Girded with Truth
A Sermon on Ephesians 6:14
Scripture
14Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
Sermon Description
What is truth? In a world where truth is twisted into what people want it to be, how does one know what is really true versus what is distorted to fit certain views? Knowing the truth of God’s word is essential. This is why when Paul speaks to Christians about the armor of God, he urges believers to gird themselves with truth. In this sermon on the belt of truth from Ephesians 6:14 titled “Girded With Truth,” Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones speaks on what it looks like to gird oneself with the truth of God’s word. He explains how truth is not something one should hold onto lightly, but is something that must be sought after and fought for. The Christian must diligently search for truth no matter the cost and never let it go once it has been found. Dr. Lloyd-Jones explains how Christians need to intentionally search the Holy Scriptures for the truth to build their lives upon, not just read through the way one would a newspaper. But most importantly, he emphasizes the fact that they must never compromise the truth no matter the cost, but instead must fight for it, because without girding oneself with the truth, the Christian cannot stand in the day of battle.
Sermon Breakdown
- The first point Dr. Lloyd-Jones makes is that we must have a close attachment to the truth, not a loose one. We must "gird" ourselves with truth.
- We must realize the importance and vitality of truth. Truth is essential to the Christian life.
- We must take time and effort to understand truth. We must understand terms like justification, sanctification, and glorification. We must understand the whole of Scripture.
- We must be honest with the truth. We must not change the meaning of biblical terms or only accept parts of the truth we like.
- We must apply the truth to ourselves. The truth must govern our whole lives, even if it is painful.
- We must hold onto the truth at all costs. We must not be afraid of scholarship, persecution, being called "narrow" or a "fool."
- We must not compromise the truth. We must not compromise for the sake of unity or peace. Compromise is a "prostitution of the truth."
- We must "fight" for the truth. We must "dare to be a Daniel" and stand up for the truth.
- We must follow the example of Peter, John, and Paul who stood up for the truth in the face of persecution and did not compromise.
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.