Well, hopefully you've gathered from the theme of the songs we've sung that we will be dealing with assurance of salvation for the majority of the sermon. We are going to look at the text, but I believe with most commentators and pastors that this helmet of salvation Paul is talking about, encouraging us to put on, has to do with an assurance of salvation. So before we read the text, let us go to God in prayer, in light of all of these great and glorious promises we've read about in Micah 7, this unchangeable character of God and His grace and goodness towards His people, as well as some of the lovely songs. I hope you never ever tire of those old hymns. I know they don't rock like some of the newer ones, but man, do they ever stabilize you. Those lyrics are great to have running through your mind. When everything is going awry when everything is chaotic. It's nice to know that he then alone is my help and stay Father we thank you for this privilege Lord to gather in the evening to sit around your word and And Father, we want to do more than sit around you. We want to feast on it by faith. We pray that you would send the Holy Spirit. Lord, that this would not just be some kind of intellectual discourse, but rather, Lord, worship. Lord, that we really would be transformed. That by faith we would feed on Christ and His righteousness and what He offers to us as His people. And Lord, that you would encourage us for this upcoming week. And Father, you would help us to put on the helmet of faith. And having done all and putting on all the armor, we might be able to stand firm. Father, help me. I'm tired and my mind is wandering. Father, would you direct the entirety of not only the sermon, but also, Lord, all that transpires tonight. As Chris prayed, I have no problem echoing. Lord, may the meditations of our heart be acceptable. Lord, may what we say and do and think actually be in light of who you are and what you've done for us in Christ. Come Holy Spirit, just help. We are so helpless and yet you are So willing Lord. You're so Beneficent Lord. You are so Generous to your people Lord. You never turn us away when we come to you for fresh grace Lord, so we ask that you would grant it in Christ's name Amen You can open up your Bibles. I have no problem reading through verses 10 to 20. There is some intentionality to it and by acquainting and Ourselves with the scripture through repetition. It's amazing how these will come to the fore of your mind some of the least Suspecting moments whether you're sharing the faith or being bombarded or being tempted or whatever it is God has a peculiar and supernatural way of bringing his word to bear upon our minds when we need it most finally verse 10 Be strong in the Lord and in the strength of His might, or as we saw, be strengthened in the Lord and in the strength of His might. Put on the whole armor of God, that ye may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms or places. Therefore, take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. Stand therefore, having fastened on the belt of truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and as shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace, in all circumstances having taken up the shield of faith." We saw that this morning, and this is what we're going to look at tonight. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. That's next week. Praying at all times in the Spirit with all prayer and supplication to that or to this end. Keep alert with all perseverance, making supplication for all the saints and also for me. That words may be given to me and opening my mouth boldly to proclaim the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in chains that I may declare it boldly. So we come now to the fifth piece of armor. So hopefully you can imagine it in your mind, you have the belt of truth, you have the breastplate of righteousness, you have the shoes of peace, you have the shield of faith, and now we have the helmet of salvation. Googling can be very dangerous, but it can also actually bring about some unsuspecting positive results. I was looking for an illustration this afternoon, and this one caught my eye when I put the necessity of helmet for salvation or for safety. And it said this, with a link to YouTube, falling rock breaks skier's face. So that's something I definitely want to look at. So when I opened it up, this short clip lasting only 45 seconds showed two teenage brothers who live in Utah and they were basically skiing in the summertime. There was just a small little channel of snow with all the craggy rocks around it. And so what they thought would be fun as teenagers, especially teenage boys, would be to do something dangerous. And so they had their helmets and their cameras on and the older brother went first. And so he was going down this sort of narrow channel with very little snow. And what he had done is he was looking to see if his brother was falling and he had the camera on and all you could see was this bouncing boulder coming his way. Smoked him right in the head, right in the face, right here. I thought it was interesting that, you know, of course the camera shakes and goes out and then it showed a still shot of the older brother after. A huge gash across his face and then it showed his helmet and it was destroyed. And I thought, that's a beautiful illustration, that helmets save lives, helmets are important. And here are five little things they put underneath. One, always wear a helmet. 2. During the summer months, skiing in Utah sucks. Don't do it. 3. Don't drop in above your buddy, ever. In other words, don't be running around because he was running around and it was loosening all those rocks that sort of caused an avalanche and they started bouncing towards him. So don't drop in above your buddy, ever. 4. Again, don't go skiing summertime in Utah. And 5. Always wear a helmet. So first, always wear a helmet. Fifth, always wear a helmet. Why? Because a good helmet is an invaluable piece of equipment. Properly worn. Properly worn. Sometimes my girls try to wear my bike helmet, they're not doing it right. It's like sitting sideways, it's not strapped on. When you're properly wearing your helmet, by faith we'll say, it protects the head. A most vulnerable and vital part of our bodies. Soldiers in the thick of battle certainly need a helmet, for without one, any blow to the head would be debilitating, if not fatal. Commentators tell us that the helmets that Roman soldiers wore in the ancient times were either leather or metal and were designed to protect the soldiers' heads from blows by swords or clubs. You've got your shield, that's mainly for the arrows, but this is sort of to glance off. If you're in a fight and someone's got a broadsword, he might strike your face, but at least it will sort of deflect it. These helmets included plates to protect the cheeks. By the way, you know, this sounds crazy, but I was watching Theo this morning with the girls and I re-watched The Armour of God and they actually nailed it pretty good. Like the depiction of the Roman soldier was very accurate. And so I don't know if any of you have begun to check out the RightNow Media, but the Theo stuff, it's fantastic for children. It's teaching stuff like justification, adoption, saving faith, repentance, all the goodies. And one of the episodes is saving faith. And it had the picture, and it did, it had the little plate that came down and covered the cheeks. But not only that, it had a band that protected