Series: Identity
Sermon: Breastplate of Righteousness
Bible Passage: Ephesians 6:14b
“Therefore, stand … by girding … by putting on the breastplate of righteousness”
I. From last week: “Stand … by girding your loins with truth”
1. Girding your loins with truth (Eph 6:14b)
a. The strategy of Demon is “to lie”
b. He attempts constantly to trip you with lies
2. The truth in this verse is what God says about you (cf. Eph 1-3)
a. We are elected to be “holy and blameless”
b. God’s election of us is not based on us but on God’s sovereign plan
c. God never retracts from His relationship with us
d. God has sealed us with the Holy Spirit to mark His ownership over us
e. God has made us to be His “masterpiece”—we are special to God
f. God dwells among us g. God has won the battle and you are on His side
II. “The truth” is one of a divinely resourced tool (do not mix up with God’s truth with your truth)
III. Let’s look at the next armor in the list: Verse 14b “Stand … by putting on the breastplate of righteousness”
1. “To stand” by putting on the breastplate of righteousness
2. Just as the “belt” of verse 14a, “breastplate” is a defensive armor
a. Breastplate covers pretty much all vital organs of our body
b. If vital organs are not protected well, enemy can easily cause mortal blow them
c. In hoplite warfare, the breastplate covers the front but there is no cover for the back—this was for a purpose
3. Does “breastplate of righteousness” refer to virtue of righteousness or imputed righteousness?—let me explain!
a. Virtue of “righteousness” is our righteous behavior—the internal righteousness (potential to develop legalism and pride)
b. Imputed “righteousness” is that which is given to us by God—it’s same as “justification,” the external righteousness
4. Is it about the “doing” or the “being”?
5. Many teach the “righteousness” here to mean one’s righteous behavior
6. Can man’s righteous behavior protect him from the attack of the enemy—is internal righteousness our weapon of war?
a. Romans 7:18 I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my flesh. For I want to do the good, but I cannot do it. 7:19 For I do not do the good I want, but I do the very evil I do not want! 7:20 Now if I do what I do not want, it is no longer me doing it but sin that lives in me
b. Isa 64:6 We are all like one who is unclean, all our so-called righteous acts are like a filthy rag in your sight. We all wither like a leaf; our sins carry us away like the wind
7. The “breastplate of righteousness” most likely refer to the being, i.e., who a believer is before God
a. With the regenerative work of the Holy Spirit when a sinner responds to God’s work through Jesus, God, the righteous Judge, graciously declares him “righteous”—
b. In other words, all his unrighteousness for which he was accused of is forgiven and is granted an uninterrupted access to God—
c. This righteousness is not his doing, but it is graciously given to him by God
d. It is the imputed righteousness, the being of a believer
e. The Law and one’s own conscience accuse him as unrighteous, but the breastplate (which is sourced from God) protects him from all accusations from guilt, doubts, etc.
8. The breastplate protects a man from living on the lies of the enemy, and helps him to live on the truth of the Gospel (Evans)
a. Romans 8:1-2 There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death
b. Romans 8:33-34 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us
IV. Important point:
1. The breastplate of righteousness is not the “doing” but it is the “being”
2. It is an “armor resourced from God” that makes a believer face the onslaught of the accuser, Devil
V. Let’s probe further! Is “righteousness” in verse 14b only the being side? Can it also refer to “doing” side as well?
1. The answer is: the expression cannot mean two things
2. It refers to what we possess from God and it does not refer to what we do; it alone cannot protect us from the onslaught of the enemy
VI. Nevertheless let’s look at the “doing” side (caveat: Eph 6:14b is not our righteousness or our righteous doings)
1. Satan knows that he cannot take away our standing before God
2. So, he looks for a way to cause an apparent rift in our relationship with God
3. He causes us to commit deliberate sins and instigage us develop character flaws
4. And then he uses our subconscious mind to develop guilt and accuse us of losing God given righteousness
5. Wearing breastplate of righteousness is to protect you from Satan’s accusation
Take Away:
Walk securely in your imputed righteousness by the merit of Jesus’ death, burial, and righteousness