“and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God,”

The helmet of salvation….

The helmet protects the head, the brain, the control center for the body. Certainly one can’t live without the heart and other vital organs of the chest cavity intact, but neither can one function effectively if the brain has been damaged. So, the helmet is an essential piece of equipment.

In this verse, Paul tells us to take up the helmet of salvation. I think there are two aspects to this. The first is that certainly we need to be saved, otherwise we are not even in the battle. But in addition to that, we need to have confidence, assurance, and hope of our salvation. Taking up the helmet means we are purposely studying, understanding, and taking to heart the reality of the salvation God has given us. It has to be something that we are convinced of, otherwise we will be wimpy in battle and not fight with our full assurance of the victory God has given us.

There are a couple of parallel passages that are worth quoting here. In Isaiah 59, the Bible says that there are none righteous and that all have gone astray in every way. In verse 15 it says, “Then the Lord saw it, and it displeased Him that there was no justice.” Since there was no human solution, God took matters into His own hands, and the Bible tells us in verse 17 that He “put on righteousness as a breastplate, and a helmet of salvation in His head.”

God’s head didn’t need protecting, but as a picture of a conquering, saving captain, clothed with righteousness and salvation, He proceeded to do the saving Himself. It’s an image of God on the move, taking charge, and accomplishing salvation on our behalf.

In 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul writes, “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.” There it is, the hope of salvation. It’s not just the salvation itself, but the hope of it, the anticipation of it, the confidence of being saved now and throughout eternity. This hope and confidence of our salvation gives us a level of bravery, and discernment, and wisdom to engage ourselves in the battle against the enemy of our souls.

So what is this salvation of which we speak? If someone is saved from drowning or from a burning building, what does that mean? It means that the person is removed from the danger of drowning or being burned to death. They have been rescued.

All of us were born in a lost and condemned condition. By nature, we are enemies of God and subject to His condemnation in Hell forever. To us that seems like an awfully severe and perhaps unjust sentence. But we think that way because we don’t understand the seriousness of our violations against the rule of God, and we don’t realize the holiness of God. His character is amazingly, and almost frighteningly pure. One violation is enough to condemn us forever. But we commit way more than one violation. We simply don’t even desire to submit to His rule and authority. In spite of that, God graciously gives us life and breath and all things.

How is salvation obtained then, if the standards are so high? God came here to earth in the person of Jesus Christ, lived a perfect life, and ultimately was executed even though He had done nothing worthy of death. Here’s the good news: God offers to credit Jesus’ perfect life to us and to count our disobedience and rebellion as though Jesus was guilty. The sentence of death was executed on Jesus in our place, and we are set free. How are we to receive such an offer? God simply asks us to believe Him, to accept His offer by faith. We believe God’s statements about who Christ was and what He has done for us, and we yield to His reign and follow Him. When these things are true of us, God forgives all of our sins because the penalty has been paid, and He promises to come into our lives by His spirit and guide us as we live here on this earth.

This is what it means to have the helmet of salvation. As we fight the battles of life, we have the confidence that we are on the winning side because God has promised victory to those who love and serve Him.