the forehead, and a collar-like projection to protect the back of the neck and the shoulders. When this helmet was properly, I emphasize properly, strapped in place, it exposed little beside the eyes, nose, and mouth. Virtually the only weapons that could penetrate this metal helmet were hammers or axes. And thus no soldier's uniform was complete. without a proper helmet. And I don't want to beleaguer this point, but Paul says, take up the whole armor of God. And so we're not, you know, left to ourselves to pick and choose. Okay, so it's not, well, helmet today, but not tomorrow. I think I'll wear some cool shoes. No, you gotta wear all the armor. You have to take it all up. You have to sport it all. Or else you will be leaving yourself vulnerable in some way. Thus, when Paul calls upon believers to take up or receive, you could translate it, the helmet of salvation. He's exhorting us to protect our heads as we battle against the enemy. Put another way. The helmet of salvation spiritually protects our minds against Satan's attacks. I said there was going to be some overlap. Remember Paul's... I'm not trying to specify, you know, helmet is only salvation and shoes are only... There is overlap. The belt of truth does overlap with the helmet. And so Satan is always attacking our mind. And that's why we need not only the belt of truth, but also the helmet of salvation. Brian Borgman, he's a preacher who just wrote a book last month called spiritual warfare a biblical and balanced perspective says this Shooting his flaming arrows into the abode of our thoughts Satan seeks to confuse discourage and ignite all manner of evil in us Therefore wearing a spiritual helmet to cover our minds is of utmost importance Our mind is the center of our thought life It's not really anything novel. From which all of our corresponding behavior springs. Given the vital importance of this war zone, we must diligently wear a helmet. For if Satan can tamper with our minds, he can tamper with our lives. If he can meddle with our thinking, he can meddle with us. For as a man thinks in his heart, and remember in the Old Testament, the heart was not just the feelings, but it was ultimately the volitional and mental seat. Right? So you could say, for as a man thinks in his mind, in our common day language, as a man thinks, so is he. Okay? So, no surprise he's going to attack your mind. Which is why you need the whole armor of God. But especially, the helmet of salvation. Though Satan has many schemes up his sleeve, through which he assaults our minds, most preachers and scholars believe that in this verse Paul likely has the idea of a Christian's assurance in mind. Basically Christian assurance is this, that if we are saved in Christ, we will be fully and finally saved. That we will not be able to fall away from grace. That there's not one moment where we will be a Christian, and then another moment where we will not be a Christian. Where once we're in Christ, and then the next moment we're out of Christ. Or once we're born again, and then we're no longer born again. Okay, we're going to look at various texts. But Paul says, protect your minds by understanding that salvation... It's something that God gives His people permanently. And there's so many texts that flood my mind, but I think of Jeremiah 33, where God says, just look, I make a covenant with you, my elect people. And He says, if the sun ever ceases to stop shining, or the stars, or this moon, so will my love cease for you. In other words, He's saying, in metaphorical language, my love is eternal. It's loyal, unchanging. We sang about God's unchanging love. It's not fickle like ours. He's not a man. And His love and His electing purposes sort of don't change by all the whims and all the unsettling things of life. God's salvation is eternal. So if there's a moment in life where you were justified by faith, God will keep you to the end. But I don't want to get too ahead of myself. But if you're wondering, what does this fancy word assurance means? It means you can have an assurance that God will keep you. That all that the Father gives to the Son, none will be taken out of His hand, none will be plucked, none. Every single one Christ died for will be fully and finally saved. Not one will be missing. Christ will guarantee it. He did not die upon the cross for His people in vain. But Satan wants to challenge that. Satan wants to fire darts. At our minds, He wants to attack us with His club or broadsword. He wants to toy with our minds and our thoughts. And so that's why we need to first put on the belt of truth. What does the Bible have to say? Because if you're leaning upon your emotions as to whether you feel like you're saved, you're going to be tossed to and fro. I guarantee it. If your assurance is based upon anything else than the Word of God, you're going to be a train wreck. You'll just be a roller coaster up and down. Okay, so belt of truth is essential as we look to what it means to be fully and finally and perfectly saved in Christ. R. Kent Hughes is so bold to say regarding the helmet of salvation that it is the assurance of salvation that Paul is talking about. Not just the helmet of salvation, but he calls it the assurance of salvation. and the corresponding confidence that it brings. Look at some of the greatest Puritans. They could give up everything in this life because they knew that God would not give them up. But if you think that maybe God will forget about you, or maybe He'll accept you today but not tomorrow, you're always living sort of on the edge, always wondering, always glancing back, always insecure. But assurance brings with it great confidence. And that's what I want us to have. I want us as a church to be confident. Not arrogant, but confident. We should be very secure in our salvation. Or let me say it another way, we should be very secure in Christ's salvation. One of the most effective ways Satan seeks to impede the advance of the Church and the progress of the Kingdom is to do one of two things regarding assurance. I know this isn't in the text, but I thought this should be a good evening service to kind of get outside the zone and teach on some things. Maybe some of the newer Christians have not thought these things out. But Satan does two things when he attacks people regarding assurance. First, Satan loves it when non-Christians presume upon a false conversion. This does great damage and is very detrimental to the cause of Christ. Churches are filled with goats who think they're sheep. And then these sheep are buying, but all the world hears is, what does a goat say? Okay, they think they sound like sheep, but the world hears them as goats. And actually they're a poor representation of what it means to be a Christian. Turn to Ephesians 5, just turn back to your Bible, page 1. I think this is what Paul is addressing here, is that sometimes people can begin to abuse grace. They can almost say, like Paul says in Romans 6, shall we sin more that grace might abound? I've heard it. Well, I'm free and I'm saved in Christ and He's forgiven all my sins, past, present, future, which is true. And they go on to live a debauched, undisciplined, godless lifestyle. But I once accepted Jesus into my heart, and I prayed to her after a service. Satan loves to keep those people deceived, thinking they're saved, until they die and then go to hell. I remember actually, I was watching a teaching series by John Piper. And a woman who was committing adultery came to him and he said to