AOG: The Helmet of Salvation

“And take the helmet of salvation...”

The Purpose of The Helmet

The soldier’s helmet provided protection from any head injuries. The helmet was vital for survival, as if the head was damaged, then the rest of the armour would be of no use. In our scripture Paul likens the helmet to salvation - our salvation keeps our minds protected through the seasons of life and gives us hope for what is next.

The Assurance & Hope of Our Salvation

“The helmet of salvation is the assurance of your salvation and the confidence that comes from that assurance.”

It is important that as christians we walk assured of our salvation, which I believe comes from faith in the true finished work of the cross. The key word here is finished, because that tells me that salvation is secure (so long as you choose to remain in Christ) & so because of this we can walk with confidence!

“Salvation is not limited to a one-time act of the past or even a future hope. God’s salvation is ongoing, eternal state that His children enjoy in the present. It is a daily protection and deliverance from our sin nature and Satan’s schemes.”

We have such a hopeful reality as christians knowing that salvation means that we have been saved, are being saved and will be saved. What does that mean?

We have been saved (past) - the moment we accepted Jesus into our lives we were saved from the pangs of death and the penalty of sin - we have been justified.

We are being saved (present) - we still live in a sinful world, with a sinful nature and so fall short of the glory of God but through staying in close relationship with Christ, dying to self and living in total surrender throughout this life we are being sanctified (made holy).

We will be saved (future) - when we meet Jesus we will be saved from the presence of sin and darkness - this what we are to put our hope in!

“Being confident of this, that He who begun a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

And because we have this confidence and hope we are able to withstand the attacks of the enemy in our minds! Whether this is through discouragement, condemnation, doubt etc.

The Bible says in Revelation 12:11, “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb, and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.”

Let’s break this scripture down, “And they overcame him by…”:

The Blood of The Lamb

From the moment we accepted Jesus into our lives through salvation we are covered by the blood. That means when God looks at us, He doesn’t see our sin, He sees the blood of Jesus. The blood of Jesus washes clean, what a sacrifice that changed our lives, the blood of Jesus is our victory! That means when Satan comes with accusations, we strap on our helmet of salvation remembering the Blood that has washed us clean!

The Word of Our Testimony

We all have a testimony of how Jesus has saved our lives. But something I love about Jesus is that He is always blessing us with more testimonies as we grow and walk in Him. As we are being sanctified and changed by Him we go through things in order to mould us - and out of each season we see lots of little victories.

During our walk with God He strips us of so many old habits/mindsets & sin  so that we can become more like Jesus, and from this we gain loads of little testimonies along the way! And so when the enemy tries to discourage us or get us to doubt God we must strap on the helmet of salvation and remember the testimony of how he saved our lives and also all the other great things He has done in our lives, how He has never failed us! (& not only for us, but also the testimonies of others!)

Not Loving Our Lives to The Death

The NIV translation says it like this, “they did not love their lives so much in that they were afraid to die.” I think a lot of times we forget about the hope of our salvation, we get so caught up in the pleasures of this life, what we can gain here that we dismiss the hope of eternal life with Christ. And when we value this life more than the one to come when Satan brings things our way that rock our faith its easy to lose hope - but when we have on our helmet of salvation and are preparing and looking toward the day we meet Christ, no matter what we may go through on this earth we know that what is coming outweighs it all :)

So guys put on your helmets with meeee, we’re so blessed mayn! Day five done, see you tomorrow by God’s grace!

“And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.” - John 10:28