Men need to be equipped, according to the kind of work they are to perform. If a man is to practice dentistry, he must have the tools necessary for that kind of work, and at the same time, he must know how to use them. A man who has been accustomed only to blacksmith tools, could do but little with the various little implements used by the dentist, or surgeon. So, in warfare, a man to succeed, must have armor suited to the kind of fighting he is going to; do, and at the same time he must be skilled in its use. Armor that a man does not know how to use, would be in his way, as king Saul’s; was to David. The Christian is engaged in & warfare, and is required to fight the fight of faith, in order that he may lay hold on eternal life. As a shield, to enable him to ward off the fiery darts of the great enemy he is commanded to put on faith. And just as a strong shield was necessary in ancient times to ward off the arrows and darts thrown by the enemy, so the Christian must have much strong, earnest faith, to enable him to ward off the fiery darts of the wicked. A Christian without firm and unflinching faith in God and his word, is very poorly equipped for the great contest that lies before him. We need not expect to overcome the world without it, for John says faith is the victory that overcomes the world. If we have full faith in the word of God as a sufficient guide in all matters of faith and practice, we will never turn aside after any human invention, for doing the work of the Lords house.
Another very important item in the Christian armor, is the girdle of truth. This is intended to give strength and force to the Christian character. Let this one item be wanting, and no other can supply its place. When a Christian’s word is known to be unreliable he can accomplish but little for the cause. No defect is more serious in the Christian than a want of proper regard for truth- Professing Christians often get in a habit of falsifying, without intending anything of the sort, by making promises, and not making the proper effort to fulfill them, until they have no conscience on the subject And yet to intimate to such that they are not men of truth, would insult them most highly. Christians should guard most earnestly against such things. Just as the girdle literally adds physical strength to the soldier, the girdle of truth adds strength and influence to the Christian soldier. Our feet also must be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Nothing is more desirable among men than peace. Without peace there is no earthly enjoyment. In order for success in the great work in which we are engaged as Christian soldiers, we must be peace with men. Paul, in xii, of Hebrews says: “Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord.” How pleasant is peace, whether in the family or in the neighborhood, or in the church. Take peace from the family, and there is nothing to make home happy. And of all the consecrated spots on earth where happiness ought to dwell, home is most prominent. No enjoyment, no rest, where there is no peace. What enjoyment has the man of toil when he returns from his daily labor, worn down by honest work only to meet frowns and hear of petty grievances, that ought to be buried as fast as they came up. Or what enjoyment is there in a Church where there is constant strife and bitterness of spirit. There must be love, and peace, and harmony in the church, as well as the family, in order to happiness and prosperity. We therefore should cultivate peace continually, as the disciples of Christ, who came to establish a kingdom of peace. The people of God are also commanded to put on the breast plate of righteousness. The breast plate literally, was a plate of metal covering the breast of the soldier, to protect the vital organs of life, contained in that part of the body.: So, the soldier of the cross must have righteousness, to protect the vita: organs of his Christian life. When we are righteous, by doing the will of the Lord, we have the previous promise that we shall be blest in the life that now is, and with eternal bliss beyond the grave. But there is no permanent security to the wicked. The face of the Lord is against him and he is like a soldier facing arrows and darts, without any thing whatever to shield the heart and other vital organs from the darts of the enemy. Then lei us as the apostle commands, put on this part of the armor.
“And for an helmet, the hope of salvation.” In the ancient manner of warfare, the helmet was a very important item in the soldier’s armor. The head, a tender and vital part of the body, was very much exposed to the weapons of the enemy. Hope, in the Christian armor, is certainly not less important. When the humble disciple of Christ is worn down with grief, and care, and toil, and almost ready to despair, and give up his work of faith and labor of love, he needs hope to point him forward to a world that knows no care, no toil, no grief, no pain. To a home where the wicked cease from troubling, and the weary are forever at rest. How dark and gloomy would be much of | our experience in this world of mortality, had the Christian no hope of future joys. Let us then cultivate a lively exercise of hope, looking to that within the vail, whither the forerunner has for us entered. There is no good reason why Christians may not be hopeful and cheerful in this life, if they will but be faithful and devotional to the Lord. Finally, the Christian is commanded to “take the sword of the spirit, which is the word of God.” Eph. 6. The armor of the Christian would be wholly incomplete, without this sword of the spirit. When the ancient Jews returned from Babylon, to rebuild Jerusalem, they had to work with the sword in one hand, to defend themselves from the enemies that assailed them, and tried to hinder them from their work. The Church for a long time has been in spiritual Babylon. We, as a people are endeavoring to return to primitive ground, and to rebuild the walls of the heavenly Jerusalem. In doing this, we also meet with great opposition. Many there are who would hinder us in the glorious work. In order therefore to withstand this opposition, and at the same time to carry forward the good work, we must gird on the sword of the spirit. We must study to be skillful in its use. There are some who use this sword extensively, and yet use it in such a way as to do but little execution in the ranks of the enemy. We must learn to use it in meekness and love; use it in such a way as to slay the enemy, and not make them worse as is often done. Much of our success, in the glorious work in which we are engaged depends upon the manner in which we use the sword with which God has provided us. Let us then be “wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.’’
Elisha G. Sewell
Gospel Advocate vol 13, issue #9, March 2, 1871 page 206