Ephesians 6:16-17
“In all circumstances take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming darts of the evil one; and take the helmet of salvation …”
Our battle against the forces of evil is not an occasional skirmish. C.S. Lewis had it right when he said, “There is no neutral ground in the universe. Every square inch, every split second is claimed by God, and counterclaimed by Satan.”
Paul tells us in this passage that in order to stand against the schemes of the devil, we must put on the whole armor of God. One of the pieces of that armor is the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the head, and in our battle against the evil one it is imperative that we think rightly about salvation.
That means knowing the what and how of salvation. It also means knowing the why.
The What and How of salvation.
Because of the Fall, man is in a condition of sin. According to God’s law, the price that must be paid for sin is death. So in order to save us from our condition of sin and at the same time fulfill the demands of His law, God sent His Son Jesus to die in our place. Through His sacrificial death on the cross, Jesus redeemed us by paying the price for our sin.
Romans 6.23: “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
1 Peter 2.24: “He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.”
The salvation that God offers through Christ is a gift, and it is received through faith. We are not saved by works that we do. We are saved by believing and trusting in the work that God has done for us through Christ.
Romans 3.23-25: “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith.”
The Why of salvation
Understanding the why of salvation is critically important. At the heart of it is God’s love. He saved us because he loves us (see John 3.16). But there is more. The Lord saved us so that he could fulfill his purpose in us and through us. His purpose is that we: 1) Bear his image, and 2) Live and work as agents of his kingdom during our time on earth.
At the Fall the image of God in man was broken, and man ceased to operate as an agent of God’s kingdom. When we trust in Christ, the image of God is restored in us, and we are once again able to live and work as his ambassadors.
Far too many Christians think that the purpose of salvation is that they get to go to heaven when they die. Going to heaven is an outcome of salvation, but it is not the purpose. It is not the Why.
God didn’t save you for you. He saved you for himself.
1 Peter 2.9: “But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.”
The Lord gives us the “why” in this passage. “You are … that you may.” You are chosen by God that you may proclaim who he is to a world living in darkness.
Matthew 5:14-16 “You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”
You are saved for the purpose of living and working in a way that displays who God is to a watching world. You are saved so that God gets glory because of how you conduct your life.
Let us fully embrace the “why” of salvation is God and His purposes. And while we receive incredible blessings by being saved, ultimately it’s not about you or me. If your view of the Christian life is salvation-centered, then you will be a weak Christian who is vulnerable to the attacks of the enemy. If your view of the Christian life is centered on God and his kingdom, then you will be a strong Christian who stands firm in the face of the attacks of the enemy.
Ephesians 3:9-11 “This grace was given … to bring to light for everyone what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things, so that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the rulers and authorities in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose that he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Staying on the theme of the “why’ of salvation, I want to revisit something we have written about several times before. It is important to understand the four great themes that describe the unfolding of God’s plan on planet earth.
- Creation
- Fall
- Redemption
- Transformation
One of the challenges of our time is that many Christians tend to emphasize #2 and #3, and neglect #1 and #4. The church has traditionally focused on the fall and redemption, but has largely ignored creation and transformation.
The “helmet of salvation” that Paul refers to in Ephesians 6 is a right understanding of salvation, and it is how our understanding of salvation guides the way we live and work. If we emphasize the Fall and Redemption, but fail to fully embrace and understand Creation and Restoration, we will have a weakened view of salvation and it will negatively affect the way we live and work.
Many Christians in our time love the notion of being redeemed from the Fall, but are not nearly as committed to managing creation (the command to “have dominion”) and being agents of Restoration. This is an abridged view of salvation, and it is dangerous.
It is critically important to understand that salvation is more than Redemption. Creation and Transformation are essential elements of Christ’s work on earth, and they are an essential part of the gospel message. Being saved from sin is wonderful and important, but it is not the whole story. We must not proclaim a half-gospel. We must not be directed by a half-story. We must not follow an abridged version. We must be faithful to declare and live out the whole story of God’s plan for planet earth.
Christ’s death and resurrection not only save people from something, but also restore people to something. In Christ, God redeems us from sin, restores His image in us, and calls us to be agents of redemption and restoration in the world. Christ’s redemptive work is neither the end nor the goal of the Christian life. Rather, redemption is the beginning of our participation in God’s work of restoration in our lives and in the world.
As followers of Christ, we are created, redeemed, and called to co-labor with God in the process of restoration. We are agents of transformation. We are called to mend earth’s brokenness. Every day. The world will not be completely healed and restored until Christ’s return, but until then we are called to bring the grace, love, and power of God’s kingdom to bear on the people and situations we deal with every day. The world has suffered under the rule of Satan and self, but now God’s kingdom has come. Transformation has begun, and through our every day work we are agents of the restoration process.
This is the gospel. This is the good news that in the person of Jesus Christ, the loving rule of God has come to earth, and through Christ, God is at work restoring what was lost at the Fall. And the amazing thing is that the Lord calls us to participate with Him in that work.
This is the whole story of salvation.
