Shield of Faith
In the last three weeks we have been going over the Armor of God, we have seen that the Breastplate of Righteousness, the Belt of Truth, and the Shoes of the Gospel of Peace are all aspects that the individual person needs to physically put on themselves with the assistance of Jesus Christ. They are all things that are designed to help one move and to protect the user. This week we will look at the Shield of Faith. “16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.” Ephesians 6:16. What is unique about this piece of the Armor of God is that it is the first piece that is not attached to us directly, we have to physically pick up the Shield and hold it in our hand.
What is faith though? Hebrews 11:1 describes it as “ Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”, so if faith is conviction of things that are not seen then how can we use the Shield of Faith? First, we can use the Shield by understanding that the faith mentioned is not faith in our own works, but of the works of Jesus Christ. Jesus Christ is God’s Son who not only died for us but is now alive and reigning for us. We are not saved by anything that we can do, and God did this for a reason. We must “walk by faith, not by sight” 2 Corinthians 5:7 - “5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Corinthians 2:5. If there was any way that we could get to heaven on our own works then we are implying that we do not need God, we would be placing ourselves above Him or even saying that His actions are not enough. This is making God much less powerful than He is and it is a great trickery of the enemy to suggest that we can get to heaven based on our own merit. It is for this reason that Ephesians 2:8-9 states that “8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” We cannot add anything to the free gift that God has given to the whole world. We must act on faith that God has provided the perfect sacrifice for all of our sins.
Jesus Himself says that we cannot be saved by our actions but by faith in Him alone. “24 “Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life.” John 5:24, or again in John 6:40 “40 For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”” We see that we must look to Jesus and have childlike faith that we will be saved. Anyone who has spent much time around children will see that they always see things in the simplest ways. They don’t add extra things to something. If something is green it is because it is green, they don’t see that it took a mixture of blue and yellow. Often times us adults like to make things much more difficult than it needs to be, and that is the same when it comes to the matter of salvation. We want to believe that we must do something else to deserve God’s love and saving grace when all we need to do is look and see that God wants all to be saved so He sent His only Son for all of humankind. He loves us that much! There is nothing more that we can add to be deserving of this sacrifice, so we must act on faith that when we accept the sacrifice we are found righteous before God. “6 For I am confident of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus.” Philippians 1:6. We have to deliberately choose to have faith. In his book, The Case for Faith, Lee Strobel states that “Faith comes when we have enough evidence to make an informed decision.” The best way to make an informed decision is to spend time with God.
Now that we see the Shield of Faith is not faith in our own works but Jesus’s, we can see that the Shield is how we are identified by other believers. When it comes to the Shield of Faith, our actions show others who we belong to. Matthew 7:16 states, “16 You will recognize them by their fruits. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles?”. Our faith is something that we act out and through our actions we are recognized, not only by other believers but also the world, as someone who belongs to Christ. I am sure we can all think of someone who claims to be a Christian but their actions go against everything that the Bible states, I was one before I came to know Christ and I have been around many who were as well. It is through the action of deliberately choosing to have faith in God that we can be recognized by others who belong to Christ. “14 What use is it, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but he has no works? Can that faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister is without clothing and in need of daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and be filled,” and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body, what use is that? 17 Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. 18 But someone may well say, “You have faith and I have works; show me your faith without the works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” 19 You believe that God is one. You do well; the demons also believe, and shudder. 20 But are you willing to recognize, you foolish fellow, that faith without works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up Isaac his son on the altar? 22 You see that faith was working with his works, and as a result of the works, faith was perfected; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And Abraham believed God, and it was reckoned to him as righteousness,” and he was called the friend of God. 24 You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 In the same way, was not Rahab the harlot also justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For just as the body without the spirit is dead, so also faith without works is dead.” James 2:14-26
These verses are not saying that our works save us, they are stating that our faith is identified through our works. When you go back to Genesis 17:1-5 you see that Abraham, at the time Abram, had been told by God that he would be the father of many nations, “When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the Lord appeared to him and said, “I am God Almighty; walk before me faithfully and be blameless. 2 Then I will make my covenant between me and you and will greatly increase your numbers.”3 Abram fell facedown, and God said to him, 4 “As for me, this is my covenant with you: You will be the father of many nations. 5 No longer will you be called Abram; your name will be Abraham, for I have made you a father of many nations.”. How could Abram be the father of nations if he was asked by God to sacrifice his son? Abram did not know how this would come to pass but had faith in God completing the promises that He made. Abram’s faith allowed him to go willingly to complete the work that He had been given by God. When he was asked to sacrifice his son, Isaac, he knew that God would still hold to the covenant that was made. Further on, you see that Abram was told to not sacrifice his son, and another sacrifice was provided for them. Abram was already seen in the eyes of God as being righteous due to his faith, but Abram in following God was able to walk out his faith.
