Tag Archives: Bible Study

New Year’s Bible-reading Goal

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The start of a new year is often the time when many Christians commit to being more disciplined about their Bible reading. Bible reading plans abound, and you can easily find one that will help you read the Bible through in a year if that is your goal.

Some of you may be like me, in that you fall behind in a very short time and are tempted to give up. You may get to late February and March and get bogged down in Leviticus or Numbers. After you get a week or two behind, the temptation is to shelve the whole project and make it your goal to start anew next January. You become very familiar with Genesis and Exodus, but the rest of the Bible is still sort of in the dark for you.

A missionary friend of mine gave me the simple solution to this dilemma. Use a book mark! Use a book mark like you would when reading any other book. If some time has gone by, just open the Bible to the book mark and begin reading again. Don’t worry about how many days you are behind. Just keep at it and read as much or as little as you want on any given day. You’ll eventually make it through and it will be well worth your while.

Let me tweak that advice a little more. Many Bible reading plans have you reading something from the Old Testament, something from the Psalms and Proverbs, and then something from the New Testament. What I do now is use three bookmarks. One goes at the beginning of Genesis, another at the beginning of Psalms, and the third at the beginning of the New Testament. Then simply rotate through the sections as time and interest allow. Use the Psalms bookmark to work your way through Psalms, Proverbs, and Ecclesiastes. Then move it back to the beginning of the Psalms again.

If you can develop the habit and routine to read the Bible like this, it won’t matter how long it takes you to read through the entire Bible, but you will do it, and your spiritual life will be strengthened as a result.

Next time we’ll talk about how to take it a little deeper.

The Righteousness of Faith

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Paul writes the following in Romans 10:2-3: “For I testify about them [his Jewish people] that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For not knowing about the righteousness of God and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.”

He’s writing here about his desire to see his Jewish friends and relatives come to know the salvation that is found in Jesus the Messiah. But what he teaches us here about their error in thinking, could be said of most religious people, no matter what the religion.

He says that they “have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge.” The Christian faith is built on truth and on knowledge of that truth. God has acted in history by sending his son Jesus into this world for the purpose of dying on the cross to pay the price for the sins of the whole world. The events surrounding all of what took place, happened on this earth in space and time. On the day Jesus was executed, the sun came up and a new day had arrived. When Jesus died, it was a specific time of day and his heart stopped beating. On the third day his heart began to beat again, and his entire body came alive. These are real events. Having a zeal for God outside the truth of these events is futile. Our faith must be according to knowledge of the truth, not just religious wishful thinking.

What did these religious Jews not know? They did not know about the righteousness of God. This is the plight of all human beings. We know a god exists and we also know we are not perfect, but we do not recognize or realize how righteous and perfect God is. That’s the problem. Further, these people, not knowing the righteousness of God, sought to establish their own. And that’s what we do. We establish our own standard of righteousness, making sure that it is a standard that we can attain. We say we treat others fairly and kindly, but what we mean by that is that we treat them as fairly and kindly as our own standard specifies. We never compare ourselves to the standard of kindness God requires.

And here is what Paul writes as the conclusion of the above passage: “They did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.” We subject ourselves to our own righteousness which has a standard we can meet, but we don’t subject ourselves to the righteousness of God because we know that we can never reach that level of perfection. We recognize immediately that if we are subject to God’s standard, we are doomed! In Romans 3:23, Paul tells us that everyone has sinned and falls short of God’s glory. That’s the truth that we have to accept to be able to receive God’s solution to our problem.

What is God’s solution? The Bible speaks of the righteousness of faith. In Romans 10:9-10 he says, “If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord  and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, leading to righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, leading to salvation.” According to the Bible, God counts believing as righteousness. What we do is try to earn our salvation by trying to be righteous enough. But as we have seen, that is an impossible goal. There is a righteousness separate and apart from the list of rules. Romans 3:21-22 tells us that “the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and upon all who believe.”

God’s righteousness is given to all who believe what God has said. This is a crucial thing to understand. When we believe what God says about himself and about the accomplishment of his son on the cross; and when we believe the solution God has provided in Jesus the Messiah, our believing is counted by God as righteousness. It’s a gift from God because of his amazing grace toward us.

Here’s what Paul writes in Philippians 3:9 with my comments added in brackets: “I want to be found in Him, not having my own righteousness [because my righteousness will never ever measure up] which is from the law [the list of rules God has laid down for us to obey], but [the righteousness] which is through faith in Christ [believing that Jesus Christ bore all of my guilt on the cross], the righteousness which is from God by faith [by believing God and his word].

