BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Years ago Los Angeles motorcycle police officer Bob Vernon saw a red pickup truck speed through a stop sign. This guy must be late to work, he thought to himself. He turned on his lights and radioed that he was in pursuit. The pickup pulled over, and the officer approached. Meanwhile in the truck, the driver thought, “the cops already know!” He was scared. He rested his hand on the same gun he had used a few moments before to rob a twenty-four-hour market. The sack of stolen money was beside him on the seat. The officer said, 'Good morning, sir, may I see your --' He never finished the sentence. The driver shoved his gun toward the policeman's chest and fired from just inches away. The cop was knocked flat on his back but a few seconds later, to the shock of the criminal, the officer stood up, pulled his service revolver, and fired twice. What saved the policeman's life was a choice. He had decided that day to put on his bulletproof vest. The dozens of layers of Kevlar only three-eighths of an inch thick can stop bullets cold.
Today we are continuing in our series The Armour of God. In Ephesians 6, the Bible instructs every Christian to put on the full armor of God. Simple qualities like righteousness and faith can deflect what the enemy of souls may fire at us.
Eph 6:13 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
In today’s terminology the breastplate of righteousness is the bulletproof vest. It protects the heart and the vital organs from damage. It is through righteousness that our hearts are protected from the devil’s attacks against us. We have been declared righteous through Christ (Justification) and we are all in the process of becoming righteous (Sanctification). This is a lifelong process which has many victories and failures. While we have been declared righteous it is important that we actively seek to be righteous in our day to day lives. In the scriptures this is called guarding our hearts:
Prov 4:18 The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter till the full light of day. 19 But the way of the wicked is like deep darkness; they do not know what makes them stumble. 20 My son, pay attention to what I say; listen closely to my words. 21 Do not let them out of your sight, keep them within your heart; 22 for they are life to those who find them and health to a man's whole body. 23 Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life. 24 Put away perversity from your mouth; keep corrupt talk far from your lips. 25 Let your eyes look straight ahead, fix your gaze directly before you. 26 Make level paths for your feet and take only ways that are firm. 27 Do not swerve to the right or the left; keep your foot from evil.
So how do you guard your heart? How do you keep yourself from coming under the influence and control of the devil?
1 John 2:1 My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense -- Jesus Christ, the Righteous One.
1. Plan A – do not sin
What is God’s ideal for us? It is that we do not sin. That is every parents ideal for their children. We want them to from our mistakes. You do not have to touch a hot stove to know that you should not touch it. You can learn it from someone else. This is the best way to learn.
Back in seminary I remember sitting in church with a guy watching a baptism. The person being baptized was sharing their testimony. They had been saved out of a very difficult life. At one point the guy sitting beside me glibly said, “man, I wish I had a testimony like that.” I looked at him and said “no, you don’t.” He thought about it for a minute and then said, “your right. No, I don’t…” God’s plan A for us is that we do not sin. That we learn from the examples of others.
Phil 3:17 Join with others in following my example, brothers, and take note of those who live according to the pattern we gave you.
Paul says here to “follow my example.” He says he was acting as a model. The word MODEL means a smaller representation of the real thing. Kids build model cars and model planes. They are smaller representation of the real thing. The word “Christian” means – a little Christ. It is a smaller representation of the real thing.
The quickest way to learn something is to simply model a person who is already doing it well. Practically everything you learn in the first five years of life you learn by imitation. Have you ever used a pattern? If you sew or do woodwork you probably use a pattern. There’s nothing wrong with that. It is the quickest way to reduce mistakes and save time. In fact, if you want to succeed in life, the fastest way is to find somebody who is already where you want to be and follow after their model. Don’t think you have to figure everything out all on your own. Take a model and follow it.
Jesus was the greatest teacher who ever lived because He modeled His message. He was the incarnation of truth. The word became flesh and Jesus’ life was His message. He said this is how you do it, and then He did it.
John 13:15 I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you.
Growing up you often didn’t get to choose your model. You had people in your life that modeled good behavior and bad behavior. Hopefully you were fortunate enough to have good models in your life. The good news today is that you get to choose your model. Find someone you admire, who is living a godly Christian life, and model their behavior. Let them become your mentor. As a church we are looking at developing a whole new mentoring initiative as a church. Not a new program, but a renewed priority of mentoring. It is a great way to learn and you avoid so many heartaches along the way. God’s plan A – do not sin.
