the righteousness that Jesus has given you by His sacrificial death, you stand before God appearing clean and holy. Thus you can stand boldly against Satan without fearing his accusations. You can further be ready to turn away the devil's attacks, resisting temptation with a glad heart, knowing that it holds nothing for you--for Jesus has given you the great reward of grace, eternal life itself.
We are fully fitted out for battle by our Lord Jesus Christ. His cross is our defense. His cross is the heart of our armor.
Make sure you fight with the proper armor. Don't try to fight your spiritual enemies without Christ like some do who trust in themselves thinking, "I'm strong enough to stand up to this even though I don't spend much time working on my relationship with the Lord." Don't try to fight your spiritual enemies without Christ like some do who try to fight simply with words about how to live better. The power to overcome temptation is given to us through the gospel. It is the word that Christ died and rose again for us which makes us strong.
