Truth is a means to sanctification, to holiness of life (Eph 4:24; John 17:17). ‘Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth,’ Paul says in Ephesians 6:14. In Bible times, the soldier fastened or buckled the girdle, or belt, at his waist around the short tunic he wore. The belt supported the ‘loins,’ or muscles, of the lower back and served as a foundation for much of his remaining armor. Both the breastplate and sword were attached to it. Thus, ‘girt loins’ symbolized readiness to do battle.
Loins girt with truth are a symbol of the Christian binding to himself the faith revealed in the Bible. The Bible is our objective standard of truth and our final authority for doctrine and life. It speaks of the loins of your mind rather than loins of your heart (1 Pet. 1:13) because before truth can get to your heart, it must pass through your mind. So if you would fend off Satan, you must first fill your mind with truth. Apart from God, Satan may be the most powerful mind in the universe. Human wisdom and reason are not sufficient to withstand Satan. But God’s truth, as recorded in His Word and personified in His Son, is what we need to battle Satan.
Truth in our minds is not sufficient, however. We must also possess knowledge of the truth in our hearts, our inmost being, causing us to grow in ‘true holiness’ (Eph. 4:24). If we are going to fight the devil successfully, not only must we master the truth, but the truth must master us. Many people today are ruled by their feelings. Despising the very theology they need, they are ‘carried about with every wind of doctrine’ (Eph. 4:14). Don’t be tossed about with your emotions. Ground yourself in truth. Proverbs 23:23 teaches us to ‘Buy the truth and sell it not,’ if we would be holy. As Thomas Brooks says in Precious Remedies, ‘A man may lawfully sell his house, land and jewels, but truth is a jewel that exceeds all price, and must not be sold.’1Thomas Brooks, Precious Remedies (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 1968), p. 21.
Jesus said, ‘If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; and ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free’ (John 8:31- 32). We find freedom in Christ and in His truth. Demons can attack us, but they cannot overcome us if we are grounded in Christ and in His truth. The power of Christ’s resurrection is greater than the power of Satan. Satan has no effective weapons against truth. He may rave against you and send numerous demons to hound you, but if you trust in Christ as the Truth of God, you will stand firm because your feet are planted on the Rock that cannot be moved.
Satan’s first great weakness is that he is planted in a lie, and, ultimately, a lie cannot stand against truth. Truth will triumph in the end. Cling to it. Know it, love it, and live it. ‘Let us therefore pray unto God,’ counsels John Downame, ‘that we may be sanctified with his truth, that not only whatsoever we do may be grounded on God’s truth, but that we may do it in uprightness of heart.’2John Downame, The Christian Warfare: Written Especially for Their Sakes who are Exercised in the Spirituall Conflict of Tentations, and are Afflicted in Conscience in the Sight Ande Sense of Their Sinnes (London: William Stansby, 1634), 1:22. Abide in Christ who is Truth, and you will gain the victory over Satan.
Excerpt from
A Radical Comprehensive Call to Holiness
By Joel Beeke and Michael Barrett