2. Plan B – confess to God when you do
God’s plan A is that we do not sin, but God understands that none of us are perfect. While righteousness is the goal, we all know that sanctification is an ongoing process. One of the most important things we have to learn in our Christian lives is how to handle failure in our lives.
Jonas Salk attempted 200 unsuccessful vaccines for polio before he came up with one that worked. Somebody asked him one time, "How did it feel to fail 200 times trying to invent a vaccine for polio?" This was his response: "I never failed 200 times at anything in my life. My family taught me never to use that word. I simply discovered 200 ways how not to make a vaccine for polio."
Failure is a part of everyday life. Every Christian will fail God at some point in their walk. The issue is not IF you fail but rather how do you handle failure? God delights in using broken things.
Broken soil to produce a crop, broken clouds to give rain, broken grain to give bread, broken bread to give strength. It is the broken jar that gives forth perfume. It is Peter, weeping bitterly, who returns to greater power than even before.
2 Samuel 11:1 In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, David sent Joab out with the king's men and the whole Israelite army. They destroyed the Ammonites and besieged Rabbah. But David remained in Jerusalem. 2 One evening David got up from his bed and walked around on the roof of the palace. From the roof he saw a woman bathing. The woman was very beautiful, 3 and David sent someone to find out about her. The man said, "Isn't this Bathsheba, the daughter of Eliam and the wife of Uriah the Hittite?" 4 Then David sent messengers to get her. She came to him, and he slept with her. (She had purified herself from her uncleanness.) Then she went back home. 5 The woman conceived and sent word to David, saying, "I am pregnant."
Why was David at home when he should have been out to war? Perhaps he had let his guard down. It is interesting that David would fall in the midst of his greatest victories. He had many victories in battle and perhaps was just taking it easy. It is possible that he was not expecting to see Bathsheba - he just stumbled across her when his guard was down. It could also be however that he was up on the roof looking for trouble. Either way his eyes wandered and the sin began.
We must know situations to avoid when it comes to the eyes. We must be very careful not to let our guard down but to always be on our guard against temptation. While there are temptations common to everyone, each person has their own personal areas of weakness. I am sure that David had areas of strength and weakness as well. Deuteronomy talks about the do's and don'ts of kings.
Deut. 17:16 The king , moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, "You are not to go back that way again." 17 He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.
David had no problem with the money, horses etc. but like his son Solomon he had a problem with women. Recognize where the holes in your armor are and then protect those areas. What is your area of greatest personal weakness? Don’t put yourself in a situation which will be a temptation.
It could have been many months between David's sin and him being found out. Psalm 32 talks about how, when he kept silent, his bones were wasting away. Unconfessed sin is like cancer in a Christian. It eats away at you until your character and actions are changed. Sin changes us:
Psalm 32:1 Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. 2 Blessed is the man whose sin the LORD does not count against him and in whose spirit is no deceit. 3 When I kept silent , my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. 4 For day and night your hand was heavy upon me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.
During this time his life David changed. He wanting to kill the man who stole the lamb when the law gave a much more lenient punishment. If sin is allowed to go unchecked in us it will become a stronghold for the devil to use and attack us.
2 Sam. 12:5 David burned with anger against the man and said to Nathan, "As surely as the LORD lives, the man who did this deserves to die! 6 He must pay for that lamb four times over, because he did such a thing and had no pity."
It is no disgrace to Christianity, it is no disgrace to any great religion, that its counsels of perfection have not made every single person perfect. If, after centuries, a disparity is still found between its ideal and its followers, it only means that the religion still maintains the ideal, and the followers still need it. -- G.K. Chesterton
David did not try to smooth over what he had done when it was finally brought to him. Unlike Saul he admitted his guilt and had genuine repentance from God.
Psalm 51:7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. 12 Restore to me the joy of your salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me. 13 Then I will teach transgressors your ways, and sinners will turn back to you.
Psalm 51 gets better and better all the way through. Towards the end he is ready to be used of God again. David was a man after God’s own heart, not because he never sinned but because, when he did, he dealt with it? God’s ideal is that we do not sin. But when we do, deal with it. Confess it to God.
One reason God created time was so there would be a place to bury the failures of the past. -- James Long
3. Plan C – confess to others when necessary
God’s plan A is that we do not sin. Plan B, if you do sin, make sure that you confess it and deal with it. So then why is there a need for Plan C. You either sin or you don’t sin right? The reality of the Christian life is that God created us to live in community. We need one another. It is interesting that David did not confess his sin until it was pointed out to him by Nathan. He needed that help. Faith is not simply a vertical relationship with God, it involves a horizontal relationship with one another.