her, you got to call him tonight and tell him it's done. She said, I can't. And he just said he thought this was supernatural boldness. He said, if you don't call that man, you're going to hell. And she said, what? No, no, I've read Romans 8. Nothing can separate us from the love of God. And Piper said, you're absolutely right. But who are the us? He said, actually if you read that chapter and if you read the Bible, the us are those who pursue godliness, those who bear fruit in keeping with repentance, those who bear fruit of the Spirit, those whose lives are radically transformed and changed, those who actually live as though they're a new creation. So one of the things Satan loves to do is fill churches with false converts who think they're Christian because they go to church or read the Bible or tithe or were baptized or whatever it is. Come witnessing. Talk to a lot of people. They're very secure in their religion. Even though I am almost 100% persuaded they're outside of Christ. Ephesians 5. Therefore, he's talking to believers, be imitators of God as beloved children and walk in love as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us. A fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. But... So obviously there's some negative influence happening around Ephesus. A greasy grace gospel has crept in unawares. But sexual immorality, pornea, and all impurity, excuse me, or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints, as God's holy ones. Let there be no filthiness, nor foolish talk, nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving, for you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral, or impure, or who is covetous, that is an adulterer, has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Let no one deceive you with empty words. Maybe I'm reading too much into this, but there seems to be false gospels circulating in Ephesus that it's okay. You accepted him into your heart? You were baptized as a 14 year old? It's all good. Don't let the devil tell you you're not saved. Paul says in 2 Corinthians 13 that you are to test yourself, examine yourself, lest you be reprobate, lest you not be in the faith. Peter says that we are also to make our calling and election sure. There will be corresponding fruits that are appropriate unto the new nature. So he says, let no one deceive you. with empty words. For because of these things, namely living in debauch and unrepentant of sin, the wrath of God comes, it's in the present tense, is coming upon the sons of disobedience. So you have these sons of disobedience wearing their stupid little jack-in-the-box hat. It's a restaurant in the States. They've got some kind of helmet on, but it's not the helmet of Christ's salvation. It's the helmet of false salvation. Don't become partners with them. Don't coin O'Neill with them. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are a light in the Lord. Walk as children of the light. Such people who think this way, non-Christians who presume they are saved even though they live godless lives, they abuse God's grace, turning it into a license for sin. Okay? That's a false helmet. So Satan loves to attack unbelievers with deception. But he also tries to attack believers. So he attacks, first of all, non-Christians by tricking them to presume that they are saved. Secondly, he attacks true Christians by making them doubt they are saved. Sneaky. Very sneaky. It would be better if it was the other way around. If unbelievers were convicted that they weren't saved and believers were convinced that they were saved. But Satan loves to twist things. He's a distorter. So this is what he'll do. And I've seen him do this in my life and in this church. No, no, we're reformed. Satan loves to attack Christians. It doesn't matter if you're an Armenian or not. There's a lot of reformed people who struggle with assurance of faith. Actually, most of the works I've read come from reformers. Calvin wrote a lot on it, I've read Beakey's, and a lot of the books on my bookshelf, on assurance, are written by reformed people who struggle. Okay? So this is what he does to believers. If you can't keep someone from knowing Christ, through saving faith, then he will redouble his efforts to prevent that person from growing in Christ. This is an intentional rhyme. I'm a hip-hopper. If he can't keep you from knowing, then he will hinder your growing. One of the best ways to stunt a Christian's growth and grace is to entice them to constant wonder concerning the final destiny of their souls. And I want to show you that as pious as that seems to always be looking at yourself, I want to show you the sinfulness of doubting. Okay, don't let that heap upon you. But sometimes people just feel, I'm so close to God because I'm always doubting. I'm not presumptuous. That's arrogant. To dare say that I'm safe in Christ. That is arrogance. That's the epitome of haughtiness. Not if the Bible says that we can have assurity. John says in chapter 20, I think 31, I've written these things that you may know. He wants you to know that you have eternal life in Christ Jesus. So it's not arrogant. This constant self-introspection creates an unhealthy, and if left unchecked, morbid habit of looking at self. When someone's living in debauchery, and we say, quit looking to yourself, it seems so wicked. But if somebody's doubting their salvation by looking to themselves, it's not so bad. They're both sinning by looking to themselves. I think probably the new predominant message that I've been preaching the last year is, keep looking to Christ. And you know what I'm going to say. For every look at self, take ten looks to Christ. For those of you who know, those who struggle with assurance problems, it's because you're looking to yourself. No wonder you're doubting your salvation. Because you're looking at an unstable person. But if you're looking at Christ, the solid rock, who's unshakable, impenetrable, and permanent, well, there you go. Thomas Brooks, in his great treatise called, A Precious Remedy for Satan's Devices. He's a Puritan, so it must be good. He says this, Though Satan can never rob a believer of his crown, yet such is his malice and envy that he will leave no stone unturned, no means unattempted, to rob them of their comfort and peace, to make their life a burden and a hell unto them, to cause them to spend their days in sorrow and mourning, in sighing and complaining, in doubting and questioning. I know Christians who are like that. Put on the helmet of salvation. Such people neglect God's grace by forgetting the sufficiency of God's grace in Christ. That Christ's merits are the right standing with God. Remember I said the other people distort God's grace? Those who abuse it, they distort it. Well, there's others who forget it and neglect it. Which ditch is more dangerous? I don't know. That's why you always have to ride the straight and narrow. Luther said, The Christian life is a tricky one. And so often we're like a drunk trying to get on a horse, and we fall off one side, and then we get on and we fall off the other side. Have you ever heard that analogy? Luther and beer are always together, so his analogies are full of drunkenness. But he said that the Christian life is often like a drunk man trying to get on a horse. One time you fall off on legalism, the next time you fall off on licentiousness. They're both distortions of the true and saving grace of God and Christ. They're not the true helmet of salvation. And so, I took you to Ephesians 5, for those who abuse grace. Turn to Galatians 3, to those who are neglecting it. We'll get there, some year, in Sunday school. But here the people, they had been given an assurance, then all of a sudden, false doctrine had crept into the church, just like false doctrine had crept into the church in Ephesus. You think that Satan loves false doctrine to creep into all churches? Yeah. O foolish Galatians, who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. There's a lot of theology in that that I'm not going to unpack. In other words, Christ is sufficient. Let me ask you only this. Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing of faith? Here's the verse. Are you so foolish, having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? You know why a lot of people struggle with salvation? They're not thinking about Christ. Yes, I trusted in Him. Well, why do you think that you're not saved? Well, because I did this, because I did that, or because I didn't do this, or I didn't do that, or because... You know what the wrong word in all those were? Was I. I've done this, or I've not done this. I've done this, or I've not done that. Have you forgotten? I preached to you Christ, you believed it by faith, you were justified. Why are you now trying to perfect what's already perfect? Christ's righteousness is sufficient, and here it is you're trying to perfect what is perfect by works of the flesh. Who is the source of this false teaching that is crept in, unawares, in the churches of Galatia? It's Satan. Satan is throwing his darts and swinging his clubs through false teachers, teaching that if you really want to know if you belong to God, that you've got to do all these extra special works and that Christ is not enough. Not only is this bad for the individual, but this kind of morbid self-introspection turns out to be a double whammy. Because not only do those who doubt their salvation neglect to look at Christ as their salvation, they also neglect to look to the ends of the earth for their salvation. How many soul winners do you know that are constantly looking at themselves? Or let me say it the other way, people who are constantly in the dumps, how often are they out preaching the gospel? They're completely paralyzed. Right? Jesus says, go and make disciples of all nations. And what Satan loves to do is have us looking so in the mirror that we forget that people are lost and perishing. And so he wants us to have this morbid self-introspection, where we're analyzing everything we thought and said, and everything we might have done, or should have done, or could have done, or didn't do. Okay, I'm not talking about abusing Christ's grace here, but I am saying, we're sinners. Christ is sufficient. You know, as Luther said, sin boldly and then move on. In other words, understand Christ forgives the worst of sins. Trust in them, and then move on. But Satan would love to have our feet in the mire, to trudge around in the slew of despondent despair. A lack of our assurance of salvation stymies and stunts our personal evangelism. So I don't mind preaching on this, praying to God that we would all have the helmet of salvation on, that we would have this assurance, this blessed assurance, not just to sing it, but to have it resonate in our core. Jesus is mine. Oh, what a taste. Oh, what a foretaste of glory divine. Air of salvation, not potential air or possible air. Air of salvation. It's done. Why? Because we've been purchased with His blood. So I've got three things that I want us to remember when we're thinking about the helmet of salvation. One, remember that this helmet, or remember that salvation, if you're translating it in the Greek you'd say, put on or take up the helmet which is salvation. That's how I would translate it. Not just the helmet of salvation, the helmet which is salvation. So remember that the helmet, or I'm going to say, remember that salvation is a free gift. Turn back to Isaiah 59. I know we went there for the breastplate of righteousness. But so many of you got so excited turning back to Isaiah 59 that I wanted to give it back to you again. It's a pretty negative chapter if you look at its context. Israel had been called to be a light to the nations. They had been called to be a servant and they kept failing and floundering and flopping around. They could not do what God had called them to do. Verse 1. Behold, the Lord's hand is not shortened that it cannot save, or his ear dull that it cannot hear, but your iniquities. So there's a problem here. God had called them to be a kingdom of priests. They were to be God's representatives to the ends of the earth, to take the message of salvation through sacrifice to the pagans who were perishing. But instead of doing that and embracing their high calling, they were living just like the pagans. Their iniquities had made a separation between them and their God, and their sins had hidden God's face from them, so that He did not hear them. Their hands were defiled with blood, and their fingers with iniquity. And it gets worse from there. Verse 9, therefore, justice is far from us and righteousness does not overtake us. So they're sinning. They're not executing justice and righteousness. It's a corrupt society. Everything's in trouble. This light to the nations has actually become a byword of the nations. That's God promised. But then look in verse 15b, right? So, truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil makes himself a prey. So, there's the first half of the verse. It just reminds us, Israel's a wicked people. They were to be God's instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth. Isaiah 49. It's ultimately Christ, by the way, who's the true Israel, just so you know. But Israel was called to be God's instrument of salvation to the ends of the earth. But they couldn't do it! And, as I think I mentioned when I was preaching through this, it's like when you ask your kid to do something, and he's been trying, and trying, and trying, and trying, and trying, and trying, and he just realized, alright, I gotta do it. You can't. You're not able to. So that's what God does. The Lord saw it and it displeased Him that these people who were supposed to take salvation to the earth, they weren't doing it. So God had to take salvation to them first and then to the earth. The Lord saw it and it displeased Him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man and wondered that there was no one to intercede. Then His own arm brought Him salvation. Does that sound like kind of what we're talking about tonight? It's the helmet of salvation. And His righteousness upheld Him. He put on righteousness as a breastplate and a helmet of salvation on His head. He put on garments of vengeance for clothing and wrapped Himself in zeal as a cloak. You can go on to read the rest of the chapter if I bore you. But ultimately, here we see Yahweh, the God of Israel, the covenantally faithful God of Israel, as a victorious warrior, wearing the helmet of salvation as He saves His people and judges His enemies. In Isaiah, He wears the helmet of salvation. In Ephesians, He gives it. It's almost like He says, okay, I wore the helmet and I've won the battle, and now I give you the helmet as you continue on in the skirmishes. He earns it, and then He gives it. Almost like Ephesians 4, where Christ, the resurrected, conquering King, gives gifts to men. It's also important to know that the Greek word in Ephesians 6 translated take can also be translated receive. It's a deponent