Taking Up the Shield of Faith

The shield of faith is part of the whole armor of God described by the apostle Paul in Ephesians 6. Verse 16 presents it this way: "Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked." In the Roman military context, the word Paul uses points to the scutum, the great rectangular shield that protected nearly the soldier's whole body and that was soaked in water to extinguish the enemy's flaming arrows. Biblical faith is precisely a shield of this kind: active, not passive. It does not merely absorb attacks; it is lifted deliberately against the spiritual assaults of the wicked one. The fiery darts Paul mentions are the thoughts, doubts, temptations, and accusations the enemy launches against the soul: doubts about God's love, thoughts of despair, temptations, and feelings of guilt. Faith in the Word of God quenches them. Every doubt, every fear, every lie of the enemy is extinguished when the believer answers with the faith that rests on God's promises. This shield is not about possessing absolute certainty about everything, but about placing active trust in the faithful character of God. Romans 10:17 reminds us that "faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God." Therefore reading, meditating on, and memorizing Scripture strengthens the shield. When the enemy fires his arrows of doubt, the believer raises faith and remembers what God has promised. Even Thomas doubted before confessing, "My Lord and my God" (John 20:28); faith chooses to trust God's word against every accusation.