THE BIBLE

THE HELMET OF SALVATION

Ephesians 6:13-18

Introduction:

Once again we turn our attention to the pieces that make up “the whole armor of God.” Verses 10-13 teach us that the saints of God are engaged in a great spiritual conflict against a powerful, relentless enemy. Our enemy is identified in verse 11 as “the devil.” This “devil” comes against the people of God with various “wiles,” v. 11. He does everything in his power to destroy our faith and to draw attention away from the God of glory.

 It’s God’s will that we “stand” against the attacks of the “devil”, vvs. 11, 13, 14. When we “stand” we “hold a critical position against the attack of the enemy.” This speaks of “a soldier who refuses to yield even an inch of ground to an attacking foe.” It is the image of a soldier on the defensive, protecting the ground that has already been taken from the enemy. It is what God meant when He said, “Neither give place to the devil,” Eph. 4:27.

 God has given His people some very precious ground.

•  We have the truth of Who He is, and of how He loves us.

•  We have His church.

•  We have His Word.

•  We have His Spirit.

•  We have His grace.

•  We have His salvation.

•  We have His blessings.

•  We have much more besides all this.

 Our enemy, “the devil,” does not want us to have anything that we have been given by God. So, He does everything in His power to take away those blessings from us. Of course, there are some things the devil can’t take away, so, like I told you last time, he does everything in his power to diminish the influence of those things in our lives. He will nullify the blessings of God that he cannot steal!

 If we are going to “stand” and hold the precious ground we have been given, then we must “put on the whole armor of God.”

 The piece of armor that has our attention today is The Helmet Of Salvation. The Bible says, “And take the helmet of salvation.” In the days when men wore armor into battle, they referred to their “helmet” as a “bonnet”. Let’s examine this piece of the armor and consider what importance it has in our daily lives.

The helmet worn by the ancient soldier was of the utmost importance. The helmet was either made of thick leather covered by plates of metal, or it was made of solid metal that was beaten into the shape of the human head. Most ancient helmets had metal extensions that covered the cheeks. These extensions were designed to protect the face.

 The purpose of the helmet is obvious. It was designed to protect the head. In ancient times many armies employed cavalry. These soldiers were mounted on horseback and most carried a broadsword. This sword was different from the short sword mentioned in verse 17.

 The broadsword was a two-handed sword that was usually between three and four feet in length, had a double-edged blade. This sword was swung by mounted soldiers in an effort to either split the skulls of the enemy, or to decapitate them. The helmet helped to deflect the blow of the broadsword, and thus, it protected the foot soldier from injury.

 Our text says that the spiritual “helmet” we are to wear in our spiritual battles is the “helmet of salvation.” This indicates that Satan’s blows are aimed at our minds. He is intent on destroying our sense of security and  our assurance in Jesus Christ. If the devil can strike a blow against us that causes us to become discouraged and filled with doubt, he will have little trouble sidelining us and taking us out of the battle.

 Like the ancient broadsword, the sword wielded by our enemy the devil is a two-edged sword. One of those edges is discouragement, and the other is doubt. Let’s look at The Bonnet Of Salvation, and learn how this piece of the armor can protect us from both discouragement and doubt.

   I.  THIS HELMET PROTECTS AGAINST DISCOURAGEMENT

If we are not properly protected, the devil will use the sword of discouragement to defeat us in our walk with the Lord. He will cause us to look at our sins, our failures, the problems in our lives, our health issues, or any other negative situation we face in life. When he gets our attention off the Lord, and on the negative issues we face in life, he knows we will begin to doubt the Heavenly Father’s love and care for us. This has the effect of causing us to be discouraged.

 Even those who have been in the battle along time, and have enjoyed much spiritual success, can find themselves the victims of discouragement and disillusionment.

 Consider, for instance, the prophet Elijah. Not many people have ever enjoyed such a string of great spiritual victories like those enjoyed by Elijah. Praying fire down from Heaven, slaying the 450 prophets of Baal, after three and one-half years, outrunning the chariot of King Ahab all the way from Mt. Carmel to Samaria. What a day!

