Armor of God: The Helmet of Salvation
In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul presented a metaphor that would shape the way Christians view spiritual battle – the act of putting on spiritual armor. Ephesians 6:17 tells us to put on the helmet of salvation. The helmet is often the final piece of armor a soldier puts on before marching out into battle. Yet without it, the rest of the armor seems somewhat pointless. If your head is unprotected, it will only be a matter of time before the enemy takes you down.
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I have said it before, and I will say it again. Nearly every spiritual battle we will face as believers originates in the mind. The enemy lies to us, deceives us, and tempts us to sin. All of these tactics occur in the mind, which is why the head must be protected at all times.
So why did Paul tell us to wear salvation as our helmet?
When I think about salvation, this hymn always comes to mind:
Blessed assurance, Jesus is mine! Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine!
Heir of salvation, purchase of God, Born of His Spirit, washed in His blood.
God’s Word tells us that all who openly declare Jesus as Lord and believe in their heart that God raised Him from the dead will be saved (John 10:9). This salvation is a free gift for all who are willing to accept it.
Salvation is the one thing that sets Christianity apart from every other religion. The idea of being “saved” conflicts with the ideas of being a good person or following traditions and rituals. We had to be rescued because of sin. No amount of good works could have saved us.
We couldn’t rescue ourselves from death – only Jesus could do that.
As believers, we can rest in the assurance that we are children of God and that we have inherited eternal life through Jesus.
“I tell you the truth, those who listen to my message and believe in God who sent me have eternal life. They will never be condemned for their sins, but they have already passed from death into life.” – John 5:24 (NLT)
Jesus also illustrated this point in the gospel of John:
My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. – John 10:27-29 (NLT)
No one can snatch us from God’s hands. We belong to Him.
When the enemy attacks the mind, one of the first things he will do is lie to us about who we are in Christ. He wants us to feel guilty, condemned, and alone. I believe this is why Paul tells us to wear the helmet of salvation. We protect our minds with the helmet of salvation – the assurance that we are saved. We are children of God, and the enemy can never take away our salvation!
*Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
**Photo by Henry Hustava on Unsplash