Proper 17B, 2024
Text: Ephesians 6:10-20
Title: You are a Warrior
+ INI +
Christianity is not a spectator sport. It’s not something that you can watch from the sidelines. It’s not a hobby for the weekend, it’s not something you do special for the holidays. Christianity is not a spectator sport. It’s who you are, and you are a warrior.
To be a Christian is to be at war, to be involved in a long, drawn-out battle. And you are on the front lines.
Your battle is not against flesh and blood. Your enemies are not mere mortals. Your battle is against Satan himself and his army of fallen angels.
We are surrounded by evil. Paul talks about this present darkness that threatens us. You can see evidence of the darkness all around you. Violence, greed, abuse, Satan’s influence in this world is hard to ignore, and he is your enemy.
Satan has been your enemy since the day you were baptized. At your baptism, and again at your confirmation, and every year at the Easter Vigil you renounce the devil and all his works and all his ways. You announce to the world that you are Satan’s enemy, as you are drafted into the Lord’s army.
Since then, Satan has been against you. He can’t control you, but he can tempt you. He can whisper lies in your ears and try to deceive you. He can try to persuade you to do your own will rather than the will of your heavenly Father.
Satan is dangerous, but he’s already been defeated. Jesus won the decisive battle over Satan on the cross. But the war is not yet over. Satan still has fight left in him. He wants nothing more than tot take you down with him. So, Paul encourages you to stand firm. Hold your ground. Don’t give an inch.
There were two types of soldiers in the Roman army. The first type were the offensive soldiers, those who went out into enemy territory and conquered new lands for the empire. The second type were the defensive soldiers. Their job was simply to stand firm, keep watch, and hold the territory against invaders.
You are that second type of soldier. You aren’t called to go on a crusade against evil, but simply to stand firm against Satan and to hold your ground.
“But how?” you may ask. “I’m not much of a soldier. I’m too old,” or, “I’m too young.” or, “I’m inexperienced, I haven’t been trained.” But the Lord wants you. He has chosen you to be a soldier in His army.
On your own, Satan would be no match for you. You would easily be overpowered. You are much too weak.
But you don’t fight on your own, and you don’t even fight with your own strength. St. Paul writes, “Be strong in the Lord and in the power of His strength.”
It is only through the strength of the Lord that you have any chance, any possibility of prevailing against Satan. On your own you are weak and helpless, but through the Lord you have power and strength.
The Lord gives you armor to wear, to protect you against Satan and all his attacks. You are clothed in armor from head to toe, from shoes to helmet, along with a belt, a breastplate, a shield, and even a sword.
Where does this armor come from? How do you get it? How do you put it on? What in the world is Paul talking about?
The answer, of course, is Jesus. Jesus himself is your armor, your protection against Satan’s attacks. Each piece of the armor is a description or an attribute of Jesus.
Let’s take them each in order.
First there is the belt of truth buckled around your waist. Satan will attack you with lies. He will tell you evil, awful things, like how God could never love a sinner like you, lies, like how fun and free it is live a life contrary to God’s law. He lied to Adam and Eve, and he’s been lying ever since. He will lie to you. Satan cannot be trusted. Jesus is the truth. Jesus says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.” Jesus is your belt.
Second is the breastplate of righteousness. Again, this is all Jesus. Jesus is the righteous one. He lived a perfect, holy, righteous life. Christ freely gives you His own righteousness. That is your protection. When Satan accuses you, and when he points out all of your sins and faults, then you point to Jesus. Jesus gives you His perfect, holy, righteous life for your own. You are not righteous, but you are declared righteous because of Jesus’ death for you. Satan can no longer accuse you because you are in Christ and His righteousness is now yours. Jesus is your breastplate.
Third comes the Gospel, the good news of peace, which are the shoes on your feet. Satan sows division. He tears apart families and friends and even congregations. He also tries to tear you apart from God. The good news, the gospel, is that you have peace and reconciliation with God through Jesus Christ. You were born an enemy of God, but Christ has made peace between you and God and between everyone whom you forgive in His name. This is the good news that sets your feet running to tell the world what Jesus has done. Jesus is your shoes.
Fourth, there is the shield of Faith. Paul says that faith will extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. How can a shield extinguish arrows? In those days, Roman shields were made of wood. Wood is cheap and easy to manufacture, but obviously quite flammable. A flaming arrow would quickly reduce a wooden shield to ash. So, the Romans covered their shield with leather or animal hides. The leather coverings kept the arrows from penetrating the shields and eventually extinguished them. Faith is nothing more than Jesus, Jesus doing the whole job of your salvation. Jesus himself absorbed all the flaming arrows that Satan shot at Him. He took the full brunt of the attack and died in your place on Good Friday. Jesus became your human shield, dying in your place.
Fifth is the helmet of salvation. Jesus’ name means salvation, the Lord who saves. You have been saved through Jesus, and that is the protection on your head. You know that whatever Satan throws at you, ultimately you will be saved because Jesus is your helmet.
The last piece of armor is the Sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. This type of sword is a short sword or dagger, typically about 2 feet in length and two inches wide. It was for fighting in close combat. Your left arm would typically hold your shield, and you could deliver short, powerful blows with the dagger in your right.
This sword is the only offensive weapon you have been given. No spear, no javelin, no bow or arrows, nothing to fight with except for this one, small sword. The rest of your armor, your belt, shoes, breastplate, shield, and helmet are all defensive, they are your protection against Satan’s attacks. The only thing you have to strike back with is the Word of God.
Remember when Jesus struggled with Satan in the wilderness. Jesus was weak, Jesus was hungry, and Satan came to tempt Him. Three times Satan tempted Jesus. Three times Jesus replied “It is written.” Satan could not stand Jesus’ counterattack and so he left Him.
The only way for you to strike back against Satan is through the Word of God. This is why it is so important for you to be here week after week to hear God’s Word read and preached. This is why it is so important for you to come to Bible Class and Sunday School. This is why it is so important for you to study and meditate on God’s Word each and every day.
Satan will attack you. It’s not a matter of if, but when. You can’t just stand on the sidelines and watch. He will attack you. He will use lies and deception to try to trick you. Your only response, the only way for you to fight back effectively is with God’s Word. You need to be ready.
So, take up the armor you have been given, and stand in the truth, the peace, the righteousness, the faith, the salvation, and the Word that is Jesus Christ. Jesus is your protection against Satan’s attacks. He has defeated Satan before and we know that in the end, He will be victorious once more.
Christianity is not a spectator sport. It’s a battle, it’s an all out war. It’s not easy to stand against Satan and his attacks, but the Lord gives you everything you need. Jesus is your belt, your shoes, your breastplate, your shield, your helmet and your sword.
So come now and receive Jesus’ body and blood once more to strengthen you and arm you for the fight.