 Then the next day there came word from Queen Jezebel. She was angry at Elijah and she said, “So let the gods do to me, and more also, if I make not thy life as the life of one of them by to morrow about this time,” 1 Kings 19:2. Elijah hears this and runs for his life. He travels to Beersheba and throws himself under a shrub and prays to die, 1 Kings 19:4. He was so discouraged that he was ready to quit on God, resign from his office as prophet, and go out into eternity.

 God showed up in that wilderness and rebuked the prophet. Here is what God asked him: “And he came thither unto a cave, and lodged there; and, behold, the word of the LORD came to him, and he said unto him, What doest thou here, Elijah?” 1 Kings 19:9.

 Elijah’s reply indicated the state of his heart. “And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away,” 1 Kings 19:10.

 God assures Elijah in a “still, small voice” that t here are still 7,000 in Israel that have remained faithful and that have not bowed to Baal, 1 Kings 19:18.

 Elijah learned the truth that spiritual victory does not insulate us against discouragement. Someone has said, “Satan has many tools, but that discouragement is the handle that fits them all.” There is much truth in that.

 You may have been saved for years, but if the devil can get you discouraged in your walk with the Lord, he can get you out of the battle. If he can get you focused on your problems, on the failures in your life, on the shortcomings of others, or on any negative thing at all, he can overwhelm your defenses and cause you to doubt the Lord’s goodness.

 We don’t think about it like this, but it’s true: when we allow problems, pain, people, and other situations to make us discouraged to the point where we quit on God, the devil has won that battle. For a period of time, he has caused us to doubt the goodness and grace of God. Regardless of the reason we name, when we allow Satan to discourage to the point where we stop serving the Lord, we are, at that moment, looking God in the face and telling Him, “I don’t believe you are bigger than this!” That may sound farfetched, but it’s true nonetheless.

 The book of Job reveals a precious saint of God who’s helmet was in place. Satan unleashed the fury of Hell against Job, and still Job refused to doubt the goodness of God. Job didn’t understand why his children had to die, why his health had to be taken away, and why everything he had worked his whole life to amass was lost, but amid the pain and the problems, Job continued to trust the Lord. In Job 13:5, he says, “Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him: but I will maintain mine own ways before him.” Job’s helmet deflected every blow of the enemy and protected his fragile spirit from injury.

 Another man who wore the “helmet of salvation” to great benefit was the prophet Jeremiah. When the Lord called Jeremiah, the Lord told him that he would be rejected, persecuted, and attacked. Yet, Jeremiah said this, “Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts,” Jer. 15:16.

 Be sure “the helmet of salvation” is in place, and refuse to allow Satan to focus your attention on the events of life, or by the actions of people. If he can get your eyes off the Lord and on the difficulties of life, you will be easy prey for his slashing broadsword. Ill. Asaph - Psalm 73.

 It’s hard not to be discouraged when it seems like everything in life goes against you. It’s easy to be discouraged when the answers to your prayers are delayed. It’s easy to be discouraged when your preaching, teaching, and witnessing seem to be ineffective.

 Discouragement is our default setting most of the time. Satan knows this and he exploits this weakness in our lives. Even when we are discouraged by the events of life, we must never forget that our Father always has our situation well in hand. He can be trusted to do what is right, all the time, Rom. 8:29.

 Thus, we must not “be weary in well doing,” but we must carry on, knowing that “in due season we shall reap, if we faint not,” Gal. 6:9. So, when we face the enemy in battle, and Satan aims the broadsword of discouragement at our heads, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world,” 1 Pet. 5:8–9.

  II.  THIS HELMET PROTECTS AGAINST DOUBT

The other edge of Satan’s broadsword is doubt. When we come to doubt our salvation, or when we come to doubt the Word of God, we are easily defeated by the enemy.

 When we doubt our salvation, we will be discouraged. When we come to doubt God’s faithfulness, we are easily discouraged. When we come to doubt the Word of God, we have the very foundations for our hope in the Lord undermined and  we have no ground upon which to stand.

