Torch, Summer 1990

-------------------------------- T he Christian life is not a playground but a battleground. We are involved in a war with unseen foes. In Ephesians 6:12 Paul wrote, "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." One of the problems American soldiers had in Vietnam was that they were fighting an army they often couldn't see. The unseen enemy knew the terrain, set traps in the forest, and ambushed our men. If we survey the spiritual battlefield today, we see what happens when we Christians get caught with our armor down: broken homes, divided churches, forfeited ministries, and ruined lives. In this war there are no draft dodgers, no armchair generals, no advocates of peace at any price, and no conscientious objectors. We are either soldiers in God's army or we are Satan's prisoners of war. If we have put our trust in Christ alone for salvation, Christ is our Com– mander in Chief. He expects 100 percent obedience from the soldiers in His army (2 Timothy 2:3-4). How can we defeat Satan and experience victory in our daily lives? Christ gives us our orders in Ephesians 6. We can defeat Satan by drawing on Christ's strength (Ephesians 6:10). Some of us are trying to live the Chris– tian life in our own strength. We don't pray. We don't read the Word. We come to church occasionally, but we are living defeated lives. We are discour– aged and depressed. We are letting circumstances control our lives. We have failed to do what Paul says in Ephe– sians 6: 10, "Be strong in the Lord, and in the strength of His might." We can defeat Satan only in the strength of the Lord. In Ephesians 1: 18- 19, Paul prayed that we might "know... what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might." That power was evidenced in Christ's resurrection from the dead and His being made Head of the Church. In Ephesians 3:16-17, Paul prayed that God "would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with power through His Spirit in the inner man; so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. " The Dayton Daily News published an article about Ohio State football coach John Cooper entitled, "Cooper Stresses Strength." It stated: "Ohio State football coach John C9bper passes by the Woody Hayes Training Facility weight room almost every day. He wants to see his players in there. You just can't walk through the weight room and get strong. You have to work in there. You know who I see all the time in the weight room? Every time I go by, Chris Spielman is in there. He didn't get to be where he is [linebacker for the Detroit Lions] by walking through the weight room." The Christian life is similar. We don 't get to be strong Christians just by sitting in church. We have to work. It takes discipline and determination to spend time every day reading and memorizing the Word, praying for others, sharing our faith, and serving others. In Philippians 4:13, Paul said, "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me." Christ will give us spiritual strength to fight Satan as we exercise our spiritual muscles serving Him. We can defeat Satan by putting on the whole armor ofGod (Ephesians 6:11-17). Paul was chained to a Roman soldier when he wrote the book of Ephesians. In Ephesians 6:11-17, Paul challenged us to "Put on the full armor of God, so that you may be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil." The word "schemes" refers to deceptive methods, tricks that Satan tries to use to defeat us. How can we protect ourselves from Satan's attacks? First, we need to put on the belt of truth. Paul writes, "Stand firm there– fore, having girded your loins with truth..." (Ephesians 6: 14). The military belt was six to eight inches wide and was worn around the waist in order to hold the rest of the equipment in place. If the belt were not in place, the armor would not be secure. In our lives we must be truthful-men and women of integrity. Satan is the father of lies (John 8:44) and tempts us to live hypocritical lives, saying one thing and living another. He wants us to live one way on Sunday morning and a totally different way during the week. He tempts us to be dishonest and to question God's Word. If we speak the truth in love (Ephesians 4:15), we will defeat Satan. Second, we need to put on the breast– plate of righteousness. This piece of armor covered the heart and usually was made of some kind of metal. We can be justified before God only if the right– eousness of Christ is placed on our account, and this comes through our faith in Christ and His finished work on the cross (Romans 3:21-26). We are not saved by doing good works, but we are saved to do good works (Ephesians 2:8-10). Ephesians 4:24 states that we are to "put on the new self, which in the likeness of God has been created in righteousness and holiness of the truth." We should live righteous lives because we have been made righteous in Christ. Third, we need to pull on the Gospel shoes of peace. Paul writes, "having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace" (Ephesians 6: 15). The soldier's shoes were important. They were leather sandals with nail studs on the bottom. They helped the soldier get a good footing in battle. The shoes take us where we need to go– into all the world to preach the Gospel. Witnessing is one area in which Satan fights us all the way. He puts all kinds of reasons into our minds why we shouldn't share our faith, such as, "If you share your testimony your friend will stop liking you." A soldier wearing all his armor except his shoes would find it difficult to march. If we Christians don't have our spiritual shoes on, we aren't ready to share the good news of Christ. We must be prepared to present Christ through key salvation verses like those in the Romans Road (Romans 3:23, 6:23; 5:8; 10:9-10).