Do you only have the helmet of salvation on?

Is this you I ask?  Are you in this battle with no armor?  Do you only have your helmet on?

May sound like an odd question, right?!  Let me explain.  The battle I refer to is this, it says in Ephesians 6:12:

“For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.”

It also says in 1 Peter 2:11:

 ^“Dear friends, I warn you as “temporary residents and foreigners” to keep away from worldly desires that wage war against your very souls.”

You see the earth is a battle field; we fight against the prince of the air, the ruler of this earth so hence we have to be fully armored up

So what I am about to say stands true in all generations and even more so in today’s times.  So, when one accepts Christ into their lives as Savior, for the most part they have at that time realized their need for Jesus and decided to make the decision to receive Him and His forgiveness.  And what happens for the most part, is this new Christian will only ever put on their helmet of salvation, this is what I call the Christian Streaking.  They have their helmet on, but have nothing else on, no sword, no boots, no belt, no shield, no other spiritual clothing and who do you think knows this and has demons just waiting?  Yes Satan himself, the Bible says in 1 Peter 5:8:

Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour.

You see the Bible is clear what happens to the ill equipped Christian, listen to what the Lord says in Matthew 7:21-21:

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. ²² Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ ²³ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’

Think for a minute with me, if the Lord says there will be many that truly believe they are saved, but in fact are not, then how does this come about?  Well, it’s my belief that they have only ever put on the helmet of salvation and feel that’s all they will be needing.  They said a prayer and they are sealed in as so many on this planet believe, but Jesus will say depart from me for I never knew you.

So, how do we get to know Him?  Well by putting on the full armor of God that He so freely has made available to us.

It’s more than just saying a prayer and confessing with your mouth that Jesus is Lord.  The Bible says that there are those who will lead us astray and to be careful.  We read in Hebrews 13:9:

Don’t be led astray by various kinds of strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be established by grace and not by foods, since those involved in them have not benefited.

We also read in 2 Timothy 3:1-17:

But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. ² People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, ³ without love, unforgiving, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not lovers of the good, ⁴ treacherous, rash, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God— ⁵ having a form of godliness but denying its power. Have nothing to do with such people.

⁶ They are the kind who worm their way into homes and gain control over gullible women, who are loaded down with sins and are swayed by all kinds of evil desires, ⁷ always learning but never able to come to a knowledge of the truth. ⁸ Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so also these teachers oppose the truth. They are men of depraved minds, who, as far as the faith is concerned, are rejected. ⁹ But they will not get very far because, as in the case of those men, their folly will be clear to everyone.

A Final Charge to Timothy

¹⁰ You, however, know all about my teaching, my way of life, my purpose, faith, patience, love, endurance, ¹¹ persecutions, sufferings—what kinds of things happened to me in Antioch, Iconium and Lystra, the persecutions I endured. Yet the Lord rescued me from all of them. ¹² In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, ¹³ while evildoers and impostors will go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. ¹⁴ But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have become convinced of, because you know those from whom you learned it, ¹⁵ and how from infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. ¹⁶ All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, ¹⁷ so that the servant of Godmay be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

So we must be careful who we follow, especially those in the Church.  You always must test the spirit.  After you have accepted Jesus into your heart you should have been told that you will be needing the remaining pieces of armor if you are to defeat Satan and his tomfoolery.  His whole mission is to keep you from the Word of God and to keep you away from learning the truth.  So, if he can keep you an armorless warrior then he will have you.

Let us talk about the other pieces of armor, the one you will need in this spiritual battle.  You see, the Bible says in Ephesians 6:1-20

The Whole Armor of God

¹⁰ A final word: Be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on all of God’s armor so that you will be able to stand firm against all strategies of the devil. ¹² For weare not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

You see we do not fight against flesh and blood but against spiritual powers so that is why we must equip ourselves with the full armor of God. Let us finish reading this scripture and we will go over all the armor and its purpose

¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth

To put on the belt of truth means that we are putting our faith in God’s truth and what he says is best. It’s means that our faith and our lives are founded in the Bible. To wear the belt of truth is to not buy into the lies of culture, Satan, or what we think is best. 

Without the belt of truth the rest of the armor will fall apart. It’s pivotal for Christians faith and life to be founded in scripture. 

and the breastplate of God’s righteousness.

