Well, good evening. It's good to see you all now. Let's go to our guide in prayer, shall we? Our Lord Jesus Christ, we love you. We seek to be anchored in your truth. And we desire to be like you, girded with truth. We pray that you would use your word in each of our hearts this evening as we consider it. Bless and teach us, Holy Spirit, from your book, we pray, in our Savior Jesus' name, amen. Now, in our previous study, you've noticed that we've already read through Ephesians 6, verses 10 through 13 is what we had looked at previously. We've considered the command to be strong in the Lord and the strength of His might as in preparation for a vacation Bible study in recent weeks. In this life, as believers in Christ, we experience conflicts with the world, attacks from the devil, and allurements from our remaining inward corruption. We have a deadly foe, as we have observed, with whom we are completely outmatched in our own strength. I hope you are convinced again of that reality. It is our Lord's strength alone that can win the day, and I need to say I'm indebted to Ian Dugood in large measure for the outline that you have before you if you've taken one of those. We battle against remaining sin within us, that is, our flesh. From, again, the book of Ephesians. I've had to be selective in my review as these themes are traced throughout the scriptures, but I hope you'll see a common theme of the passages that I'll just review with you. Ephesians 4 verse 22. We are commanded to put off your old self which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds and to put on the new self created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. Romans 8 verse 13. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. We not only battle against remaining sin, but against influences from an ungodly culture. The Apostle John writes in his first letter, chapter two, do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. He continues, for all that is in the world, the desires of the world, the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life is not from the Father. but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever. And then back in Ephesians chapter 4, in the context of equipping the church for the work of ministry in sound doctrine, Paul writes in verse 14 of chapter 4, We may no longer be children tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. We're not only concerned to battle against the remaining sin in us and ungodly culture, but also against satanic and demonic attacks as well. From our own chapter in Ephesians 6, verses 11 and 12, put on the whole armor of God. that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. In another place, Paul describes something of the battle that he himself personally experienced. In the letter of Ephesians, We read that Paul is a prisoner of the Lord. He is an ambassador in chains, he writes near the end of this epistle. In 2 Corinthians 4, beginning at verse 8, he says, we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed, perplexed, but not driven to despair, persecuted, but not forsaken, struck down, but not destroyed, always carrying in the body of the death always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. And in our text that we've read, Paul described spiritual warfare as a wrestling against unseen powers. Sometimes we fall. And yet God can use even our failures to urge us to look completely to him for the strengthening that we so need. If you were to look at chapter 5 of our own confession of faith at the end of the hymnal, We read, the most wise, righteous, and gracious God does oftentimes leave for a season his own children to manifold temptations and the corruptions of our own hearts, to chasten them for their former sins, or to discover unto them the hidden strength of corruption and deceitfulness of their hearts, that they may be humbled, and to raise them to a more close and constant dependence for their support upon himself, and to make them more watchful against all future occasions of sin, and for other just and holy ends. So that whatsoever befalls any of his elect is by his appointment for his glory and for their good. This afternoon, I had time to read through one of John Newton's letters, which he addresses the benefits of remaining sin. Hard to imagine that someone would write something about that. And in that chapter, he includes these words. We don't learn of the depths of the corruption of our own nature simply by being told it. We learn it through the bitter experience as we struggle with sins that seem as natural as breathing and as hard to give up. And while all of this is true, while all of this is true, we must remind ourselves that throughout the New Testament, God calls us to victory over the world, over the flesh, and of course, over the devil. From Revelation 12, verse 10, we're reminded, John writes, and as I heard a loud voice in heaven saying, now the salvation and the power and the kingdom of our God and the authority of his Christ has come and the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down who accuses them day and night before our God. and they have conquered him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death. And so the God who has ordained our ultimate victory over the false trinity of this