The Armour of God

Part V : The Shield of Faith

“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.” Ephesians 6:16

The shield covered all of the armor. The shield referred to is a large shield the size of a door. It was the shield of the heavy infantry. A soldier stood behind it and was fully protected. Christ is both the door to salvation and the door that protects the believer from the enemy without. This is the picture in John, chapter 10. Christ is both salvation and security.

“Faith” enables us to enter the door: “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture” John 10:9

That is salvation. Faith enables us to lay hold of the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith also enables us to stand behind that shield which will quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one.

The fiery darts of the wicked one come fast and furiously, and they are going to continue to come. The only thing that will bat them down is this shield of faith. It is like a big door. The hoplites, the heavily armed soldiers in the Greek infantry, could move with those tremendous shields, put them out in front of them, and stand protected shoulder to shoulder, while the enemy shot everything they had at them. When the enemy was out of ammunition, they would move in, certain of victory. That is the way to stand against the fiery darts of the evil one.

What is faith?

“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Hebrews 11:1

Faith is believing that God meant what He said in His Word! Faith is believing that His promises are true and that He will be faithful to live up to those promises He has made in His Word. Faith is believing in Jesus Christ and what he has done for us even though we have never seen Him or anyone of that time! The Bible is our only way of knowing the things Jesus said during His ministry and we ought to believe every portion BY FAITH!

Here are some points that show us the importance of faith in the Christian’s life.

1. A person can not _________________________ without faith.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:” Ephesians 2:8
“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36

2. A person can not __________________________ without faith.

“For whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world: and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith.” I John 5:4

3. A person can not _______________________ without faith.

“But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Hebrews 11:6

4. A person can not ___________________________ without faith.

“But let him ask in faith, nothing wavering. For he that wavereth is like a wave of the sea driven with the wind and tossed.”James 1:6

5. A person can not have ______________________ without faith.

“Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:” Romans 5:1

6. A person can not have _______________________ without faith.

“Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:” I Peter 1:8

7. A person is ____________________ by faith not by works.

“Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified.” Galatians 2:16

8. A person is to __________________ by faith.

“I am crucified with Christ: neverthless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20

9. A person is made ________________ by faith.

“ Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved. For I bear them record that they have a zeal of God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and going about to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted themselves unto the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to every one that believeth.” Romans 10:1-4

10. Christ lives in the believers _____________________ by faith.

“That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love,” Ephesians 3:17

11. “Whatsoever is not of faith is _______________________” Romans 14:23

As you can see faith is the most important part of a Christians life. Without it you and I could not be saved and live victoriously! The devil wants to destroy our faith but we can’t let him do that! We must hold our shields high and guard our lives with our faith in Jesus Christ and his finished work at Calvary!

In order to have the most faith we must constantly be in prayer and hide the Word of God in our hearts. We must be ready to ask for the Lord’s help and to throw the Word of God back at the devil. Studying God’s Word helps our faith become stronger, as does a daily prayer time with our Heavenly Father.

As we can see all of the armour so far can be maintained through a prayer relationship with Christ and through a daily Bible study time in the Word of God. These things strengthen us, help us to stand, and help us not to doubt or fear!

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Part II
Part III
Part IV
Part VI