One of my favorite things to do as a kid was to ride bikes. We rode all over the place. If you grew up riding a bike, you probably know that eventually you’re going to wipe out. Sometimes it happened because our jeans got stuck in the chain or we got tangle up with one of our siblings. Or because we attempted to get some air off a ramp we cobbled together from some rotted boards we found.
We had a lot of fun, but that may be because no one ever told us one thing: you’re not supposed to ride a bike without a helmet.
I don’t even know if bike helmets existed in those days.
Somehow I lived, but things may have been different if I had actually hit my head on something.
Maybe no one realized it in the 70s and 80s, but as it turns out, your head is rather important.
So, when we put on the armor of God, we can’t leave out protection for our head. We can lose certain parts of our bodies, and still live, but without our heads, we’re basically useless.
So, we have the helmet of salvation.
To understand the helmet of salvation, we first have to understand that the word “salvation” doesn’t just mean go to Heaven.” It means “deliverance.” To be saved is to be delivered from something.
If you trust Christ, you are delivered from two things:
- Eternal punishment for your sins
- Bondage to sin
Of course, we all understand deliverance from eternal punishment, because that’s what we usually think of when we think of salvation.
However, salvation isn’t only about us going to Heaven. That’s just the ultimate result. Salvation is also about being delivered from bondage to sin—today. And that begins in the mind, which is why salvation is associated with the helmet.
We have to learn to control our minds. The helmet of salvation allows us to do this, but it is up to us to put the helmet on every day. We don’t put it on every day to become delivered from the eternal punishment for sin—that’s a one-time event that happens when we realize our wickedness and trust in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sins. But we do have to put the helmet on every day to deliver us from bondage to sin.
So, how do we put it on?
There are two things that I think will help keep the helmet on.
The first is to realize that we do not have to serve sin. Romans 6:18 says that we were made free from sin. We can say no to it. God has given us the victory, so we don’t have to give in to sin.
Second, we need to run from temptation. It is dangerous to think, “Oh, I can handle it.” It’s called temptation because that’s what it is. We have to constantly be on our guard.
Years ago in my computer technician days, I did a lot of on-site work at a BASF plant. There was a rule—whenever we left the office building and went out into the plant, we had to wear a hard hat. Usually, there was no danger of something falling out of the sky, but it was a precaution. If we didn’t wear it all the time, we might forget when we wandered into a dangerous area. If we were always prepared, we wouldn’t be taken by surprise.
The helmet of salvation is important because the enemy isn’t going to attack when he knows we’re waiting on him. He’s going to attack when we’re not ready, so always be prepared.
So, put on your helmet of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ, and then refusing to be vulnerable to temptation. Don’t ever let your guard down, because that’s when the fiery darts of the enemy will destroy you.
Next time we’ll go on the offensive and learn how to handle the sword of the Spirit.