verb Lazar, just so you know. I know you're asking questions. So the first point is salvation is a free gift. In Isaiah 59, God is the one who accomplishes salvation. It's not the people who earn it. God does salvation. And then God gives salvation. He doesn't say, okay, I've earned salvation for myself, now you follow and you try like I did. Imitate me. No, no, God, He carries out salvation and then He gives it. And so when Paul says, take, I think it's a good translation, but maybe it's a double meaning where it says, receive afresh the gift of salvation. Receive afresh the helmet, the one that God purchased for you, at great cost to Himself. Okay? God will put it on. Receive it. Unfortunately, many Christians agree that although their justification is received as a free gift, the rest of the salvation is up to them. Okay? So when they say they're doing their evangelism, salvation is a free gift. And you know what they think by salvation? They think that one time event where you, you know, just get justified. Accept Jesus into your heart or walk an aisle. It's a free gift. And then the rest of their life they're trying to earn or to stay in. Oh, God gracious let me into the kingdom. Now I got to be really good to stay in. No, no. It's a free gift from start to finish, from beginning to end. It's all of grace. It really is. Salvation. The whole process, from eternity past to eternity future, it's all a gift of God's grace. And it's to be received as a gift by faith. So when Paul says, take up the help of salvation, he's basically saying, receive it afresh as a gift. So when Satan tempts you to despair, when he's flinging his arrows or when he's launching his weapons at you, faith. Triumph by faith. Remember what God has done by faith. Such people love to quote Philippians 2.12. Everybody know that one? Work out your salvation with fear and trembling. That's what I'm trying to do. Anyone know what the next verse is? It's a Parsiple. 4. Knowing. Knowing what? That God is at work in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. Okay? It's all of grace. Even our working. Even when we think we're putting the helmet on, we think we're putting it on, but really God's hands are putting it on, and He's just letting us have our hands there too. It's all of grace. Never forget salvation is a free gift. Let me give you a quote from a man named J.D. Greer. Where is it? Okay, if I can't find it, I'll give it to you after. I'll put it on my... I'll send it up on Facebook. But, salvation is a free gift. What Paul seems to be saying here, is this, just as you received Christ Jesus the Lord in justification, namely as a free gift to be received by faith, continue, believer, to receive Christ Jesus for the rest of your lives as a gift. You know the people who doubt their salvation? Who forget it's a gift. No, it was a gift. No, it is a gift. It will always be a gift. Past salvation, present salvation, and future salvation, which we'll look at in a moment. Oh, here's the quote. It's by J.D. Greer. I think the book is in the library. It's called, Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart. And it's a book about salvation, or about assurance. Because he said, you know, he holds the world record for the amount of times he's accepted Jesus into his heart and been dedicated and rededicated and baptized and rebaptized. That's just what bad theology does, and it drives me nuts. You're not saved, and then re-saved, and then re-saved, and then re-re-re-re-saved, or born again, then born again again, or born-born again. You're born again once. You're converted once. And Greer says this in the book, Assurance is impossible unless you believe salvation is by faith alone. So lovingly, tenderly, come alongside those who are despondent. and say, salvation is a gift to be received by faith. It's not your own doing. It's the gift of God so that no one can boast. I said that years ago. Well, then say it again. Receive it again. And Satan tempts you and you need deliverance. That same deliverance comes by grace. You think God just delivers you from the penalty of sin by grace through faith? No, He also delivers you from the power of sin by grace through faith. And one day He will deliver you from the presence of sin by grace through faith. Justification, sanctification, glorification, all grace received by faith. All of salvation, beginning to end, received as a free gift. So the first thing I want us to remember is that salvation is a free gift. The second thing I want us to remember is that salvation has what theologians call an unbreakable chain. It's past, present and future and you can't break it. may be past, may be present. Salvation is one overarching principle, one concept, one umbrella under which it is a past, a present, and a future. If you're a Christian, you have been saved, you are being saved, and you will, not might, you will be saved. It's an unbreakable chain, and some of you know where I'm going, it's Romans 8. Forgive me if this seems a little topical, but sometimes it's helpful to look at these. We're going to start in the de Guzman's favorite verse, 28, where the apostle says this, and we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good. But the verse doesn't end there. People love the first half of that verse, but they always fail to read the next part, the parallel. What is the good? That all things work to their good, for those who are called according to His purpose. What is the purpose? For those whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son. In order that, He might be the firstborn among many brothers. So God has a purpose in salvation. He predestines us to be made into the image. And this is what it looks like in time now. Verse 30. And those whom he predestined, he also called. Now in the Greek, it's very tedious. He keeps repeating it. Those whom he predestined, these he called. Those, these, those, these, those, these. He's reminding us that no one is left out in this chain. If you're in the first part, you don't sort of drizzle out like the wheat in the chaff. Every single person whom God predestines, He will call. OK? That's, I think, what the language is trying to say. Those whom He predestined, He also called. And those whom He called, these also He justified. And those whom He justified, these also He glorified. So, from predestination to glorification, how many of God's elect are lost? None. It's a good verse to have if you're doubting it. Oh, I think He called me, but I think I can lose it. Not according to this verse. From beginning to end, God keeps His people. So you have past, present, and future salvation in Romans 8, 29, and 30. And no one, no one, those whom God predestines, every single one makes it to glorification. Is that good news? But what... No, everyone. But I... No, but everyone. But did you... Shh, shh. Just listen to the verse for a moment, Christian. Every single one whom He predestined will be glorified. With this text in our mind, also knowing that nothing will separate us from the love of God, turn back to Ephesians. So I showed you this golden chain, some people call it of salvation. I want to look at a couple sections in Ephesians in light of this past, present and future salvation, this chain that is unbreakable. OK? So if you have been saved, past tense, you must be being saved, present tense, and you must be saved in the future. You can't drop out. It's not like you can sign up and then drop out. No. Every single one of God's people, from beginning to end, He ensures they will be saved. Fully and finally. OK? Though He doesn't use the word salvation in chapter 1, I think the concept is there. Forgive me if I read a little bit. It's verses 3 to 14 of chapter 1. But you're going to see here that you have a past dimension where God is electing. And then you have a present dimension where we're becoming blameless and holy in light of His purposes. And then we're going to see actually that there's a future aspect. That God seals us with the Spirit who is the guarantee of our future inheritance. So you have past salvation, present salvation, and future salvation. And Paul says they're all for the believer. It's not, you know, you lose one. Or he's like, oh sorry, I only have a whole bunch of past salvation, you gotta work on your own present. No, God saves His people. Past, present and future, it's all of grace. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world. Did you have anything to do with that? Absolutely not! I was thinking about this, it's not in the notes, but Calvinists, of all people, we should have great assurance. Like if you believe in election, what in the world, you had nothing to do with election and you think that now somehow you can unelect God's electing purposes? That in time you can undo what He did outside of time? It's crazy to think that. It's inconsistent anyways if we call ourselves Calvinists. He predestined us, it says, in love for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ. Can He unadopt us? Unsun us? According to the purpose or good pleasure of His will, to the praise of His glorious grace with which He has blessed us in the Beloved. In Him we have, not just we had, It's not like, you had redemption in Christ, now try your hardest to maintain that. You have redemption in Christ, if you're in Christ. Through His blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of His grace, which He lavished upon us in all wisdom and insight, making known to us the mystery of His will, according to His good pleasure or purpose, which He set forth in Christ, As they plan for the fullness of time, to unite all things in Him, things in heaven and things on earth. Here's past tense again. In Him we have obtained an inheritance. How? Having been predestined according to the purpose of Him who works all things according to the counsel of His will, so that we who were the first to hope in Christ might be to the praise of His glory. Past future. Verse 13, in Him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation and believed, past tense, in Him you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of His glory. So you've got past tense, present tense, future tense. Salvation is all of grace. It's all of God's mercy. God does it all. We should not doubt. If we doubt our salvation, we're ultimately doubting God's power to save. Okay? Next one, chapter 2, verses 5 to 8. I promise we're almost done. Hopefully. Verse 4. So we're dead, but God being rich in mercy because of the great love with which He loved us. There's the eternally past, right? This electing love. Even when we were dead in our trespasses, He made us alive together with Christ. There's the past tense. By grace you have been saved. Past tense. And raised us up with Him and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So that in the coming ages, He might what? He might show something. He might show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness towards us in Christ, for by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing, it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. So God elects us in chapter 1, He even elects us in chapter 2. He saves us by grace through faith. Why? So in the coming ages He might declare, demonstrate, show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness towards us in Christ. Could you imagine, Sharon? If somehow you could lose your salvation, and God's like, hey, check it out, look what I did in Sharon. We're Sharon. He can't show the immeasurable riches of His grace and kindness, if somehow we can pull ourselves out of His riches. He keeps His people. And there's an almost infinite amount of verses in the Bible that I could offer you if you wanted. The language here is very strong. In verses 5 and verses 8, when it says, by grace you have been saved. It's a very, very, very, very, very, very, very strong way of saying it. You want the impressive Greek term? I'm not going to tell you what it is. Basically it says this, you have been saved and the results continue on. It's a perfect paraphrastic construction which is very rare in the Greek New Testament. Paul is saying that you have been saved and you are in a state of salvation that is unalterable. And the English translations just don't get that. Okay, so we'll be accepting applications for our Greek New Testament course next year. It's so important. It's not just say, no, you have been saved. Just like when it says Christ is risen in the perfect. He rose and He's never ever gonna not be risen again. We've been saved and we're never ever not gonna not be... Well, you know what I'm trying to say. We're always saved. We're in a state of savedness. We're in this permanent state of salvation by grace, through faith. We're in a state of salvation because of what God has done for us in Christ. Commentator Thielman says this. Paul is here urging believers in chapter 6 to put on the helm of salvation. He is urging them then to receive salvation. Not because they do not have it, but because they already have it. Receive salvation. I'm already saved. Exactly. Realize you're saved. And receive that truth afresh. Because you don't feel like it. So Sharon, you're already saved. Receive it by faith again that you are saved. Why? Because Satan's going to tell you you're not. So put on the helmet. Put it on. Receive it afresh. You're already saved? Great! Believe it! Believe you're in the state of salvation. You need to constantly appropriate your salvation by faith, not by feelings. I don't feel saved. Put on the helmet of salvation. You have been and are being saved, is how you could translate Ephesians 2.5 and 2.8. Not only in Hebrews 12 is God the author of our faith, He is the finisher. He who began his good work in Philippians 1.6 will most certainly complete it. John chapter 6, turn there. I keep looking at the clock hoping that somehow it will slow down like the matrix and we'll do it in half time, but we're almost done. These are just such great verses that I don't mind giving for us, just to be reminded. John 6.37 to 40. Most that the Father gives to me hopefully will... No. All that the Father gives to me... So there's the language of predestination in Romans 8 and Ephesians 1. All the Father gives me. Not some. Not most. And there's no potentiality. Right? It's an indicative, Lazar. All that the Father gives me will come to me. And whoever comes to me, I will never cast out. Ume. I will never, ever, ever cast out. It's an impossibility. I will never cast them out. For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of Him who sent me. And this is the will of Him who sent me. Did Christ keep God's will perfectly? Yes. Okay, so let's see what God's will for Christ is, that He has kept perfectly. Here's what Christ has kept perfectly. That I should lose nothing of all that He has given me, but rather raise it up on the last day. That's good news. There's no conditional clause if they're a good little Christian. You can abuse that grace, but if you're a Christian, you won't. You will relish and you will bask in that grace and live obediently in light of it. So the will that Christ has kept is that He's lost none, but rather raised it up on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in Him should have eternal life. And I will raise him up on the last day. Did you know that in the book of John, eternal life is a present reality? It's not future. You have eternal life if you're in Christ. Why? Because Christ is eternal life. This is the kind of confidence and assurance that Paul is talking about in 1 Thessalonians 5. And I do want you to turn to this too. Your fingers are going to be tired tonight. That's okay. There's nothing wrong with working on the Sabbath. But since, sorry, 1 Thessalonians, I'll give you a moment. It's not as popular as Romans. 