Armor: Helmet of Salvation

Spiritual Warfare – Part 6
Perry Duggar

October 30, 2022

I. Introduction: We return again to our message series, Spiritual Warfare.

• Ephesians 6:11-17; C/R: ; 1 Thessalonians 5:8-9

A. Ephesians 6:13–17 (NLT)— ¹³ Therefore, put on every piece of God’s armor so you will be able to resist the enemy in the time of evil. Then after the battle you will still be standing firm. ¹⁴ Stand your ground, putting on the belt of truth and the body armor of God’s righteousness. ¹⁵ For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared. ¹⁶ In addition to all of these, hold up the shield of faith to stop the fiery arrows of the devil. ¹⁷ Put on salvation as your helmet, …

1. Theme verse for today: Ephesians 6:17 (NIV)— Take the helmet of salvation ...
2. The Roman helmet was usually made of bronze, though iron and leather were also used.
3. It was equipped with cheek pieces hinged to each side and secured with leather straps under the chin to protect the sides of the face; it often had an ornamental crest or plume.
4. A curved piece on the back of the helmet protected the neck, part of the shoulders and upper back from arrows that fell from above.
5. A helmet protects the head from crippling or deadly blows from a large, two-handed, double-edged broadsword, measuring three to four feet in length.

B. What is the spiritual significance of the helmet of salvation?

1. The head is where the brain is located; it’s the center of our thinking and feeling.
2. This piece of armor protects the mental and emotional aspects of our lives from assault.
3. Another New Testament verse written by the same author, Paul, gives us insight into the specific symbolic meaning of the helmet.
4. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (NLT)— 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.
5. 1 Thessalonians 5:8 (CEV)—… Our firm hope that we will be saved is our helmet.
6. The Helmet of Salvation represents confident hope of eternal life.
7. The English word, “hope,” (Greek ĕlpis, el-pece´) means “to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial; anticipation, expectation or confidence.”
8. Hope is not merely wishful thinking; it’s a certain expectation based on faith!
9. A Christian’s hope is a realistic dependence on God to keep His promise to deliver us through this life with its difficulties, to an eternal, unending reward in heaven.
10. Satan’s forces attack our minds by introducing distrust about God and doubts about His promises, leading to insecurity about our salvation today and eternal life tomorrow.
11. The devil and his demons are waging the battle for our minds because our minds control our thoughts, and our thoughts control our lives.

B. Hope withstands Satan’s attacks by…

1. Reassuring when suffering. (Romans 5:3-5; 8:23-25; 2 Corinthians 4:16-18)

1. Satan and his demonic soldiers seek to discourage us by pointing out our problems, poor health, painful relationships, and other negative situations in our lives to cause us to lose confidence in the care and concern of our Heavenly Father.
   
2. Remember the devil is a deceiver! He wants you to encounter life with a false set of expectations, so you consider yourself mistreated by God when difficulties occur!
3. Satan wants us to think that all should go well for us in this world because we belong to God. (Some distorted theology advocates that perspective.)
4. If we are seduced into thinking God’s children should never suffer disappointment or pain, we will be discouraged and end up doubting God’s goodness, when problems arise.
5. When we experience hardship and difficulties, we become disappointed in God, disillusioned, angry, even resentful toward Him.
6. In reality, the Bible doesn’t promise a life without pain, in fact, it asserts the opposite!
7. Just before His arrest, Jesus warned His disciples that He would soon leave them, they would experience suffering and be scattered by persecution. (John 16:16-32)
8. John 16:33 (NLT)— “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in Me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” [Also applies to us; with Jesus, we, too, can overcome this world’s hardships!]
9. The proper perspective on trials and troubles is that this fallen, corrupted, world produces pain and sorrow, but as we rely on God in the midst of our suffering, we grow in intimacy with Him and our trust for Him strengthens—for that, we can rejoice!
10. Romans 5:3–5 (NLT)— ³ We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance [resisting, not giving in, to trials] . ⁴ And endurance develops strength of character [mature, tested, proven] , and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. [trusting expectation] ⁵ And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because He has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with His love. [Troubles don’t mean God doesn’t love.]
11. God’s promise is to remain with us in suffering, to strengthen us in times of trouble, to replace our preoccupation with our pain with awareness of His Presence and peace.
12. When we survive hardships with God’s help, it strengthens our ability to trust Him in future trials and believe more fervently, His promise of eternal life.
13. 2 Corinthians 4:16–18 (NLT)— ¹⁶ That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. ¹⁷ For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! ¹⁸ So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
14. APP.: Are you assured of God’s love for and acceptance of you, despite difficulties?

