In our series, Living in Victory, we are showing how the Bible prepares us so that we can stand in the day of attack. Ephesians 6:10-17 explains that this world, whether we like it or not, is not a fairy tale existence, but is a theatre of war between the forces of darkness and light, God and Satan, good and evil. This cosmic battle affects everyone of us, and we need to be prepared.
The Apostle Paul talks about how we can stand firm in the evil day of attack. You will face many kinds of battles in life. You may face battles over your mental health, your family, your finances, your health, there may be spiritual battles and cultural battles. This armour of God that Paul talks about in Ephesians 6 details how you can stand against each type of attack on your life.
Last week we heard how important it is to have the Belt of Truth. This week we see the next piece of armour, the Breastplate of Righteousness. Ephesians 6:14 says “Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled round your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place.”
A breastplate in Roman times was made of bronze and iron that covered the whole torso. It was designed to protect the soldier’s vital organs, such as the heart and lungs, from sword attacks when in battle. A modern equivalent is body armour. The Christian’s body armour is a breastplate of righteousness. Righteousness is a word the Bible uses a lot, but what does it mean?
Nicky Gumbel, the pioneer of the Alpha Course and former Vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton church in London said, “The word ‘righteous’ is often associated with the ‘self-righteous’, and has almost become a term of abuse. However, ‘righteous’ in the Bible is a wonderful word and extremely important for our understanding of the whole Bible.”
How is this relevant to us when we are attacked? Because this is to do with a full-on attack where Satan wants to take you out because he is going for your heart, your lungs and your vital organs. If he can damage your heart – your emotions with fear, rejection or shame, he can take you out, unless you are protected (Proverbs 10:25,28,30). Nicky Gumbel goes on to say, “’Righteousness’ is ultimately about right relationships – a right relationship with God and right relationships with others. In the New Testament, we come to understand that this righteousness is only possible through faith in Jesus Christ.”
A Roman soldier had faith that the blacksmith had designed his metal breastplate to stop any sword attacks reaching his heart. How can you have faith the breastplate of righteousness will protect you from spiritual attacks to our hearts and emotions?
1. The Breastplate of Righteousness shows God’s AFFECTION for you (1 John 4:9-10; 1 Peter 3:19; Romans 5:6-8)
2. The Breastplate of Righteousness removes all ACCUSATION against you (John 8:44; Revelation 12:10-11; Isaiah 61:10)
3. The Breastplate of Righteous grants you ACCESS to the throne of grace (Hebrews 4:16; Romans 5:2; Isaiah 1:18
Apply
The Breastplate of Righteousness shows God’s affection for you. When we understand righteousness, we understand how much we are loved by God (1 John 4:9-10; 1 Peter 3:18). So, righteousness speaks to us of God’s love – because God who was totally righteous made plans to save the unrighteous. He knows the unrighteous will perish if you are not right with God (Romans 5:6-8). Think about it: while you were still a sinner, still in unrighteousness, were not right with God, were rebelling against God, He gave His life for you. The breastplate of righteous is God’s love for you. There’s nothing you can do to stop Jesus loving you. There’s nothing in your past that can stop Jesus loving you today. It is not the breastplate of your own righteousness, but the breastplate of the righteousness of God. You can’t trust in your own righteousness as we have all done wrong. But the Lord loves us and He showed that at the Cross. Whatever you are going through, know you are loved by God.
The Breastplate of Righteousness removes all accusation against you. Satan is the accuser. He will do anything to try to discourage you, to convince you that you are not worthy of being in the presence of God. Jesus speaks of the devil in John 8:44. Whenever you feel any accusations come upon you, whenever you face these thoughts and doubts, whenever you think you are not worthy enough, you need to “Stand firm with the belt of truth buckled around your waist and the breastplate of righteousness in place.” Revelation 12:10-11 teaches us how the battle will be won. This is such important foundational teaching of the Christian faith, and it is why our Life Class course for people who are new to the Christian faith teaches these 5 confessions from scripture:
- By the blood of Jesus, I have been redeemed from the power of the enemy. Satan has no power over my life because I have been brought into the kingdom of Jesus Christ.
- By the blood of Jesus all my sins have been forgiven.
- Because I walk in the light and have fellowship with other Christians, the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, cleanses me now and continually from all sin.
- By the blood of Jesus, I have been justified and God sees me as if I had never sinned.
- By the blood of Christ, I have been sanctified and set apart for God.
This is truly something to celebrate! Through Christ you have been cleaned up and are given new robes of righteousness (Isaiah 61:10). Do you deserve it? No! The Prodigal Son parable in Luke 15 gives a picture of the robe of righteousness God gave to you when you gave your life to Jesus. It’s a free gift. You cannot earn it and you cannot work for it. When the father welcomed the Prodigal Son home, it was a picture of our Heavenly Father’s amazing love and grace. John Newton the former slave trader became convicted of how much God loved him, despite his dark past, when he wrote the famous song ‘Amazing Grace’.
The Breastplate of Righteous grants you access to the throne of grace. Hebrews 4:16 teaches that we can come boldly. Our faith in Jesus qualifies us to gain access to the throne of grace. Theologian Derek Prince said, "It is not the righteousness of works, it is not the righteousness of a religious law, but it is a righteousness that comes only by faith." We have in our own righteousness, no possibility of access to God. When we understand what Christ has done at the Cross for us, then we can come “boldly to the throne of grace” knowing that Jesus knows you by name and is waiting for you. Also we can come continually. The King of Kings’ throne of grace on which Jesus continually sits can be accessed by anyone who has faith in Him (Romans 5:2). And we can come to the throne of grace now (Hebrews 4:16). Don’t accept wrong thoughts such as ‘I can’t come now because I’ve mucked up. I need to sort myself out first’. Jesus tells us to put on His breastplate of righteousness and come now (Isaiah 1:18).
The breastplate of righteousness is another big key of how to stand firm in times of trouble and attack. It is vital to put on that breastplate of righteousness to guard our hearts and emotions, knowing that we are accepted by God as the object of his affection, that we are not facing accusation, but we have acceptance, and we have access to the Lord. So, stand firm in whatever you are facing, and you will resist every attack that is coming.
