The Breastplate of Righteousness
ICS Daily Devotions
Ephesians 6:14(NKJV) Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,
Where would you hit your enemy if you were involved in a close combat encounter? Of course, his most vital body part—the chest and somewhere close to the heart. That’s why the breastplate is the most critical defensive gear because it’s precisely where the unseen enemy will aim to hit by using accusations to make you feel unworthy to be in God’s presence and to be called a child of God.
Therefore, we must remember that we stand righteous before God because we are redeemed by the blood of Christ and not by our strength. God looks at us in Christ. A lack of understanding regarding how we have obtained our righteousness will affect our prayer life. We cannot pray confidently if we do not know that we have a right standing with God, and praying is part of the spiritual warfare where we strive to stand without being moved! However, when we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we will be bold enough to walk into the presence of God and pray with authority and power.
Revelation 12:10 (NKJV) Then I heard a loud voice saying in heaven, “Now salvation, and strength, and the kingdom of our God, and the power of His Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren, who accused them before our God day and night, has been cast down.
One of the devil’s works is accusation. Because Israel repeatedly sinned against God, we read in Zechariah 3:1-3 how Satan accused them before God of their unworthiness to be loved and accepted by God. We, like the Israelites, are unworthy of God’s love based on what we have done, but Jesus is our High Priest and Mediator, who sat down at the right hand of God, having offered His blood in the Tabernacle because He was the perfect lamb that took away the sin of the world.
The enemy wants to deceive you into believing that you lack a right standing before God and are of no value to God or man. He will come against you with accusations and condemnation by reminding you of your past and your failures. He looks for believers who don’t know they are righteous!
If we don’t have the breastplate of righteousness firmly in place, those slanderous accusations will most likely penetrate our minds and emotions, making us feel unworthy to pray or to be used by God! The devil will also try to get us into legalism—to try and obtain a right standing before God using our own strength. Legalism attempts to achieve righteousness with God by observing rules or imposing extra conditions for achieving righteousness beyond what God has laid down.
Therefore, always remember you are righteous in Christ! It is a positional truth that never changes!
Sermon Series：The Weapon of Our Spiritual Warfare
