The helmet of salvation. This piece of our armour protects our mind. It protects our thoughts and imaginations from running astray from the solid foundation of grace and hope we have through Christ. Its importance cannot be understated. I write this from a very personal place and by experience. Going into battle without fully knowing we are safe produces a fear that brings with it obstacles that can only be overcome by knowing our victory has already been decided, ordained, fought and won. The helmet of salvation is having the mind of Christ. How is this made possible? By Christ alone. Our protection and endurance and strength are all, gifts from God, to seek us worthy of our calling to His good will.
If Jesus came to save, we deny the full power of God in our lives by walking and living not knowing of our assured salvation. Its dangerously transforms us into a target. It turns grace into works and love into fear. It gives the enemy a foothold to constantly throw weapons of doubt and fear into our path. Make no mistake; this life we live in Christ is WAR. We are not told in scripture to suiting up for a fancy life of luxury once Jesus is realized. It is us against the world. It is sheep amidst wolves. It is literally a full on spiritual battle we cannot physical see, being fought for souls. When we allow the great accuser enter our thoughts and minds, the accusations will always be the same. It is God doesn't love you and you aren't saved. Satan wants us to believe that the power of Jesus our Lord is incomplete in our life because of what we do, thereby denying the power of what Jesus has already done. He came to set the captives free.
Before Christ we wear a heavy yoke unaware of its enslaving power manifest in our life. We are born with a burden. We are raised today in a system that not only denies the need for forgiveness, it denies the notion of Father God, embracing mother earth. It is a system that is after your mind. It wants to be your savior with money as the messiah. The forces of darkness and evil is real and right now, and they seek to be percieved as light. Do not be misled, we are at war and the battlefield is your mind. Who do you belong to?
Much to the contrary of what many believe, Christ came to RENEW THE MIND of His sheep. How did He BEGIN His public ministry? With the words, "Repent and believe." (As did John the Baptist previously.) To repent is literally to "think again." Or to "turn the mind around" (metanoia is the Greek). To think again about WHAT??? Basically, EVERYTHING. We enter this world oblivious. We have no concerns for the things of God. No sense of sin. Basically, we believe that death is "normal." We believe that pain and suffering are "normal" but are to be avoided at all costs. If we believe in God, we believe that He loves everybody and everything equally--sort of like a puppy dog does. Jesus came into the world and challenged us to THINK. As a man THINKS in his HEART so is he. Notice that the Bible does not separate the mind and heart as we do in our culture. Rather, the heart contains the mind--the thought processes such as rational analysis, planning, and recollections. Those "Christians" who do not want to think but "feel" are in fact under the dominion of Satan. Jesus is the LOGOS, a profound word from which we get "logic." Interestingly, the adjectival form of the word, "logicoi," is found only once in Scripture--in Rom. 12:1--and can be translated either as "logical, reasonable, rational" or as "spiritual." This is the verse that precedes Paul's exhortation to be renewed in our MINDS. How did Paul spread the Gospel? He REASONED with men in the synagogues. SO MUCH can be said on this topic. But it suffices, I think, simply to say that Christianity is fundamentally based on the authority of a BOOK. A book is intended to BE READ, and READING is a MENTAL activity. Soli Deo Gloria
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