THE ARMOR OF GOD AND THE LIES OF THE ENEMY
The Belt of Truth: It is Wrong to Judge
Ephesians 6:10-18
#armorofGod
INTRODUCTION… en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Franklin%27s_lost_expedition
If you would, please turn in your Bibles this morning to Ephesians 6. While you’re turning there, let me tell you a story about the 1845 British expedition to the Northwest Passage in the Arctic. That was 178 years ago, but relevant because the wrecks of the ships were just discovered in 2014 and 2016 and the examination of the wrecks were halted because of COVID-19. Discoveries and information is still being uncovered all these years later.
This expedition was led by Captain John Franklin; there were two ships, the HMS Terror and the HMS Erebus, and they took 138 men to explore the Northwest Passage. They did prepare for their journey, but not in the correct way. They took a lot of supplies with them, but not necessarily what they needed. Both ships were solidly built with new technology like steam heat. There was a 1000-volume library. They had three years’ worth of food and silver place settings and glass wine goblets and fine dinnerware to dine on. They also packed in a 12-day supply of coal for the backup auxiliary engine.
Once they got up into the icy waters in the Arctic, it wasn’t long before they were in weather conditions where water was freezing on the decks, eventually freezing up around the rudder of the ship, and they were stranded. Yes, they had three years’ worth of food, but because they hurried the tins the food was in were not properly sealed and the food started to go bad immediately and was inedible. They also ran out of fuel. So, some of the men set out overland to find help, but it was doomed from that point forward, as they were face with exposure to high winds and to subzero freezing temperatures. Unfortunately, and tragically, all 138 men died. It was a complete failed operation due to lack of preparation. They had not prepared for the mission adequately. Again, the ships were found in 2014 and 2016 and a lot of information about this expedition has been reported by historians just recently. The conclusion has been consistent… poor preparation.
TRANSITION
The passage that is at the center of our attention in Ephesians 6 is all about preparation. Spiritual preparation. Mental preparation. Emotional preparation. The Apostle Paul wants us to be prepared for the “schemes of the devil” (verse 11) and the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (verse 12) and against the “flaming darts of the evil one” (verse 16). The Apostle Paul wants us to prepare by visualizing being a disciple of Jesus like a soldier with armor.
There is much preparation when it comes to being a disciple of Jesus Christ because there is opposition for which we must be prepared. The Apostle Paul does not want us inadequately prepared or inadequately armed or defeated.
* Lack of preparation leads to spiritual ruin and we lose spiritual battles before they even begin.
* Lack of preparation means our minds are taken in by what is false and we belief false things.
* Lack of preparation results in living in emotional defeat.
* Lack of preparation leads to the schemes of the devil being successful.
* Lack of preparation means darkness overtakes us and we get lost in the dark.
* Lack of preparation results in flaming darts of the evil one causing us harm.
Let’s read what the Apostle Paul writes to us:
READ EPHESIANS 6:10-18 (ESV)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…”
Verses 10-13 makes it very clear that we have an enemy that wars against us mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and we need to stand firm against all his schemes which often come to us as lies, deception, false beliefs, worldly philosophies, and even beliefs from other religions. I am not discounting the physical side of life, but in these verses the Apostle Paul centers on our inner selves.
THE ARMOR PIECE: THE BELT OF TRUTH
The first item mentioned in verse 14 is the “belt of truth” which we began to talk about last week. In Paul’s day, Roman soldiers wore tunics under their armor which was a large square piece of material that had holes for the head and arms. It hung low and loose over the body. As you can imagine, a loose tunic in the middle of battle was not a desired thing. Soldiers would gather up any loose fabric and make sure it was all tucked into the belt and any other straps. For a Roman soldier, the belt was made of leather and was most likely a little thicker and wider than we imagine because it also helped protect the soldier’s stomach.
The Apostle Paul connects “truth” with the “belt” because in preparation for the “schemes of the devil” (verse 11) and the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (verse 12) and the “flaming darts of the evil one” (verse 16) truth is one of our key foundations. The truth the Apostle Paul mentions in Ephesians 6 is absolute truth that is true for people of all cultures and all ages and all situations and comes from God Who is the standard.
The reason Paul mentions truth is because our society and the whole world is fill with what is right, what sounds almost right, what is wrong, and what is completely wrong. We need to know the difference and that is not easy.
* It is not easy because we learn things from our family that may not be beneficial. We are all products of our family environments and every family is a little bit dysfunctional or bags full dysfunctional. We learn things that are not actually true and yet we live them out daily.
* It is not easy to identify absolute truth because we learn things in public education that are handed to us as true that may be almost true, but in the end are not correct. We grow up steeped in that and think poorly and we learn a standard at times opposite of God.
* It is not easy because on TV shows and in movies we see truth presented differently and because we soak in so much entertainment it changes the way we think away from absolute truth and we accept relative truth.
* It is not easy because our minds and hearts are coming from the default of our sinful nature and we have preconceived ideas in the mix about life and our sinful attitudes lead us away from God’s presented truth.
The word picture that the Apostle Paul lays out for us begins with the “belt of truth” because there is much in our families, education, entertainment, and in our society that completes for our hearts and minds and leads us away from actual Truth. It was true then and it is true now.
