The Breastplate of Righteousness

The breastplate of righteousness is part of the armor of God, as described in Ephesians 6:10-20, by Apostle Paul to the Church at Ephesus. This is a spiritual armor, which gives us an illustration of how the foundation of our lifestyle need to be. The strength of the breastplate of righteousness depends upon how much we are conscious of the Lord's love and forgiveness for us, and how much we depend on the Lord's love for us. Our Lord Jesus said:

"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life" - John 3:16

Apostle John is the only apostle who walked in a lifestyle where he was conscious of the Lord's love for him, and did not depend on his love for the Lord. The result was, John was the only apostle who was at the foot of the cross when the Lord was crucified, whereas the rest of the disciples had fled for fear of the Jews and the Romans. The Lord entrusted apostle John with the Book of Revelation. John is the only apostle who died a natural death. On the other hand, apostle Peter relied on his love for the Lord and ended up denying the Lord three times. The Bible says:

"For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him" - 2 Corinthians 5:21

Today we walk in the righteousness of Christ because of the divine exchange, where Jesus took all our sins upon His Body as the Lamb of God, and we are imputed with the righteousness of Christ. Apostle John's armour was strong, because he depended on the Lord's love for him. Whereas apostle Peter had a broken armor, because he relied on his love for the Lord. Our Lord Jesus said:

"For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved" - John 3:17

We witness this in John 8:1-11, where we see the scribes and the Pharisees bringing a woman caught in adultery, throw her at the Lord's feet, and question our Lord as to what need to be done with such a woman. Our Lord Jesus, in response said he who is without sin to cast the first stone. By saying so, the Lord upheld the law. All who heard this were convicted by their own conscience and walked away. When He asked the woman whether anyone had condemned her, she said "no one Lord". By calling Him Lord she was acknowledging Jesus as the Messiah. The Lord replied to her saying "neither do I condemn you".

Did the Lord sweep her sins under a carpet by letting her go?

The answer is NO, because when our Lord Jesus hung on the cross, He paid the price for all our sins, which included all the sins of this woman as well. Jesus Christ is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. This is the reason the authority to forgive sins was given to Christ, as He was the full payment for all our sins. The Bible says:

"For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified" - Hebrews 10:14

At the Cross, God is seen to be a righteous judge and also as a loving Father. A righteous judge because God did not sweep away our sins under a carpet, but He judged all our sins in Jesus's Body. A loving Father because His Beloved Son was the one who paid the price for all our sins. It was supposed to be us hanging on the cross and suffering God's righteous judgement, but instead of us, Jesus willingly gave Himself up as the Lamb of God and was a payment for all our sins. The Bible says that God is righteous in making us righteous:

"To declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus" - Romans 3:26

The more we read God's Word and believe that we are the righteousness of God in Christ, and base our lifestyle being conscious of our abundant forgiveness in Christ, the stronger our breastplate gets. Whenever we feel sin conscious, look at the cross and see our Lord Jesus who was the full payment for all our sins. In Luke 7:36 onwards, we notice a sinful woman coming to our Lord Jesus, who was at the house of a Pharisee who had invited our Lord for dinner. This woman fell at the Lord's feet weeping, and wiping His feet with her hair. She in the end anoints the Lord's feet with perfume. When the Pharisee questioned the Lord, He replied saying, this woman knows that she is forgiven much. In other words, this woman was conscious of her abundant forgiveness. Jesus said to her:

"...Thy sins are forgiven" - Luke 7:48

Today God the Father looks at us as sons and daughters in Christ Jesus, completely forgiven. The more we are conscious of our abundant forgiveness in Christ, the stronger our breastplate of righteousness is. The moment we are conscious of our sins, satan has an opening. This is why it is very important to read God's Word and listen to Christ centered sermons, where we are constantly being reminded of our abundant forgiveness in Christ because of His finished work on the cross. Whenever we feel sin conscious, we need to look at Jesus on the cross and see that our sins were all payed. Apostle Paul said:

"And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you" - Ephesians 4:32

The breastplate of righteousness protects our conscious by reminding us that all our sins have been forgiven, and that we are the righteousness of God through Christ. This way the breastplate of righteousness keeps our conscious clear and free from doubts of any sort.