THE SHIELD OF FAITH - Christmas Evans
SERMON XX.
THE SHIELD OF FAITH.
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”—Eph. vi. 16.
The Christian is engaged in a warfare, “not against flesh and blood, but against principalities and powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness”—or wicked spirits—“in high places;” who go about like roaring lions, seeking whom they may devour; assailing the servants of Christ even on their high places—their Pizgahs, their Tabors, their Olivets; swarming up from the sea of corruption within and around us, like the frogs in Egypt, and entering into our very bed-chambers and closets of devotion.
These spiritual adversaries must be opposed with spiritual armor; and the apostle has here given us a complete set of weapons for fighting, and a complete panoply for defence. The Roman armor consisted of several parts, all of which St. Paul makes use of figuratively, to represent the several Christian graces by which we resist our subtle, deceitful, and invisible enemies. As the articles to which he alludes constituted a complete coat of arms, and the soldier was not prepared for the field without the whole; so the Christian graces which they represent are all of them important, “that the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto every good work.” Some of these heavenly qualities may appear brighter at particular times in one Christian than in another; but the whole list is indispensable to every spiritual warrior. Abraham may excel in faith, Moses in meekness, Job in patience, Daniel in p. 260courage, Peter in zeal, Paul in humility, and John in love; but each must have the entire armor, though different occasions may require the use of different articles in the catalogue. That you may be able to stand in the evil day, you must have the shoes of peace, to preserve your feet; the girdle of truth, to strengthen your loins; the helmet of hope, to defend your heads; the breastplate of righteousness, to cover your hearts; the sword of the Spirit, to cut your way through the columns of the foe; “And above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
It is only to this article last mentioned, that we would now call your attention; in the consideration of which, let us notice, first, The nature of faith; and secondly, Its importance and utility as a shield.
I. There are many passages in the word of God which show the excellency of faith; but there is only one passage which contains an exact definition of faith; and that you will find in the first verse of the eleventh chapter of Paul’s epistle to the Hebrews:—“Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”—or, as it may be read—the confidence of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. I am surprised that divines have taken so little notice of this passage, in treating of the nature of faith. Generally, they wander in the wilderness without a guide; they put out to sea without compass, chart, or helm. Some of them make faith every thing, and others make it almost nothing. According to the apostle’s definition, it consists of these two things:—a conviction of the truth of the gospel testimony relative to things invisible, and a confidence in the character and word of the invisible Testifier. This is a common-sense definition. Here is no mystification or obscurity. In this way the term faith is understood by all men. In the ordinary transactions of business, we seldom mistake each other on this subject; why should we in the great concern of salvation pending between us and God?
Here is a man who has a note for an amount sufficient to support him comfortably, were he to live a thousand years. Still he appears very unhappy—full of doubts and fears about his future subsistence. Ask him—“Friend, what think you of that note? is it genuine?” “O yes,” he replies, “I am perfectly satisfied that it is genuine.” “What is the reason, then, that you are not more cheerful and p. 261happy?” “Alas, I have no confidence in the bank.” The man is without faith. True, he believes—he believes that the note is not a counterfeit—he is well satisfied of its genuineness; but such a belief is not sufficient, while he is suspicious of the bank—produces no change in his feelings or his conduct. But if, in addition to his conviction of the genuineness of the note, he could be satisfied of the goodness of the bank, then you should find him quite another man. These two things united constitute faith:—Believing the truth of the gospel respecting things unseen; and trusting in the power and faithfulness of God, through our Lord Jesus Christ, to fulfil his promises. This is the faith that justifieth the ungodly; this is the faith that overcometh the world.
Now every one of you believes the truth of the gospel; but the promises of the gospel, which are worthy of all acceptation, some of you have not accepted—are no more influenced by them than if they did not belong to you. The gospel contains a pearl of great price—“an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled, and that fadeth not away;” but your confidence in the promise is feeble and inefficient—does not lead you to prayer—does not influence your conduct, so as to bring you in possession of this heavenly treasure. You have no faith. You have one of the elements of faith, but not the other. You have the belief, but not the confidence—that part of faith which belongs to the intellect, but not that which belongs to the heart. Therefore you are still poor, and naked, and miserable.
The Holy Scriptures record many admirable instances of true faith; in which confidence in the character, the providence, and the promises of God, rises into the most perfect assurance. Behold those women on the bank of the Nile. They are making a basket of bulrushes, and plastering it with bitumen. Placing the infant Moses therein, they commit the frail ark to the floods. Jochebed, why dost thou not fear that the child will be drowned? “I believe the promises of God, I believe that he will do good unto his people. I trust in him for the salvation of Israel.”
