Militant Evangelism! (3 page)

We have seven items listed:

1.    The belt of truth

2.    The breastplate of righteousness

3.    Feet fitted with the Gospel of peace

4.    The shield of faith

5.    The helmet of salvation

6.    The sword of the Spirit

7.    The power of prayer

It was James the 1st who said that
armor
was a wonderful invention—not only did it stop anyone from harming the wearer, but it also stopped the wearer doing any harm to anybody else! Not so with the
armor
of God. It is effective in both
defense
and offense. But for it to be such, we must obey the repeated command to, "Put on the
full
armor
of God."

First, we are told to have "the belt of truth buckled around (our) waist." This is a reference to the belt worn by soldiers around the time this Scripture was written. Their clothing wasn't like ours; it was often loose. To be free from being hindered by this loose clothing, a soldier would "gird up his loins," or fasten the clothing to his belt. The application of this is very plain. If we allow any untruth to be resident within our minds or be uttered from our lips, it will eventually trip us, cause us to stumble or be our downfall.

So our first preparation for battle is to determine to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth, from the heart,
without compromise.
That means we are to be honest with ourselves and others. David tells us that truth should be our shield. He says, "I have chosen the way of truth," speaking of a
willful
resolution, while Solomon exhorts us to "buy the truth and sell it not." In other words, give your all for the truth and don't compromise at any price! If this is to be our attitude to truth in general, how much more should it be our attitude to the truth of the Gospel, where the eternal welfare of men's souls
are
at stake! We are to be "valiant for the truth," following He who has the "law of truth in His mouth," who is "full of grace and truth," who is "the way, the truth, and the life." Those who have been born of the Spirit of
truth,
"cannot do anything against the truth, but only for the truth" ... "with the belt of truth buckled around your waist."

Egg on the Face

The second article which we are commanded to put on as soldiers of the Lord, is the "breastplate of righteousness." In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul says, "Let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love . .
. "
 Here we are reminded that we are enlisted in the army of the God of love. Righteousness by itself is no
defense
against the enemy. The Pharisees had a form of righteousness, yet were still sons of the devil (John 8:44). Righteousness must be linked with faith, for without faith, it is impossible to please God; and love, for without love we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:13). The type of righteousness spoken of is that which determines whose side we are on: "In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil; whosoever does not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loves not his brother." If we have been born of the God of righteousness we will live in righteousness.

It is said of Jesus in Isaiah Chapter 59, "For He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation upon His head; and He put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloak." This gives us insight to the attitude of our Commander in Chief. Words elude me to describe my feelings, my admiration,
my
worship of Him who rushed headlong into battle for me. Such
valor
, such courage, such fearless gallantry stirs the fighting spirit within my heart.

Jesus Christ, the Lord of righteousness loves righteousness. He has a violent passion for justice! The soldier who has been taught and trained by the same Spirit that raised Christ from the dead will not only have righteousness, but will do righteousness. He should love what is right and hate what is wrong. I have grown to hate abortion. I am horrified when I think of the slaughter going on in our midst. The child of God longs for a new earth wherein dwells righteousness; he "hungers and thirsts for righteousness." If we haven't that testimony, then we haven't seen an answer to the cry, "Create in me a clean heart
O
God, renew a
right
spirit in me," or perhaps that has never been our cry!

The breastplate keeps the heart clean, for out of it comes the issues of life. How can we approach the Throne of God boldly with the stain of sin upon our heart! Righteousness breeds holy boldness. Who of us would approach a King with egg on our face? If we had an audience with a King, we would groom ourselves. His very position commands respect. How much more then should we cleanse our hearts and minds daily through the water of the Word that we might have a bold confidence before the King of Righteousness.

How loudly does the sergeant-major of our conscience need to shout to bring us to attention? Are we so dull of hearing that we do not hear the cry of conscience when we fall into unrighteousness? Have we debts unpaid; do we
honor
our parents; have we unforgiveness in our hearts; do we lack love; are we easily irritated; do we obey traffic laws; do we love and pray with our husband or wife; do we read God's Word daily; do we pay all our taxes; is our thought-life pure—do we daily confess our sins and ask for cleansing when necessary . . . are we "hot for God?" Better we are found out now, rather than on Judgment Day! Is God speaking to us about something right now? Then stop reading this book and resolve to do what you have failed to do, and undo what you should not have done. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You can have a clean breastplate of righteousness, but if you leave that thing undone, you will give a foothold to the enemy. It will be a gaping hole in your
armor
.

