Christians: Warriors In Combat

"Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 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. Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints" (Ephesians 6:18)

Paul was a citizen of the Roman Empire, so he would have seen plenty of Roman soldiers in armor. They had a shield, as well as a sword or a spear. The armor was centered around a metal breastplate to protect the organs. They had a low-hanging "belt" that would cover the lower parts. They had a metal helmet to protect the head, and shoes to protect the feet.

In Ephesians, Paul teaches a lot of deep theology, as well as practical instructions for daily Christian life. In chapter 6, as he's wrapping up his letter to the Ephesians, he says to "put on the full armor of God". Why did he say that? Why would we need armor? The only reason anyone needs armor is so they'll be protected from attacks. You don't need to put on armor when you're just relaxing at home, it's for battle. Paul refers to "our struggle". Other translations use fight, wrestle, battle, and conflict. Christians are at war. We need armor because we're in a warzone. The Bible wouldn't tell you to put on armor unless you needed it. It's not presented as optional, or as a helpful suggestion, but as instructions for how to survive.

From the perspective of a soldier on the battlefield, when it comes to some Christians it's difficult to tell the difference between them and the dead bodies on the ground. They look exactly the same to someone who is trudging through the battlefield. If you're just lying motionless on the ground while your brothers and sisters are fighting for their lives, what does that tell you about yourself? Get up and follow your orders, soldier!

What are your orders?

1. Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might.

2. Take up and put on the full armor of God.

3. Pray.

4. Be on the alert.

Your combat gear:

Truth is your belt.

Righteousness is your breastplate.

The preparation of the gospel is your footwear.

Salvation is your helmet.

Faith is your shield.

The word of God, scripture, is your weapon.

The enemy knows to attack the most sensitive areas, so you need truth as your defense. The enemy will attack you with lies. If you don't know the truth, you will be susceptible to confusion, which will slow you down or completely get you out of the battle.

Breastplates cover the vital organs. Righteousness can only come from Christ, so if you don't have Christ's righteousness you're not covered or protected and you won't survive. Christ's righteousness protects our spiritual vitality the way a breastplate protects a soldier's vital organs.

The gospel of peace has been prepared in us. We need our walk to be protected by the gospel. The gospel has to be thick and solid under your feet, or else the enemy will scatter tacks in the road and take you down, or at least make you stumble, anything to slow you down.

Your spiritual helmet is salvation. It protects your head, your mind, your way of thinking, your way of understanding. Salvation should be on your mind all of the time.

You need the shield of faith because the enemy will use fiery attacks against you. These flaming arrows will be "extinguished" when they hit your impenetrable shield of faith.

With the full armor of God, your enemy is rendered impotent. This armor will protect you, but you need a weapon so you can fight the enemy. You are not supposed to just stand still and allow the enemy to attack you. You've been given a weapon, so use it! Only a fool would go into combat without a weapon. All of this instruction depends on you studying the Bible regularly and memorizing scripture. Scripture can't be used as a weapon unless you know scripture. If you don't have your weapon, how are you going to defeat your enemy? You have to study scripture. The idea of a Christian who doesn't know scripture is absurd. These people are not in the battle because they have no weapon. At best, they're just spinning around unarmed while the rest of us fight. But at worst, they are just fooling themselves and they're not even saved. The enemy has already defeated them and they don't even know it. This really is a matter of salvation. Get in the battle!

Paul says the purpose of the armor of God is so that you'll "be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might", and "so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil", and "so that you will be able to resist in the evil day". The armor allows you to be strong, stand firm, and resist. With this armor on, you will survive the attacks of your enemy. Notice that it says put on the "full armor of God", not just some of it, but all of it. This is important information. Without this armor, you are not going to survive. Every piece of the armor is vital.

"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."

"the flaming arrows of the evil one"

If you are believing in Christ, then Satan is against you. There are evil spiritual forces plotting against you right now. They are scheming to bring you down, devising strategies to keep you from victory. The enemy wants you to sin, to fall in combat, to not persevere in the faith, to abandon the fight and prove that you're not really a Christian. He wants you to sin so he can blame you for it. Then your own conscience becomes your enemy. He wants you thinking about your works and deeds. If he can't make you outright reject Christ, he'll slow you down however he can. He will tempt you in ways that he knows you are susceptible. He wants you to sin and feel guilty. He wants you to back away from Jesus. He wants to stand between you and God, like a prosecutor bringing charges against you. Make no mistake, your enemy wants you to die and go to hell, and take as many people with you as possible. You will not survive this attack without the armor of God.

So once we've put on the armor of God, how do we proceed?

"With all prayer and petition pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints"

"With this in view", with this concept of armor in view, "be on the alert". The attacks are coming. Put on your armor and get ready. Pray at all times. Be on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints. That means pray for your Christian brothers and sisters. Get up and fight with your family. We are all in the fight to one degree or another. Some Christians are new recruits, so they don't get sent to the frontlines, but they are in the battle in some way. Their goal should be to learn, to grow, to aid their fellow believers, and to do everything possible to win the battle. What kind of soldier avoids fighting, has no interest in his team, and doesn't want to be in peak condition? There are Christian soldiers out there fighting the good fight, with enormous arms because they've been carrying the shield, and swinging that heavy sword for years and years. There are men of God putting themselves in the line of fire, standing up for Christian values, preaching the word, calling out the enemies of the faith, protecting the weak in the name of Christ, doing good work in the name of Christ. If you're not in this fight, what does that say about you? Get in there and start fighting, soldier!

"Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come." (2 Corinthians 5:17)

"Indeed, all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will be persecuted." (2 Timothy 3:12)

"If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A slave is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they kept My word, they will keep yours also." (John 15:18-20)

"But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." (2 Corinthians 4:8-10)

"He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. To him who overcomes, I will grant to eat of the tree of life which is in the Paradise of God." (Revelation 2:7)

"And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister."

Are you actually a Christian or are you a fake? You can prove it easily. Are you in the battle or not? Every real Christian is in this spiritual struggle. We struggle against the worldly system, we struggle against the unbelievers, and we struggle against our own sinful desires. There is a spiritual war being waged inside of us. If you are not in this battle, you're in serious danger. The devil doesn't need to attack someone who's already dead. If you are spiritually at ease all of your life, and never engage in this spiritual fight against the forces of evil, then I don't know how the Holy Spirit can be in you. I don't know how you can be a Christian. You can call yourself a Christian your whole life, but you might not really be saved. You need to seriously inspect yourself if I'm describing you.

If you found out you were going to die tomorrow, would you be filled with regret? Would you panic? Or would you be ready to go home? At the end of Paul's life, he wrote one final message to his dear friend Timothy, and providentially, he wrote it for us too. He knew he was about to be executed, but his conscience was clear. He knew he had kept the faith and taught the truth. He did not surrender to the enemy. He continued in the battle all the way to the end, as we all must.

"For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure has come. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith; in the future there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day; and not only to me, but also to all who have loved His appearing." (2 Timothy 4:6-8)

When you reach the finish line at the end of your life you want to be able to feel relief, not regret. You want to be able to say with Paul "I have fought the good fight, I have finished the course, I have kept the faith". Stand up, Christians. Put on the armor of God. Pick up your weapon. Get in the fight. Be a soldier for Christ. Be at war with sin every day.

Thanks for reading. God bless.

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