By Cameron Paine

INTRODUCTION

Dancing with God’s enemies, ‘inviting them in, welcoming their influence into my life is exactly what I am doing according to God’s word if I don’t do what God says I should do to protect myself from them.

The spiritual environment --the ‘for God and against God’ environment that I am in the midst of is forever turbulent and hostile..

God’s general description of the believer’s life in this ‘world’ is a life in a ‘world’ of unseen enemies. Life in this ‘world’ is uninterruptedly strenuous or ‘tough-going’. There is no end to that state of affairs.

Only in heaven where no evil can exist, where no sinner, where no ‘non-respecter’ of the Creator God, is present does peace prevail. It is only under those conditions that peace can prevail.

(The ‘peace’ that passes or transcends all understanding that the Bible speaks of in Philippians 4:7 is in the heart of the believer, not in the world; that peace is the result of the realization or certain knowledge that God’s control is both unlimited and eternal.) But in this dark world the resistance to, and hatred of, Christianity is everywhere and will continue to be present as long as unbelievers are present.

But even as widespread as the opposition by human beings is that is not the source of the continuous turbulence and opposition which believers face. It is not the opposition of unbelievers that is the spring from which anti-God thoughts, passions, and behavior is continually bubbling up into the world, is swirling around believers, and even sometimes bubbling up within them. Unbelievers are not the enemy of believers; they are just the 'foot-soldiers' that the real enemy employsh. 

These verbal images are:

--a struggle;
--a race;
--a competition or contest;
--a fight;
--a war.

These terms or the situations they describe are vivid pictures; they certainly exclude ideas of ease, smoothness, peace, tranquility, or serenity.

In the last book of the New Testament which contains a more encompassing view of the conflict between God’s people and the enemies of God the term ‘war’ appears more frequently.

God describes this conflict that believers are in as a struggle, as a race, as a contest, as a fight, even as a war. Do I need more images to convince me that the spiritual environment I am in the midst of is not now or ever will be a serene one where the enemies of God just quietly disappear, where the enemies of God will cease trying to overcome the servants of God (believers) and where I will be able to relax? Heaven is not here.

Don't look for peace. The Bible never tells me that in this world the ‘struggle’, the ‘race’, the ‘contest’, the ‘fight’ will die down or come to an end.

When we think of being in a conflict or a fight we think of it as a special kind of situation, as an exception to the norm; we think of it as a temporary situation—a situation that has an end. But this ‘fight’ or ‘struggle’ that every believer is in the midst of is different: it is never-ending. It is ‘built-in’. It is as much part of our environment while on earth as the element oxygen is. The conflict with people and supernatural beings who are opposed to God is never-ending. While we are alive on earth we will always be in it.

The urges, the desires, of the sin nature (the old man), the objects to covet do not come out of nowhere. They come from somewhere. They do not come from God. What at one time is just a trickle can grow into a torrent. The smallest infection doesn’t stay that way.

We have been looking at the environment in which believers live as it relates to the ‘identity’ of the enemy. The real enemy of believers is not a creature of flesh and blood. Now let’s take note of how the kind of ‘armor’ or weaponry God says to put on reveals the nature of the particular kind of ‘struggle’, or ‘contest’, or ‘fight’ that God’s redeemed people are in the midst of.

How we fight human beings is different from the way we fight germs. Or, to express the same contrast in different terms, we might say ‘how we defend ourselves from the attack of human beings is different from the way we would defend ourselves from an invasion of germs. Who or what our enemy is makes an enormous difference!

Being clothed in armor that is ineffective or meaningless may be more harmful than not wearing any armor at all because wearing the wrong kind of armor may give me a feeling of being safe when I am not at all safe, a feeling of being protected when the armor I am wearing is totally useless, as useless as a heavy metal shield is in a room full of deadly germs.

It is relatively easy to follow systems of rules of behavior set up by human beings. But they are false armor and they are of little or no value in keeping the enemy out, that is, they are of little or no value in preventing the weapons of the enemy (temptations) from penetrating the believer’s body and heart.

