Stand Firm: Belt of Truth & Breastplate of Righteousness

We started a new series last week just simply called Stand.

And how we're in a spiritual war, spiritual warfare.

And so much of the time, I think we're unaware of it. But today we're talking

about truth and righteousness.

Let's go to the Lord in prayer. Lord, I pray today that you would fasten your

truth around my life and protect my heart with your righteousness as well as others here, Lord.

Help us to walk in integrity and live by your word. Lord, I want to stand firm in you at my core.

And I give you all the praise today in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen.

Again, last week we talked about the foundation of our strength,

not our hustle. It's not our grit, not our determination, but the strength that comes from who alone?

From God alone. Paul said what?

Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Again, we're reminded that standing

firm doesn't start with us striving.

It starts with what? Do you remember from last week?

Surrender. But here's the thing. Even when we stand in God's strength,

we still need protection.

Why? Because the battle isn't theoretical, is it? It's real.

Our enemy is real. Our enemy is strategic.

He's not trying to just knock you down. He's trying to break you from the inside out.

He goes for the core, your heart, your mind.

That's why Paul doesn't start with the armor of God, with the sword or the shield.

He starts with what protects the center of who we are.

And today, again, we're looking for at the belt of truth and the breastplate

of righteousness specifically, not just as symbols this morning,

but as daily essentials in the warfare that we're in.

These are not extras, in other words, for the Christian life.

They're what actually hold you and I together and guard us when the pressure hits.

Because when the lies come, let me tell you something, and they will,

you and I need to be anchored.

And when temptation knocks, you need your heart covered.

So today, as we see in this opening slide, we have to ask ourselves,

what's holding you together?

What's guarding your heart? What's holding you together? What's guarding your heart?

In fact, we'll be, as you know, in Ephesians chapter 6 today.

Ephesians 6 · chapter mention

And really quickly from the word of God, I'm going to read just a pickup from

last week to bring us into today's focal verses. We'll see in a moment.

But Ephesians 6, and I'm going to start with verse 10, says,

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.

Put on the whole armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil.

For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers,

against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness,

against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.

Therefore, take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand

the evil day and having done all to stand firm.

And that brings us to where we're out today, focusing on verse 14 today.

Take a look at it on the screen here. What does it say? stand therefore having

fastened on the belt of truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.

So we see number one, church, we have to stand firm with the belt of truth,

as we see in this next slide.

Stand firm with the belt of truth. And when Paul begins to list the armor of

God, he doesn't start with the most impressive or noticeable piece.

He starts with something that's foundational and often overlooked.

You guessed it. You see in scripture, the belt, right?

Again, stand firm then with the belt of truth buckled around your waist,

it says in verse 14, that first part. Why start there again?

Well, in Roman armor, the belt wasn't decorative. It was functional.

Functional. It held the tunic in place so the soldier wouldn't trip.

It supported the breastplate. It provided the sheath for the sword.

Everything else, get this today, was anchored to it.

Without the belt, a soldier was vulnerable, disorganized, ineffective.

The belt was the starting point.

And I want you to see this today, church. In the same way, truth is what holds

your spiritual life together.

Without the truth of God, you're left stumbling, unprepared,

and wide open to deception.

John 17, 17 says, sanctify them by the truth. Your word is truth.

Then you will know the truth and the truth will set you free, John 8, 32.

See, but today truth is under attack, is it not, in our world?

We're told what? Live your truth.

Live your truth. We're pressured, persecuted sometimes, but pressured to follow feelings over facts.

Doctrines, or desires over doctrines of scripture, right? Or culture over Christ.

But God's truth, I want y'all to get this today, isn't subjective or situational.

It's eternal and it is unchanging.

You know, I mentioned earlier, we're pressured to follow our feelings sometimes

over facts. Do you know that?

You know, a lot of times I think people are tempted to actually feel their way into their beliefs.

You know, I just don't feel like, let me just start with this.

You don't receive your truth as

a Christian from CNN or MSNBC or any other network. You go to God's word.

I think that's where we fill our minds with this garbage. 99.9% of it is lies across the board.

