You might be a Christian, if you ... are Saved and wearing Spiritual Armor.
Today, I wanted to tackle two words that start with S that you hear a lot concerning Christians.
Have you ever heard the expression, "I got saved" from someone? Being saved simply means a person acknowledges they are a sinner and makes a decision to turn from their sin and follow Christ.
It's a simple step that results in receiving eternal life spent with the Lord in heaven, and abundant life right here, right now.
Yes, we who walk with the Lord Jesus Christ have many blessings, but we also have trials and struggles here on earth. However, we have help to get through our rough times.
Like a Savior who never leaves us.
The Holy Spirit who helps and teaches us.
And spiritual armor that protects us in a spiritual battle and helps us to win victories for Christ.
You can read all about spiritual armor in Ephesians 6:10-18.
Today, I'm going to give you a brief summary of each piece. I want you to be fully armed!
Paul, the writer of Ephesians, used the illustration of the armor a soldier might wear:
- The first piece of equipment is the belt of truth and it is worn around the waist: The belt held the armor in place. When the soldier is "belted up," he is getting ready for battle - He is not "at ease."
- Paul probably means the truth of the gospel. You have to know the truth of what you believe before you can fight against the lies Satan will tell you.
- Next the breastplate of righteousness (right standing with God): The breastplate completely encircled the chest and abdomen, effectively protecting the warrior's vital organs.
- We have to be in right standing with God in order to use all the pieces of armor.
- The next piece of armor was footwear. The bible calls it "having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace."
- A soldier needed firm footing so he would not stumble in battle.
- Preparation is a word meaning "a prepared foundation."
- Followers of Christ must be prepared at all times to proclaim the gospel.
- Taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one: Paul is talking here about a large shield that could block the soldier's whole body. Our faith in the Lord can protect us from everything the enemy can throw at us. Sometimes the enemy likes to use fiery darts (thoughts) of fear and unbelief.
- Faith in Christ will help you to extinguish ALL the fiery darts of the enemy – not just some.
- Salvation is described as a helmet, protecting the head.
- I say it’s foolish to fight spiritual warfare on your own without being saved. We can do nothing in our own selves, but need the power of Jesus to fight Satan.
- If we’ve been doing the work of Romans 12:1-2, the saved mind, is a renewed mind, and does not have to succumb to the lies of the enemy. Remember, we got that belt of truth on and we don’t have to believe his lies.
- Finally, we are to take up the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God (bible) – at last, an offensive weapon!
- God's word is our only offensive weapon, because when we answer the devil's lies with God's word, we know God will perform His word.
- We know that when Jesus experienced His time of temptation, He quoted scripture each time to the enemy. Read about it here. Should we do no less?
- Is your weapon gathering dust? Or are you keeping it sharp by committing its words to your heart?
- Although not considered armor, the covering over all the armor is prayer
- Prayer is to be a way of life for the Christian – a central part of our spiritual warfare – and not merely a practice reserved for those times when we need something from God.
- Prayer is to be combined with alertness (verses 18-20). We are to stand firm, never relaxing our guard.
I know I have given you much to think on. I hope you will delve into some of the links I have posted and read the scripture for yourselves.
Have you ever heard about spiritual armor before? Do you know someone who is saved?
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I'm so glad you are here! Follow me each day as I attempt to define what a Christian is ... and isn't.
I'm always interested in your thoughts. Let me know if there is a word Christians use that you don't understand. I'd be interested to write about it.
I'm always interested in your thoughts. Let me know if there is a word Christians use that you don't understand. I'd be interested to write about it.
This post was written for Day Nineteen of my A-Z Blogging Challenge series, "You Might Be a Christian ... from A-Z." Go here each day to see all of my posts each day as they go live.
If you don't understand how a person becomes a Christian, you might want to visit my page, "A Ticket Home."
If you'd like to read more A-Z offerings, visit the A-Z Home Page to view a plethora of A-Z links. With approx. 1300 bloggers participating, there is something for everybody.
I'm also linking up today over at the community at Grace and Truth. Below are links to all the hostesses at this blog hop. You will find tons of inspiration there!
Definitely saved here :) Yes, I have heard of the spiritual armor. I have done studies of Ephesians 6; I think it is something we need to always be aware of and use when we are under attack by the enemy.
ReplyDeletebetty
I love this simple yet concise teaching on salvation and spiritual armor. It's easy to take for granted that other people will know what we mean when we talk about these things- which isn't necessarily true. You have explained them well.
ReplyDeleteThank you for linking with Grace and Truth last week. I would love to feature this post tomorrow. (www.dawnklinge.com)