January 30th (Breastplate of Righteousness)

“Put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place . . . .” A breastplate was a shirt of metal bands held together by leather to protect the vital organs, most notably, the heart. Without the breastplate, any attack not batted away by a shield or parried by a sword would mean a deadly blow in most cases. You can have your belt on, your helmet on, your shield, your sword and your shoes, but that breastplate often means the difference between survival and death.

John 3, starting at verse 7, “Dear children, do not let anyone lead you astray. He who does what is right is righteous, just as He [that is Jesus Christ] is righteous. He who does what is sinful is of the devil, because the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the devil’s work.” What does it mean to put on the breastplate of righteousness? It means to do what is right. To walk as Jesus walked. To commit to living your life in accordance with His truth—a life of upright behavior— a life of righteousness.

Does that mean following the commandments? Yes. All of them? Yes. All of them. To love your neighbor as yourself? Yes. Even if it hurts? Yes. Even if they hurt me? Yes, especially then. Living a life in accordance with the will of God is to live a righteous life. Paul calls a righteous life a breastplate of righteousness to show how living your life with integrity and purity guards your heart from the devil’s deadly attacks.

The Devil loves to take down a good Christian witness and this cannot be done easily unless that Christian has taken off their breastplate of righteousness by hiding naked in the darkness of sin. There have been many wonderful Christian pastors and leaders who have lost their jobs, their credibility and their pride not because they weren’t great at what they did, but because they stopped living a righteous life and thought they could battle temptation unprotected. Money laundering schemes done out of greed and jealousy. Affairs brought on by poor boundaries and temptation. Arrogant leaders who drive others away so they can feel important and keep control. These Christians often live very righteous lives in many ways, but the devil steals the show when they let their guard down.

You must protect yourself from the Devils’ schemes. When you follow God’s commands, when you walk according to God’s laws, the Devil cannot find a chink in your armor. That’s what putting on the breastplate of righteousness means for your life. This means that you will have to turn off the TV, pick up your Bible and start following the guidelines set forth in that book. This means that you will need to learn to pray and ask for God’s guidance when you feel tempted. This means that you’ll need to recommit yourself to hearing God’s Word at church and integrating the messages into your daily life. While the breastplate of righteousness is an amazing defense against the devil, it involves much hard work and dedication to Jesus Christ. The alternative is to walk across the battlefield exposed to danger at every turn.

But there is more to the breastplate of righteousness than simply a life lived according to God’s commands. Isaiah 64:6 points out our dilemma, “All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags.” All our righteous acts? Yes. All of them. Ezekiel 33 puts it even more clearly, “If I tell the righteous man that he will surely live, but then he trusts in his righteousness and does evil, none of the righteous things he has done will be remembered; he will die for the evil he has done.” Paul writes in Galatians, “If righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!”

There is no doubt that the breastplate of righteousness is put on by living uprightly and standing as a child in the light of God. But when you are standing in the light of God you see the truth: you cannot live a perfect life. By yourself, you cannot defeat the Devil. You should do everything in your power to live a life worthy of Jesus Christ, but the truth is that your righteousness, your best works, your highest virtues look like filthy rags in the eyes of God. All have and all will fall short of the glory of God except for Jesus Christ, the Son of God. In fact, some of our greatest sins are caused by what we think are our greatest assets. And so the hardworking Christian CEO refuses to tithe because he thinks his church doesn’t “deserve” his hard earned money. The big shot pastor doesn’t have time to visit the sick because he’s working on his new book deal. I heard of a terrific farmer once who skipped church so he could be the first one in town who got the harvest in. We begin trusting ourselves, our work and our righteousness and lose sight of God.

And so when we Christians stand up here in church singing away, listening to the Bible readings, quiet and very holy looking, the devil enters our hearts and says, “I know what you did last summer. You aren’t really as good looking on the inside as you pretend to be on the outside. If only they knew, you’d be ashamed.” And when a leader stands up here the devil attacks, “Who are you to act so high and mighty? You are no better than anyone else! If only people knew you like I do.” While a righteous life can protect you and I from temptation and much harm in this world, it cannot protect us from the horrible truth—we are still sinners who deserve nothing but punishment.

Hear now how the apostle Paul deals with this dilemma: (Philippians 3:7) “But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.”

The breastplate of righteousness is more than an upright life, it is knowing the difference between an upright life and a life lived by faith alone. “The righteous will live by faith.” Paul writes in Romans. “Abraham’s faith was credited to him as righteousness.” We must put on more than our good works, we must put Jesus Christ in order to protect ourselves from the devil’s schemes. (Romans 13) “Let us put aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Clothe yourselves with the Lord Jesus Christ, do not think about how to gratify the desires of the sinful nature.” Clothing yourself with Jesus and his righteousness, trusting in His work on the cross rather than your own work in this world, doesn’t take away the need to live a righteous life, it gives you the strength to do just that. “For it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.” (Philippians 2:13)

You are called to live your life according to all the commandments of God and walking in the light of Jesus Christ in order to protect yourself from the devil’s schemes. You are also called to trust not in what you can do, but in Christ who works all in all. Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick. I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Mark 2:17) He offers you his love and protection not as something that you earned, but as a free gift. When you have done everything that you are called to do, humbly clothe yourself with Jesus Christ and trust in His protection alone. Every morning. Every day.

None of us can stand against the devil’s schemes and temptations on our own. Our most righteous acts are filthy rags. But you may fight the battle against the devil’s schemes wrapped in the righteousness of God, with the full armor of God. This next week, don’t walk into your day unprotected. Stand firm, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist and the breastplate of righteousness in place. . . .” Amen.