This is part of a series of blogs on the Application of God’s Armor.
Does Capitalism only benefit the rich? Is socialism the answer? Is atheism more rational than belief in God? Is ‘Critical Theory’ what Jesus taught? Is ‘Progressive Christianity’ the new Gospel? What about ‘The 1619 Project’?
You may ask, “What does any of this have to do with the armor of God?” Well, I’m glad you asked. Because this is a very small list of the many worldly philosophies and ideologies that vie for our attention today. These are aggressive attempts by worldly minded people to convince everyone that the Bible, the good news about Jesus Christ and our salvation, is out of date and irrelevant. These are attempts to convince us that God is dead, and humanism has been the answer all along. These ideologies preach that mankind has evolved to the point where we can solve all world problems with the help of the intellectually elite. And soundbite mania is at an all-time high!
I could try and respond to these ideologies. For example, if we are so much more intellectually advanced today than those in the past, like Jesus, then why was the 19th century the bloodiest in history with over 100 million people killed by Communism alone. Some six million Jews were also killed in the Holocaust. And there were two world wars. Why did the intellectually elite who pushed for and achieved the goals of atheism and socialism that caused these results allow it to happen?
But others do a much better job of responding to these types of questions and soundbites than I could. You can find answers to reasonable questions at https://whatwouldyousay.org, and conversations about American ideas at https://www.prageru.com. Of course, there are many other resources as well.
So, what does this have to do with the armor of God? For this we can look at God’s word. In the Old Testament God’s people were constantly confronted with neighboring nations that worshiped false gods. In the New Testament there are many verses that remind believers to avoid the worldly ideologies of their day. These ideologies weren’t much different than what we hear today. In fact, many ideologies today trace their roots back to those confronting the early Christian church.
The Bible has much to say about these ideologies because God anticipated them. His word is timeless, and He offers it as an instruction manual to guide us. How does the Bible teach us to respond to these ideologies? Two passages in the Bible come to my mind.
In Deuteronomy 8 Moses reminded the community of Israel to remain faithful to the one true God; to not be turned by the ideologies and false gods of neighboring nations. They were reminded that everything they have came from the Lord and to not become proud putting their trust in their own prosperity. When they were tested by the Lord, they were reminded to humble themselves before God and remember that He is the one who gave them the power to be successful. As we read about Israel in the Old Testament they prospered when they obeyed the Lord. When they stopped obeying the Lord and followed their own humanistic ways their prosperity was lost. They were conquered by enemies. They were lost. The same pattern can be seen today.
In Matthew 6:19-34 Jesus teaches about money and possessions. In verse 33 we are instructed to “Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” As we seek to understand God and His righteousness, we must model the righteousness of God in how we handle our money and possessions. We are reminded in verses 19-22, “Don’t store up treasures here on earth …”, and in verse 24 we are reminded that, “No one can serve two masters.” In verses 25-34 Jesus reminds us not to worry about the things the world worries about. He encourages us to trust in the Lord to “give you everything you need”, not everything you want!
Using the armor of God keeps us focused. It helps us discern the real truth in the world’s soundbite mania. It helps us understand God’s wisdom and righteousness. It helps us understand the Good News of God’s plan for our salvation. It strengthens us to take greater leaps of faith. It allows us to use God’s communications strategy effectively.
Using the armor of God, a believer lives a life with integrity and honor according to the righteousness of God. The enemy will not be able to find a weakness to exploit that will incapacitate the believer’s witness. When we embrace God’s wisdom, we can live with the same integrity and honor that models the righteousness of God; sometimes shaken but not stirred away from what is morally right.
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All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, Copyright 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
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