March 8, 2026 Ephesians 6 Fasten Belt of Truth

Learning to preach the gospel to myself every day: 14 “Stand therefore, fasten the belt of truth around your waist,” (Eph. 6:14) A great strategy of the devil against us is luring us into such busyness & distraction we slowly stop attending to our spiritual life. He siphons all our time onto horizontal things of the world & slowly we forget to fix our eyes on that which is above where our real life exists. It occurs to us to wonder why life is filled with such stress & anxiety, where burdens get heavier & our sins dig in deeper. We conclude we need to get away for a bit, take a vacation – vacate my normal life catch my breath; only to find all those things I vacated are there in force when I get back. Jesus has a different approach – He doesn’t offer escape, he offers equipment – a new way to carry your life; a fresh way to bear your responsibilities that offers rest & a lightening of burdens in the midst of it. He calls it His yoke; a yoke is a way of life. A way is a direction you walk. A Roman soldier must put his armor on every single day. Every morning when he wakes up, he goes through the same routine of fastening on his belt, putting on his breastplate, shoes, helmet. Since the devil does not take a day off, we must follow suit & put the armor on every single day. Let me be blunt: Fastening the belt of truth around your waist on Sunday, doesn’t hold your pants up on Monday! You have to put it on again. A leather belt through the loops of your Levi’s is pretty straightforward. Fastening the belt of truth around our waist takes more understanding, to have a daily interaction with…to wrap myself in…to fasten myself together with… truth. “In him you also, when you had heard the word of truth,” (Eph. 1:13). Truth is the revelation of God in Christ & scripture. Believing is the action of faith happening inside of you. A word-picture might help here. hear the word of truth – this is a seed planted within you. It’s not belief yet, it’s a seed. Then the Holy Spirit germinates that seed – it’s a gigantic, little miracle! Now, that gigantic, little miracle grows inside of you – it’s the action of faith that is called belief. This word of truth growing inside of you by the power & presence of the Holy Spirit begins to change you from the inside out. This leads to…But speaking the truth in love, we must grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ (Eph. 4:15). The gospel of Christ growing within us, begins to come out of us – in our words/actions/intentions wrapped in love. “The truth is in Jesus” (Eph 4:21). Coming to Jesus, believing in Jesus, resting in Jesus is coming to the truth. Put the truth of Christ on every day. Preach the truth of the gospel to yourself & live in that truth throughout the day. To wrap the belt of truth around your waist is to preach the gospel to yourself every day. In many places in his letters, Paul commends to us a rehearsal of the gospel. To the Christians in Colossae, “continue securely established & steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard” (Colossians 1:23). The Good News of Jesus Christ should be the lens through which we see everything, we should not shift from the hope it provides. This is a continual thing. “I remind you, brothers and sisters, of the good news that I proclaimed to you…Christ died for our sins, was buried, raised on the third day, he appeared…” (1 Cor 15:1,3-5) Huge parts of his letters were rehearsing the gospel truth (Ephesians 1-3, Colossians 1-2, Romans 1-11). Fastening the belt of truth around your waist is reminding yourself of the multi-faceted, beautiful, eternal realities that are yours because you are in Christ. Ephesians 2:1-2 a beautiful “gospel summary” written almost 500 years ago as a teaching tool for young people. What is your only comfort in life & in death? That I am not my own, but belong—body & soul, in life & in death— to my faithful Savior, Jesus Christ. He has fully paid for all my sins with his precious blood, has set me free from the tyranny of the devil. He also watches over me in such a way that not a hair can fall from my head without the will of my Father in heaven; in fact, all things must work together for my salvation. Because I belong to him, Christ, by his Holy Spirit, assures me of eternal life & makes me wholeheartedly willing & ready from now on to live for him. What must you know to live & die in the joy of this comfort? 1st, how great my sin & misery are; 2nd, how I am set free from all my sins & misery; 3rd, how I am to thank God for such deliverance. (Heidelberg Q&A 1,2) The devil works so hard to distract us & lure us into a way of living that siphons all our time & attention on to the things of the world. Paul counters by instructing us to fasten the belt of truth around our waist, which, in effect, is rehearsing to ourselves the multi-faceted, beautiful, eternal realities that are ours because we belong to Jesus.

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