Clayton Presbyterian Church
September 24, 2006
Last week I told you of our move to North Carolina just in time for Hurricane Fran. From that point we were always very cognizant of any tropical storm threatening the east coast. It was a couple years later, in 1999, when we were watching what became Hurricane Dennis. It was a very erratic storm in both its speed and path. At one point it was a Category 2 hurricane. We breathed a sigh of relief as it paralleled the coast of North Carolina and then turned out to sea. There, it stalled. And it did a funny thing; it turned back toward the coast. Only at this point, it has lost its strength and was back to a tropical storm. It moved up the Pamlico river at night. Kari and I were in our new house which was just a few blocks off the river. The power went out about 10pm. We stayed up for a while longer and decided to walk down and take a look at the river before we went to bed.
We didn’t even make it a block and we were ankle deep in water. It took us a minute to figure out what was happening. The storm was coming straight up the river and, as it was moving so slowly, it was pushing the water up the river and it was overflowing the banks. The water was rising fast!
We ran back to the house and went first into the garage, where the movers had put all of my mom’s stuff as she was just about to move in with us. I carried a bunch of her stuff into the house and when there was no more room, I started stack. The water was gathering around my ankles by the time I had stacked as much as I could. We then worked inside the house not knowing how high the water was going to rise. The last thing we did was drive our cars through about 10 inches of water to get them on higher ground.
At the end of it all, the storm passed and the waters quickly receded. They didn’t get into our house. Just the ductwork had to be replaced, and my mom did lose some stuff.
From that point on we decided that it was better to be prepared. And so every hurricane that came our way, we put lawnmowers and things up out of harms way.
You will hear this message if you watch much of the Weather Channel. They began at the start of hurricane season, and again when a hurricane appears a thousand miles out to sea, encouraging people to be prepare. And still, we usually don’t until the last minute. Thus, as the hurricane is barring down, people are running to the grocery store for milk and water, and to Lowes for plywood. There is great wisdom in taking precautions.
The same is true is in our spiritual lives. A pint of prevention is certainly worth a pound of cure. These truth animates our Scripture reading for today. Paul is writing to the Christians in Ephesus, which is in modern day Turkey, and he is telling them to take precautions. The analogy that he is using is that of a soldier. For a soldier to be prepared to go into battle he needs to wear armor. Each piece is important if the soldier is going to avoid injury or death on the battlefield. In the same way, Paul says, Christians need to put on the armor of God.
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. 12 For our struggle is not against enemies of blood and flesh, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on that evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, and fasten the belt of truth around your waist, and put on the breastplate of righteousness. 15 As shoes for your feet put on whatever will make you ready to proclaim the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.(NRSV)
The first lesson here is the most important. Paul begins with the words, “Be strong in the Lord and the strength of his power.” He does not say, “Be strong in yourselves. Just believe in yourselves. Find the warrior within. Find the eye of the tiger.” He says that our strength to withstand storms and trials and temptations comes from God. We are strong because God makes us strong. If we get this part wrong, then we get everything wrong. The first movement of a Christian must always be a turning toward God. This is what all the pieces of the armor represent—the strength, the power and the might of God.
It has to be God’s power in us, because we are not engaged in a physical struggle, or even a psychological struggle, but a spiritual struggle. It is the wellbeing of our souls or spirits that is a stake. Therefore we must have God’s power, which he wants to give to us—freely.
The list of armor of God includes the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, shoes, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which Paul identifies as the Word of God. I have heard sermons that take each one of these pieces and expound on each one individually. Yet, when I read about these pieces I am struck by the similarity and the intrinsic unity of them all.
It all begins with truth. Truth is essential to human life. We demand that our public servants tell the truth. Witnesses in court swear to tell the truth. We pass laws requiring advertisers tell the truth. We make our children tell the truth. You cannot have human society without truth. Any relationship that is not built on the truth cannot stand for very long. And in fact, we don’t just lie to other people we lie to ourselves. The beginning of wisdom is to love the truth. As Scripture says, “You shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.”
There is no truth that is greater or higher than the truth that God proclaims in his Word to us. This is how Paul ends the list of armor, by encouraging us to take up the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is his Word.
More than anything else, the armor, protection and strength of God comes from his Word. The second piece of armor is the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness comes when we embrace the Word and not just say that we believe it, like, “Yes, I believe in the Bible. I don’t know what it says, but I believe it.” Righteousness is when we live out what the Bible says about us. It is when truth is not just in our minds but in our actions.
