GOD’S HELMET LAW
by Pastor Jim May
A lot of people are upset this morning in the State of Louisiana. They are upset because someone cares more about their safety than their freedom. For the past number of years our former governor put aside the helmet laws for anyone riding on a motorcycle, but our new governor isn’t such an enthusiast and she had reinstated the helmet law. Now, the motorcycle owners are “up in arms” because they don’t like being told what to do.
Now I can sympathize with their argument. No one likes being told what to do, especially in America, and especially among these South Louisiana Cajuns. We are a headstrong bunch, bent on doing what we want, and we don’t like anyone ordering us around. If you want to see a fight just try ordering a Cajun to do what he doesn’t want to do. I like my freedoms as well, so I do agree with the riders to a point.
But, if you have ever seen a motorcycle accident where the rider wasn’t wearing a helmet, you will quickly realize that we aren’t nearly as hardheaded as we pretend to be. Head injuries are the worst of all to overcome and some are never overcome. If the victim lives, he is likely to be incapacitated for life.
Now what about the argument for their freedom? Should we allow them to have that freedom to choose to ride without a helmet? Maybe you think so, maybe you don’t, or maybe you haven’t thought about it much at all.
Well let me help you here. What happens when a rider chooses to not wear a helmet and he is injured severely? He needs medical help that may be ongoing as long as he lives. And who pays for that help? In many cases, it’s the insurance company, and that leads to higher insurance rates for all of us. In many other instances, where there is no medical insurance, the help is provided for in charity hospitals. Where does the money come from to pay for the charity hospitals? It comes from our tax dollars.
So, no matter whether you like the helmet law or not, it is a necessity, not only for the sake of the rider, but for the sake of the community as well. If the rider has the right to choose not to wear a helmet, then we, who will be affected by the cost of his medical bills, should also have the right to choose whether we pay for his medical attention or not. Since we won’t have that choice by law, then he shouldn’t have that choice either.
I don’t like wearing seat belts. I don’t like being told what to do anymore than the next person. But I know that it’s for my own good, and I don’t like paying fines for being independent, so I wear them.
As much as we like being independent, there are laws that are for the good of us all that we must allow to limit us, or we will be a nation filled with anarchy.
You may be asking, “Where is all this taking us? What does this have to do with a message of the gospel on this Sunday morning?” Here is the point of this message.
God has a helmet law too! Whether we like it or not, whether we agree or not, or whether we choose to obey it or not, does not negate its power, and our choice will definitely have eternal consequences.
There are two very familiar passages of scripture that I want to read as we begin this message on “God’s Helmet Law”.
Ephesians 6:12-18, "For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore take unto you the whole Armour of God that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness; And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;"
1 Thessalonians 5:8-9, "But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation. For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ…"
All of mankind is identified with that motorcycle rider. We all begin life without a helmet. It feels so good to breeze through life, without any restrictions, living any way that we want to live, going where we want to go, doing what ever feels good, with no one to tell us we are wrong.
The problem with mankind has always been his pride in being independent. There isn’t one of us even in this congregation this morning, who would want to be restricted in our movements and we certainly don’t want to have someone ordering us around all the time.
That’s where man’s rebellion began in the first place. Adam and Eve fell in the Garden of Eden because of their own pride and desire to be free from the restrictions that God had placed upon them for their own good. They decided to “do their own thing” after being tempted by their own lust and enticed by Satan and the forbidden fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil. They fell greatly, and died spiritually, and began to die physically at that very moment.
They couldn’t help themselves anymore. The freedom that they once had was gone forever. They couldn’t get it back. All of mankind, from that day on, has had to pay for their moment of independence. The price tag of that sin has been very high. That perfect nature that God intended for man is gone. Like it or not, we are all still paying for that one moment of independence that Adam and Eve wanted.
But God still loved His highest creation. He still wanted to commune with men and women, so He had already laid out a plan to get them back to Him. He paid a heavy price to do it. He gave His only Son, Jesus Christ, to die on the cross, and shed His blood to buy us back. He paid for your helmet and mine, with his own blood!
Mankind still fights against God’s law. They don’t like being restricted. They don’t want to hear it when you tell them that there is only one way to Heaven, one way to a happy, completely fulfilled life, without regrets when it is over, and one way to please God. They don’t want to be forced to wear God’s helmet!
God could choose to just let us do our thing, but where would that take us? God knows that the heart of man is not after Him. Mankind would never search out the love and mercy of God. We would just continue to go farther and farther from Him, on a fast march to the pits of Hell’s flames.
Genesis 6:5, "And GOD saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually."
So He paid the price to redeem us! Glory to his name! He paid a price He didn’t owe to pay my debt that I could not pay! Thank you Almighty God for your love and mercy.
