Hard Hat Area – Part 4
And take the helmet of salvation [Ephesians 6:17].
Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for man’s sins. Jesus then rose out of death three days later in a new spiritual body apart from sin. The Word of God proclaims this truth to man and offers him Jesus’ payment for his sins and a new resurrection life, if man will but believe the Word of God, acknowledge his sins to God, and ask God to grant this salvation to him.
This is what it means to be saved, at least in part. The other part is that Jesus not only paid the penalty for my sins. He also rose out of death for my sins in order to live a new, resurrection life. This too is what I receive by grace through faith. I am not only saved from death as the penalty for my sins. I am also given a new, resurrection life, in which I can live free from sin and serve the Lord righteously.
But not every person is saved. This is not any fault of God’s, mind you. He did His part, and He freely offers it to each and every person (i.e., grace). The fault lies with the individual person. To receive this free gift from God, each person has to hold out his hand and ask God for it. Anyone who is not saved has failed to do so.
To receive God’s salvation we must believe the Gospel (i.e., faith). The Gospel teaches man that he is a sinner and separated from God by his sins. He is dead in his trespasses and sins, you see. The Gospel then notes how Jesus paid the penalty for his sins and freely offers it to him.
In Biblical faith the man believes this, thus acknowledging that he is indeed a sinner and dead in his sins. He asks the Lord to forgive him for his sins and grant him the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. In doing this the man dies on the cross “in Christ”, and he then rises out of death “in Christ” as a new resurrected person.
All of this bears relevance to “the helmet of salvation”. The helmet covers the head, wherein is the brain. The brain makes sense of what we see and hear and directs the hands and feet as to what to do. When Satan accuses the Christian of being a phony, of still being the same old sinner and not a new creation at all, the Christian must needs be “transformed by the renewing of the mind” to withstand the assaults of the evil one.
Only by means of daily feeding on the Word of God can the Christian’s faith grow into maturity and remain strong and vibrant. By keeping his focus on his salvation, the Christian doesn’t depend on his own righteousness. He depends on “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”.
No matter how much truthful negativity Satan may spew at him, the Christian thoughtfully considers Who Christ Jesus is, what He did for the Christian, and why Satan’s accusations won’t hold water at the bar of God. This is another way of saying that the Christian is wearing “the helmet of salvation”. His thinking, his understanding, is based on the Word of God as it pertains to the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ his Lord, not on his own reasoning and goodness.
So are you wearing “the helmet of salvation”? The Roman legionnaire might find his helmet hot and itchy, but I can promise you “the helmet of salvation” is the most comfortable head gear ever!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
Jesus died on the cross to pay the penalty for man’s sins. Jesus then rose out of death three days later in a new spiritual body apart from sin. The Word of God proclaims this truth to man and offers him Jesus’ payment for his sins and a new resurrection life, if man will but believe the Word of God, acknowledge his sins to God, and ask God to grant this salvation to him.
This is what it means to be saved, at least in part. The other part is that Jesus not only paid the penalty for my sins. He also rose out of death for my sins in order to live a new, resurrection life. This too is what I receive by grace through faith. I am not only saved from death as the penalty for my sins. I am also given a new, resurrection life, in which I can live free from sin and serve the Lord righteously.
But not every person is saved. This is not any fault of God’s, mind you. He did His part, and He freely offers it to each and every person (i.e., grace). The fault lies with the individual person. To receive this free gift from God, each person has to hold out his hand and ask God for it. Anyone who is not saved has failed to do so.
To receive God’s salvation we must believe the Gospel (i.e., faith). The Gospel teaches man that he is a sinner and separated from God by his sins. He is dead in his trespasses and sins, you see. The Gospel then notes how Jesus paid the penalty for his sins and freely offers it to him.
In Biblical faith the man believes this, thus acknowledging that he is indeed a sinner and dead in his sins. He asks the Lord to forgive him for his sins and grant him the free gift of God in Christ Jesus. In doing this the man dies on the cross “in Christ”, and he then rises out of death “in Christ” as a new resurrected person.
All of this bears relevance to “the helmet of salvation”. The helmet covers the head, wherein is the brain. The brain makes sense of what we see and hear and directs the hands and feet as to what to do. When Satan accuses the Christian of being a phony, of still being the same old sinner and not a new creation at all, the Christian must needs be “transformed by the renewing of the mind” to withstand the assaults of the evil one.
Only by means of daily feeding on the Word of God can the Christian’s faith grow into maturity and remain strong and vibrant. By keeping his focus on his salvation, the Christian doesn’t depend on his own righteousness. He depends on “the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus”.
No matter how much truthful negativity Satan may spew at him, the Christian thoughtfully considers Who Christ Jesus is, what He did for the Christian, and why Satan’s accusations won’t hold water at the bar of God. This is another way of saying that the Christian is wearing “the helmet of salvation”. His thinking, his understanding, is based on the Word of God as it pertains to the Person and ministry of Jesus Christ his Lord, not on his own reasoning and goodness.
So are you wearing “the helmet of salvation”? The Roman legionnaire might find his helmet hot and itchy, but I can promise you “the helmet of salvation” is the most comfortable head gear ever!
To further research this issue, I direct you to my book Joshua: Volume 6 of Heavenly Citizens in Earthly Shoes. To purchase my books please go to:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B005PJ761C
https://sites.google.com/site/heavenl...
No comments have been added yet.
