The Breastplate of Righteousness

THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS

          The breastplate existed as an essential part of the Roman soldier uniform.  The Romans made several different models of breastplates.  They created breastplates of solid metal and others of smaller pieces of metal linked together that allowed for freer movement on the battlefield.  The breastplate was extremely important to the Roman soldier.

            The purpose of the breastplate made it essential to the Roman soldier’s armor.  It served several purposes for the Roman soldier.  Some Roman soldiers wore decorative breastplates while celebrating a battle or war victory.  However, the main purpose of the breastplate existed as that of protecting the major organs in the chest and stomach region.  It protected the stomach, the liver, the lungs, the kidneys, and especially the heart.  This was the breastplate to which Paul referred.

            Paul never discussed the Roman breastplate but used it as an illustration to refer to a spiritual breastplate—the breastplate of righteousness.

            What is righteousness?  The Bible states that all of our righteousness is as filthy rags.[1]  Paul also informs the readers that the believer puts on Christ’s righteousness.[2]  But what is it that the believer puts on?  What is righteousness?  Righteousness refers to distributing justice fairly without any biases or showing partiality; equal and fair in all distributions of judgment.  Can man in himself perform such an action?  Can man be fair and just and consistent with every judgment call?  No wonder man’s righteousness is as filthy rags.  Man shows partiality and biases in almost all judgments.  Look at society today.  Man’s righteousness declares that there exists little to no right or wrong.  If it feels good, just do it.  Man’s righteousness corrupted a pure, undefiled creation.  No wonder God eliminates the believer’s righteousness and imputes the righteousness of Christ.  With the righteousness of Christ in place, the believer must realize why he/she must wear it at all times.

            The breastplate of the spiritual armor exists to protect the believer’s major organs as well.  It aids in guarding the believer’s emotions.  The Jews believed that the kidneys and bowls resided as the seat of the emotions[3] while, today, western society and those influenced by it, holds that the heart exists as the seat of the emotions.  Emotions can be a dangerous.  The believer must guard his/her emotions at all times.  The enemy builds off of our emotions and spurs on the bad emotions.  The believer must develop the ability to control their emotions and to be aware if it is a natural emotion or if it is an emotion that is being inflated by the enemy.  God created man with emotions and, even, He Himself displays emotion but the believer must control their emotions and not let their emotions control them.  The believer also must guard their heart.

            The believer’s heart is important.  The heart represents life.  Without the heart, the body dies.  Man’s heart in itself exists as an evil instrument of wicked destruction.[4]  Within it lies all the craftiness to bring back into existence the times of Noe.[5]  Man’s heart leads the people of this world back to Babel and stirs rebellion against God.  It remains as the cultivating center for pride.  However, the believer must set aside his/her heart and cry the prayer of David.  The believer must cry out, “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”[6]  Once God removes the heart of the believer, He can implant His own heart into them.  It is a heart that beats, “the lost…the lost.”  The whole heartbeat of God cries out for the redemption of mankind.  However, if the believer fails to eradicate the heart of man and allow God to implant His heart into them, they remain at risk of defeat and are refusing to put on the breastplate of righteousness because the believer is making the judgment calls and not God.

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[1]  Isaiah 64:6 “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.”

[2] Romans 4:11 “And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness of the faith which he had yet being uncircumcised: that he might be the father of all them that believe, though they be not circumcised; that righteousness might be imputed unto them also:”

[3]  Job 19:27 “Whom I shall see for myself, and mine eyes shall behold, and not another; though my reins be consumed within me.”

Psalm 26:2 “Examine me, O LORD, and prove me; try my reins and my heart.”

 Psalm 73:21 “Thus my heart was grieved, and I was pricked in my reins.”

Proverbs 23:16 “Yea, my reins shall rejoice, when thy lips speak right things.”

[4] Jeremiah 17:9 “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”

[5] Luke 17:26-27 “And as it was in the days of Noe, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man.  They did eat, they drank, they married wives, they were given in marriage, until the day that Noe entered into the ark, and the flood came, and destroyed them all.”

[6] Psalm 51:10 “Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.”