The Helmet of Salvation (Part 2 of 2)

The elements of spiritual about in Ephesians chapter 6 is the helmet of salvation in order to be protected from the attacks of the enemy. We need to be thinking rightly about the benefits that are ours in Christ as his followers today on Truth for Life. Alistair Begg teaches us three key ways. The Jesus works on our behalf. While our focus is on that little phrase in Ephesians 617 where Paul exhorts those to whom he writes to take up the helmet of salvation and in our previous study, we sought to understand very very clearly that the what it really means to put on the helmet of salvation is to trust unreservedly in the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ in all that he has accomplished on the cross and in order to help us with that we began to think of how Paul in unpacking the whole panorama of salvation in Romans lays out first of all, the need for salvation insofar as the whole world is accountable before God and then secondly he goes on, from verse 21 of chapter 3 in Romans to make clear the provision that God has made for man is a sinner and we looked at one of these three little pictures and I said the remaining two were your own. But I want to come back to them just briefly, in case you haven't already begun to do your homework were looking here at Romans chapter 3 where he talks about the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all who believe. For there is no distinction for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God hears the first from the law courts and are justified by his grace as a gift we looked at that and then the second picture is in the same verse.

This picture is taken from the slave market. That's the significance of the word redemption and what Paul is referencing their is what Jesus actually says that the one who sins is a slave to sin and therefore it needs to be brought back or redeem. And so what Christ is accomplished is not just that we are declared free to go.

It's not that the sinner is just released, but rather that the sinner is released by the payment of a ransom, and Christ has paid the sinners ransom and as a result of that sets the sinner free from sin and from death and from judgment and is for that reason. For example, when Paul is writing to the Corinthians in chapter 6 he says to them you know how you are not your own. You were bought with a price. Therefore glorify God in your body. The third picture is there immediately following that you will notice whom verse 25 whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, and this is a picture that is taken from the Old Testament sacrificial system God's wrath is poured out against sin and therefore God needs to be propitiated. God's justice must be satisfied. The story of salvation is not that God has decided to overlook sin for God could not be true to himself and overlook sin. Therefore sin must be punished and what Paul is pointing out is that the sacrifice of Jesus has satisfied the justice of God and his Roth has been poured out upon his dearly beloved son, the wrath of God is not diffused by the passing of time and if you think it through in the end, there are really only two ways for God's justice to be satisfied either by the everlasting punishment of the sinner or in the death of Jesus, his beloved son and for the believer. God has brought forward into time. The judgment that must be faced executing his judgment on the son of his love in order that we while we are still sinners may have access into his presence. Now Paul tackles all of that and more, and brings us then to chapter 5 which is where we essentially left off in the understanding of the benefits. If you like, of what it means to have been set right with God, and I suggested that there are three that we can pay attention to. We will do so briefly, I don't want to expand on them on Julie, but first of all and straightforwardly that therefore the beginnings verse of chapter 5 in verse one is on the strength of the argument that we have just given a very brief pr�cis of, therefore, he says, in light of the fact that God has done this in Christ and is used. Abraham is a great illustration of justification. Therefore, he says, since that we have been justified by faith. Here's the first benefit we have peace with God.

Now you will notice that this matter of justification as we said before is about acquittal.

It is the absence of condemnation, that's why. By the time we get to chapter 8, with Paul, he will say there is therefore now no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus.

Why because they have been justified by grace and through faith. How does this come about. Well, as we have just seen in and through the work of the Lord Jesus when Paul writes to the Colossians in chapter 1 he gives it to us and just a phrase or two.

He says what in him that is in Jesus all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell, and through him that is through Jesus, to reconcile to himself all things, whether an error or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross. This I think is important on a number of levels and one that may not be immediately obvious to us is helping us to understand God's plan and purpose for his world of people will sometimes come to present and trailers for the fight of the world doesn't seem to be getting any better.

Tall, if you really had a God who cared about these things. Surely they say he would have he would've sorted it all out by now. Why didn't Jesus do this.

What was it Jesus told his disciples he came to do what is it that Jesus promised his disciples what if you like what did he not promised, you can never read in the Gospels and find Jesus promising his followers absence from trouble. Now he says in the world you will have tribulation and there is nowhere that Jesus promises that as a result of his work their will in the history of man be the absence and freedom from war. Nowhere does he say to us that as a result of his coming and his dying and his ascending that in the course of time.