The Word of God says that we must wear God’s helmet as we go through this life if we want to make Heaven our home. That helmet is the Helmet of Salvation! What does a helmet do, and why is salvation so important?
The most obvious answer is that it will keep us from burning in the pits of Hell, but there is more that a helmet does.
Your helmet of salvation is a protection of the head and mind against false doctrines. When Satan flies over you and attempts to get into your head with evil thoughts, it is the helmet of Salvation that fends off his attack. God’s spirit within us quickens us and reminds us of what His Word says and we can use that word to drive Satan away.
In times of battle, the helmet is also good for keeping the head upright. We don’t see this in our modern helmets as much as it was in the old days. A helmet used to cover the head and then the bottom of it would drape down over the shoulders to help keep the head up in all circumstances. It is your salvation that helps you hold your head up high when the enemy thinks that he has finally defeated you.
There is one thing about the helmet used in Bible times that I want you to see. Before a soldier would put it on and go out to battle, he would anointed it with oil, that it might shine brightly and blind his enemy; so that it would not begin to corrode and would last longer; and to make it slick so that it would more easily repel blows.
If your helmet of salvation in is place, and you live under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, Satan can’t get to you easily. Your life must be anointed by the presence of the Holy Ghost, and your heart must be anointed by being washed in the Blood of the Lamb. Satan’s attacks can’t cross the bloodline.
With all of these wonderful things that a helmet does, why doesn’t man want to put on his helmet as he goes through life? It’s because of his self pride and desire for independence from any limiting factor. Man wants to be his own god. He wants to be the master of his own destiny. He just refuses to admit, or to see the danger that lies ahead.
The danger to a motorcycle rider is real and deadly. He throws caution to the wind in the vain belief that “it could never happen to me, I’m a careful rider”. Tell that to every “careful rider” who lies in the cemetery right now. Is the consequence of a wreck without a helmet worth the freedom to feel the wind freely blowing through your hair? Is it worth the chance of living life as a paraplegic, just to be able to have a little more comfort while on the highway? That’s the real question. Are the consequences worth the risk?
Any rider who uses his head would probably agree with the need for a helmet, and its purpose in protecting his head, but his pride won’t let him put it on.
That’s the way it is with those who need salvation as well. 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!
Why then do men and women refuse to put on God’s Helmet? They have too much pride to let God rule over them, even if it is for their own eternal and earthy good.
Proverbs 16:17-18, "The highway of the upright is to depart from evil: he that keepeth his way preserveth his soul. Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall."
Those who wear God’s Helmet of Salvation know how to stay upright on the highway of life. They have discovered the way to reach their eternal reward in the safety of the arms of Jesus. But those who refuse to obey God’s Helmet Law will ride on into oblivion, allowing their pride to lead them to destruction, and every little bump in the road of life will only cause them to fall further and further from God.
The problem is that the sinner, barreling down the road without his helmet on, can’t see the danger ahead. He can only see as far as his natural eye can reach. He forgets that there is no promise of tomorrow. He cannot see the circumstances that may already be forming an accident that will kill or injure him down the road. The road in front may look safe and easy, but it is filled with pitfalls, rocks and all sorts of dangers. He may ride for many miles without a care, but it only takes one time and then it’s too late.
Sinner, and wayward Christian, your life may look easy right now. You may be enjoying all the gusto in life. But remember this – there is coming a time, a place, and a moment when it will all change and there will be no coming back to do it again. Isn’t your life, especially your eternal life, too valuable to lose to a bad gamble? Every time you refuse to put on God’s Helmet, you are gambling with your eternity. Every time you walk away from God’s call to come to Him and give your life to Him, you cast the dice and you never come up a winner. You lose every time!
When will you take your last ride? When will you make your last gamble? You have no promise of another chance to accept Jesus as your Savior.
When you see those who have been severely injured in accidents, your heart goes out to them. You feel such pity and such grief. How many times have you wanted to see them the way they once were, but there is no going back to those happier days. What’s done is done, and now we just have to live with it forever.
When I think of the multitudes that have refused to put on the Helmet of Salvation and ridden off into eternity with the winds of sin blowing in their hair, I am very saddened. Oh how I would love to them have another chance to accept Christ. Oh how much more do they wish it could be so, but they can never change their eternal destiny now!
Forever they will remember, and so will you, if you continue to refuse to put on the Helmet of Salvation. Will you obey God’s Law now? Will you wear God’s Helmet of salvation? Will you surrender your pride and your will to Jesus and allow Him to wash you in His blood?
God’s Helmet Law carrier a higher penalty than that of the State of Louisiana. It also carries a great promise of eternal life if you will only put it on and keep it on. Life is filled with pitfalls. You can’t afford to travel through life without God’s Helmet of Salvation.
