Bible Study Part #4

Breastplate of Righteousness  

The breastplate a Roman soldier wore was made of bronze or leather and covered the entire torso. This piece of armor protected the heart.

Roman Breastplate with Leather Fittings

Then breastplate of righteousness requires us to acknowledge that our righteousness come from Jesus Christ alone (Romans 3:10-12; 3:22-25). Jesus’ precious blood was shed for our unrighteousness, cleansing us from the sin that separates us from God so we can be declared righteous before God (Isaiah 56:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; 2 Corinthians 5:18-19; 1 Colossians 1:19-23; Hebrews 2: 14-18)

When Your Guard is Down…

When we live in opposition to God’s standards we give the enemy a clear shot to our heart. Our enemy wants to poison our hearts with his lies and hatred of God so that we’re unable to live life to the fullest…the very reason Jesus came.

John 10:10 “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.”

If our hearts are weighed down with fear, addiction, gluttony, bitterness, shame, and rejection, we are not wearing the breastplate. Then the heart is vulnerable to attack. The breastplate is worn to protect our hearts. It’s a preventive measure! However, if our hearts are poisoned by a single lie, that lie can affect our entire body. Recall how Jesus suggested to his disciples that they were better off removing an eye or hand that led them to sin (Matthew 18:8-9; Mark 9:47). That’s how intricately connected He has made us (Psalm 139:13-14) .

The Heart is Life

Our heart is responsible for pumping 1,500 to 2,000 gallons of blood throughout our body every single day. What happens to our heart does not stay in our heart. It’s pumped throughout our entire body. So once a lie from the enemy has entered our heart, it affects our mind, mouth, eyes, ears, hands, and feet. A single lie will influence our thoughts, our actions, our words, and what we believe about ourselves, others and even God. Remember, in Day #1, we talked about the five areas of health? One domino (area of health) can knock down another, then another and another. 

Righteousness is the truth in action. It’s a daily decision to apply God’s standards to our lives (Ezekiel 18:9). A lifelong pursuit. In order to wear our breastplate, we have to put on righteousness and remove anything that resembles unrighteousness (pride, sexual immorality, envy, selfishness, anger, bitterness, etc.) (Colossians 3). When we allow sin and toxic behaviors to remain in our life, we’re leaving our hearts wide open to the enemy, inviting him to have his way with us. Therefore, our spiritual growth and effectiveness against the enemy is completely dependent upon us taking off our old selves (Ephesians 4:21-25) and putting on our breastplate of righteousness by living our lives according to God’s standards. A single weak spot in our armor will give the enemy the one foothold he is anxiously waiting for.

  1. Are you living contrary to God’s standards? If so, how?
  2. What’s the level of toxicity in your life today?
  3. Are there any weak spots in your armor? If so, what are they?

Godspeed,

The MissionFiT Team