Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Evangelical
TOAM10 – Terry Virgo on the armor of God

TOAM10 – Terry Virgo on the armor of God

Last updated on: October 14, 2025 at 3:54 pm by Adrian Warnock

TOAM10 – Terry Virgo on the armor of God 2025-10-14T15:54:07+01:00 Adrian Warnock

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Terry began his Wednesday afternoon session by reading out the following tweets from PJ SMYTH:

Discovered lump in neck on Mon. Saw 1 GP & 3 specialists in 4 hrs. Said i can’t travel to uk for Newfrontiers conf. Op done y’day.
Op went well. Bit sore & groggy. Biopsy results from removed lump due Fri. Very peaceful & grateful to perfect Father for good & ‘bad’.
Huge thx for prayers & support. Secure in fortress of Rms 8v28. Ash strong. Boys bit unsettled but brave. We worship whilst we wait.
Ashleigh & I so sad to be missing #toam. Sounds like it is pumping! Enjoying the tweets & blog updates. Big love to you all.

You can read other tweets about the conference on this Twitter feed.

Terry then mentioned some books in his usual inimitable way. I was quite overwhelmed and surprised that my own book was one of them. I never imagined a few years ago that I would ever write a book, let alone that it would be mentioned from the stage here at the conference. It is amazing what the prophetic intervention of God can achieve. Maybe someone reading this will be inspired that God could do something surprising with them.

Ephesians 6

The truth that encompasses you and surrounds you sets you up to be part of this great army that is taking a message to the whole world. We are strong, not as Stoics, but as those who know God’s grace is sufficient. Jesus saves us. We have a Savior not a technique. He carries us. He changes us: Jacob from a worm into a threshing sledge. We are meant to be strong in the Lord. We need armor. Put on the armor. Do it. Defense as well as being on attack. Joshua knew the joy of victory, and the sorrow of defeat at Ai. Their defenses were weak. A good team has defense as well as attack. Be strong but also be armed.

It’s God’s armor. He has provided it for his soldiers. It is useless to those who are not saved! The counsel doesn’t work for unbelievers. It’s foolishness for those who don’t know Christ. We are uniquely qualified to put the armor on. We have special armor. You cant tell an non-Christian man to love his wife as Christ loved the church and cared for her. You can tell him to wash and help around the home and have a date night, but Jesus is needed to make sense of so much of God’s armor. You can’t tell a non-Christian lady to submit to her husband. They don’t have the unique thing that we have. We disregard God’s way at our peril. For the Christian, our battle is too real for common sense sayings to help us. As we said earlier, for the kind of battle PJ is facing, you need Romans 8:28 as a fortress. What kind of vision do our churches need? Is it a four year plan? No, it’s hearing from God. Have plans by all means, but ask what the Bible says. It is his Word that will do us good.

We put on the truth as a belt. It is gospel truth, spoken to us through the Son. We are not mystics on a quest. It is the faith once for all delivered to the saints. Absolute truth. We have to help people deconstruct their previous world view. We must walk away from independence and selfishness. Paul is not talking about cold theology. He is looking for behavioral change based on the fact that God became man and dwelt among us, died on a cross, and raised up and glorified. We live in the light of breathtaking truth.

You became obedient from the heart ( Romans 6:17). It was mind, will and heart. We were committed to the word, not the word to us. The Greek word is used for making a mold and pouring something into the mold. We are shaped by the Word. We have a new filter for all our thinking and decisions. The way we evaluate everything has changed. We are to be girded with truth. If you don’t feel like God loves you right now, or if he feels distant, you have to change our thinking and say “that’s irrelevant,” I have been shaped by truth. Don’t waste your time on it. This truth saves you from even going there. Don’t worry about gossip or the way other speak to you. Paul writes about how Jesus emptied himself and the theologians have written many books about it. But Paul wrote that to stop two women arguing with each other. Proverbs says “fools hate knowledge” We must receive the truth with fear of the Lord.

