The Shield of Faith: Stand Firm in God

But in what are we trusting? What is the object of our faith? Where does the power come from? We are not saved by faith. We are saved through faith. Faith is only the instrument, the means. Faith does not actually have any power in and of itself. It is useless. Or to put it another way, faith always points to someone or something else, and it is the object to which faith points that actually matters. [00:43:56] (34 seconds)  #FaithIsInstrument

God is the shield. And faith brings us into connection with him. Faith binds us in a vital deep union with him. Faith connects us to the one who can protect us. So wielding the shield of faith isn't about trusting in faith itself, it's about taking refuge in God. It's about trusting in the promises of God, trusting in the power of God, trusting in the love of God. [00:45:22] (33 seconds)  #GodIsOurShield

Redeemer Church, God, the father almighty, is good. He is faithful. He is just. He is true, and he will never leave you. He will never forsake you. And Jesus, the incarnate son of God who was crucified, died, and was buried, through his life and death, redemption has been accomplished for you. It has been applied to you, it is done. Your sins are forgiven. The world, the flesh, and the devil have been defeated already and you are free. [00:59:30] (35 seconds)  #RedemptionIsApplied

Our belief will sometimes falter, our trust will sometimes wane, our actions will sometimes betray what we know to be true and right. We will often have to utter the words of the father of the boy whom Jesus healed in Mark chapter nine, I believe help my unbelief. And so we are wielding this shield, this famous buckler of the Roman Empire. It is a shield of faith, a shield of belief with trust put into practice. [00:43:20] (36 seconds)  #FaithInPractice

When they would interlock their shields together in this way, they were able to withstand the attack of the enemy that they wouldn't be able to do by themselves. In this formation, they were practically impenetrable to arrows and other objects. And likewise, we must reinforce our faith and strengthen our trust in God alongside our brothers and sisters in Christ, alongside each other. We will not survive if we try to do it on our own. [00:53:47] (34 seconds)  #ShieldsInterlocked

In simplest terms, it is belief with trust. Genuine faith includes both an acceptance of the truth and a heartfelt reliance on the triune God. It is a holistic response. The Heidelberg Catechism, which is one of the great catechisms and confessions of our faith during the reformed period, Put it this way, true faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed to us in scripture, it is also a wholehearted trust by which the Holy Spirit creates in me through the gospel. [00:39:52] (43 seconds)  #TrueFaithIsTrust

And the apostle Paul, he's using this image to make the point that the attacks that we face from the devil, from the powers and the principalities that we've been talking about through this series, that these attacks against the followers of Jesus, they are not harmless, they're actually deadly. They have the ability to set our souls on fire and destroy us. These flaming arrows of the evil one can take many forms, Fear, doubt, discouragement, despair, accusation, lies, deception, criticism, cynicism, and any number of temptations [00:47:04] (40 seconds)  #SpiritualArrows

Though your faith is as weak as a single strand of a spider's web, if it is faith in Christ, it is saving faith. Because it is not faith that saves. It is not even faith in Christ that saves, it is Christ who saves. that's what we're wielding. We're wielding a shield of faith and faith in God. Why are we wielding it? Number two, second. Why are we wielding it? [00:46:11] (30 seconds)  #ChristSavesUs