Ephesians 6:17-24 - The Offensive

Ephesians 6:17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 through all prayer and petition praying at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, being on the alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints, 19 and pray on my behalf, that utterance may be given to me in the opening of my mouth, to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel, 20 for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in proclaiming it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.  21  But that you also may know about my circumstances, how I am doing, Tychicus, the beloved brother and faithful minister in the Lord, will make everything known to you. 22 I have sent him to you for this very purpose, so that you may know about us, and that he may comfort your hearts. 23  Peace be to the brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 24 Grace be with all those who love our Lord Jesus Christ with incorruptible love.

We are a Christ-centered Acts 1:8 family, and we so want to be a blessing to our community, to our neighbors, to the nations.  But let’s be perfectly clear - following Jesus means there are a whole lot of people who will find us offensive.  Jesus tells us point blank:  “There will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.  And you will be hated by everyone because of My Name."  So even tho today we are not talking about being offensive, we are talking about going on the offensive spiritually, there is every likelihood that going on the offensive will be offensive.  But we talked about this back in v. 13: take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand against in the evil day.  It means to oppose, go on the offensive.  That time has come.  [17-24]

We looked at the helmet of salvation last time, and so the last piece of armor we take up is the Sword of the Spirit.  Which is the Word of God.  Till now everything we've talked about has been defensive.  This SWord is our one offensive weapon in the unseen immaterial battle.  It cuts down the enemy.  Remember who that is - diabolos.  The accuser, the father of lies.  The Word of God cuts down his false accusations, his flaming arrows.  And it cuts down pride, which is what makes us flammable.

Now our armor [google "scutum"] again is that of a typical greco-roman hoplite, one of the foot soldiers which comprised the ancient battle unit known as the [phalanx].  Their effectiveness derived largely from their solidarity as a unit, standing and advancing side-by-side in tight formation, shields up and spears leveled forward.  A formidable force, this.  And if by chance a foe was able to break their ranks and/or somehow break a hoplite’s spear, that warrior would turn to his backup weapon, a two-edged sword known as a xiphos [aka

scutum].  It’s a piercing sword, cuz if you have an armored opponent, you want to try and pierce thru a gap in their armor.  It is interesting to note, then, that Paul here says the sword we are to take up is actually a machaira, which was a single edged blade designed to be used in a striking, hacking manor, more like a [machete].  The machaira was primarily used by cavalry soldiers, a more effective weapon for mounted militia, where from above one could reign down powerful blows on more relatively defenseless infantry.  Which perhaps gives us an idea as to why Paul would tell Christ’s foot soldiers to take up such a weapon.  Could it be that the enemy we face is not a heavily armored hoplite, that our enemy is rather more unprotected and defenseless against our divine weapon, this sWord of God?

James 4:7 Submit therefore to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you.

Granted, diabolos does have a bow and some flaming arrows, so we are not to take him too lightly, but once we are fully clad in our heavenly armor we become impervious to his pesky darts.  We’re able to mow him down with ease using the mighty sWord of Heaven.  Many have heard of “The Bible”, yet it is way underappreciated and underutilized, even by God’s people, not really perceived as any kind of weapon.  Too often it sits on a shelf.  Or is dismissed as irrelevant.  Unreliable.  Yet there is no weapon more powerful (or real) than this, the one we wield in battle (or should - rather, must!) each and every day.

We see Jesus using it in Lk 4…when the pesky accuser tries to tempt Him.  And Jesus just mows him down with the sWord of God.

And so we (ought!) follow His lead.  We take up this magnificent weapon, this Sword of heaven, God’s Word, and we cut down our enemy.  We cut down his lies, his half-truths, his false accusations.  And with it we take our stand for what is true and right and good, and for the glory of our King.  The Word of God. 

2Timothy 2:15 Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth.

Be diligent.  Make every effort.  It means practice.  Practice, practice, practice.  What does it look like to make every effort?  Our family has been watching the video blogs posted on YouTube by Cody Miller.  He is an Olympic breaststroke swimmer, getting ready for the Olympics.  What does it look like for him to make every effort to handle the breaststroke accurately?  He’s up at 4.30am.  He’s in the pool twice a day most days.  He lifts weights.  He watches his diet.  He is making every effort.

How are we doing at learning to handle God’s Word?  You know, it doesn’t hurt that Cody Miller loves to swim.  I’ve said it before, God’s Word is surely an acquired taste.

