Pentecost 17               September 15, 2024
Ephesians 6:10-18       Pastor Ryan Wolfe

“Followers of Christ, get ready for war”

Can I make a confession to you? I’ve always had a hard time with our closing hymn today. If you flip forward you’ll see that it’s Onward, Christian Soldiers. I think the reason I struggle with it is that I am a student of history. I love looking at the past and seeing the rise and fall of nations. The triumphs and awfulness of mankind and society. But that also means I’ve seen the Christian faith used and abused. And there have been times when Christianity was coopted by nationalism and imperialism. And the religion of a Savior who said “blessed are the peacemakers” was used to raise up calls of war and rebellion. It happened in the Roman empire. Rome in the middle ages. Spain under the inquisition. France in the revolution.

Because of that a song that calls Christians “soldiers” has always felt dangerous. But while I might prefer the descriptions of believers as sheep under a shepherd, as stones in the temple of God, as parts of the body of Christ – the description as soldiers is accurate too. And while it’s maybe not my favorite, it is certainly applicable to our place and time too. The truth is that every believer is at war. Every church is under siege. Every Christian is in the crosshairs of a powerful enemy. In these verses of Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul tells us not to forget that there is a spiritual battle taking place that demands we take the appropriate caution or become casualties in this endless war.

This battle, Paul explains in verse 12, is not against flesh and blood. Your real struggle in life is not with your difficult boss, or crabby co-worker. It’s not with the sibling or classmate you haven’t spoken to in days because you’re upset at each other. Your battle is against what Paul calls, “the rulers…the authorities…the powers of this dark world…the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” Yes, this spiritual world, the heavenly realm, is all around us and Satan and his minions are on the attack. That’s so important to remember when someone hurts us with their unloving words and actions. It’s easy to treat that individual as the enemy when in reality Satan is using that person as his pawn. He wants us to react in such a way that would harm our relationship with God and with that person. But if we’re ready for the war, that doesn’t have to happen.

You heard Paul’s description of the Christian’s battle armor. But let’s be clear on where this armor comes from. It’s not something you have to scrape together yourself. No, this armor is something that God gives. Trying to survive our fight with Satan on our own is like going into a firefight with homemade armor of cardboard. No fake faith or manmade philosophy is going to have any power in this war. In fact, even having partial armor isn’t enough. Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God.

So how exactly does our heavenly quartermaster equip us? Paul compares it to the typical armor that a Roman soldier would have worn. First, Paul urges us to put on the belt of truth. A belt sounds like a small part of a soldier’s armor, but the belt holds everything else in place. It keeps the pants up. It keeps the cloak tight. It holds the scabbard where the soldier keeps his sword. The Christian encircles himself in the truth of God’s Word. That truth protects us from Satan’s lies that come at us from spiritual enemies outside the church and wolves in sheep’s clothing that attack us from within. No, the belt might seem simple, but there’s a reason Paul starts with the truth. Don’t settle for a faith that is content with some truth. A church that preaches most of the truth. Encircle yourself with the truth. Wrap yourself in it. And know God’s protection by it.

As I talked about in the children’s message, there is one piece of equipment God gives to us with an offensive purpose. That “sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.” Just as a sword was drawn from the soldier’s belt, so God’s Word that tells us the truth about how it really is. God wanted us to enjoy the perfect blessings of living with him. But sin ruined that relationship so that now, people think that if there is a God, he’s nothing more than a demanding judge. A harsh ruler. A terrifying deity. But he isn’t! This “sword of the Lord” shows us that he is a loving heavenly Father. And when we stay armed with the Word, studying it, hearing it, sharing it… we take the fight to Satan.

As we stand firm in that word, Satan’s attacks will come fast and furious. But we have a defense too. Paul says in v. 16 to “take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Satan is going to do his best to burn his way through your faith. Perhaps he’ll attack you with a particular sin that is like a snare you just can’t escape. Or perhaps he’ll convince you of your goodness and get you to simply go through the motions of being a Christian. Whether by despair or pride, know that Satan is coming for you. What will allow you to defend yourself against those twin arrows of hellish flame? A faith that knows we are saved by grace in spite of our great and many sins. And a faith that knows we have this salvation by God’s love and mercy alone. To mix metaphors a little bit, a shield of faith built on the rock of Christ. A shield extinguishes not some, but all the flaming arrows of the evil one.

But extinguishing doesn’t mean that some won’t hit their mark first. What about those times when Satan’s arrows do wound us? Paul describes armor for that as well. We have “the breastplate of righteousness in place.” Righteousness, of course, means to be right with God. To continually do the right thing and not do the wrong thing. And while that in no way applies to our lives, it perfectly describes Jesus Christ. And in our baptisms God clothes us with that righteousness. A breastplate of righteousness. A piece of armor so perfect and so sturdy that not one of Satan’s accusations that deserve hell will penetrate it. Because we have this righteousness from Jesus, by faith and not by works, we know God’s verdict on Judgment Day will be: “Not guilty of sin! Enter my heaven and enjoy eternal life.”

Maybe that’s why Paul says we also wear “the helmet of salvation.” Our understand of salvation in Jesus allows us to hold up our head with confidence and joy. It protects us from thoughts of doubt and sin. Oh, Christians still doubt. And we still sin. But just as the breastplate of righteousness covers our weak hearts, the helmet of salvation covers those sins in our weak heads. We know and are convinced that when Jesus declared from the cross, “It is finished,” he wasn’t just proclaiming that our sins had been paid for. He might as well have been saying that Satan and all of his minions were finished because their accusations against us are groundless.

There’s still one more piece of armor that Paul describes: footwear. Verse 15: “Stand firm then…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.” Once again, a soldier’s shoes might not be at the top of our list, but ask any soldier, ancient or modern, and they’ll tell you how important combat footwear is. Clean, dry, reliable footwear keeps an army standing. Literally. And the gospel of peace that we know in Jesus keeps us ready to move as well. This footwear allows us to stand firm when the world is falling into chaos around us. Fitted with this gospel, we can speak to those who have hurt us and offer them forgiveness. We can speak to those who have suffered a loss and offer Jesus’ promise of eternal life.

But even with all this armor, there’s one thing we need for a successful fight as we get ready for war. And God gives that to us too. A soldier who can’t communicate with his commander will soon be lost. But Paul reminds us that God has prepared that for us too. “Pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” In fact, in the two verses following he tells the Ephesians to pray for him, that he would speak fearlessly, even in chains.

Did I forget to mention that? As Paul writes about the powerful armor of God and the spiritual war we face, he was in prison for preaching the gospel of Jesus. And yet he knows the Lord’s defense on his behalf. Yes, the enemies we face are many and powerful. Lord willing, none of us will be imprisoned for the faith we share. But we might. Lord willing, your coworkers, professors, teachers, and employers won’t harass and mock you for your faith. But they might.

Lord willing, when the arrows of Satan fly against you, they won’t come as a surprise. Know now that we are at war. The enemy is real and so is the danger. For eternity. But so is the armor. The belt, the breastplate, boots, the helmet, the shield, the sword.

So maybe Onward, Christian Soldiers isn’t such a bad hymn at all. Not when we remember what we as soldiers are facing. Not an enemy of flesh and blood. No, something far worse. But when we sing that hymn at the end of our service pay attention to the words you sing. Because they remind us that we are marching in line with Christ, with his cross going before our every battle. Through faith in Jesus you’re ready for the war. You’re armed for the battle. Now fight for your faith with your eyes on the cross. To Christ be the glory. Amen.