A Call To Arms Part 9

Another reason many believers suffer defeat at the hands of the enemy is their ignorance of the weapons they have at their disposal. You can have the most up to date gear, the most technologically advanced armaments, but if you don’t know how to use them, or what button to push, or which way to point it, chances are all that gear will only slow you down when you’re trying to run away.

Most individuals have a vague understanding of the weapons believers have access to, but as far as a deeper understanding of how they are used, or when they ought to be used, that is something beyond their grasp.

As previously mentioned there are weapons of defense, there are weapons of attack, and there weapons that can be used to both defend oneself, and attack the enemy if the need arises.

Romans 13:12, “The night is far spent, the day is at hand. Therefore let us cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armor of light.”

This armor of light Paul speaks of in Romans is also referred to as the armor of righteousness in Corinthians. It is something we, ourselves must put on, after we have cast off the works of darkness, and broken ties with all it entails.

God will not dress us when we can dress ourselves, just as any parent will not insist upon dressing their child once that child has learned to dress themselves. Our slothfulness and distraction prone mindset oftentimes steers us toward the conclusion that if the armor of light is not fastened upon us, it must somehow be God’s fault, and not our own.

The Word never insinuates we ought to let God dress us, it tells us to dress ourselves!

Another aspect we must take into account is that the works of darkness and the armor of light cannot overlap. We cannot continue to cling to the works of darkness while simultaneously putting on the armor of light, because they repel and reject each other, forever at odds, forever foes, forever mortal enemies.

The gray area of the spiritual man only exists in the duplicitous man’s imagination. God sees either darkness or light, good or evil, saved or lost. God does not work with shadows, with gray areas, nor does He approve of the barely getting in mindset so many find wholly acceptable in His sight.

When we put on the armor of light, we are of the light, we serve the light, we defend the light, and fight on behalf of the light. We cannot be divided in heart or mind and still claim to be of the light.

It is because of this inescapable truth that I am reticent in giving men and women who would twist the Gospel, and attempt to sidestep the Word of God a pass, or the benefit of the doubt. This is doubly true of those who have risen to prominence, and see themselves as spiritual leaders of authorities.

Each of us must measure every word, each of us must weigh every thought, each of us must compare every teaching to the Word and make sure it is in harmony with it, and this need is amplified tenfold when men stand before other men and attempt to teach them the mysteries of God.

When the Word of God speaks of armor, certain things are implied just by the word itself.

First, one needs armor only if he is expecting battle. Second, one needs armor only if he has an enemy who is skilled enough or equipped enough to hurt them, wound them, or maim them in some way. Third, one needs armor only if confrontation and battle are imminent, a given, and no means of a ceasefire or armistice exists.

You don’t see men walking around in armor during peacetime. Every soldier in the midst of battle, however, is fully equipped, having put on his armor with the expectation of what is to come.

Because we have foresight, and the Spirit of God has given us insight as to the reality of battle, we do not dawdle or delay, we do not put off or ignore, we put on the armor of light, and prepare ourselves for battle as a good and faithful soldier ought.

With love in Christ,
Michael Boldea Jr.