Jeremiah 15:16  Your words were found and I ate them, and Your words became for me a joy and the delight of my heart… 

OK, so now we’re all armored up, we have our sword, learning to use it - now what?  How exactly do we fight with it?  Next verse…  [With all prayer praying]  Paul is telling us that the army of God marches forward on its knees.  The single most important thing we do as believers and as a church?  The lowly prayer meeting.  The battle we fight is waged... more in secret.  Jesus said when you pray, don’t stand on the corner so that everyone can see you being all holy and all.  Go into a closet - in other words, do this because we’re not focusing on how we look or sound or how those around us look or sound.  We’re focusing on the Lord.  We are talking to Him.  And since we can’t see Him, and normally don’t hear Him audibly, find ways to minimize distractions.  A closet can work.  Jesus found quiet places of solitude.  No distractions.  

Luke 5:16 But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray.

At all times

1Thessalonians 5:17 …pray without ceasing.

Most of us, we’re just too busy.  Too busy for one another.  Too busy to pray.  Too busy even to slow down long enough to dive into God’s Word and feast on it, to learn to accurately handle it well enough to wield as our offensive weapon in prayer.  What are some verses from God’s Word that we can use in prayer?  Here are two of my faves:

2Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.    Colossians. 1:9   For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding,

Teach us to pray, the disciples asked.  How about that for something to pray?  Lord, teach me to pray.  What would that entail, do you think?  How did Jesus respond?  He gave them what we call, The Lord’s Prayer.  Our Father, Who art in heaven, hallowed be Your Name, Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who have trespassed against us.  And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil.  

But is what we need to learn some rote prayer, as if it were some kind of a formula or a magic spell?  If you are there with the disciples, and you’ve been watching the prayer life of Jesus, and you are asking Him “teach me to pray”, you are not asking Him to provide you with some flowery phrases, as if you were in a class at Hogwarts.  We’re not trying to learn magical words which somehow unlock the powers of heaven.  "Teach me to pray" means I learn that I need to pray, at all times, every day, and that prayer for the believer is both the highest privilege and the deepest most desperate need.  Teach me to pray means we know this One we’re talking to, that He is our heavenly Father.  And what develops (or should) is a relationship.  Prayer is first and foremost about relationship.  Too often we think, prayer is boring.  Prayer is difficult.  But it should be neither.  I think we forget - or fail to realize - with Whom we are talking.  Prayer is simply talking to God.  It can and should come as naturally as taking our next breath.  Prayer is a conversation.  Talk to God.  Listen to Him.

I love in 1Samuel when God is calling out in the middle of the night to young Samuel, who doesn’t know the Lord yet, and he keeps thinking it is his master, Eli, and so he goes into his master’s room and wakes him up, saying “here I am, you called me”, and Eli keeps saying, “I didn’t call you, go back to bed” and after this happens a few times Eli realizes what is happening and teaches Samuel a very powerful prayer: “Speak Lord, Your servant is listening.”  Speak, Lord - Your servant is listening.  Do you ever pray that?  Do I?  I am learning to.  Do we give the Lord both the time AND the permission to speak?

Prayer is a lifestyle, an ongoing relationship and conversation of gratitude and adoration, of dependence.  And bold asking - because through Christ we have direct and immediate access to God’s throne of grace!  It’s how we fight and win the battle!  And we have some amazing promises!  What did Jesus say?  If you ask what in My Name?  Anything.  Whatever you ask.  I will what?  I will do it.  Limitless potential.  Untapped resources.  But that is precisely why for too many Christians our prayer life is so weak…

In the Spirit

Romans 8:26   In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

We don’t know how to pray.  So yes, we need Jesus to teach us.  And guess what - He gives us His Spirit to help us!  Right here we’re reminded of one of the most fundamental lessons of the Christian life.  Jesus said, apart from Me, you can do what?  Nothing.  And I think we do a decent job of asking Him to help us do a lot of things.  Help me to love my spouse.  Help me to love my kids.  Love my neighbor.  Help me feel better, find daily bread, find a job.  Help me to work hard and know what to do.  Help me to overcome this temptation.  But do we ask Him to help us pray?  Do we ever ask Him to help us pray?  Help us know what to pray?  To give us the strength to pray?  Be on the alert with all perseverance.  We keep going.  We stay at it.  And the Holy Spirit is our Helper!  Because here’s what ratchets up the difficulty of prayer….

