Stand Firm

Ephesians 6:10-24 Stand Firm Sunday, August 27, 2023 Introduction On June 17, 1775, some 2,200 British soldiers under General William Howell and General Robert Pigot marched to Breed's Hill where the American Colonists had established their fortifications. The American army was outnumbered, they were out gunned. In order to conserve supplies, Col William Prescott told the American soldiers, "Don't fire until you see the white of their eyes." As a result of this tactic, though the Americans faced casualties and lost their strategic placement in the battle, they were able to cause much harm to the British. 1,000 British soldiers were taken out of commission. More than 200 were killed and 800 wounded by the Americans strategy. This gave confidence to the American soldiers and was a wake up call to the British that the war would not be quick, but would be long and costly. We certainly are not here to talk about the American Revolution, seeing the whiteness of our enemies eyes as in the battle at Bunker Hill is the same idea of the closeness of the war we find ourselves in as Christians. What war is this? It is a spiritual war with a real enemy, that of Satan. A war that was going on in the days of the Church of Ephesus and is still going on today. A war that we are called to be strong in and to stand firm in. But the question is how? That is the answer that we learn from our text this morning in Ephesians 6:10-24. Throughout the letter to the Ephesian Church, Paul has been laboring to point them to their new identity in Christ. An identity in which they have been brought from death to life by their faith in Jesus. And as they are united by faith in Jesus, they are blessed in their union with Christ, they are created to be one new people in Christ. And that this new identity was part of God's plan from the beginning. It was previously hidden, but has now been made known. But as a result of this new identity as the new people of God, Christians are called to live in light of their new identity. They are being taught to put off their old nature and put on their new in Christ. They are being taught to live as holy people, as wise people, as loving people. But there is a problem, there is an opponent standing before us as we pursue this new kind of living. Let us now hear the word of the LORD, from Ephesians 6:10-24... The main idea here of Ephesians 6:10-24 I believe is this: the enemy is powerful, but Jesus is more, and he has given us the means to stand with him in victory. We are going to unfold this in four points: (1) our duty, (2) our enemy, (3) our means, and (4) our encouragement. I. Our Duty (6:10-11) Verse 10.... We as Christians are instructed to be strong. To be strong as we live out our new identity in Christ Jesus. To be strong as we put off our old selves and put on our new. To be strong as we live as disciples of Jesus. The call to be strong can be overwhelming, especially if we understand that we who still have sin dwelling within us are weak creatures. But that is the point here in Ephesians 6:10, the call to be strong isn't to be strong in our strength. It says here to be strong in the LORD, in the strength of his might. We are no more able to be strong in ourselves than we are able to save ourselves. But in the LORD, by depending and resting in him, we who are weak are able to be made strong. And it is not without good reason that we are called to be strong. For the call to new living can seem like a daunting task to some, but it is more difficult than we often even consider. For not only are we having to put off old habits and thoughts, we are having to do so with an enemy plotting against us. Verse 11.... Our enemy, the devil is full of schemes, of deception, of lies. And he aims to wage war on our hearts and minds. His schemes will aim to destroy our trust in the LORD or at the very least to assault us so badly that we give up ground and are hindered from being effective in advancing the kingdom of God, both in our hearts and in reaching others for Christ. But God has enabled us to stand strong against him, if we will but hear his voice and put on the full armor of God. For these are the means for us to be strengthened in Christ and to stand firm against the enemy. But before we turn to the means of our standing strongly, let's consider our real enemy, point #2. II. Our Enemy (6:12-13) Verse 12.... Our enemy, our opponent is that of the devil and his schemes. Our war is not a battle against mortal men, those of flesh and blood. We must not mistake our opponent in this war! Our war is not against the culture and society. It is not against the non-believer, even in their hostility. No! Our enemy is the one who has schemed and deceived the minds and the hearts of these men and women. For notice the descriptions of what we are up against. The rulers, the authorities, the cosmic powers over the present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. When it says that the devil is the schemer, it is this very thing that is being drawn out. Satan is over this evil present world and his scheme is to twist the things of God, luring people away into the lies he has created, to doubting God and the truth of him. Every other religion, every thought that is of the world is a scheme of Satan to twist God's truth, about him and about us. The enemy labors to lure us back into our old habits, Christian, our old ways of living. He loves to make our identity about feeling a certain way about ourselves rather than understanding we are image bearers of the only Holy God! And it is this enemy that we are being called to stand against! We are being called to stand against him with strength, the strength of God's power! We are not to just stand there passively either, we are called to wrestle against him, to engage him in hand to hand combat. Combat close enough to see