What to Wear to the Battle: The Helmet of Salvation

Text: Ephesians 6:10-18

Date: 09/22/3013 Sermon ID: 20

Theme: The Helmet of Salvation is the on-going, day-by-day Hope of Salvation.

This morning we come to the 5th piece of the Christian’s spiritual armor.

"Therefore, take up the full armor of God, that you may be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm ... And take the helmet of salvation ... " (Ephesians 6:13,17, NASB)

So, just what is Paul referring to when he writes, “take the helmet of salvation?” Obviously, there must be that initial faith-encounter with Jesus, who is the Christ the Lord, that results in our new birth. In this passage the Apostle tells us to take up the full armor of God which includes taking up the helmet of salvation. The word take in verse 17 has a variety of meanings including: to embrace, make one’s own, approve, not to reject. It implies constantly giving attention to this transforming, supernatural event that has taken place in our lives. The new birth becomes the event around which everything else in our life revolves.

The Helmet of Salvation gives us supreme hope as we do battle against the enemy. The very best commentary on this verse is also written by the Apostle Paul, and is found in his first letter to the Christians at Thessolonica.

"But since we are of the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet, the hope of salvation." (1 Thessalonians 5:8 NASB)

The Helmet of Salvation is the on-going, day-by-day Hope of Salvation. The word we translate as hope in the New Testament literally means confident expectation. I like that! The Helmet of Salvation is our confident expectation that we are saved, that we are being saved, and will—in the end—that we will be fully saved.

Confident expectation is an accurate definition of the helmet that safeguards our minds. It is confident expectation of God’s continual saving work in the believer’s life that protects our mind from the relentless assaults upon it by the Devil. It is confident expectation that one day we shall see Christ in all His glory and that on the day, we shall become like Him. Instantaneously, our bodies shall be glorified, our character perfected, and our hope finalized.

In our Baptist Hymnal is a hymn that has become a favorite in this congregation. Its title is, "In Christ Alone (My Hope Is Found). Better than any other hymn, it reminds us of the hope of our salvation that we wear as a helmet. This hope protects us from the assaults of Satan.

I. WE PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION BY STANDING IN THE LOVE OF CHRIST

In Christ alone my hope is found; He is my light, my strength, my song;

This cornerstone, this solid ground,

Firm through the fiercest drought and storm.

What heights of love, what depths of peace,

When fears are stilled, when strivings cease!

My comforter, my all in all—

Here in the love of Christ I stand.

1. how can we sing this first stanza, without immediately thinking of the Apostle Paul’s Soliloquy on the believer’s security in Christ in Romans, chapter eight?

"Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies; 34 who is the one who condemns? Christ Jesus is He who died, yes, rather who was raised, who is at the right hand of God, who also intercedes for us. 35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 Just as it is written, “For Your sake we are being put to death all day long; We were considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 8:33-39, NASB95)

A. IN CHRIST ALONE THE BELIEVER’S HOPE IS FOUND

1. In Christ Alone teaches us that our strength to endure the fiercest drought and storm, and the ability to weather fears and strivings come only through our faith in the person of Christ

ILLUS. In 1521, a young monk named Martin Luther was called before Holy Roman Emperor Charles V at the Diet of Worms in order to answer to charges of heresy due to his views of justification by faith alone. In response to the official charges, Luther replied: “Unless I am convinced by the testimony of the Holy Scriptures or by evident reason—for I can believe neither pope nor councils alone, as it is clear that they have erred repeatedly and contradicted themselves—I consider myself convicted by the testimony of Holy Scripture, which is my basis; my conscience is captive to the Word of God. Thus I cannot and will not recant, because acting against one's conscience is neither safe nor sound. Here I stand; I can do no other. God help me. Amen.”

a. Luther knew that, by faith alone, Christ was his Light, his Strength, his Song, his Cornerstone, his Solid Ground

