TOS021 Helmet of Salvation with Rick Brunner (Part 7); for Audio
Truth of the Spirit episode TOS021 Helmet of Salvation with Rick Brunner is part 7 of the Armor of God series. The Helmet of Salvation is the final piece of armor presented in the series. The Helmet of Salvation is a family heirloom passed down through the generations to recall the salvation given by Jesus through the cross, death and resurrection. It is a gift given at Baptism for us to wear for the rest of our lives. It helps us to think more clearly and recognize God. The enemy tries to penetrate the helmet not by hitting us over the head but by getting under it with thoughts and memories of failure and temptations. But the strength of the Helmet of Salvation is that it has been worn by all those who came before you. Each saint, each holy man and woman have their memories to share. The Helmet of Salvation was worn—indeed it was forged—by Christ himself. He continues to wear it with you and thus your strength comes from this. “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.”1 John 4:4.
The Helmet of Salvation becomes your birthright as you are born again in Baptism through water and the Spirit. Sin cannot stand against salvation. It can never conquer salvation. Only rejection by our freewill removes it. Take strength in your salvation. As the Catechism of the Catholic Church paragraph #1994 says, this act of salvation is greater than the creation of the universe and everything in it.
BLOG
As followers of Jesus all of us go through seasons of increased spiritual attack, which can unsettle us if we don’t know how to respond. Because Satan hates God, he also hates you and me. His hatred manifests through temptations, lies, fear, sickness, division and more. From God’s perspective, He allows these attacks to test us, strengthen us and then leads us to victory so His character and kingdom can be advanced in and through us.
As we each draw closer and closer to Christ while awaiting his ultimate return, spiritual attacks will increase to an unprecedented level which means we must be watchful and persevering. The good news is that we will have the ultimate victory! In the meantime, when we come under heavy fire from the enemy we must be ready and know how to defend ourselves.
In the last six weeks we have talked about the armor of God for our protection including the shoes of peace, the belt of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, the shield of faith and the sword of the spirit. Tonight we are going to talk about the final piece of armor, the helmet of salvation. To me this may be the most important piece of our armor since our salvation is what the enemy is trying to take from us and is our ultimate victory.
The Helmet of Salvation is obviously for the head. It covers our minds, intellect or reasoning. When the enemy comes calling, we need our minds to think clearly so that we do not fall prey to the works of the evil one. Realize that Jesus died personally for our sins. Salvation is a personal experience and a personal acceptance of Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. (Rom 1:16) It is often difficult for modern man to ‘give up’ the intellect so that he can love and serve Jesus Christ with his whole heart. Jesus wants us to use our intelligence so that we can serve Him with our body, mind and spirit. To keep our thinking straight and our actions consistent with those of Jesus’ life, we need the “helmet of salvation.” When we’re tempted to feel overwhelmed and intimidated by the forces rising against us we need to remember that the war has already been definitively won. “In the world you will have tribulation; but be of good cheer. I have overcome the world!” (Jn.16:33). We need to remember that our ultimate salvation depends upon continuing to live lives that give witness to Jesus and His Message. “Because wickedness is multiplied, most men’s love will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved” (Mt.24:12-13). “What does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory (Lk.9:25-26).
In numerous accounts, Holy Scripture exhorts us to put on the Armor of God. If we are to live our lives as a Christian servant of God, He promises us that we’re going to have trouble. So, we need help when it comes. By donning the Armor of God, we are, in a Spiritual sense, dressed for success!
The Holy Spirit brings us into a new and ongoing (conversion) relationship with God the Father. It is the Holy Spirit who opens our eyes to see and receive the unconditional love of Jesus Christ. When we are open to receive His Love, we are “one in being with the Father,” which is part of our profession of Faith we speak at each Mass. This is the Holy Spirit working within us.
As we are children of the Most High, let us take a look at what the Word says to us.
1 Peter 1:13-19: 13 “Therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, live soberly, and set your hopes completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 14 Like obedient children, do not act in compliance with the desires of your former ignorance 15 but, as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in every aspect of your conduct, 16 for it is written, “Be holy because I [am] holy.” 17 Now if you invoke as Father him who judges impartially according to each one’s works, conduct yourselves with reverence during the time of your sojourning, 18 realizing that you were ransomed from your futile conduct, handed on by your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, 19 but with the precious blood of Christ as of a spotless unblemished lamb.”