the whiteness of his eyes. This call to war against a formidable foe though is not to strike fear into our hearts, causing us to shrink back from the fight, but to awaken us, to heighten our excitement to fight. Hear what John Calvin writes in his commentary, "He (Paul) describes our enemy as formidable, not to overwhelm us with fear, but to quicken our diligence and earnestness; for there is a middle course to be observed. When the enemy is neglected, he does his utmost to oppress us with sloth, and afterwards disarms us by terror; so that, ere the engagement has commenced, we are vanquished."1 Christian, let us not fear the enemy! For while he might be the one who is over the spiritual forces of evil and the cosmic powers of this present darkness, he is nothing compared to the strength and might of our God! And our God has offered to strengthen us with his great might as we put on the armor of God to stand against the devil! The devil is a formidable and powerful enemy, but with Jesus we have more power to conquer the enemy of this present darkness! Verse 13.... The days are evil, the enemy is formidable, but we are given the means to stand, and we must take up this complete armor and do all that we can to stand firm! Now, the call here to stand firm is not to cause us despair if we fall down along the way, if we stumble as we fight. For part of war is that there will be injuries along the way, that we will get knocked down, the question is, do we get right back up and keep fighting or do we lay there in defeat? Proverbs 24:16 says, for the righteous falls seven times and rises again, but the wicked stumble in times of calamity. The Christian in the midst of the battle keeps fighting until they draw their final breath! They keep laboring to stand firm until the day that their faith becomes sight! They keep engaging the real enemy without becoming apathetic and lazy in the fight. They keep laboring to press back the kingdom of darkness as instruments of light! But there are two dangers here as we consider who our enemy is. One danger is that though our foe is formidable and powerful, that we give him too much power. That is to say that we think that Satan has the power to do anything he desires. Friends, Satan can do no more than the Lord gives him room to do. Consider the story of Job, and how the Lord set his limits. Our God who strengthens us has power over Satan himself. His head will soon receive the death blow to the head. The other danger here is that in hearing of the enemy, we remain apathetic to the things of God, going through the motions of religiosity. We show up to gatherings, but nothing more. We are indifferent to the fight and at the best lazy in taking up the whole armor of God to do our best to stand firm against the enemy. Central City Baptist Church, I fear this is the case for many of you. That you are not awakened with excitement to fight the good fight of faith, and this shows in the often apathetic nature of pursuing the deeper things of God. To be apathetic is the lack of feeling or showing interest. Sure, you do in events and women's gatherings, but does studying God's word and pressing deeper into the things of God excite you? I fear not. I pray that I am wrong, but I urge you to be awakened to excitement. An awakened excitement to stand firm against the enemy and press the battle in advancing the kingdom of God in reaching the lost and equipping the saints to maturity! This is the mission, this is the way! So don't just sit there, stand up and fight with the means that the Lord has given us, which is where we now turn with our third point. III. Our Means (6:14-20) In verses 14-17, we see various elements of the Christian faith paired with various armor pieces, along with the sword of a knight. We have in verse 14 the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness, in verse 15, we have the shoes of the gospel of peace, verse 16, the shield of faith, then in verse 17 the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is further elaborated as the word of God. Though they are compared to armor, each of these are the marks of what is vital to being a Christian. For with fastening the belt of truth on, everything is to be held up by truth. And what is truth, but God's very word. If we are to stand firm against the great schemer, we as Christians must hold everything up with what is true, examining every thought and idea against the truth. In being called to put on the breastplate of righteousness, there is some debate about whether this is referring to the righteousness that we receive from Christ or a righteousness that is to be produced within us. And while certainly both are to be true of the Christian, I believe here that Paul is telling us to put on the breastplate of righteousness in calling the Christian to remember the righteousness that is theirs in their union with Christ! For it is this reminder of righteousness that will protect us in the battle against the great schemer from his bombardment of accusations against us. To quote Martin Luther, "So when the devil throws your sins in your face and declares that you deserve death and hell, tell him this: "I admit that I deserve death and hell, what of it? For I know One who suffered and made satisfaction on my behalf. His name is Jesus Christ, Son of God, and where He is there I shall be also!"2 Remember the righteousness that is ours in Christ, Christian! For it will protect us in the fight to keep standing firm as the accusations of Satan fly against us. Now, in adding the shoes for our feet being the readiness of the gospel of peace, we have both a means of enduring the battle and the advancement of the battle. For some scholars debate whether the shoes of the gospel are to stand one's ground in the battle, that the gospel helps give steady footing to stand one's ground. Others