The Breastplate of Righteousness

I'm back from my mini-hiatus ! Let's delve right into the topic of the Armor of God. A few days ago I mentioned how important it is for any Christian to be aware of the reality of the spiritual battle we are involved in. The day we accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, Satan became a sworn enemy because we had now been set free from the captivity he had us in. We have to get something straight. All Satan wants is to steal whatever he can, destroy as much as he can and to finish it off : to kill. This is why we sometimes see beautiful young men and women who cannot seem to escape the clutches of alcoholism or drug abuse. Satan's plan is to steal their youth, destroy their lives and in the end kill them before they ever have the opportunity to say yes to Jesus Christ. This is the reality we have to deal with.

God has given us armor to fight this very real battle. On Monday,I spoke about the girdle or the belt of truth. I recorded what the Lord has been teaching me on that. You can take a listen here.

Our key Scripture is Ephesians 6:10-18 and today we will look at the breastplate of righteousness. According to a commentary I was reading in the Dake's Annotated Reference Bible , the breastplate was worn and it covered the front and the back and went down to the feet. It protected the vital organs. Now let's check this really powerful scripture out :

For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.- 2 Corinthians 5:21

Jesus died. He shed His blood and paid for sins which were not his own. I think a lot of us Christians take that for granted. A guiltless man died for a guilty world. It sounds like injustice but God saw it fit that this would happen. According to the verse I just quoted, when Jesus died, He took our sins away and bestowed righteousness upon us. That gift of righteousness is available to ANYONE who will accept it. You and I are the righteousness of God through Jesus Christ ! It's a gift of righteousness we never have to pay for. Now, let me tell you something: I like free stuff !

How does this fit into the ongoing spiritual battle ? Well, Satan likes to accuse us. He likes to take us into the past and remind us of how bad we used to be. He likes to harp on your faults and weaknesses. Eventually he gets you to the place where you think you are not as "holy" as everyone else. You begin to feel as if everyone can see right through you at your "dirtiness". People have left churches and given up on the faith because Satan has convinced them (sometimes using church people, rather sadly) that they are not worth God's love. But those are all just lies from the pit of hell ! We are the righteousness of God according to 2 Corinthians 5:21. There is no condemnation for those who are in Jesus Christ and those who walk according to the Spirit according to Romans 8:1. If you have sought God for forgiveness, He has forgiven you and does not remember your past (Psalm 103:12). So the next time Satan would like to pull you back into the dark ages, remind him of these words and accept the Truth of God's Word.

This does not mean we live our Christian lives carelessly either. We are called to holiness and as we depend on the Holy Spirit, He assists us to walk in God's will. What it does mean is that, you do not have to live in constant condemnation of yourself and you do not have to accept other people's condemnation of you because you , my friend, have been made the righteousness of God. I'd like to say an AMEN to that !