Hope resists Satan’s attacks by…

2. Removing fear of God’s rejection. (John 6:37-40; 10:27-30; Romans 8:35-38; Ephesians 1:13–14)

1. One of Satan’s most successful schemes is deceiving believers into thinking they have lost, or could lose, their salvation.
2. Satan wants people who lack a relationship with Jesus to be sure of their salvation (New Age faith: god within you), but he wants Christians to be insecure about their salvation.
3. Satan wants us to fear God will reject us, which eliminates any motivation we would have to deny sin and battle Satan to serve a God who will discard us!
4. The devil produces this insecurity by deceiving us about how we are saved!
5. He confuses our understanding of salvation by grace by mixing in the requirement of works, so we think we must meet a set of unachievable standards to be accepted by God.
6. Even though we can recite correctly that forgiveness is free, that grace is “unmerited favor,” we live as though we must earn God’s mercy through perfect performance.
7. We may have been mistaught by people who wanted to use God to make us behave, but that is not biblically correct; it promotes works righteousness and creates insecurity.
8. As a result of thinking a hard-to-please God is watching us closely, many believers are overwhelmed by guilt, overcome by shame, because of this diabolical false teaching.
9. But Jesus was very clear about the security of our salvation.
10. John 10:27–30 (NLT)— ²⁷ “My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. ²⁸ I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from Me, ²⁹ for My Father has given them to Me, and He is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father’s hand. ³⁰ The Father and I are one.”
11. This verse means that if you have ever been born again, forgiven by God, you can’t even snatch yourself out of Jesus’ hand; you can do nothing to cause God to stop loving you!
12. Romans 8:35,37-38 (NLT)— ³⁵ Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or hungry, or destitute, or in danger, or threatened with death?... ³⁷ No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us.
13. ³⁸ And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from God’s love. Neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither our fears for today nor our worries about tomorrow—not even the powers of hell can separate us from God’s love.
14. Absolutely no circumstance—no failure, shortcoming, or sin—no matter how serious—can cause God to reject a person He has forgiven, adopted, accepted, loves, permanently.
15. APP.: Does thinking God might reject you discourage your living for Him?

Hope endures Satan’s attacks by…

3. Reminding me of my future. (Romans 15:4,13; Ephesians 1:18; 2:12-13; Hebrews 6:17-19)

1. Satan attacks your mind to cause you to feel abandoned by God, so you will mistrust His promise to provide a home in heaven when this life ends.
2. God has given us the Bible to build our trust in Him and strengthen our hope of salvation.
3. Romans 15:4 (NLT)— Such things were written in the Scriptures long ago to teach us. [Paul referring to Old Testament, but today, includes New Testament] And the Scriptures give us hope and encouragement as we wait patiently for God’s promises to be fulfilled.
4. The Gospel message can be written in one verse, so why a Bible composed of 66 books?
5. The Bible displays God’s faithfulness to keep His promises to His people in varied situations, in different contexts and cultures, over many centuries.
6. These stories of God’s trustworthiness provide certainty of our hope for eternal life.
7. This life is tough for many people; it is the promise of absolute freedom from sin and sickness, problems and pain, that sustain us when life is really, really difficult!
8. It is our confident hope in the future promise of eternal salvation in the permanent Presence of God that motivates us to persevere through trials and troubles.
9. APP.: Does hope for the future sustain you during struggles and suffering in the present?
10. Hebrews 10:23 (NLT) [Memory verse]— Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.