Preaching About the Belt of Truth
Preaching About The Belt of Truth
In the last post we considered the strength of the Roman Army as Paul introduced the concept of spiritual warfare. In this post we are going to look at the first piece of armor mentioned by Paul, preaching about the belt of truth in your church.
The Importance of The Equipment
A Marine once spoke about the secret to victory in war to a group. This is what he said:
“If a soldier is going to live, he must be completely aware of three things:
- Who his enemy is;
- He must be well acquainted with his equipment;
- He must be clear about his own area of responsibility.
We’ve spent quite a few posts on the first of these statements. We know the enemy, and we are aware of some of his schemes and plans. Now we are going to look at the equipment that we have to enter the battle.
Paul’s Exhortation About The Equipment
10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,
Describing the Belt of Truth
When we think about putting on a belt, we usually picture someone putting
on a belt to hold up their pants. That was not the function of the belt in the Roman Soldier’s armory. Rather, the belt as a piece of armor provided a very important function. First of all, it held all the weaponry together. It had a place to hold the sword. It connected to the breastplate. And it held a piece that protected the private parts. (see the picture).
Secondly, It provided a way to gird up your loins. I know that we aren’t familiar with that idea in our modern world. So, see the picture. The Romans many times wore a long, flowing robe. If you were going to run or do battle, you’d have to gird up your loins. The picture describes how they did that. Ephesians 6:14 describes this in the older translations. Here is how it is put in the New American Standard Bible:
“Stand firm, therefore, having girded your loins with truth….”
Preaching About The Importance of Truth
As you think about preaching about the best of truth in your church, explain that The New Testament shows us that truth is very important for the following reasons:
Truth is Vital for Our Worship
In John 4:23, Jesus is talking to the woman at the well. He tells her:
Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks.
In other words, coming together to celebrate and learn from the truth is important. We find that truth, of course, in the Bible.
Truth is Vital for Relationships
In Ephesians 4:25, Paul tells the church in Ephesus,
Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body.
Lack of truth in our relationships creates a lack of trust. You probably know this. You know people who divorced because one in the relationship lied to the other about where they would be or what they were doing. When the lie was found it, trust was broken. It takes a long time to rebuild trust, and some can never do it. So, we must be people of the truth. Make sure your people know this when preaching about the belt of truth in your church.
Truth is our means of Sanctification
In his high priestly prayer in John 17, Jesus prays this for us: “Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth.
No one can grow more like Jesus (that’s what sanctify really means) without engagement with God’s words for us.
If you’re interested, here’s a link to another view of the belt of truth.