2. God alone gives eternal life to the sinner which gives us hope as a believer

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,” (1 Peter 1:3, NIV)

3. in that verse notice how regeneration leads to hope

a. Peter writes that in His great mercy God the Father has given us new birth

1) we don’t earn new life in Christ, God freely gives it because He chooses to be merciful

a) you can’t earn it

b) you can’t inherit it

c) you can’t buy it

d) you can’t be baptized into it

b. the result of our new birth is a living hope

1) in the King James it uses the term lively hope which is, I think, a better translation

2) it’s a verb that means to moment-by-moment be abounding in hope that animates us with a shear joy for living

ILLUS. In a Peanuts cartoon, Snoopy is dancing with joyful abandon on a beautiful Spring day. As he is dancing, Lucy, the perennial crab of the Peanuts gang approaches Snoopy and lambastes him. “How can you be happy when so many people in the world are unhappy? You ought to be ashamed of yourself!” Snoopy stops and thinks to himself, “You know, she’s right, there are a lot of unhappy people in this world. I really ought to take life more seriously.” In the next caption, Snoopy is once again dancing with joyful abandon and he is thinking to himself, “I’ll be serious tomorrow.”

3) there are a lot of killjoys in life that demand we take life seriously

a) and, admittedly, there are times when we need to be sober-minded

b) but Peter says that the new birth gives us a lively hope that animates our innermost being with shear joy

4) the first stanza refers to those moments in our Christian walk, when we experience great heights of love and great depths of peace

3. they are the result of standing in the love of Christ as found in God’s regenerating grace

4. We Put on the Helmet of Salvation by Standing in the Love of Christ

II. WE PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION BY LIVING IN THE DEATH OF CHRIST

In Christ alone, Who took on flesh,

Fullness of God in helpless babe!

This gift of love and righteousness,

Scorned by the ones He came to save.

Till on that cross as Jesus died,

The wrath of God was satisfied;

For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

Here in the death of Christ I live.

“Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. 11 And not only this, but we also exult in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation." (Romans 5:9-11, NASB95)

1. I never cease to be amazed at the power of music and verse

a. entire books—thousands of books, with millions of pages—have been written about the atoning work of Christ on the cross

b. yet, in one concise stanza, this hymn has caught the core of the Doctrine of the Atonement

2. the verse begins with the doctrine of the incarnation

a. In Christ alone who took on flesh; Fullness of God in helpless babe

1) in Hebrews 1:2-3 Paul tells us that Jesus is the radiance of God the Father’s glory, and the exact representation of His nature

3. the verse reminds us of the depravity of man

a. This gift of love and righteousness, Scorned by the ones He came to save

"He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. 11 He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him." (John 1:10-11, NASB95)

"For those who are according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who are according to the Spirit, the things of the Spirit. 6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace, 7 because the mind set on the flesh is hostile toward God; for it does not subject itself to the law of God, for it is not even able to do so, 8 and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." (Romans 8:5-8, NASB95)

4. the verse crescendos with the Substitutionary Atonement of Christ on the cross

a. Till on that cross as Jesus died, The wrath of God was satisfied, For ev'ry sin on Him was laid—

b. going back to Romans 5, the Apostle Paul writes that, “ ... having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him ... “

c. the Substitutionary Atonement is a doctrine in Christian theology which states that Jesus of Nazareth died—intentionally and willingly—on the cross as a substitute for sinners

1) this doctrine presents Jesus' death as a supreme act of love for sinners, in order to bring people into a relationship with God

2) it stresses the vicarious nature of the crucifixion as being "instead of us"

"and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed." (1 Peter 2:24, NASB95)

"For Christ also died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, so that He might bring us to God, having been put to death in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit;" (1 Peter 3:18, NASB95)

5. the verse concludes with the miracle of the New Birth—our crucifixion with Christ

a. Here in the death of Christ I live

"I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." (Galatians 2:20, ESV)

b. as God looked down upon the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross, He saw not only His Son, but the Body of Christ with all its members

