The Shield of Faith

Picture yourself on a battlefield in the midst of a firefight, and the enemy combatants are beginning to move in on your troops with their weapons blasting. Now, also imagine that you have a shield that is capable of protecting you from the enemy's firepower since it has been designed to deflect their most powerful ammunitions with ease. What a difference that shield makes! However, now picture yourself in that same battle and battlefield, except this time for whatever reason, that shield has been eliminated, or at least dropped! The enemy fire doesn't stop because your shield is missing, if anything it increases. You are now helpless in the midst of that ever-increasing volley of blasts. I believe we all know the sad outcome of that distressing situation. 

This is a very real situation, but the battle is spiritual rather than physical for us as believers in Christ, though it may very well act itself out in physical ways at times. God has graciously given us armor to face this real battle, and doubtless, one of if not the most important piece of spiritual armor God gives us is the shield of faith. We can read about this in Ephesians chapter 6, verses 10-18. Since the shield is the shield of faith, then we need to know how we can use that shield as it is intended by God. Romans 10:17 teaches us that "faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God." Peter also tells us to steadfastly resist Satan and his devious methods- in the faith.  That definite article (the) along with faith shows us that it is not just faith, but a body of teaching that is meant, as Paul said, the word of God. These spiritual battles will not decrease as we advance in our lives, but will actually increase, so our knowledge of and ability in using the Word of God is essential. In the BBN Bible Institute, we offer over 100 free Bible courses that help us do just that, and 2 of them are very similar, being offered in both the Teen and the Adult divisions of the Institute. The Teen division has course number 70200, What Am I To Believe, and the Adult division offers course number 00100, Foundational Beliefs of the Christian Faith to help us in the battles of life. The BBN BI is found at www.bbnbi.org.  We believe these courses are invaluable and that you will enjoy them too. Oh, and if you find this is the case, tell a friend!