Armor of God - Truth

Back in August of 2018, I gave a sermon that was the first in a series on the armor of God. God offers us some specialized armor that enables us to do things as human beings that we otherwise could not. It is the things that enable you and me to pursue the kingdom of God in an evil age, a sinful age, in which the God of this age pursues those and tries to cause those whom God has called to fail.

That armor is something in my own life that I've always recognized as mentioned in Ephesians, and yet it's not always something that I've spent much focus on. I have not considered, really, to get to know those pieces of armor. And in not doing so, I've sold myself quite short, actually. And so I've looked at this again, and I want to share with you that God wants us to stand up against the lion.

We're not to run from Satan the devil. We are not to cower. We're not to fail. We're not to fear. We're actually to stand against the devil. And as the Bible says, having done all to stand in the evil day, you and I are to be of courage and be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. And so the question then becomes one to me and to you, do I want to put that armor on? Do I have an interest?

Do I see the need? Et cetera, et cetera. We are told in the Bible that we are to travel daily down a difficult road, a road that few even know about. And that's what we will find. In fact, very few even prefer this narrow, difficult road. They prefer the broader way. But you and I need to travel that trail, just as David in the 23rd Psalm spoke about that same road that sometimes goes to the valley of the shadow of death.

And yet we're to fear no evil because God is with us. So, seeing God's kingdom and his righteousness, developing his character, requires a commitment on our part to walk with God. The Bible talks about walking with God, following God.

Jesus wants to lead us. We are to move in a certain direction with him. And so if we are going through impassable terrain to other humans, we need specialized gear. We need a guide who knows the way, who's been that way before us, who has succeeded down that path, who has met the lion multiple times. This is not a chance encounter. The lion is after us every day, trying to take us out. Many, many different tricks are up his sleeve, as it were.

When we look at Matthew 7, Jesus Christ offers us something, explains something to us. It's an impossibility, as it were, for us as humans. He says, enter by the narrow gate. And the narrow gate is too narrow to enter. It's to find some places the eye of a needle. Well, how do you do that? Well, you would need some specialized gear, wouldn't you? You would need some training. You would need the person who's been through that gate before. And he says in verse 14, because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life. And there are few who find it. So this life that you and I are called is not easy.

Of and by ourselves, or to humans, it is a difficult way that leads to life. And the reason it's difficult isn't because it's so miserable and hard, as we'll see in a little bit. It's difficult because it's impossible. That's why it's difficult. It's impossible without the gear. It's impossible without God, without Jesus Christ the God, the one who leads us. He is the way, the truth, and the life. But with him, all things are possible. In Matthew 11, just a few pages further, in verse 29, he says, Take my yoke upon you. A yoke, we're not to be unequally yoked with those of a different mindset, but if we're yoked with Jesus Christ and we take his yoke, then where he leads is going to work out really well, isn't it?

If we are linked together, if we are part of his body, in other words, if we are one with him and the Father through the Spirit, and if we are led by that Spirit, yoked with Christ, we're in great shape. And David, in the 23rd Psalm, talked about, this is going to work out well. It's going to work out well, and I will dwell in the house of God forever. So today, let's talk about yoking up.

Let's talk about putting on the armor of God, one piece at a time, looking at that armor. Let's go to Ephesians 6 and verse 13 and see what's said there. It will help us develop courage and certainly strength, because it's not our strength, it's his strength. It's actually his armor. Ephesians 6 and verse 13 says this, Therefore take up the whole armor of God. See, it's not your armor, my armor, it's his armor.

But we're offered this, and we can take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all to stand. So this is good stuff. This is really, really good. And yet at the same time, we can just sort of skim over this and think, oh, got it. And yet, we don't have it if we don't put it on. See, notice that. Put on. And with each piece of armor, we're encouraged to actually put it on.

As with any complex system, and this system of God's armor navigating the difficult trail, getting to the kingdom of God, which few will find, many are called and few are chosen, you have to understand, this is for an elite crew. An elite group called the Elect, called the Saints, called the Brothers and Sisters of Christ, the Children of God. This group needs to succeed on this journey. And so we need to master each one of these pieces of armor. Today I'd like to talk about mastering these elements and take them one at a time. In my own life, I've read through the list and thought, well, that's nice, and just kept reading and went on.

