Has God said…?” The first recorded assault against mankind was made in the Garden of Eden, a direct attack on the truth of the received Word of God. The assault was made by one whom Scripture calls the “father of lies”—the master of distortion and confusion. The first victim of the assault was Eve, the first woman. We may be forgiven if we have occasionally smiled at her gullibility, at the ease with which she was led to abandon what God had freely and explicitly given to her; but we do well to note that the first man, Adam, willingly joined her in the first sin. We should especially note that Adam and Eve are merely the first in a nearly interminable lineup of men and women leading up to the present day—those who have listened to the voice of the serpent as he questions the meaning of God’s Word.
PILATE VS. PAUL
Pilate, quoted in John’s Gospel, is the rightful heir of the distortion and confusion that began millennia before in the Garden. Like Adam and Eve before him, Pilate had the rare privilege of speaking to, and walking with, God; Pilate heard words of truth from the Truth Himself. Like Adam and Eve before him, Pilate was swayed by the opinions and whisperings of others.
Pilate had the privilege of a private interview with the Lord Jesus and left in the sway of his own fears and the designs of others. Francis Bacon wrote of that occasion: “What is truth? said jesting Pilate; and would not stay for an answer.” Pilate’s seemingly unanswered and haunting question still rules the minds of men and women some two thousand years later. Our generation asks what truth is and yet remains largely apathetic and always unsure about the answer.
The Apostle Paul understood the problems of modern man—the instability and the fear. He knew that above all else, retaining the truth of God’s revelation, refusing to let it slip away at any cost, was vital to a successful Christian life. In Ephesians 6, Paul speaks of the importance of truth to the believer and employs the striking and apt image of a warrior fastening a covering firmly around his midsection: “Stand therefore having your loins girt about with truth.” In the physical realm we understand that a soldier would “gird his loins” for one main reason—security.
Security was the natural desire of a soldier facing conflict. He would want to be well-protected especially around his midsection—the “loins.” After all, it was a reasonable expectation that one might return from battle with cuts, scrapes, and even severe wounds to the extremities, but those soldiers who suffered heavy damage to their vitals would surely not return at all. We might recall the sad example of King Saul who, seeking a certain demise to preserve himself from the abuse of the enemy, fell on his own sword at Gilboa and died.
Thus having “the loins girt” meant security and protection in a dangerous situation; it meant that the thrusts and designs of the enemy to penetrate the initial defenses could be turned aside before they inflicted a decisive and fatal blow. Properly equipping a fighter by protecting what was truly vital meant that a loyal soldier could commit himself to the struggle entirely without the recurring temptation to retreat or surrender.
TRUTH TODAY
The Lord reminds us that we have been called to a life filled with spiritual conflict as we live, work, and raise our families in a world that is opposed to God’s values and principles. “In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world” (Jn. 16:33). God desires and deserves willing, joyful service to Him on the battlefield; He has given us everything we need to be successful and victorious in this life. He has provided what we need to protect what is vital when we face a world that increasingly trumpets, as a virtue, its hatred of God’s standards. The stage is set and, as history has shown, it is altogether too easy to fail by departing from God’s standards. We’re sons and daughters of Adam and Eve, after all, who showed us so aptly what happens when we doubt God’s Word.
So if we are among those who claim to be serious about our Christian walk in this darkening and increasingly hostile world, we will understand through Paul’s letter that we cannot live by our own wisdom, applying our own well-intentioned but ultimately misguided versions of the truth to each new situation. We will consistently choose not to use our standards as the measuring line; instead we will gladly take up what God has given as our vital protection. We will take His truth and bind it firmly around all those things that are vital to us. We will entrust our families, our assemblies, our testimonies, and our very lives to the comforting security of God’s protection—His revealed truth. Pilate asked, “What is truth?” and John 17:17 tells us, “Thy Word is truth.”
Our generation—perhaps like no other before—is hearing the echo of the Serpent’s words, “Has God said?” Increasingly the answer to that question is founded less on Scripture and more upon peer pressure, media opinion, and the fear of being labeled “narrow” or “unloving.” This generation of believers will face serious challenges from the enemy on many fronts.
Already the battle lines are drawn in the area of gender roles within the assemblies, biblical teaching on the subject of homosexuality, and the singular role of the Lord Jesus in the salvation of men and women. Impressionable Christians are not being asked to abandon their faith entirely, of course (the enemy would not be so blunt!). They are simply being asked to adopt a “reasonable” compromise in certain “limited” areas of doctrine. Without a firm grounding in the Scripture, without a love for God’s standards above all else, Christians will be tempted to compromise. And once the belt of truth has been removed, this vital protection is gone and a Christian is vulnerable to the enemy’s fiercest attacks.
In these perilous times especially, serious Christians will take up the Word of God and make it the sole defining standard for all that is important in this life. We will understand that adopting any other standard—even with the best of intentions—will leave a gaping hole in our defenses through which the enemy has grievously wounded many who have gone before us. Serious Christians will, as Proverbs 23:23 tells us, “buy the truth and sell it not.”
All believers must realize afresh that they face moment-by-moment crises. Each of us should be eager to take up every piece of equipment our Master has provided for us to wage this battle. Paul tells us that the belt of truth is critical to our health. It is long past time that young believers recommitted themselves to a study of truth, a study of God’s revealed Word.
Ill-equipped soldiers—even zealous ones—risk losing the battle against superior forces, and young Christians who cannot adequately protect their core beliefs with God’s Word won’t hold their ground for long, either. Today you may suddenly find yourself in the conflict, when you’re asked to give an answer for the hope within (1 Pet. 3:15): “How can you trust the Bible?” “Why do you say Jesus is God?” “How do you know you have a home in heaven?”
Christian, are you ready? If not, it isn’t because God has left you with nothing with which you might make a strong defense. May we pray David’s request today: “Uphold me according unto Thy word, that I may live: and let me not be ashamed of my hope” (Ps. 119:116). The belt of God’s truth is provided for your security and your safety; it’s provided so that you won’t fall as Adam and Eve fell. The truth is clear, it’s available, and it’s time for serious Christians to put the truth of God to its intended use.
I cannot triumph over inward sin,
Nor rise above the rude world’s strife and din;
I cannot live for Thee one single hour,
Except as Thou, O Lord, dost give me power.
Communion’s holy path I cannot tread,
Nor feed my soul upon the living Bread,
Nor fill a humble witness-bearer’s place,
But by the workings of Thy sovereign grace
I cannot seek Thy will, nor love Thy Word
Nor own Thee as my Saviour and my Lord,
Nor please Thee once, in deed or word or thought,
Except as by Thy Holy Spirit taught.
Thy praises to the world I cannot show,
Nor serve Thee gladly though so much I owe,
Nor yet, like Mary, choose “that better part”
But as Thy mighty love constrains my heart.