55
The
Weaponry We Use (4)
The Shield
of Faith
(Eph.
6:16)
Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
We come
now to the fourth piece of God’s armor.
IV. The Shield of Faith
As one
studies this piece of armor, however, he is struck by just how profound and
important it is. For those reasons, therefore, we will go deeper in this piece
of armor than any other we have yet studied. In addition to the physical piece
of armor and spiritual application, we’ll go even deeper to examine two other
applications: dealing with temptation and the tests of faith.
The Physical Piece of
Armor
As
mentioned in an earlier study, the term fiery darts refers to arrows
that had their tips wrapped with pieces of cloth, dipped in pitch, and then
ignited and fired at the enemy. The pitched burned furiously and would splatter
on impact, igniting most anything in its path (clothing, equipment, and
people).
So, not
only to protect their own bodies, but also to decrease the effectiveness of the
arrows, the soldier would use his shield. This was the thureos,
which referred to the large shield of the foot soldier, in contrast to the
smaller round shield used by gladiators in the games. The thureos was
about two-and-a-half-feet wide and four-and-half-feet high and could cover the
whole body if the soldier positioned himself correctly. Roman warriors
also developed a system whereby they could connect their shields to form a line
of defense, behind which the
archers would fire their arrows. This shield was usually made of leather,
sometimes even brass or copper, and was rubbed with non-flammable oil to make
it slippery. This would help not only deflect flaming arrows (fiery darts)
but also extinguish (quench) them.
Before
examining the spiritual application, we should first consider two technical
points.
First, note the words above all.
Some students misunderstand this to mean that the shield is the most important
pieces of armor. Some expositors criticize the AV for this “mistranslation.”
They, however, are actually they ones in error. Above is not used here
to indicate preeminence rather position. In other words, because
the Greek epi pasin, which literally means “over all,” what Paul is
saying is that the soldier holds the shield over himself to protect his entire
body. With that understood, the AV is not wrong at all. Above all our
body we put the shield to protest us.
Second, there is a transition here from
armor that is fastened and armored that is carried. The girdle,
breastplate and sandals were attached to the soldier, which shows that they are
preparatory. They are always on so the soldier is ready to rush into battle.
Even if he sits down to rest, he is still prepared.
In
contrast, the shield, helmet, and sword have to be “taken up.” They indicate
more activity and show more of a picture of actual combat taking place. Though
still in our possession and close at hand, they can be laid aside until needed.
Further, these, especially the sword, demand special training in how to use
them.
The Spiritual
Applications
The spiritual application of this shield is enormous. Paul likens the shield to faith. Here is a word that is sadly used very carelessly nowadays. We hear often the phrase, “faith in this or that.” Many even speak of “faith in God,” and we all put faith in many things every day. Another common conception of faith is that it is simply “mental assent” to something. But true, Biblical faith goes much deeper. Consider three principles.
First, we must understand the meaning of faith. I recently read an article criticizing the teaching of so-called “Lordship Salvation” in which he wrote, “Faith is not commitment [or obedience],” but that is patently false and demonstrates the writer’s ignorance of language. As we pointed out way back in our study of 1:15, the basic meaning of the Greek pisteuō is “to have faith in, trust; particularly, to be firmly persuaded as to something.”[1] As we also discovered, however, as one Greek authority points out, pisteuō also carries the idea “to obey:”
Heb. 11 stresses that to believe is to obey, as in the OT. Paul in Rom. 1:8 [and] I Thes. 1:8 (cf. Rom. 15:18; 16:19 [II Thes. 1:7-8]) shows, too, that believing means obeying. He speaks about the obedience of faith in Rom. 1:5 [6:17; 16:26], and cf. 10:3; II Cor. 9:13.[2]
In contrast to the “easy believeism” that characterizes much evangelism today, this word very clearly, immediately, and fundamentally demands lordship, because it has the underlying foundation of obedience, commitment, and submission. True conversion changes everything, including our lordship, submission, commitment, and obedience. A new creature (II Cor. 5:17) is completely new.
In the present context, then, the shield of faith pictures a full trust, an absolute persuasion, and a committed obedience to something, which in-turn protects us from something else. Today’s “easy-believeism” won’t protect anyone from anything; it will not protect anyone from the onslaughts of Satan. Only submission, commitment, and obedience to Christ, true faith, will protect us. Why is faith likened to a shield? One commentator submits this excellent observation:
Every temptation, directly or indirectly, is the temptation to doubt and distrust God. The purpose of all of Satan’s missiles, therefore, is to cause believers to forsake their trust in God, to drive a wedge between the Savior and the saved.[3]
Amen! The real purpose of temptation is make you doubt God! Regardless of the specific sin we’re being temped with—lying, stealing, adultery, whatever—the real end is to make you doubt and distrust God, to violate God’s Truth. That is true deadly nature of temptation and sin.
Our faith in God, therefore, must be absolute and unwavering. It is only that faith that will shield us from Satanic attack. This leads to a second principle.
Second, the shield of faith is dependent upon its object. As Martyn Lloyd-Jones writes, “How does faith act as our shield? The answer is that faith never points to itself, it always points to its object.”[4] Or as another expositor so beautifully puts it: “Faith is only as reliable and helpful as the trustworthiness of its object.” [5] It’s not “faith in faith” that we rely on, as is commonly taught. We hear many people today say, “Oh, I have my faith,” or “I have peace my faith,” or, “I’m trusting in my faith.” But such so-called “faith” is meaningless, empty, and worthless because it has no object.