See that old man on mount Moriah. He has built a rude altar, and laid fire and wood thereon. He has bound his own son—his only son—his well-beloved Isaac, and is about to offer him as a sacrifice. Abraham, stay thy hand. Wilt thou slay thy only son? Then what will become of the promise? “My mind is easy. I p. 262will obey God. I believe he is able to raise Isaac from the dead. I feel assured that he will return home with me alive, and that from him will spring the Messiah.” So Abraham determined to offer Isaac upon the altar, for he confided in the promise—“In Isaac shall thy seed be called.”
We have another instance in the Centurion whose servant was healed by our Lord. He had perfect confidence in the word of Christ, even though Christ had given him no promise. “Only say in a word,” said he, “and my servant shall be healed. Thy word created the world; thy word has quickened the dead; and thy word can accomplish a cure without a journey to my house.” This is an instance of remarkable faith; and our Lord testified—“I have not found so great faith, no, not in Israel.”
Whatever the object of faith, it is always the same in its nature, though not always the same in degree. Christ said to his disciples—“O ye of little faith!” and the apostle saith of Abraham—“He was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” Faith is represented in the Scriptures by a variety of expressions, such as—believing the testimony of God—relying or staying upon the Lord—waiting upon him—trusting in him—looking unto him—coming to Christ—putting on the Lord Jesus—committing the keeping of the soul to him, as unto a faithful Creator. These different expressions denote the several modifications of faith, and its several degrees of intensity; but they all fall under the apostolical definition noticed above.
The language of the law was—“Do this and live.” The language of the gospel is—“Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt he saved.” Faith in Christ is the prescribed and only condition of acceptance with God. Christ is the way, and the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by him. Faith is the eye with which we behold his mercy; faith is the hand by which we receive his blessings; faith is the golden chain which binds us to him for ever. The necessity of faith in the merit and righteousness of our Divine Mediator, as the condition of salvation, is a truth which lies scattered over the surface of inspired Scripture. God has always owned and blessed its proclamation in the conversion of souls. It was the article of Luther’s emancipation from legal bondage. It was the master-key which unlocked the iron gates of Antichrist, and poured the true light over all Europe; so that neither pope nor council, nor both together, couldp. 263hide it again under a bushel. And in the church of England, even in its present weak and languid state, whenever one of its ministers preaches clearly and faithfully this blessed doctrine, souls are given him as the seals of his ministry.
There is no end to the praises of faith. Faith is the glass that draws fire from the Sun of Righteousness. Faith is the wedding ring that joins the sinner to Christ in an everlasting covenant. Faith is the living principle of all holy obedience, working by love, and purifying the heart. If God command a man to leave his country and his kindred, and go into a strange land—to offer his beloved son as a sacrifice upon the altar—to build an ark on dry ground—to go to the fiery furnace, or the lions’ den—to face his exasperated foes at Jerusalem, or hide from them in the caves of the mountains—it is faith that prompts him to the painful duty, and sustains him therein, in spite of improbabilities; and amidst difficulties, dangers, and deaths.
II. This brings us to notice the importance and utility of faith as a shield. “And above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
Faith is in some respects the first of all the Christian graces. It is the beginning of spiritual life in the soul—the originating and sustaining principle of all evangelical holiness. Having faith, we have nothing to do but to add to it all the rest of our lives. “Add to your faith virtue, and to virtue knowledge, and to knowledge temperance, and to temperance patience, and to patience godliness, and to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness charity.”
Love is in some respects superior to faith, and shall live and rejoice before the throne when faith shall have finished its work; but faith is an impenetrable shield, such as love cannot furnish, on the field of battle. The shield was a broad piece of defensive armor, worn ordinarily on the left arm; and which, being movable, might be used to defend any part of the body. According to Homer, the shields of some of the warriors at the siege of Troy were made of sevenfold thick bull-hides, covered with brass.
The value of “the shield of faith” is seen in the case of David. Look down there in the valley. There is Goliath of Gath, the chief of the giants, blaspheming, and defying the armies of the living God. His spear is as a weaver’s beam, and his armor-bearer p. 264carries before him an enormous shield. And there is a fine-looking young man going down to meet him, without any visible weapons, except his shepherd’s sling, and five smooth stones from the brook. David! hast thou no fear? Rash youth! is thy unpractised hand able to cope with the mailed champion of Philistia? “I will go and meet him in the name of my God, for I know that the Lord will deliver him into my hand. God will avenge his people, and vindicate his own honor against the insults of his enemies. He who defended me against the lion and the bear will save me from the hand of the blasphemer, and glorify himself this day before the thousands of Israel.” He moves on, invincibly shielded by his faith, and the next moment Goliath is slain with his own sword.