In other words, when we believe what God has said about his son Jesus, God declares us righteous and we are assured of Jesus’s life living through us here and now, and a home in heaven when we die, and the promise that there will be no condemnation for us ever! (See Romans 8:1). Rule-keeping plays no part in this righteousness. It is righteousness as a free gift from God when we believe the record that God has given of his son. Do you believe this?

Ephesians 6:17

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“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”

The helmet of salvation….

The helmet protects the head, the brain, the control center for the body. Certainly one can’t live without the heart and other vital organs of the chest cavity intact, but neither can one function effectively if the brain has been damaged. So, the helmet is an essential piece of equipment.

In this verse, Paul tells us to take up the helmet of salvation. I think there are two aspects to this. The first is that certainly we need to be saved, otherwise we are not even in the battle. But in addition to that, we need to have confidence, assurance, and hope of our salvation. Taking up the helmet means we are purposely studying, understanding, and taking to heart the reality of the salvation God has given us. It has to be something that we are convinced of, otherwise we will be wimpy in battle and not fight with our full assurance of the victory God has given us.

There are a couple of parallel passages that are worth quoting here. In Isaiah 59, the Bible says that there are none righteous and that all have gone astray in every way. In verse 15 it says, “Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.” Since there was no human solution, God took matters into His own hands, and the Bible tells us in verse 17 that He “put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation in His head.”

God’s head didn’t need protecting, but as a picture of a conquering, saving captain, clothed with righteousness and salvation, He proceeded to do the saving Himself. It’s an image of God on the move, taking charge, and accomplishing salvation on our behalf.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul writes, “But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation.” There it is, the hope of salvation. It’s not just the salvation itself, but the hope of it, the anticipation of it, the confidence of being saved now and throughout eternity. This hope and confidence of our salvation gives us a level of bravery, and discernment, and wisdom to engage ourselves in the battle against the enemy of our souls.

So what is this salvation of which we speak? If someone is saved from drowning or from a burning building, what does that mean? It means that the person is removed from the danger of drowning or being burned to death. They have been rescued.

All of us were born in a lost and condemned condition. By nature, we are enemies of God and subject to His condemnation in Hell forever. To us that seems like an awfully severe and perhaps unjust sentence. But we think that way because we don’t understand the seriousness of our violations against the rule of God, and we don’t realize the holiness of God. His character is amazingly, and almost frighteningly pure. One violation is enough to condemn us forever. But we commit way more than one violation. We simply don’t even desire to submit to His rule and authority. In spite of that, God graciously gives us life and breath and all things.

How is salvation obtained then, if the standards are so high? God came here to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life, and ultimately was executed even though He had done nothing worthy of death. Here’s the good news: God offers to credit Jesus’ perfect life to us and to count our disobedience and rebellion as though Jesus was guilty. The sentence of death was executed on Jesus in our place, and we are set free. How are we to receive such an offer? God simply asks us to believe Him, to accept His offer by faith. We believe God’s statements about who Christ was and what He has done for us, and we yield to His reign and follow Him. When these things are true of us, God forgives all of our sins because the penalty has been paid, and He promises to come into our lives by His spirit and guide us as we live here on this earth.

This is what it means to have the helmet of salvation. As we fight the battles of life, we have the confidence that we are on the winning side because God has promised victory to those who love and serve Him.

Ephesians 6:16

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I’ve just noticed the date of my last post and I can’t believe it’s been over two months. I guess I need to put my nose to the grindstone and be more faithful in my meditation and commentary on God’s Word. Hopefully you all have had a good summer so far and are learning and growing in the faith. Today we look at Ephesians 6:16

“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one;” (Ephesians 6:16, ESV)

We have now come to the shield. This, of course, is the piece of armor that protects the chest and abdomen where the vital organs are. But, it is a moveable piece of armor. the breastplate is in permanent position, but the shield can be turned one way or another to defend against incoming arrows from many directions.

The Christian’s shield is faith. It is interesting to me that these various pieces of armor must be taken up or put on. A Christian isn’t just automatically equipped and fitted with this armor. It must be consciously and purposely put on or taken up. So in the case of the shield, when is it to be taken up. The Bible says in all circumstances or at all times. We remember that the enemy is constantly on the prowl to defeat the Christian. We must be ready with the shield at all times.