[For all the saints (and for Paul)]

Prayer needs to come to this place where it’s not all about me.  Not about my heavenly vending machine where I insert my dollar of prayer and get my spiritual candy or whatever.  Prayer is difficult, if not impossible - when we try to wage this battle in our own strength.  The scope is so far beyond me myself and I, plus the enemy pulls out all the stops to keep us from praying.  Cuz against prayer he is defenseless.  For all the saints, Paul says.  And for me, he says.  So we pray for one another.  This grows the love and unity!  We pray for our pastor, our teachers, our leaders.  And we come together to pray.  Matthew. 18:19-20   “Again I say to you, that if two of you agree on earth about anything that they may ask, it shall be done for them by My Father who is in heaven. For where two or three have gathered together in My Name, I am there in their midst.”

The power of prayer and of presence.  Gathering for prayer is the most important thing we do.  It’s how we fight!  It’s not some extra meeting for just a few.  This is for everyone.  We all pray.  At all times.  In the Spirit.  For all the saints.  This is an all-skate, we go on the offensive together.  In Acts 19 we see where the demons found Paul offensive!  May the Lord grant us a similar grace...

Ephesians 6:16-17 - The (Material) Immaterial Immortal

Ephesians 6:10   Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  14 Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, 15 and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE; 16 in addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. 

Crazy times we are in these days.  Panic.  Pandemonium.  Hoarding.  Social distancing - and in some ways it seems like it almost comes too easily.  Paul Leiffer joked to me that the social distancing comes easy to engineers cuz they’ve been doing it all their lives!  But have you noticed what is coming out of people in this crisis?  Out of so many people?  People who live in the most free and prosperous country on earth.  All this fear and insecurity.  [think Toilet Paper?]  I think what we are seeing is that, for far too many of us, our security, our trust is in the temporal.  It’s in this life, the things of this world, our stuff, the material.  And the object of our trust/faith is what matters.  How timely it is that we have been reading and talking about… a struggle, and an enemy, and a suit of armor that are NOT of this world.  The armor of God.  And this armor is immaterial.  It’s not immaterial in the sense that it doesn’t matter, but it is immaterial in that it is not of this world.  It is not something we can touch or feel or taste or even see.  We wrestle not against flesh and blood.  Not even against a virus.  We’re not facing a physical struggle, it is spiritual.  And it matters.  A lot. 

And so we read that we’ve been given a shield of faith.  Not a physical shield.  Right now we’re TRYING to shield ourselves from a virus.  Shields of quarantines, of vaccines, of social distancing.  But our shield is not like anything in this world.  This word appears only once in the entire New Testament.  It comes from the Greek word meaning door.  And this thyreon, this particular shield looked like a door.  This shield excelled at the exact purpose which Paul has in mind - defense against arrows.  Extinguish the flaming arrows, he says.  Arrows, you generally do not see coming.  We’re talking about something more UNseen and perhaps UNexpected.  Like a thief in the night, and the fire they bring can spread like wildfire. Immaterial yes, but the sting is quite real.

These diabolical arrows are fired by the evil one - diabolos himself, this slandering lying accuser of the brethren.  Out of nowhere He will try to discourage you, to deceive you, to isolate you.  He likes to try it on the heels of some great success, when we are most flammable.  Because fire only spreads when it comes in contact with something combustible.  [note the NFPA 4-4-4 label, found on many combustibles - hydrogen, oxygen, fuel, gunpowder, wood/paper, AND ClF3.  Sprinkling THIS chemical compound on virtually any other thing will start a fire that cannot be extinguished. It can ignite things that are otherwise fireproof, like asbestos. One spill burned thru a foot of concrete and 3 feet of gravel underneath.  Banned since WW2 by Chemical Weapons Convention.]

But let’s just stick with hydrogen - the most abundant chemical element in the universe, usually found in combination with other elements.  In isolation, it is odorless, colorless, tasteless, so it can be almost impossible to detect [sort of like "iocane powder" - but non-toxic].  It’s also the most flammable element on earth when exposed to air.  The National Fire Protection Association gives hydrogen its highest rating of “4” on the flammability scale because it is flammable when mixed even in small amounts with ordinary air.  In addition, it takes only a small amount of energy to ignite hydrogen. In fact, it can actually self-ignite, even without an external energy source [Recall the Hindenburg].

