“Embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect your thoughts from lies.” This sentence is from Ephesians 6:17 in the Passion Translation. “Salvation’s full deliverance.” What does that even mean? After all, saved is saved, right?
Hebrews 5:9 tells us that Christ is the source of eternal salvation for all who obey Him. If we go to Hebrews 7:25 we learn that Christ is able to fully save everyone who comes to God through Him because He continually prays for us.
In his study Bible, Tony Evans says, “the author is not talking about being saved in terms of forgiveness of sin and eternal life here. He’s talking about being delivered from and through trials and circumstances in this life.”
Let us embrace the fullness of salvation’s deliverance to protect our thoughts from lies. Jesus knows that the quality of our thoughts has a direct impact on our identity. And our identity in Him gives us the power to fight. Christ’s death on the cross and His continual prayers provide for our well-being against the enemy. With that in mind, the Helmet of Salvation in this verse is the protection we need to guard our thoughts against the strategic lies of the enemy.
Be Alert
“Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.”
1 Peter 5:8 NIV
The serpent entered the Garden of Eden insinuating that God was withholding something. This form of manipulation is a subtle, but effective, strategy of the enemy. Much like Eve, our thoughts lead us to question, “Did God really say…?”
So why is it important to stay alert and protect our thoughts?
- Because we have an adversary who prowls around watching and waiting and studying our strengths and weaknesses.
- We have an enemy who takes note of every pattern of behavior and lapse in judgment.
- Because evil is capable of manipulating and twisting the truth just enough to wreak havoc in relationships and families.
Since my injury, it’s been a daily, sometimes hourly, struggle to keep my thoughts from straying to all the what-if scenarios my brain dreams up. I regularly stop, breathe, and remind myself of what is true. This week as I’ve focused on the Helmet of Salvation in preparation to speak at our church, I see that the Sword of the Spirit is coupled with the helmet. How fitting! Intimately knowing God’s word teaches us how to wield the sword. We can hold it in our hands as we read, but we can also hold in our thoughts as we fight.
Embrace the Power
May we eagerly put on the whole armor of God. Let’s embrace the power of salvation’s full deliverance, like a helmet to protect our thoughts from the lies of the enemy. And let us hold tightly to the sword of the Spirit as we stand and continue to stand in Him, for Him, and because of Him!