Monday, November 19, 2007
STANDING VICTORIOUSLY WITH OUR BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
Throughout our study on living victorious lives and lives of impact, we have come to the truth that in order to stand victoriously as a believer we need to suit up in the armor of God daily (Ephesians 6). We have already studied the first piece of our armor, the belt of truth. We concluded that if we build our lives on the truth of God’s Word, making it the foundation for our lives, we will find ourselves in a place emotionally, physically, and spiritually where we are able to stand victoriously no matter how fierce the battle!
Last week we looked inwardly, examining the foundations (our thought process, our belief system, and our emotions) on which we have built our lives upon. We learned that it is of utmost importance to ensure that we do not erroneously build our lives on ‘suggestions’ the enemy sends into our minds or on the verbal comments and possibly even non-verbal actions of people who have come into our lives. Rather, we need to take every thought captive and line it up with the truth of God’s Word (II Corinthians 10:5). We need to toss out any thoughts that do not line up with how our heavenly Father views us, or how He views the situations of our lives. By doing this, we will be sure to build our thought life on God’s truth, a truth which will provide a most firm foundation for a life of victory.
We concluded last week’s study with the challenge to allow God the opportunity to show us areas in our thought life in which we may have built upon ‘lies.’ This is important as these areas result in behavior and ultimately character traits that we take with us throughout our life. I pray that over the last two weeks you were able to take the time to be still before the Lord as David did in Psalms 139, asking the Lord to search you, to know you, and to show you if there is any offensive way in you so that He can lead you in the way everlasting.
I pray you asked Him to show you the ‘why behind your what.” We all have a ‘what.’ We all react certain ways to certain situations and people. We are all prone to have negative or critical thoughts. We are also often guilty of struggling to let go of the controls of our lives at times. I pray that the Lord began to show the ‘why’ behind these actions so that you can step out of the bondage that negative thoughts and actions cause and step into God’s amazing freedom of peace, joy, purpose, provision, healing, and love.
If you are like me, you may have many ‘what’s,’ but be certain that God will not overwhelm you by showing you everything at once. God is a God of love and a God of order. He never puts more on you than you can handle. If you began to think about your ‘what’s’ and you were overwhelmed please know that the enemy may be at work. The enemy comes at you with guilt and condemnation pointing out every weak area of your life. God, on the other hand, points out little by little, areas of your life where He is ready to lead you by the hand out of bondage and into freedom. Once this area is healed, He will gently lead you by the hand to another area where healing needs to take place. With each area of healing, you will be transformed from glory to glory, becoming more like Him in your thoughts, actions, and reactions.
BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
“Therefore put on God’s complete armor, that you may be able to resist and stand your ground on the evil day, and, having done all to stand, stand therefore, having tightened the belt of truth around your loins and having put on the breastplate of integrity and of oral rectitude and right standing with God….” Ephesians 6:13-14 Amplified Version
I have been ready to write about the next piece of armor, the breastplate of righteousness for some time; however, I believe the Lord wanted us to stop and spend last session looking a bit deeper into the area of truth. God is ready to set us completely free so that we can live the abundant life He died to give us and so that we can lead others to His amazing grace. I believe that before we could move on into this study on the breastplate of righteousness, we needed to stop and look within. We needed to evaluate our lives and see if we had this belt of truth fastened tightly so that we can then hook all of the other pieces of the armor to it.
Description
As we did in our study on the belt of truth, I would first like to take a moment to describe the breastplate so we can get a visual picture of what Paul was describing. The breastplate was the heaviest and the largest piece of armor that the Roman Soldier would put on. It was often constructed of two pieces of metal and could weigh up to 75 pounds. One piece of metal began at the soldier’s neck and continued below his waist. A second piece of metal ran down his back. The two pieces attached at the top of the shoulders and at the belt. This piece was large enough to not only cover the front and back of the soldier, but his sides as well.
Although many of the breastplates could be quite ornate, they were more than a fashion piece. The soldier needed the breastplate for full protection of his vital organs. With the breastplate securely in place, the soldier would have confidence to march boldly into battle knowing that he was fully protected. According to Rick Renner in his book Dressed to Kill, this large beautiful piece was the first thing the enemy would see as the soldier marched into battle as the sun would often reflect off of the breastplate and create a blinding effect for the enemy.
Application
I don’t know about you, but the word ‘righteousness’ has often thrown me for a loop. I would hear this term in verses referring to God’s character, and I could understand that the God of this universe, a perfect holy God, should be called righteous. The word has with it the connotation of being upright and Holy. The trouble came when I tried to reconcile these verses describing the character of my Lord with verses like Ephesians 6:14 which instruct me to put on my ‘breastplate of righteousness.’
