The Armor of God: How do I put on the Belt of Truth?

The Whole Armor of God

Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.  Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  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.
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,  and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;  above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.  And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints—  and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel,  for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.

Put on the Belt of Truth –(Jesus is the Truth)

We are told to STAND having GIRDED your waist with truth. (Notice you need to keep standing even if you feel like collapsing. Put on the armor of God and you will not only stand but you will be victorious) We could go on a lengthy lesson on belts and truth but I want to make this easy to understand. Girding your waist/ putting on your belt of truth is simply knowing the truth and knowing how to walk as Jesus walked. It means you must know the truth and in order to know the truth, you must learn……. then to learn you must study God’s word. This is the foundation of every other piece of warfare.

• If you don’t know the truth of righteous living, how can you put on your breastplate of righteousness ?
• If you don’t know the truth of peace in Jesus, how can you put on the shoes of peace?
• If you don’t know the foundational truth of your faith , how can you lift your shield of faith?
• If you don’t know the truth of scripture, how can you lift up your sword, which is the word of God?
• If you don’t know the truth eternal life in Christ, how can you put on your helmet of salvation?

How do I put on the belt of truth?
Begin each day by putting on the Belt of Truth, which is reading God’s word.  I just recently spent time reading 1 John. Here are truths I learned in the first two chapters: I am to live in obedience, I am to walk as Jesus walked, I am to live in love, I am to hold no anger or hatred to anyone, I am to abide in Him and His word in me, I am to live in fellowship with the Father and with others and I am to obey His commandments.

I needed to be reminded of these truths this past week. You could also study the Beatitudes in Matthew 5  or read 1 Corinthians 13 about Love. When I read the bible, I find truths to righteous living on every page. If you are just beginning, start by reading Proverbs and Psalms. Psalms 1 teaches us the importance of having the right kind of friends. Those are just examples.
Are you angry? Full of bitterness? Unforgiveness? Laziness? Lacking self control? Filled with lust? Search the scriptures for verses on these topics so you will learn how God wants you to live, this is learning the truth, this is putting on your belt of truth. Bible gateway has a topical index if you wanted to search an online bible.

Putting on the Belt of truth, Examples from 1 John 1-2:

1 John 2:3 we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.
  Truth: I must obey Him

1 John 2:5 -6 But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. 6 He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.
  Truth: I am to walk just as He walked

2 John 2:9-11 He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. 11 But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
  Truth: I need to forgive anyone that has hurt me or made me angry. The bible says to hate someone is the same as murder. If I hate, I am walking in darkness and neither is their light in me nor is their light around me to see the truth. It seems hatred for another causes spiritual blindness.

1 John 2: 15-17 Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.
  Truth: Do I love the things of the world more than God? Would I rather sit in front of the tv or internet instead of spending time with Him? Do I put anything before God? Being prideful of accomplishments, wealth, material things is not from God the Father – check your life and see is this pride has snuck in. Am I living in the will of God, because only then I know I will abide forever with Him. Have I been helping others? Would I rather buy name brand items than help someone in need? Just thoughts……

29 If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him
  Truth : Is my life a life of righteousness? Do my words speak righteousness? Am I an example of righteousness to my family.

As I ponder these truths, I can see areas where I am borderline or not living righteously… maybe in my sarcasm, my jokes, maybe my words haven’t been acceptable before God. I can see times where I’ve neglected my prayer time and put things of the world first before God. I know these are things I need to change.

Putting on the Belt of Truth, examples from Proverbs:

Proverbs 13:13 He who despises the word will be destroyed, But he who fears the commandment will be rewarded.
Truth: This shows me the importance of Godly living, that I need to spend time reading God’s word. If I don’t understand, I keep going and all the while asking for understanding for God will certainly hear my prayer. I will fear God and honor His commandments.

Proverbs 13: 20 He who walks with wise men will be wise, But the companion of fools will be destroyed.
Truth: Are my friendships with questionable friends the right thing to do before God? If I want to be wise, I must walk with the wise. If I chose fools for companions ( and we know who they are) destruction is ahead. (yikes, I needed that one too)

You might also enjoy reading : 77 DON’TS FROM KING SOLOMON (PROVERBS)

Putting on the Belt of Truth, Examples from Psalms:

Psalm 52:1-4 Why do you boast in evil, O mighty man? The goodness of God endures continually. Your tongue devises destruction, Like a sharp razor, working deceitfully. You love evil more than good, Lying rather than speaking righteousness. Selah You love all devouring words, You deceitful tongue. God shall likewise destroy you forever; He shall take you away, and pluck you out of your dwelling place, And uproot you from the land of the living. Selah 6 The righteous also shall see and fear, And shall laugh at him, saying, 7 “Here is the man who did not make God his strength, But trusted in the abundance of his riches, And strengthened himself in his wickedness.”
Truth: Why do you keep boasting of your angry explosions? Do you think you’re so tough? Why do you boast in your evil? You tongue is full of lies, hurting others like a sharp razor And you even enjoy it. You would rather lie than speak righteously. You are proud that your words can knock others down , your words devour others. In the end, your strength will be as nothing, your will be thrown out of your living place and God will destroy you forever – so stop being a jerk

Applying these truths to your life

I didn’t know and understand everything when I first decided to live for Christ. The Holy Spirit will give you understanding and help you understand how to apply the scripture to your life. It’s dangerous when you start to make your own ways and your own rules about your Salvation and your beliefs. In Romans 1, we are told that those who go their own way and make their own god based upon their own thoughts are living in confusion. The bible is your foundation, it is true and trustworthy. It is Holy Spirit inspired and every single letter is there by God’s will. It will change you and make you the New Creation in Christ that the bible speaks of in 2 Cor. 5:17

Okay, so now you understand your belt of truth. You can’t put on a belt of truth without the truth. The next two things you must put on are the breastplate or righteousness and the shoes of peace. Simply put, this means you are to apply these truths to your life and walk in them. There is protection in righteous living. There is protection when you live in peace with others. The two go hand in hand. You can’t have peace with others unless you are living righteously and you can’t live righteously unless you are living in peace . You can’t live righteously without the truth and you can’t live in peace without the truth.
Without this, you are unguarded and opening a door for the enemy to come in – maybe in anger, unforgivinenss, bitterness,  etc.

So taking one step at a time, learn the truth (it will set you free) and walk in it. Once you have the 3 pieces of armor on, you will be able to easily pick up the last 3 pieces of armor – the shield, the sword and the helmet.

 Below are a few more keys to the Belt of Truth that I discovered while studying a book on Warfare by T.Evans

1. adjust your life/thoughts/words/actions to the truth of God’s word
2. The belt is the foundation and place to keep the other armor
3. The Word sanctifies us and sets us apart for special use John 17:17
4. Be careful of the devils temptations, he mixes the truth with lies and knows your weak points
5. the devil tempted Jesus at his weakest point, after he had fasted for 40 days. Be careful when you feel weak, strengthen yourself in God’s word Matt 4:1-11
6. Put on truth, which is the word, which is Jesus
7. Endure through a testing time – in strife, discord, disunity, anger, malice, etc endure with your shoes of peace
8. Check your heart, actions and words. Be quick to repent when you realize your sins
9. Spend time in prayer…always. Ask for understanding, for a renewed mind and to show you if anything unacceptable is in your heart
10. Take my thoughts captive to the obedience of Christ
11. Fix my thoughts Phil 4:8
12. Jesus is the truth

 

For more about the Armor of God:

• Armor of God: Shield and Sword (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)
• Armor of God: Breastplate of Righteousness (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)
• Armor of God: The Shoes of Peace (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)
• Armor of God: What is faith (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)
• Armor of God: How can I have faith? (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)
• Armor of God: Know your enemy (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)
• Lust **warning** (www.prepareforthelamb.wordpress.com)

 

Being a Christian takes effort on your part, Salvation and Grace are free, do you honor what’s been given to you?

Wow, I can feel the steam of anger rising up in many at this topic, but for the rest of you – beware! If you think you can believe in Jesus, go to church and live your own life according to your own desires you have been horribly misled. If you go to church and believe, but go home to live a secret life of anger, unforgiveness, malice, bitterness, lust, pornography, idolatry, adultery, drunkenness, strife, lying,  obscene talk and other sins, the bible says you will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let me put it plainly, those who live that way will end up in hell. He warns us in revelation of being lukewarm – they have no salvation.

Don’t let anyone tell you that as long as you believe in Jesus that you can go on living in sexual immorality and lust. Lust will lead you to hell. There is terrible sorrow ahead when you let sin rule your life. Read the scripture and stop listening to false teachers who don’t care about you or your salvation.

It’s true! Yes, there is nothing we can do to obtain His grace and Salvation – it is a free gift to us. However, we have to honor it, not abuse His grace. We must heed the warnings because many who have been told they are saved will find themselves weeping and gnashing their teeth on that great and terrible day. It’s like receiving an engagement ring. The bride to be didn’t have to do anything to deserve it, the groom to be gave it freely out of love. What happens if the bride runs off with other men during the courtship? What happens if the bride doesn’t honor the commitment? What happens if the bride really doesn’t love her fiancé? Will the marriage ever happen? Jesus said “If you love me, you will obey me” . Obedience takes effort. It takes knowing the scripture, knowing what the Lord has commanded us and taking the steps and the effort to walk in obedience.