emphasize that the shoes are to take the gospel news further. Which the Apostle Paul certainly alludes to in Romans 10. But friends, I would argue the shoes of the gospel of peace do both! The gospel of peace both is our means of standing our ground with a steady footing in keeping us from slipping as we stand against the enemy. The reminder of the gospel for the Christian is what keeps us fighting, for we are reminded in the gospel message of the salvation that has already been won for us and the hope that we have if we continue to endure in that hope! But too, in this same gospel it takes the good news and spreads it with the same feet and the same shoes! So the shoes of the gospel are both a means of defense and a means of offense! So we must be a people grounded in the gospel to stand firm throughout the battle! Therefore we as Christians must rehearse it and proclaim it to ourselves and others on a daily basis! Likewise, we must take up the shield of faith! Hear these words from Charles Simeon, "Faith is universally applicable to every species of temptation. Faith discerns the truth of the gospel and thereby is fitted to preserve the head from error; it discerns also the importance and excellence of the gospel and is therefore proper to preserve the heart from sin."3 We must take up the shield of faith to preserve us in the fight to put out the flaming arrows of the enemy in his deceptions and accusations. We must have faith, trusting in Jesus alone! For it is in this that we put on the helmet of salvation! As Christians we must remember that our salvation rests in Jesus and Jesus alone! It is not dependent upon any works of our own doing! Our salvation comes because of our faith that Jesus' death on the cross was sufficient to cover every sin of ours. It is in Jesus' resurrection that we too have the hope of being brought from death to life as Jesus defeated the curse of death! We must rest in this hope, in this truth, in this promise by faith and faith alone! For we are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone, as revealed in Scripture alone to the glory of God alone! Friends, some of you here do not yet believe. And the question is, why are you trying to put on a helmet of salvation rooted in your own works? It will not save you. See that the only helmet to save you, is the helmet of Christ! That he alone saves, and that salvation comes only by learning to rest in his finished work, not yours! Will you believe this today and be saved? For finally there is the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. It is this very word that is both to be used in the defensive and the offensive. For it is the word that Jesus himself used to resist the temptations of Satan after 40 days of fasting in the wilderness. The word of God when stored in our hearts is a great defensive weapon to counter the lies and schemes of Satan, cutting them down. But it too is a great weapon of attack, cutting at the heart as it is proclaimed, both in use for the heart of the Christian and the non. For when the word is used on the offensive, it cuts to the heart, exposing idols of the heart. It cuts to the very things which our hearts love that are rooted in sin. It is the word that does this great work. And it is the proclaiming of this word that we must take up to push back and cut the enemy down as we labor to advance the kingdom of Christ into the world! We must declare with our tongues and lips the word of God, allowing it to cut down the rule of the demonic powers in this world around us! This is how we stand firm against the enemy in the fight! But we must take up this complete armor. We do so by giving ourselves to prayer. Verses 18-20.... By praying at all times, making supplications for all the saints, by praying for boldness to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, we call out to the Lord, pleading for aid and growth and remembrance of these truths. These must be at the center of our prayers as the Church! In our corporate gatherings as one body. But they too must be present in our individual Christian lives. There is much deception in the church when it comes to prayer. We give ourselves to praying for every health concern, everyone's cats and dogs, while neglecting the things the Bible speaks most about in regards to prayer, the war for hearts, the war for trust, the war for belief! What if churches stopped using prayer times as gossip sessions and cried out for the advance of God's kingdom by praying for lost souls to come to Christ, for the growth of Christians from immaturity to maturity? What if prayers were made for church unity, for the practicing of Biblical love for one another? It is these kinds of prayers that will put to use the complete armor of God and calling these tools into action that we will be equipped to stand firm against the enemy and make advancement for the kingdom of God! IV. Our Encouragement (6:21-24) Church, see this importance! And take them as encouragement while there is still time! Verses 21-24.... Even in strong challenges here both in the letter and in this sermon series, it is a means to encourage our hearts onward. Our hearts as Christians are to grow in the knowledge and love of Christ as we go! May the peace and love from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ continue to do this work in us. May his grace keep us and mature us. Let's pray.... 1 Calvin, John. Calvin's Commentaries: Ephesians. https://accordance.bible/link/read/Calvin#89687 2 Luther, Martin. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/109877-so-when-the-devil-throws-your-sins-in-your-face 3 Simeon, Charles. ESV Church History Study Bible. (Crossway, Wheaton, IL, 2023.) 1797. --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ --------------- ------------------------------------------------------------ Ephesians 6:10-24, Page #1