Armor Of God #4
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16. Paul continues to describe the armor of God to us. We are to take the shield of faith.
Paul possibly had
in mind the Scutum, a very large, slightly curved rectangular shield that the
Roman solider used. This shield provided protection over every part of the
soldier’s body. The shield has symbolized protection throughout the Bible.
Psalm 33:20, “Our soul waiteth for the LORD: he is our help and our shield.”
Proverbs 30:5, “Every word of God is pure: he is a shield unto them that
put their trust in him.” Psalm 28:7a, “The LORD is my strength and my
shield;”
Just as the shield
covers and protects a soldier, a Christian’s faith covers and protects them. It is faith to start with, that makes us a
Christian. Ephesians 2:8,“For
by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God”. Jesus said on more than one occasion, “Thy
faith hath saved thee”, Luke 5:50, 18:42. The writer of Hebrews tells us that it is
impossible to please God without faith. “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”, Hebrews 11:6. Paul tells us in Romans 5:1that
it is by faith that we even have peace with God. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have
peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ”.
We need to add a
“living faith” to our “salvation faith”. This is the faith that Paul is comparing to
the shield. We, as Christians are to
“live by faith”, Romans 1:17, and to “walk by faith”, 2 Corinthians 5:7. Faith becomes a defensive weapon, which
protects us from Satan’s fiery darts, when we trust in the power and the
promises of God. Jesus said in Mark
11:22,“Have faith in God”, and Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:5,
“That your faith should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the power of
God”.
It
is for certain that the “fiery darts of the wicked” will come. “Satan shoots “fiery darts” at our
hearts and minds: lies, blasphemous thoughts, hateful thoughts about others,
doubts, and burning desires for sin. If
we do not by faith quench these darts, they will light a fire within and we
will disobey God. We never know when
Satan will shoot a dart at us, so we must always walk by faith and use the
shield of faith.” Warren Wiersbe
Elder Tim White
Ider, Alabama
Armor Of God #4
