We are discussing how we as Christians can stand firm during tough times, especially in the times we are living in today. We have to put on the full armor of God as described in Ephesians 6:14-17:
1 – The Belt of Truth
2 – Body Armor of God’s Righteousness
3 – Shoes for the Good News
4 – The Shield of Faith
5 – The Helmet of Salvation
6 – The Sword of the Spirit
Last month we discussed Shield of Faith. This month we will discuss putting on the Helmet of Salvation.
When ancient soldiers put on their armor, the last piece they put on was their helmet. Roman soldiers’ helmets were called a “galea”, which was made of bronze and came with a face mask with decorations. The primary purpose of the helmet was to protect the soldiers head, or his brain from being damaged.
Like the ancient soldiers of old who donned their helmets of bronze for the protection of their heads during physical battles in the natural, so must we as Christians put on the helmet of Salvation, one of our spiritual weapons that is designed to protect our minds. But what exactly does this mean?
As much as we do not like to admit it, we do live in a world that can at times go diametrically opposite of the standards that are written by God in His Word. The Bible says this:
Romans 8:7 – NIV – The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so.
The mind that is controlled by the flesh or carnality cannot nor will not be subject to the Lord. In fact, Scripture says it can be flat out “hostile” toward God. That’s why a person must come to the saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and have a “born-again” experience (John 3:5-7). When someone sincerely repents of their way and give their lives to Christ, God then begins to change them from the inside out by His Word and His Holy Spirit. Yet, even after having a genuine born-again experience, we are instructed to renew our minds. Romans puts it like this:
Romans 12:2 – NIV – Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.
We renew our minds with God’s Word so that our worldview can align with how God sees the world. And He does not think the same way as some humans think.
Isaiah 55:8-9 – NLT – “My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the Lord. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine.9 For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways, and my thoughts higher than your thoughts.
God’s ways and His thinking are much different than ours. Think of how different His thinking is compared to ours. He says in order to get, you must give (Luke 6:38), that you must love your enemies (not curse them) and pray for those who persecute you (Matthew 5:43-48) and that the way to be exalted is to humble yourself (James 4:10; 1 Peter 5:6). Nothing at all like the way most of us would think. Therefore, we must put on the helmet of Salvation so that we can see and react to the world around us like Jesus would. The helmet also protects us from “blows” that the enemy of our souls, the devil, may throw at our minds because, one of the greatest battlefields is the battlefield of the mind. How we think greatly influences how we react to situations and how we conduct ourselves. And we want to conduct ourselves in the same manner as our Lord conducted himself in certain situations. So, let us not neglect to put on this valuable piece of armor daily to protect our minds, lest we fall into the same temptation that Eve fell into in the Garden as the Apostle Paul stated in 2 Corinthians:
2 Corinthians 11:3 – NKJV – But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.
Next, we’ll cover the last piece of our spiritual armor, the Sword of the Spirit.
God Bless!
