Ephesians 4:14-16
Verse 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of Him who is the head, that is, Christ.
We can’t move on from this piece of our spiritual armor without touching on a couple more touchy topics. As we talked about yesterday, the sword has work in our lives helping us rid our lives of the things which trip us up. Since temptation and sin is part of the enemy’s plan against us, we need to be ready to go up against him by ridding our lives of the joy of sinning. But we aren’t the only one sinning and as part of an army we need to understand this isn’t all about us. An army is only as strong as its weakest soldier.
There is no doubt we know if someone else is sinning, in fact, we are probably quicker to point out their sins than our own. One thing we need to remember is there are two kinds of people who sin – those who are Christians and those we are not. It may surprise some that their sins are to be treated differently. As fellow members of the army, fellow Christians should be lovingly corrected with the truth of the Gospel.
When we speak the truth of sin into another believer’s life it isn’t about telling them we are better than they are. If there is any of that feeling in our heart we have no business speaking to them about their sin. The truth is if we aren’t willing to help other believers address their sins and be willing to have them point out ours, we won’t be able carry out the battle plan properly together. We won’t be able to move forward against the enemy if we are not in unity of truth with our fellow soldiers.
On the other hand the enemy army is in sin too. We aren’t in a position to correct them but we are to hold the line of truth with our fellow believers. This is where the guidebook of the Gospel comes into full play. This book isn’t like any other book. It holds the truths which will guide us forward and help us hold our ground and fight off the schemes of the enemy. Only with these truths will we know the truth about sin.
Through reading, memorizing, understanding and applying, we can fight against any attack of the enemy. Whether it is the temptation which comes our way, the struggles with lies the enemy tries to get us to believe or the various other ways he tries to tell us God and His way are not good, there are verses in the Bible to help us fight the situation. But we have to be armed before the attack.
Making It Personal
What do you do to make sure you are armed when you need it? How hard is applying what you read? Where do you need to apply it today?
Making It Personal Kids
How often do you read and memorize Bible verses? Do you do the things Jesus says to do? How do you need to listen to Him today?
Closing Prayer
Father, thank You for this precious gift of the Bible. Help us know where and how to apply it to our lives. In Jesus’ name, amen.
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