The world is going to be a better place. He does not say any of that at all and find he says to them. I have told you all of these things it so that in me you might have peace in the world you will have this now. This is a very important in understanding the nature of salvation and what God has done and what God is doing and what God plans to do a part of the problem with people is that they get the get mixed up in in the very process of God's redemptive purpose. They want to import into now that which is promised. Only then, and so they find themselves making claims that are incapable of substantiation, either from the Bible or from human experience. But since we're putting on the helmet of salvation since were thinking since were thinking properly about life from a biblical framework since were trying to understand the nature of salvation itself. We can be free from that and we can realize that the only true peace that is really available in the entire world is the piece which comes in and through the Lord Jesus Christ himself. It is to the believer that is given the wonder of peace with God, freedom from the fear of judgment and of death and of recrimination of the dredging up of that which is been satisfied in the death of Christ on the cross. That's the first benefit that he mentions. The second is there in verse two and through him. Jesus it's always through Jesus. Notice we have peace with God through Jesus.

Through him we have also obtained what access by faith into what into this grace in which we stand. So number one peace with God.

Number two, we stand in grace at this this wonderful picture here of access should be familiar to us.

We have obtained access how you get in only through faith in Jesus of Nepal is been mentioning this in our studies in Ephesians. I don't expect you would be able to pick it up immediately. I could neither go look for it, but I knew it was there.

Ephesians 2 and Jesus came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near for through him that is through Jesus both have access in one Spirit to the fathers. The same word since as you find in verse 12 of chapter 3 as well. According to the eternal purpose realized in Jesus Christ our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence. Here we go again through our faith in him that word in Greek pedagogy is a word that was used primarily of making an introduction or marshaling somebody into the presence of some and when Paul will go on through Romans you will make it wonderfully clear that there is nothing that will ever separate us from the love of God when we are ushered into his presence and we can rest in that and we can be glad that this wonderful isn't that I'm just looking for a Nozick as I speak.

There we have it.

I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation just keeps all the phrases I will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. And the and the evil one comes to us as ever. You might not make it to the end. Every serious I will why because he who promised is faithful and because he who began a good work in me will bring it to completion of the day of Jesus Christ. And because all my hope in all my confidence is grounded not in my worth or what I own.

But in the precious blonde of the Lord Jesus Christ what any of you notice the third of the three that we have peace with God that we stand in grace and we rejoice in hope, rejoice in hope of the glory of God and are not going to go on into three but I can resist just pointing out you will notice that not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings over the process as you see I want to get a piece with God. You stand in grace, we rejoice in hope is plain sailing. From that point.

No immediately after he says we rejoice in the decision by the way, rejoice in our sufferings, why because our research are suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and after all, as I mentioned, says Paul in writing to the Thessalonians that helmet is the very hope of salvation, and that hope is a hope that doesn't make it a shame because when the Bible uses hope in that way.

And when we use it.

For example, in the words of committal at the gravesite were not talking about uncertain whole letter about the hope we have a book. I hope the weather holds awry home exam results come through or are any of those things but no AA JB Phillips paraphrases it as a happy certainty that the spirit of God creates within the child of God, a happy certainty. A confident, joyful expectation, which rests in the promises of God in the promises of God.

We are not just full of things the Christian has been set free so that when the evil one comes and threatens to undo as and challenges as in this way, we remind hey I'm wearing the helmet. I'm wearing the helmet. I am trusting unreservedly in the work of Jesus. He has accomplished on behalf of the center and I am a sinner. Therefore he's accomplished it on behalf of me. All that is necessary for me to have access into God's presence to stand in grace to rejoice in whole and to be justified by faith and what then is the reason for your assurance. The evil one may ask, what then would you say in response to the wrong comes as well as sounds pretty good back your those three points down is very good by the why. Why do you actually believe that telling because of the Bible because of what it says in the Bible.

I have an objective reason and I have a subjective reason or give me your first one he says while that let me give you the objective one in verse 10 of Romans five. Here's the logic that you will find as you wear your helmet. If while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his son, much more now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. So anything is this that we were justified on the basis of his death in the place of the Senate if he has gone to that extent to put us right with God, do you not realize that we will then be glorified.