Not only does the shield allow us to be recognized by other believers, but it is also the first offensive weapon that we are given in the Armor of God. The shield can be used as an offensive weapon by pushing back against the enemy. Jesus Himself used the Shield of Faith in connection with the Sword of the Spirit when he was confronted by the devil in Matthew 4:1-11. “4 Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil. 2 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. 3 And the tempter came and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” 4 But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.’” 5 Then the devil took Him into the holy city and had Him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, 6 and said to Him, “If You are the Son of God, throw Yourself down; for it is written, ‘He will command His angels concerning You’; and ‘On their hands they will bear You up, So that You will not strike Your foot against a stone.’” 7 Jesus said to him, “On the other hand, it is written, ‘You shall not put the Lord your God to the test.’”8 Again, the devil took Him to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory; 9 and he said to Him, “All these things I will give You, if You fall down and worship me.” 10 Then Jesus said to him, “Go, Satan! For it is written, ‘You shall worship the Lord your God, and serve Him only.’” 11 Then the devil left Him; and behold, angels came and began to minister to Him.” Jesus was able to retaliate against the devil because He knew the truth that is found in the Scriptures. If you have a strong faith and someone tries to shake it, you can push back with the faith in the truth of God.
But how do you make your faith strong enough that you are able to push back? Well, that is the next unique aspect of the Shield of Faith. Historically, shields were used to protect not just yourself, but to lock to the solider next to you to create a barrier. This is why it is so important to be around other believers, especially now in times of world-wide lock down that is preventing the church from meeting. We as believers, must be getting together so that we can help protect each other from the lies that are presented from the world. When we spend time in the Word we see the truth that is found in the Word, the more knowledge of the truth that we have the better we can help others grow in the Lord. Proverbs 27:17 states, “Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another.” This is why we must be meeting with other believers. Historically, shields were made of leather and would often get holes in them that needed to be repaired. We can repair our shield and make it stronger when we are not only spending time with other believers, answering questions and getting our own questions answered, but most importantly our shield gets stronger when we spend time with Him and allow the Holy Spirit to guide us. If you are ever in a place where your faith is shaken, I encourage you to spend time in the Word daily, and get involved in a Bible study. When you know the truth you can patch up your shield and make it stronger.
For parents, our faith also protects our children. When we are studying the Word and teaching it to our children, we protect them from the troubles of the world. Imagine you and your spouse are holding shields and your child/children are behind you, it’s a powerful image. This is how it is when you and your spouse are both in the Word. Your faith is not making them righteous in God’s eyes, but you are creating a barrier between the world and your child/children. They see you act out your faith and with the knowledge of God that you give them, they can begin to see the lies presented by the world. They cannot be getting the information from Sunday school alone. Talk to them about what you are studying, have sermons playing, and let them see you walk out your faith. It is why Deuteronomy 11:18-19 states, “18 Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. 19 Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
I want to draw your attention back to the beginning scripture of this post, “ 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one.”. We have spent a lot of time looking at what the Shield of Faith is and how it can be used, now I want to briefly identify what the flaming arrows are. Historically, arrows could be dipped into tar and lit on fire, if struck by one the wound from the arrow was the least of the issues since the person’s clothing would be lit on fire. This was a very effective way of causing a lot of damage. Today our enemy is still using flaming arrows, it is anything that causes us to not grow in the Spirit and takes us away from the truth. When we do not take up the Shield of Faith, we are not only leaving ourselves unprotected but also those around us. As we have already seen, the Shield is a spiritual offensive and defensive instrument given to us by God. Think about it this way, if there is a pastor who is not in his Bible daily, he is not allowing the Spirit to lead him and therefore can be infecting his church with false information. Parents, if you are not in the Word daily, you are not protecting your children. We must choose daily to pick up the Shield of Faith. This shield however can only be used in correct relation of the believer having the peace that God is with them and is in control, the truth of who God is wrapped around them, and Jesus Christ’s righteousness endowed on us. Each piece is interconnected and therefore the whole armor of God is needed.
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex