THE ARMOR OF GOD AND THE LIES OF THE ENEMY
Helmet of Salvation: We Are Not Good Enough
Ephesians 6:10-18
#armorofGod
INTRODUCTION… Start with the End in Mind
This morning I want to share with you where we will end up in our time looking at God’s Word and then I want to rewind and get us there. This is kind of like one of those TV shows that starts with a very shocking scene and then the credits come on and then the next scene is… “6 hours before”… duh duh duh! Then, the rest of the show is the journey how you got to the opening scene. That is a little bit of what we are going to do this morning.
Where will we end up? We will end up at… “You are not good enough.”
How is that for an encouraging message for today? “You are not good enough.”
So, let’s play the rest of the episode and see how we get there.
SERIES REMINDER
Today, we are continuing (we finish next week!) with a series of messages about a word picture of a Roman soldier that the Apostle Paul uses in Ephesians 6: The Armor of God. I hope and pray that the last 9 weeks have been intensely relevant to your life. Think about this part of the sermon as the beginning of the show when they say… “previously on ‘The Armor of God Series.’ We have uncovered so many schemes of the Devil that are planned and shot at us like flaming arrows:
Week 1: Truth changes from person to person.
We talked about how truth in the Bible from God is objective and not relative or subjective. If something is not true from God, then we do not need to wrap it around us like a belt. We must always go to God and ask “What is Your opinion” and then we align and change ourselves with what He says rather than tying lies to ourselves.
Week 2: It is wrong to judge.
This scheme of Satan is based on misreading Scripture. The belt of truth around us means we communicate the truth to a world that does not accept the standard of God; we must then do so with gentleness, respect, firmness, and lack of hypocrisy. Discern well what is good and bad, moral and immoral, and share God’s standard with those closest to you.
Week 3: Follow your heart
Our hearts are championed in our world as the motivator and director of our lives and what we can rely on when all else has failed us… this is a scheme of Satan. Our hearts and trusting only in our feelings will lead to a thrust from Satan right through our breastplate of righteousness. We will be astray because our hearts are unreliable. We must guard our hearts very carefully.
Week 4: Compassion over truth
The Devil wants to take compassion, a good thing, and turn it into a weapon against our breastplate of righteousness. Our society tells us that if Christians ever speak out against sin that we are intolerant or bigoted or lack compassion. Compassion, our world tells us, must be prioritized over everything else. Compassion over truth is disastrous. Jesus shows us our sin and with compassion does not leave us in our sin. Compassion is walking with someone in their sin and leading them out.
Week 5: Forgive and cut them out
The footwear of peace challenged us that the absence of conflict is not actual peace as Satan’s scheme would have us believe. The world’s definition of peace and God’s definition of peace are different. Cutting people out of our lives does not create the kind of peace God wants for us. Rather, God’s definition of peace includes reception and restoration and restitution as He defines forgiveness in which we should follow.
Week 6: Do what makes you happy
This scheme of the Devil is shot at us to make us think that we need to live our lives in the pursuit of happiness and that this is the fulfillment of all that we want or need. This breaks down our peace and makes us have unsure spiritual footing. We are told happiness will fill all the holes in our heart and bring us peace, but in the end what we really need is to invest intentionally in our relationship with Jesus Christ. He adds happiness and fulfillment.
Week 7: God is not good
We look around us and see that there is much evil and brokenness and terrible disasters in the world and Satan wants us to drop our shield of faith with a lie that God is not really good. The belief that bad things in the permissive will of God do not diminish His goodness allows us to bring up our shield once more and protect ourselves head to toe with believing loyalty.
Week 8: Faith is the opposite of knowledge
The Devil wants us to believe that faith is silly or based on nothing and in so doing drop our shield. Our believing loyalty in Jesus Christ is based on knowledge and evidence and He is a trustworthy object of our faith. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith which is based on general revelation of God, focused on Jesus Christ our Savior, and is bolstered by historical facts and evidence with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one.
Week 9: Going to Church is Good Enough
Satan wants us to believe that doing the minimum for God is good enough. For most people, the minimum is showing up to church every so often and singing a few songs and trying not to fall asleep. We settle comfortably into our faith so that we check the minimum of spiritual boxes and in so doing we take off our helmet which leaves us vulnerable. We take off our helmet and our commitment to our salvation lessens. Do not settle for the minimum with faith, but rather abide, strive, deepen, stretch, rest, and seek first the Kingdom of God. In not settling for the minimum, we keep our helmet on.
TRANSITION
It’s time for a commercial break. This break is brought to you by the great American philosopher Tow Mater from the movie Cars (2006) who tells us, “I don’t need to know where I’m going, I just need to know where I’ve been.” That is deep. Just let that sit on your heart for a moment. This break is also brought to you by Wednesday Night Bible studies. You too can join with others studying the Bible on Wednesday Nights at 7:00pm. Enjoy a spiritual pick-me-up on Wednesdays! Now back to our regularly scheduled program.
Verses 10-13 make it very clear that we have an enemy that wars against us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and that we need to stand firm against all his schemes. The schemes are many. The flaming arrows are many. The distractions and the discouragements are many. Doubt and fear and drift from God is real.
This week we continue to look at verse 17 and the “helmet of salvation.”
READ EPHESIANS 6:10-18 (ESV)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might. 11 Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12 For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14 Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, 15 and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16 In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17 and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, 18 praying at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints…”
HELMET
We need to know a little bit about Roman helmets. The Roman soldier would not go into battle without a helmet because a soldier without a helmet is vulnerable in obvious ways. It is foolishness to go into battle with swinging swords and flying arrows and not have protection on your head. To be confident in battle, wear a helmet. Helmets in the Apostle Paul’s day were made of metal and leather. The helmet protected the soldier’s head from arrows, but also broadswords that were often swung like baseball bats.
The name for Roman helmets was ‘galea’ and since helmets were handmade, there was no standard type of helmet for Roman soldiers. A study in 1975 concluded that there were four main types of helmets for Roman soldiers and all Roman soldiers did not look the same. You got what you got or you bought what you bought. They did not all look the same, but every soldier had a helmet because protecting one’s head and the squishy matter between the ears was extremely important. Helmets protect the head.
HELMET OF SALVATION
When the Apostle Paul looks over a Roman soldier or imagines one in his mind, he notes the head and the protection needed and assigns the armor protecting the head as ‘salvation.’ The ‘helmet of salvation’ that the Apostle Paul mentions is not ‘salvation’ as in ‘being born again’ or ‘getting saved’ because he is writing to people who are already Christians. This passage in Ephesians 6 is written to people who are already in God’s army and who are already ‘born again.’ We already belong to Him.
I sort of think about our “helmet of salvation” as our “confidence in salvation.” That is me looking at this and thinking about how and why helmets were used and what being assured of our salvation does for us. It all comes down to confidence. Confidence in what God has done for us. Confidence in the Lord Jesus Christ. Confidence in what the Holy Spirit moves in our hearts. Confidence in the Bible. Confidence in spiritual warfare when we are pressed physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually.
We already fight for God and Satan is attacking us with schemes and flaming arrows trying to get us to retreat and doubt and shake off our confidence in the Lord. The helmet of salvation is not about becoming the Lord’s, but rather keeping oneself strong and protected and assured of our salvation.
We need to protect ourselves because we are in a spiritual battle where Satan swings a broadsword of discouragement and doubt and temptation. I firmly believe Satan has a good day when he can tempt a believer in Jesus to take off the helmet of salvation and make ourselves obviously vulnerable to doubt or discouragement.
TRANSITION
How might Satan do that? How might Satan get us to take off our helmet and to become vulnerable and less sure of our God? The scheme of Satan that we are focusing on is one that works over time. This is scheme is a small lie we tell ourselves that grows in our hearts and then sees us take off our helmets of salvation after we have become spiritually complacent. This very small lie is “We are not good enough.”
SCHEME OF THE DEVIL: “We Are Not Good Enough”
When I was thinking about this temptation from Satan I thought about an encounter Jesus had with a rich young man in Matthew 19. Matthew 19 happens in the middle of chapters where Jesus is teaching by parables and He teaches about divorce and heals blind men and talks about who is great in His Kingdom. A young man comes up to Jesus and asks Him a good question. It is a great question in fact. It is the most important question any of us can ask because it is about the eternal state of our soul!
Most of the time when we read this passage we focus on the “rich” part and see that the young man goes away from Jesus sad and not accepting Jesus because he values his wealth and his stuff more than Jesus. That is absolutely true! That is the point of the passage! And yet, there is another part to the passage that we cannot miss and it directly ties into the scheme of Satan that “We are not good enough.”
READ MATTHEW 19:16-22 (ESV)
16 And behold, a man came up to Him, saying, “Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” 17 And He said to him, “Why do you ask Me about what is good? There is only One Who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” 18 He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, 19 Honor your father and mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 20 The young man said to Him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” 21 Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.” 22 When the young man heard this he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
This rich young man comes to Jesus and asks about eternal life. He rightly focuses on goodness as a key for eternity because there is a requirement for being in God’s Kingdom. Jesus indicates that really there is only One in all of existence that is good… that is God… but Jesus engages the man in a spiritual conversation anyway. Jesus quotes from the Old Testament Law, from the 10 Commandments, about good things that this fellow should do. He lists them.
The young man, in verse 20, is honest with Jesus and says that he’s done all of those good things. He is a good person. He has never murdered anyone or stolen or committed adultery or dishonored his parents or lied or been a stinky neighbor. The kicker of this passage, in my mind, is Jesus’ response in verse 21. Jesus does not say before verse 21, “You know full well thou art a sinner and here is a list of the sins thou hast committed.” I’m not sure why Jesus speaks in King James English, but sometimes He does… He does not disagree with the young man that he is good. He is good. He is a good person. His actions have been good. His heart has been good. He has lived a good life.