One day in his presence on the strength of his life in his death are justification in his life are glorification and backgrounded in the love of God. Verse eight but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Doubt the love of God. Are you convinced of the love of God. Those of you who fancy yourselves as theologians, are you prepared to tell people of God's unmistakable love for them. Are you prepared to share your faith in such an open and unequivocal way as to say to men and women. Let me tell you of the love of God for sinners John Murray you will remember, and this is brings me to my final point, and that is that I said once we considered the importance of of the thinking in a Christian mind and of the importance of thinking properly about salvation itself so that we might understand that those human, whom he called he justified, and those he justified he also glorified.

And I said that we would want to think about making a very personal and passionate pleas to men and women to be reconciled to God. To say to men and women will you believe in the Lord Jesus Christ in order that you might be saved. The gift of salvation is a gift. It is not purchased is not earned it's not work for in any way is simply receive and that is a stumbling block to people because people want to do something they want to bring something invite somebody over at your home and was one of the first things to say to what you want me to bring. I don't want you to do anything I like you Jessica so people come to the issue of the gospel in the end they respond in the same way forward, which I bring to this all could you possibly bring to nothing.

What you want me to do. Here's the word look look. Here's the word believe believe I let me finish with sport and it's always good to finish with version because Spurgeon's conversion is a wonderful illustration of this very principal. If you know the details. Forgive me if I really reiterate them just for a moment. But remember he's going off to church as a boy. He is a miserable morning.

It's snowing and he decides that he will bail on the church that is planning to go to when he turns into a small Methodist Chapel that he was unaware of, only to discover that there were precious few people in the building and the minister himself was not there, and some gentlemen, I was there in his place. Gentlemen of rather limited abilities might be set there was a December morning. It was 1849 and Spurgeon says that the great longing of his heart was only one thing he wanted to know how he could BC you want to know how he could BC a simple man. Spurgeon referred to him as really stupid quotes Spurgeon had a way with words. Great hero of mine.

If you would think and down. He stood in the pulpit and he read the text look unto me and be saved.

All the ends of the preacher began quotes. This is a very simple text indeed it says look now looking don't take a great deal of pain in a lifting your food or your finger is just look well amending go to college to learn to look you may be the biggest fool and yet you can look amending be worth a thousand a year to look anyone can look even a child can look the text says look unto me. Many of you are looking to yourselves, but is no use look in their you never find any comfort in yourselves.

Some of you say we must wait for the spirits working. You have no business with actress now look to Christ.

The text says look unto me. Spurgeon writes after the good man managed to spin out about 10 minutes or so on Christ death, burial and resurrection. Spurgeon says he was at the end of his tether. Then he looked at me under the gallery just fixing his eyes on me, as if he knew all my heart.

He said young man you very miserable, and you will always be miserable miserable in life and miserable and that if you don't obey my text. But if you will be now, this moment you will be saved, then lifting up his hands.

He shouted young man look to Jesus Christ. Luke Luke Luke you have nothing to do but live and live. I saw once we have salvation. I know not what else he said I did not take much notice of.

I was so possessed without one charming word.

It seemed to me all I looked until I could almost have looked my eyes away then and there. The cloud was gone. The darkness and rolled away in the moment I saw the sun and I felt I could've sprang from my seat, that instant and saying with the most enthusiastic of those Methodist brethren of the precious blood of Christ in the simple faith which looks alone to him that somebody had told me this before trust Christ and you shall BC and what's on Spurgeon's tombstone error since by faith I saw the stream by flowing wound supply redeeming love has been my theme and shall be till I die. That my friends is what it means at least in measure to take up the helmet of salvation and compelling story about profound simplicity looking to Jesus listing the Truth for Life with Alastair Bragg we been studying how we can protect our minds from the attacks of the evil one by putting on the helmet of salvation thinking rightly about our salvation. We also learned that God's full armor includes other critical elements like the belt of truth, breastplate of righteousness. This is why we been recommending a book called the whole armor of God.

This book provides in-depth lessons about each piece of the battle gear that as believers we need to put on for spiritual protection. This is the last day were making this book available. So if you have not yet done so, request your copy today you can make your request when you give a one time donation or when you sign up to become a monthly truth partner affect our team has been praying this month that many of you will join the truth partner team. So if you have not yet enrolled, I will encourage you to call our customer service team today at 888588784 M list online Truth for Life.org/park if you prefer to make a one time donation question copy of the book the whole armor of God could write to us the Truth for Life PO Box 39, 8000, Cleveland, OH 44139 Bob Lapine thanks for joining us. Hope you listen tomorrow as will learn about an ancient book that has power to overcome the archenemy of a Christian Bible teaching of Alastair Bragg is furnished by Truth for Life learning early