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Please turn with me in your Bibles 
to Ephesians chapter 6. Ephesians chapter 6 will return 
to our studies in Matthew's gospel, God willing, next Sunday morning. This morning we're going to look 
at the whole armor of God in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10 
through 20. Ephesians 6, I'll pick up reading 
at verse 10. Finally, my brethren, be strong 
in the Lord and in the power of his might. Put on the whole 
armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles 
of the devil. For we do not wrestle against 
flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, 
against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual 
hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the 
whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil 
day. and having done all, to stand. 
Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having 
put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with 
the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the 
shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the 
fiery darts of the wicked one, and take the helmet of salvation 
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Praying 
always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit, being watchful 
to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the 
saints and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may 
open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel 
for which I am an ambassador in chains, that in it I may speak 
boldly as I ought to speak. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we thank you for your Holy Scripture. We pray now that you would come 
in power by your Spirit to instruct our hearts and our minds in your 
truth. We confess our sin to you, God, as we read through 
this scripture. We are mindful of succumbing 
so often to temptation and sin. We just pray, cleanse us in the 
blood of the Lamb. We pray, God, wash us afresh 
and cause us to come to that fount that is open for sin and 
uncleanness. We pray that your spirit would 
guide and enable and empower us to engage in biblical Christianity 
in a manner that is consistent with your written word. We just 
praise you, God, and ask now that in all of this you would 
be glorified and honored and praised. And we ask through Jesus 
Christ, our Lord. Amen. Well, in bringing this 
particular letter to a close, the book of Ephesians, the final 
words here, Paul's final statement concerns a call or an encouragement 
or an exhortation to rouse the readers to vigilance in their 
Christian lives. Paul has already stated Christ's 
position of exaltation and supremacy in chapter 1, verses 20 to 23. He's highlighted the fact that 
the saints are already seated with him in the heavenly places 
in Ephesians 2, verse 6. Well, also, or what he does now 
is come to call us to readiness and to diligence. He says that 
those these are blessed truths. Believers must still engage the 
enemy in the battle. And that's what Ephesians 6, 
10 to 20 is all about. I want to consider three things 
by way of exposition for this morning. First, the command stated 
versus 10 and 11. Secondly, the reason given versus 
11 and 12. And then, thirdly, the armor 
described in verses 13 to 20. I think Calvin issues a good 
word of caution with reference to the details. He says, now 
follows a description of the arms which they were enjoined 
to wear. We must not, however, inquire 
very minutely into the meaning of each word, for an allusion 
to military customs is all that was intended. We're not supposed 
to, you know, sort of have this visible image or this poster 
of what we need to look like. What we see here are the means 
by which God has called us to stand in our Christianity and 
wage the good warfare against spiritual enemies. Well, let's 
look at the commands. The first is the command to be 
strong, to be strong. Verse 10. Finally, my brethren, 
be strong in the Lord. This was what God said to Joshua 
in Joshua chapter 1 verses 6 to 9. Be strong, be courageous, 
be bold. You're engaged in a military 
campaign. You can't be a wimp. You can't 
be a woman. You have to be strong in the 
Lord God Most High. In the book of 1 Samuel, we see 
that David strengthened himself in his God. It was at a particular 
point where David no longer had a city. He no longer had refuge. He no longer had material comforts. But he did, in fact, have his 
God. And he strengthened himself in 
the Lord. And then in Second Timothy, chapter 
two, verse one, Paul encourages Timothy, a young minister of 
the gospel, to be strong. He says, You, therefore, my son, 
be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. And notice back 
in Ephesians 610, he says, Finally, my brethren, be strong. in the 
Lord and in the power of His might. It's not to be a native 
strength. It's not to be a natural tendency. An expression of who you are 
as a being, or as a person. You know, all of us could say 
there are strong people we know, there are weak people we know. 
There are those who dispositionally are able to bear up with a lot 
more than some dispositionally are able to. We see those sort 
of natural tendencies. That's not what Paul is speaking 
to here. Paul is saying be strong in the Lord. He is the strength, 
he is the source, he is the one by which we derive the strength 
to face the battles that God calls us to undergo. Be strengthened 
in the Lord. John Eady has a very appropriate 
comment. He says, soldiers have an invincible 
courage when they have confidence in the skill and bravery of their 
leader. You will follow the captain of 
your salvation into battle, knowing that he is sovereign, knowing 
that he is supreme, knowing that he is strong, and that he has 
the resources and the benefits to uphold you and strengthen 
you in the fight. So that is the first command 
that the apostle issues. We are to be strong in the Lord. And then secondly, he says, and 
put on the whole armor of God. Put on the whole armor of God. 
And as we run through those particular elements, we'll see the bulk 
of them are defensive, right? The bulk of them are defensive 
articles so that when you go out into the battle, you're not 
hit, you're not torn down, you're not struck. You need these defensive 
elements in order to protect you physically in the battlefield. You need these defensive elements 
to protect you spiritually in the battle as well. But there's 
also an offensive weapon. By offensive I don't mean bad, 
I mean offensive. It is the sword of the spirit. 
So the idea, the image is that you are decked out in this entire 
gear and you've got the sword of the spirit and this is what 
God says for you to engage the battle in. The text calls for 
responsibility and engagement. The believer is not to retreat 
from battle or escape from battle. He's not to start monasteries. 
He's not to withdraw himself. We've seen that in the Beatitudes 
and in the statement concerning salt and light. Yes, you are 
to be a distinct people. Yes, you are to be a separate 
people in terms of your attitudes and your actions. But you are 
to be the salt of the earth. You are to be the light of the 
world. You are to be a part of society in such a way that you 
serve as a preservative, that you serve as a light diffusing 
mechanism. so that people can hear the gospel 
and be called out of darkness into marvelous light. This text 
is very clear and very simple. Notice that you may be able to 
stand. This is the specific purpose 
for the armor of God. Now, it's spiritual warfare that's 
in view here. You ever come to a place where 
you've seen people take this passage and they construct this 
great big theology of spiritual warfare? on how we're supposed 
to cast out demons, on how we're supposed to pray for the rapture, 
on how we're supposed to engage in a Christianity that is devoid 
of Paul's intention here. The issue is you are to stand. 