Breastplate of righteousness. Covers your heart and emotions. Satan is an accuser. It is one of his greatest weapons. You are no good. You will never make a good husband. You are a useless mother. Legalistic churches just accept this condemnation. We put on that the Lord is our righteousness. It is nothing to do with your performance, with what you are doing. Paul counted his religious performance as excrement. When he is out with Wendy he sometimes says watch out dear, there is a bit of religion there, don’t tread on it! All of your righteousness is filthy rags. It won’t cover you. You will have evil days when you fail, when you haven’t any confidence in yourself. You must remind yourself, all my guilt was imputed to him, all his righteousness was imputed to me. The purity and innocence and pleasing the father it is ALL accredited to me as though I did it! We are righteous as a gift! It is not the breastplate of performance! When you are frail that’s when Satan kicks you. I have nothing to offer, except the righteousness of Jesus. It’s not the breastplate of spiritual experiences. It wont do it for you! Jesus righteousness is a breastplate that never changes, never wears out, and is spotless.

Shoes for your feet. Apparently Alexander the Great introduced footwear for his soldiers. Stability and mobility. Secure, resolute, assured, rooted and grounded. Not easily shaken. Wise man hears the word and does it. Dig down deep. Stand your ground. As Luther said “here I stand, I can do no other.” When he was at Bible college, someone removed all the furniture from a fellow students room and put that as a poster on the mirror. We must be faithful as well as relevant. We must not abandon ground that was vital to where we are. Our uniqueness makes us relevant.

But we are not stuck in yesterdays battles. We must move swiftly. Alexander the Great could move armies swiftly. When Joshua was told he had been given a city, he then marched all night. We don’t fight the battles of 300 years ago. There are big battles to fight today.

Shield of faith. It is not faith in faith. It is to defend you from fierce hostility. Flaming arrears are destructive. Roman soldiers had shields 4ft by 2ft. They would soak them in water before conflict so they were able to extinguish the fires. Unexpected fiery arrears are terrifying. They hurt, wound, shock, bewilder. You can get scared and think, “i cant keep this up.” Satan sees when you are vulnerable and you can sometimes be shocked by how much something hurts you. You have to fight the fight of faith. Faith in what God says is true is the antidote. Don’t be anxious is as much a command as “don’t steal” Instead we pray our requests with thanksgiving. Fight! Don’t let the arrows take you out. Lloyd-Jones said faith is an activity that we have to exercise. It is not automatic. Romans 4 says Abraham grew strong in faith, fully persuaded that what God had promised he was also able to perform. Enemy will hit you hard when you are down already. It really is a battle. He won’t wait till you are feeling better. You have to take it. Take responsibility for that.

Sword of the Spirit Word of God. The only offensive weapon. You bring it against the enemy himself. Truth that keeps us secure, but there is also the truth that we battle with. He flees from us. Jesus defeated the devil quoting verses from Deuteronomy Satan had to back off. Think biblically. Get into truth. Let it master you and become a weapon in your hand. Divine power is in the words of the Bible.

Helmet of salvation Guard your mind with this. Many faceted reality to our salvation. We have been saved. Our sins were washed away. Our chains fell off. Our heart was free. I am also being saved. Constantly being rescued from myself and my foolishness. Objects of salvation. Ultimately salvation is also future. It is an eschatological event. We are saved from hell. We will not be banished from the presence of God. Everything that goes before is small fry compared to that. Saved into eternal delight and joy. It is a future event for us all. Our salvation is getting nearer. The actual experience of this salvation from God’s cataclysmic judgment on the universe is coming. The night has almost gone, day is at hand. For a helmet take the hope of salvation says in Thessalonians. In hope we are saved. We don’t hope for what we already have. Peter tells us to hope fully for the grace that is coming. Salvation in its fullest sense is our helmet. We will be like him. We will be caught up in eternal glory. Our life on earth will seem like one night spent in a bad hotel. What is mortal will be swallowed up by life. All the enigmas will be put right. All the unanswered, challenging, heartbreaking things will be answered. Christians who suffer now, will be full of joy and life then. There is a salvation coming! Be good soldiers. We will be changed completely. Our bodies will be appropriate for the new Spirit we already have. We must set our hope fully on that. We battle with all kinds of situations. Set your hope fully on the grace that is coming.

Are you putting on the armor? It is a BATTLE. Be strong! We must go on. But we must take seriously the protection God has provided for us. We do not want the cardboard copies, we want the real thing. There is no armor for your back. Don’t run. Don’t turn back. God has fully equipped us with everything we need! God will not leave you. He will not abandon you. Lets fight the fight of faith.

