Alba 7-30-2023
THE ARMOR OF GOD: SALVATION
Ephesians 6:17
When I was about 11 years old, I was returning home from visiting my friend. His name was Guy, but we all called him Pepper. He lived up the hill west from my home and a half a block south. It was sometime in the winter because there was ice and snow around, and it was beginning to get dark.
I was hurrying and as I got to the corner where I would turn to go down the hill to my house, because of the ice my feet went out from under me and I landed on my back. And my head hit the sidewalk. I was out cold.
When I regained consciousness a man from the house next to where I fell, Mr. Allen, was helping me get up and asking if I was all right. I don't know how he happened to see me.
I was confused and do not know how long I may have been on the ground. But I quickly said I was fine. He asked if I was sure. I said yes, so then I walked the rest of the way home. I still have a bump on the back of my head from that fall. It could have been much worse.
While it would not have been a usual thing to do, I would have been protected if I had been wearing a helmet. These days helmets are used for protection by people riding down the road on motorcycles. Children riding bicycles now wear helmets. Construction workers wear helmets on the job. Firefighters wear helmets. Soldiers in combat wear helmets. The purpose for the helmet is understandable. It is there to protect a very important part of the body, the head.
We who are Christians also have helmets that we can and should wear. When Ephesians chapter six tells us to “put on the whole armor of God” it lists what is available to us. Ephesians 6:16 says, “take the helmet of salvation.”
Each of the pieces of armor we have as Christians is similar to the armor that a Roman soldier would use. The apostle Paul, who wrote this letter to the Ephesians, became quite familiar with that armor. Because as he was held captive in Rome, he was surrounded with Roman soldiers.
The Roman helmet, known as the Galea, was a vital piece of protective gear for the military of Rome. Not only did it provide an excellent defense on the battlefield, but it also served as a symbol of identity, rank, and achievements within the military hierarchy. The Roman helmet’s strategic design and remarkable construction made it one of the finest armor pieces of ancient times.
Their helmets could be made out of either leather or metal. The helmet had a band to protect the forehead and plates on the sides for the cheeks, and it extended down in back to protect the neck. When the helmet was strapped in place, it exposed little other than the eyes, nose, and mouth.
Understanding the nature and purpose of the Roman soldier’s helmet gives us some insight into why the helmet of salvation is so important to those of us who are followers of Jesus.
Just as a helmet was designed to protect the soldier from a hit on the head that could take his life, our helmet of salvation is designed to protect us when the devil attacks our mind trying to destroy our spiritual life.
When scripture says put on ALL the armor of God, it means ALL OF IT. If you have all your other gear on; the Belt of Truth, the Breastplate of Righteousness, Shoes of Gospel Peace and the Shield of Faith, but walk out the door without your helmet, you are in deep trouble.
The rest of your armor will not protect you from the blows aimed at your head. So, after you have all your other gear on, you must “take the helmet”, and you have to put it on your head. As always, it does no good if it is not on.
I am sure that you have noticed that Satan’s attacks primarily come against our mind. And it is the helmet of salvation that protects us from those attacks. Our Enemy, Satan, wants us to think about things that will lead us away from God.
Satan has designed a way in which to enter our minds if he can. He just has one method. That is to put things before us so he can plant thoughts into our minds that will work in his favor.
The devil made Eve think that God had lied about the consequences of disobedience. Instead it was the devil who was lying, and Eve bit. It was an attack on the very Word of God.
Today, that is his main weapon to turn people away from God. He is using gender identity, LGBTQ+ issues and more to deny what God's Word says. The devil continues to try to undermine the God given instruction we have in God's Word.
And the devil works on Christians to doubt the Bible. The Word says, “Give to Caesar that which is his and to God that which is His.” The devil tempts people to say, “I have to pay my taxes, but I am too far in debt to give anything to God.”
The Word says, “Don’t forsake meeting together.” But the devil tempts people to feel, “I don’t need to go to church to meet with God. He’s everywhere anyway.”
Satan also loves to bring doubts into our minds. He will bring up memories of past failures and betrayals to cause us unrest. He wants to hit us with thoughts of rejection so we won’t establish healthy relationships. He wants to hit us with thoughts of failure so we won’t do something worthwhile with our life.
He’ll bring into our mind thoughts like these: “How can you call yourself a Christian and do the things you do? Are you sure you’re really saved? You sure don’t deserve to be. There is no way God is going to accept you when you do those kinds of things.”
Sometimes we have very little control over our thoughts; they just come to us. If I say, “Don’t think about pink elephants dancing.” What would you most likely think about? Right! Pink elephants dancing.
At other times we do choose our thoughts. When there is something that interests us, we pay closer attention. It’s as if our mind has a gate that lets some thoughts in and shuts others out. The devil wants access to this gate.
There was a television commercial several years ago that made this statement. A mind is a terrible thing to waste. How True! That commercial focused on drugs and the power they have to destroy the mind. Because the mind is indeed a terrible thing to waste.
Drugs weaken the mind. That's why the devil has multitudes of people wasted by drugs today. He loves it when people’s minds are weak and wasted.
The many homeless people camped out on the sidewalks of major cities is caused in large part by drugs and alcohol. Videos of people on those streets show garbage and filth cluttering both the streets and the minds of those people.
And some cities are even providing more drugs that imprison the minds of these sad individuals. And states, even our own state, has legalized marijuana for recreational use. After seeing the tragic results of drug use by so many, what are we thinking??
