The Armor of God Part 5 – The Helmet of Salvation
“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…” (Ephesians 6:10-17)
One of Satan’s favorite tactics is to make us doubt our salvation. At times he might focus our doubts on whether or not we have ever actually received God’s gift of salvation. At other times he may simply fill our minds with all of our failures, all of our sins, all of the times we have “fallen short.” Have we been bad enough that God will abandon us? We have all had those times, and we know how it bogs us down, makes it difficult if not impossible to move forward in our faith.
Our weapon in these situations, or our defense, is the helmet of salvation. First, we need to know that our salvation is based on God’s work, not our own. We are saved on the basis of the work that Jesus did on the cross, and we are accepted by the Father on the basis of Jesus’ righteousness. Our own lack of righteousness has nothing—absolutely nothing—to do with it.
Further, this salvation is eternal—it will never end, and nothing and no one can take it from us. This is what Jesus has promised, and the assurance you can have as a result:
- John 6:37-39 – All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me. And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.
- John 10:27-30 – My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.
- Romans 8:38-39 – For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
You are very important to God. In fact, as Larry Richards points out in his book, The Full Armor of God, “We discover that even before Creation, God the Father had you in His thoughts. From the beginning He chose you, He planned to bless you and He determined to adopt you as His child.”[1]
Richards then goes on to point out how each member of the Trinity is involved in your salvation. This is Ephesians 1:3-14. Look for how the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit each play a role in your salvation:
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will—
“—to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ. In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.
“And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Isn’t that astonishing!?
Iain Duguid comments,
“Because Jesus has worn the armor of God first, accomplishing perfect righteousness through his spotless life and winning our salvation through his atoning death, we are able now confidently to wear the helmet of the hope of salvation. Our salvation has already been accomplished for us by Christ; all that waits is the full harvest of that salvation….
“Helmets provide the soldier with protection against bullets and blows; in a similar way, the hope of salvation provides a real protection for the Christian in times of difficulty or distress. It defends the Christian against discouragement and despair. Why should you be discouraged by your present challenging circumstances when you have such a glorious and secure inheritance awaiting you?”[2]
Hal Lindsay is credited with saying, “Man can live about forty days without food, about three days without water, about eight minutes without air… but only for one second without hope.”
Will you go forward confidently, knowing you are protected by the helmet of salvation—a salvation based solely on the faithfulness of God?