You're to withstand in the evil day. You are to so be strengthened 
in the Lord your God that instead of collapse, instead of succumbing 
to the temptation, instead of running after the sin, instead 
of siding with spiritual forces of evil, you stand, you withstand, 
and you don't follow in their particular pursuit. Paul is very 
simple as a preacher. He's not trying to dazzle people 
with his abilities in spiritual warfare. He doesn't say, back 
in August of whatever particular year, I met this person and they 
were possessed by a demon and I accurately saw through this 
and I... No! It's very simple. Spiritual warfare in the Scripture 
is a lot simpler than certain men make it out to be. You are 
to stand. You are to resist. You are to 
watch your heart and pray. You're to don the armor of God 
in such a manner and in such a fashion that you are able to 
withstand in the evil day. It's an amazing thing in James 
and Peter. They say that the devil seeks 
you like a roaring lion, seeks to devour you. What's the instruction 
given by James and Peter with reference to the devil? Attend 
a Bob Larson conference. Attend a Mark Driscoll conference. 
Learn all the intricacies of spiritual warfare. Learn 15 easy 
ways to cast out the demon in your life. They say to resist 
him. That's the issue, that's the 
focus, that's the scope of our instruction with reference to 
spiritual warfare. Don the armor of God so that 
you can resist, so that you can withstand, and so that you may 
in fact glorify God. Seek your strength, seek your 
sufficiency in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ 
himself. One commentator says, to stand 
involves standing firm. Holding one's position, resisting, 
not surrendering to the opposition, but prevailing against it. Not 
surrendering to the opposition, but prevailing against it. Charles 
Hodge says the believer has not only to defend himself, but also 
to attack his spiritual enemies, and the latter is as necessary 
to his safety As the former, it's repeated three times in 
the context. Verse eleven, put on the whole 
armor of God that you may be able to stand. Verse thirteen, 
take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand. Verse fourteen, stand. Therefore, 
what's Paul's point? You need to stand. You offer up resistance. You 
need to not follow those tendencies and those pressures. You need 
to resist the devil and he will flee from you. And to that end, 
God has prescribed through the Apostle Paul certain elements 
that are crucial to your defense and for a good offense. But let's look secondly at the 
reason for the command. Notice, first of all, he speaks 
of the wiles of the devil. Verse 11, put on the whole armor 
of God that you may be able to stand against the wilds or the 
schemes of the devil. It suggests a plurality. Back 
in Ephesians chapter 4, Paul says you ought not to go to bed 
angry. Why? Because you give place to the 
devil. You don't reconcile with your 
bride. You don't reconcile with your husband. You don't let the 
sun go down on your anger. You fix things. You deal with 
things. You maintain short accounts. 
Because if you do not, the devil is going to get in there. In 
2 Corinthians chapter 2, Paul says, and we are not ignorant 
of his devices, the devil has several devices or schemes, or 
to use an old Puritan word, machinations, that he uses to try and disturb 
the very people of God. This is one of the reasons, but 
notice, secondly, he highlights the reality of spiritual warfare. He says in verse 12, for we do 
not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, 
against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, 
against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places. The Apostle 
Paul does not say this to paralyze us with fear. You're not supposed 
to read verse 12 and say, well, I'm going to just sit in my house. 
as if the devil can't get into your house. I'm just going to 
go live on an island as if the devil can't get to that island. 
I don't know how he travels. I don't know about all those 
particular things, but the devil will find us pretty much anywhere. He is not writing this to paralyze 
believers with fear. Rather, in the language of Calvin, 
he describes our enemy as formidable, not to overwhelm us with fear, 
but to quicken our diligence and earnestness. By speaking 
of the power of the enemy, Paul labors to keep us more alert. You see, the fact that Christ 
is supreme, according to Ephesians 1, 20 to 23, the fact that believers 
are seated with him in heavenly places in Ephesians 2, verse 
6, does not mean or does not invalidate the current responsibility 
believers have in this lower world to effectively resist the 
temptation of the evil one. You need to be on guard. You 
need to be alert. You need to stand. You need to 
withstand. You need to offer up opposition 
and resistance. When you sin, when you fail, 
you confess it to God. You forsake it. You seek fresh 
grace and mercy so that you may stand. Brethren, if you go through 
this particular passage, you could probably trace in your 
mind when you didn't stand, when you did fail. We were reminded 
this morning of Peter. Do we forget Peter? Peter denied 
his Lord with oaths and cursing to a servant girl. He wasn't 
kowtowing to the emperor of Rome. It was a servant girl. This man 
was with Jesus. No, I wasn't. Oh, certainly your 
dialect betrays that, Peter. You're a Galilean. You speak 
the Galilean tongue. I was not with that man. times, 
Peter with a pounding the pulpit fervency denies Christ. What we see in the book of Acts 
and chapter two, who is the first among equals there? It's Peter 
preaching the glorious gospel of forgiveness and grace. You 
trace the history of Peter. Did it stop there? Peter's in 
Galatians chapter two. Not because Paul says, I want 
to point you to the superlative example of free grace. I want 
to point you to the example of one who has never compromised 
the truth. Paul has to write in Galatians 
2 that I withstood Peter to his face. Brethren, we cannot forget 
that there is forgiveness with God that He may be feared. We 
have all succumbed. We have all fallen short. As 
Christians, we have failed to offer up a complete resistance. Go back to the Savior. Go back 
for mercy. Go back for grace. Receive it 
and press on by the grace of God Most High. We need to understand, 
with reference to verse 12, we do not wrestle against flesh 
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers 
of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 
in the heavenly places. We need to realize that the enemy 
is not man, flesh and blood. However, listen to this. The 
devil uses man. How do you explain Planned Parenthood? 