We are living in evil days. We certainly don't live in a world that embraces Biblical truth, or that encourages righteousness. We need to acknowledge our sin and turn to God for the salvation that is only available because Jesus took our penalty on the cross and died in our place.
That is the salvation that protects us like a helmet. Still, living out our faith is not easy; we are hit in so many directions with so many messages that are in direct opposition to Jesus. The media, Hollywood, as well as politicians seem to be doing all they can to undermine Biblical values.
But people, politicians, governments, and such are all pawns exploited by the real enemy. We are fighting the realm of darkness headed up by the prince of darkness. Our enemy is Satan himself.
Many things we see happening today can make us angry, and for good reason. But, II Corinthians 10:3-5 reminds us that, “though we walk in the flesh, we do not war according to the flesh. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”
In the same way the soldier's helmet is the primary means of protecting his head against the blows of the enemy, God has provided a way to protect access to our thought life. He tells us to “take” the helmet of salvation.
There is something interesting about this. Yes, we are told to “take” it. So, as we’ve seen with the other pieces of the armor, no one else can put on this armor for us. Each one of us is personally responsible for putting on the armor of God for protection against evil. And the verb form of that word “take” makes this an urgent command. It has the sense of “do this right now; don’t delay.”
Remember it is the helmet of “salvation”. And II Corinthians 6:2 says, “Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Time is of the essence. We do not know how long we have on this earth.
Someone has said, "A man may go to Heaven without health, without fame, without great learning, without a great name, without big earnings, without culture and without friends, without a thousand other things. But he will never get to Heaven without Jesus Christ."
Hebrews 2:3 asks, “how shall we escape, if we neglect SO GREAT salvation”. Salvation is “so great” because of the price that was paid for it. I Corinthians 6:20 says, “you are bought with a price”.
Acts 20:28 says the price that was paid was “His own blood”. Jesus’ blood is called “precious” in I Peter 1:19. Jesus paid a price He did not owe; and He paid it all when He went to that cross and died there for our salvation.
Salvation is also “SO GREAT” because of the promises of the Lord that are both abundant and infinite. It begins with forgiveness of our sins. And because of that, we also have the promise of an everlasting, joyful eternal life.
When we yield our lives to Jesus as Savior and Lord in obedient faith, then we can know that we have salvation and access to the helmet of salvation for our protection.
Salvation means we have been saved, delivered from danger, and brought into a safe place. And salvation means we are currently being saved, delivered from danger, and brought into a safe place.
Salvation also means that in Christ Jesus we will be continuously being saved, delivered from danger, and brought into a safe place. Salvation is what guards our entire life.
Let us make sure that we use the full armor of God available to us. It is important to have it on always. And when we put on the helmet of salvation, it needs to be the helmet that is made for battle and not just to parade around for show.
In this spiritual battle, it makes a huge difference what we allow to come into our minds in what we see and hear. We need to put the Word of God in our minds. We need to put obedience to God in our minds. Things that cause fear and doubt have no place in the Christian’s mind.
II Timothy 1:7 says,“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” God provides the helmet of salvation so that our thoughts will be protected and perfected!
Cecil Conrad was a farm boy, tired of waking up at the crack of dawn to clean up after cows. He lied about his age, joined the Army during WW II and helped free Asia from the Axis.
But it was in the next war, battling Communists in Korea, that Conrad might truly have regretted his change of career. In a too-shallow foxhole, somewhere north of Seoul, the 188th Airborne Division soldier held his gun close to his head, trying to shield himself from fast-flying artillery that "whistled through the air like birds tweeting," he said. Then the world exploded in his face.
Conrad said, "It was like being smacked with a baseball bat. It knocked me backwards". Dirt had hit him, a chunk of sod flung up by a shell, Conrad thought, as he gradually accepted the fact that he was still alive.
Then he touched his helmet, and felt the hole that a shell had torn out of the steel. "I knew a piece of sod couldn’t do that," he said. By the laws of nature, that big bullet ought to have kept on going, making a fatal journey through his skull and brain. Instead, it struck the steel at such an angle that it cut through the metal and then arced away. He had a bruise and a headache, but he would live to tell the story.
Conrad kept that old helmet, with its tell-tale furrow in the brow. A Korean vet thankful for the helmet that saved his life
SOURCE: "Korean Vet Thankful For The Helmet That Saved His Life" by Cliff Davis. 11/10/2002. ©The Progress-Index 2002. http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=2271&dept_id=462946&newsid=6014233&PAG=461&rfi=9
I read that according to a report by the United States Army, over half of the American Soldiers who fought in World War II, would have been killed if they didn’t wear their helmets!
Christians, we need our helmets! Salvation in Christ gives us the assurance of deliverance from the penalty, power and presence of sin.
CLOSE:
While in college when I was a student minister working with a church in northwest Iowa, there a young man who had been in a motorcycle accident. Helmets were not common in those days and his head was badly injured. I was called to the hospital where he was taken, and I saw the horrible sight of an open wound in his skull. Of course, he died.
I was asked to officiate at his funeral. It was the saddest funeral I ever did. There were two reasons for that. One was the tragic loss of one so young. The other was that many members of the family and friends were not Christians and they wailed, crying for their loss.
That’s the way it is with those who have no hope of salvation. Is the certainty of an eternal punishment in the fire worth not putting on the helmet of salvation? Of course it isn’t!
Is the pain, agony, hopelessness, and emptiness of a life without God worth refusing to accept the Salvation that Jesus offers? Of course not!
You can’t afford to travel through life without God’s Helmet of Salvation.
