Please Fasten Your Truth Belt 

Ephesians 6:10-14

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. ¹¹ Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 

For the next seven weeks we will be looking at each piece of the armor of God and how we should put on this armor into our everyday lives.

Today we will be looking at the belt of truth.  But before we look at the belt of truth, lets first examine the reason we need such weaponry.  Vs 11

We are to put on the armor of God so that we may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  A few things are to be said about this.

First it is the armor of God, meaning it is His armor, He gives it to us so that we will be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.  We cannot defeat him by ourselves we need to be clothed in the armor.

Stand- Greek word histemi - to be of a steadfast mind, also one who holds his position in the midst of the fight

Having this definition of the word stand we realize it is our duty to hold our position, or to be steadfast in the midst of the fight. 

It is not intended that you would run from the enemy, but it is commanded that you put on the armor and stand against him. 

• So, who is this enemy and why should we stand against him to fight?

¹² For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 

From this we learn that our battle is not with any human being that has rubbed you the wrong way.  Your enemy is not the guy who cut your off on the highway.  Your enemy is not the person that has posted malicious things about you on Facebook or that has talked about you behind your back.  Your enemy is not even the person who has bullied or abused you.

None of those people are your real enemy.  In fact, you cannot even see your real enemy with your eyes because he exists in the spirit world.  Not only does he exist, he exists in different ranks as we learned in verse 12.  Meaning he is organized and strategic in his assault against your life.  He knows your area of weakness, he knows how to hit you and how long to hit you so that you give in. 

Ultimately, our enemy strives to prevent us from going to heaven, he wants to rob us of heavenly blessings and hinder our relationship with God.  He is after your identity. 

Therefore, we must be relentless as we stand on our guard against him, just as he is relentless in his attempts to destroy our life.  Just know that while we are living on this earth, there will never be a cease fire or a treaty that will end his attacks on your life.

That will happen only when Jesus comes back. 

For right now we are on this testing ground called earth, to see whether or not we will give into the schemes of the enemy.  But we do not fight him alone.

¹³ Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 

Again, we see the responsibility falls on us, vs 11 said to put on, vs 13 says to take up.   Both verses imply that some sort of action needs to be taken on our part.  We need to put it on and we need to take it up. 

Many times we want God to just take away the addiction, or the sin problem, when truly He has done it all, He has provided all the armor you need, through the cross of Jesus Christ.  Your victory has accomplished through the shedding of the blood of Jesus Christ.  It is now time to do your part. 

If you keep running from your problem, you will lose every time.  God did not intend for you to run, but to fight.  You can’t run from the pain, the grief, or the struggle you must face it head on.

Stand against.

vs 13 encourages us to give it our all when standing against the devil “having done all.”

But notice that only comes after we have picked up the Armor of God.  In other words, the armor of God will enable you to stand against the devil.

The apostle Paul would have written the book of Ephesians while he was in a roman prison.  He would have observed Roman Soldiers on a daily basis. 

He would have noticed the order in which a roman soldier put on his military armor, thus he starts off in a similar fashion.

¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.

The very first thing he mentions is the belt of truth.  Why not the sword or the shield? If I am to stand against an enemy who is strategic in his assaults against me then give me a weapon not a belt.

There is a reason why the belt was selected to be first. 

For a Roman Soldier the belt distinguished him between any other man.  Even if he was not in full armor he could be recognized as a soldier because of his belt that he wore which was usually accompanied with a sword. 

(photos of various service men)

The belt was very important to a Roman soldier. In fact, if a soldier had his belt taken away in public by a superior officer for some reason, it was a very humiliating punishment.

The belt was part of his identity.  The belt signified to all that he was a soldier. It was decorated with elaborate buckles, metal plates, strap-ends and other attachments, which made it heavy, eye-catching and jingly. 

So not only would people be able to distinguish a Roman soldier with their eyes, they would also hear the moving of these metal pieces clanking together as a soldier drew near.

Besides being a piece of armor that distinguished the soldier from the common man, the belt had some practical uses as well.

1. First the belt was not a belt like we know it. It was more like a man girdle which protected his loins.  Loins in the bible simply refers to the waist or hip area.  The loins were regarded as the center of a man’s physical strength. 
2. The belt was equipped with a scabbard which was used to hold the sword. Without the belt the soldier would have to hold his sword, which would be quite tiresome.
3. The belt was also used to tie up the lower garments around the waist so that it would not hinder a soldier while running

So far, we have seen the belt was

• Part of a soldier’s identity
• It protected his loins, the center of his strength,
• It held the sword
• Aided in movement.

So, what does this have to do with us?

Going back to Paul’s instructions ¹⁴ Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth.

Just like the belt was a part of the soldier’s identity, so is the belt of truth a major part of our identity. 

When you go into a battle with an enemy that hates you and has different ranked demons that oppose you, you must know who you are and more importantly you must know whose you are.

You must know that as a believer in Christ you belong to Him.  You are His chosen possession.  You are no longer a slave to sin and death, but you are now a child of God.

John 1:12

¹² But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God

If you have believed in his name and have received Him into your life, then you are a child of God.

Colossians 2

⁹ For in him the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily, ¹⁰ and you have been filled in him, who is the head of all rule and authority.

This scripture says that the fullness of God dwelt in Jesus and that we too have been filled with the spirit of God. If God is the head over all, and He is, then that same authority that raised Christ Jesus from the dead, is alive on the inside of you.  Therefore, we know that it is not by our authority or power that we overcome the enemy, but it is through His power and authority that is living on the inside of us that overcomes the enemy.

Remember it is the armor of God.  The armor that He has provided.  We must simply put it on. 

You must no longer see yourself as powerless or defeated against the schemes of the enemy, but you must see yourself as victorious because of Christ Jesus.

You must know who you are, but more importantly you must know whose you are.  Choosing to put on the belt of truth is choosing to believe what God says about you.  He calls you son, daughter, forgiven, cleansed in the blood of Jesus, redeemed, bought with a price, victorious, whole, free from sin, righteousness of God through Christ Jesus etc…

You must know your position in Christ and you must know the authority that has been given to you as sons and daughters of the most High God.

2 Corinthians 5:17

¹⁷ Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation, the old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

Just as every soldier must consider whether or not the cause is just before enlisting, we too must count the cost and be fully persuaded by the truth of God’s word and must be willing to engage in the mission which is instructed through His word.

That’s what it means to put on the belt.  We must be firmly assured that God’s word is the absolute truth.  We live in a world that does not believe in absolute truth.  Rather we live in a world that says if it feels good then you should do it even if it goes against what God says.

Our culture around us would say

• if it feels good to commit sexual immorality then go for it, or
• If a baby is an inconvenience to you, then go ahead and kill it
• If the pain is too much, then go ahead and drown it out with alcohol or drugs
• If the marriage is too strained, then go ahead and get a divorce.
• If you want to feel successful, then you need more stuff.

Do you see the importance of putting on the belt? 

Do you see the importance of standing in the truth of God’s word?

The belt protects your loins, it protects core of who you are.  It will keep you safe in a fight against the enemy.

As I mentioned earlier the belt also holds the sword and enables movement. 

But before you are ready to pick up the offensive weapons like the sword, and before you start moving to the battle line, you need to gird yourself with defensive armor, you need to put on the belt of truth. 

• You need to know who you are in Christ,
• you need to know the authority that has been given to you through Christ,
• you need to be fully persuaded that the Bible is God’s word and that it is absolute truth

It is time for you to fasten your truth belt and stand against the enemy. 

Stop running, hold your position!