In Ephesians 6:14, we read about the second element of the spiritual armor of God, which is the breastplate of righteousness. What does the Bible say about the breastplate of righteousness? What is the breastplate of righteousness and what does it mean having on the breastplate of righteousness?
What does having on the breastplate of righteousness mean?
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness (以弗所書 6:13-14)
Jesus is righteous and walked in obedience to His Father in righteousness on earth. 每個人 都, who is born again in Christ has been made righteous by His blood and is reconciled with the Father and shall walk just like Jesus; 上帝的兒子, as son of God after the Spirit in righteousness.
Every person is a sinner
正如它所寫的, 沒有一個是正義的, 不, 沒有一個: 沒有人明白, 沒有人尋求上帝. 他們都消失了, 他們一起變得無利可圖; 沒有人行善, 不, 沒有一個. Their throat is an open sepulchre; with their tongues they have used deceit; the poison of asps is under their lips: Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness: Their feet are swift to shed blood: Destruction and misery are in their ways: And the way of peace have they not known: There is no fear of God before their eyes (羅馬書 3:10-18)
看哪, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me (詩篇 51:5)
每個人 都, who is born on this earth, is born in unrighteousness and belongs to the generation of fallen man (the old man) and is a sinner.
No one is born in righteousness and/or has been made righteous by his or her own works, including the works of the law of Moses, since the fallen state of the old man and the sin nature of the old man can’t be changed by the works of the law. 正因為如此, sin and death will continue to reign in man.
每個人 都, who thinks and believes that (s)he has been made righteous and saved by his or her own works, including keeping the law of Moses, doesn’t live in the truth, but lives in a lie. Just like everyone, who says, 那 (s)he has no sin, misleads himself or herself and lives in a lie (羅馬書 3:20, 加拉太書 2:21, 1 約翰 1:8)
There is only one way to be made righteous and be saved and that is by faith in Jesus Christ, 永生神的兒子, and by His blood (羅馬書 1:16, 羅馬書 3:28, 羅馬書 5:10-21, 以弗所書 1:7, 歌羅西書 1:13-14, Philippians 3:9).
Being made righteous by the redemptive work and the blood of Jesus Christ
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life (約翰 3:16).
But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; Being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood, to declare His righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; To declare, I say, at this time His righteousness: that He might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus (羅馬書 3:21-26)
Therefore God sent out of love His Son to the earth as an atoning sacrifice and the Substitute for fallen man, 以便大家, who believes in Him would no longer live in bondage to death, but would have the ability to be redeemed from the power of sin and death that reign in the flesh and to become in Him a new man, who is created after the image of God in righteousness.
Because by the blood of Jesus Christ and 再生 在基督裡; the death of the flesh in which death reigns and that produces the fruit of death which is sin, and the resurrection of the spirit from the dead, in which life reigns and produces the fruit of righteousness, the old man no longer exists, but the old man has become the new man.
Not every person remains a sinner
Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the Kingdom of His dear Son: In Whom we have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins (歌羅西書 1:12-14)
Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law (羅馬書 3:28)
Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of One the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life. For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of One shall many be made righteous (羅馬書 5:18-19)
The new man is no longer the old man. Therefore the new man is no longer a sinner, but has been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ.
From the moment you are made righteous in Christ, it is a sin to call yourself a sinner.
Because by calling yourself a sinner, you say indirectly that God is a Liar, that His Word lies, that Jesus has not been made sin, and that His redemptive work is not finished.
所以, by saying that, you deny the redemptive work of Jesus Christ.
Because you say, that His work was not sufficient and the blood of Jesus Christ is not powerful enough to change your state as a sinner and make you righteous before God.
As long as you see yourself as a sinner after you’ve become born again, and keep confessing that you are a sinner, there is something wrong. Because a sinner is someone, who obeys sin and perseveres in sin, and enjoys living in sin. A sinner is rebellious and prideful and is not willing to yield to God and His will. Because the flesh in which the sinful nature dwells, always rebels against the Spirit and refuses to submit to the law of the Spirit.
Why do people say, that you are a sinner and will always remain a sinner? So that people don’t have to die to the flesh and put off the works of the old man, but keep doing the works of the flesh, without being confronted by others and call them to repentance.
But as long as you want to do the works of the flesh and want to obey sin, it actually proves that you don’t belong to God and His Kingdom, but that you still belong to the world and the ruler of the world; 魔鬼 (另請閱讀: Once a sinner, always a sinner?)
