The Breastplate of Righteousness
6: 14b
The breastplate of righteousness DIG: What is the difference between the imputed righteousness we receive at the moment of salvation and our practical righteousness?
REFLECT: How can truth, righteousness, and peace help you to stand against the enemy’s attacks? How costly can it be to neglect putting on the breastplate of righteousness?
Our righteousness is to be taken and wrapped around our whole being, as it were,
just as ancient soldiers covered themselves with breastplates of armor.
No Roman soldier would go into battle without his breastplate, a tough, sleeveless piece of armor that covered his full torso. It was often made of leather of heavy linen, onto which were sewn overlapping layers of animal hooves or horns or pieces of metal. Some were made of large pieces of metal molded or hammered to conform to the body. The purpose of that piece of armor is obvious – to protect the heart, lungs, intestines, and other vital organs.
In ancient Jewish thinking, the heart represented the mind, will and bowels, the seat of emotions and feelings. The mind and the emotions are the two areas where Satan most fiercely attacks believers. He creates a world system, a sinful environment by which he tempts us to think wrong thoughts and to feel wrong emotions. He wants to cloud our minds with false doctrine, false principles, and false information in order to mislead and confuse us. He also wants to confuse our emotions and thereby pervert our affections, morals, loyalties, goals, and commitments. He desires to snatch the Word of God from our minds and replace it with his own perverse ideas. He seeks to undermine pure living and replace it with his own perverse ideas. He seeks to undermine pure living and replace it with immorality, greed, envy, hate, and every other vice. He wants us to laugh at sin rather than mourn over it, and to rationalize it rather than confess it and bring it to the Lord for forgiveness. He seduces us to become so used to sin in and around us that it doesn’t bother our conscience.
Therefore, we are to put on the breastplate of righteousness, as protection against those attacks (6:14b). Righteousness is to be taken and wrapped around our whole being, as it were, just as ancient soldiers covered themselves with breastplates of armor. When Sha’ul talks here about righteousness, he is not talking about our imputed righteousness, the perfect righteousness that God transfers to our spiritual bank account at the moment of salvation (see the commentary on The Life of Christ, to see link click Bw – What God Does for Us at the Moment of Faith). ADONAI’s imputed righteousness protects us from hell, but it does not protect us from the Adversary in this life. The breastplate of righteousness that we put on as spiritual armor against the Evil One is the practical righteousness of a life lived in obedience to God’s Word. Therefore, YHVH Himself puts on our imputed righteousness, but we must put on our practical righteousness.
Not to be armored with the breastplate of righteousness can be very costly to the believer. John’s first epistle contains many warnings and commands to believers, and these are given, along with other truths, so that our joy may be made complete (First John 1:4). In other words, lack of obedience brings lack of joy. The joyful believer is an obedient believer. Unholy living does not rob us of salvation, but it robs us of salvation’s joy. Sadly, the Church today is often guilty of supplying believers with the paper armor of good advice, programs, activities, techniques, and methods – when what people really need is the godly armor of holy living. No program, method, or technique can bring wholeness and joy to the believer who is unwilling to confront and forsake their sin. Failure to be armed with practical righteousness will result in fruitlessness, loss of reward (see the commentary on Revelation Cc – We Must All Appear Before the Bema Seat of Christ), and reproach to God’s Name.
Beloved, Peter pleads, I urge you as aliens and strangers to abstain from fleshly lusts, which wage war against the soul (First Peter 2:11). Fleshly lusts and every other kind of sin are part of Satan’s arsenal with which he wages war against our very souls. Our armor must include the breastplate of righteousness, the genuine holiness of the genuine believer whose every thought is held captive to the obedience of Messiah (Second Corinthians 10:5), and whose mind is set on things above, not on the things that are on the earth (Colossians 3:2). Therefore, let us put on the Lord Yeshua Messiah, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts (Romans 13:14).258
For a Roman soldier the breastplate was most essential to protect the vital organs while in battle. If the heart or lungs were injured it would most likely be a fatal wound. In a different way, the breastplate of the High Priest was essential for protection as well. In this case it was not so much the physical organs of the body but the spiritual essence of the soul. In Judaism, the heart is symbolic of the inner being of every person and it needs protection. Not surprisingly, the Torah required the High Priest to wear a choshen (a special breastplate) to symbolically protect his heart as he ministered. The breastplate was an important reminder of a critical ministry of the High Priest. It contained twelve different stones representing the twelve tribes of Isra’el (see the commentary on Exodus Ga – Fashion a Breastplate for Making Decisions).
The priest was to always be a mediator between God and His people, a perfect picture of the coming Messiah. The Rabbi quotes a verse from the TaNaKh that alludes to this breastplate and the fact that it represents the righteous character of God Himself. He put on righteousness as His breastplate, and the helmet of salvation on his head; He put on the garments of vengeance and wrapped himself in zeal as in a cloak (see the commentary on Isaiah Js – According to What They Had Done, He Will Repay Wrath to His Enemies). The battle of the Spirit cannot be fought with a Roman breastplate, but requires the spiritual breastplate represented in the High Priest. As we believers enter spiritual battle, we need to protect our souls with the righteous breastplate of God.259
Dear Heavenly Father, Praise You for giving me the righteous breastplate of Messiah. He made the One who knew no sin to become a sin offering on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God (Second Corinthians 5:21). How great a cost You had to pay in order to give to me Your righteousness. (Hebrews 12:2). When trials and problems come, please help me remember the great cost You so willingly paid for victory over sin and its penalty of death, and how short life on earth is. Someday I will live with You in great peace and joy in heaven for all eternity! For I consider the sufferings of this present time not worthy to be compared with the coming glory to be revealed to us (Romans 8:18).
It is also a comfort for me to meditate on what a wonderful Father You are. Your love is never-ending and your holy wisdom means that however You lead me, it will always be the wisest thing to do. You restore our souls (Psalms 23:3) and You are always with me. For God Himself has said: I will never leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5c).Thank You for the breastplate of righteousness and for being such a wonderful heavenly Father. In Messiah Yeshua’s holy Name and power of His resurrection. Amen
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