This is the shield of faith. Faith, in its simplest definition, is believing God, believing what He has said. Abraham was “fully convinced that what [God] had promised He was also able to perform” Romans 4:21. God has given us “exceedingly great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4), and faith is personalizing and believing those promises. Believing something is true produces response in us. It produces anticipation, hope, assurance, and a number of other feelings. In addition, believing a promise produces action. As James says, “Faith without works is dead.” This is true of all faith whether it is Bible-based faith or simply believing something someone has said. Believing always produces a response.

In our passage, then, taking up the shield of faith means believing what God has said and acting on it. Satan is a liar and the father of lies (John 8:44). In every situation, we are to believe God and reject what the devil and his world system are saying. The darts he shoots at us are fiery. They are set aflame by hell itself, and because of there ferocious nature, it’s easy to be intimidated into believing them. Taking up the shield of faith means that in every circumstance, with every lie hurled at us no matter from what direction, we are to claim God’s statement of truth and act on it. This is a purposeful, conscious, intentional action. It is “taking up the shield of faith.”

Exported from Logos Bible Software, 9:38 AM August 22, 2022.

How Can a Man be Righteous Before God?

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“How can a man be righteous before God?” (Job 9:2). In my opinion, this is one of the most important questions that needs to be answered. When you stand before God, and if He were to ask you, “Why should I receive you into my heaven?”, what would you say?  In our heart of hearts, we know that a god of some kind exists. All around us we see the evidence of an intelligent being who is the architect of all we see. Instinctively, we also know that this being is much more powerful than we are. The Bible tells us that it is appointed for us to die once and then face judgment. The fear of death and what comes next is universal. We also know that whatever this god’s standards are, we don’t measure up. What will happen to us when we face the judge of the universe? All of this is why Job asked, “How can a man be righteous before God?” The Bible actually gives us the answer to this question.

The Bible describes God as being perfectly good, righteous, and just. That has implications we are not comfortable with. I think most of us really hope that God is like a grandpa. Grandpas won’t let kids get away with terribly naughty behavior but will, if necessary, apply some moderate sanctions to keep their grandchildren from getting hurt or damaging the furniture. But, for most things, they will overlook behavior that is wrong but basically normal childhood character showing itself. We want a god like that – a god that will punish people like Hitler or Stalin but let us off the hook when it comes to the everyday sins normal good people commit. The problem is that that god doesn’t exist.

The real God loves us more than grandpa does, but He is also a perfectly just judge who must make judgments from the bench that are perfectly consistent with His character and laws. We are not used to that. There is leniency in almost every area of life where rulings are made. As students we often receive opportunities to retake a test or have a tardy ignored. Police sometimes just give us a warning instead of a ticket. Even though I’m not a sports enthusiast, I’ve noticed that rulings on the court or field are generally pretty strict and the rules held to fairly consistently. But in many areas of life there is leniency. Yet even in this kind of culture, what would our reaction be if a judge releases a serial killer or even a serial thief saying something like, “I really care about this guy’s needs, and he seems remorseful, so even though he has committed this crime 20 times, I’m going to let him off this time too”? There would certainly be outrage. We expect our judges to be just and not ignore crime. Yet, at the same time, we expect God to give us a pass and ignore our countless infractions of His law.

God is just. That is what is so scary about facing Him at the judgment. The Bible says, “It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God” (Hebrews 10:31). It is this knowledge that caused Job to ask the question, “How can a man be righteous before God?” Trying to keep the law won’t work because we are unable to keep it. God says that if a person keeps the whole law and yet breaks it in one point, he is guilty of all of it (James 2:10).  With that kind of standard, who is going to be able to stand? In fact, the writer of Psalm 130 asks this very question, “If you Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Psalm 130:3).

God has designed an amazing answer to this question and solution to His “dilemma.” (God doesn’t really have a dilemma, but in our minds his dilemma appears to be how to forgive people he loves while at the same time maintaining justice and His own righteous character.)

What He has done is to come here to earth Himself in the second person of the trinity. He took on actual human flesh and lived here among us as the God-man, Jesus (John 1). Having lived a life without sin, perfectly keeping the law and loving God and neighbor as the law commanded, He was mocked, tortured, and killed. God has said that the punishment for sin is death – physical death and separation from God. Jesus endured those consequences of sin, even though He had never committed a single sin in His life.

