Helmet of Salvation and Sword of Truth

Satan attacks us through the mind. He uses those fiery darts to penetrate us and when all else fails he will seek to harm us through our thoughts. Have you ever had a thought before and then thought, “Whoa! Where in the world did that come from?” That was satan! Take that thought captive immediately! Say aloud, “Satan get away from me!” He cannot stay in our thoughts unless we allow him to.

He will bring ungodly, sinful thoughts to your mind and he will speak lies over you.

“You aren’t good enough."
"You are ugly."
"You try to be good, but you’re not."
"Nobody believes you. "
"That person is much better at this job than you are"
.... and the list goes on...

 He will make you doubt yourself and your knowledge just like he did with Eve in the garden in Genesis 3. 

“Is that really what you think?"
"Do you think that’s what God would want from you?"
"Are you really a Christian?"

We can so easily be coerced and tempted and manipulated by satan’s attacks on our mind.

So many Christians think that intellect is unimportant. That we don’t *have* to study scripture in order to grow closer to God. I’ve spoken often about loving God with our mind and even blogged about it here. We must know scripture in order to defeat satan! If we don’t know the truth of what God says, then satan will distort the truth to make us stumble. 

Think of Matthew 4:1-11 when Jesus was tempted in the desert. If Jesus hadn’t known the scriptures, then satan could’ve easily talked him into sinning by merely attacking his mind. But Jesus knew the scripture. Jesus IS the living, breathing Word of God! Jesus was unchanged by the devil’s lies. 

But what about you? Do you know the scriptures well enough to stand against satan’s lies & manipulations? If you were presented with untruths about God’s word, then would you know it? I don’t say this to condemn you, but rather to make you think. If you're a believer, then you are armed with the word of God. You have been given the helmet of salvation. You are indwelt with the Holy Spirit. You have the Bible, God's Holy Word, to use and gain knowledge from. So are you using these resources to provide yourself with the helmet of salvation? We need it!! We must block the lies, manipulations, and mind-games that satan will bring our way. 

2 Peter 3:18 "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen."

Wherever Paul was, then he 

taught the truths of God’s word so that the people who heard the good news would be wearing helmets of salvation and protected from satan’s lies.

Now that we are wearing our helmet, then we can take up the sword of the Spirit. A material sword pierces the body, but the Word of God pierces the heart. The more you use a physical sword, the duller it becomes; but using God’s Word only makes it sharper in our lives. A physical sword requires the hand of a soldier, but the sword of the Spirit has its own power, for it is “living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12). The Spirit wrote the Word, and the Spirit wields the Word as we take it by faith and use it. A physical sword wounds to hurt and kill, while the sword of the Spirit wounds to heal and give life. But when we use the sword against Satan, we are out to deal him a blow that will cripple him and keep him from hindering God’s work.[1]

Go back to Matthew 4 when Jesus was tempted. Three times he said, “it is written” and satan also used those same words: it is written. Please understand... Satan knows the scripture too, but take note that he won’t use it in completion. He uses just enough of it to bring us confusion. The better we know the Word, then the easier it is for us detect satan’s lies and reject him.

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^[1] Wiersbe, W. W. (1996). The Bible exposition commentary (Vol. 2, p. 59). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.