The new creation has been made righteous in Jesus Christ
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; 看, all things are become new (2 哥林多前書 5:17)
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For He hath made Him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (2 哥林多前書 5:20-21)
聖經說, that Jesus Christ, the Son of God has been made sin, so that everyone by faith and regeneration in Jesus Christ becomes a new creation and be made the righteousness of God in Him.
You have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ. Now that you have been made righteous in Him and received the nature of God, by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, you shall yield yourself to God and His Word and walk after the Spirit in the truth and in righteousness.
The new man is no longer a servant of sin, but a servant of righteousness
Jesus answered them, 實實在在, 實實在在, 我對你說, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed (約翰 8:34-36)
你不知道嗎, 你們把自己當作僕人來服從, 你們是他的僕人，你們要服從他; 是否犯了至於死的罪, 或順從正義? (羅馬書 6:16)
When you were still the old man, you were a friend of the world and lived as the world and walked after the flesh in disobedience to God and did things, of which you are now ashamed.
罪惡; the sinful nature reigned as king in your life and had dominion over you and you obeyed it in the lusts therefore and yielded your members as instruments of unrighteousness unto sin and lived in uncleanness and iniquity (羅馬書 6:12-13, 19-22)
But that all changed, when you became a new creation; the new man in Christ. Because by the blood of Jesus Christ, you were reconciled with God and received a new nature, causing you to no longer walk as before in unrighteousness, but causing you to walk in righteousness.
但感謝上帝, 你們是罪的奴僕, 但你們從心底服從了交付給你們的教義形式. 然後就脫離了罪孽, 你們成了正義的僕人. 因為你肉體的軟弱，我照人的方式說話: 因為你們使你們的肢體成為污穢的奴僕，成為罪孽的奴僕。; 即使這樣，現在也要讓你們的肢體成為公義的僕人，以致聖潔.
因為當你們還是罪的奴僕時, 你們脫離了正義. 你們當時在那些你們現在感到羞恥的事上有什麼果子呢？? 因為那些事情的結局就是死亡. 但現在已經脫離了罪孽, 並成為神的僕人, 你們已經結出聖潔的果子, 和永生的終結. 因為罪的工價就是死亡; 但神的恩賜是透過我們的主耶穌基督而獲得永生 (羅馬書 6:17-23)
When you became a son of God, you were transferred from the kingdom of darkness into the Kingdom of God and became an enemy of the world. 所以, you don’t belong to the world; the kingdom of darkness anymore and because of that you shall no longer live like the world and do the same unrighteous works as the world. But you belong to God and His Kingdom. You have been made righteous and holy, which means that you are separated from the world unto God, and therefore you shall obey His will and shall do the righteous works of the Kingdom, 就像耶穌一樣.
“Let sin no longer reign as king”
Sin no longer reigns as king in your flesh and has no dominion over you, since you have died to the flesh in Christ.
Therefore you shall no longer live as a servant of sin and obey sin and live in sin, but you shall have dominion through the Spirit over sin and put off the works of the flesh; the works of the old man.
You are no longer a servant of sin, but you have become a servant of God. Therefore you shall yield your members as instruments of righteousness unto God and live in righteousness and holiness.
在精神領域, you have been made the righteousness of God and your righteous state shall be revealed through your walk and life on earth.
每個人 都, who is born of God does righteousness
If ye know that He is righteous, ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him (1 約翰 2:29)
凡住在他裡面的，就不犯罪: 凡犯罪的都沒見過他, 兩人都不認識他. 小孩子, 不要讓任何人欺騙你: he that doeth righteousness is righteous, 即使他是公義的. 犯罪的人是屬魔鬼的; 因為魔鬼從一開始就犯罪. 為此目的，神的兒子顯現出來, 以便他摧毀魔鬼的作為.
凡從神生的就不犯罪; for His seed remaineth in him: 他不能犯罪, 因為他是由神而生. 神的兒女在此顯明, 和魔鬼的孩子們: 凡不行義的，就不是出於神, 不愛弟兄的人也一樣 (1 約翰 3:6-10)
Those who are born of God have been made righteous and because of that they shall walk just like Jesus Christ, Who is the image and reflection of God, in righteousness.
They shall no longer be dominated and led by the sin nature, that dwells in the flesh, but they shall be led by the Spirit, whereby they shall fulfill the righteousness of the law (羅馬書 8:4-5 (另請閱讀: ‘Is man able to fulfill the law of God?')
耶穌說, that you shall recognize the tree by its fruits. Therefore if anyone keeps walking in disobedience to God, in obedience to the sin nature, and perseveres in sin, it proves that the person is not born of God and doesn’t belong to Him.
The spirit of error
不幸, the spirit of error has deceived many people and has made them believe that those, who persevere in sin and sin willfully do belong to God and that God loves those, who persevere in sin and that God doesn’t mind if people keep sinning and that it doesn’t matter if you keep living in sin. But that’s half a truth and therefore a lie!
God indeed loves mankind and as proof of His love, He gave His Son, so that everyone had the ability to be redeemed from the power of the sin nature and no longer live as a slave of sin in the bondage of death and keep doing evil works of the flesh, which are an abomination to God and which God hates (哦. 箴言 6:16-19, 耶利米 44:4, 希伯來 書 1:9, 啟示 2:6-15).
Do you really think, that God doesn’t mind if a person keeps living in rebellion against His Word and His will and perseveres in sin and that God approves sin? 不, of course not. Sin has cost God His Son Jesus Christ! (另請閱讀: ‘The sin has killed Jesus').
Righteousness has no common ground with unrighteousness
But unto the Son He saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of Thy kingdom. Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity; therefore God, even Thy God, hath anointed Thee with the oil of gladness above Thy fellows (希伯來 書 1:8-9)
Don’t believe the words of people, who change the truth of God and adjust the words of God to their own carnal lusts and desires and the time in which we live. 反而, believe the Word.
Read, study, and search the scriptures in the Bible, so that you will find out the truth and life.
Because by the Word and the Holy Spirit you shall be able to discern the truth from the lies and expose the lies and doctrines of the spirit of error and reject them.
Don’t let anyone fool you by saying that the Bible is outdated and no longer applies.
Every word of God still applies to all mankind today and shall always apply.
All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works (2 蒂莫西 3:16-17)
The devil doesn’t sit still and has sent his henchman and placed them in influential positions worldwide. 是的, even in many churches he has appointed his sons, who may look pious and righteous from the outside, but inwardly they are the exact opposite and are sons of the devil and enemies of righteousness, who promote sin and unrighteousness.
They change the truth of God into lies and approve sin and unrighteousness and lead the people astray, so that they keep living after the flesh in rebellion to God and persevere in sin (2 哥林多前書 11:14-15).
Their mouths are open graves, because every word, that proceeds out of their mouths doesn’t promote sanctified lives unto God and doesn’t lead the people to eternal life, but promotes unholy lives and leads the people to eternal death.
每個人 都, who belongs to the world and is an enemy of righteousness and lives in disobedience to the will of God, which is revealed through the Word, and is not willing to yield to the will of God, is an enemy of God and doesn’t belong to Him.
The new man is clothed with the breastplate of righteousness
And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness (以弗所書 4:23-24)
只要你留在耶穌基督裡; the Word and walk after the Spirit in obedience to God after His will and put on the new man, whereby you shall walk in righteousness and do righteous works, you shall have on the breastplate of righteousness.
You shall have on the breastplate of righteousness that guards your heart, from which are the issues of life and belongs to God(箴言 4:20-23).
You shall walk by faith after the Spirit in the Truth in righteousness after His will and nothing shall be able to touch you and harm you
The devil shall come and try to attack you and accuse you, but he shall have nothing in you, because you have been made righteous in Christ and you walk in obedience to Him in His 誡 and walk in His footsteps in righteousness (哦. 約翰 14:30, 1 約翰 5:18).
You shall speak His words and walk after His will and pray after His will and do the works in His Name after His will and the Lord shall listen and answer and empower your words and works, so that you shall bear the fruit of righteousness and exalt Jesus Christ and honor the Father (哦. 約翰 15:7, 希伯來文 12:11, 詹姆斯 3:18, 1 彼得 3:12).
The saints shall be clothed in white linen and receive the crown of righteousness
耶穌說, Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven (馬修 5:10)
Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness (2 彼得 3:13)
The saints, who belong to God and have been made righteous in Christ and because of their righteous state walk in righteousness after His will, shall inherit eternal life and be clothed in white linen; the righteousness of the saints, and receive the crown of righteousness.
They shall live on the new earth, where righteousness dwells, because righteousness is the scepter of God’s Kingdom (使徒行傳 17:31, 2 蒂莫西 2:8, 希伯來 書 1:8, 2 彼得 3:13, 啟示 19:8).
“成為地球之鹽”
