We return to our consideration as we're approaching the end of the letter of Paul to the Ephesians. And we're in this particular section where he is describing what has been called the armor of God, that which we need to be clothed in if we're going to fight the good fight of faith. And we've considered a number of pieces of the armor. We're almost finished looking at the second last piece this morning. So I'll read this section again. And you're hearing Ephesians chapter number six. Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places. Wherefore, take unto you the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness, and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked, and take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints." May God help us to see how important this armor is even this morning. Well, we return to this section, and as we do, we return to the second last piece of armor, there at the first part of verse 17, and take the helmet of salvation. The three that we've looked at, three of those that we've looked at so far protect particular parts of, if we can use this illustration, the spiritual body that a believer has. Having our loins girded about with truth, the breastplate protecting the chest, the breastplate of righteousness, having our feet shod with the preparation that comes from the gospel of peace. And then last week we looked at the fourth piece of armor, which isn't put on as much as it is taken up. And we are to take up the shield of faith, and that shield, as I mentioned last week, can be used to protect the entire body. We're to take up the shield of faith. For the next piece we're commanded to take up and to put on, is to take up the helmet of salvation. And you could translate that latter part of the verse, take the helmet of THE salvation. There is a definite article there, and I think that's important, and I'll show you why in a few moments. But notice again, it's a specific piece of armor, and it is protecting another crucial piece of our spiritual bodies, as it were. It's a crucial piece of armor in this real battle. As I said, we are in a real battle against the principalities and powers that Paul writes so clearly of here. It's interesting that this piece of armor is referred to in a similar but slightly different way in First Thessalonians 5.8. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and for an helmet the hope of salvation. The hope of salvation. Because if we are to have a right understanding of salvation, or a right understanding of salvation is crucial. to true hope. If we have a false understanding of how salvation is obtained, or how the Lord grants it to us, or any number of things, we may have a false view of salvation, and thus have false hope. There is true hope, and the way of having true hope is to have a biblical and correct view of the salvation found only in Christ. And it's crucial to being able to stand in these evil days in which the devil has deceived the non-believer. Remember, we were once in that condition, if we are believers, in regarding the truth about salvation and the need for salvation, and how that salvation is seen and obtained, as I'll look at in a moment. Because how many people, even today, will say, well, why do I need to be saved? The whole concept of salvation is lost to many in our generation. Why do I need to be saved? Why do I need salvation? I'm not that bad! They would say, I'm not like that man who shot all those people in that movie theater in Colorado. I'm not that bad. I'm basically a good person. And that's reinforced by others. They'll say, well, especially at funerals. Well, they were a good person. But dear brethren, this is evidence of the depravity of the heart and the controlling deception of the devil. Because how many either don't think they've done anything that displays their need for salvation. I haven't done anything that merits, that shows that I need a savior, that I need to be forgiven, that I need to be cleansed in the blood of Christ. I'm basically a good person. That's the default position, or that's the natural condition of the fallen human heart. I'm in the process of reading a particular biography about a man, and he went to a variety of churches as he was growing up. And his basic idea was that good people went to church. You don't go to church because you're good, you go to church because you need the salvation that is only found in the Lord Jesus Christ. The basic position of man in sin is the idea that they don't need salvation, and yet Paul is telling us here that we need to take up the helmet of salvation. The natural person either thinks they don't need salvation, or when they realize that they haven't lived up to what God can legitimately require of us, and they never ask themselves, what does God legitimately require of us as his creatures, which is 100% perfection, because he is holy and cannot let anything that is unholy in his presence, they foolishly think that they can provide that. That's why the Pharisees who saw the height of the law of God. That's why the Pharisees lowered the law. Because if they lowered the law, they could get over it and then think they were making themselves right with God. But if our thinking is wrong with respect to the important subject of salvation, it's dangerously wrong. Which is the reason that you and I need to take up and have on the helmet of the salvation, the helmet of salvation in this deceived world. Now I know I'm asking you a question that we all can answer, but what does a helmet protect? Or what is it used to protect? We know it's used to protect the head. It's used to protect us from a head injury. We need to be wearing