Many such people fall apart when the first big challenge to their faith comes or when a catastrophe strikes their lives. Why? Because since there’s no object they can’t be obedient to anything, they can’t be submitted to anything, and they obviously aren’t fully trusting anything because—there’s noting there.
What, then, must that object be? Is philosophy an object that can trusted? No! It constantly changes! Is psychology an object that can trusted? No! It’s relative and existential. Is money an object that can be trusted? No! It’s temporary and changes in value. Are fame and popularity objects that can be trusted? No! They’re the most fleeting things of all. Is religion an object that can be trusted? No! It, too, is relative, works oriented, and what might be good to one person might not be “good enough” to someone else. Can we trust even ourselves? “I have faith in myself, my abilities,” it is often said. No! For we, too, change from day to day in our feelings, opinions, values, and goals.
So what object can we trust? The object is, of course, the Lord Jesus Christ. He never changes. He is “the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever” (Heb. 13:8). He is sinless. He is without flaw, the very pinnacle of perfection. His message never changes; it’s the same for every person. So then, it is our faith in Christ that is our shield. It is our faith in Him Who does not change that will extinguish all the fiery darts. This again leads to another principle.
Third, the shield of faith, therefore, protects us. To show how effective the shield is and why Paul chose it, ponder one historical note: after one battle, one ancient warrior counted 220 fiery darts (flaming arrows) sticking in his shield. How many arrows would it have taken to kill him? Probably only one. Likewise, as those flaming arrows clearly represent the temptations to sin that are common to the Christian, how many temptations to sin does it take to potentially destroy our testimony, our effectiveness, our growth, or even our life? ONE. Every temptation is potential destruction. That is why we need the shield of faith.
The words of the wicked can be translated “of the wicked one” because Satan is in view in the whole passage. Satan continually shoots volley after volley of flaming arrows—he shoots the arrows of: immorality, doubt, fear, anger, lying, covetousness, jealousy, unfaithfulness, and every other sin. Many of us have seen movies that have recreated ancient warfare and photographed thousands of arrows arching toward the enemy. That is Satan does and is the picture Paul paints here.
Ponder something else. We burn so easily, do we not? Most of us have seen a victim of serious burns; the damage to flesh is horrific and the pain is agonizing. That is why we need the shield.
Further still, like the literal arrows of history, these not only damage us, but they splatter on to others around us. So as one expositor puts it, “Satan doesn’t just throw darts that can wound and penetrate, but flaming darts that can burn and sear and scar us deeply.”[6] The shield, our faith, trust, commitment, and obedience in Christ is the only protection we have against temptation. Isn’t the breastplate of righteousness enough? No. In ancient warfare, an arrow could penetrate a breastplate. More was needed then and more is needed now.
Let’s go deeper into these applications.
Dealing With Temptation
The best passage in Scripture on temptation to sin appears in James 1:13-27. While a full exposition of this passage is not possible here, let us look briefly at five emphases.
What Is Temptation?
It is vitally important that we understand what temptation is! Verse 13 declares,:
Let no man say when he is tempted, I am tempted of God: for God cannot be tempted with evil, neither tempteth he any man.
Frankly, many have a misconception about temptation. The Greek here is peirasmos. One meaning is “trials and hardships” which James deals with in v. 5-12. It also refers, however, to inner enticement to sin. (13-27). In fact, to further show the change in meaning, James uses a verb instead of a noun (“tempted” instead of “trials).
Ponder, therefore, this definition: Temptation is the urge to do evil (or wrong) with the promise of benefit.
We’ll see later that on of the four stages of temptation is deception. We want to plant that see here, however, by noting that here is the greatest deception of all. We will never be tempted to do wrong unless we think there is something beneficial in that action. We might cheat to pass a test, lie to hide what we’ve done, steal to further our possessions, or gossip with a mask of “spiritual concern.” We might fail in our church attendance (Heb. 10:25) using such excuses , “I have to work to provide for our family,” or, “I needed to relax,” or, “I need to go be a witness to family in another place.” We might lower our standards “to better identify with people and be a witness.”
Mark it down: we can always justify sin in our own mind. We can always find a “good” reason to sin. Its very interesting to notice after many years in the ministry that “everybody’s situation is always different.” A favorite word is “but.” We’ll come back to this later.
Now that we know what temptation is consider something else.
Who is to Blame When We Give in to Temptation?
Who’s to blame when we sin? As we progress in this passage we’re going to refer back to the temptation of Adam and Eve from time to time. One truth we find there is in that in their minds they weren’t at fault. Eve said, “It was the serpent.” Adam said, “Lord, it was the woman that You gave me.” How true today! Very seldom do we find a “guilty” person in prison. “It wasn’t me; it was my companions.” “I didn’t get a fair trial.” “I had a lousy lawyer.” “I was framed.” The hardest thing for any of us to say is: “I am guilty; I am at fault; I have sinned.”