Previous Post

July 8, 2010

TOAM10 - Eleven Things that can't be blogged

Next Post

July 8, 2010 TOAM10 - Dave Devenish on scattering

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 1 and 2 Corinthians 1 and 2 Thessalonians 1 and 2 Timothy 1 John 300 Leaders A Life of Joy Abortion Acts of the Apostles Adrian on radio Adrian on TV Adrian's Story Albert Mohler Amazing Grace Arminocalvinist Spectrum Assurance Atonement Atonement Series Attributes of God Barnabas Best of the Blog Bible Bible Software Bible Translation Biblical Inerrancy Billy Graham Bob Roberts Books C. J. Mahaney Calvinism Cessationism Charis Warnock Charismatic Spectrum Charles Simeon Charles Spurgeon Church Leadership Colossians Complementarian - Egalitarian Spectrum Complementarianism Conferences Culture Daniel Debates Deuteronomy DGM08 DGM13 Discernment Doctrine Don Carson Ed Stetzer Eddy Leo Ephesians ESV Bible Translators Interview Evangelism in a Post-Christian World evolution Exodus Expository Preaching Ezekial Faith and Feelings Family Florida Galatians General Genesis Get Wisdom - Proverbs sermons Gifts of The Holy Spirit Gifts of the Holy Spirit 2006 Global Faith Forum Godly Attitudes Gospel Gospels Grace Greg Haslam Grudem vs Piper: The Baptism Debate Healing Heaven Hell and Rob Bell Hebrews Henry Tyler Henry Warnock Holy Spirit Holy Spirit Baptism Hope Reborn Hugh Palmer Irresistable Grace Isaiah J. I. Packer Jack Hayford Joel Joel Warnock John John Lanferman John MacArthur John Newton John Owen John Piper John Smyth Jonathan Edwards Josh Harris Justification Justin Taylor Kenneth Ulmer Leadership Leadership Lessons from 1 & 2 Samuel Lex Loizides Liam Goligher Lig Duncan Limited Atonement Lou Fellingham Mark Dever Mark Driscoll Martyn Lloyd-Jones Matt Chandler Mental Health Missionary Methods: St Paul’s or Ours? My Story N. T. Wright Nehemiah NWA08 NWA09 NWA10 Opinion OT History Books Pentateuch Personal Personal Revival Philippians PJ Smyth Podcast Politics Preaching Prophecy Proverbs Psalms Raised With Christ Reformed Charismatic Regeneration Relationships Resurrection Resurrection & Salvation Revival Rice Broocks Rich Man and Lazarus Rick Warren Rob Rufus Roland Allen Romans Sam Storms Sanctification Series Sermons Sermons on Philippians Serving Jesus at Work Sexuality Sin St Paul Steve Chalke Strange Fire Suffering T4G T4G Statement TAB09 Tamasin Warnock Teamwork Terry Virgo The Atonement Debate - Chalke book The Soulwinner The Spirit-Filled Church The Traitor Within Theologcial Spectrums Theosis Tim Challies Tim Keller Titus TOAM06 TOAM07 TOAM08 TOAM09 TOAM10 TOAM11 Todd Bentley Tope Koleoso Total Depravity Video Water Baptism Wayne Grudem Worship

Select a Month October 2026 September 2026 August 2026 July 2026 June 2026 May 2026 April 2026 March 2026 February 2026 January 2026 December 2025 November 2025 October 2025 September 2025 May 2025 April 2025 January 2025 November 2024 October 2024 August 2024 July 2024 June 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 August 2023 May 2023 April 2023 February 2023 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 May 2022 April 2022 March 2022 February 2022 August 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 October 2019 September 2019 June 2019 May 2019 April 2019 March 2019 January 2019 December 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 June 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 June 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007 April 2007 March 2007 February 2007 January 2007 December 2006 November 2006 October 2006 September 2006 August 2006 July 2006 June 2006 May 2006 April 2006 March 2006 February 2006 January 2006 December 2005 November 2005 October 2005 September 2005 August 2005 July 2005 June 2005 May 2005 April 2005 March 2005 February 2005 January 2005 December 2004 November 2004 October 2004 September 2004 August 2004 July 2004 June 2004 May 2004 April 2004 March 2004 February 2004 January 2004 December 2003 November 2003 October 2003 September 2003 August 2003 July 2003 June 2003 May 2003 April 2003

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

How many Beatitudes are in the Sermon on the Mount?

Select your answer to see how you score.

12 8 10 7

Books by This Author Books by Adrian Warnock

See All Titles »