Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth… 

                                                                               Ephesians 6:14a 

Recognizing The Enemy

Our first piece of spiritual armor is the belt of truth. When we consider a person’s center of gravity, we discover that it is located at the waistline. In other words, if we want to tackle someone to the ground, it is best to strike the person around the midsection. This is what football players are taught as proper tackling form.

So it is easy to see why Paul would suggest that we “gird our loins” with truth. Walking in the truth brings balance to our spiritual lives. In a world in which people seem to be running to the extremes (socially, politically, and theologically), we need to remember the truth is usually found in the middle, within a balanced approach to scripture.

Our first consideration when examining truth is to gain a healthy understanding of our spiritual enemy and how he tends to present himself. Scripture has much to teach us on this issue. While we might not like to consider the reality of the spiritual battle in which we are involved, the struggle is very real and its origins are found in the enemy. Let’s consider some truths about this spiritual struggle.

1. The enemy works to veil the gospel so that people will not be saved 

Now the parable is this: the seed is the word of God. Those beside the road are those who have heard; then the devil comes and takes away the word from their heart, so that they will not believe and be saved. 

                                                                                                                   Luke 8:11-12 

As Jesus tells this parable, he defines the actions of the enemy. Referred to as “the evil one” (Matthew 13:19), Satan (Mark 4:15), and “the devil” (Luke 8:12), Jesus is speaking about one in the same. As the good news is preached, our enemy is at work to take away any truth from entering into a person’s heart. Our enemy knows very well that when the gospel is received and a person responds to Christ, everything changes. So he desperately works to nullify that “seed” being planted.

Jesus even tells us the reason why he does these things. The enemy’s activity is, “so that they will not believe and be saved.” Interestingly enough, Paul’s response to the jailer inquiring, “What must I do to be saved?” was, “Believe in the Lord Jesus and you will be saved” (Acts 16:30-31). This is at the core of our spiritual struggle. Believing (trusting) in the finished work of Jesus on the cross brings salvation. Failing to believe leads to spiritual destruction (John 3:18).

So it makes perfectly good sense that the enemy’s primary purpose in working against the gospel would be to prevent people from believing and by extension keeping them from eternal life. Paul reminds us of this same reality:

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world (the devil) has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.                                                            

                                                                                                         2 Corinthians 4:3-4 

I believe this is why Jesus tells us to be “lights” in a dark world. We must understand that there is a spiritual battle going on when the gospel is accurately presented. 

2. The enemy often does his work by sowing seeds of doubt

You are of your father the devil, and you want to do the desires of your father. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth because there is no truth in him. Whenever he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own nature, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I speak the truth, you do not believe Me. 

                                                                                                                   John 8:44-45 

As the enemy works to keep the gospel from the hearts of the unbelieving world, so too, he works to sow seeds of doubt as a means of spiritually unraveling lives. This strategy can be found in the lives of believers and unbelievers alike.

As Jesus spoke to the religious leaders of the day, He equates their actions to that of the devil. Jesus explains that the devil “does not stand in the truth” and that “there is no truth in him.” He goes on to identify our spiritual enemy as “a liar” and “one who speaks lies from his own nature.” Contrast that with God who always speaks the truth and never deceives. Jesus associated their unbelief with the fact that He had come to speak the truth. In other words, these individuals could not discern between truth and lies.

The Bible shines the light of truth for anyone who is willing to engage it. Tragically, there are many people who completely ignore scripture and replace God’s Word with that of their own thinking or that of other men. The enemy does not want us to live according to the truth because he knows that it brings tremendous power into the lives of those who not only believe but also apply those truths to their lives. I believe many Christians are well versed (no pun intended) in scripture but do not allow that truth to permeate into their hearts and into their thinking. For some, this difficulty might be a result of poor teaching that they were exposed to at an early age. It is often easier to write on a blank slate than it is to undo faulty thinking. The enemy is well aware of this dilemma and will stop at nothing to sow seeds of doubt for the sole purpose of keeping us from the tremendous power, victory, and effectiveness that will flow through our lives as a result of simple faith. 

3. The enemy will often use people to confuse and distort the gospel 

The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.

                                                                                                            John 10:10 

In addition to keeping the gospel from the unbelieving world and sowing seeds of doubt, the enemy will often do his bidding through the lives of individuals who reject Christ and salvation by faith in Him.

The thief in this passage is not referring to the enemy rather the influence of the enemy. In order to fully understand how spiritually blind the religious leaders of Jesus’ day actually were, take some time and read the account of Jesus healing the blind man (John 9). I believe that this discourse flows directly out of that encounter. The religious leaders were so blind that the very God in whom they believed they were serving was standing right in front of them, in the flesh, yet they were unable to recognize Him.

When Jesus says that the thief comes “only to steal, kill, and destroy,” He is referring to those who would distort the gospel and deny the saving power of the cross. This can be done through a religious view that excludes Christ altogether but it can also refer to those who add religious works to the gospel as a means of receiving, maintaining, or keeping salvation. Either way, these viewpoints do not bring life (although they often promise to do just that) rather they promote death, thus the stealing and destruction of someone’s joy, peace, and security in Jesus.

John gives us a good test for determining when someone is distorting the gospel. Consider the following:

By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, of which you have heard that it is coming, and now it is already in the world.

                                                                                                                     1 John 4:2-3 

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 

                                                                                                                     1 John 4:7-8 

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 

                                                                                                                 1 John 4:15 

First, Christian authenticity is marked by whether or not Jesus Christ is confessed. False teachers will not lead people to Christ. They may lead them to a specific doctrine, theological leaning, or denomination but the focus will be on their theological “preference” rather than on the person of Jesus. Authentic teachers understand that God alone, through His Spirit, is the best instructor and this understanding eradicates the need for them to convince or persuade people, freeing these believers to simply speak the truth of scripture.

Secondly, Christian authenticity is exemplified in loving, patient, and kind behavior. It is no coincidence that the fruit of God’s Spirit (not ours) begins with love and ends with self-control. This will assist us in properly identifying who is acting under the influence of God’s Spirit. When the conversation turns ugly, rude, and accusatory, we know all we need to know at that point. Destruction of love, joy, and peace are trademarks of the enemies influence. 

4. The enemy will work to derail the effectiveness of believers

Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same experiences of suffering are being accomplished by your brethren who are in the world.

                                                                                                                   1 Peter 5:8-9 

Finally, the enemy will attempt to derail the effectiveness of believers. While he cannot have the eternity of a believer, he can attempt to unravel our spiritual lives. One of the most common ways in which he does this is by attacking our faith. Peter warns us to “be of sober spirit” and to “be on the alert.” The word picture of a lion devouring its prey should be graphic enough for us to see the severity of the warning. “Ripping to shreds” the faith of a believer is the work of the enemy. But as that is his motive, we have two firmly fixed and effective weapons against such attack and they both derive from truth.

First, we can resist his challenge to our faith. We do this by meditating on and living in the reality that is the truth from scripture. This helps focus our minds on the truth, making us less susceptible to his false allegations.

Secondly, when we keep truth ever before us, we build up our faith and that faith acts as a shield to protect us (Ephesians 6:16). Notice that these attacks surround the issue of our faith. But when we know in whom we belong, we are able to say with Paul:

…for I know whom I have believed and I am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day.

                                                                                                            2 Timothy 1:12b

Believers in Christ should be confident, strong, and secure. The belt of truth assists us in building up our spiritual lives. Understanding the enemy and how he works will go a long way in defeating him as he attempts to distract us from resting in the completed work of Jesus on the cross. Put on the belt of truth today!