To see real repentance, we need only read Psalm 51. David repeatedly acknowledged his sin: “my transgressions,” “mine iniquity,” “my sin,” “I sinned,” “[I did] this evil.” David didn’t “plead the fifth” or get a good lawyer. He admitted his willful choice to sin.
Who is Responsible for Temptation?
First, temptation to sin is never of God. We can never blame God for putting an urge to sin in our heart. Yes, God allows temptation, but He does so only so that we will be victorious and become mature and so that He will be glorified. In fact, He is the One who gives us victory. This is the whole point of I Corinthians 10:13: “There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it.” Here is without question the greatest verse in the Word of God about victory over temptation. There are three basic principles:
1. No temptation is unique. As mentioned earlier, our situation is not different. Everyone faces the same temptations.
2) God will not allow you to be tempted beyond your ability to be victorious. Here is the heart of the verse, and what a blessed promise it is! Flowing right out of His absolute sovereignty, God says, “I will not allow you to be temped above what you are able to endure.” When temptation comes, therefore, we had better remind ourselves, “I can have victory or God would not allow this temptation.”
3) Over and above that, however, God also gives a special way not just to endure the temptation, but to rise above it. In other words, He doesn’t want us simply to not do that thing but also to have joyful victory over it. And what tool does He give for such victory? He gives us His Truth and we are to do it.
While at a pastor’s conference, I recently heard Dr. Al Mohler, president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, tell a story on himself. He said that he admittedly doesn’t have the greatest counseling technique (at least according to modern opinion). He said, “I ask three questions when someone comes for counsel: first, what’s your problem?; second, what do you think God would have you do about it?; and third, why are we having this conversation?”
Dr. Mohler is absolutely right. Many people think counseling is coddling when it should be commanding. It’s simply a matter of recognizing what God says and then doing it.
Temptation, then, is never from God. From where then does it come?
Secondly, temptation comes from our own flesh. Yes, it ultimately comes from Satan, but as we’ll see later, he merely uses what’s already there—“[we are] drawn away of [our] own lust” (v. 14). It’s from this source that we feel “the urge to do evil with the promise of benefit.” God gave us free choice, so we give in to temptation because we choose to do so.
How Does Temptation Come?
This really includes consistent victory in Christian living in general. Recognize the four stages of temptation.
First, there comes Desire. Verse 14 declares, “But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own lust, and enticed.” The key to this is the word “lust”. The Greek is epithumia meaning “strong desire.” We need to see an important contrast. The English word “lust” usually is associated with bodily appetites, but the Greek is associated with inner appetites that then manifested outwardly. In other words, temptation is rooted on our own desire. We could translate verse 14, “Each one is tempted by his own desire of the soul.”
The interesting thing is that lust is actually a perversion of normal, God-given, natural desires and drives. It is when we want to fulfill those desires outside of God’s prescribed manner that they become lust. Some examples: eating is God–given, but gluttony is lust. Sleep is God-given, but laziness is lust. Sex is God-given but fornication (any sex outside of marriage) is lust. Working (even ambition) is God-given, but greed is lust. Speech is God-given, but slander, gossip, lying, suggestive speech is lust.
How does God want us to deal with desires and drives? Well, some advocate “denial.” “Just rid yourself of certain desires and drives ones,” it is argued, “Go to a monastery to get away from them.” But we can’t get rid of them because they are part of us. Besides, we shouldn’t try to cast away that which Himself created. The answer is that all these are controlled. We never go outside God’s prescribed bounds in satisfying these desires and drives.
Second, comes Deception. Coupled with verse 14 is verse 15: “Then when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” Here is the key to temptation. Think of the definition again: “the urge to do evil with the promise of benefit.” Mark it down: temptation never LOOKS like temptation. We can always see the benefit but never see the consequences.
This is vividly seen in the Greek. As we noted back in Ephesians 6:11 concerning “the wiles of the Devil,” “drawn away” Drawn away is exelkō (1828). The root helkō (1670) basically means is “to draw,” “tug,” or, in the case of persons, “compel.” Jesus uses this word, for example, of irresistibly drawing souls to Himself (Jn. 6:44; 12:32). The prefix ek (1537), however, means out or away, so the picture here is the drawing, tugging, or compelling someone away from that which is good. Even more graphic is deleazō (enticed), which means to bait or entrap and pictures the idea of baiting a hook. A fisherman or trapper uses an enticing bait to draw his prey.
The word “enticed” is even more vivid. Greek literally means “to catch by a bait”. In fishing and some hunting the idea is to hide the hook or trap. This is the key principle in temptation. All temptation carries with it something that appeals to the natural appetites. But, the bait hides the consequences.
There are many Scriptural illustrations. The spoils of war looked good to Achan. The “well-watered” plains of Jordan looked good to Lot. Bathsheba looked good to David. Without question, however, the most vivid of all was Eve—the tree of the knowledge of good and evil looked good.
Eve made four mistakes that opened the door to temptation. The first mistake was that she was near the forbidden tree to start with. We must stay away from potential temptation. The second thing she did was that she was alone. Without the presence of the leadership of her husband, she made herself all the more open to successful attack. The third thing was that she listened to Satan. Oh, how many a Christian has fallen into sin or false doctrine by just listening to some false teacher who is being used by Satan! The fourth thing was that she threw away the only weapon she had—the Word of God. As we’ll see in moment, she twisted It to suit the moment and by doing so was deceived.
