Breastplate of Righteousness
As we continue our study in the Armor of God, we come to the Breastplate of Righteousness, “ 14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place,” Ephesians 6:14. It is no coincidence that the belt of truth and the breastplate of righteousness are in the same verse. We cannot have one without the other. If we do not know God’s truth as described in our previous post, then we cannot know what it means to be righteous and therefore, cannot act in a righteous manner.
To be righteous means to live with integrity, holiness, and have purity of life. One great example of this is Job, Job was a man who “was blameless, upright, fearing God and turning away from evil” Job 1:1. God Himself even stated that there was no one else on Earth who was like Job, “8 The Lord said to Satan, “Have you considered My servant Job? For there is no one like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, fearing God and turning away from evil.”” Job 1:8. The idea of being blameless, or righteousness, is not in the sense that we would immediately think of. Job is not saying that he is without sin, for every man, woman, and child have sin “23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. Job is aware that he is a sinful man, but Job can be described as righteous because he was committed to honoring God with his life, no matter the issues that might occur. If you continue to read the Book of Job, you will see that he was put through many obstacles , but he never once turned from the desire to honor God and at the end Job’s sacrifices are rewarded double the amount as where he was in the beginning of the book.
We need to make something very clear, by putting on the breastplate of righteousness, we are not declaring our actions as to be living in a righteous life but rather we are signifying we are wearing Jesus Christ’s righteousness. For we can only wear the Armor of God if we are saved and born-again. Thus we are a new creation and can relate to what Paul says in Ephesians 2:10, “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” Additionally, we can relate to what Paul says in Romans, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” Romans 5:1. As a believer that peace is manifested through the truth that we, as believers, have Jesus Christ’s righteousness adorned and are His ambassadors on earth. So if we have His righteousness we are commanded to live holy lives because He is holy, “for it is written: "Be holy, because I am holy." 1 Peter 1:16.
We must live in a righteous manner, our actions should represent the righteousness that has been bestowed on us as a free gift in Jesus Christ. Now when we live a righteous life, we are desiring to put God above anything else which allows us to live a life that is honoring God. We cannot lose our salvation thus we cannot lose Jesus’ righteousness, yet we cannot represent him in a pleasing manner and even ignore the trappings of armor given to us for our protection. When we forget the Breastplate of Righteousness, we open ourselves up to an attack on our very heart. The breastplate was designed to protect the soldier’s heart and vital organs. In Christ, with His righteousness, we see that He is the one protecting us. His actions on the cross have caused those who call upon Him to be saved, justified, and adorned with His righteousness.
Yet that does not mean we cannot slip up and fail to properly show our breastplate. When we fail to have properly adorned the breastplate of righteousness then we leave our heart unprotected, and it is here that the enemy begins to plant ideas that are not Biblical. More often than not, these ideas seem harmless for example it could be something as simple as a little white lie or maybe not informing the cashier that they did not scan an item in your cart. On the surface these don’t seem like anything that would cause a person to stumble in honoring God, but when you look at the root of the problem you see that it leads to idolatry and other sins. We have already seen in Genesis 3 that the enemy is crafty, after all the serpent only said “Did God really say?” and allowed Eve to walk into the snare that he was laying (Genesis 3:1-6).
When wondering if you are living a righteous life, I ask that you look at what you are doing when no one is watching. The focus should not just be on your actions through, it also needs to be on your thoughts. Are you spending time watching or listening to things that allow you to grow in the Spirit? Or are you watching and listening to things that have questionable morals? How you spend your time when no one is watching is a great comparison to see if you are living a righteous life. We are called in 2 Timothy 2:22 to “22 Now flee from youthful lusts and pursue righteousness, faith, love and peace, with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” When we were nonbelievers, our minds and actions stemmed from our unrighteous behavior, but when we accept Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, we are called to put away those desires and to pursue righteousness. The only true righteousness in this world is Jesus Christ and as we grow in the Spirit we know more of the Belt of Truth and become more like Christ. It is ironic how in the verse mentioned above that peace follows righteousness, for it is only after we know the truth that we can live righteously and therefore have peace. “In the path of righteousness is life, and in its pathway there is no death.” Proverbs 12:28.
However, a righteous life is more than just a behavior modification, it is a change in the heart. To live righteously is to live according to how God wants us to, not how the world tells us too. We cannot produce righteousness on our own, we need God to produce it in us. “For all of us have become like one who is unclean, And all our righteous deeds are like a filthy garment; And all of us wither like a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, take us away” Isaiah 64:6. Any so called “righteous” action that we attempt to do on our own without Christ, amounts to nothing because we do not know the truth. We can gain righteousness when we turn from our sinful ways and pursue God. When we desire to be more like Him, spend more time in His Word, and to know Him more we are wearing the Breastplate of Righteousness. “He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.” Psalm 23:3. Finally, the breastplate was used by many in a conflict to represent which side they were on to make sure they did not have friendly casualties. In like manner, if we are saved and have the breastplate of righteousness on, we will be identified by other believers not just through our own actions, but also by the world as being a follower of Christ. The very meaning behind our name “Christian” means to be “little Christ”, to be a representation of Christ. In days like these our Breastplate needs to be ever more evident in the world we live in.
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex