Wield Your Shield

In addition to all, taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. --Ephesians 6:16

Most of us are familiar with the passage in the Bible describing the armor of God, and Paul's exhortation to "put on the full armor."  To fully prepare for the onslaught of the enemy's attacks, we should not forget any piece of it.  Truth is like a belt, because without it all of the other pieces of armor would fall away.  Righteousness is like a breastplate, protecting our hearts.  The shoes allow us to spread peace wherever we go--and just as the spikes on the bottom of the Roman battle sandals allowed each soldier to stand his ground and not slip, so does this particular fruit of the Spirit allow us to be grounded and not "tossed around by every wind of doctrine."

Not all of us, however, are familiar with the Roman shield, from which the apostle Paul drew the comparison to our faith.  Sometimes as big as a door, it was constructed in such a way as to connect with the shield on either side of the soldier, so that the enemy would see a solid wall approaching, and would become intimidated.  As the image above illustrates, the group of soldiers banded together were much stronger than any one of them could be by himself.

The face of the shield may have been decorated, but it was constructed of animal skins, six or seven skins deep, one on top of the other, pressed together into a virtually impervious material.  The skins would remain useful as long as the shield was maintained by the soldier anointing it with oil on a daily basis.  I remember when I was a kid I read a book about a young man who loved baseball.  As evidence of his love for the game, the book made a point of saying that he would oil his glove every night.  He was committed to keeping the leather mitt soft, supple, and malleable, to fit his hand, but also to conform to the shape of the ball so that it could do what it was intended to do: catch the baseball. (More on this later).

When facing an enemy that shot flaming arrows, the soldiers would immerse the shield in water.  Also to defend against archers, the second line of soldiers could raise their shields to serve as a canopy, protecting the entire group from aerial assault (see image above).  The flames would be doused, and the darts or arrows would fall away, as long as the shield was properly maintained and properly wielded. (More on this later, as well.)

In the same way, the faith of a congregation is multiplied, exponentially greater than the sum of the congregants.  It is no wonder, then, that the author of Hebrews wrote, "Let us hold fast to the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful; and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more, as you see the day drawing near." (Hebrews 10:23-25).

How often do we forsake assembling with other like-minded believers?  It is easy to miss a meeting, then several, and before we know it we are found faithless, left alone against the ravenous wolves around us.  Just as easily, we might even lay aside our faith, failing not only to maintain and cultivate it, but even laying it aside for expediency sake.

What type of soldier would lay down his shield?  A lazy one, yes.  "It's too heavy," he whines. "Do you see it? It's as big as a house!"  And heavy, too, especially when dripping wet.  That's another thing--it is way too much trouble to maintain.  Oiling it down every day, checking the frame, and dowsing it with water in case we are met with flaming arrows.  That's a lot of work.  It's much easier to lay it down and only pick it up when it's needed.  When we do that, it's much more likely that the shield (aka our faith) has deteriorated to the point that it no longer serves its purpose.

So the soldier that may lay down his shield is not only lazy, but suicidal, or worse, traitorous.  Not only does he place himself at risk, but he is no longer standing in the gap for his fellow soldiers.  On the battlefield, that kind of action is grounds for court martial.  It is not just abandoning your post, it could be considered treason.

In the sixth chapter of John's gospel, we see that Jesus had escaped the multitudes to spend some time alone with the Father.  After He had walked to the other side of the lake (walking on the water in a storm, no less), the crowd soon followed in small boats, struggling to find Him.  Remembering His miraculous feeding of the five thousand just the day before, they asked Him how long He had been there.  Jesus' answer cut to their real concern--they did not care about Him personally, but only sought after Him because He had fed them.  Knowing to what lengths they had gone to find Him, he exhorted them, "Do not work for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life." (John 6:27a)

Some in the crowd challenged this statement.  If we are not to work for our food, they thought, then we must trust God, and work for spiritual fitness.  But how?  "Therefore they said to Him, 'What shall we do, so that we may work the works of God?' " (John 6:28)  If God uses spiritual power to meet our physical needs, then how can we increase our spiritual power?

"Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent.' " (John 6:29).

Read that last verse again.  Believing, exercising our faith, is the work which God requires of us.  What are some things you can do to work out spiritually, to strengthen your faith?  Read the Bible daily.  Meet regularly with like-minded believers.  And find fresh ways to "work out your salvation with fear and trembling," remember it is not by works that we do that we are saved (that work was completed by Jesus on the cross) but through faith in Him (not of works, lest any man should boast--Ephesians 2:9).

Here is a fresh idea that I have started doing recently.  Since I already shower daily, I am trying to remind myself to anoint my shield with water to quench the flaming darts of the evil one.  I have written this verse on a piece of brown paper and have attached it to my bathroom mirror: "...Christ LOVED the CHURCH and gave Himself up for her, to SANCTIFY her, CLEANSING her by the WASHING with WATER through the WORD." (Ephesians 5:25b-26).  So every morning I am reminded to anoint my shield with water.

Many other scriptures encourage us to anoint our heads with oil (since the mind is the center of the will and emotions, that help define our faith), I will go into the kitchen every evening, twelve hours after my morning shower, and dab a bit of oil on my forehead (in the shape of a cross).  I may recite this part of Psalm 23, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil."  I am reminded that David did not encourage us to sit down with our enemies and break bread with them; rather, he admonishes us, by faith, in serenity and peace that passes all understanding, to dine with the Father even as the battle rages all about us, protected by the shield that Paul talked about. I am also reminded that in New Testament times oil was used for medicinal purposes.  James 5:14-15 says, "Is any among you sick? Then he must call for the elders of the church and they are to pray over him with oil in the name of the Lord; and the prayer offered in faith will restore the one who is sick, and the Lord will raise him up, and if he has committed sins, they will be forgiven him."  I am broken.  I am a sinner in need of healing and forgiveness.  This is why I anoint my head with oil.

Jesus, the object of our faith, is encouraging us to make a career of believing that Jesus was sent by God.  Let me put it another way.  Often we equate our identity with what we do for a living.  "Who was that?" we may ask when someone walks away.  "Oh, he is the carpenter," one might answer.  Or the teacher.  Or the mediator.  Or one of thousands of other occupations by which one is known.

Friends, Jesus was a carpenter.  He built others up.  He is a teacher.  He shows us the way to live.  He will be our mediator, standing between us and judgment before a holy God.  Let us, then, also be known by our works.  Let us be known as a believer above all else.  Let us be known as one that rightly divides the words of truth.  Let us be known as a man or woman of faith, believing with all our hearts that Jesus is the One sent by God to dwell among us and to eat with us, and to become a sacrifice for us.

Let's all work together to build up one another in faith and good works, to the glory of God. "To this end also we pray for you always, that our God will count you worthy of your calling, and fulfill every desire for goodness and the work of faith with power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus will be glorified in you, and you in Him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Thessalonians 1:11-12)