The breastplate of righteousness protects us from unseen attacks and accusations from Satan.  This protection is not something that we do to earn. The breastplate of righteousness is not made up of the good deeds we do. None of us are righteous in ourselves (Romans 3:10). 

The breastplate of righteousness is what Jesus gives us freely when we follow him. In other words this piece of spiritual armor is not something we do to cover ourselves. It’s what Jesus has done for us. 

The breastplate of righteousness is what Jesus has done for us that we could never do for ourselves.  

 ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

When it comes to our spiritual armor we put on peace like a soldier puts on shoes. Paul is telling his readers to stand firm with peace. One of the most effective weapons that the enemy wields is that of worry. 

Worry is based on the illusion that we are in control. But we aren’t. God is. We can find peace when we recognize God’s sovereignty over the things we cannot control. 

That is what Paul is telling us to do in Ephesians 6:15. Put on the shoes of the Gospel of peace so that we can be anchored in God and find peace. Without this piece of the full armor of God we will not be able to stand firm. 

¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil.

In a similar way, a Christian will face fiery arrows from the evil one and we are in need of a shield of faith. The Roman soldier would dip their shields in water, Christians dip their’s in the living water. Our shield is our faith and it regularly needs to be replenished to be fully functional. 

Jesus modeled this for us perfectly in this life. He regularly snuck away to spend time with his father. His shield of faith helped him defend against the fiery darts Satan hurled at him. 

Putting on the whole armor of God isn’t something we do once and we are done. It’s something that requires regular maintenance. Get alone with God so that you can dip your shield of faith in living water.

¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet,

When it comes to our spiritual armor the helmet of salvation is also the most crucial piece for the Christian. 

The helmet of salvation is the work that Christ through the cross and resurrection that redeems us. It is because of salvation that we are able to fight. But this piece of spiritual armor isn’t just about our salvation, it also involves the protecting of our minds and thoughts. 

The full armor of God is founded in the resting in the redeeming work of Christ. That’s the good news that Jesus came to deliver. Wearing the helmet of salvation means that we are placing our hope and trust in what God has done for us.

 and take the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

To put on the full armor of God is similar. Much of our armor is defensive. But we aren’t called to just sit back and take the blows that come our way, we are called to go on the offensive. To do that we need the sword of the spirit. 

What is our sword of the spirit? It’s the word of God. Look at Jesus, he masterfully wielded this piece of spiritual armor. He was constantly “attacking” the enemy with scripture. 

For a Christian to be successful in battle we too must wield the sword of the spirit. That means that we need to actually read the Bible so that we can arm ourselves. No soldier would enter a battle without a sword and no Christian should try to go through life without God’s word. 

¹⁸ Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

After we’ve put on the whole armor of God prayer should naturally follow. It is in his strength that the full armor of God is built on. Without God our armor is useless and we will be powerless in the fight. 

Prayer is not just asking God for the things we need, although that is part of it. Prayer is about connecting with God, more than it is about getting from God. When we put on the whole armor of God we are placing our reliance in him and what he’s done for us. Prayer reminds us of that. 

¹⁹ And pray for me, too. Ask God to give me the right words so I can boldly explain God’s mysterious plan that the Good News is for Jews and Gentiles alike. ²⁰ I am in chains now, still preaching this message as God’s ambassador. So pray that I will keep on speaking boldly for him, as I should.

You should agree with me on this, that a warrior out on the battlefield in a major war with only his helmet on, really is not sufficient armor at all and actually would never do that unless they were looking to die.  So, in the same sense we as Christians should have all our armor on, so we too can stand in this battle we are in.  Don’t be the statistic that the Lord is speaking of in Matthew 7:21-21, because there will be those who chose this route in their ignorance but Jesus is coming to you today and asking you to follow Him and put on the full armor of God so you can stand with Him against the devil

There will be those in the crowd that are all just helmet only wearing Christians, so you can do one of 2 things, follow them and be ill-equipped or take a stand, be obedient to the Word of God and get yourself fully equipped, so you too will be ready for the battle that’s at hand.  The Bible says in John 3:36

“And anyone who believes in God’s Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn’t obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God’s angry judgment.”

Don’t be this, stay armored up and fight the good fight, in Jesus name and all God’s people said….Amen