1 Thessalonians 5.8. So it's right after Colossians. Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1 Thessalonians. But since we belong to the day, let us be sober, having put on the breastplate of faith and love, and for a helmet, the hope of salvation. So Ephesians 5, put on the helmet of salvation. 1 Thessalonians, put on the helmet of the hope of salvation. This is great. That if you are sure that God will complete what He began, that He will complete His good work, that you have this hope. It's an amazing helmet to be wearing. It keeps you from being bludgeoned and beaten down by a relentless foe. Is this practical? Is it good? I've got the hope of salvation, now I can twiddle my thumbs. Go to 1 Thessalonians 1. Verse 2, Paul says, We give thanks to God always for all of you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith, and labor of love, and steadfastness of hope. So this helmet functions as hope. Someone's at the door, if someone could grab it. This helmet functions as a hope, it's an assurance, it's a helmet of salvation, or the assurance of salvation. And what does this helmet give us? Steadfastness. The NIV rightly translates it, steadfastness produced by hope. So if you struggle with steadfastness or endurance, what you need to do is put on the hope. So you're toiling away, Christ is fully and finally going to save me. You can press on. You can do it. That's the helmet you are wearing. Paul says in 2 Timothy chapter 4, right at the very end of his life, right before he's going to lose his helmet and have it replaced with the crown. He says this in verse 17, 2 Timothy 4.17. This is what you can say if you truly believe that Christ will keep you firm to the end. If you actually believe the work He begins in you, He will complete in you. If you actually believe it, you can have this confidence to die well. You won't die well if you're always wondering, did I do enough? If you believe Christ did enough and you're in Him by faith, this is what you can say with Paul. But the Lord stood by me and strengthened me so that through me the message might be fully proclaimed and all the Gentiles might hear it. So I was rescued from the lion's mouth. The Lord will rescue me. from every evil deed, and bring me safely into His heavenly kingdom, to Him be the glory forever and ever. Amen. This is very practical. It helps you to live well. The steadfastness produced by hope, it helps you to endure well, and it helps you to die well. Put on the helmet of salvation and live well and die well. First point, As I said, salvation is a free gift. The second point we need to remember is there is an unbreakable salvation chain. Those whom God elects and saves, He will fully and finally save and glorify. No one is excluded. All the Father gives them, they will all be raised up. Third point, and very short. Remember that to be saved means to be saved into Christ. Okay? I'm glad the ladies are studying Union in Christ. That just makes me do backflips. That ladies are studying that rather than, I don't know, The Jesus Circle or whatever some of those books are by Sarah Young. This is fantastic! They're studying Union in Christ! Chapter 2, verses 5 and 8 of Ephesians. Go back there. I told you your fingers are going to get tired. Even when we were dead in trespasses, God made us alive together with Christ. By grace you have been saved, verse 6. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with Christ in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus. So when you're saved by grace through faith, you're saved into Christ. I just want you to think about that. You're in Christ. If you're saved, you're in Christ. What does it mean to not be saved? Christ has to die. You can't be severed. Once you're in Christ, you're in Christ. Okay, so this is the illustration. I don't know if it's a good one, but it comes to mind. So I'm grafting apple trees together. And I graft in, I don't know, what's a good kind of apple? Ambrosia. Okay, I'm grafting it in. Okay, once it's grafted in, it's got its life from the trunk now. What's the only way that that ambrosia graft can die? If the root dies. So the only way that you can be lost if you're in Christ, is for Christ to die. Which is an impossibility, because He's God. I don't know if that's crazy, but when I see that, that we're in Him, we're raised with Him, we're seated with Him. It's an amazing thing. I'm in Christ. And Christ is life. If Christ, whose life is in me and I'm in Him, then I can never be cast away. Unless God casts away His Son, He will not cast away you if you're in Him. Isn't that an amazing truth? Something you should meditate on a little more. Something I should meditate on. The only way God will cast away any of His people in Christ, is to cast away Christ. Because we are inseparably linked. Okay? How far do you want to go? You can write down in your notes, John chapter 10, verses 25 to 30. We won't go there. We will. Write also John 17, 20 to 23. I'm only going to go to John 10. I just want to show you this. Okay, it's in John 10 and John 17. But this is Good Shepherd language here, and it's worthy to go a little later. I know you want to be done by 6. It's okay. I don't feel too guilty about this. Verse 25. Jesus answered them. He's answering the unbelieving Pharisees, etc. He says, I told you that you, and you do not believe. Verse 25, the works that I do in my Father's name bear witness about me. But you do not believe me because you are not part of my flock. Make sure you get that order right. Otherwise you'd be an Armenian. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they will never, ever perish. And no one will smash them out of my hand. My Father, who is given to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to smash them out of the Father's hand. I and the Father are one. No, we have to go to John 17. I lost my train of thought. Okay, so Jesus says, I and the Father are one. Can Jesus and the Father ever be separated? I know you can try to blow up atoms and separate the electrons and the neutrons and the protons. That's pretty hard stuff to do. You can do that. But you cannot separate the Trinity. You cannot take Christ out of the Father, nor the Father out of Christ. You cannot dissolve into components, nicely divide up the Trinity, because they're one. Now look in John chapter 17 verse 20. I do not ask for these only, Christ's high priestly prayer, but also for those who will believe in me through their word. That's us, if we're a Christian. That they may all be one. Here's the key word, just as. Just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they may also be in us. There's union with Christ's language. So that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me, I