Let us look again at the case of Abraham. God said unto him—“Take now thy son, thine only son Isaac, whom thou lovest, and get thee into the land of Moriah, and offer him there for a burnt offering, upon one of the mountains that I will tell thee of.” Now the enemy assails him, in the persuasive language of natural affection, and carnal reasoning; and every word is like a flaming arrow in the patriarch’s heart:—“Abraham! if thou obey this command, thou wilt disobey thereby many other commands. God hath said—‘Thou shalt not kill;’ and wilt thou shed the blood of thy own child? Canst thou so trample upon the law of God, and all the tender instincts of human nature? How will thy servants regard thee—how will the world look upon thee, after so horrible a deed? What will they think of thy God, when they hear that he has required at thy hand the immolation of thy only son? Will it not bring everlasting dishonor upon his name? And what will become of the Divine promise upon which thy faith is built—that from Isaac’s loins shall spring the Messiah, the hope of the world? Besides, thou wilt certainly break poor old Sarah’s heart; she will never be able to survive the loss, in so dreadful a manner, of her darling boy. If thou hast any feelings of humanity in thy heart, any fear of God before thine eyes, any regard for the glory of his name among men, refrain from that deed of blood!”
Such were the “fiery darts” which “the wicked one” hurled at the good man’s heart, but they fell harmless upon his “shield of faith.” “He staggered not at the promise through unbelief.” “He conferred not with flesh and blood.” He rose up early in p. 265the morning, took Isaac and the servants, and set out for the appointed place of sacrifice. He travelled three days toward Moriah, with a settled purpose to cut Isaac’s body in pieces, and shed the blood of his heart upon the altar, and burn it to ashes in the consuming flames. He loved his son as his own soul, but the command of God was dearer to his heart. “And Abraham said unto his young men—Abide ye here with the ass, and I and the lad will go yonder, and worship, and come again to you;” for he firmly believed that God would raise his son from the ashes of the altar, and that they would return together. I see them ascending the hill—O, what an ascent was that! Never was there a walk so sorrowful, till the great Antitype of Isaac ascended the same mountain to “make his soul a sacrifice for sin.” The altar is built, the fire and the wood are placed thereon; and O for words to describe the feelings of both father and son, when Abraham laid hold on Isaac, and took the knife to plunge it into his heart! There is a pause. The patriarch’s arm is stretched aloft, with the instrument of death. God of mercy! is there no help for a father? Earth cannot speak; but there comes a voice from heaven; and O, with what melody it rings through Abraham’s heart!—“Abraham! Abraham! lay not thine hand upon the lad; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son, from me.”
There was the triumph of faith. “By faith Abraham, when he was tried, offered up Isaac; and he that had received the promises offered up his only begotten son, of whom it was said—In Isaac shall thy seed be called; accounting that God was able to raise him up even from the dead, from whence also he received him in a figure.” The patriarch’s faith quenched “all the fiery darts of the wicked one,” which were cast at him in this dreadful trial.
The arrows of the orientals were often poisoned at one end, and ignited at the other. It is to this circumstance the apostle alludes in the phrase—“the fiery darts of the wicked,” or the wicked one. Satan has his quiver full of impoisoned and flaming arrows, from which the servants of Christ would be much endangered without “the shield of faith.” He shot one of them at Eve in Paradise, and set the whole world on fire, “and it is set on fire of hell.” He shot an arrow of lust at David, and an arrow of fear at Peter; and both of them were dreadfully wounded in the back. He shot p. 266an arrow of covetousness at Judas, and another at Ananias and Sapphira; and having no “shield of faith,” they were smitten, and dropped down into hell.
The devil is a fierce and malicious enemy, “going about as a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour.” Fain would he destroy all the holy from the earth. His “fiery darts” inflame the heart with the love of sin, the fear of man, the torments of remorse, and the apprehensions of judgment and fiery indignation. But when the heart is shielded by the faith of the gospel—when we clearly understand the truth as it is in Jesus, cordially assent to it, appropriate it experimentally, and surrender ourselves to its sanctifying influence—they have no power to injure, and the Christian is more than conqueror.
“Cast not away, therefore, the beginning of your confidence, which hath great recompense of reward.” Grasp firmly the shield. Whatever the aspect of the fight, hold it fast till the end. You will need it through all the campaign. You will need it especially in your contest with “the last enemy, which is death.” “Be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord.” So shall you be able to testify with Paul, when he anticipated the termination of the warfare—“I have fought a good fight; I have finished my course; I have kept the faith; and henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord—the righteous judge—shall give unto me in that day.”
Christmas Evans