DOING BATTLE WITH THE DEVIL

If you have any doubt about the seriousness of sin, reflect on this passage from Paul’s letter to the Ephesians:

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil...having fastened on the belt of truth....having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith....take the helmet of salvation....and the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit....keep alert with all prayer and perseverance.

Ephesians 6: 10-18 (selected)

This passage does not list the rules of engagement for playing in a sandbox. It's a battle cry! Orders to prepare ourselves for war! The war against sin.

Our first order from God is to “stand.” We cannot fight a battle sitting down and expect to win it. We must be at the ready, prepared with our feet planted firmly underneath us. 

God does not instruct us to grab a bucket and a spade to do battle. He instructs us to put on our whole body armor. Just as an NFL player must wear all of his protective gear to survive the physical battle of a football game, we must prepare ourselves for battle with the devil by putting on our whole suit of armor. 

All good emergency response plans rely on a comprehensive check list, and God has very kindly provided one for us. We will need:

• belt of truth (everything depends on it)
• breastplate of righteousness (to forget it could be fatal)
• comfortable shoes for the long fight (it’s in the battle plan: peace and assurance of the gospel)
• shield of faith (it’s our secret superhero power that melts the bad guy)
• helmet of salvation (even NFL players, who are about as tough as they get, know the importance of protecting their noggin)
• sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God (we should call this our AMEX card - - never ever leave home without it)

Have you ever packed your suitcase for a vacation, and on arrival at your destination realized that you forgot the most obvious and essential thing, like your underwear?

After we have diligently checked off our list, God reminds us of the most important thing that we should take to our fight: prayer. And not just any old half-hearted prayer. God instructs us to pray at all times in the Spirit. This is fervent prayer. It is not a time to multi-task. It is a time to be focused, to be a prayer warrior.

Fighting sin is serious business and it requires a well-trained warrior. 

God tells us, “keep alert with all perseverance.” The battle against sin is never-ending. If we think for one moment that our fight is over, and that we have won, we have already been ambushed. The moment we let down our guard and relax, the moment we rest on our laurels and think that we can claim any lasting victory over sin before Jesus returns, in that moment we are already a casualty of the war.

Fighting sin is a battle of endurance. We must put on our full battle armor, arm ourselves with the sword of the Spirit, and pray like our life depends on it. Because it does.