Shod to Study (The Armor, part 5)

Ah, winter! Cold, crisp air, snow, and… ice. Personally, I’m not a fan of cold weather (give me July any day!), and ice on the ground is only one of the reasons why. The statistics for winter weather-related accidents are startling. We all know that driving on icy roads is inadvisable: 116,000 injuries every year, along with 1,300 deaths.

What many may not realize is that there are a disturbing number of serious ice-related injuries every year while walking. Over one million Americans are injured by slips and falls every winter, and that’s only the reported cases. Over 42,000 of those injuries result in at least one day of absence from work, and a staggering 82% of those injuries are on flat, level ground. Get a full rundown of the statistics HERE.

The lesson? If you must be out and about during icy weather, make sure your tires and footwear have plenty of traction.

The same lesson can be applied to our spiritual lives and our daily walk with Christ. The Apostle Paul uses the imagery of a Roman soldier’s shoes (caligae) when urging the believers in Ephesus to put on the full Armor of God. If you read my previous article, you may remember that the sole of the Roman military “sandal” is studded with hobnails which provide excellent traction in virtually any situation. Our biggest concern, as always, is how to actually apply Biblical symbolism in a practical way. The best place to begin, as always, is with scripture. In this case, let’s examine Ephesians 6:15.

¹⁵ “And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;”

(KJV)

Image Courtesy of Medievalisticals

Notice the word, “preparation.” Now, if you are planning to go out walking on ice, your preparations might (and should) include choosing a pair of boots with excellent traction. Likewise, if you must drive on icy roads, you might prepare by adding snow chains or studs to your tires. Paul realized that Roman soldiers also put some time into caring for their caligae, including periodic cleaning and oiling of the leather to keep it in good shape. In fact, these soldiers did at times have to deal with cold weather, snow, and ice. In those conditions, their preparations included adding heavy wool socks to their feet in order to keep warm.

So how do we prepare ourselves to face the world every day? How do we prepare ourselves to be ambassadors of Christ? How do we prepare to walk with the Lord?

Shod to Stand (The Armor, part 4)

Men the world over all want to ask one very serious question: why do women need so many shoes? I own exactly seven pairs of shoes. One pair of Nike Air Monarchs, two pairs of dress shoes (one black, one brown), two pairs of work boots, and two pairs of house slippers (one of which is a pair of overstuffed moose-head novelty slippers – VERY cozy!). My wife, on the other hand, has a mind-boggling array of shoes of various styles and colors. But I must say I thank the Lord that she doesn’t have a monstrous shoe collection like the legendary (infamous?) collection which once belonged to Imelda Marcos!

I believe strongly that a shoe should be functional, and that aesthetics are a secondary concern (oh yes, I’m a walking fashion disaster, I know!). It would seem that the first century Roman military shared my view that the value of footwear must be measured primarily by its performance, though one must admit that Roman footwear was indeed quite fetching…

To the modern eye, the “boots” worn by Roman soldiers during most of the first century resemble sandals more than modern combat boots. But as the saying goes, appearances can be deceiving. Truth be told, these ancient Roman military boots (caligae) are superior to modern boots in some surprising ways, and were actually instrumental in spreading the rule of the Roman Empire.

Caligae are made entirely from leather and are secured to the foot by a network of straps which actually form the body of the “boot.” This design results in an open framework which is not sealed against water or dust like modern boots would be. Fully enclosed footwear was by no means unknown to the Romans, so one theory for the use of this kind of open design stems from economics: it takes far less leather to produce the combat “sandal” than a full-fledged boot. Thus, caligae would be far more affordable than closed-design boots.

Impenetrable: The Breastplate of Righteousness – continued (The Armor, part 3)

Just how strong is God? What are the limits of His power?

Your answer to those questions will play a huge factor in your Faith, your fellowship with God, and your everyday life. We say that God is all-powerful: omnipotent. We say that God is all-knowing: omniscient. We say that God is everywhere: omnipresent.

But do we really believe what we say we believe?

In the previous post, we examined the Breastplate of Righteousness and our role in putting it on in everyday life. But now let’s turn the discussion toward God’s part in the symbolism of the Breastplate and how our belief in God’s power affects us every day.

madmrmox-https:/www.flickr.com/photos/21304538@N00;

Like any figurative or metaphorical symbol, our understanding and personal application of the Breastplate of Righteousness depends largely upon having a proper image of the symbol fixed in our minds. For example, it is illogical to describe God as a consuming fire while using the imagery of a lake or river, or to reference Jesus as the Good Shepherd while describing the contents of the Most Holy Place in Solomon’s temple. The parts don’t fit, and such inaccurate imagery would leave one rather confused as to what the point of the lesson was and what difference it would make in one’s life.

