WITH OUR MINDS SET ON GLORY
Posted by Pastor Greg Allen on February 18, 2024 under 2024 |
Bethany Bible Church Sermon Message from February 18, 2024 from Ephesians 6:17a
Theme: We must defend ourselves against our spiritual enemy by keeping our minds fixed upon the certainty of our salvation in Christ.
(All Scripture is taken from The New King James Version, unless otherwise indicated).
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In living our Christian life in this world, we should never underestimate the importance of our minds. What we think about is crucial to the nature of our Christian walk.
In our study of the Book of Ephesians, we’ve already seen how the apostle Paul drew attention to the minds of his readers. In Ephesians 1:17-19; he prayed
that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, and what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power … (Ephesians 1:17-19).
He prayed earnestly that God would give his fellow Christians understanding minds so that they would ‘know’ the things that they needed to know. In 3:18-19, he said that he prayed his readers
may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height—to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God (3:18-19).
He warned them that they were to no longer live their lives in this world the way that unbelieving people do; that is, “in the futility of their mind” (4:17); but rather, to “be renewed in the spirit of your mind” (v. 23).
To a very large extent then—so far, at least, as we have anything to do with it—our victory in the Christian life is either greatly advanced or greatly hindered by what we allow to happen in our minds. It’s rare that the circumstances of life are the actual source of trouble in life for us. Rather, our troubles usually spring from our failure to think as we should in the midst of those circumstances. Are we thinking the way that God wants us to think in the challenges of life? Are we believing His promises as we should? Are we keeping the focus of our minds where it should be? Are we learning and understanding the truth as He has instructed us to learn it and understand it? Are we looking ahead to the future He has for us in a faithful and disciplined way? If our minds are in the right place, then the right actions will follow.
And so; as we come to the apostle Paul’s good instructions to us in defending ourselves in the spiritual battle against the enemy of our souls, it shouldn’t be surprising that he talks to us about how to defend and protect our minds against the devil’s attacks. In Ephesians 6:14-17, he writes about the spiritual armor that God has given us and says;
Stand therefore, having girded your waist with truth, having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace; above all, taking the shield of faith with which you will be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked one. And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God … (6:14-17).
Right in the midst of the list of all the other pieces of armor that we’re to take up, we find the command, “And take the helmet of salvation …” Just as the helmet protected the head of the soldier in combat and ensured that he would be able to stand in battle, the ‘helmet of salvation’ protects our minds in our spiritual battle. Without it, we won’t be able to stand against the blows of the devil.
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As I was thinking about this, I was remembering something that happened to me when I was a boy. I was horsing around one day with some friends in a playground after school was over. We were having a lot of fun grabbing each other and swinging each other around in a circle. (Entertainment was simpler back then, I guess.) I got swung around too; but I got swung around so hard that I lost my balance. I ended up half-running and half-stumbling as I was trying to regain my footing—with arms swinging and body bent over. And before I knew it, I struck my head very directly and very hard into a metal post. And I mean very, very hard! The pole rang when my head hit it! I was on the ground writhing in pain. My friends helped me up—a little dizzy—and I walked it off as best I could. I never told any grown-ups about it or said anything further about it. I probably should have, but maybe I thought that I would have gotten in trouble if I did. But I can still remember how much it hurt—and I still wince whenever I think of it.
I ended up all right. (At least I think so. You can be the judge.) But to this day—almost 60 years later—I have a very slight indentation in my forehead, just above my left eyebrow, as a permanent reminder of just how potentially serious a head injury I could have suffered. And if such an injury can be serious in a playground from kids goofing around with friends, just think of how much more serious it would be out on a battlefield against a fierce enemy—an enemy who is intent on striking a fatal blow. That’s why a soldier would never go into combat without the protection of a helmet.
There are just a few mentions of ‘helmets’ in the Old Testament. In 1 Samuel 17—when the young shepherd boy David went up against the Philistine giant Goliath—we’re told that Goliath had “a bronze helmet on his head”. You would have thought that Goliath wouldn’t have really needed one, since his head would have been a little hard to reach without a step-ladder. But he had one on nevertheless, and we can imagine that it was probably very thick and heavy. We’re told that David himself was also outfitted with “a bronze helmet” … at first, anyway. David, however, went into battle without his helmet that day. (And Goliath also went home without his that day … if you know what I mean.) But in time, a helmet became standard equipment. In 2 Chronicles 26:14, we’re told that King Uzziah of Judah prepared his entire army with “shields, spears, helmets, body armor, bows, and slings to cast stones.”
