We’ll be looking at the Armor of God over the next few days. You can read about them in  Ephesians 6: 10-20:  

10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his power; 11 put on the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil, 12 for our struggle is not against blood and flesh but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers of this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.13 Therefore take up the whole armor of God, so that you may be able to withstand on the evil day and, having prevailed against everything, to stand firm. 14 Stand, therefore, and belt your waist with truth and put on the breastplate of righteousness 15 and lace up your sandals in preparation for the gospel of peace. 16 With all of these, take the shield of faith, with which you will be able to quench all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 Pray in the Spirit at all times in every prayer and supplication. To that end, keep alert and always persevere in supplication for all the saints. 19 Pray also for me, so that when I speak a message may be given to me to make known with boldness the mystery of the gospel,20 for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it boldly, as I must speak.

I read a book in the past that had one of the most interesting titles ever – “Stop Asking Jesus Into Your Heart.”  The point of this book was this, the devil loves to make us doubt our salvation.  I heard it put like this, the devil wants saved folk to feel lost and lost folks to feel saved.  

As Methodists, we believe in something called assurance.  It says in Romans 8:16 – “it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”  The Holy Spirit assures us that we are God’s children.  

We don’t have to wonder, we don’t have to doubt, and we don’t have to fret. We can know. We can be assured. We can have that knowledge that we are a child of God.  If we have made the decision to accept Jesus as the Lord of our lives, we don’t have to fear, worry, or doubt. 

We can be assured that we are Christians. 

Well, how do we know that?  It says in Romans 10:9, “because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”  If you believe in your heart, in other words, if you have accepted that Jesus is Lord, and believe with all that you are that the Father has raised Jesus from the dead, and you confess that with your mouth, you shall be saved. 

That’s it, that’s the list.  That’s what you must do.  If you believe, truly believe, and confess, you shall be saved. Not by your works or by your efforts, but by Jesus.  

That’s the helmet of salvation. It is the knowledge, the belief that you are Christian.  You don’t have to doubt it, you don’t have to worry about it, and you don’t have to fret. 

You don’t have to ask Jesus into your heart over and over again.  If you meant it, you’re good.  If you believe and confess, you’re good.  

Don’t doubt that.  That’s what the devil wants. The helmet of salvation is that assurance that you meant it.  And you are His, and He is yours.  

Today, live in that confidence.  

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