We fill our minds with it. We make our decisions based on feelings rather than

on our beliefs grounded in God's word and what God has revealed in his holy word.

And let me just say today, feelings can be the fruit of faith,

like your assurance of salvation.

Like, yes, I know I'm saved. Boy, I know God's got me, but it's not the source

of it. Let me challenge you today quickly.

Don't feel your way into your beliefs.

Believe your way into your feelings.

Based upon God's holy word. And I'll tell you what, the grass withers,

God's word says, the flowers fail, but the word of God endures how long?

Forever, Isaiah 48. And Psalm 119,

Psalms 119:142

verse 142 says, your righteousness is everlasting and your law is true.

And as we see on this next slide, when you anchor your life to what is eternally

true to the word of God, to the person of Jesus, and the promises that he's made in his word.

Guess what? You and I can stand strong no matter what lies the enemy is throwing our way, right?

In fact, John 14, 6, Jesus answered, he said, I am the way and the truth and the life.

Proverbs 30, verse five, every word of God proves true.

He is a shield to those who take refuge in him.

So if you try to stand in this culture without truth, and I'm not talking about your truth.

I'm not talking about anybody's truth other than the one who is truth.

The God of the ages, right?

Almighty God in Christ alone. If you try to stand without truth,

your spiritual armor will actually fall apart, as we see in this next slide, when the pressure hits.

But when you buckle on the belt of truth, again, you're not just believing in

a concept. What are you doing?

You're anchoring your soul to the one who is truth himself.

You can't go wrong there. So many of us, again, I have to challenge again today

to all of us, starting with me.

So many people turn to outside sources and their minds.

That's why it's a battle for your mind. Renewing our mind every day.

Don't fill your mind with the junk. Don't fill your mind with the lies. Go to God's word.

Do you spend more time watching CNN or MSNBC or any of the other networks than you do in God's word?

Do you spend more time watching or listening than you do praying?

God's already promised through his spirit that he's going to guide you into all truth.

Y'all, are you wearing the belt of truth?

Or have you loosened it to fit more comfortably possibly with culture?

You know, sometimes we're like, man, I know what God's word says on this topic,

but I just don't feel comfortable just standing for that because,

you know, the culture feels this way and I kind of support this and that and the other.

And we loosen that belt. Are you standing on the truth or sinking in the opinions and emotions?

Because until you buckle on truth, guess what? You're not ready for battle.

You're not ready for battle until you buckle on truth.

In fact, number two this morning, as we see on this next slide,

protect your heart with the breastplate of righteousness.

Paul, actually here, he turns our attention to the chest, the area that protects

the heart, the vital organs. In fact, in battle, no soldier would go out without a breastplate.

Without it, a single strike could be fatal.

Spiritually speaking, the heart is just as vulnerable. That's why Paul says

here, we need to wear the breastplate of righteousness, not our talent,

not our achievements, not our performance.

Righteousness, do you see it, is our defense.

Righteousness protects our vital organs. but what kind of righteousness?

Well, scripture shows us there are two kinds that work together.

I also look at them this morning.

Number one is imputed righteousness, as we see on the slide,

imputed righteousness.

This is the righteousness of Christ.

We've talked about this many times that is credited to us at salvation.

It's not earned, it's received.

Boy, if we could get that one. Imputed righteousness.

It's the righteous life that Christ lived on our behalf without any sin whatsoever

that is credited to our account before God.

In other words, don't miss this. When God looks at you, when you are in Christ,

he doesn't see the righteous life that you live because you haven't lived one. And I haven't lived one.

Because you remember, all of our righteousness is a filthy rags.

If you're dependent on your righteousness to get you to heaven,

you're out of luck. It's not going to happen.

Only the righteousness of Christ, and that is imputed righteousness,

a righteousness that is credited or imputed to my account, to your account before God.

When he looks at you, he sees the righteous life Jesus lived on your behalf, not what you have done.

And I'm thankful for that. It's not earned.

Again, it's received. God made him, you know this verse, God made him who knew

no sin to be sin for us so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

2 Corinthians 5.21. This means your protection doesn't come from your own goodness,

does it? Whose goodness does it come from?

