Grapevine Ministries
Messages from the bible to uplift and encourage those that need a word from the Lord, to strengthen their faith. Ps Phillip Barker is an itinerant pastor in Perth, Western Australia.
Grapevine Ministries
Belt of Truth: Spiritual Armour of God Part II
Could embracing the 'belt of truth' transform your life? Join us as we unpack the vital role of this spiritual armour in fostering a life anchored in absolute truth, as revealed through Jesus Christ and the Bible. We promise you'll gain deep insights into how this metaphorical belt, reminiscent of a Roman military belt, functions as a cornerstone of identity and authority for believers. By exploring scriptures like Ephesians 6:14 and John 14:6, we illuminate how truth serves as a liberating force, empowering you to live a life aligned with God's intentions.
Through references like John 17:17 and Psalm 119:105, we spotlight how God's word acts as a guiding light, encouraging a personal, scripture-driven approach to decision-making rather than relying on external influences.
Good morning, good afternoon, wherever you are in the world - Welcome to Grapevine Ministries.
Welcome back Now. We're going to go through a couple more scriptures today, but rather than read the whole of Ephesians 6.10 right through to 20, what I'm going to do is I'm just going to highlight a couple of sections that relate directly to what we're going to be talking about today Now. So Ephesians 6.14 says this Stand, therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, with the preparation of the gospel of peace. And then what we do is we jump back to John 14, 6, which says this and Jesus said to him I am the way, the truth and the life. Nobody comes to the Father except through me. So twice already you've heard about the mentioning of truth. So what we do is we're going to start with the belt of truth. So how does the belt of truth serve as a defense in the armor of God? The Apostle Paul lists the belt of truth as the first element in a Christian's armor against evil.
Speaker 1:But does absolute truth really exist? The very idea of truth as an absolute, as a constant, is becoming less and less popular as a constant is becoming less and less popular. For many people. Truth has become a subject for philosophical debate or a concept that changes as the world changes around us. So, realistically, what is truth? Now we know that even Pontius Pilate asked Jesus what was truth. Now we know that even Pontius Pilate asked Jesus what was truth. The idea of absolute truth is inseparable from the life of Jesus Christ and from the Bible. Jesus defined himself as the way, the truth and the life, and we read that in John 14, 6. He also defines the word of God as truth. Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth. John 17, 17. John 17, 17. And in a world that drifts without absolutes, these words are an anchor. Jesus Christ and the Bible, the word of God, presents absolute truth. The doubts and debates about the existence of absolute truth existed in Christ's time alone, when he was put on trial for his life.
Speaker 1:Jesus was asked by the Roman governor, pontius Pilate, and very, very easily he explains it here. He says if he was indeed proclaiming himself to be king, as the Jews claimed. He answered that he came to bear witness to the truth. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears my voice John 18.37. And Pilate's response was a question what is truth? And a lot of people these days ask that. It's a question we need to be able to answer today.
Speaker 1:Why is truth such an important part of the armour of God, and what does it have to do with the belt? So why did the Roman soldiers wear a belt in the first place? Apart from the obvious reasons holding up their pants? Now, the belt was known as a cingulium or a baltheus. It held the Roman soldiers, soldiers scabbard and the sword. Now, that's fairly important to to think about as we get further on, because we're talking about the belt of truth, right, but isn't it interesting that the belt of truth holds the sword and, as we'll find out later on when we discuss this, the sword is the word of God? Don't you think it's rather ironic that the belt and the sword go together, the same as truth and the word of God? Just food for thought. I just thought I'd mention that.
Speaker 1:Now, the Roman military belt was also a statue symbol. I mentioned this last week. Roman soldiers wore the belt on or off duty, and so the belt itself became a badge of identification. It's like a policeman wearing a uniform. You see the police badges and it's a sign of authority. The Roman soldiers wore their belt as an indication of the importance of the soldier's identity and it showed that he was superior as an officer and would sometimes, if he wanted to alienate a person or punish them. He basically took the belt off of a fellow soldier as a punishment, because it removed their authority. It became such an important part of the soldier's identity that this was a way of humiliating a soldier by taking this belt away from them.
