Faith and The Helmet of Salvation

July 17, 2025 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. 1 Thessalonians 5: 8. NKJV.

When I grew up, helmets were not a thing. Nobody wore helmets bike riding, and it was rare to see someone riding a motorcycle wearing one. I remember the first time I wore a helmet. My friend offered me a ride on his motorcycle and lent me his helmet. It felt huge, heavy and quite cumbersome. It seemed restrictive. Faster speeds, congested roadways, and statistics encouraged most state lawmakers to pass legislation requiring motorcyclists to wear helmets. It is for their own benefit. God’s Word doesn’t compel us to wear the helmet of salvation, but it is to our benefit if we do!

Roman helmets were a very critical part of their armor. That is an obvious statement, isn’t it? Craftsmen usually constructed them of brass or bronze. Later, they discovered that many were also made of iron. Each helmet, regardless of material, protected the wearer’s head. It covered the whole head, his face and even between the eyes. The New Living Translation says: Put on salvation as your helmet. What is there about “salvation” that is a head protection? Let’s break it down.

When we put on the helmet of salvation, we are declaring which side of the battle we are on. It is a declaration that we are willing to follow our Commander, no matter where He leads. This helmet shows the enemy and the world that we want to have a mind that is controlled by God and His thoughts. What did the serpent do to tempt Eve? He appealed to her thought realm. Did God really say you must not eat the fruit from any of the trees in the garden? We can see Eve beginning to think…she answered truthfully, Of course we may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, the woman replied. It’s only the fruit from the tree in the middle of the garden that we are not allowed to eat. God said, You must not eat it, or even touch it; if you do, you will die.I think God made it pretty clear: don’t eat it. You won’t die! The serpent replied to the woman. God knows that your eyes will be opened as soon as you eat it, and you will be like God, knowing both good and evil. The woman was convinced. She saw that the tree was beautiful and its fruit looked delicious, and she wanted the wisdom it would give her. So she took some of the fruit and ate it. Genesis 3:1-6. NLT. If God had controlled her mind, the serpent wouldn’t have beguiled her. Satan got her to swallow his lie, and she began to doubt God’s goodness. He is still using the same tactics, and unfortunately God’s people are still falling for it. She was deceived, and so we can be too.

In I Thessalonians 5:8, Paul tells us But let us who live in the light be clearheaded, protected by the armor of faith and love, and wearing as our helmet the confidence of our salvation. Reading through the Genesis passage made me stop and think, “Why do we think we can outsmart Satan?” The NKJV describes him as more cunning than any beast of the field, the NIV says he was “more crafty”; the Message has him “more clever”; but the Amplified may be the clearest: Now the serpent was more crafty (subtle, skilled in deceit) than any living creature of the field which Lord God had made. Genesis 3:1. My friends, do you really understand that without the Holy Spirit, we can’t fight him? That is humbling to admit, but he probably can outsmart us, but not when we are armored with the Armor of God.

We are humans, but we don’t wage war as humans do. We use God’s mighty weapons, not worldly weapons, to knock down the strongholds of human reasoning and to destroy false arguments. We destroy every proud obstacle that keeps people from knowing God. We capture their rebellious thoughts and teach them to obey Christ. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. NLT. This takes the mind of Christ to be able to confront those worldly arguments. We can’t do it with our own minds. We must renew our minds as Romans 12:2 exhorts. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, and what is good and acceptable and perfect. Eve was tricked away from what was good, acceptable and perfect. Many times it is the small lies that trip us up. Is God really for you? What about the leadership of your church? Do they have your best interest at heart? Or do you even need to be part of the body of Christ? You can just love Jesus and go about your life as you see fit. These are some of the subtle lies that we can begin believing, if we do not have the helmet of salvation firmly covering our minds.

The hope of salvation causes us to stand strong and tall. It reminds us of whose we are, and where we are going. It gives us confidence in Him and His ways. We grasp the truth of Romans 6:5-7. For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. As believers, we must set our minds on things of the Spirit, and we can only do that when settle in our minds and hearts that we are going to submit to our Commander, our Lord and Savior. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. Colossians 3:2-3. ESV. Without the helmet are thoughts scatter to fear, doubt and unbelief.

