Intro: When you read about the breastplate of righteousness you find a discussion and disagreement about whether the righteousness that Paul is speaking about is imputed righteousness or imparted righteousness. Imputed righteousness is what we get when we trust Jesus as Lord and Savior and are saved and sealed with God’s Holy Spirit. This is how we will gain access to God’s heaven.
When Jesus says, “Why should I let you into my heaven?” The right answer is because of the shed blood and finished work of Jesus. I trust Him and accept His forgiveness of my sins. That gives us a right standing before God.
Imparted righteousness is what we receive as we daily allow the Holy Spirit to live in us and guide our decisions, desire, emotions and thinking.
Paul gives clear teaching in this letter that I believe settles the discussion. In Ephesians 4:24 Paul uses the word righteousness to speak about the new man (imputed) that is created when we trust Jesus as Savior and confess Him as Lord. In 5:9 he uses it as righteous behavior. So according to this very letter it is our trust in Jesus that works itself out in behavior empowered by the Holy Spirit controlled by the will of God.
If you remember last week we said that we don’t need more legislation, taxation, immigration, population control or education, we need transformation. So what then is the problem? If you understand the gospel of Jesus Christ the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart!
The gospel is good news. In the gospel we hear the bad news about the condition of our heart and the good news that God takes care of our heart condition. Listen to the words of Jesus!
Mark 7:21-22 “For from within, out of people’s hearts, come evil thoughts, sexual immoralities, thefts, murders, 22 adulteries, greed, evil actions, deceit, promiscuity, stinginess, blasphemy, pride, and foolishness. 23 All these evil things come from within and defile a person.” HCSB (choices)
Matthew 15:10-11 “And he called the people to him and said to them, “Hear and understand: 11 it is not what goes into the mouth that defiles a person, but what comes out of the mouth; this defiles a person.” HCSB (Offense of the Pharisees and the ignorance of the disciples) (Read the rest of the paragraph)
The problem of a dirty sinful heart is taken care of at the cross of Jesus. William Cowper wrote an amazing Hymn called there is a fountain the first verse goes like this,
There is a fountain filled with blood,
Drawn from Immanuel’s veins,
And sinners plunged beneath that flood
Lose all their guilty stains. (So the gospel or good news about Jesus Christ tells us clearly that our dirty sinful hearts can become clean when washed with the blood of Jesus!!) Any heart or inner person offered freely to Jesus will be made new and cleansed!!
So where does the breastplate of righteousness come in?
I. The breastplate: Our standing before God
When we turn our lives over to Jesus and confess Him as Lord we receive a new heart in theological terms this is called regeneration. This is also called imputed righteousness.
Remember we are at War!! The enemy always seeks to demoralize, discourage and cause us to doubt. With a new heart we need to protect it! The breastplate of righteousness is the only protection that is effective against the attacks of devil.
Proverbs 4:23 – “Guard your heart above all else, for it is the source of life.”
In Hebrew thought the heart was the mind and the will or the inner man, and the bowels were the seat of the emotions. The breastplate of a Roman soldier protected them from the neck to the waist. For us when we put on the breastplate of righteousness we are protecting our entire heart our inner man. (Show what the heart is)
So what is the breastplate of righteousness?
1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But since we belong to the day, we must be serious and put the armor of faith (trust) and love on our chests, and put on a helmet of the hope of salvation.”
Philippians 3:9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own from the law, but one that is through faith in Christ—the righteousness from God based on faith.
The breastplate is first and foremost our trust in Jesus Christ!! We do not have a righteousness of our own. So when we trust Jesus and agree we need Him as Lord His perfect clean life is credited to us!!
When God says, “Not Guilty!”, it is not because we have been good but because God exchanges our sin for Jesus righteousness. You can’t get a breastplate with money, service, attendance, good works, you only get it given to you when you trust what God has said and done!!
The righteousness of Jesus then becomes a protection for our heat from the lies and attacks of the devil. It is Christ’s righteousness that protects your heart from the accusations of the devil.
It is Christ’s righteousness that protects us from the advances and enticements of the devil.
It is Jesus righteousness that allows us access to God. It is the devil that wants us to stay away from fellowship with Jesus. An older lady was telling a friend the secret of her victorious Christian life. She said, “You see when devil knocks I let Jesus answer!”
Where do we learn to have the righteousness of Jesus guard our hearts, from the word of God. It is the belt of truth that holds the breastplate in place!
So what do we do when the devil tries to make us doubt or discourages us?
When he says “Look at how you just exploded in anger! Look at how you lied to cover your tracks! Look at how you lusted after that girl! Look at how you lied on your taxes! Look at how you gossiped about that person! Some kind of Christian you are!”