Romans 12:2: “Do not conform yourselves to this age but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and pleasing and perfect.”
1 Thessalonians 5:8 “But since we are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet that is hope for salvation.”
Isaiah 59:17: “He put on justice as his breastplate, victory as a helmet on his head; He clothed himself with garments of vengeance, wrapped himself in a mantle of zeal.”
Jeremiah 46:3-4: “3 Prepare buckler and shield! move forward to battle! 4 Harness the horses, charioteers, mount up! Fall in, with helmets on; polish your spears, put on your armor.”
1 Corinthians 2:16: “For “who has known the mind of the Lord, so as to counsel him?” But we have the mind of Christ.”
Philippians 2:5: “5 Have among yourselves the same attitude that is also yours in Christ Jesus, 6 Who, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped.”
1 Peter 4:1-2: “1 Therefore, since Christ suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same attitude (for whoever suffers in the flesh has broken with sin), 2 so as not to spend what remains of one’s life in the flesh on human desires, but on the will of God.”
2 Corinthians 10:3-6 “3 For, although we are in the flesh, we do not battle according to the flesh, 4 for the weapons of our battle are not of flesh but are enormously powerful, capable of destroying fortresses. We destroy arguments 5 and every pretension raising itself against the knowledge of God, and take every thought captive in obedience to Christ, 6 and we are ready to punish every disobedience, once your obedience is complete.”
Ephesians 4:10-16: “10 The one who descended is also the one who ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things. 11 And he gave some as apostles, others as prophets, others as evangelists, others as pastors and teachers, 12 to equip the holy ones for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, 13 until we all attain to the unity of faith and knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the extent of the full stature of Christ, 14 so that we may no longer be infants, tossed by waves and swept along by every wind of teaching arising from human trickery, from their cunning in the interests of deceitful scheming. 15 Rather, living the truth in love, we should grow in every way into him who is the head, Christ, 16 from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, with the proper functioning of each part, brings about the body’s growth and builds itself up in love.”
Ps 27:1 “the Lord is my light and my salvation – whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life- of whom shall I be afraid?” “It is to that person who receives Jesus joyfully in his house that salvation comes”. (Luke 19:9).
The tool of the Helmet of Salvation calls attention to the protection of thought process because a helmet protects the brain especially when you are hit over the head with a bombardment by the enemy. The brain stores memories and part of the enemy’s tactics are to ‘hit you over the head’ with memories of every failure and every weakness. If not for the helmet of salvation you would quickly succumb to this tactic. Original sin places in the memory of your life the complete failure of sin. Adam and Eve set this memory in place and every generation recalls it in their body and soul. Only the grace of salvation can free the soul of this ‘memory’ of total failure. Of course it is more than a ‘thought’. This memory is made present in every soul due to the devastation of sin and the rejection of God’s plan by mankind.
Jesus, who died and rose, overcame the devastation of sin but the memory remains. Concupiscence is the theological term and it shows up by our constant willingness to sin—even though we hopefully choose not to do so.
The helmet of salvation reminds us of the ‘forgetfulness’ of God when it comes to our sinfulness. His promise through the prophets: “to remember our sin no more” is put into effect with Baptism and the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The prophet Jeremiah spoke the Lord’s word in chapter 31: verses 33-34 “But this is the covenant I will make with the house of Israel after those days—oracle of the LORD. I will place my law within them, and write it upon their hearts; I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 34 They will no longer teach their friends and relatives, “Know the LORD!” Everyone, from least to greatest, shall know me—oracle of the LORD—for I will forgive their iniquity and no longer remember their sin.”
This is so important that it is repeated twice in the book of Hebrews in the New Testament:
Hebrews 8: 10 But this is the covenant I will establish with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord: I will put my laws in their minds and I will write them upon their hearts. I will be their God, and they shall be my people. 11 And they shall not teach, each one his fellow citizen and kinsman, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for all shall know me, from least to greatest. 12 “For I will forgive their evildoing and remember their sins no more.”
