The Breastplate of Righteousness

 Ephesians 6:14

The Breastplate of Righteousness

Christ is the ground of your righteous standing before God, your acceptance before Him.

If you are wearing that breastplate, you can rest secure that your heart, your emotions, are securely guarded and adequately protected against attack.

This is perhaps the most frequent ground of attack against the Christian faith.

Christians often feel they lack assurance. They feel unworthy of God.

They feel they are a failure in the Christian life and that God is certain to reject them, that He is no longer interested in them.

They are so aware of their failures and shortcomings.

Growth has been so slow.

The first joy of faith has faded, and they feel God is angry with them or that He is far away.

There is a constant sense of guilt.

Their conscience is always stabbing them, making them unhappy.

They feel God blames them.

This is simply a satanic attack.    

 

Remember that you have put on the breastplate of righteousness.

In other words, you do not stand on your own merits.

You never had anything worthwhile in yourself to offer to God.

You gave all that up when you came to Christ.

You quit trying to be good enough to please God.

You came on His merits.

You began your Christian life like that, and there is no change now.

You are still standing before God on that basis of the merits of Christ Jesus, who is the only righteous one. And God sees us through the righteousness of Christ.

 

Paul could have gotten discouraged many times since he was largely not accepted in the early days of ministry among the believers due to his background.

Paul says, By the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not without effect (1 Corinthians 15: l0).

 

I don't defend what I am. What I am is what Christ has made me.

I'm not standing on my righteousness.

I'm standing on His.

I am accepted by grace and my personal situation does not make any difference at all.

So his heart was kept from discouragement.

 

Ask Yourself:

Are we still trying to be good in order to please God?

Are you thinking deeply of your shortcomings and resulting guilt?

How can we constantly prevent this from happening?

 

Prayer

Lord, help us to stand firm knowing that we rely on your righteousness as we fight on God’s (your) side. Help us to repent of sin and submit all our shortcomings to you. In Jesus Name. Amen.

Blessings & Prayers 

Pastor. Bobby Leonard