Fighting with the Full Armor of God: the Breastplate of Righteousness

[Ephesians 6:10-14]

Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

{Rev. Dwight Yoo}
The Breastplate of Righteousness

What is it?

There are two types of righteousness.

Imputed Righteousness
The righteousness of Christ given to us by faith.

Imparted Righteousness
We are restored to wholeness & holiness. The spirit of God changes you.

For the breastplate, we must have both types. We cannot separate the two. Christians must have both.

Why does it matter?

The roman armor of the breastplate was used to protect the vital organs. All the vital organs sat behind the breastplate. In the Christian's life, the breastplate of righteousness protects our conscience. The conscience is very delicate. The devil comes and accuses to try and make us hopeless. The devil wishes to bruise the conscience so that we run from God. We think ourselves unworthy, inept, and failures. But there are two types of sorrow: Godly sorrow will make us turn to God, repent, and ends in joy. Worldly sorrow makes us hopeless and discouraged. We end up hiding from God and running from Him. The devil wishes to encourage worldly sorrow.

How to put it on?

Daily Claim the Imputed Righteousness of Christ

We are children of God through Christ. We are accepted because of Christ. We are loved because of Christ. We need to claim all the promises we have through our faith in Christ.

Daily Exercise Imparted Righteousness

We give up our former sins and live the life as God wishes. Areas of our lives where we are not fully submitted to God gives a place for the devil. If you look around the city, there are these things called bird spikes. They are located where there are perches above places where pedestrians walk. They keep birds from perching there are taking a crap on your head. This is the same for the spiritual life. When we are fully submitted to God, there are bird spikes to keep the devil from crapping on our heads. If we have places in our lives where God does not rule, the devil will come and attack us there.