And I couldn't even remember, really, honestly, what all the pieces were. They have kind of funny names, too. So when we look at the first piece here, we begin to learn what God wants. Now, in verse 14, it says, stand therefore. God wants us to stand. He doesn't want us to fail. He wants us to stand, having girded your waist with truth. Now, just take one item here. Today we'll talk about the first piece of armor, truth.

Girding your waist with truth. Now, any lion or predator generally goes for the soft stuff first. There are more vitamins, more fats, more easy, convenient stuff for a predator in the belly of their prey than any other part of their body. We tend to think of meats and things when we think of animals.

But in the wild, that is the soft spot. That's the delicacy. That's the quick riches, as it were. It's also some of the vital organs that are in there. And so we're told right here to put on a waist, a belt of truth. This is looking back at Roman armament. And what they had was a belt that covered this area so that in sword fighting or any kind of hand-to-hand combat, that area was protected.

And it also had some leather strips that hung down so that when a sword came a little lower, those leather strips would prevent that sword blade from getting into the thighs. So it was a very essential piece of armor. We have a Bible. We all have curiosity as well. And if we're not careful, this belt may be on or it may not be on, even though we're in the truth. Even though we believe God, even though we are imbued with His Holy Spirit, we might just leave that belt off and say, well, there's truth. And then I have some ideas of my own.

I also have the Internet. There are other ideas. There are speculations. There are other concepts. I'm going to keep my options open here, and we might just not want to defend ourselves from all of those mistruths that are out there. We are to grow in grace or divine favor and knowledge. But what knowledge? What are you and I going to build our lives on? Is it the truth that will get us down this difficult road, or is it the head knowledge and the stuff that puffs up? There's that kind of truth, too.

Knowledge puffs up. Or there's a knowledge of God that can guide us and help us stay safe on the trail, as it were, as we go with Jesus Christ. In this look at the armor of God truth, we find that in the postmodern world, there are concepts rooted in three basic elements that you and I can be very susceptible to.

The first one is evolution. All of these three elements of the postmodern mindset drift us towards a lack of God's truth and a dependence on self-knowledge. The first is the theory that life evolved, and science is always pushing this. It's pushed in the schools.

It's pushed so much that sometimes people begin to wonder if God didn't create the world through evolution. But what it does, the outcome is a belief that we are the source of truth. Humans are the source of truth. That's the end result of it. I am the source of truth. Deciding what is right and wrong, what is good and bad. The second one is socialism. Karl Marx said that society is not based on law, rather, law is based on society. So, once again, the humans develop and decide what is right and what is wrong and what is truth. And the third is psychoanalysis, Sigmund Freud.

Freud said that the truth actually comes from the subconscious mind. We actually feel and we think on a lower level, and somehow that is what produces our insight and our direction. This internal psychoanalysis gives us values and right and wrong. You can see right there. Humanity, guided by these underlying principles, has self as the author of truth. Of course, that's wide open to any kind of thoughts that may come from temptations or Satan or any other source. So, once again, we live in a world that would tend to draw us away from truth towards a dependency on how do I think?

How do I feel? We need to stop and ask, who will be my source of truth? What is truth? Even a member of the Roman leader asked Jesus Christ, what is truth? It's a concept that humans have wanted to find on their own and distance themselves from God and the Word of God. In Revelation 3, verse 14, notice what Jesus Christ says to his church.

You might and I might say, oh, I'm not going to go for those kinds of things. I'm going to go for God's truth. Really? Because here Jesus Christ takes a look at his church about 60 years after he died and he assesses it. And one of the assessments is found in Revelation chapter 3 and verse 14. And to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans, right, these things say the Amen.

Now, let's pause right here. The word Amen means trustworthy. So these things say the trustworthy individual. Jesus Christ is truth. He is the Word. He is the Logos. He is God. And God is truth. And so these things say trustworthy. The faithful and true witness. The word true there comes from the Greek word that means, in every respect, real and genuine.

Now, it would be to our peril, then, that we set that aside and say, well, that's just his opinion. He is the trustworthy one and he is true. The beginning of the creation of God, or the word beginning, would mean at the head of the creation of God. Or he has the authority. He has been given the authority. He is first over the creation of God. So this source is important, then, for us to listen to. And he says this.