God has promised to count Jesus’ death as the death penalty that we deserved. The Bible says in Ezekiel 18:20 that the soul that sins must die. But God is willing to count Jesus’ death as my death and as your death. He is willing to say that when Jesus died, you died. The death penalty has been carried out. Because of the curse on our physical bodies, we will still die physically. It’s spiritual death we’re focusing on here. Spiritual death involves being separated from God and sent to Hell to be punished forever. It is, indeed, a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God. God is promising to count Jesus’ death on the cross as the eternal spiritual death that you and I deserve. Even more amazingly, God declares that He will credit you and me with Jesus’ perfect record. In other words, when God would look at our record, He would find that we had obeyed every law and every standard perfectly. Those with a perfect record are welcomed into heaven.

The Bible says, “He made Him (Jesus) to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

“For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God” (1 Peter 3:18).

“Who Himself bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness – by whose stripes you were healed” (1 Peter 2:24).

But who is this for? Who gets credited with Jesus’ perfect obedience, and for whose sins did Jesus get blamed and executed? The answer is simple: For those who believe. We’re not talking about believing in God. We’re talking about believing the facts He has given us and believing and accepting that the offer He is making is true.

God has given us this promise in what is called the Gospel, the Good News. He is making this offer of complete forgiveness of all sins, past, present, and future. With that comes the offer to credit us with Jesus’ righteousness. It is a gift. You can’t work for or earn a gift. If you work for it, it is no longer a gift. Paul says it this way, “And if by grace (a free unearned gift), then it is no longer of works; otherwise, grace is no longer grace. But if it is of works, it is no longer grace; otherwise, work is no longer work” (Romans 11:6).   

Believing is the key, It’s not saying that we believe, but actual believing. “But to him who does not work but believes on Him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is accounted for righteousness” (Romans 4:5).

“If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9).

“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you will be saved” (Acts 16:31).

“He who believes in the Son (Jesus) has (present tense) everlasting life; and he who does not believe the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him” (John 3:31).

Jesus, Himself, said, “Repent and believe the gospel” (Mark 1:15). To repent means to change your mind about who Jesus is and about what it takes to be accepted by Him. You realize that all of the good deeds in the world, all of the church-going, all of the money-giving, none of that is going to earn you a place with God. You can’t do any of it with pure motives or to the level that would be needed to earn your way in.

It’s believing. It’s not having faith in faith or a generic I-believe-in-God faith. But it is believing the testimony that God has given concerning His son (1 John 5:10). If you repent, and accept Jesus’ testimony that He is the son of God, and you believe that His death satisfied God’s death requirement for you a sinner, then God promises that all of your sins have been removed and paid for by Jesus, and you are declared righteous and will go to heaven when you die. The judgment for you has already been administered against Jesus on the cross.

That is the answer to Job’s question as to how a man can be righteous before God. He can be righteous by repenting of his former rebellious life and accepting God’s free gift by faith.

“But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed…, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a [substitute sacrifice] by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate … at the present time His righteousness, that He might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus” (Romans 3:21-26).

There you have it. God can be just and still declare us righteous because of what Jesus Christ has done for us on the cross.

Battle Plan Strategy 10 –Identity in Christ

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Strategy 10:  I realize that I died with Christ, and I am now a new creation. I am living and ordering my life as a resurrected person, not as the old person I used to be.

This is one of the most important strategies when attempting to win the fight against sin. We can make all sorts of resolutions and put into play all of the self-disciplines that we can muster, but real victory becomes possible when this truth is embraced and put into practice.

In Romans 6:2, Paul asks the question, “How shall we who died to sin, live any longer in it?” He then goes on to explain what he means by this. If you’ve been baptized into Christ – in other words, if you’ve been born again – you were baptized into Christ’s death. What this means is that when God saves us, He so thoroughly unites us with His Son that there is a oneness established that makes Christ’s history our history. For example in Ephesians 2 we read, “But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus,” (Ephesians 2:4–6, NKJV).

We see here that God raised us up with Christ and has even seated us with Him in heavenly places in Christ. So Jesus’ death is our death. His resurrection is our resurrection. His ascension is our ascension.

