*This is a continuation of what began in Part 1, but the Scripture passage and the questions are the same so that we have the same context:
Ephesians 6:10-20 ESV
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil 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 firm.
“Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak.”
1. Do we have physical enemies, as well as the devil and his hordes?
2. What are some of the schemes of the devil against us?
3. What is the full armor of God? How do we put it on?
4. How can we stand against the forces of evil coming against us?
In Part 1 I answered questions 1-2, so now I am going to work on answering questions 3-4, Lord willing.
So, we have an enemy, the devil, and he has fallen angels and human beings who work for him and who do his bidding and his dirty work. Some humans unknowingly are being used of the devil, while others are full participants with him knowing full well that what they are doing is evil. But the result is still the same for those who are following Jesus Christ with their lives. We have the devil and his evil spirits and other human beings who are being used of the devil to persecute us who are obeying our Lord Jesus.
But this persecution isn’t just against us who are following the Lord in obedience, but it is against the Scriptures, and it is, in a more indirect way, against all who have made professions of faith in Jesus Christ or who are considering belief in Jesus Christ. For the main thing Satan does is to lie to the people through his messengers and to deceive the people into believing the lies and into rejecting the truth, and into rejecting all of us who are still teaching the truth of the Scriptures. For he wants everyone in hell.
So, how do we combat all his wicked schemes against us? (see part 1&2) How do we fight off the devil? We can’t do it in our own flesh. We can only do this in the strength of the Lord and in his power and wisdom. We also need much spiritual discernment coming from God and from the word of God, for the devil is very clever, and he has all kinds of tricks and traps up his sleeves, figuratively speaking. And so we must be those whose lives are surrendered to Jesus Christ to following him in his ways and in his truth.
So, humble submission and surrender to God must come first. And with that comes repentance (turning from sin to God), obedience to our Lord and to his commands, and time spent in the word and in prayer so that we know the will of God for our lives. And then we must be those who are putting into practice what we are learning from the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles, as well as we are to apply to our daily lives all Scripture which falls under the teachings of the New Covenant.
So putting on the armor of God involves us applying the truths of the Scriptures to our daily lives, by putting them into daily practice in our lives. So, we don’t just read the Scriptures, but we do what they say. We don’t just talk about truth, but we become truth tellers who are also those who are refuting the lies of the enemy. And we don’t just claim that we believe the gospel, but we are putting into practice the biblical principles laid down for us in the gospel for us to follow, via the teaching of the gospel of Christ.
And then we are sharing the truth of the gospel with our friends, neighbors, and family members, and with people on social media or on other internet sites, and with anyone who will listen wherever we have the freedom to share the gospel message. But make certain that what you are sharing is the gospel that Jesus taught and that his NT apostles taught, for the message permeating the American church today is not the gospel of Christ, but it is a false gospel, an altered gospel created in the minds of human beings.
And our faith in Jesus Christ is not just words we say nor some intellectual or emotional assent to who Jesus is and to what he did for us in dying on that cross for our sins. If our faith is genuine believing faith, that faith is authored by Jesus Christ, so it comes from God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is divinely persuaded of God as to his holiness and of our sinfulness and of our need to repent of our sins and to walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands. For it will be aligned with God’s will for our lives.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
And righteousness is not just a status we wear. We are to be those who walk in righteousness, who are making righteousness and obedience to our Lord our practice, and who are not walking (in conduct) in deliberate and habitual sin against God. And our salvation is not this one-time deal and now we can go on living in sin and for self without feeling guilty. Jesus Christ died to deliver us out of our lives of slavery to sin so we will now be slaves to God and to his righteousness. So our salvation is not “claim who you are in Christ” so you don’t feel guilty about continuing in deliberate sin.
[Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23]
And then we need to be people of prayer. And prayer is open and continuous conversation with God, not that we are or he is talking all the time, but it is open two-way communication between us and God to where either he or we can speak to the other at any time of day or night, no matter where we are or what we are doing. And we should be praying for one another, and for the salvation of human lives, and for those who are sharing the gospel, that they will have open doors to share the truth of the gospel in this fallen world.
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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