Under Siege Part -5

 "In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one."(Ephesians 6:16 ESV)

The Roman soldier used two different kind of shields. One small one for hand to hand combat, and large one to protect the whole body. This latter one is the one Paul is thinking about in this passage. How else can you "extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one"? Archaeologists tell us that these darts, in ancient warfare, were tipped with some kind of combustible. They were set on fire, so they did not only have the power of wounding, but also of burning. Now you understand why the soldier had to protect himself with a shield of larger dimensions. This shield had the form of a oblong rectangular shape. It was four and a half feet by two and a half feet; it was a great, big, plank of wood.  It was covered on the outside with metal, and sometimes with even leather. It was also very thick, so when the fiery arrows were shot, they would hit that metal and deflect. The leather would be oiled or treated in such a way that, when the fiery dart or arrow hit the shield, it would be completely extinguished, saving the soldier from a possible deadly wound. That's a mighty protective shield, don't you think?

Now, why does Paul call it the shield of faith? Why faith? What is faith? According to Hebrews 11:1, faith is "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." Let's talk about faith a little bit.

 Matthew Henry says the following about verses 1-3 of Hebrews: "Faith always has been the mark of God's servants, from the beginning of the world. Where the principle is planted by the regenerating Spirit of God, it will cause the truth to be received, concerning justification by the sufferings and merits of Christ. And the same things that are the object of our hope, are the object of our faith. It is a firm persuasion and expectation, that God will perform all he has promised to us in Christ. This persuasion gives the soul to enjoy those things now".  If we pay close attention to the beginning oh Hebrews 11:1, what's the first word that shows up? It's the word "now". It's a word that is connecting chapter 11 to what has been previously said in chapter 10. And what is it that the writer is talking about? Let's look at Hebrews 10:39: " But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls". The writer is taking about all of us who have placed our faith in the redeeming work of our Lord Jesus Christ on the Cross of Calvary. In previous verses, the writer comments on the sacrifice of Christ."Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all".  (Hebrews 10:9‭-‬10 ESV)

If you read chapter 10 completely, you come to realize that the writer was trying to explain that the sacrifice of animals didn't take away sins (v.4,11). Only Christ could do that. He was the ultimate sacrifice! That's why verses 9-10 clearly states Christ was doing away with the Old Covenant and starting a new one. "...Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins" (Hebrews 10:12). After His sacrifice, animal offerings were no longer necessary.

"The conviction of things not seen". We have never seen God face to face but we believe in Him by faith. This is the faith we're talking about in Hebrews 11:1. "The assurance of things hoped for". This word assurance is also translated confidence or trust. So we have confidence that God will provide "the things we hope for" as long as these things are under his plans for us. Remember, He controls the universe. This is not a cheapy faith, this is the faith in the God almighty, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Gill's commentary mentions something about this kind of faith: "It is not a mere moral virtue, which is a branch of the law; nor a bare assent to anything revealed, declared, and affirmed in the Gospel; nor a faith of doing miracles; nor an implicit one; nor a mere profession of faith, which sometimes is but temporary." Going back to the Matthew Henry commentary, this faith is a "firm persuasion and expectation that God will perform all He has promised to us in Christ". Now, this is the faith Paul has attached to the shield. The shield of faith is our trust in Christ, our faith in Christ. A faith that will fully protect us because its foundation is Christ Our Rock. No wonder the original Greek word for assurance or confidence means: "that which is placed under", "ground, basis, foundation, support." It is of upmost importance to understand that when we put up that shield of faith, we are exercising our faith in Jesus, and what can be more protecting than that? And it can't go without saying, that every piece of the armor, so far, points out to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. We will continue this series until every piece of the armor has been explained, and we'll continue to find out the the remainder pieces of this mighty armor will keep pointing to Christ. So my friends, put up that shield of faith and let's get ready for battle. Satan doesn't take breaks, neither should our guard against him. Stay protected! Stay vigilant!