FULL ARMOR OF GOD-HELMET OF SALVATION

 

Ephesians 6:10-18 is the basis of our discussion.  “Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”   

 

 

In our last Blog, we discussed the Shield of Faith.  We learned that faith is being sure that God will keep His promises.  Faith in God protects you when you are tempted to doubt His Word.

 

The next piece of equipment we need is the helmet of salvation.  Let’s discuss the importance of a helmet to a Roman solider and then we discuss what salvation is and why it’s partnered with a helmet.  The helmet was a type of hat worn by soldiers to protect their heads from physical blows in a military battle.  Helmets come in all shapes and sizes and were made from many different materials, but metal seemed to be the most effective.  Since the head is the most vulnerable part of the body, it was usually the first area covered by armor.

 

Now salvation is simply the deliverance from the power of sin; in other words, redemption (deliverance by payment of a price).  The need for salvation goes all the way back to man’s fall in the Garden of Eden.  (Genesis 3)  The principle of salvation reached its fulfillment in the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ on our behalf.  Jesus’ mission was “to seek and save that which was lost.”  (Luke 19:10) His purpose to save the world from sin and the eternal punishment it brings.  (John 3:16; Romans 6:23)  So, our salvation is based solely on His death and resurrection.  You can look at salvation as coming in three phases:  past, present and future.  When a person believes in Christ, he is saved.  (Acts 16:31)  But we are also in the process of being saved from the power of sin.  (Romans 8:13)  Finally, we shall be saved from the very presence of sin.  (Titus 2:12-14)  Our experience of salvation will be complete when Christ returns and the kingdom of God is fully revealed.  “so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many people; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.”  (Hebrews 9:28)

 

So, why was salvation partnered with a helmet?  Because Satan wages a real battle for the possession, control, and use of the MIND or the way we think – especially concerning our relationship with God.  He tries every possible way to corrupt our minds “little by little” with very deceptive and subtle elements of false teaching and doubt.  Ephesians 4:23, tells us, “And be renewed in the spirit of your mind.”  We need to change the way we think!  The mind is the devil’s playground if you don’t have your helmet of salvation on.  The oldest trick that the devil uses is getting us to doubt what God has said.  He did it with Eve back in the Garden of Eden.  He planted the seed of doubt, “Yea, hath God said…?”  (Genesis 3:1) 

 

How can we use this helmet of salvation when we’re being tempted by the devil?  Here are two guiding principles:

1.     As you face temptation, remember what you were saved FROM.  To truly understand what the helmet of salvation does, you must understand the purpose behind it.  The helmet protected you from the “broad sword” of the enemy.  (Note:  Broad sword = 4 – 4 ½ feet in length – the enemy literally tried to cave in your skull or literally decapitate a person!)  1 Peter 5:8, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour:”  So, now if you add the term salvation to the helmet, you can see how important this piece of equipment is. 

God has given us several passages that we can look to in order to help us say “no” when tempted or to remember what we have been saved from:

q  Romans 6:18, “and having been freed from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.”

q       Romans 8:2, “For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and of death.”

q       2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore if any man is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.”

q       Colossians 1:13, “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,”

Remember when you are tempted to sin or doubt God’s Word that is the “Old Stuff”.  You have been saved from all of that already!  That’s what the helmet of salvation is all about.

 

2.     As you face temptation, remember what you have been saved TO.

1 Peter 1:16, tells us that we have been called to a holy life.  Colossians 1:13, “For He delivered us from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son,”

Ephesians 2:1-13, “You were living in your sins and lawless ways. But in fact you were dead.  You used to live as sinners when you followed the ways of this world. You served the one who rules over the spiritual forces of evil. He is the spirit who is now at work in those who don't obey God. At one time we all lived among them. We tried to satisfy what our sinful nature wanted to do. We followed its longings and thoughts. God was angry with us and everyone else because of the kind of people we were.  But God loves us deeply. He is full of mercy. So he gave us new life because of what Christ has done. He gave us life even when we were dead in sin. God's grace has saved you. God raised us up with Christ. He has seated us with him in his heavenly kingdom because we belong to Christ Jesus. He has done it to show the riches of his grace for all time to come. His grace can't be compared with anything else. He has shown it by being kind to us because of what Christ Jesus has done.  God's grace has saved you because of your faith in Christ. Your salvation doesn't come from anything you do. It is God's gift.  It is not based on anything you have done. No one can brag about earning it.  God made us. He created us to belong to Christ Jesus. Now we can do good things.  Long ago God prepared them for us to do.  You who are not Jews by birth, here is what I want you to remember. You are called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves “circumcised." But they have only been circumcised in their bodies by human hands.  Before you believed in Christ, you were separated from him. You were not considered to be citizens of Israel. You were not included in what the covenants promised. You were without hope and without God in the world.  At one time you were far away from God. But now you belong to Christ Jesus. He spilled his blood for you. That has brought you near to God.”

 

We were saved to a new life in Christ Jesus and because of His sacrifice we are now a part of God's New Family.  So, since we now know what we have been saved from and what we have been saved to, how can we not where our helmet of salvation proudly and with confidence?!  Not confidence in ourselves, but confidence in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

 

Remember the mind is the devil’s playground!  Let’s take the advice of the Apostle Paul in Romans 12:1-2, “ I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.  And be not conformed to this world:  but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”

 

Next time, we discuss the next and maybe one of the most important pieces of the spiritual armor, “the sword of the Spirit”, which is the Word of God.