The shield of faith, as it appears to me, is when we trust in the Word. Just as a soldier has to trust in the strength and protection of the shield as the arrows are raining down on him. If he does not trust it, he will throw it down and run, and of course be killed. Faith is the believing, confident trust in the promises that God makes to us in his Word. We have to step out in faith and put our money where our mouth is. Faith is when we try to live out the words that we hear in church. Faith is when we take the truth proclaimed on Sunday and aim to put it in practice on Monday. When we rely on God’s true promises, only then will we experience and discover how good and faithful that God can be. It is God's Word as we accept it, embrace it, and live it, that will protect our lives.
The picture of armor that Paul is drawing from is the armor of the Roman legions. During the time of the twelve Caesars, the Roman army would conduct morning inspections. As the inspecting Centurion would come in front of each legionnaire, the soldier would strike with his right fist the armor breastplate that covered his heart. The armor had to be strongest there in order to protect the heart from the sword thrusts and from arrow strikes. As the soldier struck his armor, he would shout "integritas" [in-teg-ri-tas], which in Latin means material wholeness, completeness, and entirety. The inspecting Centurion would listen closely for this affirmation and also for the ring that well kept armor would give off. Satisfied that the armor was sound and that the soldier beneath it was protected, he would then move on to the next man.
At about the same time, the Praetorians or imperial bodyguard were ascending into power and influence; drawn from the best "politically correct" soldiers of the legions, they received the finest equipment and armor. They no longer had to shout "integritas" to signify that their armor was sound. Instead, as they struck their breastplate, they would shout "Hail Caesar," to signify that their heart belonged to the imperial personage, not to their unit, not to an institution, not to a code of ideals. They armored themselves to serve the cause of a single man.
A century passed and the rift between the legion and the imperial bodyguard and its excesses grew larger. To signify the difference between the two organizations, the legionnaire, upon striking his armor would no longer shout "integritas," but instead would shout "integer" [in-te-ger].
Integer means undiminished, complete, perfect. It not only indicated that the armor was sound, it also indicated that the soldier wearing the armor was sound of character. He was complete in his integrity, his heart was in the right place, his standards and morals were high. He was not associated with the immoral conduct that was rapidly becoming the signature of the Praetorian Guards.
The armor of integrity continued to serve the legion well. For over four centuries they held the line against the marauding Goths and Vandals, but by 383 A.D., the social decline that infected the republic and the Praetorian Guard had its effects upon the legion.
As a 4th century Roman general wrote, "When because of negligence and laziness, parade ground drills were abandoned, the customary armor began to feel heavy since the soldiers rarely, if ever, wore it. Therefore, they first asked the emperor to set aside the breastplates and mail and then the helmets. So the soldiers fought the Goths without any protection for the heart and head and were often beaten by archers. Although there were many disasters, which led to the loss of great cities, no one tried to restore the armor to the infantry. They took their armor off and when the armor came off, so too came their integrity." It was only a matter of a few years until the legion rotted from within and was unable to hold the frontiers. The barbarians were at the gates. i
We are to be the like soldiers in the best of times: sound, complete, protected. As we are those who love the truth so that it fills our hearts and minds, we are protected. We are called to people of integrity who live what we believe and believe what we life. The two are of one piece. Our heart and mind should be together in pursuit of the truth of God’s Word.
But this is difficult. Just as the soldiers armor got heavy and they laid it aside, so we too wear down, and neglect the disciplines of Bible reading which is necessary for a good life.
Let me give you a practical way that you can renew or begin your Bible reading. Sit down and read one of the Psalms. This is how I began my Bible reading many years ago. I would read one Psalm a day. I would read until one particular verse would hit me and I would write it out so that I could think more about it. I considered it God’s Word to me for that day. If I could do that as a high schooler, than any of you could surely do it as well.
We must learn from the Romans’ mistakes and be prepared. But if we do wear down, Paul gives us advice on what to do.
Before turning to Paul’s final advice on being prepared and being strong, I have to take not of the one piece of equipment that I didn’t mention yet—the shoes. He says that we should put on our feet whatever will make us ready to share the gospel of peace. It’s like, you can wear Nikes, Reeboks, Birkenstocks, or Cole Haan. It doesn’t matter to him. Wear whatever makes the most comfortable and the most likely to share the good news of God with others. What he is saying is that the truth of God should not just be in our minds and in our actions, but in our mouths. We should share it with others. It seems that he has in mind that oft-quoted passage from the Psalms which says, “How Beautiful Are the Feet of those who bring good news.” We should be those who witness to the truth of God and the gospel of peace.
The final thing that Paul says that we must do is pray. “Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints.” When you face trials and temptations, PRAY. When you feel like you are about to be overwhelmed, pray. When you feel like there is no trouble around you, pray. And don’t just pray for yourself, Paul says, but pray for others as they face storms in their lives.
Take precautions. Turn to God for strength. Prepare yourself by listening to his World. And call on him in prayer, and so you will be prepared to deal with the storms and trials in life.