Tonight, we're going to continue our series on the Armor of God.
- Ephesians 6:16
Our topic is the The Shield of Faith.
The Armor of God At a Glance
- The Armor of God: Loins Girt with Truth
- The Armor of God: The Breastplate of Righteousness
- The Armor of God: Feet Shod with the Preparation of the Gospel
We've talked about how these three in particular pieces of armor are pieces of armor that we're supposed to have on our person, spiritually speaking all the time. There's never an opportunity when we shouldn't have any of those. There's never an opportunity when we should go without our shield of faith either. Because there's some guarantees if we have the shield the way that we're supposed to. We're going to talk about how it is that the shield is going to help us and affect us, how we deploy our shield and so on.
The Shield of Faith
Most commentators agree about this type of shield. There is a smaller personal size shield, that you wear on your arm, that allows you to move easily.
The Roman Shield
This shield is large. It's referred to as the door shield. You can get behind it, and be completely protected from the enemy. Some were made of leather, that helped to put out firey darts.
- Roughly 4’ Tall
- Roughly 2.5’ Wide
“That word is connected with the Greek word meaning ‘door,’ and gives a rough notion of the look of the instrument of defense a great rectangular oblong, behind which a man could stand untouched and untouchable.” — Alexander MacLaren
If you have these Christian graces, and they're a part of your life...
There's a guarantee built into our armor that we're going to look at this evening.
The Greeks and Romans were experts at the deployment of this type of shield. They layered themselves as a group, to protect themselves against any arrow that may come. We too, as New Testament Christians, want to work together to protect ourselves and each other.
“Faith” Used Two Ways in Ephesians
Personal Faith:
- Ephesians 1:15
Paul says he has heard of their particular faith.
- Ephesians 6:23
Faith as it relates to us as individuals.
System of Faith:
Then there is the system of faith, the faith by which salvation comes.
- Ephesians 2:8
Salvation is a gift from God.
- Ephesians 4:5
Only one faith is acceptable to God, that He will be looking for in each and everyone of us. This is why we have a shield, He's given to us for our protection.
“Above All…”
"Above all, taking the shield of faith..." - Ephesians 6:16
““Over all”; so as to cover all that has been put on before.” — Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary.
“Not “above all” in point of importance or value, but “over” all, as a soldier holds his shield to defend himself...” — Barnes' Notes on the Whole Bible
"It constitutes a protection over every part of his body, as it can be turned in every direction. The idea is, that as the shield covered or protected the other parts of the armor, so faith had a similar importance in the Christian virtues.” — Barnes
The idea is that the shield covered, and protected the other parts of the armor, so it's important for the Christian.
How much better are we going to be for the fight for our souls, if the firey darts of the wicked one can't get past our most forward defense. WE're goign to be more effective if the darts can't even get to us.
What is the Purpose of the Shield of Faith?
The Preservation of the Soul
- 1 Thessalonians 5:23
Paul prayed for the Thessalonian brethren, that their whole soul and spirit be protected.
The Protection of the Soul
- Proverbs 30:5
Solomon recognized that God was a shield. Specifically, the Word of God.
- Psalm 115:11
Over and over in the OT, in the book of Psalm, Jesus, and God in particular is conveyed as a shield and protector.
- 1 John 5:4
We have the ability to make the same statement in reality, as He was in the upperroom, when he said, "I have already overcome." Yet, He was present there in the upperroom and hadn't been put to death.
He was certain in God's plan, and was certain that His plan was to be fulfilled. We can have that same certainty today.
How Do We Deploy Our Shield?
Paul Addresses Christians
- Romans 1:17
There is a word at the beginning of our passage, take up, or taking up, it's an action to pick up, to hold and to use. Not just once. Not just at a point in history, to pick it up and then lay it down again. But, it is a continual picking up, to use and deploy our shield.
We can only find out what God's system of faith is by looking to the scripture.
- Romans 1:17
- Romans 1:16
The gospel is the power of God to salvation.
Our Proper Use of Scripture
How do we deploy our shield.
- 1 Timothy 2:17
We have to look to the Bible and discern appropriately.
Our Proper Use of Scripture
The System of Faith is only Found in One Place
- Matthew 11:29-30
We have to gain more knowledge about Jesus. Having knowledge...
It's only through learning of Jesus, through His Word, that we can have safetly for our souls. Without God's Word it is impossible.
How Powerful is the Shield of Faith?
“Wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” — Ephesians 6:16
Shall statements mean you're to do certain things in certain ways. A statement of confidence.
Shall Be Able!
“To be able to do something, to be capable, strong and powerful” — Thayer.
That's you and me, when we deploy our shield of faith.
- 1 Peter 5:9, 8
There's something that takes place, and I don't think we always realize as it's happenning. When we stand against Satan, there's only so much that he can take. How do we know this?
- James 4:7
You want the devil to go away for a while? You want a season where he's not bothering you? Put up a fight. He will run away, for a time, but he will run away.
Remember the temptation of Jesus, after the third one, it says, the devil left Him, for a season.
Quench
“To extinguish” or “to go out” — Thayer.
The darts, which come in many forms, will glance off our shield and the pains associated with them will not further injure our souls.
That's the way we want it to work out every time. It's going to depend on you an me. You and I are in charge of our shields. We have to grab the right one, don't grab the small one, but grab the door shield that you can stand behind and be protected.
Is your shield ready?
How's your shield holding up? Is your shield in need of being repaired? Are you one who in times past was faithfully carrying around your shield, but maybe you thought your shield was getting a little too heavy? You know, there was a comic strip years ago that had a, a cartoon character that had a, a cross that he was carrying on his back and it was really long and he was dragging it and you could almost see he was about to collapse under the weight of that cross.
And he says, God, can you make this burden a little bit easier on me? So God cuts off the bottom foot of that cross and his cross is a little bit lighter. He was able to go a little bit further. But then he started to get tired again. He says, God, can you cut this cross off a little bit more? Can you relieve my burden just a little bit more?
And another foot of that cross was taken off. And then he gets to a chasm as he's walking. A great expanse. And he lays his cross there so that he can walk over it. And lo and behold, it doesn't reach the other side anymore. And he sees his neighbor come by with his cross that he's been buried with. He's been carrying under the burden of that cross.
And his buddy lays his cross there and he walks right over and somebody else walks right over and he measures his cross again against theirs. And it's too short maybe. Is that like your faith this evening? Hopefully it's not. Maybe you're one who's never become a child of God. God's invitation is always ready for the one who wants to remove sin from their life.
- Hear the Gospel John 6:45
- Believe in Jesus, that He died, was buried and resurrected, which is the gospel. Mark 16:16
- Repent of Sins Acts 3:19
- Confess the name of Jesus Matthew 16:16
- Baptized in Water, so we can receive the remission of our sins. Acts 8:36-38
The individual Who wants to do all of these things is not pronounced or declared righteous or saved until they come up out of that watery grave of baptism.
Is that where you want to be this evening? Saved by God so that you can now carry the shield of faith that has a guarantee associated with it. If you faithfully carry the shield. You can faithfully withstand the devil no matter what comes your way. If we can assist you we encourage you to contact us.
