THE HELMET OF SALVATION

 

            In Ephesians 6 we are given a list of spiritual armor that we are to put on as the people of God. This armor protects us from the attacks of Satan. Each piece protects a specific area. One of the pieces of armor that I believe is desperately needed in our generation is the helmet of salvation. A helmet covers the head. It protects the mind with which we can reason and make decisions. This helmet is the salvation of our minds and, therefore affects every part of our lives. Salvation is deliverance, rescue, recovery and escape from a darkened mind. Our minds can be saved or redeemed from the penalty of sin. The penalty of sin in our minds is darkness. We are born incapable of understanding spiritual things. When Adam and Eve sinned, their minds were darkened. Where there had been enlightenment, there was darkness. Their minds came under the penalty of sin along with their bodies. So that is how we are born, with darkened minds.

In Ephesians 4:17, Paul tells the Gentile Christians they should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind. They were not to continue following in their usual customs and thought, because it was fruitless.

The word “futility” means ineffective, useless, frivolous [because they have no eternal value], incapable of producing any results. When our minds are set on the things of this world, they are on things that are frivolous and ineffective regardless of how well we succeed in them, because they are not eternal. He continues on in Verse 18 saying, ^“for their [moral] understanding is darkened and their reasoning is clouded.” 

Have you ever had to drive through heavy fog? There are some places that it is nearly impossible to see, especially in low lying areas. When I used to drive to work, there was one area that would cloud my vision almost completely. It was hard to make out the traffic light right in front of me on some days. Without the enlightenment of God’s Spirit, we cannot see clearly. Our spiritual vision is cloudy.

Our minds need to be redeemed just like the rest of us. When we have redeemed minds, we think differently. The fog is lifted. Instead of thinking in natural terms, we begin to think on spiritual terms.

Ephesians 4:22-24 puts it this way: “You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.”

Salvation is deliverance from sin and the penalties of sin. It is our redemption. The helmet of salvation covers our minds, freeing them from slavery to sin.

Our little grandson has a helmet he wears when he rides his bike. It’s just a small bike, but the helmet will protect (or save) his head from danger if he falls. But sometimes, he will just ride his little tricycle instead, because he doesn’t want to go through the trouble of wearing his helmet.

            The helmet of salvation will protect our minds from the Fall. It will bring us renewal. And it will protect us from the onslaught of the enemy against our minds. Because he fights for our minds on a daily basis. We may think it’s easier to go without it sometimes, but it’s not easier in the long run. We need to always keep our helmets on!

Our minds should never be left open and vulnerable to the ideas of the devil. If we let our minds idly wander, Satan will send his thoughts our way. We may have a random thought shoot through our minds and we say, “where did that come from?” We need to quickly cast aside every thought that comes from the enemy.

We also need to be careful what we subject our minds to. Psalm 101:2-3 is an amazing passage from King David. He says, “I will walk within my house with a perfect heart.  I will set no wicked thing before mine eyes:”

Notice he said he would walk within his house with a blameless heart. So many think once we are at home, we can do anything, say anything, watch anything and we are okay. We are to be the same in the privacy of our homes as we are in church or anywhere else. Do we set any wicked things before our eyes? What about television? IF you found a decent program, what about the commercials that bombard you? What about the internet and all the other social media sites? What about movies with all kinds of sinful behavior? Do we give evil images access to our minds by opening the door? Once a thought has been planted in your mind it’s hard to get rid of it. We are to be careful what and who we allow access into our lives and our thoughts.

Philippians 4:8 tells us, “Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.”

Just because our minds are saved, it doesn’t mean that trash cannot come in. Satan still tries to blind our eyes from what we know to be true. He tries to put his thoughts in our minds just enough to make us question truth. If we entertain His meddling, the next step will be to try to question what God said and we come up with the devil’s twisted version of God’s Word and begin to live by it.

            Paul wrote to the Corinthians, “But I am afraid that, even as the serpent beguiled Eve by his cunning, your minds may be corrupted and led away from the simplicity of [your sincere and] pure devotion to Christ. Simplicity is that which is in its purest form. The gospel is definitely in its purest form. It is clear and simple. And that is how we need to receive it, accept it and live by it.

We need to take every precaution to keep Satan from corrupting our minds. If he does, it will change who we are.

My phone got a virus and at first there were just a few simple interruptions. Then, before I knew what was happening, it practically took over my phone. It added things it wanted to add and removed what it wanted to destroy. My son fixed it. And told me to be careful about what I went into. He also put a filter program on it to delete viruses.

God’s Son fixes our minds, too. But we have to keep our helmet on and be careful what we allow into our minds.            

1 Corinthians 2:16 says “For who has known the mind and purposes of the Lord, so as to instruct Him? But we have the mind of Christ [to be guided by His thoughts and purposes].” So let’s not let anything else get in there and clutter it up.

In Romans 15:5-6 Paul writes, “Now may the God who gives endurance and who supplies encouragement grant that you be of the same mind with one another according to Christ Jesus, so that with one accord you may with one voice glorify and praise and honor the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

As part of the Body of Christ, we are to have one mind and one voice! If we want to all be of the same mind, we need to all have the mind of Christ. If we all have the mind of Christ, we will have one voice. We will all speak the same thing.

Guard what you think and what you meditate on. Don’t let just anything take lodging in your mind. Keep your helmet on securely. Protect your mind carefully.  Make sure it is set apart for Jesus and not wide open for enemy infiltration. Bring every thought into subjection to Christ.

Isaiah 26:3 tells us, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” The word “stayed” means committed or focused. We have to train our minds to be focused on Christ.

At the television studio we have monitors that face us most of the time. If we don’t stay focused on what we are doing, every little movement on the screen will capture our attention and divert us from the gospel we are sharing with the viewing audience.

Keeping our helmet on means we are focusing on Jesus and not allowing our minds to be pulled away by the ways of this world, or our focus to be turned to other things.

 

“Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.” Romans 8:5-6