Speaker 1:Jesus explained everyone who is of the truth hears my voice. If the belt was a central part of the Roman soldier's identity, then taking up the belt of truth tells us. The truth ought to be the central part of our identity and there are three things that the Bible reveals about the truth and how it can change people's lives. The truth will set you free. The truth will set you free. This is a common quoted Bible phrase. But what does it really mean? Telling the truth could be certainly set us free from the guilt that may be from lying to a friend or a loved one. Lying to a friend or a loved one, but that falls so short of what the full meaning of that original statement is.
Speaker 1:John 8, 31 to 32 says this If you abide in my word and you are my disciples, indeed, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. These are once again the words of Jesus Christ, spoken this time to his disciples. The disciples in turn thought he was referring to a physical bondage, like in John 8.33. Jesus' response was to tell them that truth, following his words and example, would free them from the bondage of sin. And Jesus answered them most assuredly. I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave to sin. That's in verse 34. Sin is a weight that can entrap us and prevent us from following the life of God intended us to follow. The author of Hebrews describes it in terms of a race. Let us lay aside every weight and the sin which of so easily ensnars us, and let us run endurance race that is set before us. Hebrews 12.1. See, we are in a race. We're in a race against time, the time that we have. See.
Speaker 1:James continues the thought, reminding us that the truth of God's word only brings us freedom when it is coupled with action. And it's the same as Hebrews 11.1 where it says faith is the substance of things hoped for, evidence of things not yet seen. So if we can't see it, we've got to bring it into the seeing, and faith without works is dead. So in other words, it is reiterating that aspect right then and there, that it requires something on our behalf. It needs to be action based. So it says therefore, lay aside all frivolous and overflow of wickedness and receive with meekness an implanted word which is able to save our souls.
Speaker 1:To save our souls, just a word alone can save our souls, but being doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving ourselves, hearers only deceiving ourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is a man like observing the nature natural face in the mirror. He is observing himself. He goes away and immediately forgets the kind of man that he was. James 1, 21 to 25. But he who looks into the perfect law of liberty and continues in it and is not a forgetter, not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this one will be blessed in what he does.
Speaker 1:So if you're following the truth, following the word of God and basically the example set by Jesus Christ, he frees us from a great burden of sin and allows us to move forward in the path of obedience to God's word. That's why he stands in the gap for us, because if we are a follower of Jesus Christ, then Jesus Christ came to dwell amongst us and the word became flesh. So if we're following Jesus, we're following the word, and if we're following the word, then that frees us from the burdens and the sins of this world. See, the truth allows you to be prepared Now. This is the key aspect of this. As we go through these different parts of the armour of God. What I'm hoping to relay to everybody that's listening to this podcast is that this is the preparation. This is what we need to do to prepare ourselves for living in an ungodly world, surrounded by ungodly people. We have to have the full armour of God on us and we need to be a follower of Jesus Christ or a follower of the word. Who is Jesus Christ? Follower of the word, who is Jesus Christ?
Speaker 1:In Jesus' day, the belt allowed a man to gather up his robe and tuck it in for swift movement. Being grounded and girded in the truth does the same for a Christian, and notice the words of the apostle Peter as he prepared a belt with spiritual preparedness. This is 1 Peter, 1 through to 13. Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, be sober to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ, wow. Therefore, be mindful and have that prepared you. Therefore, gird up your loins. Powerful words. Sometimes, when we read these messages, powerful words. Sometimes, when we read these messages, we don't understand the full ramifications of what it really means. And when we just pluck out scriptures like that, it lets us know that we need to be ready for what has actually taken place. We need to be prepared, we need to be more Christ-like.
Speaker 1:Jesus Christ himself made a cinema analog when he admonished his disciples to be ready for his coming. He said let your waist be girded and your lamps burning, and yourselves be like men who wait for the Master when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately. Luke 12, 35-36. Let me just read that again because I think it's very important. See, when Christ is speaking to his disciples, he is trying to get them prepared for the work that they need to do. He says burning and you yourselves, be like men who wait for the master when he will return from the wedding. That when he comes and knocks, they may open to him immediately, with no hesitation.
Speaker 1:The belt of truth offers us freedom of movement in difficult situations, when the media spotlights the latest social issues or we're faced with a moral dilemma in our personal life, or a friend comes to us for advice about a tricky situation, us for advice about a tricky situation. We don't have to redefine right and wrong to make sense of these things. We can rely on God's truth to show us which way is up and which way is down, and then act accordingly. I always make a point of spending some time in prayer. Make a point of spending some time in prayer if someone comes to me for advice. What I do is I make a point rather than saying, oh, you need to go do this, what I have a tendency to do, and I say well, you've got like what I see.