That you and I, then, are individuals who need a lesson. And he said in verse 15, I know your works, that you are neither cold nor hot. I could wish that you were cold or hot. He uses Laodicea, evidently, because Laodicea has an aqueduct system that you can still see parts of today. It runs approximately seven miles in two directions, because it didn't have its own water supply. And it just happened to tap hot springs from one direction and cold springs from another direction. But whenever they got to Laodicea, it really didn't matter, because it was all ambient temperature. But the thing was, they didn't have water locally. And so as we come down, he says, because in verse 16, because you are lukewarm and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth. Now, if we look at that as, you're in the body of Christ, but I'm going to vomit you out of the body of Christ, you're not going to be part of me. Then we say, oh, this is serious. And what's it over? Well, because you say, I am this, I am that, etc., etc. But verse 18 is the key. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire. See, if we don't get truth from God, if we get it from our own sources, from our own preferred intellects, whether they be on the Internet or some individual or self-devised, if we get it from other sources, then he says, you know what, you don't realize, but you're miserable, poor, blind and naked, because you don't have truth. I counsel you to buy from me. This is the lesson of Laodicea. Get it from him. Get the real thing. Gold refined in the fire just means real gold. It's not aluminum that's plated on the outside, you know? It's had the sins cleaned out of it, as it were, that you may be rich and white garments that you may be clothed. So when we look at truth, you and I are called to rely upon and be faithful to our Creator, God the Father, the One who did the creation, the One who is now at the head of the creation. God has put all things under His authority. He is the way, the truth, the life. Are we going to get truth from Him? Let's go back to John 4 and verse 23. Some of these are familiar Scriptures. At the same time, they are elements that are worth meditating on. John 4 and verse 23. The hour is coming and now is when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth. That really demands a lot of meditation. When we think of this belt of truth and something that's going to stand against any intrusion from a source that wants to kill us, is it going to be truth, God's truth, that we worship Him in, that we believe in? For the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit and those who worship Him must worship in Spirit and truth. In chapter 3 verse 19, just a page back, it says, And this is the condemnation that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light because their deeds were evil. Verse 20, for everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. Verse 21, but he who does the truth comes to the light. See, this takes it up a notch, doesn't it? It's not just knowing the truth or believing the truth. Now he talks about doing the truth, actually doing what God says, the true things of God.

What is truth? In John 14 and verse 6, Jesus said, I am the way, I am the truth, I am the life. Think about that. No one comes to the Father except through me. So he is the way. It is through the truth that he gives that we have life, and there is no other process than that. So when we think of Jesus Christ as the truth, he said right there, I am the truth, then you and I need to be humble, we need to be meek, teachable, and look to Jesus Christ and those whom he taught to provide us with the words of truth by which we can live.

In verse 21 of chapter 3, He who does the truth comes to the light that his deeds may be clearly seen that they have been done in God. Not done in my little criteria of what righteousness is or what the kingdom is, not in some other subset of, oh, here's what somebody said and we'll do that. No, we have to do these things in God. In John 17 and verse 17, he makes a statement. He's just made a statement there, as we've read in verse 14, that he is the truth, I am the way, the truth, and the life. In John 17 and verse 17, he says to God, The Father sanctify them by your truth. How are we sanctified by Jesus Christ? We're sanctified and we are cleansed and we are made right in the eyes of God through Jesus Christ. And who is that truth? Your word is truth. Jesus Christ is the word of God. Let's go over to Revelation chapter 19 and just notice Revelation chapter 19. Certainly what he said is truth, but he himself says he is truth.

In Revelation chapter 19, verse 11, Now I saw heaven open, and behold a white horse, and he who sat upon him was called Faithful and True. That was his name. Faithful and true and truth. In verse 13, he was clothed with a rope dipped in blood, and his name is called the Word of God. So we know before he came to earth as a human, he was the word or the Logos of God, the spokesman.

And we see in the future he retains this name. His name is the Word of God. And God's word is truth. In Hebrews chapter 14, in verse 12, Hebrews chapter 14, whoops, there aren't 14 chapters in Hebrew. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 12, says, Therefore, Jesus also that he might sanctify the people with his own blood. Who sanctifies us? Which Word of God or what Word of God sanctifies us? Well, we just read right here. It is Jesus Christ who does that. So the point here is, it is so important that you and I are not only knowledgeable of the truth, but daily we ask God to give us truth, lead us in truth, and help us become agents of truth, actually.

