Standing Firm: The Power of Righteousness in Faith

The breastplate of righteousness is most important because as we've seen it covers that part of us where the feelings and the sensibilities are involved, the affections. It also covers that part where the conscience tends to operate. It's very difficult to locate these things and yet we adopt the classification which was always adopted and used by people in the first century. [00:02:03]

The righteousness that is imputed to every Christian, the righteousness of Christ imputed to us, put to our account, and also the imparted righteousness, this righteousness of Christ worked into us, worked out through us by the Holy Spirit. And then having defined that, we ask this question: well then, how exactly do we do this and how does it help us? [00:03:46]

Feelings come and go, and the devil of course is well aware of that. So his special strategy at this point is this: he tries to make us rely unduly upon our feelings and upon our sensations, upon our sensibilities. He persuades many people to base the whole of their Christian position upon that. [00:06:14]

The danger arises in this way: that feelings are a part and a vital part and an essential part of the true Christian experience. Let's be perfectly clear about that. If we've never felt anything in connection with our faith, well then we haven't got it. It's impossible. You can't really believe this great salvation without feeling something. [00:07:52]

The Devil comes and he tries to cause this division, this false division of the human personality, and he does it in many different ways. But this, I say, is a particularly common one which he uses and implies, having brought the gospel, having brought us to see that the affections, the emotions must be involved and must be moved. [00:08:44]

The breastplate of righteousness is all important. Indeed, it is at this point the only adequate protection. I think I quoted last Sunday morning, I must quote it again, the man who said, the saint who wrote in his hymn, "I dare not trust my sweetest frame." Why not? Well, because he knew how variable these frames are. [00:09:49]

The subjective must always follow the objective, and the tragedy is that people put the subjective before the objective. You'll see, indeed we've considered it many times in dealing with this great paragraph, that the devil of course can get us at any point. Here I am emphasizing this morning the objective. [00:13:22]

Discouragement is something that is very frequently used by the devil. You see, the devil knows us so well. He knows that men's final trouble always is his pride. It's the pride of men that keeps him from believing in the Lord Jesus Christ. The people who are not Christian in this world this morning, most of them, particularly the intellectuals, are in that position because of their pride. [00:18:52]

The devil here, he is facing us always, and what does he do? Well, he tries to bring us back into a subtle reliance once more upon works and upon ourselves and upon our own activities. And for a while, it seems to be wonderful. Yeah, we are in the Christian life, we're doing a lot, and we're working hard, and we're making a great contribution. [00:20:00]

The Apostle Peter describing the same thing, he's writing, you remember, to those Christian people scattered abroad in various parts of the world, and this is how he puts it to them: wherein he says, talking about the great salvation, you greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if needs be, you are in heaviness through manifold trials or temptations. [00:31:26]

The only hope, I say, is to say, well, I don't understand, but this I know, and that's putting on the breastplate of righteousness. In other words, let me put it first in the Old Testament terms: rest in the Lord, wait patiently for him when you don't understand and when you really are perplexed as the apostle was. [00:34:06]

The work which his goodness began, the arm of his strength will complete. His promise is yea and amen and never was forfeited yet. That's it, and you got nothing else to say at that point. You can't understand the particulars, you can't give any explanation. All you know is this: you are banking utterly, absolutely upon this glorious purpose of God in Christ. [00:36:30]