Is your armor big enough for the battles you fight?

“At salvation, you get the starter kit. We don’t mean to diminish the essentials of armor you receive from Christ because of what He has done. But it is a suit of armor that hopefully you will build upon with Him as you grow spiritually. 

Growth is not required. We’re not obligated to build upon it. Christ just offers it, and we should accept the offer. You would be stupid not to.

Many people, however, do choose not to grow a suit. You too can actually just keep your tiny suit of armor, and have little spiritual coverage beyond the essentials. You are still going to heaven when you die. But you’ll be allowing yourself to be beaten almost senseless until then. It is not required of you that you grow your armor. It’s just smart if you do. When I think of a starter kit of armor in my mind’s eye, I see an adult wearing a toddler-sized Iron Man costume to a Halloween party. They get into the party, but it just doesn’t fit right, or cover very much.

Now, don’t get me wrong. The suit you get at salvation is enough to get the Spirit living inside you, and genuine entrance into heaven. That is if you truly said to Christ, “I believe that You are who You say You are.” After all, the thief on the cross did not have much time to build a suit. What He did have was Christ. Christ told him so while hanging right there next to him. So, when that thief got to heaven, and let’s say that proverbial question from God happens … where He says, “Why should I let you into My heaven?”… the only thing that thief can say is, “The guy on the cross next to me said I could come in, and I believed Him.”

Christ must increase; you must decrease.

In 2 Peter 1:3–11, the apostle outlines that the qualities of Christ in (and on) us must increase. If that does not happen, you will remain nearsighted, vulnerable, unfruitful, and ineffective. To the degree Christ does not increase, you will be pounded upon by the enemy where you are vulnerable … and with tiny armor, that is pretty much everywhere. Just know that if you don’t grow, the arrows will hit with much more impact and destruction. You may well get singed over and over, or seriously wounded because you are believing the devil’s lies and not protecting yourself with who God is. 

The promises He has made to you are personal and wearable. As you believe and wear that truth He wrote in His Word, you build strong, thick, deep armor. God is not like your mom when you were two years old. He is not going to dress you. He gifts you enough to start. It is up to you, with Him, to increasingly put on the armor consistently, thicker, stronger, and it will swallow up the sting of death.” p. 19.  in the book Tiny Armor