I was surprised to discover how many different types of combat helmets there were in the apostle Paul’s day. There was quite a variety; and through a process of ‘trial and error’, helmets improved over time. Some were simple caps made out of thick leather. Some were leather caps reinforced with strips of metal. And some were all metal—sometimes weighing as much as 10 pounds. Some were very ornate. Others were simple pot helmets. In time, the Romans designed a combat helmet that protected not only the top of the head from the enemy’s heavy broadside, but also the sides of the face and the neck from the sharpness of the blade.
Now; it’s obvious why soldiers would be issued helmets on the battlefield. It was to protect them from the direct physical blows to the head from the enemy. Such a blow would completely immobilize a soldier and would be fatal. But why does Paul write for us to “take the helmet of salvation”? What kind of blow is the spiritual ‘helmet of salvation’ meant to protect us from?
A clue is found in something else that the apostle Paul wrote in 1 Thessalonians 5:8—in the only other mention of a helmet in the New Testament. In that passage, Paul urged his brothers and sisters in Christ to put on “as a helmet the hope of salvation”. And when he spoke of ‘hope’, he didn’t mean a vague, indefinite, uncertainty about salvation—as if we can’t really be sure about it, but we certainly ‘hope’ that we’re saved. Rather, he was speaking of ‘hope’ in the strongest possible way—that is, as a sure and certain expectation of and confidence in the full completion of our salvation. It’s the unshakable knowledge that we are saved, and the bright mental outlook that comes from knowing that we will most assuredly be brought into full heavenly glory with our Lord. That’s the helmet we’re to take to ourselves and put on in the field of spiritual battle against the devil.
And this helps us to understand the nature of what this helmet is meant to protect us from. It’s meant to protect us from doubts and fears about our salvation—or the uncertainty of it—that the devil seeks to throw at us and use to dishearten us.
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Very early in my Christian life—just as I was getting started in my walk by faith with the Lord Jesus Christ—a lot of doubts about my salvation were being thrown my way. It was primarily through unbelieving adult authority figures in my life who had heard about my new trust in Jesus. They were repeatedly telling me—and often in very strong, aggressive, and abusive language—“You can’t possibly know for certain that you are saved and are going to heaven.” It was almost shouted in my face at times. “You may be living a good life that makes you worthy of heaven one day, but then do something the next day that is so bad that spoils it and now won’t go to heaven. No one can ever be sure that they’re saved and are going to heaven until they get there!” (I remember thinking of what a really bad time that would be to find out!) You can just imagine what a state of uncertainty that kind of talk was intended to put into me. It was a real battle for my mind.
But what those who were telling me all of this didn’t recognize is that our salvation isn’t dependent upon anything we do to make ourselves worthy. Our salvation is brought about for us by the work of Another—by Jesus Christ and His death for us on the cross. If our salvation had been based in any way upon our faith in our own work, we’d never have a sure and certain hope. But if our salvation is based completely on what Jesus has done for us, then we’d wear that hope like a ‘helmet’.
God the Father has promised to us in the Scriptures that because of our faith in what Jesus has done for us on the cross, our salvation is certain. Those of us who have placed our faith in Him will be brought into full glory, like His own glory, eternally. We absolutely will not fail to be with our Lord in heavenly glory, sharing His inheritance with Him forever. And that certainty—that ‘hope’—protects our minds from the attacks of the devil like a good, strong, solid combat helmet.
So; here’s the point of Paul’s instruction to us to ‘take the helmet of salvation’. It’s that we must defend ourselves against our spiritual enemy by keeping our minds fixed upon the certainty of our salvation in Christ. If we do so faithfully, the devil can never mislead us or make us quit the battle.
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Now; let’s go into this a little deeper by considering …
1. WHAT OUR ‘SALVATION’ MEANS TO US IN THIS WORLD.
Our ‘salvation’ in Jesus is really a very broad thing that covers our past, our present, and our future.
