Suit Up

Introduction - Football

Image 1 - You don’t face these guys.

Image 2 - By looking like this guy.

Who of us would—only rugby players.

Not All Roses

It’s hard to catch our bearings after last week’s text, but 6:10-20 is Paul’s final thoughts on living the Christian life (chs. 4-6)

We can be so thrown that this looks like it does’t follow; Paul has just started to throw things at the end

However, we should see them is deeply connected to what proceeds

Paul’s instructions to live holy lives in the Lord - to live up to our calling - are hard

There are also forces opposing us - spiritual forces

Not people, not cultural forces

Spiritual forces

Not something we talk about much in this day and age

So with these things lined up against us - the difficulty, the opposition, how can we do it? How do we live the Christian life?

Dress Appropriately

Not on our own.

As I mentioned, our lives are full of hypocrisy, and we think that if we just keep it to ourselves, no one will notice

Yet this is one of the strategies of those spiritual forces - isolate, isolate, isolate

Like a gladiator in Paul’s day headed for battle or a football player headed for the gridiron, we have to be ready

Paul tells us how to do this

Ephesians 13-17

We prepare through our knowledge, understanding, and application of the gospel

if is either gibberish or lifeless, then our faith is likely unready for the problems of this world and to live as Christ would have us

Jesus himself said that we’d have trouble in this world ()

So strengthen yourself and prepare yourself

Search the Scriptures - but not alone

Understand what Christ has done for you - but not you alone

Know how to react when you face opposition and