You know, God isn't just looking for individuals who know him. He wants individuals who are like him. He wants children who act and live like him. So this number one tool in God's set of armor that he offers to us is something that is very valuable, it's necessary, it's vitally important, but do I love it? Do I trust it? Do I use it? Those are very good questions. And with survival tools, it's one thing to have survival tools, it's another thing to use them.

And be proficient with them. If we are untrained and we hear a new doctrine, call it a new doctrine, somebody might say, have you heard the latest new doctrine? Oh, what is it? Well, you know, our ears are interested, we like things that are new, and we tend to see things when we read the Bible ourselves, but we have to make sure that it's God's truth, not our little idea, that we can put this together and put that together, and therefore, somehow, this is somehow truth.

New teachings typically have been thought of long and long ago, over 2,000 years ago. Most of the things that people talk about today are very old. You can even look them up on the Internet. You can look them up in the Catholic Encyclopedia. You can look them up in some of the wars that took place in the Middle Ages, and people were fighting about the very same concepts.

In the end times we see in 1 Timothy 4 and 2, there will be an itch for what we might call new truth. 1 Timothy 4 and 2 says, there will be, in the last days, verse 1, some will depart from the faith because of doctrines of demons, in verse 2, speaking lies and hypocrisy. That's the opposite of truth. Having their own conscience seared with a hot iron. Dropping down, we see here many things that individuals will teach that aren't right. Notice verse 6, if you instruct the brethren in these things, what is that? Well, the things of God. You will be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished in the words of faith, and of the good doctrine which you have carefully followed.

But reject profane and old fables. So you need to keep that waste belt of truth clean and pure and right so that it's trustworthy, so that it can defend against Satan. Otherwise, if it's corrupted, well, it's not going to defend when the pressures are strong and the human desire to somehow work things out where things will seemingly go well for one would bring compromise. Truth is truth.

It's always been truth. It always will be truth. Truth is clearly stated in Scripture. The church produces a booklet called Fundamental Beliefs of the United Church of God. Those fundamental beliefs are also listed right in the Constitution of the United Church of God. Those 20 fundamental beliefs were taught in our past by H. W. Armstrong, beginning back in 1979 when many had veered off the path and brought in new truth during the mid-70s.

He had to go back and establish that the Bible says these 20 things are solid facts. Now, if you and I are careful with God's Word, and we look to God the Father and His Son as truth to the saints, then we're on solid ground. Let's notice in 1 John 4 and verse 6. 1 John 4 and verse 6.

We are of God. Hmm. That's quite a statement. We are of God. Being of God doesn't mean we know God, we like God, we believe in God. We are of God because He is our Father. Christ is our elder brother. We actually are married in the sense of being fully betrothed that would have to evidently go through a divorce if we were to be separated from Jesus Christ. We are of the family of God. We are of the kingdom of God. So we are of God. He who knows God hears us, He who is not of God does not hear us. And by this we know the Spirit of truth and the Spirit of error. There is a lifeline that God the Father gives us. It's His Son, Jesus Christ. And Jesus Christ appointed some to be apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, teachers. As it says in Ephesians 4, 11-15, we wouldn't be led by every wind of doctrine, but there would be established truth. And I know sometimes it would be nice to have something new, something a little spicy, a little more interesting. But loving God, loving your fellow man is the basis of our life and our calling. And it's a challenge that with God's help we can perform, though Satan would like to knock us off the course. We need to stay the course, focus on what is true and what is right. In 2 John 1, it says, "...to the elect lady and her children, whom I love in truth, and not only I, but also those who have known the truth." A special group who live it, know it, because of the truth which dwells in us and will be with us forever.

You and I have a special calling. In verse 3 it says, "...the grace of the divine gifts of God, mercy, peace, be with you from God the Father, and from the Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Father, in truth and love." So we are to be children of the family of truth. That's what God is. His written word is. His living word is. We are children. We are to be of truth.

And in being of truth, then, we have a certain defense against Satan the Devil. Against deception. It is almost that we are inoculated so that when falsehood comes in, we say, "...I'm not listening to that." See, when Jesus Christ had fasted 40 days and 40 nights, he was very susceptible and very hungry. What did he say? To Satan the Devil. No. I'm not going to do what you said. That is wrong. That is wrong. Just right off the bat. And so you and I need this protection.

