The Belt of Truth

Standing Firm

Our focus this morning is on the Belt of Truth. As the Apostle Paul introduces the belt of truth, he emphasizes that the believer should stand firm. This is the 3rd time Paul has said it in this chapter. Obviously, it is on his mind.

Ephesians 6:13–14 NIV

Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

We are going to talk about the value of truth, the power of truth. When we are clothed with truth, we are empowered to be able to stand firm. Are you tired of being pushed around morally and intellectually?

In Proceedings, the magazine of the Naval Institute, naval officer Frank Koch tells the story of an incident that happened to him at sea an incident that illustrates the principle Paul talks about:

Two battleships assigned to the training squadron had been at sea on maneuvers in heavy weather for several days. I was serving on the lead battleship and was on watch on the bridge as night fell. The visibility was poor with patchy fog, so the captain remained on the bridge keeping an eye on all activities. Shortly after dark, the lookout on the wing of the bridge reported, "Light, bearing on the starboard bow." "Is it steady or moving astern?" the captain called out. Lookout replied, "Steady, captain," which meant we were on a dangerous collision course with that ship.

The captain then called to the signalman, "Signal that ship: We are on a collision course, advise you change course 20 degrees." Back came a signal, "Advisable for you to change course 20 degrees." The captain said, "Send, I'm a captain, change course 20 degrees." "I'm a petty officer second class," came the reply. "You had better change course 20 degrees." By that time, the captain was furious. He spat out, "Send, I'm a battleship. Change course 20 degrees." Back came the flashing light, "I'm a lighthouse." We changed course.

God's truth is like that lighthouse and we are like that battleship. In our human arrogance, we chart our own course and demand that the world adjust itself to our wishes. But God's truth is unchanging, unbending, unyielding. It is not God's duty to alter His truth. It is our responsibility to chart our course according to the light of His Word, which is ultimate, objective reality. If we fail to do so, we risk running our lives aground. (Spiritual Warfare)[1]

Awkward…This Talk About the Loins

The newer translations of this verse tell us the belt of truth is placed at the waist. The NLT and the ESV translations don’t specify, it is easy to simply assume but the KJV uses the awkward phrase “having girded your loins”.

If you are a deer hunter or, maybe, just a meat eater, you are thinking about the best cut of meat – the tender loin. It gets this name because it is the least used muscle on the deer or steer. In the Bible the term refers to anything below the rib cage and above the thighs. It would include the hips, the small of the back, the waist, the digestive tract, and the reproductive organs.

I prefer the NIV or KJV because it recognizes the word Paul used, osphus. The Jews considered osphus as the place of the reproductive organs and so we find the phrases ''to go forth from someone's loins'' equated with ''to be descendant''. In the OT it was a common figure of speech for “power” [2]

Deuteronomy 33:11 ESV

Bless, O Lord, his substance, and accept the work of his hands; crush the loins of his adversaries, of those who hate him, that they rise not again.”

Daniel 5:6 NIV

His face turned pale and he was so frightened that his legs became weak and his knees were knocking.

Finally, In the NT girded loins signified that a man was ready for service or heavy battle. Osphus was used figuratively to describe a state of alertness or readiness. Girding the loins was a symbolic way of saying that one was standing firm or exercising self-control.

So, when Paul says that we need to “gird up our loins” or “put on the belt of truth” we can translate the action to “rolling up our sleeves” or “gear up” – be strong and ready!

A Powerful Truth

When Jesus stood in front of the Roman governor, Pontus Pilate, Pilate sarcastically asked, “What is truth?” Watch the 24/7 news today. Without God’s truth we will be bullied and kicked around in this world. You may have heard about one of the earliest bodybuilder’s…Charles Atlas

Charles Atlas was born Angelo Siciliano in Acri, Italy in 1893. When he was ten, his family immigrated to America, and he landed on Ellis Island not speaking a word of English.

Little Angelo swore he’d do great things, but his prospects didn’t look too promising. He was a skinny, sickly, slope-shouldered boy–easy pickings for the bullies in his tough Brooklyn neighborhood. Coming home one Halloween night, a bully beat him with a bag of ashes, knocking him out for an hour. “It seemed like he was beating the brains out of me,” Atlas recalled. When he came to, Atlas lumbered home, crawled into bed, and said a prayer, telling God he’d never let another man beat him.

But the pummelings continued. At age 15, Atlas really was a “97-pound weakling,” and said he really did get sand kicked in his face by a beefy lifeguard in front of a good-looking gal.

When he turned 17, Atlas finally reached his breaking point and made it his goal to change his body so that he could finally stand up for himself. He experimented with different exercises and developed his own fitness routine, and when he emerged on the beach after months of training, his friends were astonished at his transformation. “You look like that statue of Atlas on top of the Atlas Hotel!” one exclaimed. (When he later legally changed his name, he paired that heroic moniker with “Charlie,” a childhood nickname.)[3]

The purpose of the armor of God is that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil (verse 11), that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore … This fourfold emphasis on the need to ‘stand’ or ‘withstand’ shows that the apostle’s concern is for Christian stability.[4]

The Truth about Truth

In verses 13-17 Paul mentions each piece of equipment in the order that they would be put on the body. Rick Renner in his book Dressed to Kill writes, “I initially thought the loinbelt must have been a beautiful weapon, like the others listed in this text. But the loinbelt was the least attractive, the least noticeable, and the most boring piece of armor that the Roman soldier wore!”[5]

I suppose that is the way that truth is…it can be unattractive at times. The Truth challenges us and constrains us. It manages the emotions and passions.

