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We have been looking at the importance of being properly protected for the spiritual battle. And God gives us this armour, even admonishing us to use it! "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." (Eph. 6:10-11 NIV). Last Monday, in "God’s Armament, Part 9", I introduced you to my beloved brother, Jimmy, and I began to tell his story. This story is not an easy one to tell, but I feel I need to tell you the rest of the story in order so that you may begin to understand what can happen when a person does not adequately protect themselves against the devil's forces.
We pick up the story just after my brother went away to school in Ghent to become an architect. He had been there for approximately two months when he came home for a visit, and he invited two people to visit all of us in our home in Ostend. These two were from a local church that we had never heard of before. We trusted Jimmy’s judgment, however, and before long, we found ourselves agreeing to Bible studies.
Up until that time, we had attended a Catholic church. Jimmy and I had both been baptized and confirmed in the Catholic church, and we regularly went to confession and mass. In those days, the Catholic church in Belgium did not encourage its members to have their own bibles, so when these people from this new church sent out a young pastor to do Bible studies with us, we were excited. We even went out and bought a Bible. It was my best present ever.
The problem with these people was that though they encouraged us to read the Bible, they had their own set of doctrines that were not 100% biblical. In addition, they were quite legalistic. In our ignorance, we didn’t know the difference. Besides, my mother would go on to become close to a older pastor from this denomination. They would speak on the phone or in person on a weekly basis, and she really liked this. We didn’t know anything about any church except the Catholic church, and we were so happy to have Bibles and to be encouraged to read them that we just assumed this pastor was teaching us truth.
Jimmy eventually joined this church, and my mother and I followed in his steps. He decided to become a pastor with this denomination. It all seemed like everything was going according to God’s plan. After all, aren't joining a church and deciding to become a pastor good things?
The problem was, we weren't encouraged to have a personal relationship with Jesus and there was no emphasis on God's Spirit. It was all head-knowledge, and as a result, my brother began to develop a bit of a superiority complex. He figured that since his church had "all truth", then he didn't need protection. God’s armament? Who needs that? And so, he paid no heed to the admonition: "Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes." (Eph. 6:10-11 NIV).
It all seemed so innocent at the beginning, but unbeknownst to all of us, he was starting down a very slippery slope without any protection from the devi's forces....
We invite you to join us on Monday for God’s Armament, Part 11 to see just how far the devil can bring you down if you aren’t adequately protected.
Rob Chaffart
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