What does that mean, then, when it comes to the battle against sin? It means that just as Jesus, when He died, died to sin, so we also, when we died with Him, died to sin. Jesus didn’t sin before His death, but He was subject to all of the temptations that we go through. His death put an end to that. We are to reckon ourselves dead with Christ to sin and we are to see ourselves on the resurrection side of things. This is the way Paul puts it:

“Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but present yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God.” (Romans 6:11–13, NKJV)

The key word here is reckon. We are to count it as true because God says it. We died to sin when we died with Christ, and we are to reckon on that being true as we face the many temptations of life. We’ve died and our life is hidden with Christ in God (Colossians 3:3).

He finishes the section in Romans with the words, “For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law, but under grace.” This is not a command for you not to let sin have dominion. It is a statement of fact. Sin shall not have dominion. Its rule over us has been broken. It has no authority over us even though its power seems awfully strong. We are to believe that and act accordingly.

When temptation comes, even when it is a strong one, you acknowledge the fact that you have died with Christ. You claim the truth that you have been buried and raised with Him, and that this sin has no authority over you. Your heart will tell you that that’s not true, and that you must listen to the temptation and bow to it. But just as our Lord did when He was tempted, you must use scripture to claim your ground on the resurrection side.

Priority Goal 10: Moment by moment I will reckon and consider and claim the fact that I died with Christ, and I am on resurrection ground, and therefore sin does not have any authority or power over me no matter how strong it feels.

Battle Plan – Strategy 7 – The Reason for God’s Wrath

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(The list of these strategies in chart form can be found here.)

Strategy 7: I realize that participating in and supporting immoral, sexual activities is making me a part of the reason God’s wrath is coming on the world.

 In Ephesians 5:3 we read the following:

“But fornication and all uncleanness or covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for saints;” (Ephesians 5:3, NKJV)

Paul continues listing various sins and then concludes with this:

“For this you know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore do not be partakers with them.” (Ephesians 5:5–7, NKJV)

Paul gives another such list in 1 Corinthians:

“Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God.” (1 Corinthians 6:9–10, NKJV)

So God is saying that people who live in the life styles listed here will not inherit the kingdom of Christ and God. Now before you get too self-righteous, be sure to notice that he doesn’t include just the sexually immoral. He also includes those who are characterized by covetousness, idolatry, drunkenness, and thievery and swindlers among those who will not inherit the kingdom of God.

Then he goes on (in Ephesians 5)  to tell us why we shouldn’t involve ourselves with these sorts of behaviors. The reason is because these sins are the reason why God’s wrath will come upon the earth. How can we justifiably participate in activities that are the cause of God’s judgment? It doesn’t make any sense for children of God to live in this way. Add to that the thought that others, maybe even some friends, who live in a similar way, or who get involved in such activities with us — these other people who don’t know Christ will perish for all eternity. What will they think of you who participated with them and encouraged them by your participation, are now enjoying eternal salvation while they are condemned. The whole picture doesn’t make sense.

When we come to Christ there is a basic change in our nature. In this same passage in verse 8, Paul writes:

“For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light” (Ephesians 5:8, NKJV)

There is a change. We’ve gone from darkness to light. It makes no sense to have fellowship or common bond with the unfruitful works of darkness (Eph 5:11).

Priority Goal 7: Today, every time I am tempted to look at or participate in anything that God says is wrong, I will remind myself that it is because of these very things that God’s wrath is coming. Do I want to be a part of God’s reason for judging the world?

Battle Plan – Strategy 6 – Avoid the Second Look

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Strategy 6: I’ve learned to control my eyes by avoiding the second look. I have made commitments not to look on or lust after evil.

Consider Job’s testimony: ““I have made a covenant with my eyes; Why then should I look upon a young woman?” (Job 31:1, NKJV)

Also consider this commitment from David: “I will set nothing wicked before my eyes; I hate the work of those who fall away; It shall not cling to me.” (Psalm 101:3, NKJV)

These are examples of two men who made the decision not to take that second look. Sometimes we cannot help what we see at first, but we can turn our eyes away from those things which incite us to lust for things which God has forbidden.

Lust is the kind of thing that is never satisfied. We think that we will be satisfied if we just take one more look, or one more bite, or view one more scene. But lust is going to come back stronger and will demand more and more from us. It is a powerful force!

When Eve was tempted to eat the fruit which God had commanded her not to eat, she looked at it too long. Look what the Scripture says, “So when the woman saw that the tree was good for food, that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree desirable to make one wise, she took of its fruit and ate. She also gave to her husband with her, and he ate” (Genesis 3:6, NKJV). She first noticed that it was good for food. Then as she looked at it, she realized that it was also pleasant to look at. The more she listened to the serpent and thought about the fruit, she began to think that it could make her wise as well. She didn’t turn away after the first temptation as she should have done.

