Day 3

The Breastplate of Righteousness

"...having put on the breastplate of righteousness (an upright heart) ..." -Ephesians 6:14 AMP

"Put on holiness as the protective armor that covers your heart." -Ephesians 6:14 TPT

"...and the body armor of God's righteousness." -Ephesians 6:14 NLT

As a new creation in Christ, we are to PUT ON the new man. Being born again and made new, we are to discover our new IDENTITY in Christ. We do this by getting in the Word.

When I see we are to PUT ON the Breastplate of Righteousness I hear... I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus!

If you know me, you know I love declarations!

You might be thinking, "Okay, that sounds good, but what does 'being righteous' even mean?"

In the concordance, righteous is an adjective, which is a descriptive word.

Righteous is "acting in accord with the divine or moral law; free from guilt or sin; morally right or justifiable."

So, in short... righteous means having a right standing with God. Things between you and God are all good.

In Christ, you and I have been made right (justified by faith) with God. It's having faith in Jesus Christ as the Messiah that makes being righteous even possible.

When God looks at you, He doesn't look at the old you who went around sinning and living for yourself, stained by sin.

NO!

When God looks at you, He sees your perfectness, without blemish, one who has been redeemed as flawless! Hallelujah!

That do over in life you wanted is possible.

That slate you wish were wiped clean is possible.

Let's look at 2 Corinthians 5:2. "He made Christ who knew no sin to [judicially] be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we would become the righteousness of God [that is, we would be made acceptable to Him and placed in a right relationship with Him by His gracious lovingkindness]."

It has nothing to do with us and what we can do to be made right with God, but what Jesus did for us so that we could have a right standing with God. It's because of Him.

This Scripture says, IN HIM we would become the righteousness of God...

How can we be IN Him?

That simply means we have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. The very moment we surrender our life to Jesus and receive Him as our Lord and Savior...THEN... we have been made the righteousness of God!

We just have to receive it. Just as we received salvation at the moment of conversion (surrendering to Christ as Lord and Savior), we must receive the righteousness of God.

It is part of our IDENTITY package at Salvation!

It is part of our covenant with God Almighty!

Just as an armed soldier PUTS ON the Breastplate of Righteousness, we are to do the same.

We are soldiers!

We are in the Lord's Army!

God has given us what we need for protection as we face battles. It is part of our daily supply as His children.

So, why the breastplate, you might ask?

In this time, the typical armed soldier wore a breastplate made of bronze or chain mail. It covered the vital organs, especially the heart.

It was fitted with loops or buckles that were attached to a thick belt (in our case the BELT OF TRUTH).

If the Belt was loosened, the Breastplate would slip right off.

Essentially at salvation, we are given our custom Armor that we are to PUT ON.

As we PUT ON the righteousness of God, our hearts are not only renewed, but they are protected!

We know there is a powerful message in that word!

As we seek God and all His ways, we are refining who we believe we are. We must have a strong sense of our identity! We need to know who we are in Him.

Our hearts are very valuable to us, as you well know. Not only in the physical life, but also in the Spiritual.

How many times has your heart been hurt or 'broken?' In this world, we absolutely need protection, and God knew that.

The enemy knows that if he can get to our heart, he can get to us.

In our heart is where we believe. And we know that belief is powerful.

The enemy wouldn't be after God's chosen vessels so hard if it wasn't vital.

Key Point: what we believe shapes us!

And that is exactly why it's attached to The Belt of Truth! You can't wear one without the other.

As followers of Christ, we must believe in TRUTH. And that truth is the Word of God.

If God's Word says we are the righteousness of Christ Jesus, then that's what we must believe.

In this world, we get a choice of what we believe and what we don't. As for me... I choose to believe the Word of God over anything else, and I pray you do too.

As your friend who cares about you... I encourage you to make that quality decision right now. Anything that you read in the Bible, you will believe. Remember, you don't have to understand it all to believe.

I don't understand everything about gravity, but I do believe in it. It's a matter of choosing.

God has made a way so that our hearts are protected from the evil one, and it's found in The Armor.

But we must PUT ON the Breastplate of Righteousness.

It doesn't matter what your past looks like... you are made new in Christ. That is a Bible fact.

You are who God says you are. We must make the quality decision to believe that right now.

It doesn't matter what people have said about you, or even what you've said about yourself...

If it doesn't line up with the Word of God, it's not true. That is not who you are.

You are free from guilt.

You are free from sin.

You are justified.

You are forgiven.

You are loved.

You are righteous.

Today, as you PUT ON the Breastplate of Righteousness, declare "I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus," and as you do, you will be protecting your heart from the evil one.

QUESTION

Do you view yourself as the righteousness of God?

What beliefs do you need to let go and lay down at the feet of Jesus that do not align with Scripture?

ACTION STEP

Make a list of any beliefs you have about yourself that is contrary to the Word of God and find Scripture that sets your belief back into alignment with what God says about you.

These will make excellent declarations for you!

DECLARATION

I am the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus! I am who God says I am! My heart is protected! My past does not define me; God does in Jesus' Name. Amen!