We see, in fact, that Eve was deceived in all three areas of
lust: “the flesh . . . the
eyes . . . and the pride of life” (I Jn. 2:16). As noted in any earlier study, “The flesh” refers to craving
something that appeals to our fallen nature, “the eyes” refers to evil
desires that are prompted by what we see, and the pride of life” refers to arrogance in what one is, knows,
accomplishes, or possesses. Eve, therefore, was tempted by “the flesh” (the
tree was good for food, “the eyes” (the was pleasant to look at), and “the
pride of life” (the tree would make her wise).
In stark contrast to Eve, our Lord “was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin” (Heb. 4:15). He had victory in all three of those areas. In Matthew 4:1-11, we read that He was temped by “the flesh” (“command that these stones be made bread”, “the eyes” (“all the kingdoms of the world”), and the “pride of life” (“If thou be the Son of God, cast thyself down,” that is, “Look at who You are.”). How did our Lord claim victory in each temptation? By quoting the Word of God (Deut. 8:3; 6:13 and 10:20; 6:13 respectively). That great Puritan John Owen brings this out when he writes:
Our great Pattern hath showed us what our deportment ought to be in all suggestions and temptations. When the devil showed Him “all the kingdoms of the world and the glory of them,” to tempt Him withal, He did not stand and look upon them, viewing their glory, and pondering their empire. . . . but instantly, without stay, He cries, “Get thee hence, Satan.” Meet thy temptation in its entrance with thought of faith concerning Christ on the cross; this will make it sink before thee.[7]
Indeed, our immediate, automatic, unhesitating reaction to temptation should be the Word of God.
Instead of quoting the Word of God, however, Eve twisted It. In Genesis 2:16-17, for example, God used the words “every” and “freely” in speaking of all the trees from which they could eat, but Eve omitted these words (3:2-3). That was a denial of God’s goodness and grace. In reference to then forbidden tree, Eve then added the words “neither shall ye touch it,” which implied that God was being arbitrary and unreasonable. She then softened God’s words “thou shalt surely die” to “lest ye die,” and thereby watered down the assurance of God’s judgment. Indeed, quoting the Word of God is the only way to victory.
Here is a thought that we would do well to write down and put in a prominent place in our home: It is better to shun the bait than to struggle in the snare.
Third, comes Disobedience. Here is a fascinating principle. In each of these first three stages, a different aspect of the personality is under attack. In the Desire stage, the emotions (physical desire and passion) that is attacked. In the Deception state, the intellect is attacked. This must come second so that the brain doesn’t take over and so “No.” In other words, the brain must be convinced that nothing is wrong in the temptation. Finally, in the Disobedience stage, the will is attacked and the decision is made to give in to temptation.
James further illustrates with the picture of birth. Desire conceives the a method for taking the bait, Deception blinds the mind of the consequences, and Disobedience gives birth to sin.
Here is another thought we should post in a prominent place: Christian living is a matter of the intellect and the will, not the emotions. The single reason we yield to temptation is that we live in our emotions, that is, our passions and desires. They rule instead of the Word of God. And it is the Word of God that will rule the intellect, which in-turn will rule the emotions.
Fourth, the final stage of temptation is Death. Again, verse 15b: “sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.” In each illustration mentioned earlier (Adam and Eve, Lot, Achan, and David), death was the consequence. In fact, it was Adam and Eve’s sin that brought all three kinds of death to the human race (physical, spiritual, eternal). Never forget that God does judge sin!
Purtian Richard Sibbes offers us a thought that we would again do well to post in a place where we will see it often: “Satan gives Adam [a piece of fruit], and takes away Paradise. Therefore in all temptations let us consider not what he offers, but what we shall lose.”[8]
Oh, let us recognize the 4 stages of temptation!
How Can We Have Victory Over Temptation?
Two basic principles will bring victory over temptation.
First, we must remember God’s statements about temptation. (v. 16-17). James makes two statements here that show the admonitions of God concerning temptation. He first declares in verse 16: “Do not err, my beloved brethren.” The word “err” is the Greek planaō (4105), which means “to wander, to roam about, to stray from the subject or the right course.” This word had special significance in the Classical Greek tragedies. Certain of those literary figures, such as Io and Oedipus, are spoken of as wanderers. Our Lord uses this word in Matthew 18:12 to speak of a sheep that has “gone astray.”
The command becomes even clearer when we recognize that the verb here (planasthe) is in the Middle Voice, the subject acting in some way that concerns itself. We could, therefore, translate our text, “Do not keep wandering in your own minds.” Our mid is often our greatest foe. We allow ourselves to wander in our values, desires, and so forth. We need to keep our minds on the right things.
James’ second statement tells us that we must consider God’s Goodness. Verse 17 declares, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” The total picture from the Greek is – “God freely gives those things which are noble and high ranking”. God only gives good things – even our natural desires. So, next time you’re tempted, just think that you will pervert something good. This verse reveals four facts about God’s goodness.
1. God gives only good gifts. The Greek for “gift” is dosis.
We encountered the
related word dōron back in Ephesians 2:8. The idea
behind these, and still another the related word, dōrea, is “a
complimentary gift.” It’s used, for example, in Luke 21:1 where money is being
cast into the treasury for the support of the temple and the poor (cf. Matt.
