As was mentioned earlier in chapter seven, the
foundation of all of our armor is faith, with the rest of the parts being attached to it, as
in the links of a chain. The fourth piece in the Christian's armor presents
itself in this verse, "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith
you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." (Ephesians
6:16). Paul, when he speaks of the shield, raises it above all its fellow
pieces of armor - "Above all,
take the shield of faith...". Its
solitary use is to enable the believer to quench all the fiery darts of the
wicked, that is, of the wicked one, Satan himself.
Gurnall has us examine just what type of faith we
possess, as it's only sincere faith, whose foundation is built upon the work of Christ at Calvary, that will be able to protect us from the fiery
darts of the enemy. Sadly some people's faith is actually just a
mere acknowledgement that God does exist, and it is what would be considered more of
an intellectual belief in God, but nothing more. Satan's attacks will easily destroy this weak, intellectually-based faith.
Another type of erroneous faith that some
possess is likened to the Gospel Message that falls on stony ground, and while
it grows for a short time is soon overcome by the cares of this world. For
faith, it is when unbelief comes in and easily destroys any faith that has
tried to grow. Simply put, faith that is not firmly and unshakably rooted in the truth of
what Christ's atonement has done for us, will also be unable to withstand Satan's attacks.
There is only one kind of faith which will defend us
and that is what Gurnall referred to as "justifying" faith. He explains, "Justifying faith is the act
of the soul by which it rests on Christ crucified for pardon and life, and
trusts the guarantee of that promise... It says 'I believe my sins are pardoned
through Christ.'... The one who possesses this type of faith is the true match
for the devil." We rest upon Christ
crucified for the pardon of our sins and the promise of life hereafter.
Assurance believes its sins are pardoned through Christ alone, and nothing can
be added to that fact.
Just as the Scriptures were instrumental in our
conversion, they are also necessary for preserving and building our faith. Gurnall warns us
when he says, "If only Christians who complain about their weak faith would
turn their murmuring into an investigation of why it is so weak! It is because
faith has missed its meals from the Word....But now that you have gradually
stopped coming to God in His Word, there is a sad change. It is not easy for
you to trust Him; and you have little authority over your unbelief!...We fail
to experience glorious victories in prayer because we do not allow faith to
pray very often....None are in more danger of losing their faith than those men
who are content with what they have. The stronger your faith, the safer your
faith is from enemies' attacks... Repentance recovers what faith loses by
unbelief."
Gurnall challenges us to determine if our faith is
weak or strong. The more the Christian
can rely on God's promises, the stronger is his faith. Are you able to trust in
God when He withdraws your feelings of being able to bask in His love? Are you
mature enough to walk by faith even when your feelings don't seem to match up?
Are you still able to trust in His mercy and goodness? And, are you still able
to believe when all reason seems to break down? Weak faith asks many questions,
needs many assurances and desperately tries to reconcile God's Word with what
is actually happening.
How content can we remain when changes begin to happen
that we never expected? Can we say as Paul did in Philippians 4:1, "I have
learned, in whatever state I am, to be content."? When things
go against how you'd hoped, are you able to still trust God and withhold feelings
of anger, bitterness or resentment? Are you able to be satisfied with how God
says things should be done and do you still trust Him?
If you are able to walk
in contentment, it shows that God does reign in your heart, and that you revere
and trust in Him. A surrendered heart will trust in God's will, even in the midst
of trouble. And the longer a Christian can wait for answers, even in the midst
of suffering, the stronger is his faith. In addition, the more easily a
Christian resists temptation to sin, the stronger is his faith. And the most
telling of all, is the sweeter the Christian's attitude toward death, the
stronger faith he possesses.
While these are traits of a strong faith, there are
times when a sincere believer struggles with their faith. If, when you doubt
God, you feel sorrow then it is a sign that you are still His, and the sorrow
you feel is because you aren't as strong as you'd hoped you were or would like
to be. All God requires is that you repent of your unbelief, recognizing that
it is an area in which you desire and need to grow. Then there are the times
when we question if God really does love us as He says. We may doubt if Christ
is truly for us, but ask us to walk away from Him and we cannot, we will not,
do it.
Our doubt may cause so many questions within us that
we are driven to earnestly seek the answers before we can find rest. We are
told in Psalm 77:2 that when David struggled with doubts, "In the day of
my trouble I sought the Lord." Gurnall tells us, "A person should no
more sit down and be content in his unresolved doubt than one who thinks he
smells fire in his house would go to bed and sleep. He will look in every room
and corner until he is satisfied that everything is safe."
The sincere
believer who struggles with doubt, and yet earnestly desires to do God's will,
continues on despite those doubts and clings fast to Christ. "The weak
Christian's doubting is like the wavering of a ship at anchor - he is moved,
yet not removed from his hold on Christ; but the unbeliever's doubting is like
the wavering of a wave which has nothing to anchor it and is wholly at the
mercy of the wind.", says Gurnall.
God wants us to have no doubts in His care for us and His
care of us. He wants us to have complete
faith in Him, and we must realize that when we doubt Him, we are not
acknowledging His greatness and His infinite mercy. Instead, we actually
dishonor Him when we doubt Him. If we have faith, we will see God as being Holy
and extending forgiveness. We will see a God who stands behind His promises and
offers strength to all who need it and ask for it . If we have allowed
ourselves to be influenced by thoughts of unbelief, our repentance will quickly
restore us to a right relationship with our Heavenly Father.
Romans 15:4 reminds us that God desires to offer us
hope and comfort. It reads, "For everything that was
written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance
taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide we might have
hope." God wants us to have security concerning the reality of His great
mercy and the open heart He has for those who would embrace Christ and have
faith in Him.
Gurnall reminds us that "The greatest command in
the whole Bible is to believe. When the Jews asked our Lord Jesus, 'What shall
we do, that we might work the works of God?' notice His reply: 'This is the
work of God, that you believe on him whom He has sent' (John 6:28-29). It is as
if He has said, 'Receive Me into your hearts by faith; do this, and you will do
it all...".
In the next chapter, we will look at how the enemy's
fiery darts try to destroy our shield of faith.
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