Christ's goodness, right? It's given freely to you.

You are covered in his righteousness like a bulletproof vest.

Do you get it? And as we see on this next slide, then we have that second one.

The second righteousness is practical righteousness.

So we have imputed, now we have practical righteousness. This is our daily obedience

as Christians, our response to grace, our response to God's grace to us.

God's riches at Christ's expense, right? That grace, that unmerited favor given

to us, It's choosing what's right, walking in integrity, and resisting compromise.

Y'all, we're falling all over the place sometimes on this.

I'm telling you, I was talking to my wife earlier about how when I was raised

as a boy, man, Brother Ronnie, teaching Sunday school was a calling. I mean, how?

Every example I had coming up, people who taught Sunday school,

it was like this was their calling in life to reach those students for Jesus,

to impact their life for the Word of God.

And they took it as a calling from Almighty God. And for them not to be there

to teach their class, they either had to be sick and almost are in the hospital

or else they were on vacation, okay?

That's how serious they took their calling. But today, I just have to be honest

with you, we lack integrity in the body of Christ many times.

People don't take their callings. They don't take what God has given them to

do seriously in God's kingdom and how it impacts his kingdom.

And in choosing just to walk right, to walk in integrity and resist compromise

and do what the world says.

Because when we fall into the world's

line of thinking, what do we end up teaching our families and kids?

God's not really that important. I mean, I may say he's important.

I may say all the right words, but my kids are going to watch what I do.

That's why, statistically speaking, most all of our teenagers that graduate

from high school and move out of the house never darken the door of a church

again because they watch mom and daddy live a lie. There it is.

We're talking about practical righteousness, choosing what's right,

not what's convenient, not what's comfortable,

not what the culture says, but what God's holy word has pointed us to.

It counts for something, church. It counts for something.

Are you going to stand in truth and righteousness? We need a generation that's

going to stand on the word of God.

It's going to stand in truth and righteousness. That's not going to compromise.

We need that kind of integrity. Whoever claims, it says in 1 John 2.6,

whoever claims to live in Christ or in him must live as Jesus did.

James 1.22 says, do not merely listen to the word and so deceive yourself.

Do what it says.

You know, we kind of think about that mirror again, right?

Man, walk in front of the mirror, Brother Ronnie. Sometimes I get scared.

But you walk in front of the mirror. What's the purpose?

Well, hopefully, hopefully it's to see maybe what's wrong. Maybe hair's out

of place. Need to do this. Need to do that. Need to take care of this.

But what happens when I look in the mirror and I do nothing? I just walk away.

I think that's what many of us do today. what many soldiers are doing today.

They're not walking in integrity. They're not resisting compromise.

They're not choosing what's right.

Now hear this this morning. We don't earn God's love by being good, do we?

But we do guard our hearts by walking in what is good.

When we live in disobedience or compromise, we expose our hearts to the enemy's attack.

Because you know what happens. He gets that little, little space in your heart, right?

That little space in your life, so to speak, that little compromise we gave into.

Now it becomes, well, you did it this time.

Why not go bigger? Why not do this? You deserve it, right? You deserve it.

But when we walk in righteousness by grace and through the spirit, guess what happens?

Our hearts are protected from shame, from fear, from pride, from lies.

Don't deceive yourself.

Above all else, it says in Proverbs 4, 23, guard your heart for everything you

do flows from it. Everything.

Y'all, we have a tremendous responsibility. Y'all, we're not playing games.

This is spiritual warfare, spiritual warfare and it's time for God's church to stand.

Stand in truth and righteousness. Righteousness is not about being perfect,

is it? It's about being aligned.

You say aligned? Aligned with what? Well, let me tell you. It's about being

aligned with God's word.

It's about being aligned with God's heart. And it's about being aligned with God's spirit.

When you're aligned with God's word, his heart, his spirit, you're protected.

And when you're protected, what? You can stand no matter what pressure comes.

Well, number three, truth and righteousness work together.

Truth and righteousness, they're not just separate pieces of armor.

