Helmet of Salvation-Head

SHORT INTRODUCTION

Believers in Christ, young and old,  your  Christian life is not a bed of roses as many would like to tell you and you like to believe! The truth is we  are in a struggle and many do not know who the real enemy of their souls is!  But the apostle Paul reveals that “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”. 

Hence God wants you and I to be “be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power” in our Christian life.  There  is an on-going struggle  between the forces of ‘Good and Evil’ which started in the heavens and carried down to earth with  Satan’s  fall.  From the days of Adam and  Eve in the garden of Eden, Satan had set his eye on humanity to win  them over and make them his slaves and agents of evil against God.  He succeeded in seducing them to rebel against God and His authority which He began in heaven. 

Through the first  man Adam  we his progeny on earth who inherited his genes  began our own lives of subjection to the devil and disobedience to God.  Ever since,  nay,  even before our creation God had foreknowledge of this wicked predicament.  He  had committed  himself to redeem us.  He began His redemptive work  with the patriarchs of old and continued through His priests and prophets,  having chosen Israel as His own nation and people.  In the fullness of time God, as He had predestined  He  sent His Son Jesus Christ  to further His divine purposes of redeeming  men by His righteous life and sacrificial death on the cross in our stead. 

When people began to believe God and obey and serve Him, Satan re-doubled his efforts  to fight against us and defeat and subdue us.  The intensity will only worsen as his time is fast coming to a close and even as  we God’s  redeemed people become serious in our pursuit of God and victory over Satan and sin.

The apostle Paul having  revealed  to us   God’s eternal plan and purpose for us,  His  chosen  people,   cautions us about  Satan’s unending strategies and devices  to carry on His struggle with us.  So he warns us not to  be ignorant of real foe whom  we are fighting.  Your enemy  is not just your carnal or lustful desires  nor your  lack of determination to fight back  as you may  ignorantly think!  It is really Satan and the powers evil.  You need more than  your ability, the power of God and His full armour!

THE ARMOR OF GOD EPH 6: 10 - 18

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 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. 

13 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. 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.

KNOWING  YOUR ENEMY 

Knowing  your enemy in a battle is imperative for victory!  ‘It is as good as winning half the battle!’ they say.   In his early life the apostle  Paul did not know his enemy and assumed that he was merely fighting his own sinful self or his carnal nature. (Read Romans 7).  Hence he and was thoroughly defeated. He cried out, “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death?” (Rom 7:24).  

REMEMBERING YOU ARE IN CONSTANT BATTLE TO THE END

Believers,  whether you are young or old  never forget that you are in a struggle  with the greatest enemy of  your  soul and of  God Himself. You are “not against your  flesh and blood”.  Paul  tells who we are really up against and cautions us not to have any  false sense of security or hope of victory. You are indeed up  against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. 

Do not take temptation and sin lightly and play the fool with the devil!  Samson the Nazarite, Israel’s  hero and God ordained deliverer did it and lost his calling and life.  King David, ‘a man after God’s own heart’  did it and committed  adultery and murder  and incurred God’s wrath and judgment! 

NOT TRUSTING IN SELF BUT GOD

You are born again and you are a child of God.  But  you cannot  trust or depend  on your own  ‘self-defense system’.  You need to have a new spiritual strategy . You have to, “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”. (It good that Revive in this present issue teaches us  about the full amour of God.   Read carefully and learn  what they are and  how to use each  of them that you may always gain victory in every fight  until the battle is finally  won!) 

HELMET OF SALVATION –  HEAD

I will confine myself to one item of the full armour  of God, “The helmet’ of salvation”.  From the biblical references we gather that ‘the helmet ‘ is our salvation from  sin and Satan  and eternal life  through  our  Lord Jesus Christ. He died on the cross as an atonement for all our sins.  He rose again on the third day to share with us His victorious new life in the power of the mighty Spirit of God.  We are saved for now and eternity  as we trust in Him as our  Saviour. 

THE HOPE OF SALVATION AS HELMET

To the Thessalonian  believers Paul wrote  ”Since we belong to the day, let us be sober, put on……….the hope of salvation as a helmet” (1 Thes 5:8). The soldier having put on all the various items of the armory which protect his body, finally  takes his helmet and puts it on his head to protect it from the attack of the enemy. If the head is not spared  the whole body succumbs. In that sense the helmet is more important than all the other equipments. You would have seen in ‘war pictures’   soldiers on the battle field. Whenever the battle is drawn, the soldiers scrabble to grab their helmets and put on their heads and run. No one goes to battle without his helmet!   

Believers, the helmet is more than the hope of your ultimate victory and eternal salvation.  It is  also your hope of  victory in your present  struggle  with sin.  Therefore there is no question or doubt  of the outcome of your present  battle  with sin or Satan. It  assures  you of  victory.  On the cross our Saviour shouted out “It is finished!”  The battle is over!  The outcome is forever settled in heaven now as it is forever!

As a soldier  in the battle you  must make sure that you truly possess  your soul’s salvation’ by believing in Jesus Christ as your personal Saviour.    That  becomes your helmet.    It declares most of all to yourself  ‘That  I am saved!  I am in the Lord’s army.  Victory is mine  through Christ my  captain’.  

You must wear  your   helmet  at all times  as it is also  your ‘hope of salvation’  in your present  struggle against Satan and sin.  Your struggle is on-going and life-long!  All of us who struggle and sweat today with our besetting sin and folly must  constantly put on our helmet  which is our  hope that we will win victory over them however  tough and long  the fight may be!   Christ our Lord has won the victory and He leads us to victory in every war that  Satan wages against us.  It must be our abiding hope!   Hope does not disappoint us for our God is the God of hope. 

You may lose a war here and there. But it does not determine the outcome of  the battle or your eternal destiny in Christ. So don’t lose heart and give up your hope of salvation because you happened to sin and fall!   Your hope  is  your helmet. Put it on!  Don’t  lose  your hope – hope of victory through Christ! Fight the good fight  and finish the race.   The LORD  upholds all who fall  and lifts up all who are bowed down”  (Psa 145:14).  “ The LORD makes firm the steps  of the one who delights in him;  though he may stumble, he will not fall, for the   LORD upholds him with his hand. (Psa 37:23). 

Carry on “2 fixing your eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and finisher or perfecter  of your faith.” (Heb 12:2).   “Your  hope of eternal life,  God, who does not lie,  promised before the beginning of time” (Tit 1:2). May “The God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit” (Rom 15:13). 

KEEP PRAYING IN THE SPIRIT FOR VICTORY

Every piece of the armour  is important and indispensable.  But  they all will not be effective to protect you and gain you victory over your arch enemy, Satan,  unless you bathe every thing by  prayer in the Spirit and proceed on your knees!  

You  may not win every war because  you  have  put on the whole armour  of God.  You must also keep praying in the Spirit for victory.  We forget to “watch and pray that we may not enter into temptation”, as Jesus  commanded us.  Whether busy, tired or sleepy we need to pray on for our victory and that of our brethren.  Remember, it is at such times the temptor comes!  Didn’t your Lord teach you to pray, “Our Father in heaven …lead me not into temptation but deliver me from sin”.  

When you struggle against   your besetting sins do not be discouraged  because  you have failed time and again before!  Put on your   helmet.   It is  your hope and assurance of salvation in each new  battle.  God who called you and promised you victory is faithful!