How do you explain an organization whose fundamental tenet is murder 
for money. How do you explain that? You 
have to see the diabolical nature of the devil behind it. How does 
Christ describe the devil? He's a father of lies. He's the 
murderer from the beginning. You see, godless regimes that 
oppose the Lord and oppose his people. Our wrestle isn't with 
them primarily in terms of going out and sniping them, but we 
need to remember the spiritual element. It was the dragon who 
empowered the beast in Revelation chapter 13. As bad as the beast 
was, there was something far more grievous behind him. And so this text calls us not 
to consider the fact or not to disenfranchise or to distance 
ourselves from the genuine wickedness that is going on all around us. But we need to be able to look 
through that wickedness and see the greater and more formidable 
enemy is the devil. You take these godless regimes. 
I'm not talking about Idi Amin. I'm not talking about Pol Pot. 
I'm not talking about Stalin and Hitler. I think there's godless 
regimes a whole lot closer to us in terms of time and even 
in terms of geography. What's driving this madness? 
What's driving this wickedness? What's driving the fact that 
you can, for a fee, murder the baby in your womb? We have to 
understand, brethren, there's a spiritual dimension to this. So that we need to be a prayerful 
people. We need to engage in wearing the whole armor of God. 
We need to go into the battle realizing that these are some 
unseen forces. And it hopefully will cast us 
in utter dependence upon God Most High. Paul says the weapons 
of our warfare are not carnal. They're not carnal. But they 
are mighty, he says, for the pulling down of strongholds. 
He's speaking primarily about preaching and about prayer. He's 
speaking about the Word of the Living God and our time at the 
throne of grace. Jesus taught us to pray that 
God's will be done on earth as it is in heaven. So though our 
wrestle isn't specifically against a man in a suit, it is nevertheless 
the devil activating, using that particular beast and calling 
us to consider this in our prayer closets, in our preaching, in 
our witness, in our presentation of the truth of God Most High. 
His word applies to the totality of our lives. We ought not just 
to say, well, that's a wicked regime. Oh, you know, that's 
the way it goes. God, bring it down. We ought not to just look 
at Islam and say, well, you know, some people are mistaken about 
it. They're really a peace-loving people. Bring it down, God. That 
is a spiritual problem. There is spiritual elements involved. People are being led astray in 
mass, thinking that it's somehow good and decent to kill other 
people in their religion. I heard a complaint recently 
that we Christians, we pick on each other. We argue with each 
other about doctrine, about different teachings and all that. We should 
be more active picking on whoever else. I'm not here to suggest 
that we're good or we're not to pick on each other and get 
healthy dialogue, healthy debate. If people call that picking on, 
maybe they just need to man up and be strong in the Lord. You 
know, the discussion boards that I see with reference to Christianity 
or blogs, it's, you know, differences of eschatology or differences 
of ecclesiology. I'm not trying to minimize that. 
How do you disagree in Islam? The gun. with bonds. You can't just say, well, that's 
a bunch of reckless people that don't have any clue. Yeah, that 
might be the case, but what's behind it? What's behind it? What's going on? Beneath the 
surface, there are spiritual dynamics involved. Again, he's 
not saying this to alarm us or to cause us to fear in a paralyzed 
sense. He's calling us to pray. He's 
calling us to employ the weaponry that Christ has ordained for 
the advancement of his kingdom, for the good of his church, and 
the salvation of sinners. See, that's the point of the 
apostle in this particular section of Holy Scripture. The apostle 
tells us to be strong in the Lord because it is Christ who 
has disarmed the enemy. Colossians 2 15. It is Christ 
who is seated at the right hand of God, far above all these powers. You don't come to Ephesians six 
by bypassing Ephesians one. Go back there for just a moment. 
Ephesians chapter one, beginning at verse 19. Paul's point in context here 
is to illustrate the great power of God most high. He wants the 
people who read this letter to know something of God's power. 
This is a prayer report. This is Paul on his knees. This 
is how Paul prays. Let's go back so you can see 
that in verse fifteen. Therefore, I also, after I heard 
of your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 
do not cease to give thanks for you, making mention of you in 
my prayers. How does Paul pray? Well, that's 
following now. He says that the God of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, the father of glory, may give to you the spirit of 
wisdom and revelation and the knowledge of him. You see, Paul 
prays that they would know the scripture better. Paul prays 
they would know Christ better. Paul prays they'd be theologically 
astute. Paul prays that doctrine would 
matter. Paul prays that they would be interested in the written 
and revealed will of God. Verse 18, the eyes of your understanding, 
literally having been enlightened. The fact that through regeneration, 
God has caused the light to shine in your life. You have been enlightened 
as a result of that. Now you are in a position and 
posture to study the word and learn of Christ. You see, unenlightened 
people, unregenerate people can't learn theology. They can't learn 
truth. I mean, they may know certain 
things. They may say, yes, of all the 
religious systems, this one seems to make most sense. That's not 
what Paul's meaning. Paul wants you to know it so 
that it affects you. Paul wants you to know it so 
that it promotes worship. Paul wants you to know it so 
that it produces righteousness and carefulness in your living. 