that helmet that God alone can supply, since it is His armor. that we are to be clothed with in this real battle. And therefore, if it is His helmet, and it is the helmet of salvation, by reasoning, that means that the salvation we need can only be provided by the Lord. Salvation is of the Lord, because the helmet we are putting on is the helmet of salvation, and this is God's armor. But since Paul is writing about armor, it's not surprising that he would include protection for our heads, provided by a helmet. Regardless of the time period, one of the most universal pieces of armor by those engaged in a battle is what? The helmet. It might be of a different design, but it is used to protect the head, to protect the head of the soldier who is in a real battle. People who have studied the various times and armies are able to identify the type of army by the helmet that they've discovered. They've been able to say, well, that was a Roman soldier or that was a Greek soldier because of the very type of helmet that they discovered. But believers are to be marked out by the fact that you have on the helmet of salvation. But I can easily think of various helmets, not only those issued by the military, but today we have bicycle helmets. We have state mandatory motorcycle helmets. We have helmets worn in various sports. We have football helmets and hockey helmets. I've even seen the fact that, excuse me, in some respects we may have gone too far in this. A little toddler learning to walk, you know, I mean, he's close to the ground but now parents can actually purchase helmets so that their child falls while they're a little toddler. They can protect themselves. It's the extent to which we have become so concerned. But the fundamental reality of a helmet is to what? To prevent head injuries, which can be very serious, even life-threatening. A concussion can be a very serious thing. You can have loss of memory, or worse, loss of life. And so Paul is inspired to command believers to take up this particular type of helmet. Take up the helmet of THE salvation. It's used to protect our head, our brain. A brain injury can be very serious. But what are our brains associated with? With our thinking. And reasoning abilities given to us by the Lord. We are to protect our heads as it were. We are to protect our minds. Our brains from the assaults of the devil and his cohorts against all the assaults against thinking incorrectly about salvation by taking up the helmet of salvation, because he will seek to assault our understanding, our thinking, our confession about the truth of the saving gospel of God in more than one way, and just like the other pieces of armor that you protect other parts of our spiritual bodies with, not just more than one way, he will use different methods to assault a believer's confession of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone. and he will not be ashamed of doing it repeatedly. The shield that we looked at last week was used to protect us from all the fiery darts of the wicked, but he's not afraid to shoot many darts at us, and he's not afraid to shoot the same ones at us, again using different ways. If he can get us to drop or lower the shield of faith, don't be surprised if he assaults your thinking about the truth about salvation. And he will attempt to assault your thinking about salvation in a number of ways. And so the helmet of salvation needs to be used to protect us from the various lies that the devil desires to strike at our thinking about salvation with. And to illustrate this, and this is the bulk of the remainder of our time, I want to try and illustrate this. How will he attempt to assault you through your mind, through your thinking, through the helmet of salvation? How will he try to think incorrectly about this important truth? That you have to be clothed, your mind has to be protected by the helmet of salvation and the truth of what the Bible declares about it. Well, four ways I want to illustrate how he may assault your helmet of salvation. First, the importance or priority of salvation. Second, what I've titled, and I'll explain these in a moment. First, the importance or priority of salvation. Second, the uniqueness of salvation. Third, the obtaining of salvation. And then fourth, the reality of salvation. Now, what do I mean by these? Well, first, You will need the helmet of salvation to protect you against the assault of the devil, against its importance and its priority. What do I mean? Well, I think what I'm referring to is captured in two statements by our Lord. One in Mark and one in Luke. The first is in Mark 8, verse 36. What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and lose his own soul? And then Luke 12, 15. And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness, for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. This world, which clearly shows that it is under the control of the wicked one, subtly, and see this is, we have to remember, our adversary is very subtle. He can assault us very subtly in the way he attempts to make us think that the salvation of our souls is not important. And this world shows that it's under the control of the wicked one, who subtly assaults the truth of salvation, by never mentioning it, and never stressing it. Because, I'll simply ask you, in all that you heard, or read, or watched last week, apart from your own personal consideration of this subject, the subject of salvation, I ask you, when were you reminded about the truth that you need to be saved? I mean, the subtlety of the adversary with respect to this. Salvation can't be important. It's not important to have the helmet of salvation on because