The Helmet of Salvation
A Sermon on the Helmet of Salvation from Ephesians 6:17
Scripture
17And take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God:
Sermon Description
Every part of the body must be covered for defense in warfare. In this sermon on the helmet of salvation from Ephesians 6:17, Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones asserts that the spiritual application of the helmet of salvation is meant to deal with the whole of Christian life. A common problem is weariness or tiredness but Paul said to the Galatians, “Be not weary in well doing.” The campaign is long, the warfare is constant, and it can cause exhaustion. It is easy to be tempted to discouragement. A classic case is the psalmist looking at the wicked prospering and being tempted to give up on righteousness. The difficulty in life is to keep standing; the danger is to faint of weariness. How does one deal with it? The helmet of salvation is not just an awareness, but the hope of salvation for the Christian personally — not something being enjoyed now, but something that is coming. It is the hope of Christ’s coming and all that is contained in that teaching. There are steps and stages in salvation: “I am saved, I am being saved, I will be ultimately saved.” Whatever the strength and power of the enemy in this fight, the Lord’s is greater and ultimately triumphant and that is the final hope.
Sermon Breakdown
- The apostle Paul is describing the armor of God that Christians need to fight spiritual battles.
- The helmet of salvation refers to protecting our minds and understanding.
- The enemy attacks our minds by telling us our struggles are in vain and to give up our faith.
- We can become weary in doing good through the constant struggles of life and faith.
- The helmet of salvation is the hope of salvation - our ultimate redemption and glorification.
- Salvation has a past (justification), present (sanctification), and future (glorification) tense.
- The hope of salvation means knowing we will ultimately be perfected and with Christ.
- The hope of salvation means knowing God will complete the work He started in us.
- The hope of salvation means knowing nothing can separate us from the love of God.
- Jesus endured the cross for the joy set before Him - we must do the same by focusing on our hope.
- Hymns portray the Christian life as one of battle now but ultimate peace and rest.
- We must stand firm in our faith despite the noise of battle, knowing the victor's song is coming.
- Jesus understands our troubles and weariness, but the end of sorrow will be near His throne.
- John Bunyan's pilgrim knew foul fiends could not daunt him because of the life he would inherit.
- We must not give in to the temptation to quit when the enemy attacks our minds about our faith.
The Book of Ephesians
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones
Dr. Martyn Lloyd-Jones (1899-1981) was a Welsh evangelical minister who preached and taught in the Reformed tradition. His principal ministry was at Westminster Chapel, in central London, from 1939-1968, where he delivered multi-year expositions on books of the bible such as Romans, Ephesians and the Gospel of John. In addition to the MLJ Trust’s collection of 1,600 of these sermons in audio format, most of these great sermon series are available in book form (including a 14 volume collection of the Romans sermons), as are other series such as "Spiritual Depression", "Studies in the Sermon on the Mount" and "Great Biblical Doctrines". He is considered by many evangelical leaders today to be an authority on biblical truth and the sufficiency of Scripture.