All of the many ‘armors’ which sinners have designed in the past or may conceive of in the future for the purpose of keeping other men from sinning are ineffectual protection, ineffectual kinds of armor. What sinner or what nation can devise the armor that protects from temptation--the desires, the passions within? The Bible itself speaks about this kind of issue. "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?  These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence." (Colossians 2:21-23) Even God’s perfect standard, his set of regulations, his law, did not prevent the power of the internal temptations from leading men into greater and greater sin. The revealing of God’s standards only added to mens  knowledge. But it didn’t alter mens’ behavior. "For what the law was powerless to do in that it was weakened by the sinful nature, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful man to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in sinful man." (Romans 8:3)

But the armor of God was therefore made of different ‘stuff’. Stuff that would help prevent injury from "the flaming arrows of the evil one." (Ephesians 6:16) What is the right kind of armor to put on? "The shield of faith." This is the kind of armor God says to put on--"take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." 

Physical training deals primarily with the body while training in godliness deals with the heart and mind. The Bible compares results of training in godliness with the training of the body. "For physical training is of some value, but godliness has value for all things, holding promise for both the present life and the life to come." (1 Timothy 4:8)

What kind of armor or weaponry is needed by believers depends upon the kind of fight they are in. And who knows and who can supply the kind of armor or weaponry that believers need? Who am I to say that God neither knows or is able to provide the armor that I need? (Job)

It is non-physical. It is spiritual. It takes place on the spiritual plane. The Bible reveals that the nature of the struggle is non-physical in many different ways (so only non-physical armor or weapons would be of any use)

General statements:

What does the Lord’s Prayer teach believers to pray for? "And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.'

Temptations, desires, passions, thoughts are not physical things even though the manifestation of these ‘things’ may show up in the physical or tangible world.

• "No temptation has seized you except what is common to man. And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can stand up under it." (1Corinthians 10:13)

This non-physical character of the struggle is nothing new but has been that way from the beginning. The last of the Ten Commandments dealt specifically with the intangible and non-physical act of coveting, that is, having the desire for something we don’t possess already.

• "What causes fights and quarrels among you?" James says in his letter to believers.. "Don’t they come from your desires that battle within you? You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight…" (James 4:1-2)
  
  
• "Let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1)
  
  
• "Consider him (Jesus Christ) who endured such opposition from sinful men, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart." (Hebrews 12:3)
  
  
• "Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires." (Romans 8:5)
  
  
• "You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ." (Romans 8:9)
  
  
• "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13)
  
  
• What should I be doing? "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Romans 13:14)
  
  
• "So I (the apostle Paul) say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. (Galatians 5:16)

How many sins of individuals are internal and non physical? How many sins of individuals are not physical but are of the mind or heart?

• "The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God." (Galatians 5:19-21)

The same truth is expressed clearly in the apostle’s letter to the believers in Ephesus. He wrote, "But among there must not be even a hint of sexual immorality, or of any kind of impurity, or of greed, because these are improper for God's holy people. Nor should there be obscenity, foolish talk or coarse joking, which are out of place, but rather thanksgiving. For of this you can be sure: No immoral, impure or greedy person--such man is an idolater--has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God.  Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of such things God's wrath comes on those who are disobedient." (Ephesians 5:3-6)

Except for sins connected with sex and drinking almost every sin mentioned is internal; sins that come from the heart.

• "Thanks be to God-through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God's law, but in the sinful nature a slave to the law of sin." (Romans 7:25)
  
  
• "You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love." (Galatians 5:13)
  
  
• "All of us (who are believers now) also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath." (Ephesians 2:3)

What the is the struggle, the race, the fight all about? 

• "For when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death." (Romans 7:5)
  
  
• Why did the son of God die a sacrificial death? "in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:4)

Every Christian truth, virtue, blessing etc. is a spiritual or non-physical reality. To mention just a few (not in any order of significance): Forgiveness, An inheritance in heaven, Faith, Hope, Love, Confidence, Mercy, Knowledge, truth, Obedience or non-obedience, Teachings, Endurance, Christian virtues, God’s armor, etc., etc., etc.

The way God describes the specialized kind of armor that God’s redeemed children need, the kind of armor they must put on to protect themselves from the kind of weapons the enemies use against them in the kind of ‘fight’ or ‘race’ they are in the midst of reminds believers of the non-physical character of what the struggle is all about.