15:5). Another synonym, didōmi, is used in that often quoted verse
John 3:16, and means “to give of one’s own accord and with good will.”
The Greek
behind “good,” then, is agathos, which we’ve also studied before (4:29), and
which has a wide range
of meanings, including: benevolent, profitable, useful, beneficial, excellent,
virtuous, and suitable. Putting all this together, then, God freely and with
good will gives those things that are benevolent, profitable, useful,
beneficial, excellent, virtuous, and suitable.
What most
people fail to recognize is that everything good in the world comes from God.
All our natural drives are also God-given and therefore good. Temptation, however,
is always an enticement to satisfy one of those good drives outside God’s will.
So the next time you are tempted, just remember that you will pervert
something good if you give in to that temptation.
2. The way God gives is good. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above,” James declares. As we’ve noted before, “perfect is teleios, which means “mature, full-grown.” Whatever God gives has purpose, meaning, and final fulfillment. Sometimes it is difficult to see this at the immediate moment, but it’s always true nonetheless.
3. God gives constantly. The clause “cometh down” is a Present Particle, so the idea is to “keep coming down.” Think of it! God is constantly giving, whether or not we are noticing.
Recall Satan’s accusation against God to Eve. In essence he said, “God’s holding out on you because He said not to eat of that tree. He doesn’t want you to because you’ll become wise.” But both he and Eve ignored God’s words “Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely eat” (emphasis added). They ignored His abundance and grace.
How often we do the same! We overlook or even ignore the moment-by-moment blessings He heaps upon us. We look rather to the restrictions He gives. But even those restrictions are good. Sin maims and destroys, so restrictions are for our protection.
4. God never changes. That is, God will never stop giving good things. That last phrase literally reads, “with Whom change or shifting shadow has not place.” “Variableness” translates parallage (3883), a compound comprised of para (3844), “from, beside,” and allassō (236), “to change.” The full idea, then, is to change from one form or condition to another. God, therefore, never changes from one thing to another. In theology, this is called “immutability,” which means “not capable or susceptible to change.”
Further, the Greek behind “shadow” (aposkiasma, 644) literally means “to shade” and metaphorically means “the slightest degree or trace.” Added to that is “turning,” which is tropē (5157), “a turning.” It was used often by Classical Greek writers to refer to the heavenly bodies (stars, planets, and moon) as they were in constant motion in their courses. So while those are in constant motion and change, God never changes, never varies.
Think of it. God will never fail to bring goodness. So even (and especially) during temptation, let us never doubt that goodness.
Second, the other principle that will bring victory over temptation is when we realize the importance of the Scriptures in our lives. In James 1:18-27, we see three basic responsibilities we have concerning the Word of God.
1. We must receive the Word. It’s interesting that while many of us think we do hear the Word, often we do not. How do we do that?
We receive the Word first by being “swift to hear” (v. 19). “Hear” is akouō (191), which not only means to hear in general (e.g., Matt. 2:3), to hear with attention (e.g., Mk. 4:3, “hearken”), and to understand (e.g., Mk. 4:33), but also to obey. In the Septuagint, for example, akouō is used to translate the Hebrew sāma (8085H) as in Genesis 3:17, where God said that Adam “hearkened unto the voice of thy wife” (cf. Is. 6:9–10). We must, therefore, hear, understand, and heed what God’s Word says.
We receive the Word secondly by being “slow to speak.” Sadly, far more people in our day are “slow to listen” and “swift to speak” than “swift to hear” and “slow to speak.” We often argue and question God’s Word, if not audibly, at least in our minds. We even twist it to conform to our own thinking.
In James’ day, church service were often informal. In 2:1 and 4:1, we see evidence that speakers would sometimes debate with the speaker or desire to teach. With rare exceptions, modern “Bible study groups” usually degenerate into this. We must be constantly challenged to LISTEN.
We receive the Word thirdly by being “slow to wrath.” This is an outworking of the first two. As we studied back in Ephesians 4:26, there are times to get angry. We should have righteous indignation at that which is offensive and sinful to God. sinful anger, however, is when our anger is motivated out of personal reasons, that is, when someone offends us. This kind of anger is in view here. We get mad at the preacher or even God and His Word because we’ve been pricked in the heart and our pride has been rebuked. We all get angered when our traditions and opinions are obliterated by Truth. Once again, we must be constantly challenged to LISTEN.
We receive the Word fourthly by “[receiving] with meekness the engrafted word, which is able to save [our] souls” (v. 21). Here is a beautiful picture. “Engrafted” is the Greek emphutos (1721), an agricultural term. It’s comprised of the prefix en (1722), “in,” and phuō (5453), “to germinate, to grow or spring up, produce,” and speaks of that which is “inborn, implanted, engrafted from another source.”[9] What must be our attitude be to the Word of God? It is the very seed of God that He wants to plant within us. Temptation will never be conquered without this.
2. We must also practice the Word. As verses 22-25 go on to declare:
But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves. For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.
It’s not enough to hear the Word; we must do the Word. These four lines sum it up:
It’s easier to preach than to practice,
It’s easier to say than to do;
Most sermons are heard by the many,
But taken to the heart by the few.
