Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily — Reason 3: My Daily Protection
/June 3rd. Day 3 of walking through “Reasons to Rehearse the Gospel Daily” — Part 1 of “A Gospel Primer for Christians.”
Today’s reason — My Daily Protection.
“As long as I am inside the gospel, I experience all the protection I need from the powers of evil that rage against me. It is for this reason that the Bible tells me to “take up“ {Eph. 6:13} and “put on” {Eph. 6:11} the whole armor of God; and the pieces Of armor it tells me to put on are all merely synonyms for the gospel. Translated literally from the Greek, they are: “… the salvation… the justification… truth… the gospel of peace… the faith… [and the]… word of God.” {Eph.6} What are all these expressions but various ways of describing the gospel? Therefore, if I wish to stand victorious in Jesus I must do as the songwriter suggest and “put on the gospel armor, each piece to put on with prayer.” {“Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus,” written by George Duffield, Jr.}
Milton Vincent, author of this primer, concludes this “protective” reason to rehearse the gospel daily with these words...
“That God would tell me to “take up” and “put on” this gospel armor alerts me to the fact that I do not automatically come into each day protected by the gospel. In fact, these commands imply that I am vulnerable to defeat and injury unless I seize upon the gospel and armor myself with it from head to toe. And what better way is there to do this than to preach the gospel to myself and to make it the obsession of my heart throughout each day?”
For me personally, today’s reason is a powerful one, especially as the mom of four (very active and very adventurous) boys, and in light of the ever increasing and never ceasing corruption that threatens to take out their generation and those that will follow. It is a corruption fed by the enemy’s lies and led by evil in disguise.
Becoming a child of God by trusting in Jesus does indeed “save” us; however, waking with Him daily by spending time in His Word and then applying what we learn, keeps us “safe” (protected) while on the battlefield of this world.
It is a choice to DAILY be ready for battle — to “take up” and “put on” the FULL armor of God, each piece vital for protection.
I want to challenge you to spend time in Ephesians 6 today. I’d love to discuss verses 10-20 with you in the comments below. Paul penned these words while in chains. God’s protection was real to him. He knew persecution firsthand (from both sides). His encouragement to the Church of Ephesus throughout this letter to them was multifaceted and touched every area of their lives. He concluded the last chapter of Ephesians with this charge to them (and to us) to wear the armor of God DAILY as we wield the Word of God DAILY.
We can’t wield it well if we don’t know it well.
It is our DAILY protection.