world, the flesh, and the devil has also appointed a means by which we may wage this spiritual warfare. And so we are instructed in this passage to take up the armor of God. I want to quote a brief passage from Pilgrim's Progress. You should remember where Christian goes into the palace beautiful. We read, the next day the maidens of Palace Beautiful took Christian and led him into the armory where they showed him all kinds of equipment that our Lord had provided for pilgrims. And this equipment included the sword, the shield, the helmet, the breastplate, prayers, and shoes that will not wear out. There was enough of all this there to equip for the service of our Lord as many people as there are stars in the sky for multitude. And the following day later, as they gazed into the looking glass toward Emmanuel's land, we read, now Christian reminded himself of traveling on. And they were willing that they should. But first, they said, let's go into the armory again. And so they did. And when they got there, they fitted him, that is Christian, from head to foot with equipment that had proven effective. And this was done for the event that he might be assaulted in the way. And as we know, in the following chapter, that's what happens as he descends into the valley of humiliation. And so all of this, as we come to our passage here in Ephesians 6 verse 14, notice with me the first of the armor of God that is taken up. Paul itemizes the specific pieces of the current day soldier's battle dress uniform, or BDU, as Alex might refer to it. He commands us to stand, which is in the Aorist imperative tense. In ancient Greek, the aorist imperative is used for urgent, positive, one-time commands. And as you became a follower of Jesus Christ, whether you were aware of that or not, there is likely a critical time in your experience in which you had to take a stand for Christ. With God's help, you planted your feet and made a profession of your allegiance to Christ and to his people. Sitting there, you may recall that time. For me, it was not longer I was converted that one evening on the college campus, many years ago, that I had stopped by to visit my partying friends. And I informed them that I had become a Christian, a believer in Jesus Christ. And they stood up and shouted for joy, giving me high fives and slaps on the back. No, that's actually not what happened. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Each of us can recall that critical day when we called on the Lord Jesus to forgive us of our sins and pleaded for mercy to walk in his ways and in his truth. And so as we look at this passage, remember that implicitly you had taken up the belt of truth. And as I recall, it was the realization that the gospel was true. And I could not come back away from that. But again and again, I was caused to believe in the gospel and by grace to persevere. The gospel is truth. and is one thing that you must necessarily be convinced of if you are to stand as Paul commands us in the day of battle. Well, referring to your handout now, Roman numeral one, the belt of truth described. The belt of truth described. Consider with me, A, Paul's imagery here. Since Paul had been chained to Roman soldiers 24-7 while in custody, he likely had occasion to watch these soldiers as they suited up. The first piece of armor of their BDUs was a belt, a war apron. Pastor Mitch reminds me from a recent study. This is going to provide protection from sword swipes. providing flexibility and movement. It's going to potentially be a place for fixing the robe, for freedom of movement, and potentially an attachment for the sword as well. And so this is the first piece of equipment to be worn. Those of you in Vacation Bible School may even picture that from the illustrations that we had in the weeks past. Paul referred to it as a belt of truth. As the belt of the uniform was necessary to support the soldier's movement and carry the sword, so the truth is also basic to the Christian's life. Well, why did Paul identify truth with the warrior's belt? If you'll turn with me to Isaiah chapter 11, beginning at verse 1, Isaiah chapter 11, we find this description of the righteous reign of the branch, beginning at verse 1. and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. And he shall not judge by what his eyes see or decide disputes by what his ears hear. But look at verse five, righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins." Now look at the second phrase there of verse 5. The passage is referring to none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. And Paul is very likely reflected upon this verse in writing Ephesians 6. However, in the Greek Septuagint, The Hebrew word for faithfulness here, which is emunah, I'm probably not pronouncing that correctly, is translated aletheia, or truth, in the Greek Septuagint. So Paul would have read, and truth, the belt of his loins. So it not be shocking to us that Paul may have been reflecting upon this passage as he was considering the Christian in complete armor. The Lord Jesus as well, the quintessential warrior of God, is girded about his waist with truth. Trustworthiness, faithfulness, honesty, integrity, the Lord's belt is marked by righteousness and truth. So it is the Lord's belt that we're considering here in