“Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having girded your waist with TRUTH, ... .”

Today, we often hear that we are living in the midst of a ‘Cultural War’ in this nation. However, I would submit to you that we are witnessing a ‘Cultural Collapse’, as it is clearly delineated in Romans 1:18-32! As we observe the chaos of this shattered society, it is easy for believers to fall for the deception that the rebel sinners who surround us are our real enemies. However, the Word of God alerts us to the truth that these hellhound transgressors are not our adversaries; instead, they are our Mission Field! We are in a spiritual battle against invisible adversaries. Thus, we have not been redeemed to go AWOL! We have been enlisted into the army of the Lord of hosts. So we must fight the good fight of faith with the spiritual armor, which has been issued to every soldier in His army.

Our Commander is still building His church. He has not yet gathered in the last soul. We are marching toward that triumphant moment when all of the demonic armies and their commander will be incarcerated and thrown into the lake of fire. Oh, but as long as a disciple of Jesus is still living in this fallen world system, we are called to behave as His soldiers until the day of our departure. We were never enlisted into the army of the Lord to live a life of idleness and comfort. We have standing orders to advance into enemy territory with the TRUTHS, which cluster around the glorious Gospel of our Lord and Savior. Brothers and sisters, our primary weapon against the father of lies is the objective TRUTH of the Word of God. We must gird up the loins of our minds with the truth concerning the Deity of Jesus; the truth concerning the holiness of God; the truth concerning the sinfulness and condemned condition of sinners; the truth concerning the glorious work of our Savior, in His perfectly righteous life; His substitutionary and wrath-bearing death; His glorious resurrection from the dead; along with His triumphant ascension and coronation at the right hand of God the Father; and His Gospel commands to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ; and then issuing His Gospel warnings to those who are refusing to come to the Lord Jesus on His terms!

Notice these precious words, which are found in the same epistle to the Ephesians, “In Him, you also trusted, after you heard THE WORD OF TRUTH, the Gospel of your salvation... .” Friends, with these words, Paul is describing the one and only message, which has the Lord Jesus Christ as both its center and its substance! Fellow soldiers, we must equip ourselves, so that we will be ready to proclaim the ‘rightly divided Word of Truth’. This ‘Word of truth’ (the truths which cluster around the Person; the Work; and the Gospel Commands of Jesus) is the only message, which the Spirit of God empowers to produce the new birth! Consequently, as soldiers in the army of the Lord, we must live a life of faithfulness to the TRUTH of the Word of God. We must seek to take opportunities and make opportunities to proclaim ‘THE WORD OF TRUTH’ to those who are still at enmity with God. The infallible and inerrant Word of God is our only objective standard, as we live as resident aliens in this culture of lies. 

The world is utterly corrupted with man-centered opinions and philosophies, which are being propagated by the god of this age. Furthermore, there are many so-called churches, which are contaminated with ‘man- centered teachings’, that are not rooted and grounded in the objective truth of the Word of God! Thus, if you are going to fight the good fight of faith, the objective truth of the Word of God must be your sole authority for life. This is precisely why Peter exhorts us to ‘gird up the loins of our minds’ with the faith (the objective truth), which was once for all delivered to the saints! We must tighten up the loose ends of our thinking, by securing our minds with the glorious truths concerning all of the blessings, which belong to the ones in Christ Jesus the Lord.

Are you girding up the loins of your mind with these magnificent truths that describe all of the spiritual blessings in the heavenly places, which are yours, if you are in union with Christ? Have you girded up the loins of your mind with the riches of the glory of our inheritance in Christ? Are you girding up the loins of your mind with the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe? Have you girded up the loins of your mind with the objective truths, which contain all of God’s glorious promises to His people from eternity past into eternity future? Precious ones, this is the vital and foundational equipment needed for this cosmic conflict in which we are engaged. This is a true and sure foundation for us, if we are going to fight from the bedrock of victory, which is already ours in Christ Jesus the Lord! Oh, may each of us gird our minds with the objective truth of the Word of God, in these days of deception!