The Whole Armor Of God - The Helmet of Salvation

"Above All, taking the shield of faith, wherewith you shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And take the helmet of salvation," Eph 6:16-17a. You might notice the "Above All is in bold; that is because I believe it applies to this piece of armor also; maybe even more than the Shield. The Helmet of Salvation is a representation of none other than Jesus Christ! He is our salvation; He is the representation of Salvation, to the very core; I think we can all agree on that. Where we may differ though, is in the Application; Application; Application; and how this very special piece of Armor is applied to our lives, to our walk, and to our ability to stand; remember, "Having done all to stand; Stand therefore". First we must remember that we are seated in Christ; which is our position in Christ, (see blog on Seated in Christ); then we must ask ourselves, "What is a helmet used for?"; duh... To protect your head!!! Now that we have discovered that truth, we can move on to the head, or actually, our minds. The enemy, the world, and yes, even our own flesh would want to lessen the significance of our salvation in our lives; thus it is vital that our minds are protected. We must "Above All, take up The Helmet of Salvation", to protect our minds from anything that would want to convince us of anything other than the fact that we are "Saved By Grace". The enemy would want nothing more than to make us think that it is not that simple; that there must be something else we must do to gain our salvation. I think he is jealous of the fact that we are offered redemption, and that he is not. Okay then; secondly, we walk in Christ; but because we are still walking through this world, (but not of this world), we must take up The Helmet of Salvation to guard our minds from the cares of this world; knowing that this life is not all there is. It is easy, extremely easy, to get sidetracked by the cares of this world, even the little ones, and get to a point where those cares drowned out the significance of what Jesus did on the Cross for our eternal benefit. In fact, I can say without doubt, that when we sin, we are at that moment believing that this is all there is... HELLO; Tap, Tap, Tap; (I wish I could be like that little Microsoft Office paperclip assistant, and tape on your screen); I said, when we sin, we are believing in that moment that this life is all there is! "No I don't!"; you might reply; to which I would answer, "Oh really?". Think about that for a moment; you may not realize that you are doing it, but you are; in fact, sometimes we can even try to convince our selves, if not just for the moment of pleasure, that this is it; as we join the unbelieving world for a dance of pleasure. We ignore the Holy Spirit tapping on our hearts, "This is wrong"; as we concentrate on the desire to fulfill the lust of our flesh. If you could hook a scale to your heart while this was going on, you could see the effect it has; in one side of the scale would be the eternal, the other the temporal; now you tell me what happens... All this will pass away, even this flesh that carries us around in this world. At the risk of sounding corny, I would ask you to Apply This; the next time one of those fiery darts come your way, and you are tempted by that sin that so easily causes you to stumble; stop for just a moment and literally pretend you are putting on a helmet, (I know it sounds corny; but so does believing that this is all there is). The helmet that you are applying over your head is Jesus; and with all your might picture Him there on the Cross, dying for your sin, that sin that so easily binds you. Think about the Love being poured out for you, and then hate that sin which has caused this to happen. Then to take it to the next level; put yourself in the Upper Room three days later, and pretend for a moment that you are Doubting Thomas. Press your fingers into His nail pierced hands; stick your hand into His sword pierced side; and see if that sin is still pressing into you. Finally we stand; this is where things get really spectacular. Picture this if you can; a Legend of Roman Solders marching into battle, and what do you see? What is significant about these solders as they march, side by side, in rank and file lines; it is their helmets. Yes that's right; as they march in formation, those thousand helmets, all arrayed up top with that bright and distinct upside down broom looking ornament; representing the glory of Rome as they march into battle. Now in our case; we are the Body of Christ; each one arrayed with our Helmet Of Salvation, declaring who's we are; we are Christ's Army; and the Gates of Hell shall not prevail against us; why? Because when Jesus died on that Cross, He said, "It is finished", and He meant just that, cause in that moment He had conquered sin, once and for all; and right then and there He established His Kingdom; and when He rose, He conquered death, once and for all; and right then and there, He fortified His Kingdom. And guess what; you and I are one in His Kingdom; So Apply That!!! (next, The Sword of The Spirit)