That the ‘armor’ which God says to put on is of a specific kind also points to the specific nature of the ‘struggle’ or ‘fight’ that believers are locked into. (like being in a spiritual boxing ring!)

What are the 5 pieces of armor or weaponry God says to put on?

--‘the belt of truth’,
--‘the breastplate of righteousness’,
--‘the gospel of peace’,
--‘the shield of faith’
--‘the helmet of salvation’.
--‘the sword of the Spirit’, which is the word of God..

Listen: "Stand firm then," he says, "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." (Ephesians 6:14-17)

Nothing physical is even mentioned.

God’s armor is absolutely necessary for the believer to put on. Actually it is even more important than any other kind of armor because the consequences of putting it on or trying to get by without doing so may be a consequence which will last for a long, long ‘time’—even an eternity.

Of course the kind of armor or weaponry God provides is specially suited to protect believers from the weapons the enemy uses in the particular kind of struggle, race, fight God says they are in the midst of.

Believers fight with ‘weapons of righteousness’ Consider the example of the early missionaries, the good soldiers in God’s army like the apostle Paul who wrote, "as servants of God we commend ourselves in every way: in great endurance; in troubles, hardships and distresses; in beatings, imprisonments and riots; in hard work, sleepless nights and hunger; in purity, understanding, patience and kindness; in the Holy Spirit and in sincere love; in truthful speech and in the power of God; with weapons of righteousness in the right hand and in the left." (2 Corinthians 6:4-7) The apostle did not say his plane or his missile was better equipment than that of his enemy. On the contrary, he spoke of hardships, beatings, sleepless nights, hunger etc. Because they were the 'means', the ‘equipment’ he used in the fight he was in. These were the means he used to carryout the mission God had given him.

How different is the armor God says we must put on. Gas masks, armor plating, tanks, battleships, rockets are not even mentioned because they are irrelevant and useless in the struggle against sin and temptation that believers are involved in--as useless and irrelevant as a fly swatter is in a room full of lethal gas or a room full of deadly germs.

Another category of verses that point to the non-physical nature of the ‘war’ or ‘struggle’ that believers are involved in are the verses which speak of the objectives which God has for believers

The objectives God has for his people are described in different ways. But all of them are non-physical. 

         --to become faultless (Jude 1:24, Ephesians 1:4),
         --to make the heart of the new creature fit into the mold of holiness (Leviticus 11:44; 1 Peter 1:15-16) 
         --to shape the believer into the likeness of the Son of God (Romans 8:29).

         God says he has provided everything his people need to live in conformity with these non-physical objectives. (2 Peter 1:3-4)

• "I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable." (1 Corinthians 15:50)
  
  
• "For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:38-39)
  
  
• "Rather, clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, and do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature." (Romans 13:14)
  
  
• "Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:24-25)
  
  
• "But since we belong to the day, let us be self-controlled, putting on faith and love as a breastplate, and the hope of salvation as a helmet. 1 Thessalonians 5:8)
  
  
• "The night is nearly over; the day is almost here. So let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light." (Romans 13:12)

The objectives of God are not limited by the life or time we are familiar with in this world, on this earth.

• The apostle Paul expressed it this way, saying, "If I fought wild beasts in Ephesus for merely human reasons, what have I gained? If the dead are not raised, ‘Let us eat and drink, for tomorrow we die." (1 Corinthians 15:32)
  
  
• "Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever. Therefore I do not run like a man running aimlessly; I do not fight like a man beating the air. No, I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize." (1 Corinthians 9:25-27)

Salvation itself is often set forth in terms non-physical terms—as deliverance from the power or control of sin, from the dominion of sin, from the jurisdiction of sin, from the domain of sin.