part B. It is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. And as we turn back to Ephesians, we can see that truth is mentioned at several points throughout the Apostle Paul's letter to the Ephesians. If you look at Ephesians 1, with me, verse 13. We find this in Christ, in him, you also, in Christ. When you heard the word of truth, that is the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with a promised Holy Spirit. Truth seems to have mattered a great deal, not only to the Apostle Paul, but our Lord himself. So when we say truth in the biblical sense, we are speaking of ultimate truth, of absolutely true truth, as Francis Schaeffer would say. Truth as opposed to falsehood, as opposed to deception, to equivocation, to half-truths, or some private or relative perception of truth. And you're probably with me reminded immediately of the words of our Lord Jesus in that upper room discourse from John 14. Beginning at verse 5, Thomas said to him, Lord, we do not know where you're going. How can we know the way? Verse 6, and Jesus said to him, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. If you had known me, you would have known my father also. From now on, you do know him and have seen him." And so we can see that Jesus is the truth. The definite article is there in the original for emphasis. Ann Dugan writes this, the Christian message unambiguously claims to be truth and not just a truth. In the contemporary world, there are some who would say, it doesn't matter what you believe as long as you're sincere. You believe one thing about God, I believe another. But we're all essentially approaching the same God from different sides, aren't we? In reality, these people who say it doesn't matter what you believe about God as long as you believe, as long as you're sincere, these are the same people to whom it really wouldn't matter what you believe about God. But if there is a God who designed the man to glorify this God and enjoy him forever, then what you believe about God becomes a matter of supreme and decisive importance. Peter's words, when you consider from Acts 4 verse 12, You must be saved. And again, back in Ephesians 4 and verse 17. Paul writes, now this I say and testify in the Lord that you must no longer walk as the Gentiles do in the futility of their minds. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart. Down to verse 20, but that is not the way you learn Christ. assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him as the truth is in Jesus. And so Paul here contrasts the truth that is in Jesus with the darkened understanding that is a universal characteristic of the non-Christian way of life. An understanding that is darkened, Paul says, And recall with me what our brother Dalton's meditation was last week in John 8 and verse 12, where Jesus again spoke to them saying, I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. Jesus is the light. Christians boldly proclaim the gospel is the truth of who God is, and who what we are and what this God requires of us. We who are made in his image. And so this truth is revealed to us in the word of God, the holy scriptures. And as we read through the New Testament, time and again, the writers of the New Testament equate the gospel with a truth and truth was certainly essential to their message. In 1 John 1 verse 1, John writes, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and have touched with our hands concerning the word of life. The life was made manifest and we have seen it and testify to it and proclaim to you the eternal life, which was with the Father and was made manifest to us. That which we have seen and heard, we proclaim also to you. so that you too may have fellowship with us. And indeed, our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son, Jesus Christ. And we are writing these things so that our joy may be complete. This is the message that we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. And the Apostle Peter is going to make a similar point in his second letter in chapter 1 verse 16, where Peter writes, for we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. For when he received honor and glory from God the Father, and the voice was born to him by the majestic glory, quote, this is my beloved son, with whom I am well pleased. We ourselves heard this very voice born from heaven. and we were with him on the holy mountain, and we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed to which we do well to pay attention to a lamp, to as to a lamp shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in our hearts, knowing first of all that no prophecy of scripture comes from someone's own interpretation, For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. The New Testament writers insisted on truth, placed a very high value on what they were teaching to be the truth, to the point of martyrdom for all but one, John, who, as you know, was exiled. And the Old Testament writers certainly would add their amens to this. And so the application that comes to you and to me this evening, the world says the Bible is full of inaccuracies. In academia, many professors insist that Christians leave their religious convictions at the door. But what does the scripture say? Well, 2 Timothy 3, 16, all scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work. Is that your conviction this evening? When Bible passages seem to contradict each other, it's primarily due to not understanding them or interpreting them correctly. That's the concern. In every case of a seeming contradiction, we can know that there's an explanation because God's word never contradicts itself. And so we've seen a description of the belt of truth. But what does it mean to wear the belt of truth? Roman numeral two, wearing the belt of truth. Certainly it must be worn daily, letter A, it's to be worn daily. There is a sense in which we've put on the belt of truth at our conversion, that's true. But there's also the daily reality of wearing the belt of truth. We do not benefit by merely having a belt hanging in the closet, but to daily make use of it. The young recruit and the general alike must be in full uniform when Reveille is called. Like them, you and I are called, we're committed to put on that belt of truth each day and to walk with it on us. I recall my scoutmaster one evening at a meeting, showed up at our scout meeting without his belt on. Well, as soon as he realized that, he turned around and went home right away and got his belt back on and came back to our meeting later on. And so what does it mean to wear this daily? Well, I want you to think of the words in James 1, verse 22. But be doers of the word and not hearers only deceiving themselves. There's that word deception again. For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he looks like, what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, daily perseveres, being no hearer who forgets, but a doer who acts. he will be blessed in his doing. And as he surveyed the writers of the New Testament, and you look at 3 John, beginning with verse one, there's an obvious importance of the truth to the apostle John. He writes, the elder to the beloved Gaius, whom I love in truth. If you look at verse three, he goes on, for I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth. as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. God's truth, the gospel, is something that we labor to understand, but also to live in its light daily. We are to walk in the truth, present tense imperative. It was a joy to John to learn that the church was walking in the truth. And if we're honest, we know that our minds are very, very poor vessels to keep the truth as it is in Jesus continually before us. Some are blessed with photographic memories. I'm not one of those people, sadly. But even if I were, I would still benefit from drawing near to God and to his word each morning. And so the issue is not, have I begun this day with some angelic visitation? and my soul enraptured, as wonderful as that could be, but have I armed myself with God's truth this day? Am I equipped today to face whatever the enemy lays in my path? Am I more prepared to meet the enemy with any and every trick, mind game, temptation, lie, whatever? Or do you, like I sometimes numbly assume, that today will be just like any other, the events of the day completely predictable? How unwise that is. If you would turn with me to Psalm 19 for a moment, we wanna get David's perspective on what it is to love the truth, to walk in light of God's truth. Psalm 19, beginning at verse seven. David reflects on all of these verses here being related to the Word of God. The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. The testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple. Verse 8, the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart. The commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes. The fear of the Lord is clean, enduring forever. The rules of the Lord are true and righteous altogether. More to be desired they are than gold, even much fine gold. Sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned. In keeping them there is great reward. Verse 12, who can discern his errors? declare me innocent from hidden faults, keep back your servant also from presumptuous sins, let them not have demeaning over me, and then I shall be blameless and innocent of great transgression. Verse 14, let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. Note there is every confidence in the benefits which come to David in meditating upon God's truth, his word, but also a great mistrust of his own heart. Follow your heart, says the world. And yet David knew better. He knew his own deceitful heart knew it couldn't be trusted. But he had every confidence that each time he meditated on God's word, truth would displace his inward darkness, exposing sins of presumption. Is that your regular experience, my hearer? David is absolutely convinced of the benefits which flow to him from God through meditating upon the word of God. revival of his soul, increasing in wisdom and experience, David says, that's sweeter than honey, an enduring reward of deliverance from great transgression. We are to put on the belt of God's truth each day and each Lord's Day in particular. And so we've seen the belt of truth described. We've seen the necessity and duty of wearing that belt daily. But we're also, in part B, we're to speak the truth. We're to speak the truth. And back in Ephesians, again, I'm being selective here. In contrast with the surrounding culture, With every wind of doctrine, cunning, and deceitful schemes, Paul urges the Ephesian believers with these words in Ephesians 4.15. He says, rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way unto him who is the head, into Christ, from whom is the whole body joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped. when each part is working properly, when the body grows so that it builds itself up in love. And later on in the chapter, verse 25, therefore putting away falsehood, let each one of you speak the truth to his neighbor. For we are members of one another. A few verses later, verse 29, and Mark was referring to this passage this morning. So allow for the repetition, verse 29. Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouths, but only what is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you. Along with all malice, be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another as God in Christ has forgiven you. So not only is the content of our words to be truth, literally and in their effects, but also our speech is to come from a forgiven heart and with a forgiven disposition. So we're to speak the truth, to speak it in love, as well as to wear the belt of truth daily. In Roman numeral three, we need to recognize as well that the Christian faith is actually a system of truth. It's a system of truth. Under A, it's not a fortune cookie. Not a fortune cookie. Some people read the Bible as if it were a fortune cookie. There's nothing wrong with fortune cookies. I'm not criticizing those of you who like Chinese food. I do too. Certainly, I wouldn't make a diet out of fortune cookies. Certainly not what they contain. You know the experience. You crack open your fortune cookie, and you take the slip of paper out of it, and you read, so we're told, some pearl of wisdom. And some people, as I say, they open their Bibles the same way. They'll look for some kernel of truth somewhere, perhaps at random, and they're quickly satisfied with a little from the Bible. And yet in Acts 20, as Paul addresses the Ephesian elders for their last time, states in verse 20, for I did not shrink from declaring to you the whole counsel of God. We are to grasp fully the truths of God as we go into our battle every day. Now, frankly, I don't go around poking other believers trying to uncover this error or that error. I'm sure there are some that are like that. And yet in broader Christian circles, some you'll find saying something like this. Let's not get overly concerned about doctrine. Let's talk about our experiences that we have because that's what we share. And yet this is really a suicidal statement when you think about it because what they're doing in saying that is laying down a doctrine that experience trumps the scriptures. Well, what would the Apostle Paul say? If you turn over with me to 2 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 13. What does he say? Follow the pattern of, he's talking to Timothy, the last letter he's going to write before he's martyred. Follow the pattern of sound words that you have heard from me. In the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus, follow the pattern of sound words. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit that has been entrusted to you. And so we need to consider here that the scriptures are a system of truth. And that's incredibly helpful to us as we turn to part B in your outline. The scriptures really are a defense of the truth and to aid us in our duty to do that. Some may say the only doctrine that we need is the Bible. No creed but the Bible. Well, how could you disagree with that? Are you aware that T.D. Jakes of the Word of Faith movement, the Mormons, and the Jehovah's Witnesses could also sign off on that? And yet all three are heretical. Well, the Scriptures in all their various genres of literature provide with us a clear, systematic understanding of reality from God's perspective. The Scriptures are certainly more than a systematic theology, and yet we can helpfully understand them systematically, for God's truth is so ordered for us, thankfully. And so as followers of our Lord Jesus, we have a duty to be ready to give a defense, a reasoned defense for our faith. You know the passage, 1 Peter 3 15. But in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, and yet do it with gentleness and respect. And so how could it be possible if all that we say, how could we accomplish this if all that we say is no creed but the Bible? How could we possibly give a credible defense of our faith? And this is where the historic statements of the Christian faith are so helpful to us. Our brother Dalton has been leading us a study in the creeds of the Christian faith, the Apostles' Creed, the Nicene Creed. Both of these are excellent summaries of the Christian faith, yet brief enough to be committed to memory. Consider as well the tremendous aid of the historic confessions in giving this defense of the faith. I want to read from the introduction to the 1689 only briefly. where we read, it is now many years since diverse of us with other sober Christians than living and walking in the way of the Lord that we profess did conceive ourselves to be under a necessity of publishing a confession of our faith And listen what it says here, for the information and satisfaction of