Our Victory Outfit Part 5

These weekly devotionals I will be posting come from and are copyright to Pam Iannello, my pastor's late wife who went home to be with the Lord on June 18, 2008.


How do you protect yourself from danger in the spiritual realm? The only way to dress for spiritual success is with the armour of God, as found in Ephesians 6. Are you sure you're wearing it??



This devotion is part of the "Our Victory Outfit" series.

Let's jump right in and go on with our study of the armor of God by looking at the second half of verse Ephesians 6:14 today:

"....and having on the breastplate of righteousness;... "

As Christian soldiers, we need to be clothed both in character and conduct with righteousness.  Am I talking about our own righteousness?  No, of course not - for we have none!  We would be clothed with filthy rags if that were the case, for Isaiah 64:6 says:

"But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags...."

No, the Lord has something better for His children to wear than that!  It is a beautiful breastplate of righteousness that covers completely, fashioned by His own hand and sent to us from heaven above....  

Job 36:3, "I will fetch my knowledge from afar, and will ascribe righteousness to my maker."

It is the righteousness of Christ Himself....

2 Cor. 5:21, "For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him."

Phillipians 1:11, "Being filled with the fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ, unto the glory and praise of God."

It is a righteousness that the apostle Paul himself preferred to wear and exhorted Timothy to follow after when he spoke to him of spiritual warfare....

"Phil. 3:9, "And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith."

2 Tim. 6:11, "But thou, O man of God, flee these things; and follow after righteousness...."

My question to you ladies today is, have you been living out your Christianity in your own righteousness, or in Christ's?  My question goes back to what we talked about yesterday, about how our own righteousnesses, following those external guidelines (the law) can bring us a false feeling of self-worth, otherwise known as self-righteousness.  Check the label on the inside of your armour and make sure it reads, "Made in Heaven" and not "Man-made".  It is not the person decked out in morality or philosophical virtues who is suited properly for battle! The Lord wants righteousness coupled with truth, the truth that self-worth, true righteousness is found in Christ alone by faith at salvation.  

The righteousness of Christ is a breastplate that covers the body from the neck to the waist, both front and back.  There are enemies on every side, amen?  The breastplate protects the vital organs in the chest area from the assaults of the enemy, namely our hearts!  The righteousness of Christ is a sure defense against all the assaults of the devil, both inward and outward.  He is the accuser of the brethren, and when he accuses you, the breastplate of righteousness in Christ protects your heart from such attack.  Without it we would be vulnerable, defeated, disgraced.  It is a righteousness that is implanted within us at salvation, as it takes up residency in our hearts in the person of the Holy Spirit.  The Spirit has a quick and sensitive delicacy to every concept of evil and is a gentle guide, bringing the peace, the triumph and untroubled serenity of Heaven along with His abiding presence.  He is not to be treated as a souvenir of our salvation which you and I tuck away in some closet of our soul!  No, the breastplate of the righteousness of God is to be worn and seen in our daily lives.  

1 Cor. 15:34, "Awake to righteousness, and sin not...."

Satan cannot accuse the believer who is living a godly life in the power of the Spirit.  You see, the life we live either strengthens us against Satan's attacks or makes it easier for him to defeat us.  He tries to strip us of our breastplate of righteousness by tempting us with sin.  Sin robs us of our armour!  The Bible says we are to have it on, so let's wrestle to keep it on, amen ladies?  It should be visible to everyone we meet, don't be caught naked and unarmed, totally unequipped to fight Satan.  Are all your affections truly righteous, dear lady??

In every believer’s heart there is a constant struggle between the old nature and the new.  These two opposing natures will never cease to struggle so long as we are in this world.  Don’t become a cripple by wrestling with the ways of God, but be someone who wrestles before God with the things of this world!  Many people mistakenly think all war is bad, but this is called the good fight of faith we are involved in, amen ladies?  While we hold the position of righteousness in Christ as a child of God, we must live out practical righteousness in our daily lives by yielding to the loving, HOLY Spirit of God as He guides us into the righteousness of Christ where we are safe from attack!  

Psalm 5:8, "Lead me O Lord, in thy righteousness because of mine enemies; make thy way straight before my face."

We can fight from a position of righteousness which cannot therefore be condemned!  Can your own righteousness do that for you??  No way!

Job 35:2, "Thinkest thou this to be right, that thou saidst, My righteousness is more than God's?"

Now, take a moment and think back on the various attacks of the enemy in your life over the past.  Have you become easily defeated?  Were you fighting while wearing your own righteousness, or Christ's??  Yours would fall under the attack, Christ's would not!  His is a righteousness that is impenetrable and shields from harm...

Isaiah 59:16 says, "....therefore his arm brought salvation to him; and his righteousness, it sustained him."

In closing, all our weapons are only mighty through God.
Take special care not to trust in the armour of God, but in the GOD of the armour.  He made it and paid for it, amen?  Prove your zeal for God in all your combats... Walk humbly before the Lord and live righteously, remembering that your strength is borrowed and very much needed!  
  
God Bless,
Pam
Isaiah 60:1&2
Copyright 2000  Pamela A. Iannello Meet Ms. Pam

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