Transcript The Belt of Truth

The Belt of
Truth
The Breastplate
of
Righteousness
Sue Bohlin
October 1
Belt of Truth
Ephesians 6:13-14
• Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that
you will be able to resist in the evil day, and
having done everything, to stand firm. Stand
firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS
WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
(NASB)
• Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled
around your waist, with the breastplate of
righteousness in place (NIV)
Belt of Truth
• Put on the full armor of God means to
clothe yourselves with Christ
• "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" (Romans
13:14)
Belt of Truth
Isaiah 11:1-5
Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse,
And a branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him, The spirit of
wisdom and understanding, The spirit of counsel
and strength, The spirit of knowledge and the
fear of the LORD.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD, And He
will not judge by what His eyes see, Nor make a
decision by what His ears hear;
But with righteousness He will judge the poor, And
decide with fairness for the afflicted of the earth;
And He will strike the earth with the rod of His
mouth, And with the breath of His lips He will slay
the wicked.
Also righteousness will be the belt about His
loins, And faithfulness the belt about His
waist.
Isaiah 11:1-5
Breastplate of Righteousness
Isaiah 59:17
He put on righteousness like a breastplate,
And a helmet of salvation on His head;
And He put on garments of vengeance for
clothing
And wrapped Himself with zeal as a mantle.
Belt of Truth
• A wide belt worn across the lower torso
to protect the loins
• From the ribcage to the thighs
• Belt essential to soldier
– Held scabbard for sword
– Kept tunic in place when he girded his loins
– Secured breastplate
Belt of Truth
• Truth is a What
– There is such a thing as objective truth!
• Truth is a Who
– "I am the way, the truth and the life." -Jesus, John 14:6
Belt of Truth
2 aspects to truth:
• Lack of falsehood
BELIEVE
the truth
– Being consistent with reality
• Integrity: truthfulness as character
– We don't lie to ourselves
– We don't lie to others
– We don't lie to God
– We don't lie in word or deed
LIVE the
truth
Belt of Truth
• Wrapping truth around us is wearing the
character and nature of Jesus.
• To put on the belt of truth means
– Getting and staying grounded in God's
word
– “Thy Word is truth,” John 17:17
– Putting on the character of Jesus
Belt of Truth
“It's imperative that you have a settled conviction
that the Word of God is just that, the Godgiven, God-breathed, God-protected, and Godpreserved Word of God. You must settle in your
heart that it is without error and that it contains
all you need in order to live righteously before
Him. If you are not convinced of these things,
then the rest of the armor will be useless.”
Lord, Is It Warfare? Kay Arthur
Belt of Truth
Important truths from the Bible:
• There is a God, and you are not Him.
• He loves you and created you for relationship
with Him.
• He is holy and wants you to be holy too.
• 2 basic rules: love God, love other people
• Jesus died for you to reconcile you to God and
lives in and through you
• The Christian life can be summed up in two
words: TRUST and OBEY
Belt of Truth
Truth is foundational to the rest of the
armor. If we don't know the truth and
own the truth, everything else will fall
apart.
Breastplate of Righteousness
• Breastplate covered all of a soldier's
vital organs, front and back
• Usually made of metal
• Guarded his heart
What does Righteousness mean?
• Dictionary.com: Morally upright; without
guilt or sin
• Right standing before God
• Jesus traded our sin for His
righteousness
– 2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin
to be sin on our behalf, so that we might
become the righteousness of God in Him.
• "Not guilty!"
The breastplate of righteousness protects
us from grounds for accusation:
Therefore there is now no condemnation for
those who are in Christ Jesus.
For I am convinced that neither death, nor life,
nor angels, nor principalities, nor things
present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other created thing,
will be able to separate us from the love of
God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1, 38-39
How the Breastplate of
Righteousness Works
• “I know God has forgiven me, but what do
you do with all the garbage in the memories?”
• The breastplate of righteousness allows us to
say:
"I'm forgiven,
I'm pardoned,
My sin is paid for, so
SCAT, Satan!"
The breastplate of
righteousness is the shed
blood of Jesus.
Labels
• God desires truth in our inmost parts
(Psalm 51)
• Which label are you wearing? It may
have come from a parent, a sibling, a
classmate, or even ourselves, but it
originated with Satan because he hates
you.
• Write your labels on a post-it note, put
them on yourself, and then take them to
the cross. . . where they belong.
Labels
Mistake Unwanted
Loser
Fat
Ugly
Incompetent
No self-control
Rebellious Can't do anything right
Never enough Nobody special
Special
Dumb
Unacceptable
Disappointment
Damaged goods Inadequate
Too old
Too young Shy People pleaser Frigid
Broken
Tomboy
Unloving Friendless
Labels
Frigid
Not working to potential
Unpopular
Cold
Dirty
Why can't you be more like your sister?
Disorganized
Wicked
Stubborn
Infertile
AloneLazy
Smarty pants
Goody two-shoes
Bad mother
Stuck up
Tramp
Impulsive
Woman with a past