Verse 18, that you may know what is the hope of his calling. Paul 
wants you to think about heaven. Paul wants you to concern yourself 
with that great inheritance. He wants you to live your life 
in the reality that one day you will enter into the glorious 
presence of Christ Most High. Verse 18, that you may know what 
is the hope of his calling, what are the riches of the glory of 
his inheritance in the saints. And here's what else I want you 
to know. Verse 19. And what is the exceeding greatness 
of his power toward us who believe? You need to know that. You need 
to know the exceeding greatness of God's power, not your power, 
not your sufficiency, not your ability. You see, the believer 
is always cast back into the lap of God. Later on in Ephesians 
3, another instance where Paul tells us how he prays. He says, 
I want you to understand the love of Christ, not your love 
for Christ, but Christ's love for you. You see, we get it all 
wrong. We try to wage the Christian 
life based on how we respond, based on what we do, based on 
how we view things. Paul says, think about God, think 
about Christ, think about the glorious truth of the gospel, 
and let that be the fuel that fills you up so that you may 
indeed live the Christian life. He casts us upon God. Verse 19, 
what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us who believe? 
Now he's going to illustrate it. according to the working 
of his mighty power, which he worked in Christ, when he raised 
him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the 
heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might 
and dominion and every name that is named, not only in this age, 
but also in that which is to come. So we don't come to Ephesians 
six and read about this wrestle that we have with principalities 
and powers divorced from Ephesians one. When we understand where 
our wrestle is, who do we appeal to? The Christ who is over them, 
the Christ who is sovereign, the Christ who is supreme, the 
Christ of verse 22. And God put all things under 
his feet and gave him to be had over all things to the church, 
which is his body, the fullness of him who fills all in all. 
So when you get to Ephesians six and the enemy is portrayed 
there, you're not supposed to despair. You're supposed to remember 
our Savior, our captain, our Lord, is bigger, greater, and 
more powerful than any of the enemies that bother us here on 
earth. Let us pray. Let us live. Let us preach. Let 
us engage ourselves in those activities God says are mighty 
for the pulling down of strongholds. That's the flow. That's what 
he wants. That's where he's going with 
this. Let's look at the armor. Verses 
13 to 20. The command is reiterated, verse 
13, Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be 
able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. Take up the whole armor of God, 
withstand in the evil day that defense that you will need on 
the day that you are assaulted, and having done all to stand. 
That's what Paul wants. It's a great statement, isn't 
it? Stand where you're at. You've got to stand in the biggest 
church. You've got to stand as the most accomplished homeschooling 
mom. You've got to stand as the one who has done more than it. 
Brethren, to stand is a blessing. That's what God calls us to. 
Some of us aren't happy unless we're standing with the celebrities. Some aren't happy unless they're 
standing with having done great things. Standing is a great thing. Because you cannot stand apart 
from the power and the gospel of Christ. Some of you may have 
heard me say it, and I maintain it. If I fall into heaven, I'm 
going to be so thrilled. I mean, the best is to run like 
Liddell with his head up and, you know, running like that. 
That's great. That's how we enter heaven. Praise 
be to God most high. My vision is similar to what 
we see in the Pilgrim's Progress. Constant battle. Constant turmoil. Constant fight. Constant temptation. Constant assault. So that if 
we fall into heaven, it is by the grace of God and the power 
of His Spirit alone. Paul says these things are necessary 
with reference to the whole armor of God. And let me just ask you 
at the outset, do these things surprise you? Truth. Righteousness. Gospel. Salvation. We know Paul, right? I mean, 
he uses some military, uses some martial imagery, metaphorically, 
to present these concepts. No doubt the readers had seen 
the Roman soldiers in all their gear, in all their regalia. marching 
in their squadrons, or marching in their flights, or marching 
in their platoons, or whatever they called them. Phalanx, maybe, 
was one of the words. They had seen this image. They 
had seen the soldiers geared up. They had seen the breastplate. 
They had seen the helmet. They had seen the shoes or the 
boots that men needed to wade into combat with. You see, if 
you're a computer technician firing bombs on a on a target 
far removed, you don't need good boots. You could wear slippers. 
You could wear sandals to push buttons and engage in modern 
warfare in some scenarios. Not so then. You needed boots. 
You needed good footwear. But what Paul does in this metaphor 
is use things or appeal to things that ought not to surprise any 
reader of the Bible. Let's just unpack them. Five 
defensive elements and one offensive. First, truth. Verse 14. Having girded your ways with 
truth. This should make some sense to 
us in the 21st century. We follow anything about the 
fitness craze. What have we been hearing for 
the last 10 years? Strengthen your core. Strengthen 
your core. Your core needs to be strong. 
Get that core strong. Why? Because if your core is 
weak, the rest of you is going to be weak. You put that belt 
on. You gird that truth on. If that core isn't strong, the 
rest of you isn't going to be strong. Truth is not a commodity 
for a certain few within the life of the church. Truth is 
not something that we bandy about, something that we keep at arm's 
distance. Truth is vital to our existence 
as Christians. If it isn't true, what's it going 
to be stand? Therefore, having dirtied your 
ways with truth, you will not resist the enemy. You will not 
offer up opposition. You will not stand. You will 
not be able to withstand in the evil day apart from hiding God's 
word in your heart. I have hidden your word in my 
heart. We saw this last week that I might not sin against 
you. You need to know text. You need 
to know doctrine. You need to know covenant theology. 
You need to know who God is. You need to know the Trinity. 
You need to understand justification by faith alone. You need to gird 
your waist with truth. You need to avail yourselves 
of those things that are out there and available for your 
study, for your perusal. There really is no excuse for 
a modern day Christian to be ignorant of the truth. There's 
no excuse. I mean, at no time in the history 
of the world could we click one button and listen to a great 
sermon. I mean, come on, think about 
it. There's a ton of theology in 
that literature rack, which right now is quite sparse. It's not 
teeming, it's not bulging over, but there's some good stuff there. 
Are you familiar with those pamphlets? The imputation of Christ's righteousness, 
imputation of covenant theology. Have you reviewed these things? 
