The Shield of Faith

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The shield of faith

Eph. 6:16

To defeat Satan, we must hold high the shield of faith.

(Coy Wylie) For a long time, I have been fascinated with the stories of prisoners of war (POWs) from the war in Vietnam. Of the many men who survived the horrors of their captivity, almost all had two things in common: they developed a mental shield and they held on tenaciously to what they knew as truth. Every day, the North Vietnamese would pump propaganda into their cells via loudspeakers. They told these Americans that their government was corrupt, that the military had abandoned them, or that their wives had divorced them and remarried.

These brave prisoners developed different ways to block out the lies. One was a pianist. He played concerts in his mind. Another was an architect; he designed hundreds of buildings in his head. Still another was a golfer. Every day he played mental rounds of golf on the courses in his memory. They blocked the lies of the enemy with their mental shields and combated the lies by reminding themselves of the truth. They had ceased to fight a physical battle, but never stopped fighting a battle of mind and spirit. That’s what every believer does in spiritual warfare. 

I. The believer’s shield is his or her personal confidence in the faithfulness of Jesus.

·         Roman soldiers used two types of shields. One was small and light. It was employed in hand to hand combat. The other, called a scutum, or war shield, was about 4.5 feet tall and 2.5 feet wide. It was the size of a small door. The old saying was, "you either return from battle with your shield or on your shield."

·         The Bible uses such a shield as a metaphor of faith. Paul says "above all," or "in addition to," the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness and the shoes of peace, you also need the "shield of faith."

II. What is faith?

·         The subject here is not "the faith," as in the body of Christian beliefs, but rather personal faith, our confidence in God, believing what God has said and being committed to it.

·         Faith is trust and confidence in another to do what you cannot do yourself.

·         Enduring faith is a dogged determination to rise above the injustices and pains of life, without allowing the flaming arrows of hurt and resentment to penetrate your soul.

·         The shield of faith is the ability to remain under the fire of a long, drawn out trial without breaking down or blowing up.

III. Our shield against the devil’s attack is our faith that God will keep his promises and that he will be faithful to us.

·         In several passages, the Bible says, "The just shall live by faith." 2 Corinthians 5:7 says, "For we walk by faith, not by sight."

The image is that the Lord is like a shield of those who trust him and is seen in many, many passages. Here are just a few:

·         In Gen.15:1, The Lord said to Abraham, "Do not be afraid I am your shield, your exceedingly great reward."

·         2 Samuel 22:31, says, "As for God, his way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in him."

·         Psalm 3:3 says, "But you, O LORD, are a shield for me, my glory and the one who lifts up my head."

·         Psalm 5:12 says, "You, O LORD, will bless the righteous; with favor you will surround him as with a shield."

·         Psalm 91:4 says, "He shall cover you with his feathers, and under his wings you shall take refuge; his truth shall be your shield and buckler."

·         Psalm119:114 says, "You are my hiding place and my shield; I hope in your word."

·         Proverbs 2:7 says, "He stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk uprightly."

·         Proverbs 30:5 says, "Every word of God is pure; he is a shield to those who put their trust in him."

IV. The shield of faith protects us from the enemy’s arrows, which are temptations to disbelieve Jesus.

·         Verse 16 also says that with the shield of faith we will be able to "quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one." What are the fiery darts? What does it mean to "quench" them?

·         In Paul’s day, archers’ arrows were often wrapped in cloth and dipped in pitch or a tar-like substance. This pitch was set aflame and the arrow was shot at the enemy. On impact, the pitch would spatter and burn anything that wasn’t fire retardant. The large, Roman shields were especially effective at thwarting flaming arrows. It is said that in the heat of battle the shields often bristled with smoking arrows like roasted porcupines.

·         Every day, Satan and his evil minions launch dozens of fiery darts at us. In our lifetimes as believers, we face hundreds of thousands of flaming arrows from hell. Let’s consider examples:

1.      Satan shoots the arrow of disappointment. You’ve been married a few years and feel unfulfilled in the relationship. Yet, God’s Word teaches us that any marriage can work if we apply biblical principles.

2.      Satan shoots the arrow of lust. You are all alone in a motel room, and there is a pornographic movie on TV. Your co-worker seems much more attractive and understanding than your mate. God’s Word says it is sin, and it can destroy your life.

3.      Satan shoots the arrow of doubt. You’ve been through a divorce, you’ve lost your job, you’re facing a terrible illness, or you’re asking, "Doesn’t God care?" The Word teaches us most of our trials come from our own poor choices. Still, God lovingly walks with us through the valley.

4.      Satan shoots the arrow of criticism. Sometimes Satan uses our brothers and sisters to shoot his deadly darts. Psalm 64:3 says they "sharpen their tongue like a sword, and bend their bows to shoot their arrows; bitter words, that they may shoot in secret at the blameless." We want to retaliate, but we remember Romans 12:21, "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."

5.      Satan shoots the arrow of pride. James 4:6–7 says, "God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble. Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you."

As we raise the shield of faith, as we refuse to believe the evil one’s lie and instead rely on God’s truth, the flaming arrows are harmlessly deflected. 1 John 5:4 says, "…and this is the victory that has overcome the world; our faith."

Our faith becomes stronger when we are united. When the enemies of Rome saw those wide columns of shields they often broke rank and escaped in terror. Like the "tortoise", when we build strong relationships with other believers, we guard each other’s backs.

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