Last month we began a series of articles on the "Armor of God." You and I are
engaged in a desperate warfare: a spiritual warfare. If we are not properly
prepared, we are sitting ducks.
Our Imperative
The Bible commands us, with all urgency, to "put on the whole armor of
God."1 What is this? What does this really
mean?
Notice that we must be completely armed: one or two pieces won't do. And the
time to "put it on" is before the battle begins, not during. And we are already
on enemy turf!
Paul's Armament List
In Ephesians 6, Paul provides us with a detailed description of the Armor of
God. The detailed description of the armor may stem from Paul's being chained to
a Roman soldier while in prison awaiting trial.2
Actually, the Holy Spirit is consistent in His use of idioms: these same
elements had been alluded to in the Old Testament.3
The first item on Paul's list is to be:
Girded With Truth
"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth..."
Ephesians 6:14
"What is Truth?" the famed Roman procurator cynically asked rhetorically. Few
of us have the will to raise the question ourselves. And yet a moment's
consideration quickly reveals that truth is our most precious treasure to be
coveted. Truth is the key to success, fulfillment, victory, or achieving any
worthwhile goal. The pursuit of truth is our greatest challenge in every one of
our endeavors.
This "fabulous century" has ushered in astonishing changes in the realms of
technology and yet, strangely, it has also probed new depths of darkness with
devastating wars and monstrous new weapons, yielding the bloodiest, most
revolutionary, most unpredictable century of any in history.
Perhaps most fearsome of all, it has also ushered in a wholesale abandonment
of truth. In any cultural war, truth is the first casualty.
A Culture Committed to the Pursuit of
Truth?
Early in this century, many "intellectuals" in our society became enamored
with the doctrines of Freudianism, the materialism of Feurbach, the nihilism of
Nietzsche, the dialectic of Hegel, the communism of Marx, along with
Behaviorism, Socialism, Existentialism ("do your own thing"), Rationalism,
Fabianism, and Humanism.
David Breese's recent book, Seven Men Who Rule the World From the
Grave, highlights the impacts of Charles Darwin, Karl Marx, George
Wellhausen, Sigmund Freud, John Maynard Keynes, Soren Kierkegaard and, of
course, John Dewey.
Through the teachings of John Dewey's humanism, his atheism, amorality,
evolution, and one-world socialism permeated our educational system and excluded
from our textbooks the moral and Biblical teachings which had been the bedrock
of our American culture.
The continual upscaling of school budgets has resulted in depressingly poorer
performances. One would presume that this was a result of poor or inept
management.
The astonishing shock that awaits anyone looking into this seriously, is that
this is the intended result!
The deliberate dumbing-down of America is precisely the subversive goal of
Goals 2000, Outcome Based Education and related programs.4
The Ostracism of Truth
Alan Bloom was probably the most surprised when his book, The Closing of the
American Mind-after 30 years at University of Chicago-made the cover of a major
news magazine a few years ago. In our strive to be "open" to multiculturalism,
we have abandoned the quest for truth-in fact, denying its existence5-in exchange for "value relativism."
We have disconnected ourselves from the benefits of 2,000 years of the
painful lessons we call Western Civilization. Alan Bloom demonstrated, from
simply a secular background, that relativism is intellectually and morally
bankrupt. Our American youth have thus been disenfranchised from our Christian
heritage. How will one find truth if he is convinced it doesn't exist?
Now, two generations of graduates have been subjected to these godless
philosophies through our schools. The children from this background have now
become the parents, teachers, political leaders, new media people, playwrights,
actors, entertainers, clergymen, business and professional people. Ignorant of
the great moral and religious strengths of our country, they were unable to
impart these to the new generation. What are the results?
Neo-Paganism
Modern cultic, pagan religions have built their appeal on this vacuum. The
mind reels in the attempt to understand the insanity of paganism. No one knows
how much of the substance of life has been poured out before the graven images
of time, upon the stained altars of gods who are not, and of demons who are. The
statues of deities are few, but the gods of the mind are many.
The modern New Age Movement insists that beings who choose to live "in
harmony with nature," moving along the lines of its "life force," will discover
happiness and be part of the great utopian wave of the future. The New Age
Movement carries its propaganda everywhere, calling people to cooperate with the
destiny they say is built into the social structure.