Have you gone through the confession of faith? Have you gone to those 
things most surely believed among us? Those things hammered out 
by godly men in the history of the church. It girds your waist. Truth. Truth is not a, you know, 
we'll take it or leave it kind of a thing. I suspect, brethren, 
within not only evangelical, but in the reform movement, this 
is the battle. Truth. Truth. Truth. What was paramount at the Protestant 
Reformation? Truth! What was paramount on 
the day of Pentecost? Truth! What happens to those 
who gladly receive the Word of God? They continued steadfastly 
in the Apostles' doctrine. Does that describe us? Is that 
what we're about? Is doctrine matter? Is it important? Remember Christ's high priestly 
prayer? Sanctify them by thy truth. Thy word is truth. You cannot wage a spiritual battle 
without arm, without truth, without being ready, without having your 
core in place, without cinching it up, without being strong. 
Notice secondly. Righteousness, having put on 
the breastplate of righteousness. It's a great image, isn't it? 
The breastplate of righteousness. What's the breastplate there 
for? So that you don't get hit with a fiery dart. I realize 
that that imagery leaks over in other places here, but you've 
got this breastplate on. Again, it's cinched up time, 
and I don't know that the righteousness, first and foremost, is our acts 
of right doing. I like what John Gill says. He 
says that this reference, this statement, having put on the 
breastplate of righteousness, is an allusion to Isaiah 59, 
17, meaning not works of righteousness done by men, though these are 
offense when rightly used against the reproaches and charges of 
the enemy, as they were by Samuel, but rather the graces of faith 
and love. Though, faith has another place 
in the Christian armor, after words mentioned. Here's what 
he said. Wherefore, it seems best to understand 
this of the righteousness of Christ, which being imputed by 
God and received by faith is a guard against and repels the 
accusations and charges of Satan and is a security from all wrath 
and condemnation. That's the breastplate of righteousness, 
the imputed righteousness, the alien righteousness of another, 
the joyous exchange. Now, we know from reading our 
Bibles that a justified sinner is a sanctified saint, and that 
when we have the imputed righteousness of Christ, we will pursue righteousness 
in terms of our being. For brethren, to stand on the 
evil day, to withstand enemy opposition, it is not your acts 
of righteousness that you engage in that is going to buttress 
you and fortify you and strengthen you. It is going to be the doing 
and the dying and the imputing of the righteousness of Jesus. That's how we go into battle. 
That's how the Saints face the adversary, in the strength of 
their Lord, who is the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of 
the world. It's said of those French Calvinists, the Huguenots, 
that they used to sing Psalm 68 as they entered into battle. Oh, for days like that, when 
Psalm 68 is the battle cry of our military men. You see, they're thinking in 
terms of the Bible. They're thinking in terms of the Gospel. They're 
thinking in terms of an imputed righteousness. You can't wage 
this battle in your own strength. You can't withstand based on 
your doing. You can't stand the enemy's got 
that over you all the time. Remember that scene in Zechariah 
chapter three. Joshua, the high priest, appears 
in all of his filthiness and all of his dirtiness. And the 
devil is right there at his hand to accuse him. He is the accuser 
of the brethren. He'll always be able to offer 
up till he'll always be able to say you're a wretch. He'll 
always be able to do that. And what happens? You begin to 
succumb, you begin to falter. Which in righteousness is not 
your own, it is Christ. It is the Lord Jesus. It is impeccable, 
it is spotless, it is beautiful. That's the strength by which 
we stand in. Notice thirdly, he speaks of 
the gospel. Having shod your feet with the preparation of 
the gospel of peace. You've got to appreciate Paul 
here. You've read Orwell's 1984. Propaganda 
was the ministry of truth. The War Department was the ministry 
of peace. Doublespeak, right? An unwary 
reader might suspect that Paul's got a bit of that doublespeak. 
You're going into battle based on the gospel of peace. You shod your feet with the gospel 
of peace, in order to engage in spiritual battle, in order 
to engage in spiritual warfare. As I said, footwear to us isn't 
as important as it was then. I mean, if you have a jet to 
fly you around in, if you even have a horse or you have a tank 
or you have a helicopter. or you have a train, or you have 
a car, or you have a cart, you really don't need that great 
of footwear. But in order to engage the enemy 
in the Roman Empire, if your feet weren't solid, you were 
going down. I read once that was one of the 
big problems in the Vietnam War. Soldiers were getting jungle 
rot in their feet. I mean, it's one thing to be 
the macho soldier, but when your feet are messed up, it's hard 
to think about anything else. Walking through rice fields and 
walking through swamps and rivers, what happens? Your feet become 
mush. It's a horrible image. And yet 
Christians are trying to engage the enemy with mush, with slogans, 
with mottos, with conferences, with pull up your boots. You 
need the gospel of peace in order to wage war. You need the gospel 
of peace to stand. You need the doing and the dying 
and the rising of another. You don't need your testimony. You don't need your statements. 
You need the gospel of Jesus Christ. That's how you shod your 
feet. If we are to stand in the spiritual 
battle, it necessarily follows that we stand in the gospel. We may differ on some correlators. 
We may differ on some periphery. We may differ with our our dear 
brethren, Presbyterians. We may differ with Dutch reformed 
in some areas. But where we cannot differ is 
in the gospel. We cannot differ when it comes 
to how a sinner is right with God. We cannot fight the devil. We cannot withstand temptation. 
We cannot stand on the evil day if we don't know the gospel. 