James 5:16 Therefore 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.
Notice it does not simply say that we are to confess our sins to God, but that we are confess our sins to ONE ANOTHER. Why is this so important? There are times when confessing to God is simply not enough. What do I mean?
Ephesians 4:26-27 In your anger do not sin: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, 27 and do not give the devil a foothold.
The word used for foothold is actually the Greek word TOPOS which means place, spot or area. What does it mean to give the devil a place in your life? Another word for this is the word stronghold. It means that you allow the devil to hunker down and exert control over your life.
What is a stronghold? When two armies meet each other on a field of war, the stronger one is usually able to advance, defeating the weaker army that stands against it. However, if you let the enemy army occupy the field often and long enough, eventually thy will establish strongholds. It starts with foxholes, little holes dug into the ground that can be hidden in. This leads to trenches, long corridors dug into the ground that allows the enemy to move and resupply it’s fighters. This leads to bunkers, built up areas that are resistant to attack. Eventually these become fortifications, concrete pillboxes (strongholds) that are difficult if not impossible to get past.
If you give the devil an area of your life, he will hunker down and build a stronghold there. You can acknowledge the sin and confess that sin to God, but you may have great difficulty in overcoming that area of your life because of the enemy stronghold that has been built there.
God wants you to grow and move forward in your faith. The devil wants to slow your progress. He knows that if he can attack you often enough in a certain area and establish a strongholds, then he can slow if not stop your advance. He can keep you from being the man or woman that God wants you to be.
Think about what happened in France and Belgium during the first World War. Enemy forces met but did not advance. As a result, foxholes and trenches were dug, mines and barb wire was laid, stronghold were built. The battle lines were drawn, advance was halted. As a result, hundreds of thousand of soldiers died. It was a stalemate.
Any sin can become a stronghold in your life. In Eph 4:26 it talks about the fact that anger can become a stronghold. Lying, greed and bitterness can all lead to strongholds. While any sin can become a stronghold, there are two primary area that the devil often uses to establish strongholds or bondages in our lives. This is through the occult and through sexual immorality. Why these two specifically?
We see in the New Testament that as Gentiles began joining the church that the leaders met to discuss how to handle it. The early church made only two requirements of these Gentile believers when they came to faith. They did not have to get circumcised or follow the Jewish rituals or dietary laws. The two requirements were that they avoided food sacrificed to idols and sexual immorality. Why these two sins specifically? Because of the consequences of these two sins.
All sin is sin, in that a person who breaks any one of God’s laws cannot look down at another person who breaks a different one of God’s laws. All of us are guilty. All of us have sinned. However, all sin is not the same in that the consequences are not the same. This is true in terms of breaking the Laws of Canada. The punishment for some crimes are far more severe than for other crimes. The punishment for speeding is different that the punishment for murder. Both are breaking the law, but the consequences for one is greater than for the other.
In the Old Testament, God said that there were some sins that were capital offenses. They were so serious that they required the death penalty. They were murder, sexual immorality and idolatry.
Why is idolatry such an issue? One of the easiest ways to develop a demonic stronghold in your life is by messing around with the occult. That means things like reading tea leaves and Ouija boards or fortune telling. These things are not a joke. They opens the door to demonic influence in our life.
I remember the first time I heard about this. I went to OTS (Tyndale) from 1987 until 1991. While I was there, Roy Matheson was my professor of New Testament studies. He was a great teacher. He was serving as pastor of Chartwell Baptist Church in Oakville. During one class he started talking about demonic strongholds, which was something I had never really heard about. His church did a training on demonic deliverance that I attended. He and a team from the church led a deliverance ministry. At that point they had a one year waiting list for people seeking help.
I remember he talked about the fact that in Christ we have protection. God is our fortress. However, like any fortress, if you lower the drawbridge and invite the enemy in for a visit, there is going to be trouble. Why is idolatry and messing around with the occult such an issue? It open us up to demonic strongholds in our life. It gives them a ‘legal’ right to attack you.
You may be thinking, OK I understand that. Messing around with the occult is one thing, but why is sex such an issue? Sex is just harmless fun between two consenting adults. Why is it something that we often talk about in church? Are Christians just prudes? Did God simply tell us we should not have sex outside of marriage because He hates us and does not want us to have any fun?
