Wednesday, September 30, 2009

Put on the whole armor of God



Life is indeed a “warfare;” and just as a man enlists in our army for a term of years, and then his service runs out, and he is free, so every believer is enlisted in the service of life, to serve God till his enlistment is over, and we sleep in death. Our charge and our armor we shall put off together.

Brethren, you are soldiers, enlisted when you believed in Jesus. Let me remind you that you are a soldier, you will be always at war, you will never have a furlough or conclude a treaty. Like the old knights who slept in their armor, you will be attacked even in your rest. There is no part of the journey to heaven which is secure from the enemy, and no moment, not even the sweet rest of the Lord’s day, when the clarion may not sound. Therefore, prepare yourselves always for the battle. “Put on the whole armor of God,” and look upon life as a continued battle. Be surprised when you have not to fight; be wonderstruck when the world is peaceful towards you; be astonished when your old corruptions do not rise and assault you. You must travel with your swords always drawn, and you may as well throw away the scabbard, for you will never want it. You are a soldier who must always fight, and by the light of battle you must survey the whole of your life.

From a sermon entitled "Our Life, Our Work, Our Change," delivered August 4, 1867. Image by Nic McPhee under Creative Commons License.

1 comment:

Ivy@learninglens said...

Praise God! fellow believers, i am so glad that i chanced on this. thank you so much... indeed its a good reminder of how we ought to prepare for a continous battle. Thank you so sharing this.

With much prayer and giving ourselves to spiritual discipline we will be enlisted in the army of God. Just like the soldiers go through drills to keep in shape so must the believer.