That's why it's emphasized a lot. That's why you hear about it 
a lot. You can get to heaven with an 
unbiblical eschatology. Maybe if I was God, it'd be different, 
but just kidding. Just kidding. Oh, those Reformed 
Baptists, they're so mean. We are, but not because of that 
statement. You can't get to heaven apart from Christ. You can't 
be wrong here. If any statement of the apostle 
illustrates that, it's Galatians 2.21. Therefore, I do not set 
apart the grace of God, for if righteousness comes through the 
law, my efforts, my doing, my contribution, then Christ died 
in vain, Paul says. Gospel is of utmost importance. Gird your waist with truth, put 
on the breastplate of righteousness, shod your feet with the preparation 
of the gospel of peace. Notice fourthly, above all, taking 
the shield of faith above all may not be the best translation. It's not as if faith is above 
all. Faith is a vital element, but 
so is truth. I think the ESV rendered it a 
bit better in this particular instance. The emphasis is this 
one above the rest. This one in conjunction with 
the rest. He says, above all, taking the 
shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the 
fiery darts of the wicked one. How do you deal with the wicked 
one? The shield of faith. Charles Hodge in his commentary 
says this. It's a bit of a lengthy comment, 
but I want you to pay attention. I think he really captures this 
whole idea very well. He says, as burning arrows not 
only pierced, but set on fire what they pierced, they were 
doubly dangerous. I got to tell you, getting hit 
by a dart would be bad enough. But one on fire, that's doubly 
bad. I mean, I might conjure up the 
strength to rip that unfiery dart right out of my chest, but 
the fire would probably cause a bit of panic, and I'm going 
to watch it burn me. You see what Hodges is saying? 
Fiery darts are a doubly bad. He says, they serve here, therefore, 
as the symbol of the fierce onslaughts of Satan. He showers arrows of 
fire on the soul of the believer, who, if unprotected by the shield 
of faith, would soon perish. He says it is a common experience 
of the people of God, that at times horrible thoughts, unholy, 
blasphemous, skeptical, malignant thoughts crowd upon the mind, 
which cannot be accounted for on any ordinary law of mental 
action and which cannot be dislodged. They stick like burning arrows 
and fill the soul with agony. They can be quenched only by 
faith, by calling on Christ for help. He says, these, however, 
are not the only kind of fiery darts, nor are they the most 
dangerous. That idea that once in a while 
an atheistic thought jumps into your mind. You haven't been reading 
philosophical treatises on atheism and why it's a better way. I 
mean, just stuff just enters into the mind. Where does that 
come from? It may come from our wicked hearts 
and that remaining sin that is there, but we must remember we 
wrestle not against flesh and blood. There are unseen foes 
in our life. But he goes on to say, there 
are others which in kindle passion, inflame ambition, excite cupidity, 
pride, discontent or vanity, producing a flame which our deceitful 
heart is not so prompt to extinguish. I mean, generally, if the thought 
of atheism leaps into your mind, horror of course, get it out. 
This thought of ambition. Pride, this thought of being 
esteemed. by others. This thought of being 
looked at as a hard worker, a good student. How come we don't see 
those sins? How come we see the sins that 
we want to see? He says, and which is often allowed 
to burn until it produces great injury or even destruction. He says, against these most dangerous 
weapons of the evil one, the only protection is faith. It 
is only by looking to Christ and earnestly invoking his interposition 
on our behalf that we can resist these assaults, which inflame 
evil without the warning of pain. They inflame evil without the 
warning of pain. That atheism brings, or that 
atheistic thought brings a warning with it. Like, look at what you 
are, apart from the mercy of Christ. But when it appeals to 
us, when there is that pride, or there is that ambition, or 
is that pat on the back, or is there something there that we 
like and cherish, faith, faith in Christ will banish that. Faith 
in Christ will back to Christ. You haven't learned that yet. 
That's the lesson of the Bible. Go back to Christ. We saw that 
in Psalm 119, 176. I have wondered. Seek me. The whole Bible is about throwing 
us back into the lap of mercy of our great God in Jesus Christ. 
And then the fifth element in terms of defense and take the 
helmet of salvation. It rounds out the image now. 
Of course, taking care of The breastplate is on, the feet are 
shot with the gospel of peace, and now we've got this helmet 
on our head and we're ready to go do battle. It's salvation. Again, John Gill, he says, such 
a hope of salvation by Christ is a defense of the head against 
false doctrines. A lot of commentators see here 
with reference to the helmet of salvation is that that sort 
of assurance of salvation, that realization that you are Christ 
and Christ is yours. That realization that you are 
in Him. It's hard to wage the warfare 
if you're still wondering if you're even a Christian. It's 
hard to swing that sword of the Spirit if you're not fully committed 
to it. Right? Assurance is important. You need 
to study the Scriptures. You need to be honest with your 
Bible. You need to be honest with your God. You need to be 
honest with yourself. He says, in such a hope of salvation 
by Christ is a defense of the head against false doctrines 
for the helmet is a piece of armor for the head, and it is 
an erector of the head in times of difficulty, affliction and 
distress, and it covers the head in the day of battle when engaged 
with Satan, the enemy of souls. Those are the defensive elements. 
righteousness, gospel of peace, faith, salvation, that rounds 
out the soldier, that rounds out the defense, that fits you 
to go there for and stand in the evil day. But remember, it's 
not just defense. It's not just getting knocked 
down, but it's withdrawing that sort of the spirit and lashing 
out at the enemy and probably in view is the short sword that 
the combat soldier had for close in battle. I'm not talking about 
the ten-foot sword by which he's lopping off heads from a distance. 
I'm talking about that short sword that when you're in close-in 
combat, hand-to-hand combat, you've got that sword of the 
Spirit by which you prevail against the foe, you prevail against 
the enemy. Don Eady said, the captain of 
salvation set the example, and once and again and a third time 
did he repel the assault of the Prince of Darkness by three brief 
and simple citations from Scripture. It's not what we find in the 
wilderness. The Spirit leads them out into the wilderness. 
What does Jesus do? It is written. It is written. It is written. 