those that did not thoroughly understand what our principles were or had entertained prejudices against our profession by reason of the strange representation of them by some of note who had taken very wrong measures and accordingly led others into misapprehension of us and them. And so the 1689 was written in a context of having to give a defense of our faith from, of course, a Reformed and Baptistic perspective. Spurgeon, in his introduction, has these words. This ancient document is the most excellent epitome of the things most surely believed among us. It is not issued as an authoritative rule or code of faith whereby you may be fettered, but as a means of edification and righteousness. It is an excellent, though not inspired, expression of the teachings of those holy scriptures by which all confessions are to be measured. And we hold to the humbling truths of God's sovereign grace in salvation of lost sinners. Salvation is through Christ alone and by faith alone. So we can see the importance of giving a defense of our faith and the aid that we have in our historic confessions and creeds in actually making that case for us. So much of our work has already been done for us by these creeds and by our historic Protestant confessions. So not only is it a defense of the truth, but see, it is also an aid to disciple making. And as you know, the command of our Lord in Matthew 28 in making disciples of the nations is quite plain. And yet, without clear expressions of our faith, how are we to move forward without reinventing the wheel every time we are called upon to instruct those that are young in the faith? Again, the creeds and the confessions are an aid. and we are to make disciples of Christ under the blessing of God, even among our family members. As the 1689 introduction continues, and verily there is one spring and cause of the decay of religion in our day, which we cannot but touch upon and earnestly urge the redress of, and that is the neglect of the worship of God in families by those to whom the charge and conduct of them is committed. May not the gross ignorance and instability of the many, with a profaneness of others, be justly charged upon their parents and masters who have not trained them in the way wherein they ought to walk when they were young, but have neglected those frequent and solemn commands which the Lord had laid upon them, so to catechize and instruct them that their tenure years might be seasoned with the knowledge of the truth of God as revealed in the scriptures. I'll end the quote there. And so you can see we have in our confession of faith a systematic theology and miniature which can aid us in teaching our families as well as young converts in the faith. Again, so much of our work has been done for us. And so let us make use of them and the Baptistic catechism as well. Let us make use of them for the glory of God. And we would do well to ask ourselves, when was the last time that we took the time to look through these documents such as our confession in private? Well, we've looked at the system of the truth. We've looked at the necessity of speaking the truth. of wearing the belt of truth. But we need to go back and we need to consider, as we wrap up tonight, our champion, our Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, our champion. For this is His armor that we're considering. As we've seen in Ephesians 6.10, Isaiah 11, righteousness shall be the belt of his waist and faithfulness truth the belt of his loins. This armor is that of our Lord Jesus. This is not King Saul's armor that ill fit David and was not useful. But this is the armor of our champion, our Lord Jesus himself. It suits us quite well, since he is the God-man for us. And yet we too often are not victorious, are we? We daily fail to appropriate the belt of truth, failing to take every captive thought to the obedience of Christ. We are completely dependent upon God's saving and preserving power. each day in Christ to help us to persevere and to work out our salvation with fear and trembling. Christ who sealed us with his Holy Spirit and keeps us by the power of God unto the day of redemption. Daily he forgives us and deals with us. So we are to wear his armor as Jesus did. Consider with me his brief battle over Satan. Victorious over Satan, part B. Christ wore the belt of truth when he faced the devil in the wilderness in Matthew chapter four. He quickly bested the father of lies with the truth of his complete dependence upon his father. for his care, and wisely not doubting the Father's care by submitting to a foolish test of casting himself from the pinnacle of the temple, as Satan suggested. Nor did he bow before Satan in exchange for an earthly dominion. Every lie and temptation of the devil was met with a truth of God from the scriptures. And so like our Lord's encounter, the devil will flee from us if we would only resist him with the belt of truth. And so when Christ returns, Rather, Christ defeated Satan by his incarnation and by his glorious cross, from Hebrews 2.14. Since therefore the children share in flesh and blood, he himself likewise partook of the same things, that through death he might destroy the one who has power of death, that is, the devil. and deliver all those who through fear of death were subject to lifelong