Many Christians are “satisfied;” they’re not moving, growing, maturing, or working. The story is told an old farmer who in prayer meetings at church described his Christian experience this way: “Well, I’m not making much progress, but I’m established.” One spring he had a load of logs on his wagon and got stuck in the soft mud in road and just couldn’t get out not no matter what he did. As he viewed the situation, a neighbor, who had never agreed with the old farmer’s description of his Christian experience, cam up beside him, smiled, and said, “Well, you’re not making much progress, but you’re established.”
How often we are like that! Saved, sanctified, and satisfied! Bu God wants us to be obediently moving, growing, maturing, and working.
James then likens the Word of God to a mirror. As a mirror reveals exactly what is there, the Word of God reveals exactly how we appear to the Lord. Indeed, how repulsive we would be if we neglected what we see in physical mirror in the same we ignore spiritual mirror. We neglect it because we don’t seeing our exposed. But we need to look at it daily and fix what it reveals to be wrong.
3. We must finally share the Word. The thrust of verses 26-27 is, “If a man thinks he pleases God by his outward works, he deceives himself.” James contrasts this with “pure religion.” That is, he mentions three basic ways we practice God’s Word and share it with others. One is with our speech. The tongue is constantly a problem. It must be “bridled” (controlled). Another way is service or ministering to the body by meeting needs (“visit the fatherless and widows”). And finally we practice God’s Word by our separation (“keep himself unspotted from the world”). This is separation from the values, inclinations, actions, attitudes, priorities, and goals of the world system, the society which is without God.
We’ve seen two applications of the shield of faith. The shield of faith unites us. As mentioned earlier, Roman warriors had a system whereby they could connect their shields to form a line of defense. The result was a virtually solid wall of shields, row upon row of them. These advancing columns were called phalanxes, and were the terror of Rome. This is a strong challenge to Believers to unify. Many today are expending so much energy fighting one another that they have no energy to fight the real foe—Satan. How we need to lock our shields together!
Bringing all of our study together thus far, the shield of faith will protect us from the temptations that come our way, the temptations that come from within us and that Satan uses as fiery dart. We can have victory, both individually and collectively as the Body of Christ.
The Tests of Faith
How strong is your faith in God? James 1:3, of course, declares that “the trying of your faith worketh patience,” which means that temptations (v. 2) “try,” that is, prove our faith, prove whether or not it is genuine. But how can we test our faith itself and know that it is strong?
Turning once again to Puritan William Gurnall’s classic, The Christian in Complete Armour, he masterfully offers seven characteristics by which we can know whether or not our faith is strong.[10] We would humbly and respectfully adapt those seven characteristics here.
First, the more entirely we can rely upon God’s simple Word, the stronger our faith is. A simple illustration is that a man with a crutch cannot walk as well as a man who does not use one. Therefore, can you rely totally upon God’s Word, or do you need a crutch to lean on?
One of the
most common crutches in our day is the crutch of feelings. Many people
live their whole lives leaning on their feelings. How foolish that is because
feelings change. This would be like changing the length of your crutch every
day. Another common crutch is experience. These folks lean upon what
they have experienced in life to guide them. But this would be like changing
the kind of crutch you use every day, each one demanding a different way of
using it to walk.
By far the
most common crutch of all, however, is the crutch of reason. Instead of
believing what God says, we lean upon our own understanding and rationalism. The
skeptic leans upon his own thinking and thereby rejects creation, the flood,
Old Testament prophecies, Jesus’ miracles, the resurrection, and all other
biblical truths. “After all,” he proudly announces, “I am a scientist. I cannot
have faith; I must have proof.” But that, of course, is itself irrational
because he does exercise faith in his own reason.
Noah is a
perfect example. What if he had made reason his crutch? Reason said, “Rain?
That’s ridiculous! It’s never rained! That’s strong evidence that it
never will.” No, he believed God’s promise. What if Abraham had made reason his
crutch? Reason said, “What? Leave my home without knowing where I’m going or
what I’ll do when I get there? That’s just foolish!” No, he believed the simple
promise of God.
On the
negative side, there was Sarah, whose reason made her laugh at the thought that
she could bear a child in her old age instead of trusting in the promise of
God.
How do we
answer those who say, “Oh, your faith is just a crutch?” We can simply say, “No,
it’s not my crutch; it’s the very ground I walk on, the solid ground of God’s
promises.” Of each and every person listed in Hebrews 11, they are introduced
by the words “By faith.” That was the ground on which they walked. They rusted
nothing else as a crutch.
Second, the more composed and content we are when changes come into our lives, the stronger our faith is. A simple illustration here is that a weak body cannot bear changes in the weather as a strong body can. A person who has strong faith can, therefore, live in any climate, travel in any weather, and thrive in any condition. That is exactly what Paul meant when he wrote from prison, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phil. 4:11). Gurnall well says here:
When God turns thy health into sickness, thy abundance into penury, they honour into scorn and contempt, in what language dost thou now make thy condition known unto him? Is thy spirit embittered into discontent, which thou ventest in murmuring complaints? Or art thous well satisfied with God’s dealings? . . . If the latter, thy faith is strong.