I hope you understand what is happening in the world around us today. There is an attack being made by society against the bible. It is all around us. On the flight home from Chile I watched an animated movie called Smallfoot. It is a story about a Yeti who finds out that everything he had ever been taught is wrong when he meets a human. The moral of the movie is very clear. Religious rules and instruction are wrong and are just used to control people and keep them in ignorance. Enlightenment and peace only comes when we abolish them.
By the way, a few months ago I mentioned that there is a Canadian Senate committee looking at removing tax exempt status from churches. Please pray. On Monday the Canadian Council of Christian Charities is making it’s case in a paper The Impact of the ‘Advancing Religion’ Charitable Sub-Sector in Canada. Pray that it is well received.
So why does the bible speak against sex outside of marriage? Is it simply to keep people in the dark and control them? The reason the bible speaks against it is because sex, like the occult, is the primary way the devil uses to control us by forming strongholds in our lives.
1 Corinthians 6:16-18 Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, "The two will become one flesh." 17 But he who unites himself with the Lord is one with him in spirit. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a man commits are outside his body, but he who sins sexually sins against his own body.
Notice that Paul says here that sex is different, it touches the human heart like nothing else. Why is sex so dangerous? It is because it affects every part of us. It touches body, soul and spirit.
Sex touches us physically. It is the primary way that people are exposed to sexually transmitted diseases. From herpes and syphilis to AIDS, sex opens us up to physical disease.
Sex touches us emotionally. It affects our soul. Your soul is your thoughts and your feelings. It is your character, who you are as a person. So how does sex influence your soul?
On a computer there are different sorts of files. If you go onto a computer and just delete something, depending on what you delete there are different consequences. If you delete a WORD document, then that file is lost. You may have to rewrite that letter or school report. If you delete a file from the WORD program that is used to write that document, then that program will not work. You will not be able to access any of your documents. You can still start your computer and use it for other programs, but you can no longer access what you need to write and edit documents. If you delete a WINDOWS system file then your operating system will not work. That means that your computer will not start at all. The act of deleting a file is the same but the consequences are different depending on what you delete.
As humans we have a mental hard drive. It contains conscious thought and unconscious thought. Your conscious thoughts and memories are the decisions you make every day. They are like the WORD document or program on your computer. They can and will change from time to time. The other is your unconscious thought. It is like your operating system. It determines your values and morals, who you are as a person.
A few years ago Disney made a film called Inside Out. It is about a young girl called Riley who is uprooted from her Midwest life when her family moves to San Francisco. Her emotions live within her, along with all her memories. Around these memories are core experiences that make her the person that she is. As her core experiences are shaken, she begins to loose who she is as a person.
Why is sex so dangerous? It has been shown that sex bypasses conscience thought and goes straight to the unconscious. It goes to the heart of our operating system. Whatever you are doing or thinking about in the act of sex becomes a part and pillar in who you are as a person. It can be in a loving covenant marriage relationship, or in adultery, lust, homosexuality or something else. Outside of biblical marriage, it always leads to bondage.
Sex also affects us spiritually. We understand that there is a physical world and a spiritual world. We are surrounded by physical people, but also spiritual beings – angels and demons. When you have sex with another person, you are not simply joining with that person physically, you are also joining with that person spiritually. That means that you are opening up your life to any demonic strongholds that they may have in their life.
There is a reason that many of the pagan temples during bible times would have temple prostitutes. They understood this connection from the physical to spiritual. The quickest way to enslave a person to a demonic spirit is through sex with a person that already is enslaved by that spirit.
So how do you defeat a stronghold? You do it together. You need help. No one allied soldier could have taken the beaches at Normandy during the Second World War. It took a concerted effort. It required a team. The bible says that we should confess our sins one to another. We need each others. There is something that happens when we get honest about our lives and share our sins with others.
I understand this truth personally. There was a time in seminary that I came to understand that there were some things in my own heart that had become strongholds. I sought out the help of others. I confessed my sins, and I heard those words “I forgive you, and God forgives you…” It set me free. I got into an accountability relationship with a friend and that has lasted to this day.
Being set free is one thing, staying free is another. We need people in our lives for that as well. You need to get in an accountability relationship where you can regularly go and confess. You need to have someone who is watching your back, asking you the hard questions, keeping you accountable.
God’s plan A is that we do not sin. If we do, His plan B is that we confess it and deal with it. However, you may be here this morning and you know that there is an area in your life where you are just not experiencing freedom. You keep falling time and time again in the same area. Perhaps that is an area of bondage for you. Perhaps it is time that you take the steps necessary to address that issue in your life and finally find freedom in it.