You and I need to take everything that surrounds us in our lives and tuck it into and tie it to Absolute Truth. If Biblical truth does not agree with it, we need to let it go. You see, when God and I disagree about something, it is I who needs to change and not Him… because He is the source of truth. We need to change and be secured by Biblical truth in our lives. You and I must know truth as defined by the Bible (absolute truth) so that when a suggestion, a habit, a person, an opportunity, a fad, a rational choice, and irrational choice, a moral issue, a political issue, or a life change comes our way, we will be able to know the truth and how to navigate it.
TRANSITION
Last week we talked about the lie that “truth changes from person to person” and all about what is called “relative truth.” “Relative truth” is one of the “schemes of the devil” (verse 11) and a lie that fuels the “cosmic powers over this present darkness” (verse 12) and is definitely one of the “flaming darts of the evil one” (verse 16). It is not the only scheme or flaming dart. Another very prevalent scheme of the devil that is fired off at Christians is: “do not judge.”
SCHEME OF THE DEVIL: DO NOT JUDGE
This scheme of the devil, “do not judge,” is actually a half-truth based on the Bible. This is one of those ideas that is right, but not all the way right. This thought comes from a combination of Bible verses:
READ MATTHEW 7:1 (ESV)
“Judge not, that you be not judged.”
Satan stops at verse 1. Our culture stops at verse 1. Our world says: “Don’t you judge my sexual lifestyle or choices. Hey, remember, Christians aren’t supposed to judge.”
RE-READ MATTHEW 7:1-5 (ESV)
“Judge not, that you be not judged. For with the judgment you pronounce you will be judged, and with the measure you use it will be measured to you. Why do you see the speck that is in your brother's eye, but do not notice the log that is in your own eye? Or how can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when there is the log in your own eye? You hypocrite, first take the log out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to take the speck out of your brother's eye.”
In context, Jesus Christ makes it very clear that when you and I judge each other we need to make sure we use the same standard to judge ourselves. Using our own selves as the standard leads to being judgmental and hypocrisy. Being judgmental and hypocrisy is sinful. We must make sure we examine ourselves based on God’s Word (His absolute standard) and take internal stock of our lives before we venture to speak with others about their failings. The verse is not a warning not to judge, it is a warning about being a hypocrite and using the wrong standard.
READ LUKE 6:37 (ESV)
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned”
Satan stops halfway through verse 37. People who do not want to hear they have done something wrong stop in verse 37. Our world says: “You have to be completely tolerant of everyone else’s views because all views are true and right. Telling someone they are morally wrong is morally wrong.”
RE-READ LUKE 6:37-38 (ESV)
“Judge not, and you will not be judged; condemn not, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven; 38 give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”
The context of the teaching of Jesus is very important so we do not twist any words and end up in error. Jesus again does not tell us to refrain from judging, but in context tells us to treat others as we would want to be treated… in regards to judging and also forgiveness and giving to one another. Again, hypocrisy is in plain view as we share our lives with others we need to live up to the standard we talk about. The standard we talk about and live out had better be the Bible. We need to be people who use measures of forgiveness and giving rather than judgement, but judgement is not excluded.
READ ROMANS 2:1 (ESV)
“Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges.”
Satan stops halfway through verse 1. Our world says: “Even Bible says don’t judge so who am I to tell anyone else they are wrong.”
RE-READ ROMANS 2:1-5 (ESV)
Therefore you have no excuse, O man, every one of you who judges. For in passing judgment on another you condemn yourself, because you, the judge, practice the very same things. 2 We know that the judgment of God rightly falls on those who practice such things. 3 Do you suppose, O man—you who judge those who practice such things and yet do them yourself—that you will escape the judgment of God? 4 Or do you presume on the riches of his kindness and forbearance and patience, not knowing that God's kindness is meant to lead you to repentance? 5 But because of your hard and impenitent heart you are storing up wrath for yourself on the day of wrath when God's righteous judgment will be revealed.
Satan stops halfway through verse 1. Paul’s words here in Romans 2 are echoing the words of Jesus Christ from Matthew 7 and Luke 6 because the Scriptures agree with each other. They always agree. Hypocrisy and looking down on others is detestable and sinful. Saying one thing and doing another is reprehensible in the sight of God. God Himself is the Right Judge. God has judged actions and morality correctly in His holiness and righteousness and when we try to take the role of judge from God we end up being a hypocrite and we often leave out patience.
SUMMARY
I am going to summarize because this feels complicated. The idea in Matthew 7 and Luke 6 and Romans 2 is that believers in God who have been cleansed by the blood of Christ and walk in step with the Holy Spirit are people who live according to the standard of life God has set out. Hypocrisy shatters any witness we ever have and colors judgment as harsh and sinful. We judge wrongly when we speak to someone’s life and we ourselves are doing the same things. The standard must be God’s standard laid out in His Word.
READ ROMANS 14:10 (ESV)
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother?”
Our culture fueled by the darkness of our enemy stops in the middle of verse 10. Our world says: “Don’t judge me. You don’t even know me. Don’t judge me. If you say what I do or say is wrong then you automatically hate me and don’t love me.”