What does
it really mean to be content? The Greek is autarkēs (842), a compound comprised of the prefix autos (846),
“himself,” and the root arkeō
(714), “to suffice, be sufficient.” The root appears, for example, in Matthew
25:9, where in the Parable of the Ten Virgins the wise bridesmaids said they
did not have “enough” oil to give to the foolish bridesmaids. It also appears
in I Corinthians 12:9, where Paul writes of God: “My grace is sufficient for
thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I
rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
The word autarkēs appears, however, only here in the New Testament. In Classical
Greek thought it speaks of self-sufficiency. In Paul’s thinking, however, it
was not self-sufficiency, but a Christ-sufficiency. He could be
content and sufficient wherever he was and in whatever condition he found
himself because of Christ. The noun autarkeia (841) appears two additional
times, both in Paul’s letters again. To the Corinthians he writes, “And God is
able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all
sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Cor. 9:8), and to
Timothy he declares, “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (I Tim.
6:6).
What does
this kind of contentment prove about us? For one thing, it proves that God is
enthroned in our hearts. It proves that we believe in the sovereignty of God
and are submitted to His will as absolute. For another, it proves that our
comfort lies in Him. Paul tells us why that he and his companions did not faint
in their afflictions:
For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory (II Cor. 4:16-17).
Third, the more able we are to wait for answers to our desires and prayers, the stronger our faith is. How willing are we to wait? Can we wait patiently for God to answer, or are we like the child whom we’ve told in the morning that we’re going to the playground in the afternoon but who then asks every five minutes, “Is it time to go yet?” Weak faith wants what it wants and wants it right now. The weak Christian prays for something one minute and expects to get it the next. Strong faith, however, can wait for God. As Isaiah declared, “He that believeth shall not make haste” (Is. 28:16), and then, “Blessed are all they that wait for him” (30:18). Most profound of all is James’ admonition:
Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold, the husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it, until he receive the early and latter rain. Be ye also patient; stablish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh (Jas. 5:7-8).
We should note here that James uses “patient” (or “patience”) three times. The Greek in all three instances is makrothumeō, a compound from makro, meaning “long,” and thumos, meaning “temper” (cf. Eph. 4:2). The idea, of course, is that we are to be long-tempered in contrast to short-tempered, to suffer long instead of being hasty to impatience, frustration, anger, and self-direction.
Perhaps the heart of the passage, however, is the word “waiteth.” This is ekdechomai (1551), another compound comprised of the prefix ek (1537), “out,” and dechomai (1209), “to receive.” It, therefore, means “to wait for, expect, to be about to receive from any quarter.”[11] It appears, for example in Hebrews 10:12-13, where Jesus is seated “on the right hand of God; From henceforth expecting till his enemies be made his footstool” (emphasis added). The word carries in it, then, the idea of expectation, looking forward to something that one has no doubt is coming.
The challenge, therefore, is clear—can we wait on God? Only when we do will we have strength. As Isaiah declares in that great verse: “They that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (40:31). The Psalmist echoes: “Those that wait upon the LORD, they shall inherit the earth” (37:9). Another Puritan, Thomas Watson, well said: “By faith a man possesses God and by patience he possesses himself.”[12]
Fourth, the more able we are to lose, suffer, and do without, the stronger our faith is. There is perhaps no move vivid illustration of this than Philippians 4:8. Verse 3:10 is one of the most beautiful verses in the NT. Paul ruminates, “That I may know him, and the power of his resurrection, and the fellowship of his sufferings, being made conformable unto his death.” Paul’s greatest desire was to know Christ. The driving force of his life was to be more deeply and intimately acquainted with His Lord and Master. He didn’t just want to know things about the Lord, rather to know the Lord Himself.
But
how much did he want such knowledge? How strong was that desire? Verse 8
answers: “I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of
Christ Jesus my Lord: Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things,
and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ.” The word “dung” is skubalon (4657).
Sadly, every modern translation misses the depth of this word by rendering it
“refuse” (ASV), “rubbish” (NASB, ESV, NIV, NKJV), “garbage” (NLT), or even
“trash” (NCV).
But skubalon goes
even further than those somewhat milder images. It’s an extremely course, ugly,
and repulsive word that also referred to excrement, and the AV correctly
captures that image. Paul considered everything in this world as nothing more
than the most repulsive thing he could think of in comparison to knowing the
Lord Jesus Christ.
That
challenges each of us to ask ourselves, “Do I really love the Lord? Do I really
desire to know Him personally, not just for salvation, but for intimacy?” The
only way we can do this, of course, is through His Word. Jesus Himself said,
“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (Jn. 14:15) and, “He that hath my
commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me” (v. 21). That is why
David wrote, “O how love I thy law! it is my meditation all the day” Ps.
119:97), and why the Apostle John could write, “Whoso keepeth his word, in him
verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him” (1 Jn.
2:5).
Such
love, therefore, proves our faith in Him. If we love Him as Paul did, we are
totally trusting in Him, leaning only on Him, valuing only Him. And with that
kind of love, we don’t care what else we might lose or suffer.
Fifth, the more easily we can repel inward impulses and resist temptations, the stronger our faith is. A weak faith stumbles and falls in the most basic temptations, but a strong faith is unwavering in even the strongest trials.
