The Whole Armor Of God - Righteousness

"Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness," Eph 6:14. We know that Jesus is our righteousness, and that without Him we can not even consider being righteous before God. However, what we are talking about here is how this breastplate of righteousness applies to our lives; are daily walk in the Lord, and in our ability to stand; doing all to stand. Application; Application; Application; I can not stress enough the reason I am even doing this study; it is all about application. When we are considering what this application is; we first must recognise what the breastplate represents. If you were a solider in the Roman Army, your breastplate would signify your significance in rank, skill and order. I am pretty sure that Paul had many opportunities to study the armor of various solders that were always keeping guard over him. Now, if your breastplate that you put on represents significance; how is that significant to righteousness; and especially to that application in our lives. First thing we have to remember is that we are seated in Christ; "According as He hath chosen us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love:" Eph 1:4. Does that scripture tell me who I am in Christ; oh ya; first off it tells me I have been chosen in Christ before the world began; you think that might let me claim to a little rank; I think it ranks with God. Secondly, it tells me that I should be holy and without blame before Him; are we talking skill anyone. This is something that is more than important; this is all about eternal. I know you have seen these bumper stickers that proclaim, "Christians aren't perfect; just forgiven"; when ever I see this sticker, I kind of worry what we have become and what nonbelievers must think of us. Do we think that it is okay to sin, cause after all, we are going to anyways, and besides, we are forgiven. Does the world think less of us, because we preach about not doing this or that, and then claim we can because were forgiven. I think we should rather have a sticker that says, "Not perfect, but getting there"; or "Not prefect Yet". Because the way I understand it, we are already glorified before God in Christ Jesus; and now we must walk in that knowledge of who we are, our rank if you will; and also in the skill we have been given to overcome sin in our lives. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Eph 2:10. This is not only vital to understand, but vital to put into practice; we need to be walking in the workmanship that God has created us to be in Christ. Paul put it more profoundly in Eph 5:5, "For this we know, that no whoremonger, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, hath any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and of God." Now stand therefore; we must also realize the order we belong to and stand in Christ. What do I mean by order; well in the breastplate example that Paul gives, it would signify what division, platoon or company you belonged to; for instance, if you were in the infantry there would be a representation to that affect on your breastplate, or chariot division, etc. We have an order also; and as I said before and I will say it again, we are not in this battle alone; we are all members of the body of Christ; this is the order that we belong to. Now, because we are the body of Christ and members all, we must be mindful of the fact that we do not only represent ourselves in our Christian walk, but that we represent the body of Christ; in other words, we represent the Church. So, our little sinful nature that we let alone, to continue to grow and to be accepted as normal, is not only a smudge upon ourself, but also the Church; and sadly also upon Christ who is the head of the church. Do you ever wonder if one reason the world looks down on us is because of our unrighteousness? Think about this for a moment; If the church were able to walk in the righteousness we have been ordained to walk in, the world would marvel at the power of God demonstrated in our lives. Unfortunately, there are not that many who claim to be Christians who believe this. When the averages of divorce are the same in the Christian marriages as they are in the secular marriages, something is seriously wrong. When a Christian employee is looked down upon because they are unreliable, lazy and ungrateful to their employer, something is seriously wrong. When a Christian businessman is guided by wealth, power, fame and fortune, more than he is guided by God, something is seriously wrong. We are to be stronger than this, because we are required to be; it is vital not only for our own spiritual lives, but also for the vitality of the Church. "Now therefore be no more strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints, and of the household of God; and are built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the chief corner stone; In whom all the building fitly framed together groweth unto a holy temple in the Lord: In whom you also are builded together for a habitation of God through the Spirit." Eph 2:19-22 "Doing all to stand"---next the Gospel of Peace