The Whole Armour of God, Our Helmet Part V

“And take the helmet of salvation,” Ephesians 6:17

The helmet of salvation is another item that we ‘take up;’ unlike our belt (or girdle), breastplate, and footwear, which we ‘put on’ and wear. The actual helmet that a Roman centurion wore was made of leather, with some metal sheathing and ornamentation. Of course, the helmet protected their head, or in the case that the Apostle Paul intended, we put it on to protect our minds. However, unlike the shield of faith, which we use to deflect the fiery darts that the Devil throws at us; as those darts pass through our minds, the helmet of salvation protects us during times of discouragement; times when we grow weary in the battle and begin to lose hope. It was in this context that Paul referred to the helmet of salvation: our hope.

No one goes into a battle and wages a successful war without dreaming of home and fighting to rejoin their loved ones. Wars are lost when the enemy is able to get the opposing force to break rank and flee. This happens when men believe they’ve been overrun on all fronts by a superior enemy or they lose heart as the war drags on without any victory in sight.  Keep in mind that I’m speaking of the war; not the individual battles that we face and deflect by our shield. Discouragement is a strategic ploy that the Devil uses to cripple individuals first, and as a cancer, it spreads into the body of Christ. It is a ploy the Devil used when scoffers came into the church, “And saying, Where is the promise of his coming? for since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of the creation.” (2 Pet. 3:4) If the return of the Lord was used against the early Christian church, how much more that is true today, 20 centuries later? But do not give up heart. Put on the helmet of salvation and remember what we were told by Jesus Himself in Matthew, Chapter 24, about what must happen first. Thus, our helmet of salvation is our hope, which brings into view our past (justification in Christ; His wisdom and righteousness), present (His sanctification), and future (His glorification or redemption.) As it is written, “But of him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption:” 1 Cor. 1:30. We must memorize and know these Scriptures if we are to wear a helmet that protects us. Consider also Hebrews 6:11,12: “And we desire that every one of you do shew the same diligence to the full assurance of hope unto the end: That ye be not slothful, but followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.” 

As a little leaven affects the whole lump (Gal. 5:9), we all too often persuade, or are persuaded by others in our ranks to abandon our position within the body of Christ, with Christ Jesus as our head and commander. Rather than standing fast in hope and following our orders, as they are clearly revealed in Scripture, we begin to question first its authority and then our Commander in Chief.

Or, as was true of Demas, who was once of the church and a companion of Paul, it was written: “For Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present world, and is departed unto Thessalonica; Crescens to Galatia, Titus unto Dalmatia.”  The Devil also uses the world and its enticements as a strategic ploy. He did so in the wilderness when he tempted Jesus; offering to Jesus all of the kingdoms of the world if only He would worship him. (Mat. 4:8,9) How many of us have broken rank because of the spoils that Satan can show us as a result of Adam’s sin; such are the spoils of war he offers to us in the current battle but our home is not here, and our hope is vested in a new world!

There are many other verses that should come to mind when we find ourselves discouraged; impatient for the end of the war, and we find ourselves more and more enticed by the lure of the enemy’s spoils. During these times we must ‘put on’ the helmet of salvation. If we are truly His, then we should know His voice and remember the words of our Lord, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”  (John 10:27-29)

Now that is the hope of our salvation!