The Breastplate of Righteousness: God's Armament, Part 21

July 31, 2020

…with the breastplate of righteousness in place.

~ Ephesians 6:14b NIV ~

(Please see announcements for an important message from Answers2Prayer director, Rob Chaffart)

"…with the breastplate of righteousness in place." (Ephesians 6:14 NIV)

Notice the importance of this piece of armor: The breastplate of righteousness. Why is the breastplate so important? Because it protects your heart, and without a heart, you can't survive!

Without Jesus, your own righteousness is like filthy rags: "All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags…" (Is. 64:6 NIV). But when we accept Jesus into our hearts, we receive His righteous as our own: "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Cor. 5:21 NIV). We also know that Jesus' righteousness allows us access to the throne room of God: "In him and through faith in him we may approach God with freedom and confidence." (Eph. 3:12 NIV), where our prayers become power and effective: "The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective." (James 5:16 NIV)

We receive Jesus' righteousness when we accept Him into our hearts, but in Ephesians 6, we are told to "put on" the armor of God: "Therefore put on the full armor of God…" (vs. 13 NIV). Thus, we understand that though Jesus' righteousness is our own, we have to choose to put it on!

This means that we have to truly trust that our sins are forgiven and that His righteousness is our own. We have to know Him, we have to have a relationship with Him, we have to trust Him.

Some of us are afraid of Jesus. We think we aren't good enough for Him. But when we are afraid of Him, we have missed something very important: The grace of God!

There are many in Christendom who believe that we must follow the law to be saved. What did Jesus say about this?

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." John 3:16

Did you see that? You cannot be saved with by doctrines. Only Jesus can save us, and not only is He able to do that, but He is also willing.

John 3:16 tells us that Jesus died for us, He loves us, and eternal life is a free gift. Having His righteousness is as easy as asking Jesus to save, and then trusting Him for your salvation. When you do, you are choosing to wear His righteousness, and your heart is protected.

Remember: No one else can save you. Only Jesus. "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God." (2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV)

If your breastplate of righteousness is in place. Your heart will hunger for the love of Jesus: "For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." (Romans 6:23 NIV)

Isn't this amazing? Jesus took the cross and He died. For us! Then He raised up and because of that, We can be saved forever. When you get to know Jesus, you will fall in love with Him. He cares. He loves you. You are never alone. Jesus is with you. Wear His righteousness. It is your own. And with it, your heart is protected and you have access to the very throne room of God!

Rob Chaffart

Announcements

Dear Illustrator subscribers,

What if your handicapped mother told you she might need a ride to the doctor, because the handicap bus she normally takes could be unreliable at times? If you’re like me, your response would be to clear your schedule and be prepared to take her at the last minute. What if you would later learn that she missed her appointment because the bus didn’t pick her up? She said that she didn’t want to bother you with such a little thing, especially since she knew you were so busy, so she didn’t ask. Or what if she thought you wouldn’t want to take her? Or that your car wasn’t adequate to get her there? Whatever the reason, you would be there with a cleared schedule, willing and able to take her; but she didn’t get to the appointment because she didn’t ask.

Sounds silly, doesn’t it? Yet is this not how we treat God sometimes? We all have major prayer concerns, especially right now in the midst of a global pandemic with economies crashing around us. Do we take these concerns to God? Or do we feel He’s too busy taking care of the pandemic to worry about our small problems? Or maybe you have asked God for something similar before, yet He didn’t come through in the way you expected Him to. Do we develop the attitude that our prayers aren’t important to Him? That they aren’t heard by Him? That He doesn’t care?

May I be the first to assure you that none of these things are true. God DOES care, He DOES answer our prayers in His time and in His way. It doesn’t matter how small or how dire the circumstances we face. The Word of God tells us, “Yet you don’t have what you want because you don’t ask God for it.” (James 4:2b NLT).

We at Answers2Prayer ministries (www.answers2prayer.org) are here to stand with you by lifting up your prayer requests to the throne of grace. We are here to provide you with encouragement and Truth as you go through these hard times. Don’t hesitate to let us know how we can come along side you in prayer! It doesn’t matter how big or small the prayer request, God cares about each one. Remember, if God cares for the sparrows, how much more does He care about you? Even for the small things? Also remember that there is power in numbers: “For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them.” (Matt. 18:20 NIV).  

Please send your prayer requests, no matter how big or small, either via email (answertoallprayers@PROTECTED) or via What’sApp (+91 98696 68137 ) and someone from our prayer team will be more than happy to come alongside you in prayer!  

In His love,
Rob Chaffart
Director, Answers2Prayer ministries