Take Your Stand

By Pastor Chad

The Christian life is a blessed life. It is a holy life. It is a flourishing life. But it is not always an easy life. In fact, sometimes it is downright hard. It can be difficult to follow the Lord as we are commanded. And it isn’t always easy to walk in the light while living in a dark world. Scripture is clear, however, we are to stand firm (Ephesians 6:14). Yet, we are not called to stand on our own. We are given some weapons to battle the sin that so easily ensnares us. 

On Sunday morning, Eric discussed some important tools we can use to stand firm in the faith of our Lord. All weapons mentioned in Ephesians 6 are essential to living as Christ has called; however, there was one point he made that bears emphasis here. 

In Ephesians 6:16, Paul writes, “In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one…” The shield of faith is a shield that trusts in the work of Christ. And yet, to stand firm with our shields, it is helpful to understand the analogy like Paul’s original readers would. The Roman shield was a four-by-two-foot piece of metal. For ultimate protection, however, one did not stand alone on the battlefield. He stood shoulder to shoulder with his fellow soldiers. The battle line formed in such a shield-wall would make an almost impenetrable barrier to protect against the enemy’s arrows. Thus, to truly stand against the “flaming darts” of the enemy, one had to stand with his comrades in arms. The same applies in the spiritual life. In order for Christians to stand firm as commanded, we must stand shoulder-to-shoulder with our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ within the context of a local church. Standing alone we are easily vulnerable to a flank attack. But standing side-by-side with other believers, we can strengthen and encourage one another in this race we all run.

Remember, there is no such thing as a lone ranger Christian. You cannot live the Christian life solo. You are not strong enough to walk the Christian faith alone. Yes, you need the Spirit of God empowering you, but one way God empowers us is through the love and care of the local church. You need the church. It is the way God has designed it. You don’t have to fight this battle on your own. You don’t have to walk this Christian road by yourself. We can walk it together, shoulder-to-shoulder, in the power of our Lord.