Moral Free Fall
A spiritually apathetic society hardly murmured when in 1962, citing no
precedents, a "liberal" Supreme Court abolished prayer from the public schools
and the next year abolished Bible reading from the schools.
From that time on, there was a startling rise in teenage pregnancies: up
556%; venereal disease: up 226%. (Now, 35,000 new cases of VD per day!)
Family divorce had declined for 15 years; then it tripled each year since.
Over 80 social indicators tell the same story.
S.A.T. scores had previously been stable. Then they started their remarkable
continuing decline. (In attempt to mask the embarrassing results, the basis of
the scores have been recently revised downwards. The home schoolers will still
betray the federal charade with their conspicuously outstanding
performances.6)
Moral teaching, proper standards, and respect for rules have been removed
from our schools. Meaningless courses in "values clarification" and the tenets
of Secular Humanism (classified as a religion by the Supreme Court in 1961) have
been substituted.
The high principles that made America great have been lost. Not just among
the lower classes, but in the highest offices in the land. There no longer
appears to be any connection between character and destiny. People claim that
"morals have changed." God makes morals and He didn't change His mind. God hates
wickedness.
Our Quest
The manifest contradictions of our present predicament result from so few
persons today taking the time to evaluate the issues, agree with the true, and
resist the false. Most are borne along by streams of influence managed by others
inimical to their interests.
Most of the assumptions that govern our society, our nation, and our families
demand re-examination. The shock is that they all are false; most from
deliberate deceit.
Yet, determining the nature of reality in our world is the cornerstone of our
living. A man puts into practice tomorrow what he believes today. To believe in
the wrong model of history or the wrong purpose of living can lead to grievous
errors, great tragedies, and devastating consequences. The correct-true-view of
man, God, and history is the key to sanity, survival, and fulfillment for each
of us.
Where do you find truth? If we search diligently we will eventually discover
that the "truth" of the world consists of convictions of convenience and
political correctness in its many forms. Pandered to us by those who would
manipulate us to their own agenda, it proves fragile and crumbles when relied
upon; hardly the stuff to build our lives upon.
It should come as no surprise that Paul begins his list of spiritual armor
with "being girded with truth." The real truth: the Word of God.
The Roman Girding
The Roman belt was 6-8 inches wide; all the body armor and weapons were
attached to it. As a soldier's belt gave ease and freedom of movement, so truth
gives freedom with self, others, and God.
All was prepared before, not during, the battle! You can't postpone the
gaining of combat knowledge to when you "need" it!
One definition of truth is when the Word and Deed become one. The ultimate
truth is the fulfillment of God's promises in His Messiah. God's Word had
committed Him to provide what we need in His Son. Jesus was the fulfillment of
that commitment.
Jesus saith unto him, I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life: no man
cometh unto the Father, but by me. John 14:6
This is the basis of our armor in any spiritual battle. All other elements of
our warfare derive from this.
The Prophetic Perspective
The Bible repeatedly portrays a rise in lies and deceit to be a
characteristic of the last days.7 The final
world leader will exploit signs and lying wonders.8 He will be anticipated by doctrines of demons.9
After all, who is the god of this world? Satan.10 What is his primary weapon? Deceit.11 So why are we surprised as we view the storms on our
present horizon?
Let's Get Personal
What is our most dangerous source of lies? Ourselves! God desires truth in
our inward parts.12 This is why we are
admonished to "take every thought captive."13 This brings us
to a key "life verse":
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by
the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable,
and perfect, will of God. Romans 12:1, 2
Only by renewing our minds-and challenging the lies that drive our
society-can we achieve a better destiny than the fate toward which we now
stumble.
How do we practically apply this? See our book, The Way of Agape and its
sequel, Be Ye Transformed, for a thorough, practical discussion and application
to our lives.
- Missler, Chuck and Nancy, The Way of
Agape Book and Nancy Missler, Be Ye
Transformed Book, Koinonia House, 1994, 1996.
- Klicka, Christopher J., The Right
Choice Book, Noble Publishing Associates, 1993.
- Kjos, Berit, Brave New Schools Book, Harvest
House, 1995.
- Bloom, Alan, The Closing of the American Mind, Simon and
Schuster, 1987.
- Breese, David, Seven Men Who Rule The World From Their Graves,
Moody Press, 1990.
