03/10/2026
Dressed for Battle: The Shield of Faith
May the grace, peace, and strength of the Lord bless you at all times. Father, we give you praise in all things. Thank you for the Spirit in whom we can trust to teach us all truth and increase in knowledge, understanding, and wisdom.
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.” (Eph 6:16) Frank Turek recently asked on social media, “What is faith?” Some say it is believing something without evidence to support it. One person answered that it is the word used to cover up all the problematic texts of scripture. Neither of these is the right answer. So, what is faith according to scripture?
“Heb 11:1 NKJV - Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” But how is that not blindly believing? The root word in Greek is “pistis”. When we look up the word, the concordance lists "faith". The root's variations include trust, belief, assurance, reliability, genuineness, and confidence. Each of these requires evidence to support the trust, belief, assurance, and so on. The evidence can be tested. The tests can be scientific or non-scientific. The non-scientific method is the way we test the validity of testimony, as in a court case. Science is the process of repeatable testing of a hypothesis. Put a piece of soap in a bowl of water 100 times to prove it will float. Testimony is not tested the same way. The witness statements are evaluated against a set of tests to assess their trustworthiness. Was the witness there at the time of the event? Are there corroborating testimonies? Is there physical evidence confirming the witness was there? Is there evidence that supports or agrees with the testimony?
There is a saying, “I trust them with my life.” Why? What causes a person to trust another with their life? A demonstration of being trustworthy? The person has been there when you needed something, and no one else was there. We all have someone, or perhaps are that someone. The Scriptures are the Testimony of God. The Bible is the revealed and inspired Word of God. The witness statements of His existence, His faithfulness, His trustworthiness. When the claims are examined, we evaluate them and determine whether to trust them, just as we would with anyone else we have a relationship with. Faith is actively trusting the person, God, in this case. What He has said and done.
Paul presented the testimony of the will of God, His good intentions toward us from the beginning, as read in the scriptures. Christ, the Messiah, was sent. He did as the scriptures said He would do. Ephesians chapters 1, 2, and 3. Proclaim our position in Christ, the fulfilment of the promises made by God in the Old Testament. Because of the evidence that we can test, we can be assured that it is true, genuine, authentic, and reliable. The One who said it is worthy of our faith and trust. We can trust Him with our lives. Our faith is not blind belief or vain hope. The trust we have in Him has weight and substance, just like the shield the Roman soldier carried.
Take up the shield of faith, the trust and assurance that in Christ, though we may die, we shall live. The devil seeks to separate us from God. In Christ, that is not possible. We have been assured of that and are sealed for the day of redemption by His Spirit.
Disciples’ Fellowship of Central Texas
