The Breastplate of Righteousness

Ok so following on from a previous post, I was thinking about the different pieces of armour whilst driving in the morning (berating myself for not thinking about dressing myself ‘properly’!). I went through the verse in my head and mulled over the various elements … this is my rather basic and unresearched analysis, in no particular order:

The Helmet of Salvation

This makes sense to me. At the point of accepting Christ as my Saviour, my mind and thinking should be governed and guarded by the helmet of my salvation … I should think in the new way, having been given new life, not as the old me. My mind should be transformed and cleansed as well as protected through this new birth and salvation … my mind has been redeemed.

The Shield of Faith

A shield would be held up against attack whether from arrows or sword. It was often impenetrable and would save a life … but it required active holding and being deliberately positioned correctly in order to be effective. If held to the side when an arrow was being shot at the front, the shield would be of no use. In similar vein our faith can be mightily effective if we hold it up against attack … actively, consciously and in the right direction. It is often our own failings and weakness that allow the penetration of an attack against us to succeed … we simply haven’t wielded the shield of faith adequately or accurately.

The Sword of the Spirit

In contrast to the shield of faith which is used to defend, a sword is used to attack with, although in the act of attacking with it, one would also be protecting oneself. So the sharpeners of the sword being the word of God is what we are to use going forward in battle. It ties in with that verse which says: “for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirits of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Hebrews 4v12). To me, one of the best ways we can wield and utilise this asset in our armoury is to memorise plenty of verses including many of the promises given to us in God’s word.

Peaceful footwear

The passage tells us that our feet should be shod with the gospel of peace and that they are to be ready. We shouldn’t miss out on opportunities just because we haven’t got our shoes on! Wherever we go and therefore whoever we meet, we should be approaching and leading with the peaceful gospel … our arrival should exemplify the beyond understanding peace which we have secured through the redemptive gospel of Christ and his atoning death.

The Belt of Truth

I love this one. Truth should hold us together. It should embrace our very being, neatly securing our identity and purpose, reassuring us of our position in Christ and the power that brings. It is only when completely surrounded by truth that we are in a position to wear and wield all the other elements. But what is truth? I recall watching a video of many people on the streets of America being asked this question and so many struggling to give an answer at all. To me, ultimate, pure and simple truth is whatever God says and is. Only God can provide and share pure truth.

So that leaves me with the one element I had to stop myself on because I honestly didn’t really know what it meant without thinking more deeply …

The Breastplate of Righteousness

It’s easy to reel it off, but when I imagined putting it on, I wasn’t entirely sure what if would look like or relate to. I understand righteousness in some ways and I know that a breastplate was a protective piece of armour similar to what our police and soldiers would use these days in the form of bullet proof vests, essential to protect vital organs. In dictionary terms, righteousness means ‘the quality of being morally right or justifiable’, however before God we are not and never can be in and of ourselves, righteous … this is something that comes from God. In Romans ch 5 it talks about the gift of righteousness which is of course given through Jesus Christ. So this ‘right living’ before God can only be achieved through our faith in Christ and the growth of that through the study of his word and prayer … only in this way can we protect our innermost being and heart to withstand temptation and attack. We must surely work on properly crafting our personal breastplates, blended with the impenetrable ingredients of faith, the word of god and prayer … only then will we begin to live righteously and provide the appropriate layer of apparel to guard our hearts from harm.

To finish off Pray at ALL Times! That’s the final command as though when you’re fully clothed and kitted out for the days battle ahead, your constant necessity to progress forward is to pray … always.

Let’s get our battle clothes on folks … for we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against the power of this world, the spiritual forces of evil in this present darkness (Eph 6) … in the process of defending and attacking, we bring peace!

I found Chuck Swindoll’s paraphrasing of Proverbs 4v23 helpful, it reads like this: “More than all else to be closely watched and protected (like a city or a bank vault), protect your inner self—your mind, your emotions, your character, your discernment—like a sentry at the gate watches over a city from his watchtower, because this is the source of all the decisions, responses, and deeds that represent your life”.

Ingrid x