Speaker 1:There's three choices here option A, b or C, option a, b or c. Now, out of those, which one do you think would best suit your situation? Because what I'm rather doing is, rather than me, make a decision for them, and then they've got a fallback. They can blame me, uh, if, if it goes wrong the situation, or they can say well, you know, that was Pastor Phil, he told me to do that and everything, so next time I've got a similar issue I'll go back to him. That's the wrong thinking.
Speaker 1:You need to empower people to make their own decisions based on the word of God, and this is why the truth guides us into a safe path, because we reflect on the word and the Holy Spirit to tell us what needs to be done. And then we are to empower other people to step out and make that decision, and then they own it. If it goes wrong, okay, they own that and they learn from their mistakes. If it is right, then they know that, wow, okay, the word of God really worked here and I know that I made that decision. So, in other words, I discern what was said, made that decision. So, in other words, I discern what was said. See, I noted earlier that the word of God is the truth, in John 17, 17,.
Speaker 1:And that truth can show us how to avoid dangers. See, the psalmist has prepared it to a light guiding him through the darkness. A light guiding him through the darkness. You know, psalm 119.105 says this your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Having the ability to avoid dangerous situations is a tremendous defense. This, though, is expanded a little later in the same Psalm you know, 119 to 30, and it says the entrance of your words give light. It gives understanding to the simple. You see, the entrance of your words, and what is the basis of your words? The basis of your words and what is the basis of your words? The basis of your words, or the foundation of your words should be the word of God. So if you have a difficult decision yourself to make, what is the best thing for you to do? Well, just the same as Jesus did.
Speaker 1:When Jesus was preparing for the end of his earthly ministry, he advised his disciples that he would be leaving. One of the disciples, thomas, asked Lord, we do not know where you are going and how can we know the way? John 14, 5,. Jesus replied by saying this I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. So the world is full of spiritual pitfalls and traps. Our adversary loves to call evil good and good evil. He puts darkness for light and light for darkness. Isaiah 5.20 says this and often disguises himself. You know, satan obviously disguises himself as an angel of light. 2 Corinthians 11, 14.
Speaker 1:The following truths help us to see past his deception and focus on the safe path provided by God. What better defense can there be than following the safe and rewarding path that Jesus sets before this? So the question is are you wearing the belt of truth? The belt of truth is designed to encircle us as a support for the scabbard that holds the sword. Remember I said this before the sword is the word of God. So truth and the word of God go hand in hand. It protects us and it keeps us safe. Truth allows us to follow God without deviating from the right path. So when God spoke to the historic nature of Israel, he used a belt for an illustration. For as the sash clings to the waist of a man, so I have caused the whole house of Israel and the whole house of Judah Jeremiah 3.11 and for glory. But they would not hear Jeremiah 3.11. See, the ancient nation of Israel had a choice to be encircled by the truth of God's word or embrace the deception. They chose poorly and their nation fell to pieces as a result. But that wasn't just a decision for Israel. It's a choice we each have to make.
Speaker 1:Putting on the armour of God means dedicating ourselves to truth and trusting God to guide our steps along the way. Will you put on the belt of truth? I know I'm asking a lot of you, but the thing is, what I hope to achieve is an understanding of that. Things work hand in hand. We are a three-part being. We are spirit, soul and body. Okay, the spirit is the spiritual essence that is within us, you know, and so we want spirit to spirit. So once you become born again, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in you. So spiritually, you cannot sin anymore. But we're also flesh and bone and we have free will. So our soul and our body, so the body can deteriorate, the body can do things that actually the flesh desires, okay, and it makes you feel good. So if it makes you feel good, you think it's good. But your soul, your intellect, your mind, your thinking capacity, what is it based on? See, everything needs a foundation. We know that Jesus is the foundation of the church and the church is the people. So if we want to put on the belt of truth and we want to gird our waist with that, so we can actually have the sword, which is and I'm talking spiritually here. Okay, the sword is the word of God. Jesus is the word made flesh. So for us to follow him in truth and in life, then we need the belt, which is the word of God. So we need that with us every day. Do not go into battle or do not go out into the world without the word within you.
