The Shield of Faith

No Roman soldier would have dared to venture into battle without his shield. The Roman scutum was a rectangular shape molded in an arc around its long axis. It may have been constructed of overlapping strips of wood steamed and bent over a form, similar to modern day molded plywood chairs. Other sources indicate it was made from carved boards covered first with canvas and then with calf skin. The scutum was edged with iron to fend off downward or slashing blows. In the center was an iron boss or umbo, the purpose of which was to deflect spears and arrows. The scutum measured about 2 1/2 feet wide by four feet tall. It was strong enough to deflect most missiles and yet light enough to be carried long distances. It was large enough that the soldier could kneel behind it and be completely covered on two sides. Its purpose, of course, was to deflect the enemy's weapons and missiles before the soldier's breastplate was needed to protect him.

In Ephesians 6:16, Paul tells the Christian soldier to "take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." In other words stand confidently behind your faith, which will deflect the weapons that Satan uses to attack you. Notice that the first line of defense for the Christian soldier is faith. It comes before the breastplate of righteousness.

The writer of Hebrews wrote: "Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see." (Hebrews 11:1) Is this then a blind faith? Is this faith in fairy tales? Not at all. Consider the last time you drove your car. You probably slid into the driver's seat, checked your mirrors, started the engine and drove off. Did you first look under the hood to see if the engine was still there? Did you sign up for a course in automotive science in order to learn how the internal combustion engine works, or a computer course in order to understand the marvelous electronic controls that keep our modern cars running reliably, while reducing emissions? No. On faith, you turned the key, the engine turned over and you were on your way. When you got to the stop sign at the corner, you exercised incredible faith when you stepped on the brake pedal; faith that your car would safely come to a stop and not roll on into the intersection and the path of that busload of commuters. Did you see the brakes work? Do you have any clue as to how brakes work?

The fact is we "step out in faith" every day. We trust our very lives to acts of faith frequently. We are sure of what we hope for (not colliding with that bus), and certain of what we do not see (the pistons going up and down in their cylinders; the spark plugs arcing at just the right moment; the hydraulic pressure pressing the brake pads against the rotor). These acts of faith are in man-made things. Why then do so many of us have trouble having faith in the Creator of the universe? We have several thousand years of recorded history in our Bibles, all of which chronicles the consistently faithful, patiently loving, powerfully capable, perfectly just, and inexplicably gracious character of God. And yet, we put more faith in the mechanical systems of our automobiles; contraptions invented by the finite and fallible mind of man a little over a century ago. (And I might add, a number of people have lost their lives to mechanical failures of these "modern marvels." God, on the other hand, has never failed.)

Paul tells us that faith enables us to "extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one." He did not say some of those flaming arrows but all of them. How can faith do this? Ephesians 2:8-9 explains that "...it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast." Faith is what allows us to avail ourselves of God's gift of salvation. That gift is an act of grace beyond comprehension. Grace may be defined as "undeserved favor," or getting something you don't deserve. Salvation certainly falls into that category. "For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God." (Romans 3:23) And "The wages of sin is death; but God's gift is eternal life through Christ Jesus." (Romans 6:23)

Faith allows us to extinguish all of Satan's flaming arrows, because Christ's death on the cross was an act of grace that paid the penalty for our sins...all of them...all of the sins in our past; all of the sins we commit today; all of the sins we will commit for the rest of our lives, before God calls us home. Think about that for a few moments, Christian soldier. ALL of your sins have been forgiven already. That means that Satan, the great accuser, HAS NO CASE AGAINST YOU!! When you feel defeated by Satan, remember that it is a lie. "What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?" (Romans 6:1) Of course not; as Paul says, how can we go on sinning, when we are dead to sin? Or, perhaps, you do not know that when we were baptized in Christ we symbolically died with Him and were resurrected with Him. Remember 2 Corinthians 5:17: "...if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation."

We are saved [from Satan's flaming arrows] by God's undeserved favor through being sure of what we hope for [God's protection and deliverance] and certain of what we do not see [No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. - John 1:18]. We are not called to faith in fairy tales. We have "seen" God in the incredible splendor of His creation. Jesus (a real person whose existence is documented even more in the writings of secular historians who were his contemporaries than in scripture) showed us the Father's nature and attributes. (John 14:7-11) And we have God's love letter to us, the Holy Bible, which documents His incredible grace and mercy, His love and devotion to us, His children.

So, Christian, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. It is your first line of defense. It is reliable, because it is underwritten by the grace of Jesus Christ who first went into battle and gave His life for us, His comrades in arms.