I’d like to suggest that there is a spiritual form of flammable hydrogen.  Pride.  Pride is spiritual hydrogen.  It is everywhere.  It can show up anywhere.  And it can be hard to see, difficult to detect.  It is that part of us which says, me first, me better.  Looking out for number one - and as far as I’m concerned, that’s me.  I’m most concerned about me.  It says, I am better than you.  And I got this.  I don’t need you.  I don’t need help.  I can handle this.  And I don’t need the Lord.  I don’t need to listen to what He says.  And pride can be subtle, we may not even detect it.  We get to this place of overconfidence.  Of independence.  Of unteachability.  We’re not leaning on the Lord.  We not looking to Him, depending on Him.  We get isolated on our little island of me, we lower our shield.  Pride leads us to put our trust in some object other than God and His Word.  And then we’re sitting ducks for the enemy’s flaming arrows.

[Pandemonium]. It is the palace of Satan in Milton’s Paradise Lost.  Literally, the place of all demons.  The place of pride, the realm of the unbent knee, for those who would rather rule in hell than serve even in heaven.  So let’s ask, how combustible am I?  Are you?  How easily does fear or discouragement or selfish anger rise up in my soul?  Where might there be some undetected pocket of pride in my heart?  Some reservoir of me-first?  Some denizen of distrust?  Of unbelief?  Because we’re talking about a shield of faith.  Trust.  Belief.

This shield of faith - or trust - how exactly does it work?  Let’s remember the definition of faith from Hebrews 11.1 - faith is what?  The assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.  The conviction of things you don't see.  It is trusting and believing (and obeying) even when you don’t see it.  Yes, for sure, seeing IS believing, but in this sense believing is seeing.  The immaterial made material!  Remember the object of my faith is what matters most. [It needs to be trust-worthy].  So faith leans into God and His promises, because He is supremely trustworthy.  The shield of faith begins with saying, maybe I don’t see Him per se, but there IS a God, and I will trust Him.  The accuser says, look at yourself you’re a crummy Christian - and faith says, no - my Maker, the One Who began a good work in me will perfect it until the day of Christ.  The accuser says, look at that person, that person is bad, they are your enemy, and faith says no, love your neighbor, love your enemy and pray for them.  The accuser says, look at this, this is hopeless - and faith says, no - I may not see it yet but God is good and He works all things together for good and nothing is too difficult for Him.  Or, pride says, I got this, I don’t need help, I don’t need the body, I don’t need to trust the Lord on this, and faith says, no, apart from the Lord there is nothing I can do.

On March 20 [2020], covid-19 was responsible for some 1000 deaths/day worldwide.  There are at least 5 other preventable treatable diseases which are more deadly - tuberculosis, hepatitis b, pneumonia, HIV, and malaria.  Malaria is one of the more tragic ones, because it is entirely preventable [mosquito nets!].  The shield of faith is like mosquito netting.  Those little buggers - you often don’t see them.  And the disease they often carry (malaria) - it can spread not only through your entire body and kill you, but it can also spread to others. [malaria: 230 million cases worldwide; 400k deaths/yr (2/3’s are children under 5); africa 90%.  A long-lasting insecticide-treated bed net costs an average of $5 and protects up to three children. Unfortunately, this cost is too high for most families in poor rural African communities who survive through subsistence farming.]  But mosquito netting is a cheap way to prevent countless suffering.  Like faith.  Faith actually costs nothing - it is a free gift.  But it can and does ward off untold suffering.  [Of course all death is tragic - cancer 25k/day, heart disease 49k, 150k/day total]  [think even covid is no threat to kids? How about abortion - 125k/day world, 2500/day US].

But the shield of faith… What really makes this thyreon shield work is the phalanx.  A group of soldiers employed in a unit.  A fighting unit.  If you are isolated, or somehow the enemy manages to split up the phalanx, then your flanks become exposed.  This what Paul has in mind when he begins this whole section by urging us to guard the oneness.  We need each other.  I need you, and you need me.  We are a spiritual phalanx, a family, and we journey together.  But pride - in all its forms - keeps us apart.  The enemy tries to keep us apart.  So as a family we take up our shield of faith and we hold onto the Lord, and we stick to one another - and that, Jesus says, is how the world will get to see Him.

