Fasten On the Belt of Truth

This post continues our series on the Whole Armor of God and focuses on the encouragement to Fasten On the Belt of Truth, the first defensive weapon.

Everything Is Supported by the Belt

I recently heard a true story about a young woman who went to try on a bridal gown. She was frightened that her heavy, strapless dress would just fall right down because of her slender narrow frame.  

The saleslady assured her that all the weight of the fabric rested at the waist. If the waist was strong, the dress would stay perfectly in place!

I love this story because it perfectly describes the importance of the belt of truth. All the rest of the spiritual armor “hangs” on the truth!

Not to jump ahead, but let’s look very briefly at the other pieces of armor. Righteousness, the Gospel of peace, faith, salvation, and the sword of the Spirit hang (in various ways) on truth. Whether it’s the truth of who God is, the truth of who we are in Him, or the truth of His Word, the truth is central and binds them together.

Truth First

Why is the belt of truth mentioned first? 

This would have been understood practically by the original audience. Today, we often use belts as fashion accessories, but Roman soldiers or anyone needing to fight (or work hard) would have needed a good, functional belt. It certainly would be the first piece of armor put on when dressing for battle.

Long robes could have been tucked up under the belt to free the legs and feet. And a strong belt would have given physical support to the back (much like the back support belts that physical laborers often wear today). 

A Roman soldier took the first step to readying himself for battle when the belt was cinched.

Once the belt was on, the body was strengthened to hold the weight of all the other armor! 

What About Us? Are We Soldiers?

The Book of 2 Timothy refers to Christians as “soldiers.” Matter of fact, all of 2 Timothy 2 gives the characteristics of a soldier of Christ. Verses three and four say:

“Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him.” (2 Timothy 2:3-4)

 

So yes, we are soldiers. And we will fight spiritual battles as long as we are living on this earth! Like Patti said in our introduction,

When we remember that the battle is against the enemy, it realigns us with God’s view. We can remember to stand in His strength, because obviously you and I can not fight an enemy of that magnitude alone!

It is through His truth, faith in that truth, salvation because of that truth, and so on, that we can fight. 

How Can We Know Truth?

If we have a saving relationship with Jesus, we have already chosen truth and know truth. Jesus said, 

“I am the way and the truth and the life.” (John 14:6)

“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth shall set you free.” (John 8:31-32)

Yes! Jesus is the truth that sets us free. He is the truth we can fasten on when we have spiritual battles to fight. He is our source of strength!

We know truth when we know Him. But we can also learn more about Him and His truths by reading and studying His word.

As I said in this post about Reading For Truth, https://donotdepart.com/reading-for-truth-abiding-in-gods-word

“As Christians, we must be grounded in truth or else we’ll be deceived by the lies of the enemy.”

Jesus said in John 17:17,

“Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth.”

We’ll talk more about using the Word of God as the sword of the Spirit in a future post in this series, but for now, just remember that the Bible is foundational to learning truth! We need to know the truth to live by it!

Aren’t you thankful that we have access to the truth in the person of Jesus Christ and through the written word? Share your thoughts in the comments or in our Facebook community group.

Blessings,
Ali