salvation can't be important because how many of the popular people ever mention it? How many of the powerful people ever mention it in this world today? To give you just one simple illustration, many in the world, you may have already watched some of it or seen some of it or read something about it. Many in the world will have their eyes where? Focused on the Olympics in London. Yes, dear brethren, there will be amazing physical abilities displayed. But do we face the truth that all these athletes and everyone judging them and everyone watching them need salvation? Will this ever be mentioned? You can't high jump into heaven. But the devil will assault your thinking on the subject of salvation very subtly by making you think it can't be important because it's never mentioned. The only time it's ever mentioned is when I read, well, he doesn't want you to read the Bible. He doesn't want you to hear a message preached on salvation. He wants you to get a look at the world. How important is the subject of salvation to the world? If you're going to protect yourself from this very subtle attack, you need to have on the helmet of salvation and say, the salvation of my soul is more important than anything this world can give me. as Jesus himself so clearly declares. Because who can measure the value of a soul? Who can measure the value of your soul? To lose your own soul despite the fact that this world mocks and ridicules both the reality of the soul and the fact that it can be lost. To stand in these evil days that show that they are evil by making everything and anything else more important than the salvation of your soul. You need to take up the helmet of the salvation found only in Christ. Because I repeat, Without shame, apart from hearing the Word of God preached, taking time to read the Scriptures yourself, or read Biblical literature on the subject of salvation, how often or how rarely, if ever, are you challenged with what Jesus declared? Or the fact that there is nothing more important than the salvation of your soul? I mean, just think of it. 20 years, will it matter who wins the gold medal at the Olympics? Will it matter whether you are a saved soul or a lost soul? But not just by the world, dear brethren. Think of how the world's priorities have infected the visible churches in what is called the health, wealth, and prosperity anti-gospel of salvation. Your best life now. See, the devil will assault and he'll labor to assault your thinking as to the importance of salvation through the fact that you can hear and read of everything and anything else in this world. Dear brethren, we live in an information overload age. I mean, if you've ever, I know many, I think everyone in this place possibly, except for Gene, have done a Google search on the internet. You want to search something out. A million hits. A million sites you could go to in research. Who's got time if you're researching one subject? And yet, people can absorb themselves in everything. And as I said before, you have three hundred, what, nine hundred television stations. You've got stations devoted to nothing but golf, or baseball, or hockey. You can live your life in this world. Absorbing your life in everything and anything else. And the devil loves it that way. But you have to say, no. Yes, I can enjoy these things. I can focus on them. to the glory and honor of God, but not to the expense of my own soul, not at the expense of forgetting the fact that I have a soul that is going to last beyond my physical death and I'm going to stand before God. Am I in a right standing with God through salvation that's found only in Christ? Because secondly this morning, you will need the helmet of salvation to protect you from the assaults of the devil with respect to its uniqueness. Notice, the helmet. Not the helmets of salvation, but the helmet of THE salvation. It's a unique salvation. It's biblical salvation. And I stress THE helmet of THE salvation. You embrace and confess that your hope of salvation is found only through the biblical gospel of the finished substitutionary work of the Lord Jesus Christ for sinful people, and I can guarantee that you will have this confession assaulted by the devil through those who are continuing to be deceived by him. For if he can't get you to ignore how important the truth of the salvation of your soul is, and you confess and believe that that salvation is found only in Christ, he will assault you by making you to appear arrogant and opinionated. Imagine in a world in which so many have equally valid views of how a man is made right with God or can make themselves right with God, this person calling himself a believer in Christ, a born-again Christian, a biblical Christian, dares to say that Christ alone can save anyone. And unless we personally believe and confess this, the wrath of God abides on us. Imagine, in the 21st century, there's actually people who actually believe that. Believe that the biblical Jesus is the only way into the presence of God, and you will understand why you need to have this helmet on, because this world will assault you. For this demonically deceived world says, no, there are many ways to God. Practice diversity. how we can't be exclusive? Surely everyone else can't be wrong, and your belief that Christ is the only way of salvation be right. But dear brethren, what did Jesus declare? Matthew 7 verses 13 and 14, "...enter ye in at the straight gate, for wide is the gate, and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat, because straight is the gate, and narrow is the way which leads unto life, and few there be that find it." What's he saying? He's warning us of diversity. He's