Helmet of salvation - Hunters say, “Aim low, watch ‘em go.  Aim high, watch ‘em die."  It’s a trickier shot, but if you want an instant kill, you go for the head.  And so with all these arrows flying we need a helmet, too, a spiritual helmet of salvation - yes, the boots are critical, as is the weapon (we’ll get to that next week) - but you gotta protect the head!  This should be obvious, as the head is quite fragile and yet controls the functioning of the entire body.  In fact, modern research has shown that there is no better investment in battlefield safety equipment than a good helmet.  It is the best piece of protective gear - by weight and by size - that any soldier has.  In battle, almost half of all deaths among infantry are due to head injuries.  Thus this last piece of defensive armor is that which is arguably most important to our very survival.  How appropriate that our spiritual helmet is salvation, rescue from the very death towards which we were hurtling like a car over a cliff.  We were already dead in our sins, destined to pay the ultimate death penalty of eternal separation from God - and then He stepped in.  

Christ stepped down from heaven and onto the battlefield and took the bullet for us, He went to the Cross in our place and there secured our eternal rescue.  Salvation.  This is the helmet we wear into battle every day (or should).  Death - the second one, the ultimate one - has been defeated.  It is no longer even a thing for us in Christ.  Granted, we all most likely will still face physical death in some shape or form, but in Christ we are totally protected from the second death.  With a helmet made of spiritual kevlar!  And so yes, if we are in Christ clearly this is true for us, but taking our helmet of salvation into battle means we remind ourselves of this and live into this truth every day.  No need for fear, no need to worry [cuz in Christ, death= toothless declawed cat].

1Cor 15.54-5 But when this perishable will have put on the imperishable, and this mortal will have put on immortality, then will come about the saying that is written, “DEATH IS SWALLOWED UP in victory.  O death where is your victory? oh death, where is your sting?

"Then came the morning that sealed the promise, Your buried body began to breathe. Out of the silence, the Roaring Lion, declared the grave has no claim on me. Jesus, Yours is the victory, whoa!  Hallelujah, praise the One who set me free, Hallelujah, death has lost its grip on me."

We can plunge into the thick of the battle, into the messiness and tragic brokenness of the world, knowing that we are protected by the best helmet money can buy.  In fact, way better than that, as it was purchased with something far more precious…

1Pet 1:19 [you were redeemed] with precious blood, as of a lamb unblemished and spotless, the blood of Christ.

Hebrews 2:1-4   For this reason we must pay much closer attention to what we have heard, so that we do not drift away from it. For if the word spoken through angels proved unalterable, and every transgression and disobedience received a just penalty, how will we escape if we neglect so great a salvation? After it was at the first spoken through the Lord, it was confirmed to us by those who heard, God also testifying with them, both by signs and wonders and by various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit according to His own will.

The immaterial material of immortality.  In 2Kings, the king of Aram sends an army to capture the prophet Elisha.  We read that Elisha’s servant goes out and sees a great army with horses and chariots circling the city, and he says to Elisha, “Alas, my master, what will we do?” And Elisha answers, “Do not fear, for those who are with us are more than those who are with them.” And then he prays: “O Lord, open his eyes, that he may see.”  And the Lord opened the servant’s eyes and he saw that the mountain was full of horses and chariots of fire all around Elisha [2Ki 16.14-17].  This is a spiritual battle.  Those who are with us are more than those who are with them.  Greater is He Who is in you than he who is in the world [1Jn 4.4].  God is for us - who can be against us [Rom 8.31]!  Let’s take up our shield of faith - in Jesus - and our helmet of immortal salvation - through Jesus - every day - because lives - wonderful, immortal souls - really are at stake!

Ephesians 6:14-15 - “Boots on the ground”

Ephesians 6:13-15 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm.  Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.

Army Sgt. Jim Freeland, a grizzled veteran of several wars, sat in a frigid Quonset hut in Korea during the late 1960s, listening as a young soldier ridiculed the Army's repetitive training drills as a step below scraping paint.  Freeland endured the sarcasm for a while but then weighed in with a bark that could only come from a sergeant: "You know why the Army trains you to take that hill, and then take it again and then take it again and again?" He answered the question himself:  "Because when you get into combat, you'll get scared, more scared than you've ever been in your life. And then your training takes over and you do what you've been trained to do. You know the difference between a hero and a coward? It depends which way you're running when you get scared.”

