It has been said that the world’s most skillful aids are faith’s surest hindrances. Dear brethren, let us not fight our battles using the armor of this world. Let us be like David who, through faith in the God of Israel, defeated the mighty enemy, Goliath.
Thus does faith strip itself of all carnal weapons—all that the flesh might trust in. Faith stands entirely in the power of God. Now our learning this is often the hardest part of our lesson—that which we most slowly learn and soonest forget.
But if we knew more of the secret dealing of God, we should much more speedily rid ourselves of all carnal weapons. The soul that, like David, has been much exercised in secret before God knows the utter worthlessness of everything but God’s own strength.
Having thus learned this blessed lesson, it readily casts off those things which the flesh so esteems as aids. It is free and at liberty by their loss. How far more blessed is this way of learning the worthless futility of the flesh and denying it than any other.
For want of living and walking in communion before God, we have to learn this lesson in painful discipline and after many failures. It is the hardest and most painful part of such discipline to be stripped of those things which by habit and education we have all thought were necessary in our spiritual battles. The Christian must learn to stand by faith and aloof from modes of action in which, after the manner of Saul and his armor, the name of the Lord and human authority or human wisdom are combined. Such combinations, often called judicious and useful, are most delusive and dangerous to the path of faith.
We see the Apostle rejoicing to count all those things esteemed by men loss for the sake of Christ (Phil. 3:88Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, (Philippians 3:8)). Why was this not a hard thing to Paul? How could he thus thoroughly renounce and put from him these things so valued and sought after by the world? He had learned to rejoice in Christ Jesus and to be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might.
What we want is much more of such simplicity, remembering that we have the truth of God to address men’s consciences. We have weapons mighty through God, if we had only simple faith to trust to them alone, rejecting the fleshly armor of human energy, wisdom and authority.
J. L. Harris (adapted)