Stand, therefore, with truth like a belt around your waist,
Ephesians 6:14a
Isn’t truth relevant to each person? Sean McDowell, a teacher and renowned apologetics speaker, explained a conversation he had with one of his students. The student asked Sean what the point was in having to know what’s true. Sean replied, “Do you want me to tell you the truth or lie to you?” The student thought about what he said and walked away. The point was clearly made. Knowing what’s true is essential.
At the time of writing this, God blessed Leah and me with two beautiful girls and a baby boy. My two girls love each other, and it seems they are inseparable. They want to go places together, share the same room and sleep on the same bed. However, sometimes they would fight and one of them would come to me to complain about the other. Even before one starts complaining, I tell her I need the whole truth of what has happened. It does not matter who is in the wrong. I need the truth and nothing but the truth, I tell her.
You do not need to be a follower of Jesus to teach your kids to tell the truth. From a young age you teach them to be honest because you know it is a good character trait to have.
I read this quote by D.L Moody and it stuck with me, “The best way to show that a stick is crooked is not to argue about it or to spend time denouncing it, but to lay a straight stick alongside it.” Paul told the church that having the belt of truth buckled around your waist is the only way to defeat the lies of the enemy.
The more you read, understand, and apply God’s word into your life, the more you’ll be girded up in His truth.
Reflections on the Belt of Truth
a) The belt in Ephesians 6 refers to what the Roman soldiers used to wear. It had pieces of leather which hung from the belt to protect the soldier’s lower organs and show their status to others. The pieces were movable so the soldiers could still run unhindered and with ease. The soldiers wore tunics instead of shorts/underwear back then which could go as long as their knees. So, they would tuck their tunics into the belt to free their legs to run easier. They looked like they were wearing short skirts when fighting. This all came from the belt which fit snugly around their waists.
b) A belt is used to hold things together. It goes around your entire waist, meaning that it surrounds you. It gives you support.
c) You can only hold so much on your belt before it weighs/slows you down. So, you can only afford to hold onto what is most important and throw off anything else that’ll hold you back.
d) Think about your waist for a moment. When exercising, this is often referred to as your “core.” It’s where your greatest strength and center of gravity resides. It helps you balance, bend, lift and twist. The core of your faith should be centered around God’s truth. It’s what will keep you grounded and strong. You walk in and with the truth, you speak the truth, because Truth is a person (Jesus). We’ll get more into that later.
e) The belt also holds your greatest piece of offensive armor: your sword. The sheath that holds the sword attaches to your belt. The belt and the sword have the same elements: God’s word (we’ll get to the sword later in this study).
It may have seemed odd that the first piece of defense highlighted is the belt, but hopefully you now understand that it is vital to the rest of your armor. Let’s take it to the Bible to see how this plays out in people’s lives.
When Truth Unmasks Wrong
When Truth unmasks wrong, those who are exposed get very nervous, like the two brothers in a story I heard recently. These brothers were rich. They were also wicked. Both lived a wild, profitable existence, using their wealth to cover up the dark side of their lives. On the surface, however, few would have guessed it, for these consummate cover-up artists attended the same church almost every Sunday and contributed large sums to various church-related projects. Then the church called a new pastor, a young man who preached the truth with zeal and courage. Before long, attendance had grown so much that the church needed a larger worship center. Being a man of keen insight and strong integrity, this young pastor had also seen through the hypocritical lifestyles of the two brothers.
Suddenly one of the brothers died, and the young pastor was asked to preach his funeral. The day before the funeral, the surviving brother pulled the minister aside and handed him an envelope. “There’s a cheque in here that is large enough to pay the entire amount you need for a new sanctuary,” he whispered. “All I ask is one favor: tell the people at the funeral that he was a saint.” The minister gave the brother his word; he would do precisely what was asked. That afternoon the pastor deposited the cheque into the church’s bank account.
The next day the young pastor stood before the casket at the funeral service and said with firm conviction, “This man was an ungodly sinner, wicked to the core. He was unfaithful to his wife, hot-tempered with his children, ruthless in his business, and a hypocrite at church… but compared to his brother, he was a saint.”
You know there is some element of importance now to knowing the truth in general. Have you ever wondered why people are so afraid of the truth? I am guessing when you die you would want people to celebrate your life by telling the truth. Jesus says, “The truth will set you free.” (John 8:32b)
Lessons from the Life of Jesus
Matthew’s account of the gospel of Jesus Christ gives us an excellent example of the importance of knowing the truth.
After Jesus’ baptism, God’s Spirit led Him into the wilderness to be tempted by the enemy. He fasted forty days and forty nights and was alone during that time. While He was tired, hungry and thirsty, and in one of His most humanly vulnerable states, Satan showed up.
Look at Mathew 4:3-11,
Then the tempter approached him and said, “If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread.” (Vs.3)
The devil knew Jesus was hungry and that He had the power to do this. He (Jesus) answered, “It is written. Man must not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
Then the devil took him to the holy city, had him stand on the pinnacle of the temple, and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written:
He will give his angels orders concerning you,
and they will support you with their hands
so that you will not strike
your foot against a stone.”
Jesus told him, “It is also written: Do not test the Lord your God.” (Vs. 4-7)
Again, Satan was not asking Jesus to do something that He couldn’t do. He knew Jesus could easily do it, and on top of that, Satan quoted scripture to support his request. Jesus had a choice to make. Would He listen to the devil’s voice like Adam and Eve did in the garden, or listen to His Father’s voice?
Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor. And he said to him, “I will give you all these things if you will fall down and worship me.” Then Jesus told him, “Go away, Satan! For it is written: Worship the Lord your God and serve only him.”
Then the devil left him, and angels came and began to serve him.
Matthew 4:7-11
Satan tried the same approach he used with Adam and Eve in the garden to have them disobey God. Satan used hunger, pleasure, and a desire for glory and power. “When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband, who was with her, and he ate it” (Genesis 3:6)
Satan uses truth mixed with his lies to tempt. At that time, he was considered the prince of the earth. He had the rights over it since Adam and Eve sinned in the garden of Eden. That sin, and his dominion over it is why Jesus came to be a sacrifice for us in the first place. So, he wasn’t completely lying about some of the things he was saying.
The Devil quoted Psalm 91:11-12 to tempt Jesus. This is important to note – Satan tried to use God’s word against Jesus! This is why it is vital for you to understand God’s truth! You need to know when you’re listening to the real truth or hearing a lie.
God’s truth isn’t flawed. It is accurate and reliable. However, Satan uses man to twist it to support their own desires. By studying God’s word diligently, you’ll be able to tell when something isn’t right. You’ll catch the inconsistencies Satan is trying to tempt you with and be able to refute it with the truth.
The early church was frequently conflicted about this as they began to learn to differentiate between man-made rules and what God’s truth really said. The enemy will make it seem close to the truth at times. As long as you keep growing in the Lord, God will bring those things to light and help you to resist the enemy. Your core will be strengthened, you’ll run with endurance, you’ll mature in your faith, and you’ll fight well.
Hey remember, Keep trusting, keep believing. If you’re still above ground, God’s not done with you yet!