Which way we’re running.  We’re talking about the freedom/ability to engage with the spiritual enemy, with the forces of darkness - but also with the brokenness all around us.  With people.  With our neighbor.  Life on life.  Neutrality is not an option.  Which means we are talking about boots on the ground.  Mine and yours.  

Now, in the phrase “boots on the ground”, the word boot of course here does not stand for some high-ankle shoe but for the person who wears it.  In WWII Marine inductees were called boots, and their introduction to service was in boot camp.  As technology advanced, the role of the “foot soldier” — wearer of the boot — was sometimes overshadowed.  But one officer put it this way: “to hold or take an objective you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman legions did, by putting your young men in the mud.” Still today that strategy is ascendant: although air and sea power are highly important, a war can not be decisively won and territory controlled without a credible component of armed individual human beings on the ground. Rifles to the firing line.  Running to the need.  And for Christ-follwers, boots on the ground means getting our hands dirty.  Crossing the street - or the ocean - with the Good News!  More about boots in a bit.

Last time we talked about girding/wrapping our loins with truth.  Mobility.  Freedom of movement.  Truth is freedom.  And Jesus is the truth - He sets us free.

[6.13-15] Breastplate of righteousness [google a pic of a Roman breastplate] The thing that covers our front and back & protects our vital organs, that which is most vital to our ultimate survival, is a bullet-proof spiritual vest (or the classical arrow-proof version of it), an iron-clad standing of being declared right in God’s sight.  That is righteousness: in God’s eyes I’ve done everything right.  That’s right - all my sins, all my mistakes, all my shortcomings - all washed away, completely covered over by the blood of Christ.  The breastplate of righteousness.  It really is an arrow-proof, impenetrable barrier covering our upper core.  It repels all the slings and arrows and false accusations of our slandering enemy.  Remember, diabolos means to throw across.  He is the accuser of the brethren.  That’s what he tries to do against you and me - falsely accuse us, discourage us.  But with this arrow-proof breastplate of righteousness, we can know that not one of his fiery arrows will ever penetrate.  Not one of his charges will ever stick.  We have an airtight alibi - we were (and are) with Jesus!  We were (by faith) with Him on the Cross.

Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.

And we are now in Him forever.  In Christ God has justified us.

Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him.  Romans 8:33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;

Justified means He declared us righteous, which means we are now right in His eyes.  We have done everything right.  That’s how He sees us when we are in Jesus - and that is how we should see ourselves.  Not in a cocky arrogant way - but in gratitude.  Humility.  No more guilt.  No more shame.  When the enemy comes and tries to make us feel guilty for something we did in the past, or inadequate for some shortcoming we think we bring to the table today, or fearful over some misstep we might make tomorrow - we can stand firm knowing that God no longer sees (nor will He ever again see) us in this dim accusatory light.  When He looks at us, all He sees is Jesus, and so looking at us gives Him eternal great pleasure!

Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.  

In God's eyes, I’ve done everything right! In Christ!  Tell yourself that, once and for all, and every day.  Every morning.  Every time the enemy fires one at you.  Tell yourself that right now, and repeat it often.  Put on that breastplate of righteousness.

Shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace [pic] - we are told elsewhere that feet which bring good news and announce peace - shalom - are in fact quite lovely.  Have you ever stopped, tho, to actually consider the importance of the foot?  Particularly in battle?

“Soldiers live in their boots and many will tell you that there is no piece of equipment more important to their lethality and readiness,” said Al Adams, team leader for the Soldier Clothing and Configuration Management Team at the Soldier Center.

Feet surely need footwear, all the moreso if you’re heading into battle.  And again, the role of foot soldiers - infantry - in warfare cannot be underestimated, even in modern times.  Foot soldiers have always been the primary means for holding and claiming ground.  To that end, a British military historian once wrote, ‘Marching is the foundation of all operation in war. An army below the standard in marching power is at the mercy of a more mobile force. Actual battle consumes but a fraction of the time spent in marching. The most brilliant plans fail if the troops do not march the distances calculated upon. Mobility is the first requisite of the soldier.’  Elsewhere, from the US Army Medical Corps Handbook: “During ordinary troop movements using a standard march of 15 miles, each foot will strike the ground some 18,000 times during the day. … even a relatively slight defect in the relation between the foot and shoe,… can scarcely fail to do injury… If the defect be considerable… complete incapacity for marching will scarcely be avoided.”  18000 foot strikes a day for soldiers in battle!  It should come as no surprise then that preventing foot injuries - down to even the tiniest blister - are a top priority for any military force, thus the critical need for good footwear.  Have you ever had to endure the debilitating effects of a foot blister resulting from an ill-fitting (or improperly laced) pair of shoes?  Soldiers are instructed during basic training, your weapon and your boots - take special care of these, they are of utmost importance.

