That is the mystery of the gospel. Near, so near to God, nearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his dear
son, I'm as near to God as he. Dear, so dear to God, dearer
I cannot be. For in the person of his dear
son, I'm as dear to God as he. What more could anybody want
than that? Now I want to try to speak this evening on this
subject, the breastplate of righteousness. Let me read Ephesians chapter
six, verse 14. Stand therefore, having your
loins girt about with truth. We considered that a couple of
weeks ago. And having on the breastplate of righteousness. Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
how we thank you for the gospel of thy dear son. How we thank
you that in him. We are made. As near and dear
to you as he is. And Lord, we stand amazed at
that thought. And we pray that you would give
us the grace to put on this breastplate of righteousness that we read
of in your word. Lord, accept our thanksgiving.
We're so thankful that you're God. We're thankful for all your
glorious attributes. We thank you for the salvation
that's in your son. We thank you for the forgiveness
of sins. We thank you for justification. We thank you for his precious
blood. We thank You that all things work together for good
to them that love You, to them who are called according to Your
purpose. Now, bless our time together. Speak in power to our
hearts for Christ's sake. In His name we pray. Amen. Now in this 14th verse, the first
piece of armor that's mentioned is the girdle or the belt of
truth. That is the truth of the gospel. And none of these other pieces
of armor can be put on without this first, the truth, the truth
of who God is, the truth of the true character of man, the truth
regarding how God saves sinners. None of these other pieces of
armor will be understood apart from the truth. And when we learn
the truth, then we see the necessity of these pieces of armor that
are provided for us by God in the gospel. Now, he says in verse
14, having on the breastplate of righteousness. The breastplate
is where we get the word thorax from. Thorax, I don't know if
I'm pronouncing it right. It's the part of the body from
the neck to the loins where the internal organs are, the heart,
the lungs, the liver, the kidneys, the intestine. And the breastplate
was given to protect these organs. You see, you can lose a limb
and still live, but you can't lose one of these organs and
still live. And this breastplate was given
to the Roman soldier to protect his internal organs. The breastplate would cover all
that area and Paul calls this breastplate that the believer
wears the breastplate of righteousness. What does the Bible mean by righteousness? I know you would ask many men
and they would give you as many different definitions as to what
they would call righteousness. But what does the Bible mean
by this word righteousness? It is perfection before God's
law. Righteousness is sinlessness. It is having no sin. Perfect before the Ten Commandments. I like what James says in James
chapter one, verse 10, or James chapter two, verse 10, for whosoever
shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point is guilty
of all. You cannot be partially righteous. With regard to the 10 commandments,
you can't have kept one of the 10 or seven of the 10. No, you've
either kept them all or you've broken them all. The law of God
is one whole, and to break one commandment is to break the entire
law. I love what is said of the Lord.