With respect to our past, of course, it means that Jesus has taken all of the guilt of our sin before God the Father upon Himself, and has paid the death penalty for us completely. We are now fully forgiven of all our sinful past and washed clean of it. We are delivered from eternal judgment for the things we have done. When the devil comes along to us and seeks to discourage us by reminding us of what terrible sinners we once were—and of how truly unworthy we are to be called the children of God—taking up the helmet of our salvation means that we affirm that we have now been declared 100% righteous in the sight of God by faith. We’re no longer guilty before Him, and are now declared to be as righteous in His sight as His own precious Son Jesus. It protects our thinking with the confidence that the devil’s accusations no longer pertain to us.
But with respect to our present experience, our salvation also means that we are currently and ongoingly being transformed by the work of the Holy Spirit in us. The indwelling Spirit is daily helping us to leave the old sinful habits and practices of the past behind, and is empowering us to live more and more like the Lord Jesus in our day-by-day actions and lifestyle. This is the process called ‘practical sanctification’. We are, right now, being changed—more and more—into the image of Jesus. When the devil attacks us by reminding us of our present imperfections, then taking up the helmet of salvation means we affirm that, though we are not yet perfected, we’re becoming more and more like Jesus every day. When the devil tempts us—and even when he persuades us to stumble and fall, and then seeks to discourage us because of it—we nevertheless get back up and keep going forward. It protects our thinking with the confidence that we’re being daily transformed into Jesus’ image.
And with respect to our future, our salvation means that we’re destined to be glorified like the Lord Jesus on the day of His return. He sits right now at the right hand of God the Father as our glorified Savior—interceding for us in a body like ours, and with a human nature like our own, but in the perfect glory that we will one day share with Him in heaven. When He returns to this earth for us, we will see Him and will then be glorified like Him. This is absolutely certain and sure. It’s the end goal of our salvation. No matter what may happen to us in the present time, no matter how bad this world may seem, no matter what the devil may try to do to us, nothing will ever be able to keep us from our glorious eternal destiny in Christ. When the devil seems to make things appear hopeless for us, taking up the helmet of salvation means that we go forward in the Christian life—no matter what—with the unshakable confidence of our ultimate and glorious victory in Jesus.
And if we keep our minds protected from the devil’s lies by truly knowing these things and faithfully keeping our focus on the certainty of them—taking up and putting on the helmet of the hope of salvation for the protection of our minds—then we won’t get discouraged. We’ll look ahead to the victory and will keep on serving our Lord with joyful anticipation.
Think of what the Bible tells us about this. In Romans 8:28-30, for example, we’re urged to ‘know’ these things, and think of them as our sure and certain expectation. Paul wrote;
And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover whom He predestined, these He also called; whom He called, these He also justified; and whom He justified, these He also glorified (Romans 8:28-30).
Consider carefully how the apostle Paul put this. He said that we who are foreknown, predestined, called, and justified by God (all past-tense events) are also “glorified” by Him—as if it’s already done. It’s that sure and certain!
And think of how the certainty of this confidence sustained Paul himself in his own battle for the faith. In 2 Timothy 4:6-8—in the last letter he wrote before he laid down his life for the Lord Jesus—he said;
For I am already being poured out as a drink offering, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Finally, there is laid up for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His appearing (2 Timothy 4:6-8).
What confidence! The certainty of his ultimate salvation in glory kept him fighting the good fight and running the race to the very end.
Or think of what the apostle John wrote in 1 John 3:1-2;
Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is (1 John 3:1-2).
That was John’s certainty about the final outcome of salvation in Jesus. And how did that motivate him in his faithfulness to the Lord in this world? He said in verse 3;
And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure (v. 3).
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ; the certainty of our salvation in Jesus—our hope—isn’t a thing that we can do without. It’s what truly motivates us to live the victorious Christian life.
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Now; the command to ‘take the helmet of salvation’ doesn’t mean that salvation itself is our helmet. Our salvation isn’t something that we, ourselves, can take up. Rather, our salvation is a gift of God’s grace through faith. Even the faith to believe is His gift to us. But once that salvation has been given to us, our sure and certain expectation of the completion of it is our helmet in the day of battle … and it’s our responsibility to take it and put it on. It’s what protects the mind of the man or woman who has already been saved.
