Donning the Breastplate

Ephesians 6:10-17

Verse 14  Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,

    Now that we have the belt of truth firmly in place it is now time to put on the next piece of our armor, the breastplate of righteousness.  A breastplate was a very important portion of the armor and still is as we know even our local police wear a vest to protect their vital organs from attacks on their lives.  Our torso contains some of the most important parts of us, our heart being among the most important.

    It seems like the most basic knowledge to understand our heart needs protection from possible injury, but are we as protective of our spiritual heart?  Just as we need to guard ourselves from the lies of the enemy and world, we need to protect the parts of us which pump life to the rest of us.  Our heart is nothing without the lifeblood to pump to the other parts of our body keeping every portion of us alive.  If we have poor circulation we are going to lose part of ourselves.

    It is no mistake Paul calls it the breastplate of righteousness.  He was quite familiar with the passage in Isaiah 59 where the well-known prophet referred to a breastplate of righteousness.  Paul would have spent a lot of time studying Isaiah’s passage and understood the significance of righteousness as the protection piece of the vital organs.

    When a person is trying to take another person’s life they aim for the organ which can cause the shutdown of all the other vital parts of the person’s life.  The enemy of our souls has the same plan of taking us down by causing our sense of righteousness to be damaged causing damage to the rest of our being.

    Righteousness is a very important part of our being in God’s army.  It speaks of our being in right standing with Him.  A soldier who is not living in favor of the commanding officer is not going to be viewed as a trusted member of the army.  This isn’t about being perfect, as humans that is out of our capabilities, but we are to live in the best way we can by obeying Him in every situation.  This is how we bring glory to our loving Lord.

Making It Personal

    Is living righteously something you aim for?  What does living that way mean for your relationship with the Lord?  Where do you struggle with righteousness in your life?

Making It Personal Kids

    What do you think it means to be in right standing with Jesus?  Do you live righteously?  Why is it important to protect your heart from things Jesus doesn’t like?

Closing Prayer

    Father, we know there is no one righteous and none of us can stand in your presence on our own.  Only in Jesus’ righteousness do we stand.  Give us the desire to live for and serve You well.  In Jesus’ name, amen.