THE CHRISTIANS’S ARMOUR-EPHESIANS 6:11-18
THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS (PART 2)
In part (1) I emphasised and explained the meaning of righteousness. This time you will notice that in verse 14 truth and righteousness go together. “Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness.” In putting on one’s armour, the first piece, ‘truth,’ is naturally followed by donning the breastplate, ‘righteousness.’
The same is so in our Christian life. The more we are aware of, and obey God’s truth, so our behaviour results in righteousness or holiness of life. Just as the two pieces of armour in our verse are linked by the word ‘and,’ so are these two spiritual fruit linked together. We find a similar thought in Psalm 85:10, “Mercy and loving-kindness and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other,” (Amplified Bible). What a wonderful picture of the Cross is this verse. And we here again have truth and righteousness linked together in the same verse. It seems that truth and righteousness must go together, not only in the Scriptures but also in our lives as Christians.
This point is very important. If, for instance, we heard a soloist sing with a very sweet voice, but with her hand, played a different tune, we would probably cry out for her to stop the discord and play to the tune she was singing. Now, if we think from God’s point of view, what do you think He would feel when seeing members of His family singing spiritual songs in the Fellowship or Congregation on a Sunday, but during the week abusing their wife and acting in an unchristian manner? (Sunday saints and weekday devils, as my Mother in Law used to say).
They might believe God’s truth with their head, but it hasn’t affected their behaviour in such a way as to lead them to act with righteousness at home or work. Truth and righteousness must stay linked together. They will be linked in our lives if we are sincere in our faith. Others may not recognise it, but God is very quick to note any insincerity in our life. Let us therefore be honest and sincere in all things and so walk in both truth and righteousness.
A righteous man is one who is wearing his breastplate. Jerome, (an early Christian Father), describes the life of the early Christians this way; “The blood of Christ was yet warm in their veins.” I like that. It begs the question, “How warm is the blood of Christ in our veins?” The early Christians were serious about wearing their breastplates of righteousness, and wore it tightly so it could not be loosened by negligence or broken by unrighteousness of life.
In Luke 1:6, we are told that Zacharias and Elizabeth, “were both righteous in the sight of God, walking blamelessly in all His Commandments and requirements of the Lord.” The Apostle Paul, on mentioning his hope in the resurrection in Acts 24:15-16, certainly wore his breastplate daily when he said, “In view of this, I also do my best to maintain always a blameless conscience before God and before men.” So, in a nutshell, with Zacharius, Elizabeth and Paul as examples; to wear the breastplate of righteousness is to walk blamelessly before both God and men.
This is the desire in God’s heart for every Christian. At the end of each day do we ever take time to review all that has passed in our conversations, our motives, actions and thoughts? To ask ourselves, “Have I honoured God and walked blamelessly before Him?” When we do this we often remember things we had temporarily forgotten.
“Ah yes, I remember now. I was impatient with my wife or husband because I was running late for work.” “O yes, and there was the time when one of the children was fiddling with their
I-pod instead of getting ready for school;” “What about that idiot who came straight out of a side road without looking or stopping? The air in my car was everything but Christian.” And so it goes on. The niggles of the day, the word said in haste; the lost opportunity to witness; the disregard of everyone but poor me.
Oh thank You Lord for the blood of the Lord Jesus which can cleanse away every sin and moment where the blame has been entirely mine. I thank You for Your forgiveness and please help me to walk more blamelessly tomorrow. This is a good habit to get into because it helps us to sleep with a good conscience.
On reading through the Psalms we see that King David often spent time, or special moments, when he needed forgiveness for some sin or other, but in Acts 13:36 one verse summarises His life. “For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his generation…..” In other words, he made it a priority to carry out God’s desires.
In Ephesians 1:4 we are told that we have been, “chosen in Christ before the foundation of the world, that we would be holy (righteous) and blameless before Him in love.” Not because God foresaw that we of ourselves would ever be holy, “for all of us has become like one who is unclean, and all our unrighteous deeds are like a filthy garment,” Isaiah 64:6a; but because He resolved he would make us holy.
It would appear that God chose some of us out of all mankind and set us apart to carve His own image of righteousness upon us. This is workmanship of such high quality that when He has finished it, He will show it to man and angels, and it will outshine the universe itself.
At present we already have the righteousness of Christ upon us because we are in Him. But in the day of His appearing, our old earthiness (these earthen vessels) will be stripped away and we will shine and radiate with the very glory of God. Hallelujah!
I cannot remember the author’s name, but I once read a book entitled “Diamonds in the dust.” It was about a Christian who used to talk about Christ to the ‘down and outs’ who lived and slept along the Thames Embankment in London, and how some were changed through the saving power and grace of the Cross. In a sense, we are all like that. God has dug us out of the earthiness of the world and is working upon us to bring us from unrighteousness to righteousness, form the earthy mud to heaven’s glory, to shine forever.
It has been said that one reason so many souls came to Christ in the early times when the Gospel was preached was the evidence of holiness and righteousness in Christian’s lives. Justin Martyr, speaking of his own conversion said; “The holiness which shone in Christian’s lives and the patience that triumphed over their enemies’ cruelty at their deaths, made me conclude the doctrine of the Gospel was truth.” Another person said; “Christianity was growing because Christians were a people who ‘did good to all and hurt no one.’” Here we see the effect of daily wearing the breastplate of righteousness.
Richard, or any Pastor can preach for an hour or so one day a week and only reach his congregation. But our lives as Christians preach all week long. If we walk righteously and blamelessly we would serve as a repetition of Richard’s preaching to a world which he does not reach. This bears some thinking about doesn’t it?
I could say a great deal more concerning our breastplate of righteousness, but I will finish with three questions which Saint Bernard used to ask himself; (1) Is it lawful? (2) Is it becoming to a Christian? (3) Is it expedient? Our right answer will help us to walk in righteousness and blamelessness.
May our breastplate remain bright and shiny every day.
God bless you,
John