And repeated in Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant I will establish with them after those days, says the Lord: ‘I will put my laws in their hearts, and I will write them upon their minds,’” v.17 he also says: “Their sins and their evildoing I will remember no more.”
So, how is this used during a spiritual attack? How does it protect our thoughts and memories?
Let’s look at the intellect of mankind. God gave us the ability to learn. Then He gave us freewill to choose what to learn. Do we choose to learn truth? We have seen by the Belt of Truth that truth sets us free. Do we choose to learn from the word of God those scriptures that fight our battles as the Sword of Spirit?
Do we choose to walk with the Gospel in shoes of peace? Faith is a core belief that shields not only our body but also our mind and memories. The shield of faith, as we hunker down, protects us even when the helmet of salvation gets knocked loose because of sin and the breastplate of righteousness is weighed down with our sin.
The Shield of Faith allows us to tighten the strap of the Helmet of Salvation until we remember God loves us, until we know that we know that God redeemed us and has forgiven us our trespasses and will continue to do so if we repent.
The helmet of salvation is a family heirloom passed down through the generations to recall the salvation given by Jesus through the cross, death and resurrection. It is a gift given at Baptism for us to wear for the rest of our lives. It helps us to think more clearly and recognize God.
The enemy tries to penetrate the helmet not by hitting us over the head but by getting under it with thoughts and memories of failure and temptations. But the strength of the helmet of salvation is that it has been worn by all those who came before you. Each saint, each holy man and woman have their memories to share. The helmet of salvation was worn—indeed it was forged—by Christ himself. He continues to wear it with you and thus your strength comes from this. “Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world.” 1 John 4:4
1 John 4:4 “You belong to God, children, and you have conquered them, for the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”
‘He who is set free is free indeed’ John 8: 36 “So if a son frees you, then you will truly be free.”
The Helmet of Salvation becomes your birthright as you are born again in Baptism through water and the Spirit. Sin cannot stand against salvation. It can never conquer salvation. Only rejection by our freewill removes it.
Take strength in your salvation. As the catechism paragraph 1994 says, this act of salvation is greater than the creation of the universe and everything in it.
Catechism # 1994 “Justification is the most excellent work of God’s love made manifest in Christ Jesus and granted by the Holy Spirit. It is the opinion of St. Augustine that “the justification of the wicked is a greater work than the creation of heaven and earth,” because “heaven and earth will pass away but the salvation and justification of the elect . . . will not pass away.” He holds also that the justification of sinners surpasses the creation of the angels in justice, in that it bears witness to a greater mercy.”
Each man individually chooses to accept salvation but this helmet covers the multitudes who accept it past, present, and future: The Body of Christ. You can seek their intercession for the battle against the enemy. They have conquered him with the blood of the Lamb and the word of their testimony. Revelation 12:11 “They conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”
Prayer that comes from the mind and heart comes forth by the grace given by the helmet of Salvation. One who dons the helmet of salvation is the one who experiences this salvation after being forgiven his sins, in sharing in the death and resurrection of Christ. Getting salvation is the basic and ultimate aim of the life of faith.
While our loins are girded in Truth and our hearts are protected by righteousness, our feet are shod in peace. We are all called to walk our earthly journey in tranquility. Christ gave us His peace because He knew its immense value. From calm and acceptance come joy, strength, and an ability to persevere. How fitting that, while we walk in peace, our minds are helmeted with the knowledge of our salvation in Christ? It is no surprise that we must continually remind ourselves that His ways are not our ways or the ways in which the world operates. We are able to do this with our mind covered in the awareness of our salvation. From this knowledge we can continually bring ourselves back to Him when our inclinations pull us elsewhere.
1 John 4:4 “Greater is he that is me than he that is in the world”
Isaiah 54:17 “No weapon formed against me shall prosper”
Isaiah 53:5 “By his stripes we are healed”
Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.”
Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.”
Amen.
Discussion Questions
- How has the devil’s sword of discouragement, doubt and negativity worked in my life?
- What steps must I take to correct this?
- What kind of plan must I have for my Helmet of Salvation?
