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Truth Buckling the
Belt Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist.—Ephesians 6:14, NIV Tom Gilbert The Christian journey is often likened to a fight or warfare in the New Testament, perhaps no more clearly than in Ephesians 6:10-17, where we are encouraged to “put on the whole armor of God.” “Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil’s evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground. So stand ready, with truth as a belt tight around your waist, with righteousness as your breastplate, and as your shoes the readiness to announce the Good News of peace. At all times carry faith as a shield; for with it you will be able to put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One. And accept salvation as a helmet, and the word of God as the sword which the Spirit gives you” (Today’s English Version). The belt, or girdle, may not seem like a piece of armor, but it was important to a soldier. Made of cloth, leather, or merely a piece of rope, a girdle surrounded the wearer at the waist and gathered his loose garments tight against the body. To a soldier in battle, this was important so his clothing did not in any way impede his fighting. That the apostle Paul ascribes the quality of “truth” to the belt and mentions it first is not by chance, but quite deliberate. Paul put this same emphasis on truth when he counseled the brethren at Philippi concerning the things that they should contemplate in their minds and hearts: “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things” (Philippians 4:8). Paul was making an important point in these passages—that the Christian faith is all about what is true, what is real, both in the spiritual and temporal realms. Consequently, it is the duty of a Christian, first and foremost, to seek to know what is true, to conform one’s life to what is true, and to deal truthfully in all matters. Truth an Essential Element of Character Throughout the Scriptures, we have abundant testimony that truth is a foundational element of God’s character and of his son, Jesus Christ. This fact alone validates truth and truthfulness as essential to a Christian’s character. “Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall go before thy face” (Psalm 89:14). “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me” (John 14:6). “And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war” (Revelation 19:11). The apostle John testified: “For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ” (John 1:17). All of our efforts to serve God, to be of service to others in his name and in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ, will be meaningless if those efforts are not based on true beliefs about his character, about his plans and purposes, and about the way things are in the world around us: “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth” (John 4:24). Putting on the Girdle of Truth So what does it mean to put on truth as a belt or girdle around our waist, and how do we put it on? We put it on by surrounding ourselves, like a belt or girdle, with a standard of believing only what can be verified to be true and by dealing truthfully with others in all aspects of life. If we have on the girdle of truth, it means that the first test we apply in judging any information or situation will be, “Is this true? What is the true reality about these circumstances, or this experience?” If we are able to determine what is true, what is real, we then have an anchor point or touchstone from which to evaluate and decide what should be accepted and added to our knowledge base or what appropriate action should be taken as a Christian. By putting on truth as a girdle or belt around us, we are heeding the Scriptural counsel to “Buy the truth, and sell it not” (Proverbs 23:23). Jesus and the apostle Paul taught us to live according to the truth. Our Lord prayed to his father, asking that we might be set apart by the truth: “Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth” (John 17:17). Paul urged us to be diligent in seeking out the truth and to handle the word of God with integrity and accuracy: “Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth” (2 Timothy 2:15). The Truths that Surround Us If we are to live according to the truth, we must embrace the truths—the realities—about God, about Jesus, about what they taught us about living, and about what they are doing to resolve the dilemmas that humans have generated through their selfish behavior down through the ages. These facts—these truths—set the Christian faith apart from other systems of religious belief. Among them are:
Few of the world’s religions would embrace all or even most of these truths. Some religions are based on mythology, multiplicities of gods in various human and animal forms, and gods so disinterested in human welfare that they must be wakened by gongs or bells to hear the requests of petitioners. There are even religions that make the denial of physical realities a lofty virtue. Surrounding ourselves with a standard of truth and truthfulness—having on the girdle of truth —enables us to evaluate such philosophies and discard them as false and unprofitable in directing our lives in a way that pleases Jehovah. Examples That Have Been Set for Us Our Lord lived the truth and set the stellar example of being truthful. The apostle John’s record of Jesus’ ministry states that he began many of his lessons by saying, “Verily, verily” (King James), or “Truly, truly” (New American), or “I am telling you the truth” (Today’s English). Matthew records that even Jesus’ opponents, when attempting to trap him with a question about paying taxes to Rome, began by affirming that he spoke truthfully: “Teacher, they said, we know that you tell the truth. You teach the truth about God’s will for man, without worrying about what people think, because you pay no attention to a man’s status” (Matthew 22:16, TEV). What a compliment it was, then, for Jesus to have said about Nathanael, when the two first met, “Here is a true Israelite, in whom there is nothing false” (John 1:47, NIV). If we are to serve with Jesus in doing mediatorial work in his kingdom, he must be able to say the same of us before his heavenly Father. A more contemporary example of this same high standard of truthfulness is recorded in the original 1813 edition of the Journals of the Lewis and Clark Expedition. The publisher, Nicholas Biddle, prevailed upon retired president Thomas Jefferson to write a mini-biography of Meriwether Lewis for inclusion in the books. Jefferson wrote a five-thousand-word biography in the form of a letter and sent it to Mr. Biddle. Among his high praises for his former protégé, Jefferson wrote: “honest, disinterested, liberal, of sound understanding and a fidelity to the truth so scrupulous that whatever he should report would be as certain as if seen by ourselves.” The Importance of the Girdle Today In spite of the emergence of enormous scientific knowledge, more than at any previous time, Christians today must struggle to know what is real and true, and to live in the world of reality. The world is full of unscrupulous and misguided schemers, and the Information Age has made it difficult to determine what is true. Television and the Internet have expanded the flow of information, and many are tempted to believe something because they saw it or heard it from an “official” source. The quality of computer-generated graphics has made it possible to take any fantasy and make it appear real. Consequently, we have a new generation coming of age that has a reduced capacity to distinguish between fantasy and reality. All generations are affected and influenced by this type of media to some degree. Unfortunately, many of the fantasies that are being turned into seeming realities are satanic, or degrading to people in various ways. What a challenge we have—deceptions abound around us, while Satan continues to try to generate deceptions within our own minds through the confusion of reality: “And no wonder, for Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light” (2 Corinthians 11:14, NIV). Society has confused the meaning of words today, particularly in advertising and politics, and this has helped hide the truth and seduced many into copying this kind of untruthful speaking. One example is the word “free.” Signs at hotels and motels claim to offer “free continental breakfast” and “free HBO.” Apartments are advertised to come with “free flat-screen TV” for new renters. Thoughtful people understand that these amenities are not free, but are “included at no extra cost.” Today, in the arena of politics, telling an untruth or “shaded” truth is no longer an act of “lying”; it is “spinning.” Knowing the truth and speaking the truth in every situation is essential so that we are not carried away by the subtle seductions of the Adversary that are expressed in countless ways in our world. The counsel to do so is repeatedly presented in the Scriptures: “These are the things that ye shall do; speak ye every man the truth to his neighbour; execute the judgment of truth and peace in your gates: and let none of you imagine evil in your hearts against his neighbour; and love no false oath: for all these are things that I hate, saith the LORD” (Zechariah 8:16,17). “As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all [aspects] into him, who is the head, [even] Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love” (Ephesians 4:14-16, NAS). In one of the most powerful statements about truth, Jesus said: “If you abide in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine and you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31,32, NAS). Truth has the power to keep us free from the Adversary’s deceptions and seductions by serving as an anchor against which other information and situations can be evaluated. If we surround ourselves with truth, it has the power to keep us free from false teachings about God and his plan, free from enslavement to human passions, free from vanity and self-consciousness, free from being controlled by what other people think of us, free from measuring ourselves by society’s standards, and free from all types of fear. With such a standard of truth surrounding us, and that much freedom because of it, we should be able to identify the Adversary’s attacks and “put out all the burning arrows shot by the Evil One.” |