Ephesians 6:14a
The Breastplate of Righteousness
Scripture Readings:-
Isaiah 59:1; 12-20
Romans 6:1-14
Ephesians 6:10-18
Sermon Text
Ephesians 6:14b
Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ,
Let’s imagine you are reading the “cars for sale” section of the local paper. Someone is selling a Corolla which is described as being “in very good condition”. Picture for a moment what you would expect that car to look like. Now if we went to examine the car and found that it had a number of visible rust patches, and tears in the seats, and a motor that sounded like a tractor engine, we would be disappointed wouldn’t we. The description of the car in no way reflects the true appearance of the vehicle.
Most of us would get quite annoyed by that situation. We don’t have much time for people who deliberately try to mislead. We get tired of products that work well on TV but don’t work at home. We expect appearances to match portrayals. It is not an unreasonable thing to ask. So when it comes to our Christian life we should also realise that it is not unreasonable to ask for consistency in that area as well. Our life should match our Christian confession. Our actions should match our words. That is what makes us prepared for the spiritual battle. And that is what the breastplate of righteousness is all about. To understand the significance of this piece of armour let’s start off by Examining the Breastplate.
As a literal piece of armour the breastplate is quite easy to imagine. It was made up of small metal plates which were tied together in a similar fashion to the way roof tiles are placed on a roof. The armour was then placed over the shoulders to protect both the front and back of the soldier. The bottom of the armour was tied to the belt. A Greek word sometimes used to describe this piece of equipment literally translates as “heart protector”. And that was the main purpose of the breastplate – to give protection to the heart and other vital organs.
That is a description of the armour in a literal sense. But this is not literal armour, it is spiritual armour. The breastplate of righteousness. In the spiritual battle you need protection for your heart. Because, as Jesus once said, out of the overflow of the heart the mouth speaks. If your heart is not right then the rest of your life will not be right either. In the spiritual battle we need to be sure that our hearts are directed by God and not relinquished to Satan. It is completely an issue of acting in a consistent manner. How do we know?
Righteousness, in this context, is all about moral integrity which comes as a result of knowing who Jesus is. We see Paul teach this truth a number of times in the book of Ephesians.
• Ephesians 4:1 (read).
• Ephesians 4:22-24 (read).
• Ephesians 5:1 (read).
Again and again Paul makes the same point. When Christ has entered our lives we should expect to live in a certain way.
And let’s be sure we understand the context. We do not earn a place in heaven on the basis of how our lives are lived. It is not an issue of trying to earn God’s favour. God’s knows that His children need to be shown grace, grace and more grace. All this is true. But just as true, and just as important, is the call to have a life-style that looks a certain way.
Earlier we read from Romans 6 and in that section we read these words.
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness”.
The issue doesn’t get much clearer than that. Those who have experienced the grace of God will want to make sure that the breastplate of righteousness is in place because they want to have a consistent biblical life.
By examining the breastplate we hopefully are seeing the importance of this piece of spiritual armour. Indeed it is very important because, in the spiritual battle, there will be times when Satan tries to attack our hearts. That truth brings us to our second point where we want to consider Satan’s Attack on our Righteousness.
We have already seen the strategic position of our heart. A heart ruled by God and a heart dominated by Satan are easy to distinguish. One heart will seek direction from a world that hates God, the other will seek direction from God. Where does the heart of a believer get its direction? Of course it is from God’s Word. We believe what the Word of God tells us. It is the source of our direction. But having the breastplate of righteousness is more than belief – it is allowing the truth of God’s salvation to permeate every aspect of your life.
It really boils down to this point. Think of the way you behave and act before those who are not-yet-believers. Think about your social habits, your leisure pursuits, your family patterns and your business principles.
• How would you feel if one day these same not-yet-believers became members of our church; perhaps even elders?
• How would you feel if you had to face these same people now that they have the same knowledge of Scripture as you?
• How would you feel when they brought to your mind the way you acted at that party, or the manner in which you conducted that business deal? Or the manner in which you chose to use your spare time?
• Would the appearance match the expectation? Would they have a right to be disappointed?
The problem with this piece of the spiritual armour is that it is very easy to fall short and fail to have a consistent walk with God.
You know it is true. So do I. Good intentions come to nothing. Zeal for the task is sometimes blurry. Occasions of spiritual despondency do arise. There are times when we all put on a façade. And it is exactly at those moments that Satan steps in and tries to make his greatest gains. It is at those moments that Satan makes his advances towards our heart.
“So you got angry with your wife again. It was pretty unfair the way you treated her. Those words were so full of hurt and spite. And you call yourself a Christian. How many times have you asked the Lord for help – and still you fall into the same trap. Maybe you don’t have what it takes to be a good Christian".