warning us of the popular view in our culture today, and it's interesting that right after Jesus declares this, He warns us about being on guard against false prophets. What did Jesus say to comfort His troubled disciples in the upper room? Jesus said to them, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No man cometh unto the Father but by Me. What did Peter declare in his first message? Preach to his unbelieving Jewish brethren, neither is there salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved. And there is a very interesting event, dear brethren, recorded in Acts chapter 16. In Acts chapter 16, Paul is in Philippi. And if I pick it up in verse 16 of Acts chapter 16, he is in Philippi. And he's confronted with a demon-possessed damsel. And it came to pass, as he went to prayer, a certain damsel, possessed with the spirit of divination, met us, which brought her masters much gain by soothsaying. The same followed Paul and us, and cried, These men are the servants of the Most High God, which show unto us, and sadly, I don't understand why it's translated this way, because in the original, there is no definite article before the word salvation. And so you could translate what this damsel is saying are the servants of the Most High God would show unto us a way of salvation. The idea is, well, Paul is telling you one way, but that's just, it's like what he's in Athens, given over to many idols. But how did Paul react to this? Verse 18, and this she did many days, but Paul, being grieved, turned and said to the Spirit, I command you, I command thee in the name of Jesus to come out of her, and he came out the same hour. He was aware of where this demonic idea of many ways of salvation was coming from. He cast the demon out of this soothsaying woman. It didn't help him because what happened now, from a physical standpoint, what happened? He was Those who are making money off of this woman didn't like the fact that their source of income was cut off and he was brought before the magistrates. But notice, it was not a minor thing to the Apostle Paul. It grieved him at his heart that there was one saying there was a way of salvation. No, there is the way of salvation, one way of salvation in and through the saving gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. But let's just think of it. Let's be honest. Who of us here can comprehend the number of false religions and false philosophies that men have developed and embrace and believe in? How many have presented as ways to finding peace with God, peace with the universe, peace with yourself? You see, the devil is not bothered if we teach a way of salvation. Because he uses those false ways. He's not bothered if we say there are many ways, but we stand on the biblical truth that there is one way of salvation. Don't be surprised if you have to have on the helmet of salvation expected. But then third, you will need the helmet of salvation to protect you from the assaults of the devil as to how it is obtained. He will say, oh, it's not that important, your soul's not that important. There's not only one way of salvation, but if those ways don't work, don't be surprised if he assaults your thinking on salvation in another way. A major assault against the truth of salvation that was once delivered to the saints through those who don't deny the importance of the soul, or the fact that it means saving, but they believe and teach that such salvation is possible through the efforts of men. You see the subtlety of this? Well, it's not important. Oh, there's many ways of salvation. Well, those aren't working. How can I assault the truth of one way of salvation? Well, yes, you have a soul and you need that soul saved. But you can save it. You have the ability to contribute to your salvation. Biblical salvation is obtained solely through the finished work of Christ, but the world religions of men come along and say, yes, you do have a soul. Yes, there is a God, but you make yourself right with God through what you do. You have a part to play in your salvation before God. The devil will assault your thinking on salvation through the deceived thinking of religious people who think they are saved because of what they do. And the devil assaulted the church with this false teaching as seen in the writings of Paul, especially the letter to the churches in Galatia. What? They thought that it was salvation by grace plus works. And he warned them that if anyone preached any other gospel than the one he came with, namely the biblical gospel of salvation through faith alone in Christ alone, let them be anathema, let them be under the curse of God. You see, religious people don't ignore the importance of their souls, even the salvation of their souls, but they foolishly believe that salvation rests in their hands and is possible by them. That is what Paul thought before the Lord opened his understanding on the Damascus Road. The religious idea and teaching that salvation is by grace plus works as is taught in Romanism is a denial and contradiction of the salvation that was once delivered to the saints. It's a contradiction of Ephesians. Verses 2, 8 and 9. For by grace are you saved through faith, and this not of yourself, not of works, lest any man should boast. But let's be honest, it's sobering to think of the number, even in churches, regardless of denominational label, who show that they do not have on the helmet of salvation. Because if you were to ask them if what they do or did has any part in their acceptance with God, they would look at you like you had lost your mind. Of course what I do has a part to play in my salvation. But that's a denial of the biblical gospel