Confusion resulted when I looked up the word righteous(ness) in the Bible dictionary. I found the definition “acting in a morally correct manner.” Did this mean that I was to act morally correct to put on my ‘breastplate of righteousness?’ Could acting in a godly manner possibly enable me to stand against the enemy’s attacks?
To think that we have to be ‘perfect’ or ‘good’ in order to withstand the enemy’s attack is a tall order! As humans with an inherent tendency to follow after our flesh, this would make winning the battles we encounter quite difficult. We know that Paul, a man who wrote a majority of the New Testament, struggled with his fleshy desires. He admitted to succumbing to his flesh nature resulting in behavior that was completely opposite of what the Spirit of God was telling him to do. Likewise, David, a man after God’s own heart, cried out to the Lord for mercy, claiming that being righteous was such a difficult thing to do. He concluded that ‘no one living is righteous’ before God (Psalms 143:2). Ecclesiastes 7:20 makes the same observation, “there is no one righteous, not even one.”
Even if we were able to act morally good 100% of the time, Isaiah 64:4 says that our most righteous act would be as a filthy rag before the Lord my God. This verse right here tells me that my most righteous deed would still not allow me to be in the presence of my Holy God. Common sense tells me that I need the Lord’s presence and power in my life to be able to stand victoriously!
Furthermore, to view the ‘breastplate of righteousness’ as a command to act morally would put the task of winning the battle on our shoulders. Ephesians 6:10 says that we are not commanded to be strong in our might and abilities, rather we are to “be strong in the Lord” and put on His armor, not our armor, so that we can stand up against all the strategies and the deceits of the devil (Eph. 6:11). Therefore, in light of the above, we can conclude that putting on our ‘breastplate of righteousness’ and having them in ‘place’ has nothing to do with our good works. So what could it be?
A further study into the word righteous(ness) surfaces another definition “correct by divine declaration.” This definition catches my eye and as I read it a burden is quickly lifted. Basically this definition is taking the responsibility off of our shoulders and placing it on God’s shoulders. What a relief! According to this definition, righteousness can be obtained simply because God makes a divine declaration that we are right in His eyes. It really has nothing to do with what we ‘do’ although this DOESN’T give us a license to go out and act however we want. Obedience to our Lord and Savior is how we show our love for Him. Obedience to His Word brings victory into our lives and enables us to live an abundant life. Obedience to His Word also brings credit to the message of His love and hope so that others are led to His amazing grace (Philippians 4:27). We also know that lining up our lives with God’s truth is the only way we can ever hope to stand in victory as a believer.
This definition is supported by many verses. II Corinthians 5:21 says, “God made Him who had no sin (Jesus) to be sin for us, so that in Him (Jesus) we might become the righteousness of God.” We do not have a righteousness of our own resulting from keeping the law. Rather, our righteousness comes from God and is by faith in Christ Jesus (Philippians 3:8). Paul sums it all up in Philippians 3:9 when he says “I don’t want some petty, inferior brand of righteousness that comes from keeping a list of rules when I could get the robust kind that comes from trusting Christ-God’s righteousness!”
As we look back to Hebrews 11, we find many biblical heroes listed and they are often referred to as righteous. Was it because they were perfect? No, rather it says that Noah, by trusting in God, by having faith in what God had said concerning the upcoming flood, became an heir and a possessor of righteousness (Hebrews 11:7). We also know that because Abraham believed the Lord, God credited it to Abraham as righteousness (Genesis 15:6). Again, it was Abraham’s belief in God, not his actions, which made him right with God.
Romans 3:22 says, “But now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus.” We do not have a righteousness of our own; it is only through our faith in God (Philippians 3:9, Romans 9:30). We cannot pursue righteousness by our good works. If we could obtain righteousness by keeping God’s laws, then ‘Christ died for nothing!’ (Gal 2:21)
Isn’t this good news? God, because of His great mercy and to demonstrate his immeasurable grace to us, imputes Jesus’ righteousness to us. God knows that we all fall short of His glory, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the penalty for our sin and to nail them on the cross of Calvary. Ephesians 2:4-7 gives us a beautiful picture of how God imputed His righteousness to us. It says that God, being so rich in His mercy and to satisfy the intense love He has for us, made us alive together in fellowship and in union with Christ, even when we were dead in our sins. He gave us the very life of Christ Himself and raised us up together with Him and made us sit down together at the right hand of the Father, giving us joint seating with Him (Jesus) in the heavenly sphere by virtue of our being in Christ Jesus.
