Dear friends in Christ.
Back in 1927, sculptor, Gutzon Borglum began carving the monument we all know today as Mt. Rushmore. Over a period of 14 years, he and many others blasted, excavated, chiseled and carved tons of rock to reveal the faces of Presidents George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Abraham Lincoln, and Theodore Roosevelt. Though he could have chosen any of our countries previous presidents, these four were chosen because they commemorated the founding, growth, preservation, and development of the United States. In fact, of all the presidents of our history, these are undoubtedly the presidents who are best known for how they stood firm in their beliefs and convictions to help make this nation the great nation it is today. Well, in the same way that these four men stood firm in their beliefs and convictions when their country needed them most, so also, the Apostle Paul is calling on you and me as Christians to stand firm in our beliefs and convictions as we stand firm in the Lord! In fact, standing firm in the Lord is the very thing that Paul is calling on us to do as he writes in our text this morning when he says, “Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground” (Ephesians 6:10-14).
Now, when Paul wrote these words to the Christians in Ephesus, they weren’t undergoing persecutions from the Roman Government. They weren’t being forced from their homes and thrown to the lions because they believed in Jesus Christ as their Savior. Instead, they were facing perhaps an even greater test to their faith. For these Christians were living in the city whose chief goddess was the goddess Diana. This was the goddess whose image was supposed to have fallen from heaven in a spectacular show of power, dedicating the city to her, and now that image that had been set up in the most prominent temple in the city was worshiped and relied upon by the people living in the city of Ephesus. Though the image itself was probably nothing more than a meteorite that had struck the ground in Ephesus, the people there were fanatical followers of Diana. You might remember the riot that broke out because quite a number of Ephesians had come to faith in the Savior that Paul was preaching. You might remember how Demetrius, the Silversmith, and a whole crowd of people shouted for two hours, “Great is Artemis of the Ephesians.” It was because of all of this that Paul was urging the Ephesians to arm themselves against the forces of evil so that they might stand firm in the Lord, for Paul knew that their fight was against satan and all his evil angels. Their fight was against satan and his attempts to lead the believers away from the Lord and back into the worship of the goddess Diana. Their struggle was against all those who sought to discredit the Christians faith, oppress its message, and nullify the power of the Savior.
Well, things are no different two thousand years later. For we are still struggling against the very things the Ephesians struggled against as Paul was writing to them. Though we may not have a temple to the goddess Diana in our back yards, our enemy, the devil, is constantly working to lead us astray. He is looking for any opportunity he might find to lead us away from our Savior. That is why Paul is calling on us to stand firm in the Lord and arm ourselves against the forces of evil, because as Christians our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against a spiritual enemy that we cannot see. Our battle is against satan and all his evil angels who are constantly looking to lead us into sin. Though they might not sit on our shoulders as depicted in cartoons, they are constantly whispering in our ears. They are continuously looking to make us doubt what the Lord says in his word. They are regularly making us feel that we are too busy to bother reading the Bible, and then they assure us that we don’t really need to because we already know it.
Our battle is against our sin filled world, which is constantly flaunting its evil ways in front of our eyes. Though we may not even realize it, we are being bombarded with heathen ideas and opinions whenever we watch TV. Even if our favorite shows come to us TV’s yesteryear, we cannot escape those convictions. For through television programs and commercials we are being convinced that we need more and more things in order to be happy. Through television programs, commercials, and even the news we are being told, assured, and even manipulated into believing that living an alternate lifestyle is ok. We are being assured that you don’t really have to be married before you can enjoy God’s gift of sex. We are being shown that living together before marriage has absolutely no consequences. We are becoming convinced that divorce is something so common that it no longer has detrimental effects on children or families. And on top of all that, we are being led to believe that same sex marriages need to be okayed in the country because there is no reason to keep two people who love each other separated from each other.
Our battle is against our own sinful nature, which seeks to lead us back into our most favorite sins. This is the part of us that want’s nothing to do with the Lord our God but everything to do with the world. This is the part of us that longs to believe that there is no hell and no punishment for sins. This is the part of us that eagerly listens whenever one of satan’s evil angels whispers in our ears. This is the part that sits up and takes notice when our a hint of flesh, or a pair of breasts, or even a full blown sex scene are revealed at the movie house, or even across our own TV sets. Yes, it is our own sinful nature that is constantly working to make us waiver in our faith, fall away from the Lord, and be lost to him forever. And this is why Paul is calling on us to stand firm in the Lord by arming ourselves against the forces of evil. This is why he is calling on us to stand firm in the Lord wielding the weapons of our God.
Yes, it is true! Our God does not leave us defenseless in the fight against our enemies. Rather he provides every weapon we could ever need so that we might stand firm in the Lord our God. This, in fact, is what Paul is describing when he writes: “Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 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. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests.” (Ephesians 6:13-18).
These are the weapons the Lord has issued us so that we might stand firm in him, and these are the weapons he gives us in his word. For it is in his Word that we learn about our Savior and all that he has done for us. It is in his Word that we are reminded how Jesus stormed the fortress of the evil one in an apparent suicide mission. In his Word we are reminded how it seemed that satan had won when he impaled Jesus’ hands and feet to the wood of the cross. In his Word we are reminded of the agony that Jesus faced as he cried out, “My God! My God! Why have you forsaken me?” But at the same time we are reminded of the victory that Jesus won as he cried out, “It is finished!” We are reminded of Jesus’ victory march through the heart of hell! We are reminded of his triumphant resurrection from the dead, which now assures us that all of our sins have been forgiven. Yes, every sin we have ever committed was forgiven by Jesus who died and rose again. Every sin that our sinful nature has ever led us into as been washed clean! Every sin that satan’s angels have ever enticed us into has been washed away! Every sin that the world as encouraged us in has been removed from our records, and now that we have been made clean by Jesus blood, we have the ability to take up the weapons our Lord had given us so that we might stand firm in him.
For now that we are redeemed children of God, it is our Lord himself who has buckled around us the belt of truth and attached the breastplate of righteousness. It is the Lord who has fitted our feet with the readiness of the gospel and given us the shield of faith. It is the Lord who has placed on our heads the helmet of salvation and placed in our hands the sword of the spirit. He is the one who has given us the battle cry of prayer and the armor of his word. Now, as his children, we stand firm in him wielding the weapons the Lord has given us. For it is through these weapons found only in his word that we have the power to defend ourselves against the attacks of our enemies. Through these weapons we have the ability to shield ourselves against the temptations the devil, the world, and even our own sinful nature hurl at us. With these weapons we have the power to defeat satan on his own ground so that we might continue to stand firm in the Lord. So take your position in the Lord’s army and stand firm in the Lord wielding the weapons he has given you. Stand beside your fellow Christians in the strength that the Lord has given you. Stand confidently knowing that even if your enemy should ever get the better of you and lead you back into sin, you still have the lifeline of forgiveness that Jesus has provided for you. For it is through this forgiveness that we are raised back to our feet when we fall, we are rearmed for the Lord, and we are able to stand firm in him our Lord and our God.
In many ways, standing firm, is the very thing that the four men featured on Mt. Rushmore are best remembered for. As Christians, our goal is the same as we seek to stand firm in the Lord. May the Lord bless us as we do just that, stand firm in him, armed against the forces of evil and wielding the weapons of our God.
Amen.
Pastor David M. Shilling
Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church -Le Sueur, MN
