Ephesians 6 instructs Christ followers to put on the belt of truth and breastplate of righteousness to fend off attacks from Satan.
GBCC Student Ministries Community Director Hayden Davison spoke on Sunday, July 1 about truth and righteousness, which is part of our summer sermon series entitled "Fight Club" that focuses on spiritual warfare. Here are some key points:
Belt of Truth
*A Roman soldier wore a belt for three purposes: protection, identification and for holding baggy clothing together. Here’s how those three areas apply spiritually:
-The belt of truth protects us from confusion and being fed lies by Satan, who likes to throw things at us and distract us from the things that are true. Satan will try to convince us that things we hold true aren’t relevant. The best way to not get sidetracked is to know the truth. If you know what the truth is, you won’t fall for Satan’s lies. Dive into God’s word and truly seek out who God is and what his relationship is to us. The truth will then become very apparent and the lie becomes easy to distinguish.
-Even when a Roman soldier was wearing everyday clothes, he still wore a belt that identified him. In the same way we need to identify ourselves as Christ followers. The meaning of the often quoted Bible verse John 3:16 sometimes gets lost, but it is powerful because it says a lot about who God is and how much he loves you and how much you find your identity in this truth. Satan will tell us, “God can never use me. God can never love me.” But if we live in this verse and realize how deep it is theologically, our whole perspective on ourselves changes.
-Like a belt on a soldier holds together his clothing, truth holds everything together as well. Without truth you can’t put the other pieces of armor on. You must understand who God is before putting your other spiritual armor to use.
Breastplate of righteousness
*We must be aware of the distinction between righteousness and self-righteousness. Righteousness is the quality of being morally right or justifiable. Self-righteousness is characterized by a certainty, especially an unfounded one, that one is totally correct or morally superior. Righteousness without truth is self-righteousness.
*The breastplate on a Roman soldier protected vital organs, including the heart. In spiritual terms, we must protect our heart.
*When we talk about righteousness, we must consider Romans 3:10, which says, “No one is righteous, no, not one.” However, 2 Corinthians 5:21 says that in Christ we become the righteousness of God. Only through Christ can we put on the breastplate of righteousness.
*If we’re not actively seeking the truth of God, if we’re not pursuing him, you become more open to those fiery arrows from Satan, those lies, those things that sit in your heart. We have to actively pursue God. Only then do we achieve real righteousness.
*Putting on God’s righteousness that isn’t demanding of others elevates God. It says that the God you love is something special. It feels uplifting, not demeaning.
*In John 16:33 it says no matter what gets thrown at you, Jesus has overcome the world. If we live in that truth it becomes much easier to don God’s armor and stand true.
