Doves On Distant Oaks

The Sword of the Spirit

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.–Ephesians 6:14-18

As we look at the full armor of God that Paul describes, we notice an interesting thing. All save one are defensive weapons. We are given only one offensive weapon, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God. The Word of God is, of course, the Holy Bible. But how do we use the Bible? To hit people over the head with it? You may laugh, but there are those who, at least figuratively, do that. But the answer is no, we don't hit people over the head with the bible, even figuratively.

That's because we don't do a thing to change people's minds about God, or to convert them. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that convicts them of their sin. We should never do a thing to convict them except to assure them that God loves them, wants them to be adopted into His family, even though yes, they are in sin without the saving blood of Jesus Christ. We need to show them that—not of our own accord—but through the words of the Bible.

If we were to run around pointing fingers at people saying, "You're all going to Hell," we are using our own sword and not the sword of the Spirit. Most certainly they are going to Hell without Christ, but it's not our job to convict them of that. When people hear or read the Word of God, the Spirit moves in their hearts to show them the way. We are simply the tool that the Spirit uses. That's why we must be loving, respectful, and filled with grace when we bring them the Word. Otherwise we may well over-ride the work of the Spirit.

That's also why the place for all sinners, and by that I mean all of us, saved and unsaved, is at a church—the seemingly righteous sitting alongside the apparently unrighteous. The truth is we are all unrighteous, the only difference is that some have had their sins covered by the blood of Christ and some have not. The pious should sit next to the prostitute, the singer of psalms next to the seller of drugs, the acolyte next to the addict. Because I guarantee that those who regularly attend church need as much conviction for their lying, gossiping, jealousy, anger, bitterness, hypocrisy, and so on, as everyone who does not attend church.

That is the sword we carry and swing—the sword of the Spirit which is the sword of conviction—that comes when we hear, see, and read the Word of God.