When the enemy attacks series
Breastplate of righteousness #2
Ephesians chapter 6:10-18
Good morning, if you would turn to the book of Ephesians chapter 6
We began a series last week “When the enemy attacks”-
It is not a question of if the enemy is going to attack, As a Christian we know it is when he will and what we are you going to do about it and how are you going to protect yourself from the schemes, temptations, and troubles of his ways.
I want to read the text again so that it will be remembered and memorized when needed.
Ephesians chapter 6:10-18 Read from Bible
Prayer-
The first piece we looked at was the belt of truth- (Remember Roman Soldier with his armor)
It was an apron that went around the waist and tied everything together.
The belt of truth is worn close to the body.
We should hold God's truth close to us and allow it to surround us.
When we remain in His Word, we can distinguish what is true from what is untrue.
Jesus said, "Ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free" (John 8:32).
John records the devil comes to kill us, steal from us, and destroy us.
Peter records
1 peter 5:8” Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy (adversary) the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same sufferings.”
Truth is having the clarity of a sound doctrine that lines up with God’s Word. (Repeat)
What do you believe? Can you define what you believe?
Does the truth of God cause you to live a life pleasing to God?
Godly Truth in our mind helps to strengthen our wills to serve the Lord.
What is truth?
The idea of absolute truth is inseparable from the life of Jesus Christ and from the Bible.
Jesus defined Himself as “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6).
He also defined the Word of God as truth: “Sanctify them by your truth. Your word is truth” (John 17:17).
In a world that is confused and without absolutes, these words are an anchor! Amen.
Jesus Christ and the Bible (Truth revealed to us)
So, why does Paul call it the breastplate of righteousness?
If we do not protect ourselves with righteousness, we open ourselves up to attack from the enemy and can fall into sin.
To be righteous means to obey God's commandments and live in a way that is honorable to Him.
Right relationship with Him
Not only do we have an enemy, but we also have a Savior who has provided us with everything we need for the fight. He’s given us armor, the armor of God.
So I have some simple questions about the breastplate this morning:
What Is It?
Why Do We Need It?
How do we get it/ How Do We Put It On
What Is It?
So, first question, what is it? What is this the breastplate of righteousness?
Let me first tell you what it is not-
It is not self-righteousness
We talked about that- it is not being better than someone else. The measure is not against each other but against a holy God in which we all fall short.
It is not a Holier -than -thou attitude
Remember Jesus parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector
Remember Jesus and the parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector Luke 18:9-14
Pharisee
“God, I thank you that I’m not like other men, I’m not like this tax collector, and I’m not an adulterer, and I haven’t done all these things. On the contrary, I fast twice a week and I pray and I tithe and I do all these things.” Self righteousness
Tax collector- “God, be merciful to me, a sinner!” Righteous in Jesus
It’s so easy for us to slip into self-righteousness. I think we all know that self-righteousness is wrong, obnoxious, it’s sinful.
Biblical Righteousness is the believer who recognizes their sin.
They recognize their need for Christ and for the righteousness that comes from faith in Jesus Christ.
The Bible is talking about gospel righteousness, not self-righteousness.
Positional righteousness is Christ’s work for us. It’s what Jesus Christ himself has done for us that is perfect, it is complete, it makes us perfect, it declares us righteous in the sight of God, it’s received by faith alone.
Justifying righteousness: it’s given to us when we come to faith in Christ. This is what constitutes us as righteous in the sight of God, so that God the judge looks upon us and he sees us through the blood of Christ, he sees us covered in the righteousness of Christ, he sees the obedience of Christ counted as ours, and he says, “Not guilty.” This is vitally important for us to understand, and until we get this we will struggle with doubt and fear and with the assurance of our salvation.
Has that happened to you?
Have you recognized that Christ is your righteousness? He’s the only way to be in a right relationship with God.
your sins pardoned and covered in the blood of Christ, and you are clothed in the righteousness and the obedience of Jesus Christ.
Until you understand that, until you grasp that, you’re going to struggle with doubt and with fear.
Paul here is writing about practical Christian living.
He’s telling us to “put on” something.
He’s telling us that we have to do certain things that require effort on our part in order to stand in the evil day, to stand against the wiles, the strategies of the evil one.
Christ has provided, but you must do something with it.
Apostle Paul says in Philippians 2, “Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.”
What! Faith and effort and determination
Run the race that is set before us! Fight the good fight.
We wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, and authorities and spiritual forces.
The life of holiness is a battle and without the armor you are not going to make it!
Answer to our first question, what is this breastplate of righteousness?”
Righteousness in what Christi has done for us.
We are only righteous in Jesus.
Knowing that, we live obedient, practical holiness by living to please the Lord not self.
Why Do We Need It?
We need it to protect our inner being.
It protects the vital organs. This breastplate covered, basically, from the neck down to about the top of the thighs, and it covered the whole chest region and the vital organs, in the same way that a police officer today might wear a bullet-proof vest.
You don’t want to take one to the heart- Paul tells us to guard our hearts!
