The Helmet of Salvation and Hope in Christ | Devotional

“Take the helmet of salvation…” —EPHESIANS 6:17

We all know helmets protect the head. It’s a vital piece of equipment used in many sports, but the helmet the Apostle Paul speaks of cannot be seen, and protects us from the moment of our inception by the Holy Spirit. It is “the helmet of salvation”, which gives us assurance of entering into our eternal home. The following nursery rhyme could actually be taken as a parable of the first half of the Bible story and adequately depicts our need for salvation.

Humpty Dumpty sat on a wall,
Humpty Dumpty had a great fall,
All the king’s horses and all the king’s men
Couldn’t put Humpty together again.

We are all “Humpty Dumpties”, and have participated in a great fall that has left us broken and separated from the Spirit of God. The first half of the Bible is about all the king’s horses and all the king’s men unable to put Humpty together again. The law, prophets, priesthood and sacrifices of the Old Testament are all foreshadowing what was to come but, in themselves, could not put us together again. There isn’t a second verse to this rhyme, but thankfully there is a second part to the Bible story.

Human beings, by nature, stand guilty before God, and the New Testament describes us as in a state of perishing, which leads to eternal perishing. That’s a frightening reality, but one that can be replaced for a state of living and eternal life, which is a gift of God, whereby we are forgiven and declared righteous before Him. This is salvation through Jesus Christ and it covers past, present and future events of our lives. But in what tense does Paul speak of the helmet of salvation? In all likelihood, it is future tense because in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, Paul talks about the hope of salvation as a helmet. That is looking ahead to the fullness of our salvation. There is a hope that goes beyond this life, a confident expectation Scripture gives of a much greater life to come.

The wonderful thing about the Christian life is that our security is not based on our performance, but on the work of God; the grace, love, power, purpose, predestination and Spirit of God. They are all inherent in “the helmet of salvation”. To receive it, we come humbly to Christ with repentant hearts, placing our faith in Him, and we are assured of the ultimate gift of God to humankind….. salvation through Jesus Christ.

Dear Lord, our need for You is great in this world, and I pray for so many people who have yet to be saved. May your Spirit draw them and bring them to You.

Am I sharing with others the need for salvation through Christ?