(Ephesians
6:14) “… put on the breastplate of righteousness.”
Putting on the breast plate of righteousness
(it originates from the Greek word which sounds like “dik-ah-yos-oo’-nay” equity
- of character or act; specifically for the Christian it means to be justified
= righteousness). There is another danger many are lured to when reasoning with
the old mind; we often feel justified in what we do and how we conduct
ourselves; this does not mean I am now excused from finding obedience to the
call God has placed on my life; we all have a responsibility and will be judged
on our obedience; but not to mistake that with Christ’s accomplishments; it is
not what I do that justifies me, allowing me to put on the breastplate of
righteousness, that merit belongs to another, praise the mighty name of Jesus.
He alone conquered death, hell and the grave. He has allowed all that find
repentance in and through Him to wear His righteousness. Why? He alone paid the
price for our sins; we could never repay that debt. Why then once we have been
saved do we at times forget this truth? We go back to our own “self-worth” as
we look for acceptance from God. It will and can never happen, history has
taught us that… (Read the Old Testament and the introduction of the law and
follow the pattern of men)
For those who have never truly repented but like the
idea of morality the Christian and the Bible holds to; they will always play in
this field and their lives will be full of accusing or excusing. Why? They use
their own works to justify themselves before God and excuse others and
visa-versa, whereby the Christian understands that we can never justify
ourselves before God. Why? Because of our own sin, we all deserved judgment and
hell should be our eternal punishment. BUT GOD… who is rich in mercy, and was
not only able to free some of His enemies, but had it in his power and chose to
do exactly that. What a merciful God!
It nevertheless cost Him dearly in order to free so
many sinners, His only begotten Son came to earth, leaving all the pomp He was
entitled too in heaven, became a man and live as a nomad, a man with no home and
yet He did it for his Father, as it was his will. He bled and died to
relinquish the punishment required by the only true and righteous God, the God
of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob. Sin is no light issue and will always be judged,
it therefore needed to be enormously dealt with; in fact it was such a heart
wrenching experience we could almost conclude that God the Father caught his
Son Jesus of guard; “And about the ninth
hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, "Eli,
Eli, lema sabachthani?" that is, "My
God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"” – Do you hear surprise in
his cry? I most certainly do! Yet we know that God will never forsake those who
belong to Him. We all know the end of the story; “Now
after the Sabbath, toward the dawn of the first day of the week, Mary Magdalene
and the other Mary went to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great
earthquake, for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven and came and rolled
back the stone and sat on it. His appearance was like lightning, and his
clothing white as snow. And for fear of him the guards trembled and became like
dead men. But the angel said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know
that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he
said. Come, see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples
that he has risen from the dead, and behold, he is going before you to Galilee;
there you will see him. See, I have told you." (Matthew 28:1-7)
So then the breast plate of righteousness
has nothing to do with us per say (our achievements) and all to do with what
Christ achieved on our behalf. We must always be ready to give an answer to the
gainsayer but be careful not to get caught up with “straw men” topics; our own
justification in what we do as opposed to what Christ actually did do. For
those who repent and call upon the name of Jesus, all these individuals are
entitled to put on the breast plate of righteousness. No, rather had been trained
to put on the breast plate of righteousness, it is a more of a command than a
request.
Signing off
Tyrone
