Truth Matters – 

Are you wearing your Belt?

 

For the past few weeks, I have been teaching through the armour of God passage found in Ephesians 6:10-18. I have learnt so many things through this study, realising that despite hearing countless sermons on the topic, I had never fully grasped the true meaning and application of each piece of armour.

It’s so hard to try and explain such a huge passage in a short space of time but I wanted to share a few thoughts on the piece of armour we call the belt of truth.

Ephesians 6:14 KJV - Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…..

I have come to realise that this piece of armour is so crucial in the spiritual war we are waging every day.

If you don’t already know, you, as a believer, are in a spiritual battle. You’re not fighting a physical enemy, you are wrestling “against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.” (Ephesians 6:12)

It’s a supernatural battle, and so it needs supernatural and spiritual armour in order to be victorious.

The armour Paul speaks about in the book of Ephesians provides us with the tools and protection we need to resist the devil, stand firm in our faith, and live a life that is pleasing to God. As long as we put it on!

So, what is so important about truth?

This belt of truth is one of the primary things that sets the believer apart from the world. Truth is the identifying characteristic of the Christian, or it should be. True Christianity is based on the belief that there is absolute truth. Truth is revealed by God in the life of Christ and in the words of Scripture.

Truth is truth. Whether we acknowledge it or not. Truth is not relative.

Truth is mentioned 235 times in the Bible and without it, the rest of the armour will be of no use to us.

God’s word is true (Psalm 119:160).

Truth will set us free (John 8:32)

God leads and guides in truth (Psalm 25:5; John 16:13)

God is full of truth (John 1:14)

Our trust in God and His Word must be solid, or else we will quickly find ourselves without a weapon. No matter how effective the rest of our armour is, we are useless without our sword. We need to be rightly dividing the word of truth—knowing what we believe, and why. (2 Timothy 2:15)

Put simply, to try to live God’s way without truth is like trying to hold your sword up without a belt. The belt of truth gives us a place to hang our sword, which is the Word of God.

To secure the belt we have to come to the source of truth, Jesus. He is the way, the truth and the life (John 14:6)

“Truth is not just something we believe, it’s someone we follow”

If we don’t have an understanding of truth, we will be left vulnerable and open to attack. Deception is the mark of the enemy. The Devil is a liar, a falsifier, a slanderer, a deceiver.

This belt of truth is what we use to combat Satan’s lies. We have to choose to actively put it on and believe God’s truth instead.

Can I speak honestly to my women readers for a moment? We, as women are bombarded by lies that tell us we need to be prettier, or be thinner, or that we need a man to be complete, that our homes need to be spotless, or that our children need to be quiet little angels or we’re failing. We are repeatedly told by social media and advertising that if we only had a certain product, we would be ageless and beautiful.

I hate to break it to you ladies, but we are often more susceptible to lies than our male counterparts.

Take a look at the account in the book of Genesis chapter 3. Sadly, Eve was deceived by the Devil and ate of the forbidden fruit. She saw that it was good to look at and she believed the lie that it would make her wise and took the fatal bite. (Genesis 3:6)

We are emotional beings, and we often base our decisions on how we feel at the time.

We can’t measure things based on feelings. Feelings and emotions are constantly changing, but God’s truth never changes. His truth needs to surround us like that belt. God’s standard of truth frees us from guilt, gives protection, and allows us to live peaceably with others. God’s truth also helps us to be aware of false doctrine that can invade the church.

Truth is so important because Satan is opposed to it. Truth is our weapon against him.

His character contains no truth and no light. When he speaks and acts, he will always try to falsify and deceive. He will twist the truth and try and mislead you.

He likes to operate in half-truths. He twists the truth ever so slightly to cause us to trip and walk away from God’s truth. He knows that if our belts are crooked, the rest of our armour will be useless or less effective.

He wants to convince us that God is not all-good, all-powerful and all-knowing.

Satan uses lies and false doctrine as part of his battle strategy.

God hates lies and deception. It is an abomination to him. (Proverbs 6:16,17)

TRUTH MATTERS!

What you believe about God and yourself, determines how you live your life. That’s why identity matters. Who you are in Christ. And who he is. You need to stand on truth. Hold to truth.

Knowing who we are and who God is, changes how we live, and it changes how we fight.

TRUTH BRINGS FREEDOM!

John 8:32 KJV - And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.

In the preceding verse we read,” Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed;”

Freedom comes when we follow the truth that we discover in God’s Word. Freedom comes when we walk in it. Abide in it. Order our decisions and our steps according to it.

We as believers and the church as a whole should be known for our commitment to truth.

We have to actively surround ourselves with what is true, while rejecting what is false.

So, how do we put on this belt of truth?

*by reading the bible

*by studying the bible

*by listening to good biblical preaching and teaching

*by reading books that explain Scripture and theology

*by memorising verses

*by praying regularly

*by walking in obedience with God

We have to allow God’s Word and his truth to shape every aspect of our lives.

Putting on this piece of armour is understanding what it says and knowing what it teaches. We can then use the truths of scripture to defend ourselves against the devil’s attacks.

You’ll know that you are missing this crucial piece of armour when you are easily swayed by worldly opinions, strange doctrines and your own thoughts and emotions.

The Devil loves to prey on ignorant people who don’t know the truth revealed in the Bible. He uses their ignorance against them as a weapon.

If you are not in the Word daily, studying it, meditating on it and learning and applying it, you will not be able to stand firm on the truth, because you won’t even know what truth is!

If you are not convinced that your principles and beliefs are without exception 100% true, how can you expect to stand firm against the Devil?

Choose to live by what is true, not by what you feel. The truth is that you, as one of God’s children, are loved, chosen and forgiven.

The truths that the Word of God holds will protect you from the lies of the enemy as long as you believe them, obey them and hold to them firmly, wrapping them around you like a belt, allowing them to strengthen you and enabling you with powerful weapons to use on the enemy.

When we arm ourselves with the spiritual armour Pauls speaks of, we have access to incredible God-given power, power that can resist the Devil’s attacks and send him running. Power that enables us to stand firm in the battle as the Lord fights on our behalf.

God’s job is to fight. Ours is to stand firm.

Stand on truth.