That leaves the final essential truth from the key verse which I want to spend the majority of the time on today and that is that we must put on EVERY piece of God's armor if we expect to resist the devil. Singing the devil is under my feet on Sunday doesn't mean he actually is. Sundays may be where we hear the doctrine but Monday through Saturday is when we have to live it. What does James teach us?
But
don't just listen to God's word. You must do what it says. Otherwise, you are
only fooling yourselves. -- James 1: 22 (NLT)
The devil is good at fooling us. At convincing us that we are doing better than we really are. The key verse implores us that it is essential that every piece of the armor be put on each day. And if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that we do not always do this. We can get spiritually lazy or deny the areas we have problems with. The result is always the same. Whatever piece of armor we forget, that is where the enemy will attack us.
The helmet of salvation protects us from the cares and worries of this world. Salvation is our assurance that we have been saved and been granted eternal life. That this is not our best life now. Jesus taught us:
I
have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will
have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world."
-- John 16: 33 (NLT)
So often we seek peace through worldly solutions but they all come up empty. Fame, fortune, careers, alcohol, drugs, and lust are just some of the devices the world will offer up to us as a way of trying to find some peace; or at least some escapism from the trials and sorrows Jesus told us we would face. The Lord does not desire for us to seek to escape our lives but rather to live in them more abundantly. The promises the world sells us are always empty and shallow but the promises of God are always yes and amen! Jesus overcame the world by defeating death and destroying the veil that separated God and man since the creation began in the Garden of Eden. By doing so we too have the ability to overcome the world through Him. This is accomplished by always remembering to put on the helmet of salvation, which is our assurance. If we go out into the battles we will face every day without the helmet you can be confident that the enemy will use the worries of this life to attack you. You may have all of the other pieces secured tightly but without the assurance of your salvation, every little thing that comes against you will be weighed in your mind instead of in your spirit. Without the helmet, you leave your mind exposed.
The shoes of the Gospel of Peace prepares us for the works that we have been called to do. An often overlooked piece of the armor of God, the shoes are vitally important. Imagine if you went off to war without shoes! Unfortunately we live in a me-centric society and that spirit infiltrates the church as well. The bless me theology that so permeates the modern church overlooks that we were saved for a reason and with a purpose:
For "Everyone
who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved." But how can they
call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe
in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him
unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being
sent? That is why the Scriptures say, "How beautiful are the feet of messengers
who bring good news!" -- Romans 10: 13-15 (NLT)
We are supposed to be salt and light to a dying world. We are supposed to bring the Gospel to the unsaved -- with our actions first and then with our words. But without the shoes of the Gospel of peace, the enemy will attack our witness. There are so many Christians who are living out their salvation in a bubble. There may be unsaved family members and friends. Unsaved co-workers. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that evangelism is the same as witnessing. They are not. Your mission field can be your office or your home. Remember that all of heaven rejoices when one single soul comes to Christ. Look at the authority we can walk in:
