Helmet of Salvation

Ephesians 6:17 - “and take the helmet of salvation…”

The helmet is arguably the most widely recognized piece of a Roman soldier’s armor. Not only did it display confidence and power, but it also protected the solider in battle. The helmet obviously protects the head of the soldier. The helmet of salvation in this instance protects the mind of a Christian against spiritual attacks of the enemy.

The Armor of God can only be worn by a Christian. Without being in Christ, this armor is practically useless and does not serve its true purpose, which is spiritual. The helmet of salvation should do for a Christian what a helmet did for a Roman soldier. It should show allegiance to Christ and give us confidence in the salvation He alone offers. Paul is not meaning that one can simply put on salvation as if performing a work is what grants us salvation. We know that salvation is by God’s grace alone, through faith in Jesus Christ. A Christian who takes their helmet of salvation with them is confidently walking in the hope of our promised salvation.

A Christian who does not take his or her helmet of salvation with them is either misguided or not properly confident in the hope of Jesus Christ. This is not necessarily always the fault of the Christian. They simply may not be exposed weekly, or daily for that matter, to the sound doctrine of grace. Personally, I once never felt confident in my hope in Christ because I was not taught the doctrine of grace. I was convinced that I could lose my salvation. There are many people who believe that you can, but as the late John MacArthur says, “If you could lose your salvation, you would.” The idea that I could act in a way that would cause me to lose my salvation would naturally imply that I could therefore do something to earn my salvation, and we know that to be untrue. No one is worthy of the free gift of grace offered by God. Of course, we know that our salvation is not complete until the joyous day of Christ, which is coming soon.

The right question to ask is not, can I lose my salvation. The right question to ask is will God lose those who have been bought by the blood of His Son? Jesus says in John 6:37-40, “All that the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never cast 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, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise 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.” God will not lose those of us who have put our faith in Him. Many schools of thought exist that easily drag us down and convince us that we are hopeless. That does not align with the sound biblical doctrine of grace. We serve a God who offers hope, confidence, and joy - not doubt, anxiety, and uncertainty. When we believe in the promise of God that salvation is offered freely by His grace to all who believe in His Son, we can confidently put on our helmet and walk in the light of hope.

The enemy likes to keep us in a state of fear, doubt, and anxiety. He knows that if he can keep us always questioning our salvation, he is then keeping us living in a general doubt of the goodness, mercy, sovereignty, and love of God. We cannot go forward in obedience to His commands without the fear that we are not truly walking with Him, and then any good works we perform have the possibility of being performed to attempt to earn salvation. These doubts from Satan can paralyze the believer rather than empowering the believer to live and love well as a Christian.

When you begin to doubt your salvation, ask yourself if you have placed your faith in Jesus Christ, recognizing Him as Savior and submitting your life to Him as Lord. Then remember what Paul wrote in Romans 8:37-39, “No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Put on your helmet, profess your faith in Jesus Christ, follow Him as Lord, and live out your salvation with confident hope in He to whom salvation belongs.