We’re reminded here of David, who even as faithful as he was
failed in the one of the most basic temptations and committed adultery and even
murder. In contrast, we then think of Abraham who when faced with one of the
strongest temptations any person could face was willing to obey God and kill
his only son.
What can
give that kind of faith and obedience. Puritan Thomas Brooks puts it well:
I would counsel every Christian to answer all temptations with this short saying, “The Lord is my portion.” . . . O, sir, if Satan should come to thee with an apple, as once he did to Eve, tell him that “the Lord is your portion”; or with a grape, as once he did to Noah, tell him that “the Lord is your portion”; or with a change of raiment, as once he did to Gehazi, tell him that “the Lord is your portion”; or with a wedge of gold, as once he did to Achan, tell him that “the Lord is your portion”; or with a bag of money, as once he did to Judas, tell him that “the Lord is your portion”; or with a crown, a kingdom, as once he did to Moses, tell him that “the Lord is your portion.” [13]
Indeed,
from the simplest temptation to the most advanced onslaught, our answer can
always be, “The Lord is my portion.”
Still
another great Puritan, John Bunyan, offers us another encouraging principle:
“Temptations, when we meet them at first, are as the lion that reared upon
Samson; but if we overcome them, the next time we see them we shall find a nest
of honey within them.”[14] Yes, temptations will get easier
to defeat as we continue in our Christian walk. One day we’ll be able to look
back and think, “How could I have even been tempted in that thing? It was so
basic that it shouldn’t have given me a second thought.” What seemed once to be
a lion is now noting but a dead carcass.
Sixth, the more love that characterizes our Christian walk, the stronger our faith is. Galatians 5:6 declares a profound truth: “For in Jesus Christ neither circumcision availeth any thing, nor uncircumcision; but faith which worketh by love.” The context surrounding this verse, of course, concerns the teaching of the Judaizers, who taught Gentiles had to become Jewish proselytes and obey the Mosaic law, especially to undergo circumcision. Paul’s point here is that circumcision is meaningless, rather faith in Christ alone is the issue.
He adds, however, the profound truth that faith operates because of love, that is, love is the energy of faith. The Greek behind “working” is energeō, from which is derived English words such as “energy” and “energize,” and means “to be at work, to effect something.” What does love, therefore, effect? FAITH.
This verse is not an isolated example of this fact. Faith
and love are coupled several times in the New Testament. Earlier in Ephesians,
Paul wrote, “Wherefore I also, after I heard of your faith in the Lord Jesus,
and love unto all the saints, Cease not to give thanks for you, making mention
of you in my prayers” (1:15-16). Later in 6:23 he repeats, “Peace be to the
brethren, and love with faith, from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.”
Again to the Colossians he declared, “Since we heard of your faith in Christ
Jesus, and of the love which ye have to all the saints” (1:4). Also to the Thessalonians,
he wrote, “But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate
of faith and love” (I Thes. 5:8). And then to Timothy, “Hold fast the form of
sound words, which thou hast heard of me, in faith and love which is in Christ
Jesus” (II Tim. 1:13).
Paul is,
therefore, demonstrating that the stronger our love is, the stronger is
our faith also. This is, in fact, among the strongest of these seven
tests of the strength of our faith. Do we love the Lord? Do we love other
Believers? If we do, we can be assured of a strong faith. Why? Because such
love is God’s command, a command that we are obeying by faith.
Seventh, the more able we are to look at death as desirable, the stronger our faith is. Yes, death is the final uncertainty. Nothing brings us more anxiety or fear than the thought of death. Those thoughts are, indeed, natural and normal. But Paul several times speaks of a faith that transcends such natural fear. To the Corinthians he wrote:
For we know that if our earthly house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. . . . Therefore we are always confident, knowing that, whilst we are at home in the body, we are absent from the Lord . . . . We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord (2 Cor. 5:1, 6, 8).
Likewise
to the Thessalonians, he declared:
But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep (I Thes. 4:13-15).
But most
pointed of all, is Paul’s personal testimony to the Philippians:
For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain. . . . For I am in a strait betwixt two, having a desire to depart, and to be with Christ; which is far better (1:21, 23).
Commenting
on those verses, still another great Puritan, the beloved Matthew Henry, wrote:
Death is a great loss to a carnal, worldly man, for he loses all his earthly comforts and all his hopes; but to a true believer it is gain, for it is the end of all his weakness and misery. It delivers him from all the evils of life, and brings him to possess the chief good. The apostle’s difficulty was not between living in this world and living in heaven; between these two there is no comparison; but between serving Christ in this world and enjoying him in another. Not between two evil things, but between two good things; living to Christ and being with him. See the power of faith and of Divine grace; it can make us willing to die. (emphasis added)
Indeed, a
strong faith is ready, willing, and looking forward to eternity in the Savior’s
presence.
Dear
Christian, is your faith weak or strong? Test yourself once again. Your faith
is strong when:
q The more entirely you can rely upon God’s simple Word.
q The more composed and content you are when changes come into your lives.
q The more able you are to wait for answers to your desires and prayers.
q The more able you are to lose, suffer, and do without.
q The more easily you can repel inward impulses and resist temptations.
q The more love that characterizes your Christian walk.
The more able you are to look at death as desirable.