He'd hang garlic around his neck and try to repel him with some 
symbolism and take his Bible and hit him on the head with 
it. It was the written word of God. Three simple times. What happens? The devil leaves 
him. E.D. says this. Diplomacy and argument, 
truce and armistice are of no avail. The keen, bright sword 
of the spirit must be unsheathed and lifted. It's not the time 
for diplomacy, not the time for treaty. It's not the time for 
armistice. It's not the time for sitting 
in Geneva, exchanging chocolate and watches and discussing how 
we're going to be at peace with one another. No, you unsheath 
it. and you swing it at the enemy 
of your soul. The Word of God, prayerfully 
engaged. Notice, above all, taking the 
shield of faith, verse 16, with which you will be able to quench 
all the fiery darts of the wicked one, take the helmet of salvation 
and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying 
always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful 
to this end, with all perseverance and supplication for all the 
saints. Look at the language Paul uses with prayer. You've 
got these defensive elements, you've got the offensive element, 
and they're all bathed in prayer. Look at how Paul describes prayer. 
Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, 
being watchful to this end with all perseverance. If you had 
to describe your prayer life, would the word perseverance indicate 
it? Is that really how we want to 
pray? We want to meet with God. It's 
not a bad thing. We should want to meet with God. 
We want God to bless us. Not a bad thing. We want God 
to bless us. But is perseverance a part of 
our prayer life? Even when we don't see results, 
even when it doesn't seem as if our prayers are getting out 
of our closet, Even when it doesn't seem as if the Lord is hearing, 
do we prayerfully consider Matthew six? And when you pray, go into 
your closet and your father who sees in secret will hear you. 
Perseverance. You see, you might withstand 
in this evil day, there's going to be another one tomorrow. You 
may have faltered today. You confess it and you forsake 
it and you ask the Lord to relieve you or to forgive you and to 
strengthen you so that next day you'll be able to stand. You 
need to persevere. These aren't haphazard. These 
aren't things that you just take once in a while. These are things, 
truth, righteousness, gospel, faith, salvation, the word of 
God you prayerfully engage in on a regular basis for the glory 
of God and for the good of your soul. Well, brethren, if we learn 
anything, we learn first the necessity to stand. Stand in 
the Lord and realize ultimately it is the Lord's battle. I think 
that's an encouragement as well. Paul describes the Christian 
life as a good fight. Why is it a good fight? Because 
it's God's fight. Jesus has promised in Matthew 
16, I will build my church and the gates of hell shall not prevail 
against it. If there isn't, if that isn't an encouraging text 
to you, I don't know what is. You take a group of believers 
and you say, I want you to build the church, does it always work 
out well? Really, does it? And how many 
churches does a city really need? Right. The fact that Christ is 
building his church ought to engage us. It ought to stir us 
up. We ought to realize that the 
one we are called to be strong in, it is ultimately his battle. He has dealt the death blow at 
Calvary. He has crushed the head of the seat of the serpent. We 
are engaged in some mop-up battles. We know how it ends. Christ is 
victorious. Christ is triumphant. Christ 
is all in all. Christ is everything in this 
battle. Secondly, we need to come to 
this passage and realize there is a spiritual element engaged 
in our warfare. There is a spiritual dimension 
behind the things that we see. Now, I know a man who came out 
of a Charismatic or Pentecostal church, and he said, we were 
casting demons out of tumbleweeds. We were praying that the demons 
of rain would not affect our car wash. Of course you can go 
hog wild and foolish. Right? You see the devil in everything. With the reform, the problem 
might be we don't see the devil in anything. We don't see the 
spiritual element. We don't see the spiritual dimension. 
We don't see the spiritual framework or context which casts us in 
dependence upon God Most High. So there is a spiritual warfare 
going on. We do not wrestle against flesh 
and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers 
of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness 
in the heavenly places. Paul's very language is beautiful. 
We don't wrestle against. Wrestle, fight, struggle. Did 
you sign up for a Christian life that would have no fight, no 
struggle, no wrestle? You're in the wrong place. There's 
no such thing as a Christian life with no fight, no struggle, 
no wrestle. You're going to fight the world. 
You're going to fight the devil. And more often than not, you're 
going to have to fight yourself and the inclinations of the heart. It's a fight. It's a struggle. 
It's a wrestle. It's a battle. It means hand-to-hand 
combat. One of the things I noticed, 
you all knew Micah entered the Air Force. They've extended basic 
training. They added dimension to it that they didn't have when 
I went through. You see these guys with these sticks with almost 
cushions on the end. They're sort of beating on each 
other with these sticks. I wish they would have had that 
when I went through. That's the image of the apostle 
here. The Christian life is not take 
that hill, get your sniper rifle out and lay down, and when you 
see an enemy shooting. The Christian life is a stick. 
Not with cushions on the end, not wearing helmets and not wearing 
padding, where you're banging back and forth. It's combat. It's close in. It's hand to hand. It's a struggle. It's a wrestle. 
It's a fight. Again, just for a moment, supposing 
the devil isn't bothering you on a particular day. He's over 
at somebody else's house. You still have a struggle. You 
still have a battle. You still have a wrestle because 
there's enough remaining corruption in your heart. Do you realize 
that when we do the right thing, pride is always there. Do you 
realize that there is a self-righteous tendency in every one of us? Do you realize the tendency of 
your heart as a Christian to take credit for your salvation? You know, in the prophet Isaiah, 
a text we refer to often. When he says all our righteousness 
says are like filthy rags in your sight, have you ever pondered 
that he's not saying our adultery, our murder, our idolatry, our 
thievery. He's saying when we go to the 
temple, when we offer sacrifice, when we obey the law of Moses, 
when we give attention to those things written for our admonition 
and for our instruction, those things that we do that on a given 
day, we would say those are righteous. We present them unto you and 
God, holy God. pure God, righteous God, unmingled 
God, looks upon those righteousnesses, he sees the offering, he sees 
the sacrifice, he sees external attention to the law of Moses, 
but he sees hearts that are divided. He sees hearts that are far from 
him. He sees hearts that may be, while 
the lips are singing the praise, the heart is in the parking lot. 