Speaker 1:I don't know whether any of you people have seen it, but there was a series of books that came out. I can't remember what the books were called, but I just remember it being related to the Left Behind series. Now, the first three books were made into movies, right, and so we've got Left Behind, we've got I can't remember the other two. Okay, we'll just. Let's just clarify this. Okay, in the movie, if you watch Left Behind the very first book that came out, or if you're that type of person you want to read the book, by all means get it. It's at most Christian bookstores like Kurong and Word, depending on what part of the world you're in, what the local Christian bookstores are called. But you can go there and you can definitely find the Left Behind series or the Left Behind DVD, blu-ray or book.
Speaker 1:Now, in that there's a guy called Buck Williams. Right, he's supposed to be the reporter. Everybody knows what reporters do they're always out for a story. Okay, now, it took a while, but when the rapture happened, he was left behind because he wasn't a believer in Jesus Christ, and there was a few others, so there's key people throughout this message that were left behind, and so they get this revelation, knowledge after the fact. Right, so they learn the hard way. Okay, so they're looking at round two and having to go through the tribulation. Now, in this, right, there's this guy that is supposed to play the devil or Satan, but he comes as a friend. So, like we know in the story, those will come. That would deceive us and all this sort of stuff, right, so not reiterating the whole story. Basically, what happens is Buck Williams becomes born again. Okay, he starts believing in God, and then he has to try and get close to this guy who's basically Satan, and he knows that Satan has this ability to manipulate and to corrupt people without actually doing it. He uses his will on them and so they bend their will quite quickly.
Speaker 1:One of the things the point that I'm trying to make is one of the things that buck williams did is he got there and he said he had to go and meet with this guy who was the antichrist. Okay, and he goes. How am I going to do this? So the first thing he did is he started praying when he was in the elevator. Okay, prayer and supplication, we'll get to that later on right? And so he got the word of God in him. And so when he was presented to the Antichrist and he was going to work with him to in other words, he was working with him to corrupt all of his plans and everything else. So, in other words, they were like the underground in the war against Satan. They were the underground, you know, like opposition. And so he was prayed up and he was full of the word of God, and so when he went there, he was not deceived by what he was saying and what he was doing, and so he was able to weather the storm and to be able to work in close proximity to him but not be exposed to that part of the lot.
Speaker 1:Probably what I've said makes no sense to you at all, but I will explain it in a lot better detail as the weeks go on. The point I'm trying to make here as far as the armour of God is concerned, this is the first thing that we put on. This is the one thing that carries the sword from the Romans' perspective, which is the word of God. So the truth and the word go hand in hand. To be a follower of Jesus Christ, you have to have the truth and the word. So the word is what is more importantly, because the word of God will actually bring about the truth in your life and you'll have a better understanding of who you are in Christ and how you can actually live your life by knowing the truth, because the truth will set you free. The more time you spend in the word of God, the harder it is for you to actively engage in worldly corrupt things, and I'm talking all sorts of things smoking, drinking, drugs, pornography, living a promiscuous life, sex outside of marriage, you know, like watching movies that are all about, you know, the antichrist, the end of the world, all these sort of stuff. So basically, what I'm saying is that you will change the way that you look at life and do things.
Speaker 1:My wife's uncle right. He was a very, very, very strong man of God in a Baptist church and rather than teach this type of thing to his children, he was trying to protect them from the things of the world. So what he would do is he would buy movies and then he would watch them, and then he would edit the tape and cut out all the bits. This is when they didn't have discs, they had VHS videos and beta videos. So he would edit the movie to cut out all of the stuff that he thought was not of God okay, and so they could watch the movie and enjoy it. But the mistake that he was making and he learnt this later is not only he was putting his children in a bubble so they were more susceptible to things in the world right and attacks of the devil, but also he was actually having all of this stuff that he was protecting his children from entering into him, both spiritually and physically. So he was watching all of these movies and everything that he cut out had already entered into him.
Speaker 1:You see what I'm saying. So it's how you approach things, and I think the best way to look at our life as we try and live it is to try and be more Christ-like each and every day, in everything we say and everything we do, try to be a follower of Jesus Christ in every situation, and so that means, if you're in an environment where people are very worldly in the way that they speak, the way they act and the way that they do things, perhaps it's time to find some new friends. It's just a thought, or bring them up to your level, don't go down to theirs. That's enough about the truth at the moment, and we'll talk to you next week on another part of the armour of God. God bless for now, and we'll talk to you soon. Bye.
