Understanding the Armor of God: The Breastplate of Righteousness

​Understanding the Armor of God: The Breastplate of Righteousness (Read time ≈  5 minutes)
Ephesians 6:14b
“…and having put on the breastplate of righteousness,”
 
In the human body there are five vital organs. Four of them are in the torso. The most vital of them all has got to be the heart. The Bible has a thing or two to say about our heart. It says our heart is deceitful and desperately sick (Jeremiah 17:9), “Out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander.” (Matthew 15:19), our hears are hard like stone (Ezekiel 36:26). The reality of who we are, and what we are, flows from our hearts and is reflected in our behavior (Proverbs 27:19). Just as the physical protection of our heart is crucial, the spiritual protection of our heart is even greater. Left on its own, it causes destruction by longing after fleshly passions, given to anger and greed and will stop at nothing to satisfy its cravings that can never be satisfied fully.
 
Because of this, is why covering our heart with righteousness is the only remedy to heal our hearts of these things. Throughout scripture for mankind, there are two main types of righteousness. Righteous behavior and action and righteousness in spirituality. Righteousness in behavior and action is good but it will never be enough to create within us righteousness in spirituality which is what we need the most. As we are told again about us in the Bible that no one is righteous and all have gone astray (Romans 3:10-12). Choosing to do righteous actions is a choice against the natural desires of our stone hearts but ultimately cannot heal our hearts of it’s deceitfulness. A man can do righteous things on his own accord they will only last a season and never will they be enough to redeem ourselves.
 
Obeying the law does not bring righteousness to us, but only Jesus Christ can do that for us (Philippians 3:9). To put on the Breastplate of Righteousness first and foremost is to put on Christ as your Lord and Savior of your soul so that He can make you Righteous because of HIS righteousness and not yours (1 Peter 2:24 & 1 Corinthians 1:30). It is then and only then through that supernatural impartation of righteousness upon us by the grace of God that we can carry out a lifestyle of perusing righteousness. To put on the Breastplate of Righteousness is also to put on acts of righteousness. But to put on acts of righteousness will be like to put the breastplate on but not fasten it to you. Those acts of righteousness will fall off after a while. We must pursue righteous behavior with our actions (2 Timothy 2:22) while remaining in our faith in Jesus Christ, which is what truly what makes righteousness remain on us and within us. So, through the supernatural gift of righteousness and our labors in righteousness is how we put on the Breastplate of Righteousness and we protect our hearts from its own wickedness and the wickedness of this world. Cover your heart in righteousness and keep it with all vigilance, because the condition of your heart will have a direct effect the condition of your life (Proverbs 4:23).