1) He saw you and He saw me

c. here is the great and marvelous mystery of the gospel of grace

1) through grace Paul was IN CHRIST as Jesus hung on the cross of Calvary

2) what happened to Jesus happened to Paul

3) through grace you and I were IN CHRIST as he hung on the cross, and what happened to Jesus happened to you

"Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? 4 We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life." (Romans 6:3-4, ESV)

6. because I died with Christ, here in the death of Christ, I live

7. We Put on the Helmet of Salvation by Living in the Death of Christ

III. WE PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION BY HOPING IN THE RESURRECTION OF CHRIST

There in the ground His body lay,

Light of the world by darkness slain;

Then bursting forth in glorious day,

Up from the grave He rose again!

And as He stands in victory,

Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

For I am His and He is mine—

Bought with the precious blood of Christ.

“Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— 10 that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, 11 that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead." (Philippians 3:8-11, ESV)

1. the hymn moves quickly on to the most important doctrine of the bible—the doctrine of the resurrection of Jesus

a. the cross is so obviously important in God’s scheme of redemption

1) without the shed blood of Christ, there is no remission of sin

b. but in the preaching of the early church, the resurrection was the central component of the Gospel and the Apostle’s proclamation

2. again, as with the doctrine of the atonement, the hymn in a concise manner, proclaims the doctrine of the resurrection

a. He was buried

1) There in the ground His body, lay; Light of the world by darkness slain

"And Joseph bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb." (Mark 15:46, ESV)

2) here is the cold, stark reality of the Gospel—men killed the Christ and buried Him in a tomb believing that was the end

b. He arose

1) Then bursting forth in glorious day, Up from the grave He rose again!

"But the angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. 6 He is not here, for he has risen, as he said. Come, see the place where he lay." (Matthew 28:5-6, ESV)

c. He ascended into heaven

1) He ascended, and as He stands in victory

“ ... “Worthy is the Lamb who was slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and might and honor and glory and blessing!” 13 And I heard every creature in heaven and on earth and under the earth and in the sea, and all that is in them, saying, “To him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be blessing and honor and glory and might forever and ever!” 14 And the four living creatures said, “Amen!” and the elders fell down and worshiped.” (Revelation 5:12–14, ESV)

A. BECAUSE HE LIVES THERE IS VICTORY IN JESUS

"For everyone who has been born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith." (1 John 5:4, ESV)

1. because of the cross we have redemption, the forgiveness of our sins

2. but because of the resurrection we have victory over the flesh, and the promise of eternal life

"but thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your toil is not in vain in the Lord." (1 Corinthians 15:57-58, NASB95)

a. because death has lost its grip on Jesus, Sin's curse has lost its grip on me;

ILLUS. Some of you are familiar with a book called Screwtape Letters, written by C.S. Lewis. The book is a series of imaginary letters from a Senior demon, Screwtape, to his nephew, a junior level tempter named Wormwood. Wormwood is busily engaged trying to keep the human to whom he is assigned away from God and following the wrong path. His uncle gives him lots of advice on how to do this. Everything is written, then from the viewpoint of Hell. As Screwtape puts it, "To get the man's soul and give him nothing in return—that is what really gladdens Satan’s heart."

Can you imagine, then, what the celebration of Easter, might be like for those who are the enemies of God in the spiritual realm? Lewis writes such an imaginary letter:

My Dear Wormwood,

Do you know how many millions we bring into Hell every year through death? It is one of our few pleasures. How delicious to see them suffer! They feel such loss and pain when their loved ones die. Death was the great triumph of our father below.

I say "was" because the Enemy changed all that.

The first thing he did was to lower himself and be born as one of "them." We almost got him killed when he was a baby. But he eluded us then. He grew up to be a man. He taught those poor humans about himself, all the while not really spreading around who he was. Then one day he gave himself up to be killed by a bunch of jealous religious leaders. We figured it was a big bluff. Just an excuse to perform a public miracle and escape at the last minute. But he actually went through with it. He let them nail him to a cross and he died. We all thought, "Aha, you're beaten now! You've just made your big mistake!"

