Veterans Day 2023

A Christian's Call to Service

Ephesian 6:10-20

The Bugler

The official 2023 Veterans Day poster honors “The Bugler”. This tradition announces the events of the day on military bases. Mealtimes, duty changes, and church services are “called” by the bugler, sending soldiers off to their next duty assignment. The bugler’s call reminds soldiers of their Call to Service.

The bugler’s call played at sunrise and sunset when the country’s flag is raised and lowered, marks the beginning and the end of each day. But the bugler’s duty of playing Taps, honoring the life of a fallen veteran is most poignant. Those who laid down their life to protect our freedom paid the ultimate price in answering their Call to Service: “Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13, ESV). Fallen veterans emulate our Savior’s example by answering their Call to Service with their lives.

My Call to Service

I too am a veteran having served ten years in the Navy during the Vietnam War. However, I consider myself the least of those who are my fellow veterans. I suffered so little compared to the physical and emotional wounds that still ravage some veterans’ bodies and minds today. When we enlisted, we all stood at attention and recited the same oath, not aware of the cost we might have to pay:

I do solemnly swear that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the President of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice so help me God.

These words are a call to defend an ideology against “all enemies”. The service implied is “faith and allegiance” to that ideology. How does the oath-giver honor the oath? By obedience and with the help of God. Sadly, today the term “so help me God” is optional. As Christ-followers, we are also asked to take an oath and commit to a Call to Service.

Many of us did not know what we were getting into when we joined the military. We took the oath before basic training and before we went to our duty stations. Our call to follow Christ is different. We have God’s Word. In the Bible, the cost of service is made clear. For example: “If anyone would come after me let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me” (Matthew 16:24). Later, in Matthew 24:9, Jesus defines the meaning of the cross they would have to bear: “Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name’s sake”. The “Then” is explained in the preceding verses when Jesus tells his disciples about “the end of the age”.

The cost of being in the service of our Lord is giving to him everything we have. However, he does not send us into battle empty-handed with no way to defend ourselves or no way to win the battle.

The Armor of God

A Call to Service is also a call to arms. In modern soldier parlance, “Let’s gear up!”. Ephesians 6:10-20 are pages out of the Christian soldier’s Uniform Code of Military Justice, the Bible. But before we “gear up”, we get a briefing and are given the mission parameters. Like Joshua, we are reminded to be strong, not in our strength, but in God’s strength. Ephesians 6:10 says: “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might.”

God gave Joshua the same instructions when he commissioned him as the battle leader of the Israelites. “Be Strong and Courageous” is repeated three times in the first nine verses of Joshua chapter 1. God tells Joshua that He will be with him. God will never forsake him (Joshua 1:6). That is what Paul is telling all the Christ-following churches of his day and in our day as well. The next thing the soldier wants to know is, “Where’s my gear and where’s the enemy?”. Joshua already knew what his gear was, a sword and shield. He also knew where the enemy was and how powerful they were. He was called by God to go into the Promised Land and spy. He saw giants and impenetrable cities. However, that did not prevent Joshua from answering his call.

A Call to Service inevitably involves a battle. Paul implores his readers to prepare themselves for a spiritual battle, not a physical battle. From Ephesians 6:11-12 we read, “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.”

While Joshua encounters giants and fortresses, Paul's readers encounter Satan, the devil. Context is important to understanding what Paul means in v11 and 12. He spent over two years living in Ephesus preaching and teaching the disciples there. In Acts 19 we learn that he dealt firsthand with spiritual warfare when he locked blades with the Sons of Sceva, unbelieving itinerant Jewish exorcists who tried to cast out demons using their own power. They were not successful! I invite you to read this fascinating passage in Acts 19.

To engage in spiritual warfare, the soldier in God’s army needs a special kind of armor. Paul describes what each element of the suit of armor is. He is in prison in Rome when he writes this letter. At one point he was chained to a Roman guard. I imagine that this metaphor comes directly from his personal experiences with that guard and other Roman soldiers. We will take these last seven verses as a whole and observe some key components in God’s armor.

       “Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints, and also for me, that words may be given to me in opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains, that I may declare it boldly, as I ought to speak” (Ephesians 6:13-20). We notice six key elements of the armor.

The Belt of Truth

The belt of a Roman soldier was more like a modern-day utility belt that held the essential tools of the job. Here Paul uses the belt metaphor in the same way. The essential tool of a Kingdom soldier is the truth of the gospel. In John 14:6 Jesus says, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me”. Jesus and his gospel form the belt of truth. All reality, past, present, and future hangs on it.

The Breastplate of Righteousness

A breastplate protected the Roman soldier’s essential organs, specifically the heart. He could survive a wound from anywhere else, but a wounded heart was fatal. God’s righteousness and the Christ-follower’s righteousness are linked through the truth of the gospel. They form a breastplate that protects the believer's heart from harm.

The Shoes of Readiness

Shoes were not normally issued to every Roman soldier. They were reserved for those at the front of the attack column. Shoes gave the front-line soldiers a firm footing and prepared them to endure the initial attack by the enemy. The mind’s readiness is even more essential. The peace of mind that the gospel gives provides the mental readiness and firm spiritual footing that a believer needs to endure the spiritual battle.

The Shield of Faith

The Shield of Faith: the Roman soldier carried a large, heavy shield that protected him from the slings and arrows of the enemy. The spiritual warrior’s shield is his faith.

The Helmet of Salvation

The Helmet of Salvation: after the heart, the Roman soldier had to protect his head from deadly blows. The helmet of the spiritual soldier is the knowledge of the salvation that is his by his faith in Jesus Christ. As Paul says in Romans 12:2, “Do not be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect”.

The Sword of the Spirit, the Word of God

The most common sword that a Roman soldier carried was short. It was used for close combat situations. This is the kind of sword Paul refers to here. Paul’s listeners would have understood this and understood that the Word of God is used as a sword in up close and personal kinds of spiritual battles. Consider Jesus’ confrontation in the wilderness with Satan. Jesus countered every attempt Satan made to get Jesus to deny his destiny with passages from the book of Deuteronomy.

The Whole Armor of God

The whole armor of God is made up of the basic principles of the gospel. Easy to understand, not too great a burden to carry, but powerful against all enemies of God. Paul, in Ephesians 6:11-20, describes the nature of the battle that Christians will face. It is not a physical battle, but a spiritual battle. The gear God’s people need to fight these spiritual battles is the whole armor of God. The person who decides to answer Jesus’ Call to Service needs to “gear up” with the whole armor of God and prepare to engage in the battle.

A Roman Phalanx