-Shoe fit and comfort, length and width and instep, breaking in the shoe, foot care, cleaning, toenails: for foot soldiers all of these must be given the strictest attention.  Continuing from the Handbook:  “It is quite conceivable that about any article other than shoes could be ill fitting and still be worn by the soldier without particular discomfort or detriment to his military efficiency. An ill fitting pair of trousers or shirt would have no particular influence on the performance of field duty, though appearances might suffer somewhat. But in respect to shoes, he must have exactly the length and width of shoes his feet require… So long as infantry is the backbone of an army and mobility is the most important element in strategy, frequent careful inquiry into the condition of the feet, and constant interested oversight looking to their continued welfare, are properly to be required of all officers...Probably no one thing will more conduce to greater marching radius, the success of tactics, and the delivery on the firing line of the maximum number of rifles, than will proper foot care.”  

”it cannot be too strongly emphasized that the shoe cannot be considered by itself alone, since its actual utility to the wearer depends upon the tripod of supply, fit and construction. If any leg of this tripod fails, the whole apparatus of foot comfort falls to the ground.”  In other words, an army must not only have a well-constructed shoe, and it must also have sufficient supply in sizes that fit.  

-How much more important then, for believers to give attention to our metaphysical footwear, our spiritual shoes, the boots in which we march to war against the enemy of our souls, against His methods, against evil.  As it turns out, we have an unfathomably good set of boots.  That which carries us through life and into battle is the Good News of peace…!  The Gospel!  And as it relates to that tripod (of construction, fit, and supply) in a spiritual sense, our Supreme Commander has all the bases covered.  The Gospel is just what our spiritual feet need, incomparable construction, is always a perfect fit, and has no shortage of supply!  Each and every believer is furnished with the Gospel at salvation, and it always fits perfectly!  It fits your life and mine perfectly.  And so we must be careful to remember to draw on these boots once and for all - and every day.  Gospel-preparation, that which enables us to march into battle, means I keep the truth of the Good News in the forefront of my mind.  The truth that God loves me and sent His Son to die for me to pay the penalty for my sins and secure for me forgiveness and eternal life which I then receive through faith alone - do you believe that this morning? This truth must be my constant companion, my daily meditation, my mantra throughout the day, from reveille until taps, from the moment I fall out of bed for first call, PT and breakfast all the way through evening personal time and lights out.  Almighty God loves me!  I am forgiven, accepted.  In His eyes I’ve done everything right, thru Jesus!  I am His child - He is for me!  He is always with me!  I preach this oh-so-better-than-Good Message to myself, every day.  The Gospel says, I (and you) need Jesus - and Jesus is all we need.  Got Jesus?  This Good News must carry me everywhere I go, everything I do.

So - boots on the ground…where does the Gospel carry us?  Boots on the ground means getting closer to the people God created.  Everybody always.  All of them, not just some of them.  Because they all matter.  We are talking about not overlooking them.  Seeing them.  Stopping to ask them a question.  Running towards their need.  And giving them a word about this message of peace.  Helping them get their boots on!

-And in all this talk of battle, which of course is quite real, the reality of course is that the Gospel, this Good News, is a Message of peace.  THE Message.  Peace on earth, good will among men.  Peace with God, that which is our deepest soul need and longing - to be able to rest in peace with our Maker.  Shalom, overall well-being.  It’s all good, in other words.  It is well with my soul and God is working everything together for good - for those who are called according to His purpose, for those who are in Christ.  Because if this is true, does it not far outweigh all else that concerns us?  It is of infinite importance!  Infinite value!  Can it, should it not with Christ as our head lead us thru life in triumph?  Death is defeated!  It need no longer be feared!  We are forgiven!  Children of the King!  Peace!  Indescribable, unfathomable peace - this is our reality, the truth which is found only in Jesus, the core of the Good News, that which enables us to be boots on the ground for Jesus, to daily march headlong into the brokenness of life, face first against the flaming arrows of our fiercely-determined enemy, with our heads held high and a song on our lips.  Get your boots on, people!