The Breastplate of Righteousness – Part 3 of 8

Ephesians 6:14 NKJV
[14] Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness,

Good Morning!
Today we look at the Breastplate of Righteousness.

To be called righteous, according to the dictionary is: the quality of being morally right or justifiable. Now we know we cannot be morally right 100% of the time, that is just impossible, so God justifies us with His righteousness through His saving grace and the sacrifice that Jesus made for all men and women. We can therefore put on God’s Righteousness just as a soldier puts on his breastplate for protecting all of his vital organs. God’s Righteousness protects us and wraps us with His protection against the attacks of the devil, protecting our vital “spiritual organs.”

Note, that the Bible doesn’t tell us to put on our self-righteous breastplate. Self-Righteousness will only cause us to lose in spiritual battles, as this breastplate does not have the substance to withstand the fiery darts that are thrown at us from the devil and they would easily pierce through the armor. But with God’s Breastplate of Righteousness, they are easily stopped. So as believers in Christ, keeping our self-righteousness in check is done by making every effort to be holy before God and trying to do everything we can to keep our lives pure and allows God’s Righteousness to fill our hearts, 2 Cor 7:1 tells us…

2 Corinthians 7:1 ERV
[1] Dear friends, we have these promises from God. So we should make ourselves pure-free from anything that makes our body or our soul unclean. Our respect for God should make us try to be completely holy in the way we live.

We are the Righteousness of God through His sacrifice for us. By standing firm in our beliefs and living the best we can, God makes our lives spotless before Him. We cannot do it on our own, but only by His grace. As Isaiah 64 tells us, “all of our righteousness is as filthy rags,” but God gives us a math equation that doesn’t quite make human sense but makes total sense for God. With faith we can believe that He has made atonement for us to make us pure and righteous in His sight. The simple equation is:
God’s Grace + Believing In Him and His Sacrifice for Us = We are the Righteousness of God

God wants us to hunger for righteousness. As we do, he will fill us and allow others around us to see His Righteousness as the noonday sun in our lives. This is His Plan A — that we would become disciples that make other disciples. That is how His Word has spread for nearly 2000 years and has never faded. As we feed on His faithfulness, we see this world through different eyes. They are eyes that have lenses of eternity in view and not just what is good for me today but what is good for God’s Plan A.

Thinking and viewing this world through the lenses of eternity gives us insight into God’s plan. As we walk through each day, let us all look for opportunities to let our righteousness shine as the noonday sun. Let us not walk through the motions, but let us be zealous for God and hunger and thirst for more of Him in our lives.

I love you and am praying for you today!
Dad

Psalm 37:3-7 NKJV
[3] Trust in the LORD, and do good; Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness. [4] Delight yourself also in the LORD, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. [5] Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass. [6] He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light, And your justice as the noonday. [7] Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.

Isaiah 64:6 NKJV
[6] But we are all like an unclean thing, And all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags; We all fade as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away.

Proverbs 21:21 NKJV
[21] He who follows righteousness and mercy Finds life, righteousness, and honor.

Matthew 5:6 NKJV
[6] Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, For they shall be filled.

Proverbs 23:17-18 NKJV
[17] Do not let your heart envy sinners, But be zealous for the fear of the LORD all the day; [18] For surely there is a hereafter, And your hope will not be cut off.

Plan A — Matthew 28:18-20 NKJV
[18] And Jesus came and spoke to them, saying, “All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. [19] Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, [20] teaching them to observe all things that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Amen.