have given them. That they may be one, even as we are one. Here it is again. I in them, and you in me. That they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me, and loved them even as you loved me. What's Christ saying? that Christ and the Father are one, and that when we're grafted into Christ, we're united into Christ by faith, we become one with Christ, and thus become one with the Father. I'm not getting all weird and New Age on you. This is union in Christ language. So if you're one with the Father and the Son, the only way for you not to be one with them is for them to cease to exist. It's an amazing thing. Right? The only way for you to perish It's for Christ to perish. Christ can't perish. He's God. And if you're in Christ by faith, that should give you great eternal security. It should help you press on, even if you still flounder and fail and sin, that you're in Christ. You're abiding in the vine. And unless that vine dies, you in that vine cannot die. Spurgeon gives the illustration, he says this, the only way any member of the body can drown is if the head drowns. I like that. It's not as nice as the union, but for us to drown, the head must drown. We're the body of Christ. Can Christ drown? No. Then neither can we. Do I want to do my fancy conclusion or not? I know many of you don't want me to, but I'm asking myself that question, not you. I won't. Let me just give you a quote from John MacArthur in my closing. It is the final aspect, or this final aspect of salvation that is the real strength of the believer's helmet. But this final salvation is based upon our union with Christ and this unbreakable chain of salvation in the past. But this assurance, this final aspect of salvation is the real strength of the believer's helmet. If we lose hope in the future promise of salvation, there can be no security in the present. The helmet of salvation, he says, is that great hope of final salvation that gives us confidence and assurance that our present struggle with Satan will not last forever and that we will be victorious in the end. I always remember a quote Billy Graham said, they asked him, Why are you so happy? And why do you keep pressing on? He says, because I've read the end of the Bible. We win. Right? See, I had a really fancy illustration between D-Day and V-E-Day. We're in between. But already the war is won. If you realize the war is won, that you've conquered in Christ. Even if you die, you still win. You can now fight well. Study World War II. When they understood the war was won, they were valiant. But I said I wasn't going to go there. He says that this hope of eternal salvation, this final hope of salvation gives us confidence and assurance in the present struggle against Satan. We know the battle is only for this life, and even a long earthly life is no more than a split second compared to eternity with our Lord in heaven. We are not in a race we can lose, he says. Here's my exhortation. Just as the helmet protected the head of the ancient soldier and gave him confidence in confrontation, so also this firm assurance of your final and complete salvation in Christ protects you under the relentless blows of your spiritual adversary. Daily meditate, or daily put on you could say. Daily meditate on the eternal glory you will share with Christ that awaits you. Regularly dwell on the reality that a day is coming when you will have no more struggles left. Let these thoughts constantly fill your mind. As they do, you will be comforted and confident in the present struggle. As these truths saturate your thinking, you will be sustained, strengthened, and steadfast in the battle. Believer, in light of such things, never take off this spiritual helmet. Let it always be a part of your daily protective covering. Wake up tomorrow and thank God for your salvation in Christ is secure. Continually receive and appropriate it by faith. As Grinnell says, remember the guy I quoted this morning? Take this helmet so as never to lay it down until God takes off this helmet to replace it with a crown of glory. I like that. Leave your helmet on. The only one who can take it off should be God. And when He takes off your helmet, let Him replace it with a crown of glory. Which reminds me to ask you, do you have this hope? What happens when you die? If you're non-Christian, I hope you don't have that presumptuous false confidence that we talked about at the beginning of the message. That you're not as bad as Hitler, or as bad as the molesters. You're a decent person compared to others. That's a false confidence. That's a rotting breastplate of righteousness. I hope it's not a peace-peace that is no peace. The only way you can ever have this confidence is in Christ. But are you in Christ? I came to church. That's not what I asked. I didn't ask if you came to church. I asked you if you have renounced all of your strivings and you fled to Christ for forgiveness of your sins. Are you in Christ? That's the eternal question that determines whether you will go to hell forever or you will celebrate the new heavens and the new earth forever. Simple as that. Not, are you a good person? There's no one good. The Bible already declares that. I don't care what you say. None of us are good. None of us are good enough to merit heaven. Are you in Christ? Only one man lived perfectly to merit eternal life, and that was Christ. Are you in Him? I always hope that for the kids. I always pray that they'd be found in Christ on that day. Believers, if you are in Christ, put on the helmet. Put it on now. Put it on tomorrow. You know what? Receive it afresh. Don't be afraid to talk about it in public. I don't think it's embarrassing if someone says, hey Ryan, by grace you've been saved. You know, if Lazarus were to text me that, which is very good when he does. Ryan, this is who you are in Christ. You have been saved and you're in a state of salvation. Remember? The perfect paraphrastic you talked about? That's true, Ryan. Praise God. All that come to Christ, He will never cast out. That doesn't mean He says, no, no, stay away. It means once you're in the fold, He never throws you out of the fold. Once you come in, you're eternally in. Isn't that great? Now go out and live in a manner worthy of your calling. Go and live knowing you can die well. Nothing will separate you from the love of God in Christ. Not even Satan. Not death or life. No, nothing that you can imagine can separate you because you're in Christ. Just pray, Father, I pray that everyone here would be in Christ before they stand before You. Even as we sang, that they would be faultless before the throne. Father, I pray that if anyone here is not truly converted, they would see that it doesn't matter how good or bad they are compared to others, but they're going to stand before You naked one day. And every action they've done, every thoughtless word they've spoken will be brought to account. And all I can pray, Lord, that that will have been forgiven, because they put their trust in Christ. Because Christ paid for their sin, which they received salvation through faith. Father, I pray, help us to leave here rejoicing. Help us to believe the songs we're singing. And help us, Lord, to stir one another up. Help us to remind each other that we're in this present and permanent state of salvation. Remind us, Lord, that none can pluck us from your hand. That's encouraging. Father, give us confidence. Give us assurance. Help us to have steadfastness of this hope we ask in Jesus' name. Amen.