Msg#2513 Above All – Shield of Faith
What The Bible Says
Good Samaritan’s Penny Pulpit by Pastor Ed Rice
The Roman soldier was well equipped as a fighter, but the smallest unit of a Roman Legion, lead by a Centurion, was its premier fighting force; a soldier was equipped to fight in a unit. Roman shields, three inches short of 4 foot by 3 foot, would interlock to form an impenetrable barrier to fiery darts as the unit would advance toward a city wall, or withstand an onslaught of the enemy. Christians are told, “Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked” (Eph.6:16). Your faith is meant to not only protect you, but to interlock with the faith of others in an independent called out body of believers where it can quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. Thus a born-again-saved believer is to unite with other born-again-saved believers in church membership; “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, … exhorting one another, … wherewith one may edify another” and “comfort yourselves together and edify one another, even as” the saints of Thessalonica did (Heb.10:25,Rom.14:19,1Thes.5:11). It’s called ‘synergism’ where the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. It’s called Christ’s church. It’s an independent, autonomous Bible believing, assembled body, practicing believer baptism, not infant baptism, with a born-again-saved and called man of God Pastor feeding the Lord’s sheep, following Bible rules about church order. Blended voices in a quartet or choir are better than one voice crying in the wilderness. Church is believers with beautiful feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, involved in bus ministry, Sunday School, visitation, music, choir, janitorial, greeting, discipling, deaconing, edifying. Don’t park your shield somewhere and sit cross armed in a pew grumbling! Minister, edify; we are in a battle down here.
An Essay for week #13, Mar 30, 25
Systematic Theology www.GSBaptistChurch.com/theology/
Virtual Israel Tour Book www.GSBaptistChurch.com/israel22/ /israel23/
Msg in audio at www.GSBaptistChurch.com/audio/gs250330.mp3
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A weekly 300 word essay- The Penny Pulpit
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