Our sin had put us in a position of being in debt prior to Jesus’ going to the cross. According to Romans the payment for this debt is death. Christ took this penalty of death for us by taking on the sin of the world on the cross of Calvary. He then descended down to hell and I imagine He looked Satan right straight in the eyes and said, “This one is paid for!” He then ascended to heaven, sat down at the right hand of the Father, knowing that His work on earth was done. He had completed the work that His Father had sent Him to do.
What was this work? He came to be our ransom, to provide our freedom, and to take away the curse of poverty, sickness and death. He came to provide eternal life and an abundant life for us, and to lead us into victory! The cool thing is that not only did He ascend to heaven, but Ephesians 2:4-7 says that he raised us up together with Him as well, making us to sit down together at the right hand of the Father. This is another whole study but for now just know that in the spiritual realm, you, as a believer, are sitting next to the Father at His right hand. What is so significant about the right hand? It signifies a position of power and authority, as we have become joint heirs with Christ.
At our point of confessing Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we were made alive even though we were dead in our sin. At the moment of our faith in Him, God imputed the very life of Christ to us and declared us righteous. From that point on, when God the Father looks at His children (believers), He no longer sees sinful man. Rather, He sees the righteousness of Christ Jesus.
We have to realize that we are not just a forgiven sinner, a sinner saved by grace. We are standing as righteous in God’s sight as Jesus Christ. As we have already learned from this study and from our personal experience, this righteousness is nothing we have earned nor is it something we can obtain on our own. This righteousness is a result of what He has done. God made a divine declaration!
So many believers never mature spiritually to grasp this important truth…God looks at you, His child, not with disgust, not with disappointment, but in love. He looks at you and sees someone who is in right standing with Him. He sees a Saint! It’s hard to call yourself or someone a saint, isn’t it? But that is how our God sees us.
Understanding the truth of how God sees us is vital to our being able to stand victoriously. We have to stand confidently in the fact that we are God’s children and that His love for us is immeasurable. We have to realize that He doesn’t expect perfection from us, for had we been able to obtain perfection we would not have needed Jesus! We have to realize that He has a most beautiful robe of righteousness for us to wear, a robe that will provide protection from the enemy and will ensure our victory. Is 61:10 says, “I delight greatly in the Lord; my soul rejoices in my God. For He has clothed me with garments of salvation and arrayed me in a robe of righteousness…”
Yes, this amazing robe of righteousness is available to us, but we have to put it on daily!
Satan is going to come in and try to shake your confidence. Satan will appear before God as the accuser of the brethren and attempt to taint our character before God. However, God will reply something like, “You’re wrong Satan. This is my child, and he is righteous before me. Just look at him!”
Satan will attack you mentally, pointing his accusing finger suggesting that you are no good, that you have failed once again, and that God is so disappointed in you. He comes to condemn and to bring guilt. This is when you point to your robe of righteousness, your breastplate, and you say, “Satan, I am the righteousness of Christ Jesus. I am right in God’s sight because of the blood of Jesus. I am seated at the right hand of my Father and He has given me authority and power over you!”
By knowing this truth, we will avoid being confused about our position in Christ and we will be able to march into life each day confidently clothed in the righteousness of Christ Jesus, ready to face whatever may come our way. Remember how the breastplate reflected the light of the sun as the soldier marched into battle? Well, as a believer who knows who he or she is in Christ, our breastplate of righteousness shines brightly and reflects the light of the SON to all we come into contact with, especially Satan. It creates a blinding effect on the enemy and his attempts to attack us are unsuccessful. When Satan sees a believer clothed in their breastplate of righteousness, he no longer sees a weak, frail, and powerless person. Rather he sees the power of Christ Jesus. Satan knows he is no match. By our standing confidently in who we are in Christ, we are resisting the devil and he will flee!
CONCLUSION
One of my favorite children’s books is a story about Adam Raccoon. It is a story about a raccoon that is being taken on a journey by the king of the forest, a gentle lion named King Aren. Upon straying from King Aren’s presence, Adam finds himself lost in the woods surrounded by a pack of hungry lions. Adam shakes in fear knowing that he is no match for this pack of wolves. As the wolves were about to pounce, they suddenly retreated and ran. When Adam opened his eyes, he was shocked to see these ferocious beasts running away. Adam wondered what could have possibly happened to make these beasts run for cover. Upon turning around, Adam saw the reason for their retreat. There behind him stood King Aren, robed in the most beautiful King’s clothing. It was the presence of the king that had sent the enemy running.
I love this story because it reminds me of how in the midst of our battles; it isn’t our might and our power that delivers us. Rather, it is the presence of God Almighty and the righteousness of His Son that will send the enemy running. It is our being dressed up in the righteousness of Christ Jesus that will cause the enemy to cower in our presence. It is our standing confidently in Christ that will enable us to live lives of victory, which will impact the world around us!
