Ephesians 6:14-17
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...
In our study of Paul's call for us to clothe ourselves in the armor of God we have now had the opportunity to look at the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the feet fitted with readiness from the gospel of peace, and the sheild of faith. Today, let us take a look at the next component of the Christian's spiritual clothing, the helmet of salvation.
Looking at Paul's physical reference point, the Roman soldier, we can examine the equipment of Paul's day. The Roman helmet was not simply a hat that protected the top and back of the skull. The "Galea" was a helmet that on top of protecting the top and back of the head also protected the cheek, ear and even neck region.
Movies always portray the legions of Rome marching with large, red plumes atop their helmets. It is believed that these plumes were only wore during parades, not during battle. There is also some evidence that legionaires wore their plume turned in one direction while centurions mounted there plume in the opposite direction.
In order to understand this verse we need to take a close look at how God defines the term salvation throughout the Bible. The following verses give us a glimpse at how salvation is mentioned throughout the new and old testaments:
2 Samuel 22: 2-4
2 He said: "The LORD is my rock, my fortress and my deliverer;
3 my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge, my shield and the horn of my salvation. He is my stronghold, my refuge and my savior— from violent men you save me.
4 I call to the LORD, who is worthy of praise,and I am saved from my enemies.
Psalm 27
Of David.
1 The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?
Acts 4:11-13
11 He is
" 'the stone you builders rejected,
which has become the capstone. 12 Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."
2 Corinthians 7:10
Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death.
Hebrews 5:8-10
8Although he was a son, he learned obedience from what he suffered 9and, once made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him 10and was designated by God to be high priest in the order of Melchizedek.
We can determine from these verses and others that God means salvation to mean our protevtion granted through his intervention. In the Old Testament thsi often was a physical salvation of Isreal from the hands of armies and nations that appeared much greater. In the New Testament it is a term more often refered to when dealing with the salvation of our souls from the fate we deserve. INstead of letting us individually pay the price for our transgressions, Jesus has saved us by taking it all upon himself.
If we believe in Jesus Christ as the only true son of God, that he died, was buried and after three days rose again alive; if we believe that what he taught was true and that we must follow his teaching; if we proclaim that Jesus Christ is Lord and ask him to forgive us our trepasses and to come into our lives making us a changed person ;if we have accepted Jesus Christ as a the Lord of our lives then we put on the helmet of salvation. Why is this helmet so important? It is the key to all we believe as Christians.
In order to call yourself a Christian you must first humble yourself as a sinner. You must admit that you cannot be perfect on your own, you must ask God to forgive you and to cover your sins with the blood of Jesus. It is only through Salvation that we have a bridge to God. Without the cleansing, saving blood of Christ we would be apart from for eternity. There would be no help, we would be on our own, an army of one against a world and foe bent on destroying us. I don't know about you but I am thankful everyday for my helmet. If you have not yet obtained this peace, this saving grace, this salvation I encourage you today to bow your head and pray to God:
Father God, I know that I am a sinner. I know that on my own I am unworthy to come into your presence. I believe in your son Jesus Christ though Father. I believe that he was fully man and at the same time fully God. I believe that when he died on the cross for the sins of many, I was one of those he died for. Lord Jesus come into my heart and live forever more. Guide me and walk with me, forgive me for all the things I have ever done and wash me clean as I know only you can. Thank you Jesus for taking my place on the cross. I love you with all of my heart, all of my mind, all of my strength and all of my soul. Thank you for being my Savior. Amen
If you have worn the helmet of salvation for some time now I encourage you to take that same prayer and adjust it to renew your commitment to Christ. We are saved not by our own works or will but by the sacrifice of the only perfect human ever to walk the face of the earth. Our God is good all the time! All the time our God is good! Amen
Works cited:
www.wikipedia.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galea_(helmet)
No comments:
Post a Comment