How are we to answer him when the charges are true and we are guilty?
You answer with the breastplate of righteousness. This is the righteousness that is given to you by God. “You are right, Satan, I did just sin. But my eternal life does not depend on my sinless behavior or track record! I am trusting in the blood of Jesus Christ and His righteousness credited to my account.”
How do we know our trust is real? How do you know your children really trust you?
How do we know that Abraham, David, Daniel and Joseph trusted God? Their trust and dependence on God produced righteous lives, their trust was revealed in behaving as God directed.
II. The breastplate of righteousness: Our showing before men.
Matthew 5:16 “In the same way, let your light shine before men, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father in heaven.”
Trust isn’t real until it is put into action. Love is trust in action. We don’t trust that God knows our future until we live as He tells us to live. We don’t trust God with our finances until we spend money like he tells us to spend it. We don’t trust God with relationships until we deal with them like He tells us to deal with them. There is one difference between demons and disciples. Did you know the Bible says that both believe? The difference is the demons shudder and continue in terror and rebellion. Disciples repent and agree that God is right and we need a new heart. Then begin to follow Jesus.
Imparted righteousness comes when we allow the Holy Spirit to control our hearts and empower us to live like Jesus!! Our showing before men depends on our obedience toward God!
Ray Steadman said it best, “No Christian has the right to a private life. Our lives are to be lived openly before all men, transparent, a spectacle unto all the world. We have no private lives and we must not expect to have. This is basically and fundamentally wrong. Christians are to be demonstrations of the truth."
A) Practical righteousness protects us from wrong thinking
It is the inner man that produces out ward evil. Our thinking needs to be transformed by the righteous word of God.
Parents be careful. If you don’t train your children to be spiritual warriors you are allowing them to become spiritual sacrifices to the enemy.
Married couples if you don’t guard your hearts from evil thoughts about your spouse and lust toward others you will offer an opening to the devil in your marriage.
Students guard your hearts or the devil will use peer pressure and a desire be well liked as an opportunity and opening to attack.
B) Practical righteousness protects us from wrong emotions
Paul said in this letter in Ephesians 4:26, 27 “Be angry and do not sin. Don’t let the sun go down on your anger, 27 and don’t give the Devil an opportunity.” The breastplate of righteousness keeps us from being controlled by our emotions.
John Piper says that sin (lust for example) "gets its power by persuading me to believe that I will be more happy if I follow it. The power of all temptation is the prospect that it will make me happier."
E. Lutzer, Putting Your Past Behind You, Here's Life, 1990, p.54.
What the devil doesn’t want you to know is that it is easier to fight and defeat the first desire filled choice than it is to satisfy all the ones that follow it! (Adapted from Ben Franklin)
We must guard our hearts against run away emotions
Charles Wallis “"More than Feeling" by the rock group Boston was very popular in the 1970's and now with the Guitar Hero video game. The irony of this song is that it is all about feelings and emotions.
"I looked out this morning and the sun was gone
Turned on some music to start my day
I lost myself in a familiar song
I closed my eyes and I slipped away...
When I’m tired and thinking cold
I hide in my music, forget the day."
If we are not careful, our emotions will run us over and control our lives. It is easy to get lost in feelings, but we must live by faith. Proverbs 29:11 “A fool gives full vent to his anger,
but a wise man holds it in check.” Out of control emotions come from a life that is not saturated with Scripture and surrendered to the Spirit of God.
C) Practical righteousness protects us from wrong choices
Integrity, character is the other aspect that protects us from the advances and attacks of the enemy. Did you know if we neglect to do what is right we will allow holes to get in our armor?
Show different hearts (1 without armor, 1 with armor with holes, 1 with armor with no holes)
If our practice does not match our profession the devil will use it as a beach head, an opportunity and an opening.
“When a believer and follower of Jesus is clothed in practical righteousness, you are impregnable. Words are no defense against accusation, but a good (righteous) life is.”
Practical righteousness that prevents the devil from finding a foothold in your life
Remember that the road you choose include the destination at the end!! Putting on the breastplate means choosing the road less traveled. The actions less praised.
How do we do practical righteousness? Do what the Bible says! What does it say about relationships? What does it say about money? What does it say about lust, temptation, addiction? What does it say about prayer? What does it say about church memberships, attendance, giving? Practical righteousness is living out what Jesus has placed in our hearts.
Why do we practice our good works or righteousness? So that people will glorify God! So that people can hear the good news! So that the enemy of our souls will find no place in our armor to attack.
Conclusion: Do you have a clean heart? Do you have clean hands? When God gives a clean heart it results in clean hands if we are careful to guard our hearts with the fellowship of Jesus. Your hands will do what your heart demands!!
