It Starts Small

This “shield of faith” really got my attention. Did you notice God’s Word says THE SHIELD. It does not say a shield. What is interesting is that the first two pieces of armor are immoveable, but a shield is an object that is used as a weapon but a defensive weapon.

Notice Paul says, “above all.” In the KJV it says “in addition to all.” The Greek literally says “In all.” This means in everything. Paul then says, “which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Paul uses the phrase “take up” which describes a soldier taking a shield up and letting that shield defend himself against something that is coming at him. In simple terms it means everything believed about the faith, the faith being the gospel of Jesus Christ, the faith summarizing all the things we know from God’s Word. It is everything believed and everything that is shown to be believed by our obedience to the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ.

HOW DO I TAKE UP THE SHIELD OF FAITH?

By our willingness to obey the gospel which is not just the life, death, burial and resurrection of Jesus. It goes all the way through it. All of Scripture is the good news from Christ, what Christ has done for us and how we are to live in Him. When we am willing to obey what His Word has to say, that act of obedience consistent in our lives becomes like a shield to a Roman soldier in a battle.

OBEDIENCE

If you want to be protected against the deceitfulness of Satan, surrender is the key. Obey. Through that obedience, that loving obedience, that becomes like a shield in the face of the devil’s deceit. It is obeying Christ in everything. The shield mentioned is the kind referred to as a “door shield”. There were two kinds of shields they used in battle. One was a small shield they would hold up and ward off things but that is not the word that is used here. The word that is used here is thureos a different shield.

If you have seen pictures of the Roman battles, you probably noticed the huge shields that looked like a door. These shields looked like they had taken a closet door off, put a handle on the back of it and walked out into battle with it. When you look at the door in front of a soldier, you can’t even see the soldier. With this kind of shield the soldiers could crouch behind, protected as they marched forward. This large shield would ward off all the flaming missiles that were coming at them.

In ancient warfare, the enemy would wrap the arrows with flammable material, dip it in pitch, set it on fire and shoot these flaming arrows at the enemy. Now here is the picture Paul is drawing for us. First, I am to obey God. Then when the devil throws his flaming missiles at me, because I have purposed to obey the Lord Jesus at all costs in everything, that obedience becomes like a shield to ward off the flaming missiles coming in, even extinguishing those flaming missiles.

Don’t misunderstand what Paul is saying. He is not saying that devil personally takes time to come after just you. The devil is one creation and can only be in one place at one time, as we learn from the book of Job where the LORD said to the devil…

The Lord asked Satan, “Where have you come from?”

“From roaming through the earth,” Satan answered him, “and walking around on it.”

Job 1:7

If the devil was walking to and from he cannot be everywhere at all times. God is omnipresent, but the devil is not. The point is that his minions, the demonic forces, are sending “scud missiles” constantly and yet at random. It is not so much that the devil is coming after me personally. These “flaming missile” thoughts are everywhere in our fallen world. And so everywhere you go the flaming missiles are coming in at all times. There is no time that you can let down. We need to be ready, alert and aware at all times.

Be sober-minded, be alert. Your adversary the devil is prowling around like a roaring lion, looking for anyone he can devour.

1 Peter 5:8

In summary then, what is it that protects me?

It is our attitude of obedience.

“God, I am going to obey You regardless of what comes at me.”

When that is our attitude, it becomes like a protecting shield. Our faith is expressed by our willingness to obey.

Faith and obedience Cannot be separated!

What I believe I obey. I show you what I believe by how I live, not by what I say. So that act of obedience becomes like a door shield in front of me and wards off the fiery darts of the enemy. The fiery darts, the flaming missiles of the evil one, give us a picture of how the devil works in our life. I think the battle is in the mind. As we think, so are we. Our enemy is constantly trying to deceive us as John says in the Revelation…

So the great dragon was thrown out—the ancient serpent, who is called the devil and Satan, the one who deceives the whole world. He was thrown to earth, and his angels with him.

Revelation 12:9
(Bold for emphasis)

Satan is constantly trying to lead us astray with wrong thinking. What would the darts be wrapped up in? To me it would have to be thoughts that he is constantly throwing at us. These thought are like “Scud missiles” coming into our mind. We can not turn on the television without these “fiery missiles” bombarding our living room. We can not walk into the world without these thoughts bombarding our mind. So as those things are coming in, we must make a conscious choice to adhere to the truth. Then you can recognize the deception and error. Secondly you have to obey the truth that you are adhering to. Your willingness to obey wards off those darts that are coming in. We are up against an enemy that wants to get your mind. If he can lock it up and hold it hostage with immoral thoughts, he will do it. If he can lock it up with anger, he will do it. If he can lock it up with resentment, he will do it.

You’ve got to make up your mind. Are you going to obey God or are you going to listen and receive the incoming flaming missiles of the evil one?

They are randomly shot at all times. They are coming in at all times. Constantly we are being bombarded with those thoughts.

Something interesting is that the Roman shield was partially made of leather, and it was soaked in water before they would even go into battle so it would immediately quench. Have you ever taken a match, licked your fingers and put it out? Get that thought in your mind the next time the devil throws one of them at you. You say, “No way, devil,” and just put it out. Just extinguish it right on the spot.

We have to learn that we are in a war all the time. There are people in the church who have not had their loins girded about with truth. They do not care about the Word of God. They do not even study it. They do not want to study it. They would rather just go out, do something and then ask God to forgive them. They have been deceived by error. They think we can go on and live any way we want, go to church on Sunday and get everything right.

That practice is not found in the Word of God. These people have believed a lie and what I am saying right now is irritating to them. I’ll tell you why it is irritating. Because they do not understand the battle. You are in a battle all the time. You’ve got to learn to choose between what is truth and what is deceit in this world. He will throw those things at random.

Fire destroys

A flaming missile when it is allowed to lodge, doesn’t just inflict a wound. The flame destroys everything in the territory in which it landed. One of the heights of spiritual ignorance is to think you can never fall into temptation. If you start receiving what the devil is throwing at you and if you are not going to get into the Word of God, if you are just going to play around and do church until Jesus comes back, he is going to destroy some things in your life. He will destroy your family. He will destroy relationships.

That is why the apostle Paul says, “Finally, I am going to put it in a context now that you can understand. You had better put that garment on. You are in a war zone.”

That garment becomes your weapon against the devil who is throwing them at all times and you never know where it is going to come from. You have to be purposed in your heart to obey Him. You have to have that shield of faith up in front of you.

What we have looked at so far—a commitment to truth by having our loins girded about with truth, a surrender to Jesus by having put on the breastplate of righteousness, firm footing in the gospel, which means that our feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace and our obedience to Christ has been purposed in our heart which means now we have taken up the shield of faith.