• "In him you were also circumcised, in the putting off of the sinful nature, not with a circumcision done by the hands of men but with the circumcision done by Christ," (Colossians 2:11)
  
  
• "When you were dead in your sins and in the uncircumcision of your sinful nature, God made you alive with Christ. He forgave us all our sins." (Colossians 2:13; see also Ephesians 2:3-5)

Many of the apostle Paul’s letters to congregations of believers deal with very down-to-earth type problems in those congregations. The apostle’s answer quoted here has to do with a man in the congregation whose behavior was both known to the congregation and was extremely unchristian. The apostle’s advice at this point in time reveals so clearly that the objective of the Christian message is non-physical. The apostle said, "hand this man over to Satan, so that the sinful nature may be destroyed and his spirit saved on the day of the Lord." (1 Corinthians 5:5) 

• "The god of this age has blinded the minds of unbelievers, so that they cannot see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." (2 Corinthians 4:4)
  
  
• Did the son of God die a sacrificial death to acquire a piece of land? No, he gave his life on earth to achieve a different kind of objective--"in order that the righteous requirements of the law (of God) might be fully met in us (believers), who do not live according to the sinful nature but according to the Spirit." (Romans 8:4)

Not only are God’s objectives for his people non-physical but the means of advancing toward them are non-physical.

•  "No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." (Hebrews 12:11)
  
  
• "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything" (James 1:2-4)
  
  
• "We also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance;  perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4)
  

The non-physical nature of the ‘war’ or ‘struggle’ is also clearly set before believers by what constitutes distractions from the behavior God wants to see in his adopted children. What other ‘objects’ attract our attention and stimulate the desires of the sinful nature?

Remember, the enemy is Satan and the weapon he uses against believers is not poverty or poor health or small talents or the absence of opportunities but the temptation to satisfy the promptings of the sinful nature. Hence the beautiful prayer to God by a believer who recognized the danger of temptations--"Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God." (Proverbs 30:8-9; see also 1 John 2:15)

• "Turn my eyes away from worthless things; preserve my life according to your word." (Psalm 119:37)
  

The armor that God tells believers to put on is a defense against all kinds of temptations to satisfy the desires of the sinful nature. "Put on the full armor of God," the Bible says. Why? "so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" (Ephesians 6:11)

Effort is an important part of the armor that God says we need to put on. The effort required to put on God’s armor is not something separate but is part of that armor. Doing what God says we should do is the measure of a good soldier of Christ.

• "Make every effort to enter through the narrow door because many, I tell you, will try to enter and will not be able to." (Luke 13:24)
  
  
• "Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience." (Hebrews 4:11)
  
  
• "Then he said to them all: "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me." (Luke 9:23)
  
  
• "In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)
  
  
• "For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
  But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins. Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:8-11)

Don’t be lazy. "Be always on the watch, and pray that you may be able to escape all that is about to happen, and that you may be able to stand before the Son of Man."" (Luke 21:36)

• "Therefore, my dear friends, as you have always obeyed — not only in my presence, but now much more in my absence—continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling," (Philippians 2:12)
  
  
• Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
  
  
• "As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is full of compassion and mercy." (James 5:11)

In the book of Hebrews God holds up the example of a few of them, pointing out what they accomplished and what it cost them to do so. It took a lot of effort and courage to stand up for God. There we read, "I do not have time to tell about Gideon, Barak, Samson, Jephthah, David, Samuel and the prophets,  who through faith conquered kingdoms, administered justice, and gained what was promised; who shut the mouths of lions, quenched the fury of the flames, and escaped the edge of the sword; whose weakness was turned to strength; and who became powerful in battle and routed foreign armies. Women received back their dead, raised to life again. Others were tortured and refused to be released, so that they might gain a resurrection.  Some faced jeers and flogging, while still others were chained and put in prison. They were stoned; they were sawed in two; they were put to death by the sword. They went about in sheepskins and goatskins, destitute, persecuted and mistreated-- the world was not worthy of them. They wandered in deserts and mountains, and in caves and holes in the ground. These were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what had been promised." (Hebrews 11:32-39)

Believers have no authority to shrink back from the fray; their duty is to stand up as witnesses to God. We have no excuse to remain in the shadows. The Bible says, "Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us." (Hebrews 12:1) The throwing off of everything that hinders and not giving in to the sinful temptations that so easily entangle us does not come effortlessly. Doing so requires constant diligence and effort.

The testing of the spirits. An activity of the mind; discerning who is a redeemed believer and who is really against God..