In Daniel 1:8 we learn that Daniel had purposed in his heart not to defile himself with the king’s food. This was a decision he had made ahead of time. We need to make that determination in our hearts and before God that we will respond in righteous ways when temptation is placed in front of us. Trying to make those decisions on the fly doesn’t work.

Priority Goal 6: Today I determine not to take that second look when confronted with any kind of temptation.

Battle Plan – Strategy 5 – Put on the Armor

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Strategy 5: I have put on the whole armor of God so that I will be able to be standing when each skirmish is over.

Paul gives us this admonition in Ephesians 6: “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10–11, NKJV)

We already discussed the fact that our strength and power comes from the Lord. As we work, He works (Philippians 2:12-13). Paul tells us here in Ephesians that we are to be strong in the power of His might. Obviously we are not strong in our own might. Our defeats day by day are enough evidence of that.

In order to stand against the schemes and tricks of the devil, we are to put on the whole armor of God as explained in this passage. There are pieces of armor for the head and for all the other parts of the body. They are mostly defensive, but He has given us the Sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, as our offensive weapon. We are to put the armor on. It won’t put itself on.

Why do we need this armor? Because we are not wrestling against flesh and blood, but against spiritual forces of wickedness. This is a dirty battle and the enemy is deceitful and cruel. Therefore we need all the protection we can get.

We need the belt of truth. Don’t believe the lies, even the lies you tell yourself. Know the truth and base your life on it.

We need the breastplate of righteousness. This cannot be our own righteousness because our righteousness is porous – full of holes. Paul writes in Philippians: “[that I might] be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;” (Philippians 3:9, NKJV)

We need God’s righteousness as our breastplate.

We are to have the gospel as our footwear. We need to preach the gospel to ourselves every single day. Christ died for our sins and paid the death penalty for us. He was raised the third day and is ascended into heaven where He makes intercession for us.

We are to have the shield of faith to quench those fiery darts. Faith is believing God, taking Him at His word. Faith involves acting on what He says. Faith which doesn’t act is not faith. As James tells us, such faith is dead.

We are to have the helmet of salvation. In other words, we are to be a regenerated person. A person who has been given a new heart, a new spirit and new inclinations toward God.

And we are to have the Word of God as our defensive and offensive weapon. Remember how Jesus responded to the temptations Satan brought him?  He said, “It is written.” We must know and use our Bibles effectively.

Priority Goal 5: Today I will make sure I have the armor on. I will think through the components of God’s armor and make sure I am securely protected by them. I will do this consciously and intentionally with my mind and heart focused on its importance for a successful battle. So that having done all, I will still be standing.

Ephesians 5:19

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“…addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart.”

Last time we talked about what it means to be filled with the Spirit. But Paul’s sentence doesn’t end at the end of verse 18.

Beginning in verse 19 he begins to explain some of the natural results of being filled with the Spirit. First, he addresses speaking. He says we will be speaking to one another. How will we speak to one another? In psalms and hymns and spiritual songs.

So, I have a question. Is he saying that since we have been filled with the Spirit, as a result we will sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs to one another during the 20 minute song time in one of our worship gatherings? I don’t think so.

In the first place, he says speaking, not singing. Second, the speaking is a continuous sort of action used as an adjective. So people who have been filled with the Spirit will be speaking-to-one-another-in-psalms kind of people. I need to ask myself if I’m that kind of person.

Recently I was teaching on the book of Malachi, which in 3:16 says,   “Then those who feared the LORD spoke with one another. The LORD paid attention and heard them, and a book of remembrance was written before him of those who feared the LORD and esteemed his name.”

When people speak to one another about the things of God, He listens, and, according to Malachi, he makes a note of it in His book.

Would that we could be the kind of people that would have psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs on our minds so that we could and would share these with one another often as we speak to each other.

Also in verse 19, he writes that we should be singing and making melody to the Lord with or in our hearts. As the Spirit fills us moment by moment, there will be a resulting song that arises in our hearts. Words from the Psalms will come to mind as will the lyrics of other godly hymns and spiritual songs that form the basis of much of our Christian meditation. Let me emphasize that this is a result of the filling of the Spirit, not a stand-alone command. The Spirit’s presence in our lives produces fruit, and this kind of speaking and singing is one of those fruits.