And so, that leads us to consider …
2. HOW THIS ‘HELMET’ PROTECTS US IN TIMES OF BATTLE.
First of all, the confidence of our salvation protects us during hard times. When it seems as if the world all around us is falling apart—and when it seems as if the forces of darkness are winning the day—this helmet keeps us thinking right by pointing our attention to the ultimate victory our heavenly Father has already won for us through Christ.
In 1 Thessalonians 5, the apostle Paul wrote about the difficult days to come and said;
But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, “Peace and safety!” then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape (1 Thessalonians 5:1-3).
Those will be dark times. We may be beginning to experience those dark times even today. And the devil would want to get us so discouraged and fearful over how bad things are getting that we simply give up and quit fighting in the battle for our Lord. But Paul then goes on to say;
But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him (vv. 4-10).
The helmet protects us by helping us to remember that we’ve been appointed to full salvation unto eternal glory through our Lord Jesus! Our Lord has already won the war; and our enemy—who still fights against Him—has already lost! So then, we don’t give up. We keep serving our Lord … assured of ultimate and complete victory.
This confidence also strengthens us by keeping our trust in the power of our God. Isaiah put it this way in Isaiah 40:30-31;
Even the youths shall faint and be weary,
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall walk and not faint (Isaiah 40:30-31).
“[T]hose who wait on the Lord …” What a great way to describe those who take the hope of salvation and put it on as a helmet! They look to the Lord Himself. They anticipate His promised return in power and majesty. They wait confidently for Him to keep all His promises of future glory. They set their minds on His salvation—knowing that it’s sure and certain because of who He is! Such confidence gives us a renewal of strength in the midst of the battle.
And what’s more, this confidence also leads us to worship Him and praise Him in the midst of the battle. In the tiny book of Jude—in verse 3—Jude tells us that he began his letter with the intention of writing a treatise on the glories of salvation. But he had to change his plans. Instead, because of how the devil had sent false teachers in to confuse the church, he had to write that his brothers and sisters “contend earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints”. That’s a call to battle. But how did he end his tiny letter? He wrote a hymn of praise to the mighty God who is able to bring us into eternal glory—and of the confidence we can have in this outcome during the present time of conflict:
Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling,
And to present you faultless
Before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy,
To God our Savior,
Who alone is wise,
Both now and forever (Jude 24-25).
Dear brothers and sisters; this ‘helmet of salvation’—this assured confidence that we are completely saved from the past, are currently being saved in the present, and will be completely saved in the future—does us so much good for us that we absolutely can’t live without it. We must take the helmet of salvation as we serve our Lord in the midst of this world.
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And that leads us to one more thing …
3. HOW WE ARE TO ‘TAKE’ THIS HELMET OF SALVATION.
With the help of the empowering Holy Spirit—we’re to make the decision to keep our salvation continually in mind throughout all of the challenges and struggles of life. We obviously need to face those challenges and struggles obediently and realistically; but we’re not making those challenges and struggles our main focus. Instead, we’re to look beyond them to Christ Himself. In Colossians 3:1-4, the apostle Paul wrote and told us how to take up this helmet when he said;
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also will appear with Him in glory (Colossians 3:1-4).
By faith, we’re to set our minds on Christ—seated above in glory. That’s where we’re heading. That’s what it means to ‘take the helmet of salvation’.
And we do this by keeping ourselves well-instructed in God’s word. We set our minds on things above by daily renewing our minds through the Scriptures. The apostle Peter called it ‘girding up the loins of your mind’. As he said in 1 Peter 1—in what I think is one of the greatest ‘put on the helmet’ calls that you’ll find in the Bible;
Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith—the salvation of your souls.
Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven—things which angels desire to look into.
Therefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and rest your hope fully upon the grace that is to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ … (1 Peter 1:3-13).
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What we do with our minds is crucial to our Christian life—especially when we’re living that Christian life in the midst of a battlefield. We’ve got to wear our helmets for protection. And so, let’s do as Paul urges us to do. Let’s make absolutely certain that we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ for our salvation. And having done so, let’s then put the certainty of the hope of that salvation upon our heads as a helmet—protecting our thoughts and our outlook in times of conflict.
Let’s embrace the certainty that the apostle Paul had for those who believe on Jesus;
being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6).
He who is faithful will do it!
AE