• "Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world." (1 John 4:1)
  
  
• "I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves." (Matthew 10:16)
  
  
• "Brothers, stop thinking like children. In regard to evil be infants, but in your thinking be adults." (1 Corinthians 14:20)
  
  
• "Test everything. Hold on to the good." (1 Thessalonians 5:21)
  
  
• "And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not." (Malachi 3:18)
  
  
• "The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because 
   they are spiritually discerned." (1 Corinthians 2:14)
  
  
• "You need milk, not solid food! Anyone who lives on milk, being still an infant, is not acquainted with the teaching about righteousness. But solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (Hebrews 5:12-14)
  
  
• "Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is." (Ephesians 5:17)
  
  
• "Have nothing to do with godless myths and old wives’ tales; rather, train yourself to be godly." (1 Timothy 4:7)

Spiritual gifts--
"to another miraculous powers,
"to another prophecy,
"to another distinguishing between spirits,
"to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,
"and to still another the interpretation of tongues."
(1 Corinthians 12:10)

Not only is practice or many repetitions needed but all of the needed armor must be put on. Not just some of it but all of it. And the ‘most foundational’ part of that ‘all’ is the proper motivation. Without the proper motivation, without the proper attitude all the armor is useless. Or, to state the matter more accurately, ‘without the proper motivation the presence of the armor is just an illusion. Without the proper motivation the ‘other pieces of God’s armor’, as it were, don’t work; they only provide a false sense of security.

• In the book of Hebrews this truth is stated in these words: "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." (Hebrews 11:6)
  
  
• The importance of motivation. A foundational piece of armor. The apostle Paul spoke about the presence of ‘gifts’ having little or no meaning if the proper ‘motivation’ does not underlie their use. He said, "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1Corinthians 13:1-3)
  
  
• Jesus spoke about the ‘piece of armor’ that is fundamental in these words: ""No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money."" (Luke 16:13)
  
  
• "Then he said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; a man's life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions." (Luke 12:15)
  
  
• In the next verses he illustrated this teaching with a parable. He said, "’The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, `What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.' "Then he said, `This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry." ' "But God said to him, `You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?' "This is how it will be with anyone who stores up things for himself but is not rich toward God." (Luke 12:16-21; see also 1 Timothy 6:17-19)

Putting on armor when I am already in the midst of the enemy’s domain, when I am in the midst of the enemy’s battlefield, may be too late! There are consequences of not being prepared prior the time when the ‘armor’ or special equipment is needed.

Who puts on a parachute after he has jumped out of the plane? Who puts on his seat belt after an unexpected crash? What good does the right piece of ‘armor’ do then? Even worse is to put on God’s armor after an expected crash or attack by the enemy! If believers are on earth there is no period of time when they are not in the midst of active enemies.

Who would go the presidential dinner which he had been invited to knowing he hadn’t put on fresh clothing since he cleaned the barn? Who would knowingly go on stage knowing he didn’t remember his lines? How embarrassing!

One of the parables that Jesus told speaks of the same kind of situation. "Then he said to his servants, `The wedding banquet is ready,… So the servants went
out into the streets and gathered all the people they could find, both good and bad, and the wedding hall was filled with guests. "But when the king came in to see
the guests, he noticed a man there who was not wearing wedding clothes. riend,' he asked, `how did you get in here without wedding clothes?' The man was
speechless. "Then the king told the attendants, `Tie him hand and foot, and throw him outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of
teeth.' " (Matthew 22:8, 10-13)

Do it now. Put on the full armor of God now. Do I have a choice whether or not to pay attention to the words of God? Yes, I do. The same way if it is raining I have the
choice to walk in the rain without a raincoat. But if I do so, I must accept the consequence —getting wet. I can decide to disregard God’s commands but I cannot avoid
the consequences of that decision any more than I can avoid the consequences of my decision to step out a window on the 90th floor of a building. I cannot avoid the
consequences -- the eternal consequences--of my decision to disregard the commands of God .

Then there is the parable about the 10 virgins, some with extra oil and some without. "But while they (the virgins without the extra oil) were on their way to buy the
oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut." (Matthew 25:10)

"It will be good for that servant whom the master finds doing so when he returns." (Luke 12:43)

The consequences of not obeying the master may be very sudden and severe. "The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an
hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the unbelievers. "That servant who knows his master’s will and does not get ready
or does not do what his master wants will be beaten with many blows." (Luke 12:46-47)

Look at what might be. What should I be prepared for? Count the cost.

