Ephesians 6:17 – Be Prepared for 2017

January 18, 2017

Be Prepared for 2017:
Helmet of Salvation

Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. Ephesians 6:14-17

Salvation is defined as “deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss.” In the spiritual sense, it is “deliverance from sin and its consequences, believed by Christians to be brought about by faith in Jesus Christ.” I would expound on that by saying that humans are naturally doomed for eternal separation from God (hell) unless they express faith in Jesus Christ.

I’ve had people ask me over the years to explain this salvation. It is really quite simple. It is so simple, in fact, that it seems too good to be true. This is one of those rare times, however, when it really is true. These are the ABCs of salvation.

A – admit

Admit that you are sinful – that you are bad, rotten, good-for-nothing, however you want to word it. Romans 3:23 says “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  No matter how hard we try to do good works, or to be good, or to act good – we always fall flat on our faces.

B – believe

Believe that Jesus Christ is the son of God and that He came to the earth as a man to teach us and guide us to the Father. Believe that Jesus died on the cross for your sins, even though He Himself had done nothing wrong. Believe that on the third day He arose from the grave, conquering spiritual death for you and defeating Satan for good. John 14:6 says, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

C – confess

Unlike a criminal who admits (or confesses) guilt when on trial, this confession means to “declare your religious faith.” It means to tell someone that you believe. Romans 10:9-10 says, “If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.  For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.”

Revelation 3:20 is one of my favorite verses. “Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hears my voice and opens the door, I will come into him and sup with him and he with me.”

Jesus, gentleman that He is, doesn’t break your door down and push His way into your life. He knocks and waits patiently for you to decide to open the door and invite Him in. Once invited in, he is at home there and brings you peace,

Salvation is, indeed, easy. We don’t have to DO anything. We can’t EARN it. We don’t DESERVE it. It is a free gift given to us from God.

When I was 9 years old, I did something terrible at school one day. I had been sick and I had to stay in the classroom while the other children went out to the playground. One of my classmates had been naughty that day and the teacher made him stay inside during recess, as well, to “clean the desks.” What kind of punishment was that? The desks weren’t even dirty. I got out my box of crayons and forcefully marked on my desk with every color. “Now. There’s something for you to clean,” I sneared.

Just then, we saw them. The teacher and the students were on their way back to our classroom. We panicked. Nothing we did would make those marks go away.

I was crushed.

I let my teacher down.

I let my classmates down.

I disappointed my parents.

But more than anything, I realized with full clarity that I WAS BAD.

It was a couple of days later that I prayed a simple, childlike prayer to God asking for forgiveness and asking Him to come and make His home in my heart.

He forgave me that instant, granting my salvation (deliverance from harm, ruin, or loss).

He has lived within me ever since.

If you have never walked through these simple steps, I encourage you to do that right now. Pray the following prayer and then go tell somebody!

Lord Jesus,

I admit that I am full of sin. I realize that no matter what I do, I will never be good enough to earn a spot with you in heaven.

I believe that you are the Son of God, that you came to the earth to die on the cross for me. And I believe that you came back to life on the third day.

I open the door of my heart to you now. Please come into my life and live with me forever.