All of us were feeling, for a few hours, a big relief from that constant fear we had always felt toward the Enemy. Maybe all those prophecies about our last judgement would never happen after all. Death had claimed the Creator of life. Finally our Lord Satan would be undisputed ruler of all.

Then Sunday morning came. The Enemy reappeared. Suddenly, he was alive. Death could not hold him. But it was even worse than that. He had become an innocent sacrifice for the sins of all those humans. He had paid their penalty. He had died in their place. Now death could not hold them either. They could be forgiven and reunited with the Enemy. They can now live forever. For all practical purposes, death has died. There has never been a more disastrous day in the history of the universe.

That, my dear Wormwood, is the whole sad truth.

There is only one thing we can do. We must redouble our efforts. We must do everything we can to make sure that these humans do not believe in Jesus. And if they do believe then make them lukewarm and too busy with other things to be of any use to him.

Your Uncle, Screwtape

b. obviously this is an imaginary account, but through it, C. S. Lewis paints a picture of the spiritual reality of our spiritual foes

“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.” (Ephesians 6:12, NIV)

3. We Put on the Helmet of Salvation by Hoping in the Resurrection of Christ

IV. WE PUT ON THE HELMET OF SALVATION BY STANDING IN THE POWER OF CHRIST

No guilt in life, no fear in death—

This is the pow'r of Christ in me;

From life's first cry to final breath,

Jesus commands my destiny.

No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man,

Can ever pluck me from His hand;

Till He returns or calls me home—

Here in the pow'r of Christ I'll stand.

"My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand." (John 10:27-29, ESV)

1. the last stanza rings with the eternal assurance that is ours in Christ

a. if John 10:27-29 were the only verses in the entirety of Scriptures to speak to the perseverance of the saints, they would be enough to establish to doctrine of the eternal security of the believer on

1) ... I know them ...

2) ... I give them eternal life ...

3) ... they will never perish ...

4) ... no one will snatch them out of my hand ...

5) ... My Father ... has give them to me ...

6) ... no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand ...

b. I want to scream at those who believe you can loose your salvation: “OK, so what part of this passage do you not understand?”

c. the authors of this hymn “get it” — No pow'r of hell, no scheme of man, Can ever pluck me from His hand;

2. when we stand in the power of Christ we will be able to take our stand our ground against the cosmic forces of evil in this world

3. We Stand in the Power of Christ

Virtually every day in my life, I put on the Helmet of Salvation through a simple confession of faith. That faith confession is found in the first stanza of one of the great hymns of the faith. It stirs my soul, and reminds me of my confident expectation in Christ. The hymn’s original title is: The Immutable Basis of a Sinner’s Hope. It was written by Edward Mote in 1834. Mote was a successful cabinetmaker in London. Eventually he felt called to preach and became the pastor of the Baptist Church in Horsham which he served for 21 years. The first stanza tells us:

My hope is built on nothing less,

Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness

I dare not trust the sweet frame,

But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;

All other ground is sinking sand,

All other ground is sinking sand.

You know that hymn by its modern title, The Solid Rock. But I gotta tell you—I like the original title—The Immutable Basis of a Sinner’s Hope. That word immutable means unchangeable. I rest on His unchanging grace. The unchangeable foundation of my eternal hope is Jesus’ blood and righteousness. I dare not trust in my baptism, or the goodness of my character, or my church membership, or my orthodox theology, or my family’s spiritual heritage. They are all like sinking sand. I wholly lean on Jesus’ name. He is the solid rock of my salvation.

By daily confessing this stanza, I put on the Helmet of my Salvation. It gives me confident expectation that Jesus is my Savior, Heaven is my home, and the world, the flesh, and the devil have no authority in my life.