The Armor Of God 4 Of 8

Many Post Offices have a bulletin board that shows pictures of these criminals so that we will know what they look like if we come into contact with them.

But consider our greatest enemy:

• You will not hear a thing about our greatest enemy on the police band

• You will not find a picture of our greatest enemy in the Post Office

Our greatest enemy is THE DEVIL.

Illus: He is more dangerous then Nero, Hitler, Asama Bin Laden, Saddam Hussein and every serial killer that ever existed all put together.

WHY IS HE OUR GREATEST ENEMY? Because he is the ultimate evil.

• You could take all the evil people on death row and put them together and they are not as evil as Satan is

• Because the evil they possess comes from him. He is the ULTIMATE EVIL

• We cannot see him

• He has a very distinct advantage over every one of us. He can whisper an evil thought into your mind, and you are not even aware he is there

• He also has a distinct advantage of having thousands of years of experience of knowing how to trap us

HE HAS MANY ADVANTAGES OVER US, and he will use every advantage he has at his disposal to defeat us daily if we allow him to do so.

But there is good news. Every Christian here can put a licking on that rascal any day of the week if they are clothed with the WHOLE ARMOR OF GOD.

But if we are not clothed with the armor of God, you might as well get ready for a whipping, because he is going to put one on you.

The Lord has provided a suit of armor to protect us. We have already discovered that we must put on the girdle of truth.

If you do not have the GIRDLE OF TRUTH, you are taking a licking from Satan. The Word of God says, “Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth…”

Let’s look at some more pieces of armor that we should “put on” so that we can defeat the devil. We must put on the -

I. BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

Look at Eph. 6:14b, we read, “…and having on the breastplate of righteousness.”

The breastplate was composed of metal plates as a covering for the heart and vital organs. It normally extended from the neck to the waist area, and covered both the front and back of the soldier. The breastplate primarily was to protect the heart.

Notice, it is called the "breastplate of righteousness" for it speaks of the Christ-like conduct of the believer.

• The girdle of truth speaks of CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER. This is INWARD!

• The breastplate of righteousness speaks of CHRIST-LIKE CONDUCT. This is OUTWARD!

In the Scripture, the BREAST PLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS for the believer may be generally summarized in two ways:

(1) RIGHTEOUSNESS WHICH IS IMPUTED

This is the righteousness that we obtain from God as a gift at the moment of salvation (2 Cor. 5:21; Rom. 5:17). We would consider this righteousness POSITIONAL RIGHTEOUSNESS.

(2) RIGHTEOUSNESS IS ALSO PICTURED AS A GARMENT

As a garment, righteousness is a picture of right living or PRACTICAL RIGHTEOUSNESS. (Rev. 19:8; Isa. 59:17; 61:10).

When Paul spoke of the BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, he was speaking of the latter.

That is, if we are going to live a victorious life over Satan, we have to LIVE RIGHT! We have to practice righteousness every day!

It is something that Christ did daily. He said in John 8:29, "I do always those things that please him."

WHY SHOULD WE PRACTICE RIGHTEOUSNESS DAILY? Practical righteousness keeps us from the temptation of sin.

If we are CONSISTENTLY and CONSTANTLY doing that which is right, we will not have time to do that which is wrong.

Some of the Christians today that are living the most defeated Christian lives are those who have too much idle time on their hands. Idleness is a devastating thing in the life of a Christian.

Illus: David got in the biggest trouble of his life when he became idle.

Look at 2 Samuel 11:1, we read, “And it came to pass, after the year was expired, at the time when kings go forth to battle, that David sent Joab, and his servants with him, and all Israel; and they destroyed the children of Ammon, and besieged Rabbah. But David tarried still at Jerusalem.”

Notice, when King David should have been off to battle, he sent Joab in his place. The Bible says, “…But David tarried still at Jerusalem.”

In other words, rather than put his armor on and go off to war, he decided he would just lay around and rest.

DID YOU KNOW THAT SOME OF THE MOST DANGEROUS TIMES IN OUR LIFE ARE DUE TO IDLE TIME?