slavery. Our lives in Christ can never be forfeit because he has conquered death. And so when Christ returns at the end of the age, that victory will be fully realized. we read in Revelation 29, God's enemies marched up over the broad plain of the earth and surrounded the camp of the saints and the beloved city. But fire came down from heaven and consumed them. And the devil who had deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet were. And they were tormented day and night forever and ever. Consider the words of Luther's hymn. You know the words well, I'm sure. And though this world with devils filled should threaten to undo us, we will not fear for God has willed his truth to triumph through us. We tremble not for him, his rage we can endure, for lo, his doom is sure. One little word shall fell him. Christ is our champion, who has conquered sin and death and the devil by the blood of his cross. He is the Lord of all, and so take heart as you struggle against those foes. from Psalm 20 verse 5, may we shout for joy over your salvation. And in the name of our God, set up our banners. May the Lord fulfill all your petitions. And so finally, I ask you this evening, would you be valiant for truth? Would you be valiant for truth? I wanna close from a quote again from Pilgrim's Progress here, much later in the second half of the book. where Great Heart Christiana and her children went on, just at the place, remember, Mark was teaching us, where little faith had been formerly robbed. And there stood a man with his sword drawn and his face all bloody. And then Mr. Great Heart asked, who are you? I'm the one whose name is valiant for truth, he said. I'm a pilgrim, and I'm going to the celestial city. Now, I was in my way. As I was in my way, three men assaulted me and offered me three things. One, to become one of them. Two, to go back from where I came. And three, to die on the spot. To the first, I answered, that I had been a true man for a long time and therefore could not be expected that I should now cast in my lot with thieves, too. And so they demanded that I would respond to this second. I told them that I wouldn't have forsaken the place where I came at all if I hadn't found discomfort there, but finding it altogether unsuitable and unprofitable to me. So I forsook it for this way, and then they asked me what I said to the third. And I told them that my life cost me more dearly by far, and that I should not lightly give it away. And besides, I said, you have no right to demand me to choose anything. I will be, it will be at your peril, therefore, if you meddle. And then these three, named Wild Head, Inconsiderate, and Pragmatic, drew their weapons upon me, and I also drew mine upon them. Valiant for truth continued, and so we went at it, one against three, for the space above three hours. As you see, they've left upon me some of the marks of their valor, and they've also carried away with them some of mine. And so they now just left. I suppose they might, as the saying goes, hear your horse dash. And so they took to flight. But those were great odds, three against one, said Great Heart. That's true, said Valiant. But little and more are nothing to him who has the truth on his side. And though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear. Though war break out against me, even in this I will be confident. Besides, he said, I have read in some of the records that one man has fought an army. And how many did Samson slay with a jawbone of a donkey? And then the guide said, why didn't you cry out so that some might come to your assistance? That's what I did to my king, answered Valiant. I knew he could care and provide invisible help, and that was sufficient for me. Well, may we at least have some measure reflect the character of our Lord Jesus, our champion, and Mr. Valiant for truth in this passage as we take up the whole armor of God. And so I ask you this evening, are you on the Lord's side this evening? As I've read from Revelation a moment ago, see the end of all those who oppose Christ. Seek peace with your conquering Christ today. that you will not perish along with the devil. And know the kindness of God that we heard this morning, the kindness of God in the gospel through faith in him alone and that to enjoy through all eternity. Let's go to our God and pray, shall we? Dear Lord, we love your truth. We pray that you would help each one of us this evening to stand in the truth that is in Jesus, that we would firmly grasp the truth, that we would be able to retain it in our minds, that we would be able to understand how each of the parts of your book fit together. in a system of truth. Give us grace daily to speak your truth in love to the end that you would get glory that as we heard this morning that people would be able to see the example of living a godly life, a Christ-like life patterned after you to the end that you would get glory, even as we consider this morning, dear Lord, that we will be salt and light in this crooked generation. We pray all these things in our champion Jesus' name, amen. Well, we're going to sing out of the supplement, I think it's number seven, He Who Would Valiant Be. We'll go ahead and stand as we sing this hymn together that we've sung before, but I know it's been a little while. you