Covered by Righteousness
Ephesians 6:10-14 10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,
Intro: Once again we are planning to take a look at what it takes to win against the spiritual powers that fight against us. Last week we talked about truth. We talked about the fact that in spite of how unique God made each of us with different perspectives on reality, there are absolute truths that are always true. Truth will help us if we receive God’s word and know it. But truth is more than information. Real truth brings transformation, which enables us to live it. Truth must find expression in our lives. And it is God’s plan that we not keep the truth to ourselves. We are others the truth about God and His love for them. The best guard against deception is the truth! Know the truth! Live the truth! Tell the truth!
-Today I’d like to look at the 2nd piece of armor in Paul’s list of things we cannot do without – the breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is the quality or state of being morally right, being in sync with what it right.
-As a literal piece of armor the breastplate is quite easy to imagine. It was made up of small metal plates which were tied together in a similar fashion to the way roof tiles are placed on a roof. The armor was then placed over the shoulders to protect both the front and back of the soldier. The bottom of the armor was tied to the belt. A Greek word sometimes used to describe this piece of equipment literally translates as “heart protector”. And that was the main purpose of the breastplate – to give protection to the heart and other vital organs.
-That is a description of the armor in a literal sense. But this is not literal armor, it is spiritual armor. In the midst of a very real spiritual struggle, you will need protection for your heart. If your heart is not right then the rest of your life will not be right either. If there are areas that we refuse to surrender to the Lord, then we have holes in our armor and are vulnerable to the enemy. In the spiritual battle we need to be sure that our hearts are directed by God and not surrendered to Satan. The breastplate of righteousness keeps your heart right. How does it do that?
I. It indicates Right Standing
-Justification by faith – God sees me with no sin. God sees me as righteous. I have been declared “not guilty” before the court of heaven, not because I’ve committed no offense, but because Jesus took my sin on Himself and declared me clean, righteous, holy before God!
-It is so important that we understand the nature of this righteousness. It is not formula-based, but is relationship-based. We are not declared righteous because we discovered the secret password or became privy to secret information. We are declared righteous when we begin a relationship with Jesus that includes trust and confidence in Him. That relationship brings us to a place where we recognize that Jesus truly is the Son of God and that He not only can forgive sins, but desires to and does so based on His own sinless life, which became a substitution for our lives when He died on a Roman cross.
-We can have a clean conscience because of the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate of righteousness provides protection for our heart, and other vital organs. When the devil assaults us with lies about who we are and reminds us how imperfect we are, the breastplate of righteousness gives us confidence to stand against his accusations. One of Satan’s tactics is to destroy your confidence before God so you won’t come close to God. So the enemy says, “You don’t deserve to be forgiven. You have failed so badly. God couldn’t love you. He is ashamed of you!” Well, we certainly don’t deserve forgiveness, but grace is not based on what we deserve. It is based on who God is and what Jesus has done to change our nature and our standing with God.
-Satan is called the accuser and the Bible says that he accuses God’s people before Him day and night. But the cool thing is that the Bible also says that God’s people win against the devil, and here is how they do it: “They overcame him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony.” Revelation 12:11
-Guess what Jesus, God’s Lamb did to make us righteous? He died. He shed His blood for us so we could be declared righteous. Romans 5:9 Since we have now been justified (made right or just) by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God’s wrath through him!
Hebrews 4:16 Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
-Right standing with God gives us confidence that we can come to God and have a close relationship with Him.
II. It produces a Right Leaning
-This may sound a little strange to you like I was trying to come up with another point or something. But the Bible uses a word that really brings this out. It is the word “inclined” or “inclination.” When someone inclines their heart to follow the Lord, it indicates a bending of their will in that direction.
Joshua 24:23 “Now therefore put away, said he, the strange gods which are among you, and incline your heart unto the LORD God of Israel.” We’re talking about a change on the inside that is followed by change on the outside.
1 Kings 8:58 Solomon prayed, “that He may incline our hearts to Himself, to walk in all His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His ordinances, which He commanded our fathers.”
-The word “incline” paints a picture in my mind of someone leaning in the direction of their goal or destination. I think of a runner in a race who leans toward the finish line. When our hearts are inclined to the Lord, we lean our entire lives toward Him. We set our hearts in His direction.
-Perhaps we need to trade in our recliners for incliners – spiritually speaking of course. Soldiers cannot fight if they are reclining.