Paul’s exhortation in Ephesians 6:11, Put on, is written in a very firm tone. The verb tense is “put it on and keep it on”. My friends, we can’t pick and choose the time we armor up. Soldiers can’t pick and choose random days to serve or not. There is a war raging, and we are all in it. The good news is we fight from victory, not for victory, no matter how you feel or what you see. Wear your helmet. Every day. All day.

Remember: You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you. Isaiah 26:3. NLT. Check your peace level, maybe you have forgotten your helmet!

Father, there are some of your children who are weary in their fight. I ask you to refresh them today with your grace and strength. Teach us the blessing of our helmet of salvation. We are so grateful for the hope your salvation gives us. Thank you for the protection we have when we use your armor purposefully and consistently. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and The Shield of Faith

July 10, 2025 Martha RodmanLeave a comment

In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one. Ephesians 6:16 ESV.

The Roman soldier’s armor included a shield. The one Paul refers to here, is not a small little round one, like Captain America uses. It was almost as tall as the soldier himself. Four feet tall and over two feet wide. They made this shield with many layers, including a covering of animal hide. Before battle, soldiers often soaked these shields to extinguish flaming arrows. My thought when reading about this, was how heavy was this shield? So I googled it. The average Roman shield weighed twenty-two pounds. A lot of weight to be carrying, but the shape and construction was manageable. Often they had a metal piece attached where they would bash their opponents in close combat!

As a history major and learner, I loved reading about their armor. Reading slowly through this scripture, I stopped at “take up”. It made me stop and think. How often have I encountered spiritual battles without lifting my shield of faith. I pictured myself just standing while the arrows and darts came flying at me. I may have had the breastplate of righteousness on, and hopefully the belt of truth…but I didn’t pick up the shield. More damage occurred. Years ago, a very angry man made false accusations against Darryl and me. He was so worked up that no amount of reasoning would calm him. Darryl, wisely walked out of the room. I, in my foolishness, stayed to try to show him where he misjudged the situation. I realized now, I did not even try to lift the shield of faith. The darts of accusation and half lies landed deep in my soul. I don’t believe it was this man’s intention to damage me so deeply. However, it certainly was our enemy’s intent. I would have handled the situation much differently as a wiser and hopefully more mature believer today!

You must intentionally take up the shield of faith. When I think of physically holding up a twenty-two pound shield, it makes me feel overwhelmed. I feel like I can’t do it. Sometimes, lifting the shield of faith can seem overwhelming as well. That is why we need each other. Another unique thing about Roman shields is they were interlocking. When they stood next to each other, they formed one massive wall. There was no separation where the darts, arrows or spears could enter. It is God’s intention that we stand close as the body of Christ protecting each other. There are so many who are as “cliche” as it seems, are lone rangers. They don’t think they need community, but can do it alone. There are three things wrong with that thinking. One: it isn’t scriptural. We are told to gather to be taught, encourage and pray for one another. Two: when the battle rages you are on your own. There is no one to stand with you. Satan loves to isolate God’s children. They can become ineffective, distracted and drift from God’s plan and ways. Three: Their gifts and talents aren’t being used to the fullest extent. Their lights are not shining as brightly as they could as a one watter. (I know that isn’t a word, but it sure is a good visual!)

Paul exhorts us to put on the whole armor of God. He was very well aware that every believer is in a battle. Thinking that only God’s important people are attacked will leave us off guard. That’s not the case. Our enemy is no respecter of persons. If he can lull us into thinking we don’t have to fight him, he has already won.

Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God. Romans 10:17. NKJV. Scripture talks about six different types of faith. (Actually, there is a seventh, demonic faith. You believe there is one God. Good! Even the demons believe that–and shudder. James 2:19. NIV. We have to have faith to

Dead faith. Faith without works is dead. James 2:17.

Little faith. Why are you fearful, O you of little faith? Matthew 6:30.

Saving faith. For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves.

Great faith. O, woman, great is your faith! Matthew 8:10. Growing faith. Your faith grows exceedingly, and the love of everyone of you all abounds toward each other. 2 Thessalonians 1:3.

Tested faith. The genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire. 1 Peter 1:7.

Victorious faith. For whatever is born of God overcomes the world. And this is the victory that has overcome the world–our faith. 1 John 5:4. We grow in our faith by hearing the word of God, and then applying it. Learning how to apply what our head knows to our lives makes us more effective believers. What a joy to discover God’s Word really is alive and powerful, and changes not only us, but others. It isn’t easy fighting the fiery darts of doubt, unbelief, intimidation, accusation, guilt and shame, etc. But unless we do, we can’t live the life Jesus died for us to live, and that is a shame.