of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone in Christ alone. But if the devil can weaken and loosen the helmet of salvation and even get you to think that wearing it is not important through the assaults I have described, he is not unwilling to assault your thinking on the truth of salvation in one other way that I'll look at this morning. For fourth this morning, you will need the helmet of salvation to protect you from the assaults of the devil as to its reality in your life. Because I repeat, as I said more than once, the devil is not afraid to assault the truth of the salvation that believers have in more than one way and in different ways, even ways that We would say, well, they contradict one another. The devil is not afraid of contradicting himself if he can insult you one way and then the other. The only desire of the devil is to have you deny the truth of salvation by faith alone through the finished work of Christ alone. Because we've seen, one way he will attack you is thinking, well, it's salvation by grace plus works. Paul dealt with that clearly in the book of Galatians, because what part does what you do have to play in your being saved and being accepted by God? What part does anything you do have to play in your righteousness before God? Absolutely nothing. In Him we are accepted. He is our righteousness. He accepted in the Beloved. Absolutely nothing. For by grace are you saved through faith, and this not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. Well, as such is true, and it is, the devil will assault this truth about biblical salvation with the false idea that how you live after you've been saved doesn't matter. Since you're saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone, how you live doesn't matter. What a true believer does adds nothing to the finished work of Christ. It cannot add anything to His finished work. Therefore, it doesn't matter. But what does the salvation that Christ obtained for those He died for do? It delivers us from the penalty of sin, the power of sin, and ultimately the very presence of sin. You show that you have been delivered by the finished work of Christ from the penalty. Do all your sins by desiring to be delivered from the power of those sins. That's the point that Paul deals with in Romans chapter number six when he addresses this distortion and denial of biblical grace. What then? What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? God forbid! How shall we that are dead in sin live any longer in it? We show that we have been delivered by the finished work of Christ from the penalty due our sins by desiring to be delivered from the power of those sins. That's why Paul says, continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling. For it is God who works in you both to will and to do according to His good pleasure. What's the good pleasure of God concerning those He saves? That they would be more and more holy. You are a new creation in Christ Jesus. If the devil can get you to think that you have to add something to the finished work of Christ to be accepted by God, you are not protecting your mind with the helmet of salvation. But if the devil can get you to think that Jesus died just to save His people from the penalty of their sins, but not their power and their presence, you are not protecting your mind with the helmet of salvation. Because, dear brethren, what do those who treat Jesus as a form of eternal fire insurance to be dusted off after they have had their fill of sin in this life, think heaven will be like. You say you want to be delivered from the penalty of all your sins, but don't you also want to be delivered from their power and their presence? If all you're concerned about is being delivered from the penalty of what your sins deserve, how will you be able to enjoy heaven? Where there will be no sin to enjoy that you are presently treating with indifference, or worse, enjoyment. I mean, just think for the example of the conversion of the persecutor Saul on the Damascus Road. He was saved on the Damascus Road. Do you see him saying, well, I'll persecute the church for a few more years, I'll afflict the brethren in Christ a few more years, then I'll start helping them and serving them and preaching to them the truth of the saving gospel of Christ. I haven't had my fill of persecution yet. See, this is how subtle the adversary is with respect to salvation. Oh, it's not important. Oh, there's more than one way that you can obtain it. Oh, you've got to do something to add to the finished work of Christ. Well, if Christ has done everything, then it doesn't matter how you think, speak, or live. You and I, dear brethren, have to have our heads protected with the helmet of salvation, a salvation that is found only through the finished work of Christ and received by the gift of saving faith, a salvation that does not look to anything that is done as adding anything to the finished work of Christ in saving His people from their sins, but demonstrating the reality of this once and only salvation by looking for that blessed day when you will be delivered from all sin into the glorious freedom that only the eternal salvation Christ obtained for His people provides. So are you protecting yourself? Are you protecting your thinking? Are you protecting your mind from all these assaults against the salvation that Christ alone obtained for His church by protecting your thinking and believing with the truth of the saving gospel? Summarized in one simple statement from Matthew. You will give Him the name Jesus because He will save His people from their sins. Protect your minds with this glorious truth. Let us pray.