I’ve read a lot of information about the Roman soldier’s belt this week:

- Although it wasn’t the most noticeable piece of the armor, it was a soldier’s badge of office.

- It formed the central piece of his armor and held the rest of the armor securely in place including the scabbard, the quiver for lances, and an apparatus to rest the large battle shield. Also, on the belt were clips to hold the breastplate in place. Supplies of bread, oil, and water were also on the belt.[6]

In the Army each unit chooses to place specific items on their belts, but they must all be uniform. My unit required a holster for those issued handguns, canteen, poncho, straps to the vest, and a clip for the protective mask. The suspenders would carry more. However, the same is true, it is the central piece of equipment for the armor.

I read that the Puritan preacher, William Gurnall, wrote a 3 volume 1471 page exposition about the armor of God based on 11 verses here in Ephesians 5. I read quite a few comments from different authors, but I really wanted to know, “What specifically did Paul refer to when he talked about truth?” I concluded that he was referring to a couple of things – the Gospel of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

By “Truth” Paul Means “The Gospel of Jesus Christ”

If you want to be able to “stand” against the wiles of the enemy you need to know the Gospel of Jesus Christ. The Gospel message consists of these truths which the disciples taught to the new church:

1. It is a new day

2. The new day has been instituted by the birth, life, ministry, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

3. Jesus has been resurrected and sits at the right hand of the Father.

4. The Holy Spirit in the church is the sign of Christ’s present power and glory.

5. A person becomes a Christian through repentance, forgiveness, and presence of the Spirit of Christ.

That is the Gospel, or “The Truth”.

This is the basis for the belt of Truth. It is believing these things in faith but not just blindly – intellectually as well.

By “Truth” Paul Includes the Word of God

2 Timothy 3:16–17 NIV

All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

I like this thought from Renner…

“If you want to walk through life clothed in your spiritual armor, you must begin by taking up the Word of God and permanently affixing it to your life. You have to give it a central place and a dominant role, allowing it to be the “loinbelt” that holds the rest of your weaponry together. The Bible must be the governor, the law, the ruler, and “the final say-so” in your life.

The Bible must be the governor, the law, the ruler, and “the final say-so” in your life.

The written Word has the power to “…throughly furnish you unto all good works.” The word “furnish” is taken from the Greek word exartidzo, which means to completely outfit or to fully supply. It was used to depict wagons or ships that were completely outfitted with gear.”

I’ve been thinking about anger this week. It is just one of maybe thousands of topics that the Bible addresses.

Proverbs 29:22 NIV

An angry person stirs up conflict, and a hot-tempered person commits many sins.

Proverbs 12:16 NIV

Fools show their annoyance at once, but the prudent overlook an insult.

Proverbs 14:17 NIV

A quick-tempered person does foolish things, and the one who devises evil schemes is hated.

The news has been filled with horrible stories about shootings and cold-blooded murders even in our community. The nation is asking what we can do to stop them. Maybe we don’t need new laws, but we need to revisit THE LAW – the Word of God and teach it to our children and our children’s children.

Just a thought…

Truth Demands Action - Buckle Up!

A few weeks ago, I told you that the language that Paul uses is the command voice. “Therefore, put on!” Nobody can do it, but you and the Commander in Chief is saying “gird your loins” or “roll up your sleeves” or “buckle up”!

What does this mean in practical, everyday terms? Simply this: When you are threatened by discouragement, depression, spiritual apathy and coldness, and similar moods, you fight back by remembering that you first became a Christian by surrounding yourself with truth. You remind yourself that in coming to Jesus Christ you found the truth behind all things, you found the One who is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, the secret of the universe, the final reality![7]

Truth is Timeless

Further, ultimate reality never changes. Another mark of truth is that true truth never requires updating. It never needs to be modernized. If a moral or spiritual principle was true ten thousand years ago, it is still true today. If a principle is true today, it was true a hundred thousand years ago.

A man once visited his old friend, a music teacher, and said to him in that casual way people have these days, "Hey, what's the good news today?" Without saying a word, the old man walked across the room, picked up a hammer, and struck a tuning fork. As the note sounded out through the room, he said, "That is 'A.' It is 'A' today, it was 'A' five thousand years ago and it will be 'A' ten thousand years from now. The soprano upstairs sings off-key, the tenor across the hall flats his high notes, and the piano downstairs is out of tune." He struck the note again and said, "That is 'A,' my friend, and that's the good news for today!"

Jesus Christ is unchanging. He's the same yesterday, today, and forever. That is how you know you have the truth. Remember that, when you feel defeated, when you are under attack, when doubts come flooding into your mind. Remember that you are already encircled by the belt of truth. You have found the One who is the solid, unchanging Rock.

[1] https://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_614-15 [2] https://www.preceptaustin.org/ephesians_614-15 [3] https://www.artofmanliness.com/character/manly-lessons/lessons-in-manliness-from-charles-atlas/ [4] John R. W. Stott, God’s New Society: The Message of Ephesians, The Bible Speaks Today (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1979), 275. [5] Excerpt From: Rick Renner. “Dressed to Kill.” Apple Books. https://books.apple.com/us/book/dressed-to-kill/id595411385 [6]Preceptaustin.com. Ephesians 6:13-14. [7] (Ray Stedman. Spiritual Warfare - recommended!) Ray Stedman https://owlcation.com/humanities/Rightly-Dividing-The-Word-Of-Truth-The-Wrong-Way https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/truth-error-and-knowing/ http://www.freebiblecommentary.org/special_topics/truth_pauls_writings.html