Puritan Catechism Question #54 - What is the reason annexed to the fifth commandment?
Answer - The reason annexed to the fifth commandment is, a promise of long life and prosperity — as far as it shall serve for God's glory, and their own good — to all such as keep this commandment (Eph. 6:2-3).
Devotional Thoughts As we have taken a look at why we have been given the whole armor of God, and why we are commanded to wear it and use it, we will now begin to look at this armor piece by piece. What is the armor we have been given? How does the armor function, or better asked, how do we use it effectively?
The first piece of armor is really not viewed as armor. It is a belt. But why is the first piece of armor mentioned a belt? Simply put, because without a belt everything else falls apart!
Paul would have been referencing the armor of a Roman soldier to illustrate this spiritual truth and we learn that the physical and spiritual reality are amazingly similar. For the soldier, who wore a loose fitting outer tunic, when it came time to fight, those loose ends and the flowing material of this garment would be a hindrance or even give the enemy something to exploit and grab a hold of. So the tunic was pulled up and tucked into the belt. This leather belt around the waist gave him a place to tie it all up. In fact, as we examine the armor we will learn that most every other piece was linked to the belt in some way.
Looking outside of a military application, we see this used to reference those who wore robes when they had hard work or had to run, they would "gird up their loins", meaning that they pulled the ends of the robe up and either tied them around the waist or tucked them into a belt so as to be able to work or run without being tripped up.
Spiritually speaking we are told in 1 Peter 1:13 to "gird up the loins of your mind", that is, to pull in all the loose ends of our thinking, to reign in a wandering mind so that we might be ready and able to think clearly and discern wisely as we make decisions. It is a willful removal of those things that would otherwise confuse and confound us so that we might think what we ought to think (Phil 4:8).
So what is this belt? What is it that we are to use to gird up our loins/mind so that we might be able and ready to think, work, or fight without hindrance or confusion? It is called the belt of truth. More than just truthful content this refers to truthfulness. We gird up our minds with truthfulness. It is an attitude of being true and an action of seeking out and holding to truth. It is at the same time a rejection of lies and dishonesty.
So what is this truth? It is the pure, infallible, inerrant, and inspired Word of God. It is His truth. It is not only things that are true, as in true facts and figures. It is pure truth. Remember, we are to use this armor to stand against the schemes of the devil. How can we even recognize those schemes unless we know the truth of God's Word? If we do not know the truth we will not know the counterfeit or the lie.
In seeing that it is God's Word that is the foundation of our armor in this belt of truth, it is that which holds all of the rest of our armor together. We see that the Bible is the very Words of God and as 2 Timothy 3 tells us, it is "profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." The Bible is not a mere book. It is alive and active (Heb.4:12), eternal (Isa.40:8; Mat.24:35), perfect (Psalm 19:7), pure (Prov 30:5), and it is truth (John 17:17).
Is it any wonder then that in order to achieve a victory over us the devil would first attack the Word of God? Think about the temptation in the garden. His first question was "Did God really say?" As he tempted Eve he started by calling the Word of God into question. He persuaded Adam and Eve to doubt God's Word (Gen 3:1), to deny God's Word (Gen 3:4-5), and then to disobey God's Word (Gen 3:6).
Throughout history we see attempts by heretics and false teachers to deny the truthfulness of the Word of God. Whether it is liberalism in its many manifestations, legalism, antinomianism, or any of the other many -isms and heresies that keep popping up we see at the root of each an attack on the Word of God. Satan knows that if we take the belt off we have nothing to prevent obstacles or provide stability as we fight. In fact, once the belt is off we are no longer fighting but are already conquered.
As we face liberalism in its many forms, the latest of which is the emergent church movement, we find at the very foundational levels of thinking and faith a rejection of the absolute truthfulness of the Word of God. The Word is removed or reduced and counterfeits and mystical substitutes are provided that may make us think and feel good but in reality once the truth is gone we have no way to know right from wrong and no basis to believe anything at all. Liberalism denies inspiration, inerrancy, and infallibility. Liberalism denies miracles in favor of "scientific reason" which is actually neither. Liberalism denies the truth of the gospel and the exclusivity of salvation in Christ.
As many denominations have fallen to liberalism others have fought it off, but the danger for them is to take the Word for granted. Many who claim to uphold the truth of the Bible refuse to do what the Bible says - as if it is enough to have the Bible but a step too far to actually obey the Bible. These kinds of people will fight tooth and nail over tradition but all the while reserve the right to interpret the Bible for themselves, believing that whatever they think the Bible says is truth for them. This relativism reduces the Bible to a superstitious or ritualistic object to be waved while the church has no clue as to what it actually says or means. This too denies the absolute truthfulness of the Word of God.
How important is the Bible when it comes to putting on the whole armor of God? It is absolutely necessary. The breastplate and helmet are tied to it. It holds the sword. It keeps the tunic out of the way. It makes it possible for us to fight in close quarters, effectively and without getting tangled up. In other words, if we do not have the truth of God's Word then we have no armor at all.
There have been a few things that have happened recently that have demonstrated how we really do view the Word of God and its relevance to life and faith. I want to look at these examples today in order to give a warning. We must still fight for truth. We must hear and do the Word of God. We must gird our loins by putting on the belt of truth. Why?
Because these three examples are taken from mainstream evangelical churches that claim to believe the Bible:
The first example comes from a worship service my wife and I attended recently at a local church. It was absolutely idolatrous. The "special music" did not even mention God or Christ, it was not even a religious song or a song of worship, but an emotional song about daughters in trouble and how they could count on their mothers to stand with them through the hard times. Totally man centered (or woman centered I should say), and completely inappropriate for the worship of God. Then the pastor started his message by talking about the cultic roots of pagan practice and showing how many in our culture are involved in the same activities today. But he never once actually used the Word of God to make his point about right and wrong. His basis for determining what was right and wrong came from a movie he had seen, not from the pages of Scripture. And so the congregation was encouraged to take the lesson of this movie and take it to heart in order to know the truth about how to act and think in certain situations. The other problem with this approach was that the scene in the movie that he used to make his point was absolutely contrary to the Scriptures. How pathetic and infuriating. We left before the service ended.
The second example we experienced years ago. A pastor from a church in our area broadcast his services on the radio and we heard one day that he was preaching a new series of messages that were aimed at helping Christians understand their new nature in Christ. His text? Well, there was no Biblical text. He actually said that his congregation and those listening on the radio would not need their Bibles for the next several services, so they could be left at home! Then he proceeded to "preach" four passages taken from Mary Shelley's Frankenstein!! I am not making this up. In order to be "relevant" and in order to reach people with "the truth", he set the Bible aside and preached a work of literature that is science fiction.
The third left me shaking my head in disbelief as Ray Comfort and Kirk Cameron decided to debate two atheists on television recently and proclaimed that they could prove the existence of God without the Bible or any appeal to faith. They could do it 100% scientifically they said. What utter nonsense. Not only did they fail, they were embarrassed and an embarrassment. Now, these two brothers in the Lord were surely well meaning, and they both have good things to offer the church especially in teaching us how to evangelize and share our faith. But where they failed completely, from the very start, was where they removed the very foundation of the gospel by claiming that they could talk meaningfully about God without the Bible.
The Word of God is His revelation of Himself to us. Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God (Rom 10:17).
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