Eph 6:17 take the helmet of salvation…

Isa 59:17 He put on righteousness as his breastplate and the helmet of salvation on his head…

What is the greatest attack of Satan upon the Christian Church? Many evengelicals would say it is sin. The question is void for liberals who don’t believe that Satan exists. If one does not believe in his or her opponents, the battle is lost without a fight, so are most mainline church who had ceased to believe in the Gospel Good News of Jesus as the way, the life and the truth. Satan’s attack on the evangelicals are no less deadly, deceiving Christians to take off their helmet of salvation and doomed their ministries by fatal arrows to the head.

In fights, an attack to the head could be a knockout blow, some even fatal hence ending the fight. Our body may still be strong and powerful, but once the head is shot, we are dead, so are our many ministries. A church may look alive, but look carefully, it has not grown in the last two decades despite great needs and open harvest.

Believing Christians are under constant spiritual attacks, because their very existence extends the Kingdom of God through the preaching of the Gospel Good News. When a person receives Jesus as His Lord and Saviour, he or she is automatically recruited as Christian soldiers and fair game for Satan and his demonic cohorts. His aim is to destroy their ministries.

How is the battle fought? The fiery arrows of doubt and unbelief to the head? It is fought by Satan primarily through attacking not the bible per say but through a theology of replacement. The Gospel of Salvation at the Cross is replaced by love and faith itself. Instead of believing in Jesus Christ, one now only needs to align with Jesus good works or by just being people of faith regardless of the deity whom they have faith in.

The obedience to the law for the assurance of salvation replaces accepting the grace of God at Calvary. The notion of the One God of Israel is replaced by a God of many names ie different gods are considered the same. We are made to doubt our eternal salvation in Jesus Christ so that we constantly asked for forgiveness of our sins or strive to do good works so that we can be assured of salvation. These fiery darts of doubt straight from hell to the head takes away the power of the finished work of the Cross of God’s grace in Christ Jesus.

Satan’s greatest and fatal attack comes against right believing instead of right living. It is a counter Reformation against the three of the five solas, ie Sola Christus, Sola Gratia and Sola Fide.

How does the roaring lion attacks? It goes directly for the head for a quick and fatal blow. Some say Satan roar is loud but has no bite. This is not respectful of our adversary. For the lies and deception of Satan have destroyed many and the gates of Hades is near the heart of a fallen Church hierachal.

The head speaks of our mind, thinking, and words we say. In the confession of our mouth, assurance of our faith in the eternal salvation of Christ, we could only by calling on His grace alone reach heaven eternal shores:-

1. Acceptance of the God of Israel as our one and only God and our salvation, with Jesus Christ as the Son of God and risen Savior  and Satan as our adversary.

2. Protect our minds from doubting Christ as our eternal Saviour and everlasting salvation in Christ being bought by the blood once and for all which Satan will throw doubts at us even through the unbelieving churches and mainline theological colleges.

Putting the helmet of salvation, means putting on the mind of Christ and being firmly founded in the mind and thinking that Jesus Christ as our Lord, God and Saviour. Every lie and unbelief from Satan against the church will be against the name and standing of Christ at the right hand side of God in heaven because in no other name is there salvation.

Satan is not really interested in one soul only, he is interested in the impact of our ministry. If the head receives a fatal blow, and our ministry is destroyed, the impact could be many thousands of souls in the kingdom of God.

This happened in the case of Charles Templeton, the co-worker of Billy Graham and was a great evangelist. He wanted to have a formal degree, to “know” more about Christianity, ended up in the liberal mainline bible college and said farewell to God.

In the end, we would never know whether Templeton would have made it to heaven or went to hell eternal. But what is for sure was that a ministry which could have bought tens of thousands of souls into the kingdom of God was violently aborted.

There are many Evangelicals debating whether once saved, always saved and safe, but the fact that they are debating and is so concerned means that they are definitely saved. We are made to debate this red herring argument when all around us, there are so few believing Christians, only a few percentage of Christians in many Asian countries. We should instead put on the helmet of salvation to do battle for the Kingdom. The fiery darts of Satan has distracted and confused the body of Christ with inward doubt in their eternal salvation so that it is not focused to the outward spiritual warfare of extending the Kingdom of God.

At best, the doubt in our eternal salvation stumbles us, and make us confessed our sins constantly as if they are not forgiven in Christ. At worst, it makes us legalistic and focused on works and the law rather than the grace of God in Jesus Christ. This attack comes from the gates of hell because it stumbles our ministry and the Gospel message of Grace. It is like taking off our helmet of salvation and relying on our hands and feet to do good works for the Kingdom.

This question is actually a fiery dart from the evil one, questioning whether we will loose our salvation. Jesus Christ never once asked us this question to doubt our salvation, but affirmed our eternal security in Christ and gave us the great commission. It is the great commission which should be our focus rather than inward doubts and fears of our security and salvation on Jesus Christ. It is doubting our helmet of salvation so that we will be less effective soldiers for Christ.

Some churches called themselves charismatic Evangelicals or even Full Gospel, but when we do not wear the protection of the helmet of the full assurance of eternal salvation which could not be lost, the fiery darts of Satan could kill us and our ministries. So instead of a church of 100,000, we may end up a church of a few thousand. It is true many pastors and bishops of the mainline churches are never saved because they never did believed in God’s saving grace in Christ alone for their sins.

I like the song, Onward Christian Soldiers because it speaks of looking forward and extending the kingdom of God through the Gospel Good News and spiritual battles against demonic principalities. And the attack of Satan starts in the mind. So let us fight the good fight and put on the helmet of salvation for even if we are totally defeated, as long as our helmet is affixed to our head, defeat will never be fatal, and at end of the battle, we will overcome and reign victorious against the kingdom of darkness.

The church will only be strong with mighty power when Christians put on the helmet of salvation because it is His salvation and the battle belongs to the Lord.

The battle belongs to the Lord

In heavenly armour, we enter the land, the battle belongs to the Lord. No weapon that’s fashioned against us shall stand, the battle belongs to the Lord.

We sing glory, honor, power and strength to the Lord, and we sing glory, honor, power and strength to the Lord.

When the power of darkness, comes in like a flood, the battle belongs to the Lord. He’s raised up a standard, the power of His blood, the battle belongs to the Lord

When your enemy presses in hard do not fear, the battle belongs to the Lord. Take courage my friend, your redemption is near, the battle belongs to the Lord.