The Vulnerable Soldier, 02 – The Belt of Truth (Eph. 6:14)

Posted on 2022-10-31 by thelittleman

In the first installment of this series, I introduced both the background for the study and some key insights from Eph 6:10-13. As background, when I taught this familiar passage to my bored Youth Group, the Spirit helped me flip the switch and approach it in a new way: rather than discussing what each piece of armor does for the Good Soldier of Jesus Christ, we tried to figure out what would happen if each piece alone were missing.

The insights I highlighted from Eph 6:10-13 dealt with the enemy, the fight, and the whole armor of God:

  • The enemy is Satan, his minions, and the influence and havoc they wreak on our world and cultures, not the people held captive by them, not the slaves to sin.
  • The fight is defensive in Paul’s wording, one in which we arm ourselves and stand firm.
  • The whole armor is critical, emphasizing the need to wear it all and leave no piece behind.

But what if you did? What if you wore every piece of armor while standing up against the enemy, yet you left out a single piece? What would happen, for example, if you forgot to put on the Belt of Truth? That’s what today’s study is all about.

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The Belt of Truth

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. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth… (Eph. 6:13-14a, ESV)

Paul begins this list of armor with a belt, which might seem strange. But (as I’m sure you’ve heard before) other pieces of the Roman armor were connected in some way to this broad leather belt which protected the groin and lower stomach areas, pieces like the Breastplate above, the Shoes below, and Sword beside. Without the Belt, these other pieces would hang loose, leaving the Soldier exposed.

I think it’s important that Paul starts here with the Belt of Truth, because metaphorically, he implies that truth is foundational to all other qualities in the list. Like Pilate, though, who once stood before a condemned Jesus, we’re tempted to ask: “What is Truth?” (John 18:38) Truth is a multi-faceted word, and while we can’t be dogmatic about which nuance Paul had in mind, I’ll list several here for us to chew on:

  • While in John 17:17, Jesus called “God’s Word” “Truth,” we can be sure that Paul’s not referencing the Word here in v.14, because he later ties that to the Sword of the Spirit in v.17.
  • Jesus also calls Himself “the Truth” in John 14:6. (By the way, tying this statement to Jesus’ trial mentioned above, I encourage you to check out this awesome song by Acapella!)
  • With the Word and the Savior in mind, Truth can also be tied to our convictions about them (some would call this “doctrine”), convictions that ultimately inform each individual’s conscience.
  • On another level, Truth can also emphasize our sincerity as followers of Christ and our integrity as human beings.

That’s quite a list! As I look at these many nuances to the word “Truth” (and there may be more), I think everything can be boiled down into two broad categories: doctrine and integrity. We’ll use these categories moving forward.

The Soldier without Truth

So if Paul’s calling for the Christian Soldier to put on, first and foremost, his doctrine and integrity as a Belt of Truth, what happens when he doesn’t? What happens if he takes into battle all the other pieces of armor (his Goodness, Evangelism, Faith, “Salvation,” and Scripture) but leaves behind either doctrine or integrity? Let’s look at each in turn.

The Breastplate of Righteousness

  • The Soldier that wears goodness but lacks doctrine is a soldier whose efforts are futile (see Is. 64:6; Rom. 3:10), who is incapable of pleasing God (2Tim 2:4; Col 1:9-12), and who is likely not even a soldier at all (Eph 2:8-10; Titus 3:5). These are those who might call themselves “Christians” but who neither know nor care what the Bible teaches. They’re confident in their own goodness. They’re the Sunday Christians. The pew-warmers. The in-one-ear-and-out-the-other crowd.
  • The Soldier that wears goodness but lacks integrity is a hypocrite who cannot be trusted (Matt 23:27).

The Shoes of Readiness –

  • The Soldier who’s prepared for evangelism yet lacks doctrine is a baby, fervent and excited, sure, yet unprepared for the enemy’s barrage. This is like the blind leading the blind (Matt 15:12-15). Worse, they are like seeds in rocky soil, growing quickly yet scorched by the sun and withering without soil (see Matt 13:1-23, esp. v.5-6, 20-21).
  • The Soldier who’s prepared for evangelism yet lacks integrity is a charlatan (see 2Pet 2:1; 2Tim 4:3-4). It’s the TV Evangelists we all know and despise. It’s the despicable “God hates f**s” crowd of so-called “Christians.” It’s the worst of the worst, people who abuse God for their own self-promotion. It’s Joel Osteen and Benny Hinn and all the rest. Ugh. Don’t get me started.

The Shield of Faith –

  • The Soldier who has faith but lacks doctrine is the who will be swayed by any and every Christian fad and false teaching that comes down the pike. This might be the hyper-charismatics and faith-healers. More subtly, it might be Jesus Calling and other “God spoke to me” messages. Heck, this could even include essential oils and other money-loving Christian pyramid schemes.
  • The Soldier who has faith but lacks integrity is the one who doesn’t like to be defined by words like “Christian.” These are the “spiritual people” who might attend church everyone once-in-a-while but who also believe that ultimately all roads lead to God. They’re the “God Wins” crowd. The ones who’ve gladly exchanged truth for a lie (like those in Rom 1:24-25).

The Helmet of Salvation –

  • The Soldier who claims salvation yet lacks doctrine is a babe at best (i.e. 1Cor 3:1-3) or nominal at worst (both 1John and James have a lot to say about this; see for example James 1:22-26).
  • The Soldier who claims salvation yet lacks integrity can be be described in terms the Bible uses: weeds (Matt 13:24-40), goats (Matt 25:31-46), and wolves (Acts 20:28-31).

The Sword of the Spirit –

  • The Soldier who has the Word of God yet lacks doctrine is the one whose Bible is mere decoration, a fixture on a mantle-piece or a dust-collector in the basement. In fact, because the Belt would hold the scabbard which would allow the Soldier to carry his Sword wherever he went, this Soldier would most likely put the Sword down and forget where he’d left it.
  • The Soldier who has the Word of God yet lacks integrity is perhaps the one to be feared most of all! He’s the cut-and-paste preacher, yanking verses out of context to make the Bible say whatever he wants it to say. He willingly refuses to handle the Word rightly (2Tim 2:15). He’s every wolf, charlatan or heretic that claims the name of Christ but doesn’t follow the Truth. These are the ones Jesus warned would come in this last days (see Matt 24:23-28).

The Soldier with Truth

What a dire picture these ten possibilities paint! How sad, vulnerable, and even dangerous the Soldier is who fails to wear the Belt of Truth.

There’s tons more to unpack, but I’ll keep the study short. I trust that it’s helped highlight the importance of Truth: be that Truth in the form of doctrines and convictions about our Savior and His Word, or in the form of integrity and sincerity about the faith we claim to follow.

The Soldier who fails to wear his Belt leaves himself vulnerable to all sorts of dangers and attacks, and worse yet, leaves us to wonder if he’s even a Soldier at all. May God help us all to discern any area of danger present in our own lives.

©2022 E.T.

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