They're actually deeply connected and mutually reinforcing.

You can't have one without the other. In other words, you might be wondering,

well, why does that matter?

Get this today, Because what you believe, what I believe, always shapes how you live.

You can tell a person all day long, you believe this and you believe that.

You know how we know what you believe? The way you live. Your life tells the story.

What you believe is always shaped by how you live.

When your beliefs, get this today, are rooted in lies, your life will start

to reflect those lies. But when your beliefs are rooted or anchored in God's truth, guess what?

Your actions begin to align with his will.

Paul actually writes in Romans 12 too.

He says, do not conform to the pattern of this world, but what? Be transformed.

I said this earlier, by what? The renewing of your mind.

Transformation, church. Don't, don't, don't miss this. Transformation starts where?

In the mind, with truth.

When you renew your mind with God's holy word, you begin to discern his will and walk in it.

You notice what I just said, his will, and you walk in it.

Not your personal preferences, not what you think is right, or not what culture

tells you is right, but what God's word tells you is right and holy and pure.

That's what you discern. Y'all, I believe today we need a mind purge.

We need to have our minds renewed. we need to stop letting the garbage in and stand on God's word.

You see, this is the power of wearing both the belt of truth and the breastplate

of righteousness, because the belt of truth shapes what you believe.

The breastplate of righteousness shapes how you live.

And when those two are working together, your life becomes anchored and guarded.

But the enemy knows this, right? That's why he always attacks both truth and righteousness.

He whispers lies to twist what's

true, and he entices you and I with compromise to erode our integrity.

That's his strategy. You know what it is? Twist the truth to weaken your convictions.

Tempt your righteousness, to fracture your witness.

But God gives us armor for a reason. He wants us to stand,

but not only stand to stand daily not just once paul actually says ephesians

Ephesians 4:14

chapter 4 verse 14 listen he says then we will no longer be infants tossed about

and back and forth by the waves and blown here and there by every wind of teaching.

Because you know why? As it says on this slide here, God's truth gives us stability

and righteousness gives us its strength. Amen?

God's truth gives us stability and righteousness gives us strength.

When we stand on the truth of God's word and we walk in the righteousness of

Christ, we become immovable in Christ.

Even, even and for sure when the culture shifts and the battle rages.

So don't just strap on truth and righteousness for Sunday. In other words.

Wear them Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, every other day.

They're not just protection. They're formation.

You see that today? They're formation. They shape us.

They shape you into the kind of person who can stand firm no matter what comes.

And I have to ask you this in closing today.

What are you wearing at the core?

What are you wearing at the core? So let's come back to the center of it all for a moment.

In a world that's full of pressure, lies, and spiritual conflict,

the question isn't if the battle will come, it's when, right?

And when it does, what will be holding you together?

What's protecting your heart? Remember we open with those questions?

We've seen today that standing firm in spiritual warfare starts with what we put on at the core.

You see, the belt of truth wraps around us and gives shape to our lives. We saw that, right?

It holds everything else together. When you're grounded in the truth of God's

word, who he is, what he's done, who you are in him, you're not easily shaken

by the lies of the enemy or drift of culture, by the way.

And then we saw the breastplate of righteousness guards your heart,

your desires, your identity, your affections. And this isn't,

again, about being perfect. It's about being protected.

Christ's righteousness, get it? Covers you, and your daily obedience reinforces your defense.

Righteousness doesn't earn God's love. It helps keep you and I standing in the heat of battle.

And together, what? Truth and righteousness form the foundation of a life that endures.

Right belief and right living are inseparable.

You can't live rightly without truth. And you can't claim truth while living in compromise.

That's why preparation matters. Because in the moment of trial,

we don't rise to the occasion.

We fall to the level of our preparation.

I hope you see that today, church. How are you preparing?

Are you strapping on truth each and

every morning or are you wrapping yourself in the ever-changing narratives of

this world are you walking in righteousness are you just looking the part from

a distance what is it do we start our day putting on the armor of god or do

we start it with something else.

This week's challenge to us, all of us, anchor your life in truth.

Align your life with righteousness.