Now, all scripture is truth because God delivered it to us. In 2 Timothy 3 and verse 15, if we really trust God, believe God, have faith in God, and submit to God, then we submit to truth. 2 Timothy 3 and verse 15 says, "...and that from childhood you have known the holy scriptures." How would he have known the holy scriptures if they didn't have Bibles? Well, because the Jewish children memorized the scriptures, and the Jews knew in their mind what the scriptures were.

And therefore, he from childhood had this in his mind, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith, which is in Jesus Christ. These are true because, verse 16, "...all scripture is given by inspiration of God and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be equipped, completely equipped, for every good work." So that's what truth does.

It works to the end, which is our salvation. It says right there, equipped for every good work. And in verse 15, wise for salvation. This belt of truth is so vital. If we were to take it off and not have truth, we would just be totally exposed, and Satan could take us out. How is God's Word taught to us?

Let's just look in Titus chapter 1, verses 1 and 3. Just a page or so over. Titus chapter 1 and verse 1. Paul, a bondservant of God, an apostle of Jesus Christ, according to the faith of God's elect, and the acknowledgement of the truth which accords with godliness. We have to be synced up with the truth. None of us gets to invent some idea, some thought process. Nope. It's from God the Father through Jesus Christ, the faith, the acknowledgement of the truth, that accords with godliness.

In hope of eternal life, which God who cannot lie promised before time began. But has in due time manifested his Word through preaching, which was committed to me according to the commandment of God our Savior. This truth is so important, and any of you who have opportunity to explain God's Word, his way of life to others, whether it's at school, at work, at church, at home, we must do it accurately. We have a huge responsibility to be purveyors of truth, agents of real truth, because it is through the truth that we are free. The truth sets us free from that lion. That lion can have no impact on you whatsoever if you have God's truth.

The deception, the great deception that is coming, will have no impact on God's elect who have truth. In conclusion, remember that Jesus Christ is the greatest example of not only being truth, but living truth. This truth is very, very precious, and it's to be protected. It's to be protected from speculation, protected from other ideas that hear, if you believe this, well, if you believe that, then you can believe this, or then you can believe that.

Well, then, here you go. So easily taken aside if we're not careful. If we do not have the truth and live the truth, obey the truth, but live the truth and are of the truth, then we're not on the trail, and we're not on the path of righteousness. We're not on the path to the kingdom of God. We're not on the path to be the bridegroom. We could be one of those knocking on the door and saying, oh, let me in, let me in.

And he says, I don't know you, and I don't know where you're from, because he's truth. We need to be truth. I need to be of the truth. Let's think about this concept as we close here. Am I a person of truth?

God is truth. If we are God's children, we are to be of truth. Let's notice how here in 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3, we're going to look in...we'll begin in verse 1. Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us. God loved us so much that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes on Him should not perish but have eternal life.

And He has given us this love that we should be called children of God. Therefore, the world does not know us because it did not know Him. Beloved, we are children of God, the Father, and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, the Father, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies Himself just as He is pure.

Like Jesus said, become you therefore perfect as your Father in heaven is perfect. We can only do that if we see God as truth, as the one who is honest, the one who has all of the prophecies are accurate, they will carry out the way He said, and also that His way is true, and that way is life.

Let's drop down to verse 18. My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. That's how we love. Not just love truthfully, but love in truth, according to God, according to God's word, according to the truth of God. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him. In other words, when He comes back, our hearts will be assured that we are of the truth by loving, loving in truth.

I find it very helpful each morning, as I pray, to ask God to help me be of the truth today. It's a game changer, it really is. Instead of just going through and praying, all that stuff, help me to be an agent of your truth today. See how that suddenly changes everything? That means the agent of what God is about, what God's word actually teaches, living the truth, being truthful, but also promoting that truth. See? Actually being of the kingdom, a representative, an ambassador of this way of life. And in this first piece of armor, when you and I pray, help me today to be an agent of your truth, and be of the truth, we then go out into the world with a belt that is protecting us. A belt that is not just protection, but it is standing up against mistruth. It's standing up against falsehood. It's standing up against deception. It's standing up against those other concepts that are out in the world that would so easily beset us if we were not firmly of the truth. So this first piece of armor is a vital foundational element in standing up against the lion and making it down the difficult path. However, if all we have is a belt of truth, the rest of our body is naked against Satan the devil, isn't it? So it's important that we look at each one of these elements and assimilate what they're about and begin to put them on each day. In doing so, we then can stand all the way to the kingdom of God, and having done all with Jesus Christ's help, guidance, and the armor of God, we will stand.