-God’s work of righteousness changes us on the inside so that our hearts will be directed toward Him. This changes everything! God’s righteousness changes our desires and affections. God’s righteousness changes our priorities. Ultimately, God’s righteousness changes our character so that our every inclination is to be more like Him. When we are touched by God’s righteousness, not only are we declared right before Him with the righteousness of Jesus, but we are given a new moral compass and a desire to seek more of His righteousness in how we think and how we order our lives.
-Which way are you leaning? Do you shrink back away from God out of shame or fear? God sees you as righteous as His own Son Jesus – if your faith is in Him. Are you leaning into your relationship with the Lord, or taking it kind of easy? Jesus said to seek His kingdom first, and His righteousness, and the things that you need and labor so hard for, those things will be added to your life – on top of living a life filled with God’s blessing and favor.
-The last thing I’d like to share about the breastplate of righteousness is what it looks like in our daily lives.
II. It results in Right Living
-It is only natural when we are in right relationship with God, having right standing and a heart that leans toward Him that it would lead to right living. One thing about being justified is that it takes the pressure off. When we realize that we can’t be good enough or do enough good things to deserve forgiveness or grace, it is freeing. That doesn’t mean we don’t try to do what is right and serve the Lord wholeheartedly. If we are really “in Christ” then we are under His leadership. Our decisions and the way we treat others find guidance and strength from Him through the Holy Spirit who lives within us.
-Let me clarify that we are not talking about perfectionism here. There are times when we will fail, letting God down, letting others down, and letting ourselves down. Don’t plan on these failures, they will show up without our help. And don’t excuse them either, because they do not honor God and are not helpful to you or anybody else. In fact, the more we fail to walk in obedience and victory over sin, the more vulnerable we will be to Satan’s attacks. One result will be a loss of spiritual authority. If we aren’t praying regularly and if we are living a lifestyle of sin that does not honor God, the level of our spiritual authority will be very low. It doesn’t pay to live a sloppy life when it comes to making right choices and doing what pleases the Lord.
-So how should we deal with our failures when they do come? 1 John 1:9-10 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.
-Don’t ignore your sin or failure. Deal with it. Confess it and ask God to show you what it’s going to take to keep you from repeating it. Remember that you are righteous in God’s eyes and ask for His help to live it out. You are not the same person you were before you met Jesus! An inner change has begun in your heart, in your character. Your thought patterns are being retrained by the Holy Spirit as they are being cleaned up through receiving more and more of God’s word into your heart and mind.
-In addition, we find what might seem to be a strange piece of advice in James 5:16 “Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective.” Something that is often difficult for us independent American believers to accept is that it isn’t just “Jesus and me.” Yes, you can have a personal relationship with Jesus, and God does care deeply for you as an individual. However, His plan for you includes other people. God has a great family plan that will help us if we let it! When we are struggling with repeated sin and failure, it may be necessary to invite another believer into the process. Swallow your pride and ask the Lord to help you shove aside the shame you may feel over your failure. Then go to another believer whom you can trust and ask them to pray for you. Tell them what you are dealing with and ask them to pray. The context of that verse speaks of healing. You may or may not need a physical healing, but there is certainly healing that will take place if you humble yourself enough to tell someone about your failures and ask them to pray for you.
-The benefits of this biblical approach are amazing. Not only do you find the support and encouragement you need, but you begin to build a sense of accountability and interconnectedness with your Christian family around you. Together we can! But if we try to go it alone, we are missing out on God’s plan for living. We will cover this more under the shield of faith, but let me just mention that Roman shields were designed to interlock, forming a barrier against the enemy.
-So remember, you are not fighting alone! There are those around you who can and will join their faith with yours and help you find victory. It will encourage you and them as we all move forward together for Christ.
Conclusion: As we close, are you in right standing with God? Do you trust God’s word enough to believe that what Jesus did on the cross was enough to cover your sins and clothe you in His goodness, His righteousness? How are you leaning? Are you leaning towards the Lord and His way of doing things, or are you attempting to be independent? Will you incline your heart toward the Lord and His pure grace that has changed you? Finally, are you living it out? If your coworkers or others who know you were to describe your lifestyle, what would they say? Are there chinks in your armor that need to be dealt with today? If God is speaking to you about something, please deal with it now. Don’t wait until it seems less important. Incline your heart TO the Lord, not away from Him! If you need to take a few minutes and do some soul-searching, please do it. Reaffirm your faith in Jesus and thank Him for making you righteous in God’s eyes – not guilty! Ask Him to help you as you position your life to follow Him. Plan for righteous living that comes from a heart that loves Him and wants to honor Him.