Proverbs 4:23 “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life”
“Be holy, for I am holy,” says the Lord, and when we pursue holiness God is glorified.
Matthew 5. He said, “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father who is in heaven”
What is your light shining before others? What is that? It’s a holy life!; it’s good works, it’s Godly righteousness.
How do we get it/ How Do We Put It On
By Faith!
FAITH COMES BY HEARING AND HEARING BY THE WORD OF GOD
FAITH IS THE EVIDENCE OF THINGS HOPED FOR AND THINGS UNSEEN.
FAITH IS A ACTION WORD
First thing: fasten your faith in Jesus to the belt of truth.
You fasten the breastplate to the belt of truth.
So the rest of the armor was connected to this apron or this belt of truth.
Godly holiness is built on the Godly foundation of His truth (Word of God) and allowing the Lord to protect your heart with the armor He has provided for you that fits perfectly. (Repeat)
(2) Christ defeated the power of sin, he died to the power of sin on the cross and he was raised in victory, in the same way, if you are united to Christ you have died to that sin, you are now dead to it, and you’ve been raised to walk in newness of life!
“So you also must consider yourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus.”
“Consider yourselves dead to sin,” or other versions might say, “Count yourselves dead to sin,” or the old King James says, “Reckon yourselves dead to sin.”
Say “NO” to every sin. How many? EVERY SIN!
Romans 6:12. He says, “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” Don’t let it reign! Say no!
Let Christ kill sin in your life or let sin kill your life
(3) Surrender yourself to God. “Do not present (yield) your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”
Have you done that?
That’s the surrendered heart. That’s the prayer of surrender. “Lord, what will you have me to do?”
You fasten the breastplate to the belt of truth, you say no to every sin, you surrender yourself to God, and then (4) you replace sin with Godly righteousness.
Paul says here that you are to “yield your members to God for righteousness.”
You were yielding your members to sin and to unrighteousness.
What he means there is that you were at one time using your hands and your feet and your eyes and your tongue and your brain - you were using your body to serve sin.
Every time you do sin, that’s what you’re doing. Paul is saying, don’t do that anymore; instead, surrender yourself to God and use the members of your body for righteousness, to do what is good.
You know how in Scripture you have both “put off” lists and the “put on” lists.
You put off sin, the old man with all of its qualities, and you put on the new man.
You put on Christ, you put on the armor. You put on these qualities we’re talking about in the armor of truth and sincerity and righteousness and holiness and peace and faith and the hope of salvation and the helmet.
You put these things on; you’re putting on a righteous life. That’s the idea here.
You’re replacing sin with righteousness.
You depend on the Holy Spirit, because you can’t do this in your own strength.
This is not self-made righteousness!
This is the righteousness of Christ imparted to us, the righteousness of Christ lived out in our lives in the power of the Holy Spirit.
Ephesians 5:18 he commands us to “Be filled with the Spirit.”
Let me urge you this morning: look to him, look to his cross, look to his wounds, his resurrection, his Spirit, and his grace.
CCHRISTIANS ARE NOT WIMPS AND WIMPS DON’T MAKE GOOD CHRISTIANS
Illustration-
Farmer Joe decided his injuries from the accident were serious enough to take the trucking company responsible for the accident to court. In court, the trucking company ‘s fancy lawyer was questioning farmer Joe.”Didn’t you say, at the scene of the accident, I’m fine? Questioned the lawyer. Farmer Joe responded , “well, I’ll tell you what happened. I had just loaded my favorite mule Bessie into the… “I didn’t ask for any details, the lawyer interrupted, just answer the question. Did you not say at the scene of the accident, I’m fine!
Farmer Joe said, well I had just got Bessie into the trailer and I was driving down the road… the lawyer interrupted again and said, Judge, I am trying to establish the fact that, at the scene of the accident, this man told the highway patrolman on the scene that he was just fine. Now several weeks after the accident he is trying to sue my client. I believe he is a fraud. Please tell him to simply answer the question. By this time the judge was fairly interested in farmer Joe’s answer and said to the lawyer, “I’d like to hear what he has to say about his favorite mule Bessie.” Joe thanked the judge and proceeded, well, as I was saying, I had just loaded my favorite mule, into the trailer and was driving down the highway when this huge semi truck and trailer ran the stop sign and smacked my truck right in the side. I was thrown into one ditch and Bessie was thrown into the other. I was hurting real bad and didn’t want to move. However, I could hear ole Bessie moaning and groaning. I knew she was in terrible shape just by her groans. Shortly after the accident a highway patrolman came on the scene. He could hear Bessie moaning and groaning so he went over to her. After he looked at her he took out his gun and shot her between the eyes. Then the patrolman came across the road with his gun in his hand and looked at me. He said, your mule was in such pain I had to shoot her. How are you doing? It was then that I said I was fine.”
As I close-
No need for us to say we are fine- we are not fine.
We need the armor of God to live the lives that God desires for us and we need the breastplate of righteousness to protect our heart and be right with the Lord.
Prayer
