5. Using the Weapons of Our Faith
If you ask the average Christian what the weapons of our faith are, he or she is likely to give one of two answers: either the person may remember Paul's words from Ephesians 6:10-17 regarding the armor of God – the sword of the Spirit and its related armaments – or the individual may list the spiritual disciplines such as prayer, study, meditation and fasting.
In a way, both answers are correct, but Paul's approach in Ephesians 6 is the better one, because he sees the weapons as being the spiritual outcomes of the disciplines we utilize – not the disciplines themselves. Although he does mention prayer in Ephesians 6:18-20, even there the focus is on its outcome. We can see this same focus throughout Paul's writings. Look at another example:
"The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:4-5). Here again, Paul looks at the outcomes of the weapons we use through the working of the Spirit in us. Much as we may see the disciplines as spiritual activities, they are really behaviors leading toward spiritual goals and outcomes. The disciplines produce the spiritual weapons we must use. Understanding this fact is of great importance in Christian training and development, as it helps us to focus on using the disciplines for outcomes. Look at the following examples of biblical instruction regarding three of the most important disciplines: prayer, study and fasting.
Prayer: In Luke 18:10-14 we see that Jesus gave the example of the Pharisee and the tax collector who both prayed in the Temple, but while the ostensibly righteous Pharisee spoke to God of his religion and how frequently he utilized spiritual disciplines such as prayer and fasting, it was the repentant tax collector who accomplished something in his prayer, so that Jesus said: "I tell you that this man, rather than the other, went home justified before God" (Luke 18:14). Both men prayed, but only one had a spiritual outcome.
Study: What Paul tells Timothy regarding the value of studying God's word also stresses outcomes: "All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the servant of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work" (2 Timothy 3:16-17).
Fasting: The prophet Isaiah records God's words regarding fasting with and without outcomes:
"…You cannot fast as you do today and expect your voice to be heard on high. Is this the kind of fast I have chosen, only a day for people to humble themselves? Is it only for bowing one's head like a reed and for lying in sackcloth and ashes? Is that what you call a fast, a day acceptable to the Lord? Is not this the kind of fasting I have chosen: to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke?" (Isaiah 58:4-6).
In each one of these cases we see the same truth, that we are not really using a spiritual discipline unless there is a spiritual outcome. Put simply, this means we must ask ourselves: "Is our study just spending some time reading, or does it lead to some outcome or change in us?" "Is our prayer just spending some time talking, or does it lead to an actual change in our closeness to God?" "Is our fasting just spending time hungry, or does it lead to a change in our behavior relative to God and others?"
It's easy to think we have "put on the sword" because we read the Bible for a while, but unless we studied in such a way that the truth becomes more a part of us – and leads us to a concrete change or reinforcement of what is right – we are really just polishing the sword. And this is true of all the spiritual disciplines: we can utilize them without using them; we can access them without acting with them.
Effective spiritual training includes dedicating ourselves to study that leads us to grow in grace as well as knowledge. It involves continuing to pray till we feel a difference has come over our attitudes and intents. It involves fasting till we come to the point where we can see things we need to change and truly commit to them.
We must never forget that we are only using the spiritual disciplines as effective weapons if they produce outcomes.