Put on salvation as your helmet,
Ephesians 6v17 NLT
How we think affects how we behave which is why we must put on the helmet of salvation to protect our minds from all the lies and deceit of the enemy. The war we’re involved in starts in our minds. One of the lies we can believe as Christians is that we sin so much that God cannot possibly love us anymore. I’ve struggled with that one for years. I can understand God forgiving the sins of someone who is being born again, but for someone who has been a Christian for years and keeps failing in different areas, surely His patience has run out. I need to constantly remind myself that God’s ways are not my ways. If He tells me to forgive someone 70×7 per day Matthew 18v22, then He will do even more than that. John 1v9 needs to be our life verse when we struggle with feelings of failure. He is FAITHFUL and JUST. All he asks us to do is repent and His forgiveness is guaranteed.
Some people are affected by other thoughts. I’ve spoken to so many Christians who say quite contentedly “God loves me just the way I am”. That is absolutely true, but the other side of that coin is that Jesus said “If you love me, follow my commandments”. John 14v15.
God does not intend for you to ” stay the way you are”, but to be transformed into the image of His Son. The New Testament did not end with the crucifixion and resurrection of Christ. The letters that follow the Gospels teach us how to live this new life. We have to put off the old man and all his old ways, and put on the new man with all his new ways. Salvation is the start of the journey, not the whole of it. It is not just believing the truth (even the demons do that) James 2v19. It is walking in the truth and that means change.
The helmet of salvation is knowing the Word of God and applying the Word of God to our own lives. We need to daily meditate on what it means to follow Christ. Reading and meditating on the Word of God is learning to think His thoughts after Him. We need to learn to replace our thoughts with His thoughts and our ways with His ways. The battle for our soul rages most in our minds. The enemy wants to cripple us because a crippled soldier cannot fight. Our thoughts can cripple our walk with God and our growth in God. We need to fill our minds with God’s Word which saves us, heals us and strengthens us in our battle with the enemy.
“God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.” 2 Tim 1v7
A sound mind is one that makes sound judgements about things. God’s Word is a rock-solid foundation to build your life on. It is completely sound! There are no mistakes. His Word was written for every age and every society. God has given us an intellect to love Him with. We do this when we base all our moral judgements and life decisions on the Word of God.
I’ve heard it said that when you won’t believe the Word of God, you will believe anything!
The Helmet of Salvation, like every other piece of armour, is The Word of God. Fix your mind on it.