RE-READ ROMANS 14:10-12 (ESV)
“Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God; 11 for it is written, “As I live, says the Lord, every knee shall bow to Me, and every tongue shall confess to God.” 12 So then each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
It is absolutely true that Paul says to us to avoid passing judgement because we despise or hate another person… he absolutely says that. The manner in which we treat others and speak into their lives is absolutely the topic in this passage. Judgment should never come from anger, hate, an elitist attitude, ignorance, impatience, or sinfulness. What Paul does not say is that we should not judge. Communicating what God has already judged as good or bad or moral or immoral is not the issue and yet at the same time how we communicate what God has already said is the issue here. There is a fine line between communicating what God has already said (His judgement) and beating someone over the head in anger with the Word of God. We will all give an account of how we treated each other. We will give an account if we used the Word of God as a weapon to tear someone down.
READ JAMES 4:12 (ESV)
“There is only one lawgiver and judge, He who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”
Satan isolates verse 12 and our culture makes bumper stickers to reflect the truth of verse 12: “Only God will judge me.”
RE-READ JAMES 4:11-12 (ESV)
“Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge. 12 There is only one lawgiver and judge, he who is able to save and to destroy. But who are you to judge your neighbor?”
The context of these verses again is the manner in which we communicate what God has already spoken about (the Law). We can speak evilly against someone even as we communicate what God has said. God’s words and judgement are not evil, but we can speak them in a harsh evil manner. Our views about politics and moral issues and sexuality and the family and legal issues and entertainment do not need to come from a standard we have made up, but need to align with the Absolute Truth standard God has already laid down in His Word.
SUMMARY
I am going to summarize again because this feels complicated. Did you hear those verses? We’ve got Jesus Christ in Matthew and Luke and the Apostle Paul in Romans and then also the Book of James telling us that we should not judge anyone and that we have no excuse to do so. That is true if we do not read the Word of God fully. The problem is that the truth “do not judge” is right and correct, but not all the way right and correct and Godly because each of those verses is taken out of context and combined and mixed with our culture to say something false. Not to mention those are not the only verses that speak about judgment and judging others.
The words “judge” and “judged” and “judgement” is used over 225 times in the Old Testament and the New Testament. This is an often talked about topic because we often judge one another. John 7:24 is a great summary verse of all the other passages about judging from John 8, 12; and 1 Corinthians 4, 5, 6, 11; James 2, 4 and 1 Peter 1, 2, 4:
READ JOHN 7:24 (ESV)
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
TRANSITION
So what do we do with this? Paul commands us to wrap ourselves in the belt of truth and one of the lies and schemes of the enemy is that we should not judge. Our culture presents to us that often the Truth of God is intolerable and wrong and we should not share God’s standard with others because it is judging their lives as immoral or wrong.
What do we do? What should we believe?
How should we think?
How then shall we live?
APPLICATION: TRUTH’S KEY THOUGHTS
As I thought about the application of this, I realized so much about judging another person is wrong, but this does not mean we cannot have discernment or share our concerns with people in our lives or make a statement about the morality or immorality about an action or a lifestyle. Judgment and judging others is definitely a fine line which is why it is mentioned in the Bible often. I have several thoughts we can apply:
Thought 1: Passing judgment on someone based solely on superficial appearances or even our gut reaction is sinful. We fall into a sinful trap when we speak about something and we really don’t know the facts. There are always two sides to issues and most of the time the actual truth is somewhere in the middle and holding our tongues is better than shooting off our mouth. And as a side note: The number of people in your life that you will be called to speak into their lives about their sin will be few and far between.
Thought 2: Jesus’ command not to judge others in Matthew 7:1 is booked ended with Him talking about hypocrites before the verse and after. When we point out the sin of others while we ourselves commit the same sin, we condemn ourselves and we tear down our witness and we make a mockery of the standard of God which we ourselves do not meet.
Thought 3: Harsh and self-righteous judgment of others is wrong. Even in the harshest passages in the Bible about God’s judgement against sin, He always pleads for repentance and turning back to Him. He is longsuffering when it comes to mistakes and sin. Yes there are things the Bible declares as immoral and wrong, but no we should not beat someone to death with what the Bible declares. We are not the judge. Present the truth with compassion and let the Holy Spirit do what He does best.
Thought 4: Christians are often accused of being intolerant when speaking out on moral or political or issues in our society. Opposing sin is not wrong. Speaking about the standard we find in God’s Word and identifying unrighteousness around us is not a sin. Discernment of what is right and wrong is not sinful. What we are warned against is judging others unfairly or unrighteously and harshly. And we often forget… non-Christians act like non-Christians because they are non-Christians.
CONCLUSION
So, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, which will enable you to know truth, live by truth, and not be destroyed in your soul by lies that make it into your heart. Allow absolute truth to guard your mind and heart and emotions and spirit so that you stand firm with God to the end. And as you communicate the truth to a world that does not accept the standard of God, do so with gentleness, respect, firmness, and lack of hypocrisy. Discern well what is good and bad, moral and immoral, and share God’s standard with those closest to you.
PRAYER
INVITATION
