CROSS AND CROWN

THE BUCKLER OF FAITH

Ephesians 6:16

Introduction:

We are continuing to examine the various pieces that constitute “the whole armor of God.”  There is coming a day in each of our lives when we will need to know what “the whole armor of God” is, and we will need to know how to use it in our lives. The truth is, we need to know about and use the armor every day. We don’t always think about it, but it is vitally important in our spiritual lives.

 According to Verses 10-13 the saints of God are engaged in a great cosmic battle against a powerful, relentless enemy. Our enemy is “the devil,” v 11. He attacks us by using his “wiles,” v. 11. He employs “tricks, schemes, and methods” to undermine our faith, and to attack the glory of God.

 God desires that we be able to “stand” against the attacks of the enemy, vvs. 11, 13, 14. To “stand” means “to hold a critical position during a time of enemy attack.” Biblical standing is the image of “a soldier refusing to yield even one inch of ground to an attacking foe.” It is the image of a soldier on the defensive, protecting the ground that has already been taken from the enemy.

 God has blessed His people by giving us some very precious things.

•  We have truth.

•  We have His church.

•  We have His Word.

•  We have His grace.

•  We have His salvation.

•  We have His blessing.

•  We have so much more too.

 The problem is, our enemy, the devil, does not want us to have the things we have been given by the Lord. He will do everything in His power to strip all those things away from us. What he can’t take away from us, he will so everything in his power to nullify. If he can’t take it, he wants to strip it of its power in our lives.

 If we would keep what we have in the Lord, we are going to have to “stand” and hold the precious ground we have been given.

 If we are going to “stand,” we must “put on the whole armor of God.” We have already examined The Belt Of Truth, The Breastplate Of Righteousness, and The Boots Of Peace.

 The next piece of armor we want to study is The Buckler Of Faith. The Bible says, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Let’s see why this piece of the armor is so important that the Lord would say that we are to have it “above all.”

  I.  HOW THE SHIELD OF FAITH IS DESIGNED

“Shields” were very important to the Roman soldier. There were several kinds of shields in use by the Romans during that time period. Two of those kinds were the most commonly used.

•  One was a small, round shield that was secured to the soldier’s arm by two leather straps. This shield was used to parry the trusts of an enemy blade in hand-to-hand combat. This small, lightweight shield is not the one referred to here.

•  The word used here is, “thureos.” It comes from the word “thura,” which means door. Thus, the “thureos” was a large, door shaped shield.

•  These shields were about four and a half feet high and two and a half feet wide. This shield was designed to cover the entire body of the soldier. This was possible because men in the First Century were much smaller than men are today.

•  The shield was usually made of a solid piece of wood, covered wither with metal or heavy oiled leather. A man could put his entire body behind it as it absorbed the javelins and arrows of the enemy. In the case of flaming arrows, very often the arrow would snuff out as it buried itself in the thickness of the shield. During battles these great shields would often bristle with smoking arrows like porcupines.

•  The shield was curved along its length to provide some protection to the soldier’s sides.

•  The shields were protected by a leather cover until they were needed for battle.

•  The shield was one of the most important pieces of armor possessed by the Roman soldier.

When Roman soldiers went into battle, those carrying the larger shields marched in the vanguard of the army. They marched side by side with their shield’s together. The Romans called this a “phalanx.”

Often, when the Romans faced their enemies, the ranks of soldiers which followed the first rank would raise their shields over their heads. They would butt their shields against those of the first rank. With the shields of the first rank soldiers held side by side and with the following rows holding their shields over their heads, the Romans presented their enemies with an impenetrable barrier.

 Arrows, swords, and spears were useless against the Roman phalanx. Any missiles thrown by the enemy would fall harmlessly to the ground. At times, the Romans phalanx was as much as a mile wide.

  II.  HOW THE SHIELD OF FAITH DESCRIBED

We are told here that believers need a shield. The shield we need is not to be one of iron or leather. It is not to be a manmade shield. The shield we are told to have is called a “shield of faith.”

 The “faith” Paul refers to here is not the “body of Christian belief.” He is not referring to the doctrines we believe. He is referring to simple “faith” in God. This “faith” refers to the belief in Jesus Christ that brings salvation. It also speaks of our daily faith in Jesus that leads to blessing, daily provision, and strength for the journey. This kind of “faith” is simple faith in Jesus. Simple trust in the Lord that saves us, grounds us, strengthens us, calms us, grows us, establishes us, etc.

 Faith is a necessary, non-negotiable component of the Christian life.

•  We can’t be saved apart from faith in God. “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast,” Eph. 2:8–9.

•  Our entire Christian life is built upon, and sustained by, a consistent believing that God is, and that He blesses those who place their faith in Him. “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him,” Heb. 11:6.

 We all live by some form of faith every day we live. We cross bridges and we believe they will support us. We go through tunnels believing they will not collapse. We trust electricity, automobiles, airplanes, ships, and buses, believing they are safe. Our faith in those  things is well founded for they have proven themselves over and over.

 Faith in Jesus is far and above the everyday faith we practice when we climb into our car and head down the road, or when we drive over a bridge. Our faith is only as good as the object of that faith. When our faith is in Jesus Christ, and God the Father, our faith is in Someone Who cannot fail. Thus, the faith of the Christian has power, because the object of our faith is all-powerful. True Christian faith never fails because the object of our faith never fails!

We need to be sure that our faith is in the Lord. The Gospel will save the souls of all who trust its message. The Lord will be a Father to all who reach out to Him in faith. The Word of God will never fail. The faith of the believer in God is never misplaced, but our faith in Him is essential if we want to succeed in our walk with Him, and if we want to see our enemy defeated in his efforts to attack and destroy us.

 The “shield of faith” is necessary because it provides us with our connection to the Lord. It is also necessary because it protects us from the enemy who desires to slay us.

