“Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.” (Ephesians 6:14, NIV84)
This verse comes from a section of Scripture that is very familiar to most Christians. Here Paul encourages us, as Christians, to daily clothe ourselves with the armor of God. He assures us that we have real spiritual armor at our disposal to ward off evil and temptation in our lives. He speaks of a helmet of salvation, shield of faith, shoes of peace, and sword of the Holy Spirit (the Word of God). But, the first piece of armor He mentions is the belt of truth. We may not see the significance of this because clothing has changed since the days of Paul. In Paul’s day, most people dressed in a type of robe. The garment was very loose and free-flowing. The only way to provide a sense of control over the garment was to use a belt. This was exceptionally important to the soldier. The belt not only held the clothing in place, but it held weapons and other items of importance close and secure. In short, without the belt holding everything together, the soldier was at a disadvantage.
Without truth, we, as Christian soldiers, are at a significant disadvantage. Truth (the belt) is the foundational principle that gives certainty to the other principles. If salvation, faith, and peace were debatable principles or if the truth about them were relative or abstract, what would be the reason to arm oneself and fight? But the fact is that there is absolute truth. It is found in Jesus! And it is Jesus who leads us to the truths of salvation, faith, and peace. This is not a feeble armor we bear. We do not go out to battle with inferior equipment. We go out into the world with the belt of truth securely fastened about us. That truth moves us to put the peace on our feet and salvation on our heads and use faith as our shield and the Holy Spirit as our sword. We step out into the battlefield ready, confident, and assured that truth is on our side and has assured us victory.
May God’s truths, like a belt, provide the security we need to live out our day.
Peace!
Pastor Tom
www.firmlyrooted.church