Here is where the scheme of Satan is planted in us and begins to attack our self-worth because we feel there is no hope. The young man realizes he is “not good enough.” The scheme of Satan begins with us leaving off the last the three words of verse 21 and to believe the partial lie that “we are not good enough.” You see, it is absolutely true that this young man was good, but was not good enough for eternal life. He lacked and he knew it. It is true that none of us are good enough to be in the presence of God or to get into Heaven on our own good merits. We lack and we know it! It is absolutely true that no matter how good you are, it is not good enough for God.
Bam! Right there! That feeling you just had when I said “no matter how good you are, it is not good enough for God” is where the lie starts. You see, Satan wants us to believe that truth, take off our helmet of salvation, and be disgruntled with God that nothing is ever good enough for Him.
When we leave off the last three words of verse 21…
… we feel like God is a tyrannical father Who will never accept anything we do no matter what
… we have no hope when we sin because sin is a huge problem and makes us dirty and rotten
… we can become disillusioned with living morally and uprightly because it seems pointless
… we have low self-esteem because even God thinks we aren’t ever good enough
Please understand that the phrase that we started with… “we are not good enough”… is not the whole thought. The young man wants to know what he still lacks (verse 20)? What does he lack?
Based on Jesus’ response, we might think at first glance that this young man needs to put wealth and his property and money in its proper place and then he will be good to go for eternal life. That is partly true. That truth is completely true if Jesus stops talking and leaves off the last three words of verse 21. The scheme of Satan is for us to leave off the last the three words of verse 21 and to believe the partial lie that “we are not good enough.” The phrase “we are not good enough” for God or for Heaven or for salvation is only partly true.
* The last three words of verse 21 are the answer to the question asked in verse 16.
* The last three words of verse 21 is what the rich young man is lacking.
* The last three words are why even in his goodness he knows he is lacking something.
* The last three words are the answer to the question about eternal life.
* The last three words fight against any disgruntled feelings we might have towards God.
* The last three words build us up and give us purpose.
The last three words of verse 21 are Jesus Christ commanding: “come follow Me.”
Yes, the rich young man was good. His heart was good. His life was good. In between verses 20 and 21 Jesus did not correct the attitude that the young man was good because I believe this young man was genuinely good. Good people exist. Moral people exist. Yes, it is also true that the young man was not good enough, but he was only not good enough because He lacked Jesus. He lacked Jesus. He lacked Jesus. The answer to the question about eternal life is Jesus. Choosing to follow Jesus is what enables us to have the freedom to become part of the Kingdom of God in this life and to enjoy eternal life in Heaven in the next life. In all his good living, the man simply lacked following Jesus.
The Bible teaches us this truth elsewhere.
READ 1 CORINTHIANS 1:28-30 (ESV)
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, 29 so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. 30 And because of Him you are in Christ Jesus, Who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, 31 so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.
READ 2 CORINTHIANS 5:20-21 (ESV)
Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake He made Him to be sin Who knew no sin, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God.
READ PHILIPPIANS 3:8-9 (ESV)
Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For His sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith.
APPLICATION
How does all of this apply to us?
This is the part of the episode when we see the first scene from the first few minutes of the program and realize that we only had part of the story. Yes, we saw the ending, but it was not the whole ending. There was a cliff hanger at the beginning of the episode to keep you watching.
How does all of this apply to us? Let’s look at the whole thought.
This applies to us because when we encounter the completely true thought that “we are not good enough” our society and our need for self-esteem creeps up and we take our helmet of salvation off because we are disillusioned with God and we open ourselves up for temptation and doubt.
You see, the phrase: “You are good enough” is a lie from Satan that is shot against us and schemes for us to cut Jesus off in our lives. The whole truth is: “You are not good enough without Jesus.” God does not leave us in the state of “not good enough” because that is not the kind of God He is… we are not without hope! Jesus Christ lived and died because none of us were good enough and God knew it. Jesus Christ gives us His goodness and in so doing we become saved and right with God. This is not based on us, but based on Jesus. That’s why those last thee words in verse 21 are so important.
* Jesus is all that the rich young man lacked for eternal life.
* Jesus is all he needed for eternal life.
* Jesus is all you and I need for eternal life.
I do not know what you are facing in these days, but I do know that Jesus is the answer. A relationship with the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords is what will strengthen you and keep you and being about God’s favor in your life. Not because of our lives, but because of the life Jesus lived.
It also occurs to me that it is quite possible to appear to be a Christian without Jesus. You can come to church and ignore Jesus. It is possible to become tired of following Jesus. It is possible to doubt or to become spiritually depressed. It is possible, to flip this lie a little, for us to believe the lie that we can be good enough without Jesus and just sneak into the outskirts of Heaven.
Here is the truth: You are not good enough without Jesus.
PRAYER
INVITATION