Father, I thank you for teaching us how to take up the shield of faith. Reveal to us the enemies tactics against ourselves and those around us. I ask you to restore any areas that have been already damaged by those fiery darts in my life, and in the lives of those around me. Give us a desire to have victorious faith. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

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Faith and the BreastPlate of Righteousness

June 26, 2025 Martha Rodman1 Comment

He put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation on his head; he put on garments of vengeance for clothing, and wrapped himself in zeal as a cloak. Isaiah 59: 17. ESV.

When was the last time you thought about the breastplate of righteousness? It is the second part of the armor of God Paul exhorts us to put on. A Roman soldier’s breastplate consisted of metal plates or chains. These covered their bodies from neck to waist. It encircled their entire body. I am sure they were grateful for such armor. It protected their vital organs, like their heart and lungs. The breastplate was an essential part of their armor.

But what is the breastplate of righteousness? It also covers our vital spiritual organs, but it is not something we can manufacture, in fact it is something Jesus gives us when we receive Him. We can’t earn it, we can only receive it by faith. It is God declaring we are in right standing with Him. It means we can ward off guilt, sin and shame. This is possible because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for us. When Satan tries to send condemnation, guilt or shame our way, we simply tell him we are forgiven and stand covered by God’s grace and mercy.

To appreciate and appropriate this gift, we must first really grasp the state of our own righteousness. Only then can we fully comprehend and appreciate the wonderful gift of the breastplate of righteousness. Our righteousness is not good. Isaiah 64:6 gives us a very honest opinion of our righteousness. We are all infected and impure with sin. When we display our righteous deeds, they are nothing but filthy rags. Ouch. Unless we have Christ’s righteousness, we are a mess. Sometimes, we forget just how bad our sinfulness was. Pride and arrogance can lie to us. “Oh, you are not really that bad”. Subtle comparisons sneak in, and we feel pretty good about ourselves. Then we get reminded how weak we really are. Romans 3: 22 comes into play. We are made right with God by placing our faith in Jesus Christ. And this is true for everyone who believes, no matter who we are. For everyone has sinned; we all fall short of God’s glorious standard. Yet God, in his grace freely makes us right in his sight. He did this through Christ Jesus when he freed us from the penalty for our sins. Romans 3: 22-24. NLT. I am so grateful for His grace and mercy. As I grow older, I realized how much I need Him and exactly how short I fall from His standards. The breastplate of righteousness covers those areas the accuser would love to send shame and guilt. Apparently, the soldiers breastplate was attached to the belt they wore around their waist. If the belt fell off or loosened, the breastplate would fall off. As in the physical, they both need each other, so in the spiritual. If we do not know or walk in the truth, we are vulnerable to attacks.

We must learn to appropriate Christ’s righteousness by faith, no matter how we feel. The other day I was struggling. Struggling with feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. My emotions (my heart?) were running wild. I kept praying, crying out to the Lord for help. I “felt” like prayer wasn’t working. As I waited on the Lord, pouring my heart out to Him, I humbled myself before Him. My heart shifted from me to Him. When I admitted, I couldn’t do it, but He could, peace came. I thanked Him for being the Savior I needed! More peace and then more joy came!

I found the Amplified version very interesting. So stand firm and hold your ground, having tightened the wide band of truth (personal integrity, moral courage) around your waist and having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart). Ephesians 6:14 AMP. As we understand our need for this saving grace to become righteous, it also begins to affect our actions. When we put on the breastplate of righteousness, we should align our actions to His Word and His ways. We begin to guard our heart and put off our old man and His sinful ways. It is our choice. His righteousness begins to cause us to live more righteously. Because we wear His righteousness, we no longer need to fear being accepted, liked, or approved by others. If the God of the universe accepts us, we are approved!

My friends, it is time to discipline ourselves to appropriate the breastplate of righteousness every day. It gives us confidence to stand firm against the wiles of our enemy.

Father, please help us appropriate this amazing breastplate of righteousness. The price you paid for it was nothing we deserve. I thank you for the privilege we have in wearing it. Please continue to show us how to use this armor, In Jesus’ Name, amen.