The same is true when describing the Breastplate of Righteousness.

Abs of Steel: The Breastplate of Righteousness (The Armor, part 2)

Before I became a Christian, I didn’t really understand what the word “righteousness” meant. You see, I associated it with the term “self-righteousness,” which of course is a bad thing. In my mind, the two terms carried the same negative connotations, and when I heard Christians talk about righteousness, it didn’t sit well with me. I felt like they were congratulating themselves, patting their own backs for being so "good."

This misconception plagued me until after I had been saved, finally being dispelled when a pastor literally defined “righteousness” during a sermon. I learned two things that day: one was the meaning of righteousness; the other was that sometimes it really is necessary to state the obvious. As it turns out, righteousness isn’t at all hard to understand. It simply means doing the right thing. Good deeds, as opposed to bad ones (patting oneself on the back falling into the latter category).

Of course, knowing a thing and doing the thing do not always go hand-in-hand. We all have a sense of right and wrong, but we don’t always do the right thing. Many times we err without thinking; accidentally. But every now and then, all of us are guilty of choosing to go ahead and do something, knowing full well that it’s the wrong thing to do. We find (or rather, invent or manufacture) some justification to excuse our actions. Actions which we would quickly condemn if committed by anyone but ourselves. Why do we do that?

Fallen human nature.

We are all prone to sin, no matter how good we try to be. When we fail, as we all do from time to time, consequences necessarily follow. Even though the results can be quite painful, we still have an unfortunate tendency to get ourselves into trouble. Sometimes our sin hurts others, but every sin we commit leaves behind a self-inflicted wound. So how in the world do we protect ourselves from… ourselves?

Enter: the Breastplate of Righteousness.

GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

Why a Belt, and Why the Truth? (The Armor, part 1)

At some point in human history, someone decided that belts were a good idea. Thank goodness! Seriously, who wants to see some random guy wandering around in public “lookin’ like a fool with [his] pants on the ground?” Not me! So, kudos to the inventor of the belt - whoever you were. While “pantsing” has been a mainstay of comedy over the years, the Belt of Truth is no laughing matter.

©FERRELL JENKINS 2011

The common modern image of the Belt of Truth is based on the Roman cingulum militaire: the belt which is worn on the outside of a soldier’s armor. This belt helps to secure the breastplate and also holds the soldier’s scabbard (sword-holder) in place. The scabbard is not actually supported by the belt, but by a shoulder strap; the belt keeps it fixed in its proper location, allowing the sword to be drawn quickly when needed. The cingulum might also hold various small pouches and a scabbard for a dagger, as well as the iconic leather strips which may have served as some protection for the groin, or which may have been purely decorative.

You may be surprised, however, to learn that scripture doesn’t actually list the Belt of Truth as an item at all. The KJV translation renders the original Greek very accurately: “…having your loins girt about with truth…” (Ephesians 6:14) Some other translations do present the belt as an object similar to belts we use today, though the attempt to use more modern language in this way obscures some of the finer details of the original symbolism. A more modern and accurate rendering of the Greek verbiage which preserves the full symbolism of the text might be, “…wrapping your waist with truth…”

Before we go any further, we must dispel one myth: the Belt of Truth really has nothing to do with keeping us from telling lies. This is not to diminish the grave nature of lying – there is no room for lies in a Christian’s life! But lying is actually covered in another piece of the Armor – the Breastplate of Righteousness, which will be discussed in a later post. “Truth,” in this case, is nothing less than a reference to Jesus Christ.

“I am the way, and the truth, and the life.” John 14:6 (ESV)

The “Truth” symbolized in Ephesians 6:14 is Jesus! Putting on the Truth here means that we accept the truth about Jesus: He is the Son of God; He lived a life without sin; He died for our sin; and He defeated death itself by His resurrection. Putting on the belt (wrapping ourselves in Truth) means that we acknowledge Christ as Lord and Savior. Salvation itself is the result of putting on the very first symbolic element of the Whole Armor of God! Remember, Paul wrote this letter to Christians in Ephesus – to believers who have chosen to follow Jesus. Without belief and trust in Christ as Savior, none of the rest of the armor matters. Indeed, it cannot be worn at all.