That's what he says, our righteousness is our life. And I don't want 
to be offensive, but the Greek or the Hebrew language is it 
is like menstrual rags, used menstrual rags in your site. So Pastor Butler is trying to 
that's the prophet Isaiah. The best that we do when we present 
it to God needs to be cleansed in the blood. Our repentance 
needs repenting of. Our holiness needs purification. Our righteousness needs a good 
dose of Calvary's fount. Everything we stand in need of 
is in Christ. And then thirdly, I had alluded 
to the battle for truth. I want to read a quote from Thomas 
Brooks. We read it in our Bible study on Satan's devices, his 
statement concerning truth. It's disconcerting when you see 
and you have seen men that have held fast to the truth and then 
they depart from that truth. They leave that truth. That's 
very disconcerting. It's difficult to see. I'm sure 
Paul felt something of that when he says all in Asia have turned 
to me. He speaks in Second Timothy, chapter two of Hymenaeus and 
Philetus, who led many into shipwreck. teaching that the resurrection 
had already occurred. You can find hyper-preterism 
in the Bible. It's in 2 Timothy chapter 2. 
Thyminaeus and Phileas. What did they do? They led many 
into shipwreck. You see, you deny the future, 
you're denying the past. You deny the future, you deny 
the present. You say that Christ is not coming 
back bodily, you say He didn't go into that tomb bodily and 
rise again. Big problems with that. But men depart from the 
truth. Why is that? Paul says from among you, Savage 
Wolves will rise up some of the Ephesian elders that he's addressing. 
He says you will rise up and try to get disciples to follow 
you. Paul saw that. And hence he leaves Timothy in 
Ephesus in First Timothy. Charge them that they have no 
other doctrine. But says this all souls. Have you not found truth, sweetening 
your spirits and cheering your spirits and warming your spirits 
and raising your spirits and corroborating your spirits? Have 
you not found truth, a guide to lead you, a staff to uphold 
you, a cordial to strengthen you and a plaster to heal you? 
And will you not hold fast the truth? Has not truth been your 
best friend in your worst days? Has not truth stood by you when 
friends have forsaken you? Has not truth done more for you 
than all the world could do against you? And will you not hold fast 
the truth? Is not truth your right eye, 
without which you cannot see for Christ, and your right hand, 
without which you cannot do for Christ, and your right foot, 
without which you cannot walk with Christ? And will you not 
hold fast the truth? Oh, hold fast the truth in your 
judgments and understanding, in your wills and affections, 
in your profession and conversation. You are better let go anything 
than true. You are better let go your honors 
and riches, your friends and pleasures and the world's favors. 
Yeah, your nearest and dearest relations. Yes, your very lives 
than to let go true. O, keep the truth, and truth 
will make you safe and happy forever. Blessed are those souls 
that are kept by truth. It's a great endorsement for 
all that Paul says here in terms of us donning the whole armor 
of God. It's truth. It's gospel. It's faith. It's salvation. It's righteousness. That's what 
Christianity is all about. And finally, if you have not 
come to Christ, you certainly cannot engage in this battle. 
You don't engage the battle without having first come to Christ. 
You can't take these imperatives. You can't take these commands. 
You can't gird your ways with truth. You can't put on the breastplate 
of righteousness. You can't shod your feet with 
the preparation of the gospel of peace. You can't take the 
shield of faith. And you certainly can't put on the helmet of salvation 
if you're not a Christian. So, to try and take this and 
say, well, now I've got some tips and some principles on how 
to deal with the enemies in my life. No. You need blood. The Bible says without the shedding 
of blood, there is no remission. That same Bible says the blood 
of bulls and goats could never take away sin. There is one to 
whom that blood pointed. It is the Lamb of God who takes 
away the sin of the world. You need Christ. You need to 
be washed. You need to be purified. You 
need to be justified. You need to have him wash you, 
cleanse you, and that righteousness given to you. That's, that's 
of utmost importance. Can't put the helmet of salvation 
on if you're not a Christian. Can't put that breastplate of 
righteousness on if it hasn't been imputed to you. You can't 
shod your feet with the gospel and the preparation of the gospel 
of peace if you're a stranger to the gospel of peace. My encouragement? My statement to you is to take 
the Bible, to take what God says concerning his son, specifically, 
that he lived a perfect life, that he died as a substitute 
and sacrificed at Calvary, and that he rose on the third day. 
You take that information, you take that data, and by the grace 
of God, believe it. That's what makes a Christian 
to differ from a Muslim. That's what makes a Christian 
to differ from an atheist. It is the truth of the gospel 
of Jesus Christ, our Lord. Believe on him and you will be 
saved. Beautiful. Believe on him and 
you will be saved. Believe now and you will be saved. That is the best news any man 
could ever tell you. Believe and you'll be saved. 
Well, let us pray. Our Father, we thank you for 
your word and we thank you for its sufficiency and for its clarity 
for our lives. And I pray that you would help 
us to take these things to heart, help us to prayerfully consider 
them. And I pray that you would just forgive us for all of our 
sins and our transgression. that you would cause us to see 
the glory that we have and the glorious gospel that is ours 
by your grace. And we just pray that you would 
grant us the zeal to go and to don this armor, to stand in the 
evil day and to withstand the fiery darts of the tempter. We 
just pray that you would watch over your people. We pray that 
you would grant us peace and help and strength and that you 
would just deal graciously with us. And for those who do not 
know you, We pray in a powerful act of your sovereign grace, 
you would open their hearts to receive the truth and to believe 
on Jesus for their salvation. We ask in his most blessed name. 
Amen.