Doves On Distant Oaks

The Belt of Truth

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.–Ephesians 6:14-18

The Truth that Paul talks about is not what you may think, that being: saying what is true versus lying. Certainly that's important, and part of our obedience to God. However, the Truth—with a capital T—is biblical Truth. The Truth that God exists, that he is a God of judgement as well as love, that Jesus Christ was his son who led a sin-free life, that his death ushered in the Kingdom of God, and that those who believe in Him and only Him become adopted children of God and have eternal life. This is the Truth Jesus is talking about when he says the Truth will set us free. Being truthful is certainly a righteous act, but knowing those biblical truths will, indeed, set us free.

Peter wrote, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have" (1 Peter 3:15). The soldier of God must have an ample supply of these Biblical Truths for all occasions and able to access them readily. For the Roman soldier, the belt held all his clothing together so that his movements were unhindered. It also usually held his sword, since he typically had a spear in his hand. All of the things he carried on his belt he could access quickly.

Like the belt Paul described for the Roman soldier, the modern soldier is similarly equipped. He wears a shirt and trousers that have more than a dozen pockets in addition to a load-carrying belt or vest that holds everything the soldier needs. That includes a trauma first-aid kit, flashlight, utility knife, compass, map, note taking paper and pens, grenades, extra ammunition and so on. He may never use all of these things, but he is certainly prepared in case he needs them and can get to them quickly.

So like this soldier, We need to fill all our pockets with answers for why we believe, for every occasion. We must not only be prepared to explain, but to be able to pull those truths easily from memory. To that end, we must be well studied. Paul begins his list of equipment here because this takes time. We don't automatically know these truths, but have to learn them, like a child who is fed on milk and eventually graduates to real food. Fortunately we have the perfect source from which to study.

All the answers are found in one place ... the Bible.