The Bible says,  "when we were controlled by the sinful nature, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our bodies, so that we bore fruit for death." (Romans 7:5) If I give in to temptation what can I expect?

"Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand? (Luke 14:31) It pays to think ahead and plan ahead.

"But when someone stronger attacks and overpowers him, he takes away the armor in which the man trusted and divides up the spoils. (Luke 11:22)

"Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29 for our "God
is a consuming fire." (Hebrews 12:28-29)

To repeat Jesus told his disciples this--"I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more. 5 But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him" (Luke 12:4-5; see also Matthew 10:28)

Looking upon the words of God as having little or no significance is certainly not showing respect or reverence for God but is also putting any believer who has such an attitude toward God in great peril. The Bible says, "If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left,  but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?" (Hebrews 10:26-29)

Am I prepared for all eventualities if I don’t put on the full armor of God? Am I more afraid of ‘rocking the boat’, disturbing the routine, than I am of offending the holy God who sacrificed his Son Jesus the Christ to redeem me.  What attitude toward God does my behavior reveal if I ignore God’s statement to me to "put on the full armor of God"? A FREQUENTLY USED SENTENCE?

"Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall,  and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10)

"For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and 
has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins." (2 Peter 1:5-9)

"It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." (Hebrews 10:31)

Only when God’s armor is being worn does it make a difference. It doesn’t do any good ‘hanging in my closet’!

FINAL THOUGHTS

Do God’s words set forth options? When God says, "Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" is that statement a
request or recommendation? Is that exhortation just a suggestion or an expression of opinion? Or does that statement of God set forth a fact. Does that statement in
the New Testament set forth a requirement for survival to the same extent that the statement ‘I had better put on a gas mask before I enter a room full of deadly gas’ sets
forth a requirement that must be met if I want to survive? And who knows what is essential? Who knows more than the Creator what armor or special equipment is
required to survive?

Do I look upon the reason for putting on the full armor of God —"so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes" as a serious matter, as being a matter of ‘survival’ as much as the wearing of a gas mask in a room full of lethal gas is (Matthew 10:28,32) or do I look upon that statement as nothing more than a suggestion or tip that will increase 'the odds' of my being an heir to God's promises? Do I look upon the consequence being able to "stand against the devil's schemes" as nothing more than a way to garner more commendation and approval from God (like the ribbons on the chest of high military officers)?

Are the consequences of disregarding the Creator’s statement about putting on the full ‘armor of God’ any less inevitable than the consequences of not putting on a gas mask before I enter a room full of lethal gas?

Why according to the Bible, is the putting on the full armor of God needed? Because without it I would perish! Without it the `lion' would come in and would devour me. Unless I make an effort to keep the enemy out am I not welcoming `him' into my `home'. Not only is the disregarding of God's charge to put on the full armor of God a clear act of disobedience it is at the same time an act which puts me in great peril. Is not the statement ``playing with fire', playing with your eternal life' an accurate statement about this way of behaving?

If I  return to the world what do my actions ‘say’ to me?  What do my actions ‘say’ to me if I try to return to the condition which the sacrificial death of God’s Son delivered me from? Do my thoughts and my response to God make me proud? Do my thoughts and my response to God enable me to say, 'I have fought the good fight'? Do I have a reason to feel confident of God’s favor if I knowingly and with forethought act differently from Christ? If I ignore what God says have I made my election sure (to myself)? (2 Peter 1:8-11)

Am I stupid? Do I know the kind of ‘world’ I am living in? Who would knowingly walk through a jungle that is known to be the home of a hostile tribe or man-eating animals without any preparation, without any ‘armor or weaponry’? The way I am walking in this world reveals what I think about God's words. I would not have a casual approach to the matter of putting on the full armor of God if I believed that not putting on that armor was putting me in grave danger. To me putting on the full armor of God is not a matter of survival. To me putting on the full armor of God is not as important as putting on a gas mask before I walk through a room filled with lethal gas! The reason I don’t make all effort to put on all of God’s armor is because I don’t believe I am in grave danger if I don’t!

Is it really a surprise that sin seems to have so much power in my life?

 

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