Doves On Distant Oaks

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.–Ephesians 6:14-18

Righteousness is the polar opposite of sin. It's not our righteousness Paul speaks of here because, as Solomon writes, "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins" (Ecclesiastes 7:20). It is Christ's righteousness that protects us.

The modern soldier wears a ballistic chest plate in a carrier harness or Kevlar protection. This is very much like the breastplate a Roman soldier wore. Both are intended to protect the internal organs and most especially the heart. We all know the heart pumps the life-blood of the body, but it also pumps the spirit-blood of our soul.

"For out of the heart come evil thoughts—murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, slander" (Matthew 15:19). Sin is much like a spear or sword that thrusts its way into our lives, in fact, into our very hearts. Fear, worry, envy, discord, immorality, arrogance, and all forms of evil arise out of our hearts. This is where our enemy tries to strike us the hardest ... one deeply inflicted and deadly sin can be our undoing. It is not within our power to resist this sin, but only through the protection offered by our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It's only when we turn to Christ and put on His righteousness that we stand a chance against sin that strikes at our hearts. At the same time, we need to remember that sin does not, cannot, strike through Christ's righteousness. His righteousness is impervious to sin. No, sin strikes us when we take off the breastplate of His righteousness ... when we get lazy, complacent, or back-slidden. Its only then that we find the awful spear of sin sticking out of our chest, draining our soul of it's life-affirming power.

So even though we have no power over our enemy when they wish to strike us head on, we do have access to the power to overcome them. It's simply through a choice that we make moment by moment of every day. It's only when we take off Christ's righteousness do we become vulnerable.