The whole armour of God; what is the breastplate of righteousness?

Believers, consider the breastplate that Romans soldiers of old used to wear to battle. Some of them even had six packs like the one in the photo! You'd be clueless about the true physique of the warriors in those “horse and sandal” movies until they took their breastplates off and their metal six packs gave way to one sack!

Whether one is incredibly skinny, plump, buff from constant excercise, grossly overweight from eating too much or just regular from healthy eating, without the breastplate, injury and even death in battle is certain. No matter how hard one works at being buff, without a breastplate in battle, a sharp-enough fiery dart will pierce through flesh to the heart. What does this have to do with our life in Christ? Ephesians 6:10-11 says:

"Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of His mighty power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the Devil's evil tricks."

The TPT puts it thus way: "Put on God’s complete set of armor provided for us, so that you will be protected as you fight against the evil strategies of the accuser!"

Satan is the accuser. "Ha Satan" is literally "prosecutor" in Hebrew. Like any prosecutor in any court of law, Satan tries to pronounce a "guilty" verdict on sinners before God the Righteous Judge by firing even valid accusations (fiery darts) of ungodly conduct so that judgment (God's wrath) can follow; but what to do when all have sinned?

For the believer in Christ, made righteous (godly) by Christ's obedience, Satan deploys the same strategy that he used on Eve who was made in God's image. Satan told her that she would be godly (be like God) by eating from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. See the forbidden fruit as a picture of the law that many are trying to keep in order to be godly (be like God) in Romans 7:8-12 (MSG-)

“Don’t you remember how it was? I do, perfectly well. The law code started out as an excellent piece of work. What happened, though, was that sin found a way to pervert the command into a temptation, making a piece of “forbidden fruit” out of it. The law code, instead of being used to guide me, was used to seduce me.”

In Christ, God sees us as righteous (godly,) even with all of our imperfections, because our righteousness is not by our own obedience but by Christ's obedience. Romans 5:19 says:

"By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."

Romans 5:9 says "And there is still much more to say of His unfailing love for us! For through the blood of Jesus we have heard the powerful declaration, “You are now righteous in My sight.” And because of the sacrifice of Jesus, you will never experience the wrath of God."

Also Romans 5:17- "For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

In Christ, God sees us as righteous (godly,) even with all of our imperfections, because our righteousness is not by our own obedience but by Christ's obedience. Beware of "men and women of God" who place the burden of your salvation, even salvation from those sins and addictions that you are trying so hard to give up, on you; those who tell you that you, by yourself, have to obey the law in order to be godly when God has already sacrificed His own Son for you to make you godly. Remember the tree of the knowledge of good and evil is a picture of the law (which gives the knowledge of good and evil.) Satan is still seducing people to eat from this tree right from behind many pulpits today; the result is still the same: death. The letter kills.

Consider Colossians 2, bearing in mind that the law is not of faith:

"8 Don’t let others spoil your faith and joy with their philosophies, their wrong and shallow answers built on men’s thoughts and ideas, instead of on what Christ has said. 9 For in Christ there is all of God in a human body; 10 so you have everything when you have Christ, and you are filled with God through your union with Christ. He is the highest Ruler, with authority over every other power."

Now, 1 John 4:17 says: "Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world."

Believer, as Christ is, so are we in this world. Godly. Not when we die or after the Rapture. In this world. In Christ in whom "is all of God in a human body," God has made we who believe, having Christ as our righteousness, to "be like God." Not by our own obedience but because we believe that "...by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous." Romans 5:19.

Romans 3 says of God:

26 "and He makes sinners right in His sight when they believe in Jesus. 27 Can we boast, then, that we done anything to be accepted by God? No, because our acquittal is not based on obeying the law. It is based on faith. 28 So we are made right with God through faith and not by obeying the law."

Remember the whole armour of God? So much to say here, but remember Ephesians 6:14-

"Stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,"

This breastplate of righteousness or any other component of the whole armour of God cannot be earned, deserved, produced or manufactured by man. No matter the amount of effort that is put into being buff or crafting the best breastplate, it will fail in the day of battle, because "the arm of flesh will fail." But many who profess Christ are trying to obey the law in order to produce their own breastplate of righteousness. Not so! This breastplate of righteousness from the whole armour of God cannot be acquired by human effort at being good or obeying the law. It cannot be earned. It is for the undeserving; for those who see that all of our law-keeping and good deeds done to get right with God are like "a menstrual rag" in His sight (Isaiah 64:6.) We who believe have God's breastplate of righteousness as a result one Man's action:

THE OBEDIENCE OF CHRIST (Romans 5:19,) not our own obedience. “By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.”

