Take Your Stand
They stood their ground facing a vast and overwhelming force. 300 men against an army of 300,000. They knew that there was no way they could win, and yet they were confident that they could hold off the Persian horde long enough to allow the other Greeks to withdraw from the battle. When the Persian emissary approached King Leonidas and his 300 brave Spartans, he pointed out the reality of the situation and told them to lay down their weapons and surrender. Leonidas confidently replied, “Μολον λαβε- come take them.”
King Leonidas was confident in his warriors' abilities because Spartan warriors were renowned for their exceptional fighting abilities due to a combination of rigorous military training from a young age, a culture that emphasized discipline and teamwork, and a society structured around warfare. Their commitment to a lifelong military lifestyle made them a formidable force on the battlefield. Leonidas was ready to take a stand to protect his land, his people, and his very way of life.
In Ephesians chapter 6, the Apostle Paul encourages us to take our stand against a powerful and overwhelming foe. Unlike King Leonidas and his 300 brave Spartans, we do not face an enemy of flesh and blood, but a spiritual enemy who wants to lead us away from God and rob us of our salvation. The Apostle Peter reminds us of this when he writes, “Have sound judgment. Be alert. Your adversary, the Devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. Resist him by being firm in the faith.”
The book of Ephesians is an encouragement for Christians of all generations on how to stand firm in the faith. In the first half of his letter, Paul reminds us of the amazing power and love of God. He says that because of God’s grace, we are all united with Christ. Because we have been united with Christ, we are to live as children of God. This means living in harmonious unity with our brothers and sisters in Christ and living a pure and holy life according to our stations in life.
Paul concludes his letter by reminding us that part of living a Christian life is contending for the faith and fighting against evil. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can stand against the schemes of the Devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the world rulers of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Confirmation is a special day when we make a solemn vow before God that we will take a stand against the schemes of the devil. Satan hates this. He wants to do everything in his power to lead us away from God and break the promises that we have made.
As Christians, every day of our lives is a constant battle. Like the 300 Spartans, we face an overwhelming force; a trifecta of evil in the devil, the world, and our own sinful flesh. The devil is a vicious and evil enemy who constantly schemes against us. He lies and tries to convince us that God does not really love us. He tempts us the same way he tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. He wants us to believe that God is holding out on us, and if we just listen to Satan, he will give us the things that will make us happy. He uses his allies in the world to mock and ridicule the truths of God’s word. He wants us to be tempted by the allure and glamour of the fleeting pleasures of this world that may satisfy the cravings of our sinful hearts for a time but ultimately lead to our destruction.
There will be times when we fall for these lies of Satan and listen to the sinful desires of our hearts. There may be times when we break our promise to be faithful to God’s Word and wander away from the church. We make the things of this world a higher priority than God. At other times, we may be outwardly faithful to our confirmation promises, but inwardly we cling to our favorite sins and break God’s commandments. We know what we are doing is wrong and against the truths that we were taught, and yet we continue to do them anyway.
When we fall into temptation and do things contrary to God’s will, our enemy loves to assault us with other terrible lies. He shoots his flaming arrows of doubt at us. He wants us to doubt God’s love and forgiveness. He wants to lead us into despair and foolishly believe that our sins are too great for God to forgive. Or he wants us to believe that we need to do something to make up for the evil that we have done. Both lies further lead us away from God and down the path to hell.
We have a terrible enemy who assaults us every day. On our own, we are powerless to stop the attacks of the devil. But God has not left us defenseless. Paul reminds us that God has provided us with a full set of
mighty armor that we put on to resist the attacks of Satan. The armor is not based on our own strength or ability but on the mighty power of God himself.
As we take our stand against Satan, we remember that he has already been defeated. On the cross, Jesus destroyed the power of the Devil. He crushed the head of the ancient serpent who led the world astray. While we may at times be unfaithful, Christ was always faithful. While we listen to the lies of Satan and fall into temptation, Christ perfectly resisted the attacks of Satan and lived a perfect life in our place. Christ then willingly allowed himself to be arrested, humiliated, and crucified in our place. On the cross, Jesus offered his perfect, holy life as a payment for all our sins. We have been washed and purified by the blood of our Savior, and all of our sins have been forgiven. Because of his sacrifice, we have been declared not guilty by our heavenly Father.
The certainty of our salvation is the mighty armor that allows us to take our stand against the attacks of the devil. We stand firm in our faith, knowing that our sins are forgiven. God has also given us a powerful weapon to attack the lies of Satan. The Word of God is our mighty sword that tells us the truth of our salvation. The writer to the Hebrews tells us that the Word of God is sharper than the sharpest sword of his day. The Word of God is sharper and more powerful even than a lightsaber. Think of what God’s Word has done. By his mighty Word, he spoke the universe into creation; by his Word, he parted the Red Sea; by his Word, he raised Jesus Christ from the dead; by his Word, he brought you to life through the waters of baptism and by his Word he forgives your sins through body and blood bread and wine.
This is the Word of God that you have been instructed in. This is a powerful weapon that allows you to resist the attacks of the devil. But any soldier will tell you that a weapon is useless if it is not used and maintained. A soldier needs to be constantly ready and trained to face the enemy. On your confirmation day, you promise to remain faithful to God’s Word. You do this by using the weapons God has given to you. Read your Bible, study your catechism, and pray on all occasions. Regularly come to worship so you can train with your brothers and sisters in arms and be strengthened with the body and blood of our Savior. Do this so and take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to take a stand on the evil day and, after you have done everything, to stand.
Leonidas and his 300 brave Spartans were able to face their enemy because they were filled with confidence in their abilities as warriors. At the Battle of Thermopylae, in an attempt to intimidate the Spartans, a Persian emissary told them that their arrows would blot out the sun. The Spartans responded, “Then we will fight in the shade.” We have far greater confidence. Our shield and armor are better than anything made in this world. Our armor is the salvation that was won for us by our Savior on the cross. We have been equipped with the very Armor of God, and so equipped, we take our stand against the devil and lies. Amen.