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The Breastplate of Righteousness
The Armor of God, part 3, The Breastplate of Righteousness
Sometimes we forget that the conflicts we face in life are primarily spiritual. People are not our real enemies, neither are the hardships of life. The real people and events that trouble us can actually be for our benefit — if we win the true inner battle!
God has freely given us His love and grace in order that we can fully live today and also live eternally with Him. At the same time He allows our faith and love to be tested and refined in the same way heat refines and purifies gold and silver. During these times of testing and attacks from the enemy we are learning how to put on the armor that He has provided in order for us to stand in His love and grace, resisting the temptation to become bitter, resentful, and hard of heart.
In the soldier’s armor, the breastplate protects the vital organs, and most importantly the heart. While the brain is responsible for direction, it cannot survive without the heart which sends nourishment to every part of the entire body. Getting back to the spiritual analogy, we understand that in the Bible God has much to say about our hearts and minds in reference to our feelings, motives, thoughts and actions.
In fact, the heart has long been the word we use to describe the deepest part of who we are. Our hearts can determine our path in ways that our minds cannot. One can be very well educated and intelligent and use their abilities to hurt and destroy others. On the other hand, a person with a pure heart at any age and level of intelligence can be a great source of blessing and encouragement!
Soloman advised his son in the Proverbs to 4:23 to “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. ” NASU
So today we are looking at the means of protecting our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. From the Scriptures we learn that people have often worked hard to obey God’s laws, but with impure motives. They even denied themselves food and other pleasures, giving away large sums of money to the temple, while inwardly they were without compassion and humility. Their greater desire was to appear holier than others. Instead they failed to truly honor God as He desired.
(Isaiah 58:1-6, Luke 21:1-4, Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 11:39-44)
Once Jesus confronted this attitude with the message God gave through the prophet Isaiah:
And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. “
(Mark 7:6 NASU)
(Isaiah 29:13, Mark 7:6-8, Matthew 15:7-9)
When Jesus the Jewish Messiah appeared on the scene, He revealed a better way. Not only His teaching, but also His actions proved what the prophets, the Proverb and Psalm writers had said all along: we are not to trust in ourselves, but in God. The key to life and righteousness was to humble ourselves under God’s love and grace, believe in His righteousness and willingness to save us from ourselves.
The apostle Paul later explained in detail how Jesus died on the Cross for the sins of the whole world, and rose from the dead for our justification. Our part is to respond to what He has done for us.
Rom 10:8-11:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
NASB
If anyone who happens to be reading this desires a powerful and rewarding relationship with God in Christ, please consider these words. Think about your situation, the Spirit of God can take this moment of reflection and give you insight into this wonderful truth. You can be given the faith to believe in Him and the ab[...]
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By Dan BeatyThe Armor of God, part 3, The Breastplate of Righteousness
Sometimes we forget that the conflicts we face in life are primarily spiritual. People are not our real enemies, neither are the hardships of life. The real people and events that trouble us can actually be for our benefit — if we win the true inner battle!
God has freely given us His love and grace in order that we can fully live today and also live eternally with Him. At the same time He allows our faith and love to be tested and refined in the same way heat refines and purifies gold and silver. During these times of testing and attacks from the enemy we are learning how to put on the armor that He has provided in order for us to stand in His love and grace, resisting the temptation to become bitter, resentful, and hard of heart.
In the soldier’s armor, the breastplate protects the vital organs, and most importantly the heart. While the brain is responsible for direction, it cannot survive without the heart which sends nourishment to every part of the entire body. Getting back to the spiritual analogy, we understand that in the Bible God has much to say about our hearts and minds in reference to our feelings, motives, thoughts and actions.
In fact, the heart has long been the word we use to describe the deepest part of who we are. Our hearts can determine our path in ways that our minds cannot. One can be very well educated and intelligent and use their abilities to hurt and destroy others. On the other hand, a person with a pure heart at any age and level of intelligence can be a great source of blessing and encouragement!
Soloman advised his son in the Proverbs to 4:23 to “Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life. ” NASU
So today we are looking at the means of protecting our hearts with the breastplate of righteousness. From the Scriptures we learn that people have often worked hard to obey God’s laws, but with impure motives. They even denied themselves food and other pleasures, giving away large sums of money to the temple, while inwardly they were without compassion and humility. Their greater desire was to appear holier than others. Instead they failed to truly honor God as He desired.
(Isaiah 58:1-6, Luke 21:1-4, Matthew 23:25-28, Luke 11:39-44)
Once Jesus confronted this attitude with the message God gave through the prophet Isaiah:
And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written:
‘THIS PEOPLE HONORS ME WITH THEIR LIPS,
BUT THEIR HEART IS FAR AWAY FROM ME. “
(Mark 7:6 NASU)
(Isaiah 29:13, Mark 7:6-8, Matthew 15:7-9)
When Jesus the Jewish Messiah appeared on the scene, He revealed a better way. Not only His teaching, but also His actions proved what the prophets, the Proverb and Psalm writers had said all along: we are not to trust in ourselves, but in God. The key to life and righteousness was to humble ourselves under God’s love and grace, believe in His righteousness and willingness to save us from ourselves.
The apostle Paul later explained in detail how Jesus died on the Cross for the sins of the whole world, and rose from the dead for our justification. Our part is to respond to what He has done for us.
Rom 10:8-11:
But what does it say? “The word is near you, in your mouth and in your heart” — that is, the word of faith which we are preaching, that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you shall be saved; 10 for with the heart man believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.
NASB
If anyone who happens to be reading this desires a powerful and rewarding relationship with God in Christ, please consider these words. Think about your situation, the Spirit of God can take this moment of reflection and give you insight into this wonderful truth. You can be given the faith to believe in Him and the ab[...]