“10. Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. 11. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. 12. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. 13. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. 14. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, 15. and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and, as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace. 16. In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; 17. and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God…” (Eph. 6:10-14).
The second element of the armor of God that we are provided for our protection is the breastplate of righteousness. In Ancient times there were various kinds made of brass, metal, or even leather, but for today I want us to think of two types. One was a metal plate that conformed to the shape of the chest and the other one was made of chainmail. Either armor would be effective in protecting the vital organs against strikes from swords and other weapons. It, therefore, stands to reason that any soldier would make sure not to leave his breastplate behind when he went forth into battle. Doing so would simply be too dangerous.
In the selected passage, Paul recognizes how vital protecting our spiritual organs are. One of those organs is the heart, which is where we store the Word of God – Psa. 119:11, “I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” We see a similar sentiment expressed in Prov. 4:20-21, “20. My son, be attentive to my words; incline your ear to my sayings. 21. Let them not escape from your sight; keep them within your heart.” Needless to say, the heart is one of the main spiritual organs to protect at all costs since that is where the Word of God resides in us. Leaving our hearts exposed by neglecting to take the breastplate of righteousness seriously will leave us vulnerable to the flaming swords of the devil. In fact, Pro. 4:23 perfectly illustrates the importance of protecting the center of our spirituality, “Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.”
Paul wants us to put on the breastplate of righteousness because just as armor had to be worn to protect the Roman soldier from injury that could have led to death, we too must protect ourselves with righteousness. But how do we explain what that is? Well, we can begin by saying that being righteous is obeying God’s commandments and living a life that honors Him – Psa. 106:3, “Blessed are they who observe justice, who do righteousness at all times!” Being righteous then is to be in right standing before God. It is being in that state that we are afforded the protection of the breastplate of righteousness because it is what guards His Word that is in our hearts from attack.
Since it is God’s armor, it is something he gifts us with when we are obedient to His Word. It is not something we can fashion out of a piece of metal or some chainmail. It is a spiritual, not a physical breastplate and it can only come from the Almighty. A word of warning, though. If you take off the breastplate, either willingly or by sheer negligence, your protection is gone. That is exactly what the devil wants you to do. He wants you to become complacent and put the armor in the closet where it will collect dust – kinda like the Bible that you do not read or study, causing it to collect dust on the mantlepiece or in some forgotten drawer.
Don’t neglect the armor God gives you. Don’t allow your most vital spiritual organs to be vulnerable to the attacks of the devil. Yesterday I said that Paul may have used the dress of the Roman soldiers for inspiration, but it may also have been Isa. 59:17. In this specific passage our Lord is compared to a warrior who will vindicate His people, but as we read the words we can allow our minds to draw interesting comparisons between the two sets of verses – “He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak.” If it was good enough for Him, surely it is good enough for us as well.
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