Repent now, while there is time. There is no such thing as small sin. To steal one cent is to be a thief in the sight of God. He is not as impressed by the amount of money stolen as we are. Our holy Creator is devoted to righteousness. Adam's sin may look minor to the unregenerate, but we know that his act was
willful
, hateful, rebellious, and disobedient to Almighty God. How I want to always have a conscience which is void of offense to both God and man, not only for my own sake but for the sake of the unsaved. I so want God to use me to reach the lost.
If I am not a straight-shooter with a pistol, He won't let me near the cannon.

One very valuable thing I learned as a new Christian was that the Scriptures say that we are to lay aside "all filthiness." The Greek wording actually says to lay aside "a perverted delight for that which is licentious or impure." How true that is of human nature! We have a
delight
for impurity— unclean, gutter
humor
. A few moments of "adult
humor
" proves that to be true. But as children of God we are to
lay
that aside. Being involved in itinerant ministry I am able to fellowship with literally thousands of Christians. How grieved I am when I hear Christians, who are otherwise spiritual,
dishonor
their testimony by allowing
themselves
to delight in "borderline"
humor
. An understanding about this delight for impurity needs to be in the fore of our minds, if we have the liberty to watch television. Not only is most comedy unclean, but they
employ
"laughing audiences" which will have you laughing contagiously. Satan wants to stain your robe. Wash it constantly in the Blood of the Lamb ... "with the breastplate of righteousness in place."

Even the Lowliest Part

The next part of our apparel is often not seen as being a necessary part of our
armor
. Paul goes on to say, "And with your feet fitted with the Gospel of peace as a firm footing." I like the King James Version: "And your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace."

How can our footwear be a vital part of our
armor
? Those soldiers of the Lord who have a fight within their spirit,
a keenness
, a smell for the battle, make the best soldiers. They are prepared within their heart: "The heart of the wise teaches his mouth, and adds learning to his lips." Their running shoes are on. Their bayonets are fixed. One word from the Commander, and they are into the thick of the battle

—they love not their lives unto death.

These soldiers have studied how to be effective as a witness of the Gospel. They know that he who wins souls is wise. They have ordered their priorities, and know that there is no higher calling than to lead a sinner to Christ. They seek that which the Son of man came to seek ... that which is lost. They know what pleases Headquarters; that Heaven rejoices when one sinner repents.

The Scriptures tell me in Romans Chapter 10: "How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace . .
. "
 Do you know what that means? It means that if you will obey the Great Commission to go into
all the
world and preach the Gospel, it so pleases God that He considers even your feet to be beautiful. If you can, slip off one of your shoes right now and have an objective look at your bare foot. With all vanity aside, you must admit that your foot is ugly. The small toe looks like a reject jelly bean, yet God says that if you preach His Glorious Gospel, He considers that lowly, unattractive (even ugly) foot to be beautiful.

Some years ago, I was on a plane on my way to preach the Gospel. It was called the "Champagne flight." The weather was hot and I was wearing open footwear. The stewardess, who was carrying the drinks, suddenly slipped and spilt the bubbly liquid over my feet, but a moment later, returned and wiped them dry with a towel.

I remember thinking, "Wow, what V.I.P. treatment God gives those who preach His Gospel—
I've just had
myfeet
washed with champagne!”

Effective warfare means taking the
full
armor
of God, and that includes having "your feet shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace."

 
CHAPTER THREE: FIGHT THE GOOD FIGHT OF FAITH

"Whatsoever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world— our faith" (1 John 5:4).

T
o speak of the next piece of
armor
, we have begun a new chapter, because this item is worthy of close inspection. In the version that Paul used, scripture says,
"Above all
taking the shield of faith." This piece of weaponry is fundamentally, ultra vitally essential. This is that which extinguishes all the "flaming arrows of the evil one." In other words, if you don't use this portion of your
armor
, you will be wounded, perhaps fatally, by the flaming arrows of the enemy.

Faith is spiritually what oxygen is naturally. If the life of the flesh is in the blood, the life of the blood is in the oxygen. Without faith, the Christian gasps, writhes, and then dies. Without faith it is impossible to please God (Hebrews 11:6). With faith, it is not only possible to please Him, but to move mountains, subdue Kingdoms, wrought righteousness, obtain promises, and stop the mouths of lions. God has given us an
honor
roll of soldiers who have gone before us in battle. Hebrews Chapter

11 gives a list of those who, through faith, did exploits for their God, and as warriors, have now been promoted to Headquarters. They took up that mighty weapon of faith in attack and in
defense
and proved its worth. It's now up to us to follow their example. These soldiers of the cross found that faith in God gave them the ability to be "strong in the Lord and in the power of His might," to be "more than conquerors," because they knew that God was for them, that He always caused them to triumph . . . all through faith.