SPIRITUAL DIARY FOR 10/17/2019 11:22 AM
My Worship Time Focus:
PT-2 “The Breastplate of Righteousness”
Bible Reading & Meditation Reference: Ephesians
6:14b
Message
of the verses: “and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”
We mentioned at the end of our SD yesterday that we would
speak about another righteousness that this verse is not talking about, and that righteousness is
imputed righteousness, the perfect righteousness God applies to the account of
every Christian the moment he believes in Christ as seen in Romans 4:6, 11,
22-24. The familiar verse from 2
Corinthians 5:21 speaks of this “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin
on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Paul is saying that at the cross Jesus
Christ, who knew no sin became sin for us, (those that believe in Christ as
Savior and Lord) to become sin for us and then He gave those who believed in
Him His righteousness so we will have a perfect standing before God. John MacArthur writes more about this
righteousness: “God’s imputed
righteousness is the basis of our Christian life and of our Christian
living. It protects us from hell, but it does not, in itself,
protect us from Satan in this present life. The ‘breastplate of righteousness’ that we
put on as spiritual armor against our adversary is the practical righteousness of a life lived in obedience to God’s
Word. (cf. the putting on of righteous
behavior in line with the ‘new self’ in 4:24-27, which having been done, will
‘not give the devil and opportunity.’
See also the putting on for righteous deeds in Col. 3:9-14.)” “9 Do not lie to one another, since you laid
aside the old self with its evil practices, 10 and have put on the new self who
is being renewed to a true knowledge according to the image of the One who
created him- 11 a renewal in which there is no distinction between
Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave and
freeman, but Christ is all, and in all. 12 So, as those who have been chosen of
God, holy and beloved, put
on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience;
13 bearing with one another, and
forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you,
so also should you. 14 Beyond all these things put on love, which is the
perfect bond of unity.”
Let
us look at some verses from Philippians chapter three which tells us about
Paul’s imputed righteousness and what we have described as practical
righteousness. “8 More than that, I
count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ
Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them
but rubbish so that I may
gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own
derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the
righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith.” Now we will move onto verses 12-14 which show
us what we have described as practical righteousness: “12 Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already been made
perfect, but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took
hold of me. 13 Brothers, I
do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it. But one thing I do:
Forgetting what is behind
and straining towards what is ahead, 14 I press on towards the goal to win the
prize for which God has called me heavenwards in Christ Jesus.” This last statement from Paul reminds me so
much of what the old Scottish preacher said “The successful Christian life is a
series of new beginnings.” Perhaps he
stated this after a study of these verses in Philippians chapter three.
I
have to admit that I have never heard the term “practical righteousness”
although I do understand the concept of what it is, as it has to do with our
sanctification which is actually three parts.
We are sanctified when we are born again, and as we live out our lives
on planet earth we continue to be sanctified which is what Paul is talking
about in verses 12-14 of Philippians chapter three, and once we get to heaven
we will be perfectly sanctified as we will have shed our flesh and can stand
before our Lord perfectly.
Lord
willing, we will continue down these lines of our practical righteousness in
our next SD.
Spiritual meaning for my life today: I am beginning to understand how
MacArthur is teaching me about the different pieces of the Spiritual Armor, and
although it is new to me, I know that what he is teaching about this seems to
make much sense to me, and I am thankful for his teaching.
My Steps of Faith for Today: All that I have has been given to me from the
Lord, including the precious salvation that came from my Lord Jesus
Christ. I realize that by His grace that
I can humbly seek to live out my life for the cause of Jesus Christ as He gives
me strength to do so.
Today’s quotation from “Love in Action”
goes along with our verse from yesterday, 2 Timothy 3:1.
“The Book of Hebrews says we ought to be
more and more involved in encouragement as those days approach. When the perilous times increase and the
battles intensify, we will need encouragement more than ever. Weekly we face
battles, challenges, and shock. When we
see the missiles whizzing by overhead, we need to encourage. Encouragement is transfusing some of you
courage into another life.”
10/17/2019 11:58 AM
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