 III.  HOW THE SHIELD OF FAITH IS DEPLOYED

The Bible says that “the shield of faith” will enable us to “quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” In ancient times, the tips of arrows would be wrapped in pieces of cloth that had been soaked in pitch. This would then be set on fire and shot at the enemy. When the arrow hit its target, the flaming pitch would splatter in every direction, igniting everything flammable it touched. Arrows could cause damage by piercing bodies. The pitch could cause serious burns in their skin, and it could burn their equipment and gear.

 The Roman “thureus” shield would provide and adequate defense against these fiery missiles. If the shield was metal, the arrow and its fiery tip would be deflected. If the shield was leather, it would be soaked in water prior to the battle, and the wet leather would quench the fiery arrows and protect the soldier behind the shield.

 Every day the saints of God are assailed by the “fiery darts” of the devil. The arrows he launches against us are usually the arrows of temptation. The enemy assaults us with temptations to immorality, hatred, envy, anger, covetousness, envy, fear, despair, distrust, doubt, pride, and every other conceivable sin. Satan comes against us, continually attacking us, and tempting us to sin. The “fiery darts” of temptation have the potential to inflict great damage on our lives, but the “shield of faith” has the power to quench all the devil’s fiery darts!

 We all have lusts within us which are easy to ignite. All that is needed is the tiniest flame and we are a roaring fire. So we are assaulted with hot shafts of sensuality, foul, diseased arrows of degrading passions, smoking arrows of materialism.

 And we burn so easily! As the arrows fly toward us, our rationalizations come so naturally: “If God didn't want me to have this, then why did he make me with such a desire for this thing, this person, this pleasure? My neighbor has it. He does it. And he is doing so well…”

 We’re really good at justifying sin, aren’t we? We marry a lost person, and try to justify it by talking about how much we love the other person. We gossip, and we justify it by talking about how concerned we are about the person. We do ten thousand other things and try to justify them in countless ways. In the end, it all comes down to the same thing. When we sin, and try to justify that sin, we are guilty of doing Satan’s will over the Lord’s will. That is never anything but sin!

 But then comes God's Word:

•  “Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour’s wife, nor his manservant, nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour’s,” Ex. 20:17.

•  “For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour; Not in the lust of concupiscence, even as the Gentiles which know not God: That no man go beyond and defraud his brother in any matter: because that the Lord is the avenger of all such, as we also have forewarned you and testified. For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit,” 1 Thes. 4:3–8.

•  “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things,” Phil. 4:8.

 As we believe God's Word, the shield flies up and the arrows fall to ashes. It is as C.S. Lewis said: “We must pray for the gift of Faith, for the power to go on believing not in the teeth of reason but in the teeth of lust.”

 Satan desires to defeat us, that is very clear. His primary means of accomplishing that getting us to sin. When we sin, we do so because we have come to believe that sin can provide something for us that God cannot provide. Sin is always rooted in doubt of the goodness of God’s character. When we sin, we doubt God. When we doubt God, we disbelieve God, 1 John 5:10, which in effect, says God is a liar and can’t be trusted to do what He said He would do.

 So, Satan causes us to doubt God by leading us to sin against God, and by causing us to justify our sin against God. When we fall into this trap, we are guilty of degrading God’s character and elevating the devil’s. No good can come from that.

 In the Garden of Eden Satan launched his first “fiery dart.” He tempted Eve to doubt God and to distrust the Word of the Lord. Since then, the devil has lit every arrow he fires at the people of God from the same fire. He tempts us in the same manner in which he tempted Eve then. He tempts us all according to the same pattern. That pattern is found in Gen 3:1-6. It is also found in 1 John 2:15, which says, “For all that is in the world, the lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but is of the world.”

 Interestingly enough, the Lord Jesus, when He was tempted by the devil in Matt. 4, was attacked with the very same “fiery darts.” Jesus deflected the way Eve should have. The Lord Jesus deflected the devil’s darts the way we should deflect them. Jesus deflected them with the Word of God.

 If we would stand for the Lord against the attacks of “the wicked,” which refers to the devil, then we must stand against him holding up the “shield of faith.” We must lift the Word of God together and stand side-by-side creating an impenetrable wall that Satan cannot defeat with his scheming.

 The Word of God, the truth of God, is what we must have if we would see the “fiery darts” of the enemy quenched.

•  “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that put their trust in him. Add thou not unto his words, lest he reprove thee, and thou be found a liar,” Pro. 30:5–6.

•  “As for God, his way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a buckler to all those that trust in him,” Psa. 18:30.

•  “For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith,” 1 John 5:4.

 Conclusion:

So, what is “the shield of faith?” “The shield of faith” is simple trust in God. It is taking Him at His Word, and believing Him in all things. It is putting Him and His will ahead of everything else in life. So that when Satan launches his “fiery darts” at us, we are able to hold up “the shield of faith,” and what them all fall harmlessly to the ground.

 When we trust God, we can stand against all the attacks of the enemy. “The shield of faith” is more than a piece of armor to be taken out for our protection when needed. “The shield of faith” is what makes the Christian life possible. The Lord says, “For therein is the righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith: as it is written, The just shall live by faith,” Rom. 1:17. This kind of faith is the very lifeblood of the believer.

 “The shield of faith,” which is simple childlike faith and trust in the Lord, is a shield that the arrows of Satan cannot penetrate. That shield will protect you here. And, like the ancient Roman soldiers who were slain in battle, and carried off the field on their shields, the shield of faith will carry you home to glory and bring you into the presence of the Lord!

 Do you stand protected by “the shield of faith?” Are you rooted and rounded in the truth and ready for the attacks of the enemy? If there are needs in this area, let’s come talk to the Lord about them now.