And I want to give you some practical steps today, okay? Is that okay?

Just a couple that I'm going to throw out. There's more in the sermon guide

that you can look at as well.

But here's the first one. As we look at this last slide, some practical steps

today. First of all, truth.

Read one chapter of scripture every day this week. Let God's word recenter your thinking.

Maybe start with the Gospel of John. If you don't already have a reading plan

or something you're involved in or studying, start with John or Psalm 119.

Let truth, in other words, saturate your mind and shape your beliefs.

In fact, I challenge you with this challenge to cut off all media this week

and just look at God's Word.

Look at God's Word. Read His Word. Pray.

Truth. And then number two, righteousness. ask the Holy Spirit to search your heart this week.

Where is there compromise?

You know, where are you living out of alignment?

If you see that revealed to you through this prayer, confess it to God,

forsake it, repent of it.

Say, Lord, forgive me for living in compromise, Lord, for not running to you

and your word, instead depending on my own feelings and opinions about everything and what culture says.

Confess it to somebody you trust, and then take one concrete step this week toward obedience.

Remember, standing firm is not just a one-time decision, is it?

Guess what? It's a daily choice, a daily choice.

And the armor of God isn't just what you put on is what you live in. It's what you live in.

So don't leave your heart exposed.

Don't let truth lie unused.

Here's the challenge again. Stand firm in prayer, in truth, in righteousness.

Because church, the battle's real, but so is the victory. Amen.

So is the victory in Christ. Amen. And in Christ, you are already equipped to stand.

Let's pray together. Father God, as we come before you today,

Lord, there may be some here today that your Holy Spirit has spoken to their heart.

And maybe it's just that subtle challenge to say, you know what?

I haven't been putting on the belt of truth like I should. I haven't been putting

on the breastplate of righteousness the way I need to.

Might be some people here need to just come to this altar in a moment and just

confess it to God. Just say, God, forgive me.

Lord, I repent of that. I repent of my mind that's been filling itself with

all this other stuff, all this clutter, instead of letting your word renew my mind.

And maybe some here today for the first time that maybe you realize, you know what?

I don't know Jesus. I don't know this Jesus you're talking about.

Today can be your day of salvation when you trust in Christ alone and what he has done for you.

Remember I talked about how he took upon himself the sin of the whole world.

And today, if you believe in your heart and you confess with your mouth that

he is Lord, the Bible says you will be saved.

And we repent. We turn away from our sin. We turn to him in faith alone,

in Christ alone, and say, Lord, I need your righteousness. I can't do it on

my own. I'm helpless without you.

But y'all, it's time to do business with God.

Our church needs warriors. This community needs warriors.

As you stand together with your heads bowed and eyes closed for a moment,

you think about that today because we need men and women of God who are going

to stand in this dark world, who are going to make a difference.

And it starts here. It starts with us at Eastwood Baptist Church.

It starts with how you view what God has called you to do in this local body of believers.

What has God given you?

What has he tasked you with to equip his army?

Are you walking in that? Are you taking it as a calling or just as a side hustle, you know?

Or is it a calling in your life?

This is a time that God's Holy Spirit, we'll just pray in a moment.

God's Holy Spirit is dealing with hearts.

I just ask you to be obedient to him. It doesn't matter what your pastor,

it doesn't matter about me, whether you walk down this aisle.

I hope you never walk down it for me. If you come down this aisle,

I hope it's to come to Jesus.

If you need him or to get right with him or to set something straight with him.

And it has nothing to do with me. It's all about him.

Today, let God's spirit examine your heart. Father God, right now,

as we just stand in your midst, Lord, I pray as your Holy Spirit has already

been working, God, there may be some here today that maybe they said, you know what?

I'm ready to join this church. I'm ready to take a stand by being a part of

this local body of believers.

Or I'm ready to take a stand by taking on this task that I know the church needs,

but we don't have enough workers in this.

We need more laborers in the field. We need more workers. We need more soldiers.

Father, I pray that you'd move in hearts, continue to move, Lord.

We want your will done today. In Jesus' name. Right now, with your heads.