“Excuse me, when was the last time you sat with your Lord and prayed? It’s been more then 2 months. Oh yes there has been those rout prayers at meantime. Those prayers you can say without even thinking about it. Don’t you love God? You say you do. Yet you can’t even take the time to make communication with Him a priority. Let’s face it when it comes to a choice between taking the time to pray and watching TV you know which one would win. Are you really committed?”
Satan’s strategy of attack on our righteousness is a simple one. He comes into our minds when we are most vulnerable and he causes us to question; and he causes us to doubt. Am I really a child of God? Would God really be pleased to call me His treasured possession? Would I be proud and to stand in every, and any place, and say I am a Christian?
Satan’s attack on our righteousness is an attack on our eternal assurance. He constantly points out that we are very good at stating our beliefs, but we are not so good at living out our beliefs. And these can be attacks that reality hit home hard. Because we know how lack of integrity affects our witnessing. And we know that our inconsistency stops us from sharing the Gospel. And we can find ourselves feeling very ashamed when someone says, “You’re a Christian!”. There is a breastplate and it needs to be in place for us to stand in the spiritual battle. But there are also many times when Satan’s attacks on our righteousness are very successful.
Which means we need help - and we need a strong reminder. We always need to remember that we are in a spiritual battle against an adversary who deceives at all costs. And that truth brings us to our third point where we see How to Use the Breastplate of Righteousness.
Satan’s attacks on our righteousness make us vulnerable to the lie that we are not good enough. And there is certainly a sense where we know we are not good enough. None of us deserves to have the grace of Jesus shining in our lives. But let’s remember the realities. Does God expect perfection from us? Is God only going to be pleased with those who never make a mistake? Is the Christian life all about meeting a certain standard? No, no, and no. Again and again God’s Word tells us – indeed it assures us – that God will never let His precious children out of His hands. “Nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord”. Satan may make his advances against our righteousness but we need to realise that his advances are nothing but a sham.
There are times when my Christian witness has been appalling and I was very glad there were no other Christians around to see it. I have had times when the questions of assurance have arisen – you call yourself a Christian but look at the mess you have made. Sometimes it seems that Satan has won because my actions look the same as those of my not-yet-believing neighbour. But when we have the armour we can stand firm with the breastplate of righteousness in place. It’s a breastplate which has been forged with the blood of Jesus Christ. It’s a breastplate which functions on the principle of forgiveness. We can’t let ourselves be taken in by the lie that we will never be good enough for God. Instead we strive for consistency and, when we fail, we look to God and say, “Despite what it looks like, my heart still belongs to God".
Does your heart belong to God congregation? This is the question we need to answer as we listen to the call in this verse to put on the breastplate. Because, even when this equipment is firmly in place, we will still fail in the task. Failure makes us vulnerable. Failure gives Satan the chance to come in and make us question our integrity. Failure could be a wedge that drives itself between us and God. Failure enables this wedge to allow Satan to advance with victory. But does your heart belong to God?
Do you really believe in and rely upon a Saviour who says, "I don’t judge you on your failures. And I don’t judge you on your appearances. And I don’t condemn you even when your life as a Christian is atrocious. I will forget those times when questions and doubts stood in the way of you seeing that my promise is for eternity. Just rely on Me. Just rely on the completeness of the forgiveness which I have purchased and sealed with My very own blood. Just forget about appearances for a moment and come back to the basics. You are my child and nothing is going to change that fact”.
When you do battle for Jesus I pray that you come from this perspective. Righteousness is more than just being a great example of Christianity for God; righteousness is also about knowing how do deal with failure in a biblical way. People of God, if you live like that – you are a person of integrity. You are a person who is saying to the world that you have a God who doesn’t allow failure to stand in the way of grace. You have a God who doesn’t expect perfection, only repentance. You have a God who is more compassionate to us when we don’t met expectation then we are sometimes willing to be to each other. If you have that breastplate in place you will always have protection over your heart and others will see this protection firmly in place.
We know it is true that we don’t have much time for people who deliberately try to mislead. We are satisfied only when appearances match the claims. Thankfully God doesn’t take the same approach with us. When we put on the breastplate of righteousness we seek to be Christians who know that a life of integrity is one where we can honestly deal with our failures – and help others to do the same.
• Sin is still sin.
• Failure is still failure.
• God’s standard is still the only standard.
The key issue is how we deal with these intrusions. Let us seek to be equipped with this breastplate of righteousness. A breastplate that enables us to deal with failure. A breastplate that opens up a whole new world of integrity and Christian witness. A breastplate which enables us to say, “I will never be able to stand on my own but I will always stand when I trust in Christ alone”.
Amen.
