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HELMET LAWS FOR CHRISTIANS

In the category of "never say never," maybe you remember from Sunday School how a strong man with an over-active mouth said very stoutly to His best friend on a dark Thursday night: "One thing I will never, EVER do . . . is leave You. Or deny You. Or betray You. Jesus, that's money in the bank — my friendship with You. These other 11 guys may run off in the darkness, but I'll be with you right up till when the fat lady sings. Or the rooster crows. Or whatever."

Do you remember that story? And just a few hours later THAT SAME EVENING, Peter denies Jesus with a vengeance, and by calling down curses on himself. "I don't know the man!" The one thing, the VERY thing, he said he would never do . . . and he does it three times in one night.

And what that tells us is this: if you and I, ordered here in Ephesians chapter 6 to be in full battle gear, leave off even one part of our equipment, that is precisely where Lucifer will come after us. If we leave two square inches of spiritual flesh exposed and unprotected, that's where the laser-guided arrows will hit their mark.

Do you recall those infamous first bloody 25 minutes in the war saga, Saving Private Ryan? There was one chilling moment, in the thick of that June 6 horror, when a soldier crouching behind an embankment has a German bullet glance off his helmet. He hears the whine, and then the clang as it hits against the metal of his helmet. That little piece of protection has just saved his life. And instinctively, he takes off the helmet to inspect and admire the indentation. As he does so, a second bullet crashes into him and just takes his head off. In the one place where he's vulnerable, and for the three seconds that he IS vulnerable . . . he loses his life.

We noticed yesterday that Paul warns us this is how the battle for your soul and mine is going to go. Revelation 12:12 informs us that Lucifer:

" . . . is filled with fury, because he knows that his time is short."

And if his time is short and his ammunition limited, he's not going to aim at your protected spots. If you have a shield he doesn't attack your midsection, and if you have a helmet on, he doesn't aim at your head. He aims at the place where you're overconfident and your guard is down.

And notice that Satan will break all of the rules in the Geneva Convention. Here's verse 11 again:

"Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's SCHEMES." In the King James: "Against the WILES of the devil."

All through this 13-week adventure here in Ephesians, we've been truly blessed by the Tyndale New Testament Commentary for Ephesians, which was authored by Dr. Francis Foulkes. And we've gotten some excellent material courtesy of the commentary reference books in my own Adventist denomination . . . hope you don't mind. In the Tyndale materials, Dr. Foulkes quotes from his fellow theologian, H. C. G. Moule, who has this to say:

"The present picture is not of a march, or of an assault, but of the holding of the fortress of the soul and of the Church for the heavenly King."

Here in this 21st century, it's like those CLOSING scenes of that Steven Spielberg epic. The enemy forces are pouring into the town of Ramelle, raining lead down on you, and you've got to hold that bridge. As Dr. Moule puts it, we have to "hold the fort" both of our own personal life, and also of the Church. Friend, Satan attacks the Church with special fury in these last days, wanting to get us involved with internecine warfare, shooting our own wounded. He wants to get us majoring in minors, fighting over doctrines and the "disputable points" of the faith, impugning each other's motives. He wants to cause high-profile leaders to bring shame to the cause of Christ through their public sins. And in both our personal lives and also the corporate life of the Church, we need to put on the WHOLE armor, because if we skip even one piece of metal plating, Lucifer will immediately notice and go there.

In the Adventist commentary for Ephesians six, the writers key in on those Bible warnings about the devil's "schemes" and his "wiles."

"The temptation of Christ," they write, referring to Lucifer's three mano y mano moments with Jesus in the wilderness, Matthew chapter 3, "reveals the subtlety of the devil's method, one always directed toward a man's weakest point. It is much easier to deal with open enmity than it is with deceit. The armor of God is calculated to defend against cunning attacks that would otherwise destroy the Christian warrior."

Dr. Foulkes concurs, adding:

"Guile as well as brute strength has to be faced."

Well, friend, what does this mean for us on a daily basis? Let me say again — first of all — let's try to hear ourselves saying "never." "I'll never do this. I'll always do that. There's no way I would fall for such-and-such." I think it's safe to say that any time we say "no way," Lucifer says "way." He just doesn't say it very loud, and he waits until we've forgotten.

The Bible warns us — actually, it's Paul again, in his first epistle to his Christian friends in Corinth — to be careful about saying "never." Here's chapter 10, verse 12:

"Wherefore let him that THINKETH he standeth take heed lest he fall." In the NIV: "So, if you think you are standing firm, be careful that you don't fall."

It's good news that Paul immediately promises us God's armor is sufficient, and that heaven will give us an escape route out of any attack. But friend, I invite you to join me in daily searching the soul — because if Satan is looking for our vulnerable spot, even more should we be thinking and praying about that.

And how can we do it? Besides listening for our own tendency to say "never"? First of all, pray. Ask God to show you where your life is out of sync with His Word. I remember how Pastor Garrie Williams, author of the book, How to Be Filled With the Holy Spirit . . . And Know It, advises Christians to simply read through the Ten Commandments on a daily basis. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me. And just plead with God: "Lord, am I breaking this one? Are there things I love more than You, idols that I put before You in my life? Please . . . show me!" There's a verse in II Timothy which tells us that ALL of the Bible, not just Exodus chapter 20, is:

". . . useful for teaching, REBUKING, correcting, and training in righteousness."

None of us enjoy a rebuke, or "reproof," as the King James puts it. But when you're in the battlefield, friend, and it's a matter, not just of life and death, but ETERNAL life and death, then you welcome the warning, don't you? Many graduates of our Discover Bible Course have written to thank us for how it got them off a very dangerous road and into the safety of daily Christian living.

What else can you do? Get into a small-group Christian fellowship where you and stalwart fellow soldiers can dialogue and keep one another accountable. We've already shared how born-again Christian and baseball player Brett Butler was at a home Bible study group with fellow athletes. He and his live-in girlfriend, Eveline, were worshiping together . . . and sleeping together . . . and praying together . . . and sleeping together. And that particular evening, Eric Show, another Christian pitcher, just leveled him. "You're dreaming, Butler," he said, "thinking you can live this way and be loyal to God. Satan is just wiping you out, brother." And he was right. Butler, to his credit, put Eveline on a plane and said, "Honey, start planning the wedding." But a good friend can help you know where you're vulnerable.

A good Bible-believing church can do that too. Friend, this is why we always say on our Friday broadcast, "Get to church this weekend. Go to a place where you CAN be accountable and MUST be accountable." Listen, you and I don't know each other. Once in a while, something we say here on the radio might gently hit its mark with you, but in a local church, the pastor will know you, and the deacons and elders, and your friends, and your Sunday School discussion group. And as we've just said, this Ephesians passage also talks about the Church being under attack by Lucifer. So they need soldiers! They need you to JOIN, and to participate, and to be there in your full armor, so that the church can be fully protected.

Finally, let's rejoice that God Himself, who MADE this good armor, is eager for you to wear it! You don't have to beg for it or pay for it; He pleads with you and me to accept it. Best of all, friend, He promises us the Holy Spirit, whose specific purpose on this earth for the past 2000 years of warfare, is to hand out swords and shields and helmets . . . and warnings about missing swords and shields and helmets.

"When He comes," Jesus promises us, "He will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment."

Let's be humbly thankful for the WHOLE armor; what do you say? And let's stay close to the kind Friend who hands it out.