  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,^[a] nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God 1 Cor 6:9-10

“Let us” obey and hear the Word of the Lord

Below are scriptures that tell us that we must make an effort in our walk. When the scripture says – Let us – that means we must step out in obedience.  It takes an effort to stop in your busy day and pray, an effort to put time into studying His word and effort to teach our children. The Lord says “Be Holy, for I am Holy”. You may feel weak, but He is strong. Take the first step, get up and fight against the desires of your flesh, resist the devil and  don’t be a slave to sin. When you take the first step and each one thereafter, the Lord is there always to help you and strengthen you along the way as He is perfecting your faith. Here are a few:

Let us be diligent to enter His rest and not fall to disobedience. Hebrews 4
Let us lay aside the sin that ensnared us
Let us walk properly Romans 13:13
Let us not walk in drunkenness, not in lewdness and lust, not in strife and envy Rom.13:13
Let us put aside obscene talk
Let us lay aside malice
Let us lay aside envy
Let us lay aside evil speaking
Let us come boldly to the throne of grace Hebrews 4
Let us walk on in perfection Hebrews 6
Let us draw near to Him by the blood of Jesus with a true heart Heb 10
Let us hold tightly to our hope without wavering Heb 10
Let us consider one another to stir up good works Heb 10
Let us not forsake the meeting of ourselves together Heb 10
Let us encourage and exhort each other as we see the day approaching Heb 10
Let us work hard to prove we are really those God has chosen
Let us make every effort to confirm our calling
Let us follow after the things that make for peace and edify one another Rom 14:19
Let us lay aside every weight and the sin that ensnares us Heb 12
Let us run the race that is set before us Heb 12
Let us not sleep, as others do, but let us be watchful and sober 1 Thes 5:6
Let us put on the breastplace of faith and love and the helmet of salvation 1 Thes 5:8
Let us forget the past and reach forward to those things ahead Phil 3:12
Let us press forward to the goal for the prize of the call of God in Christ Jesus Phil 3
Let us walk in the Spirit if we live in the Spirit Gal 5:25
Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying one another Gal 5
Let us not grow weary while doing good Gal 6
Let us do good to all Gal 6
Let us walk in the same mind Phil 3:15
Let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit , perfecting holiness in the fear of God 2 Corinthians 7:7
Let us not commit sexual immorality 2 Cor 7
Let us not tempt Christ 2 Cor 7
Let us not complain 2 Cor 7
Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit
Let he who stands beware lest he fall 2 Corinthians 10
Let us cast off the works of darkness Romans 13:12
Let us put on the armor of light Romans 13:12
Let us walk properly as in the day, not in revelry and drunkenness Roman 13;13
Let us not walk in lewdness and lust, nor strife or envy Romans 13:13
Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths eph 4:29 people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words you will be condemned. Matthew 12:36-37
Let us show ourselves approved in good works Titus 2:6-8

As a Christian, you are called to holiness. This may take a while, but you have to lay aside the sins that are tripping you. Understanding this is step one in the breakdown of the strongholds and captivity that many Christians are suffering with. Don’t let sin rule your life. Ask God to show you if there is anyway in you that needs to change. Read the Lord’s warning to the churches in Revelation 2-3. He is calling the churches out in love to repent, to change and avoid punishment and disaster. Rev 2-3

1- they had forgotten their first love, they needed to go back to that first love they had of the Lord
2- they held false teaching and put stumbling blocks before the people, they needed to repent and change their false ways
3- they taught seducing doctrine, teaching sexual immorality, they needed to quickly repent and turn
4- they were dead, they were told to strengthen what little remains, their works were not perfect before God
5- they were to continue to keep His word, to hold fast so no one would take their crown.
6- They were lukewarm and would be “spewed out” of his mouth if they didn’t change

Repent and call on Him: “As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten. Therefore be zealous and repent.  Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me. To him who overcomes I will grant to sit with Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down with My Father on His throne.” Revelation 3:19-21

Run the Race to Win :  Do you not know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run in such a way that you may obtain it. 25 And everyone who competes for the prize is temperate in all things. Now they do it to obtain a perishable crown, but we for an imperishable crown. 26 Therefore I run thus: not with uncertainty. Thus I fight: not as one who beats the air. 27 But I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified.

Everything in life takes effort. If you want to run a race, you have to train. If you want to learn, you must discipline yourself to study. If you want to be healthy, you have to tell yourself no to things that could harm you. Why is it okay for us to work so hard for everything in life, but when I tell you that you must work hard to be holy you want to kick and scream? It’s really not that difficult. If you love Him, you’ll want to obey Him. Freedom comes with obedience, why do you want to continue to be a slave to sin?

Let us look unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Heb 12:1

Let us stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God;  praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, being watchful to this end with all perseverance and supplication for all the saints— ¹⁹ and for me, that utterance may be given to me, that I may open my mouth boldly to make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak. Ephesians 6

We are not perfect yet, but the Lord is helping us get there. Don’t give up and don’t be a lazy lukewarm Christian.

 Steps of Salvation from the THE BOOK OF ACTS:
1-BELIEVE IN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST- FAITH
2-CONFESS YOUR SINS AND REPENT
3-TURN BACK TO GOD- He wants you to SEEK HIM – TURN FROM YOUR WICKED WAYS
4-BE BAPTISED IN THE NAME OF JESUS CHRIST-WASHING AWAY YOUR SINS
5-PROVE IT BY THE WAY YOU LIVE
6-GET RID OF ALL SIN AND WICKEDNESS
7-WATCH OUT FOR FALSE TEACHERS AND WOLVES IN SHEEP’S CLOTHING

Ugh! I’m so sick of lying teachers leading people to hell. No one tells the truth anymore!