This brings us to the weapons of our warfare in 1 Cor. 10- "For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, 5 casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,"

But what is "the obedience of Christ"? It is our righteousness in Him: “By one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous.” Romans 5:19.

The battleground for this warfare is the mind where we deal with strongholds (aka human reasoning and rationalisation according to bible lexicon) and Satan's fiery darts of imaginations and thoughts designed to make one bear the guilt, condemnation and the wrath of God the Righteous Judge that Christ died to free us from. We are victorious “bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ,”

In this court of law that is the mind, God is the Righteous Judge who will punish every sin to the uttermost. For all who believe, Christ is our one time sacrifice for sins, our righteousness and our Advocate. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Truth is in the witness box bearing witness to the Truth for all who believe and we find His witness in Hebrews 10:15-17, based on Christ's finished work in verse 14 below:

14 "For by one offering He has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 15 But the Holy Spirit also witnesses to us; for after He had said before, 16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord: I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them,” 17 then He adds, “Their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” 18 Now where there is remission of these, there is no longer an offering for sin."

This is the witness of the Holy Spirit for all who believe. But Satan the accuser accuses you of the same sins that Christ died to free us from, tries to tell you that God remembers your sins, that you still have to bear the burden of your unrighteousnesses and that you have to "make up" for your sins. Judas believed Satan and tried to right himself ....

Stand before God the Righteous Judge in your own non-existent breastplate of righteousness from being good and obeying the law ("there is none righteous, no, not one" says Romans 3:10) or tell Him how it was a mistake and that you will be better next time and face the full wrath of His law. The one here has rejected Christ as his Righteousness, Advocate and Sacrifice for sins. All of our righteousnesses from human effort at obedience are like "a menstrual rag" in God's sight according to Isaiah 64:6. No matter how good a person is or how well he obeys the law, it can never be good enough, "For no one can ever be made right with God by doing what the law commands. The law simply shows us how sinful we are." Romans 3:20.

The Holy Spirit cannot bear witness to the lies that in Christ, our sins are not forgiven forever and that we are not righteous in Christ. Satan's weapons: tongues of accusation aka the fiery darts of the wicked one can prosper here and condemnation, followed by judgment is passed.This is the situation of many who profess Christ but are trying to obey the Ten Commandments in order to be righteous today: condemned to death row and in captivity/prison where wicked prison guards chase them from pillar to post looking for Salvation, not knowing that they are suffering because they rejected Jesus Christ: Jehovah Tsidkenu- The Lord our Righteousness.

But stand before God the Righteous Judge as one having no righteousness of your own but putting on His breastplate of righteousness from His armour- depending on His gift of Righteousness to us in Christ- and get to escape the burden of guilt, condemnation and judgment. Here, we get to have life through Christ. Remember Isaiah 54:17-

“No weapon formed against you shall prosper, And every tongue which rises against you in judgment You shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,And their righteousness is from Me,”Says the LORD.”

Notice that this blessing is not earned by obeying the Ten Commandments, fasting and prayer or any work. It is an inheritance (heritage) for those whose righteousness is from the Lord, not their efforts at keeping the law or trying to curry His favour by washing church toilet. Believe. Confess it and see it! You will do more than wash church toilet and not because you WANT His favour but because you HAVE His favour.

This is The crux of the gospel: Righteousness by faith in Christ. He is the Way to live in triumph over sin and death: Romans 5:17-

"For the sin of this one man, Adam, caused death to rule over many. But even greater is God’s wonderful grace and His gift of righteousness, for all who receive it will live in triumph over sin and death through this one Man, Jesus Christ."

Without God's breastplate of righteousness, His gift of righteousness to believers in and through Christ, the fiery accusations of Satan can stand because nobody is righteous and our best efforts at obedience are like "a menstrual rag" in God's sight. Next time Satan tries to drag you to a place of condemnation for your shortcomings, confess the gift of righteousness that you believe you have in Christ. With God's gift of righteousness to us in Christ comes no condemnation. It is Christ's "Neither do I condemn you" that makes us "go and sin no more."

Believe Right and you will Live Right