 If Satan can convince you that you are not really saved, or that somehow, you have lost your salvation, you will be devastated spiritually. Such doubt paralyzes the believer and makes them unproductive and miserable. Nothing more quickly sidelines the child of God than having their peace and security in Jesus stripped away. When we forget this truth: “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid,” John 14:27, we are easy prey for the enemy. Satan has an easy time defeating a believer who has lost the assurance of salvation in Jesus Christ.

 If Satan has been beating you with that sword, let me remind you that, if you are in Jesus, you are secure in Jesus.

•  “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day.And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day,” John 6:37–40.

•  “And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand,” John 10:28–29.

•  “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord,” Rom. 8:38–39.

•  “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ,” Phil. 1:6.

•  “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time,” 1 Pet. 1:3–5.

 When Paul says “take the helmet of salvation,” he is not referring to being saved. He is, after all, speaking to people who are already saved. What he means here is that we are to “stand” in the full assurance of the salvation we possess in the Lord. We are hold on to the truth that, if we are saved, the Lord has redeemed us and He has promised “everlasting life.” That knowledge will allow us to deflect the broadsword of doubt when the devil tries to attack us in the arena of our salvation.

 When Satan comes against you, and he will, stand your ground in the Lord, knowing that you belong to the Lord Jesus Christ.

•  He bought you with His precious blood, 1 Pet. 1:18-19.

•  You are His, 1 Cor. 6:19-20.

•  He will not abandon you, Heb. 13:5; Isa. 43:2.

•  He will give you grace sufficient for the attacks that come against you, 2 Cor. 12:9.

•  He will keep you through the battles of life, and He will deliver you safely home to glory when this life is over. “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day,” 2 Tim. 1:12.

 Here is the key: be sure you are saved!

•  Be sure you have more than just a church membership, or some vague religious experience.

•  Be sure that you are trusting nothing but Jesus for salvation.

•  Be sure that you are resting in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ.

•  Be sure you are “born again.”

•  Be sure you are believing the Gospel.

•  “Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?” 2 Cor. 13:5

•  “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure: for if ye do these things, ye shall never fall,” 2 Pet. 1:10.

•  The implication here is simple, don’t take what you think you have for granted. Don’t just assume that you are saved because you have checked off a box or two on salvation checklist.

•  There are several things that we need to examine to be sure where we stand with the Lord.

-   Look at your you life and see how you are living.

-   Look at your priorities.

-   Look at what you love, what you do, and what you live for.

-   Look at what you are trusting for salvation.

-   Look back and carefully examine your salvation experience.

‣  What happened in that moment you are trusting as the moment when you were saved?

‣  Was there an awareness of your lost, sinful condition before the Lord? In other words, was there conviction of sin, John 13:7-11?

‣  Were you compelled to come look to Jesus alone for salvation, John 6:44?

‣  Was there a moment when you looked away to Him by faith and instantly saw the truth of the Gospel, Isa. 45:22?

‣  Was there a change in your life, 2 Cor. 5:17?

 I am not trying to make anyone doubt their salvation today. I am simply trying to get you to examine your salvation experience. I want you to be sure you are saved. I do not want you to go to Hell trusting a false profession. I want you to be able to stand when the enemy comes against you and seeks to make you doubt. I fear that sometimes, we blame our doubts on the devil, when all the time it is the Lord Who is trying to show us that we need to be born again.

 Conclusion:

So, are you saved? Are you sure? Are you secure in your salvation?

 How about discouragement? Do you know anything about that? I do, and it can be devastating. However, the Lord is able to keep us even when we are discouraged. If you are discouraged today, you need to bring that discouragement to the Lord. He will help you with that.

 What about doubt? Has the devil been hacking at you with the broadsword of doubt? Why don’t you come before the Lord today and ask Him to help you to “take the helmet of salvation?” He can settle your spirit, and give you peace today.

 He can enable you to stand against everything the devil throws at you. You do not have to be defeated by the devil. You can withstand the withering assaults of discouragement and doubt. Bring those things to God and get some help.

 If you are settled in Him today, why not praise HIm for His grace in your life? Listen to His voice and do what He is telling you to do.