Thou hast loved righteousness and hated iniquity. Therefore
God, even thy God, hath anointed thee with the oil of gladness
above thy fellows. Cursed is he that continueth
not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do
them. Righteousness is perfect obedience
to the law of God before God. Moses described the righteousness
of the law that the man who doeth those things shall live by them. Now somebody says, Well, I've
tried to keep God's law. No, you haven't. I've done my
best. That's a lie. All you and I have
done is broken God's law continually. And if you believe that you've
kept one commandment one time, you demonstrate a complete ignorance
of the holy law of God and a complete ignorance of your own sinfulness. The scripture says the carnal
mind, and that's the mind we all have by nature, Romans chapter
eight, verses seven and eight. The carnal mind, listen to this,
is enmity against God. It doesn't say it's at enmity
against God. It says the carnal mind is enmity
itself against God. It's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be. So then, they that are in the
flesh cannot please God. So don't dare think, well, I've
done my best. You have not. And if you did
do your best, it wouldn't be good enough. Righteousness, a
perfect standing before God's holy law There is no such thing
as degrees of righteousness in the Bible. I'm either perfectly
righteous without sin, or I'm completely wicked. There is no
in-between. And God said, I will by no means
clear the guilty. If God ever sees me or you as
guilty before his law, he says, I will by no means clear the
guilty. Well, somebody says, if we're
guilty, how can that be? And we still be cleared. That's
the gospel. You learn that you learn the
answer to that question. You've learned the gospel. Righteousness
is having never broken the law, having never sinned. You have
Love God with all your heart and all your mind and all your
soul and all your strength. And you have loved your neighbor
as yourself. Nothing short of that is righteousness. I like what David said in Psalm
24, three, who shall ascend into the hill of the Lord and who
shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands and
a pure heart. who has not lifted up his soul
to vanity, nor sworn deceitfully. That's the only righteousness
the Bible knows anything about, the breastplate of righteousness. Now, what does God's word say
about our righteousness? Isaiah chapter 64, verse six,
All of us ought to have this committed to memory. Isaiah said, our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. And in the original, that is
literally minstrelss rags. Somebody says, you ought not
use crude language like that. That's the word God the Holy
Spirit used to describe our Righteousnesses our righteousness is as filthy
rags now. Let me quote a few other scriptures
Genesis 6 5 and God saw the wickedness of man Was great in the earth
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart He's
not even talking about the actions right now every imagination of
the thoughts of his heart was only Evil continually. Non-stop. Paul quoted David. There's none righteous. No, not one. There's none that
understands. There's none that seeketh after
God. They've all gone out of the way. They've together become
unprofitable. There's none that doeth good.
No, not one. Now we know that what thing soever
the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law, that every
mouth may be stopped and all the world become guilty before
God. Let me show you what Paul said
of his law keeping. In Philippians chapter three,
beginning in verse four, though I might also have confidence
in the flesh, if any other man thinketh that he hath whereof
he might trust in the flesh, I more. circumcised the eighth
day of the stop of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, and Hebrew
of the Hebrews touching the law, a Pharisee concerning zeal, persecuting
the church, touching the righteousness which is in the law, blameless. But what things were gained to
me that I thought were in the plus column, those I counted
loss, garbage, refuse, For Christ, yea, doubtless, I count all things
but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus
my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of all things and do
count them but dung, that I may win Christ and be found in him."
What did he say about all of the law keeping that he used
to think he had? He said, I count it in the negative
column, I count it but dung. So this breastplate of righteousness
has not a fiber nor a strand of human righteousness in its
composition. Why is that? Because there is
no such thing. There is no such thing as human
righteousness from any man. Isaiah said our righteousnesses
are as filthy rags. Now most preachers interpret
this righteousness that's spoken of in the breastplate of righteousness
or righteous life and I'll agree with that. The question is whose
righteous life? Another mistake preachers make
and people believe is that this justifying righteousness is a
legal standing before God that is written out, but you're still
the same. Well, my old nature is still
the same. I wouldn't argue against that.
But I have a perfect standing before God where I personally
have never sinned. That's what justification is. I've heard people describe justification
as just as if I never sinned, That doesn't do me any good at
all. Justification is I personally,
in my person, have never sinned. Somebody says, well, couldn't
this be talking about the righteous life? The Lord enables you to
live by his grace? Do you want to have that as your
breastplate? I sure don't. The only righteousness that will
protect me and keep me from being destroyed is the righteousness
of Jesus Christ. Somebody says, well, what about
your righteous life? Well, that's what the Pharisee
boasted of when he said, God, I thank thee that I'm not as
other men are. He gave God the credit. I fast
twice in the week. I give tithes of all that I possess.
I'm not an extortioner. I'm not unjust. I'm not an adulterer,
even as this publican. He was giving God the credit
for the life that he had. And I want to ask you a question.
Would you want your life by grace? to be your breastplate. Listen, if there's a strand of
your righteousness in it, there's seams in that breastplate that
will have you killed. Back in Philippians chapter three,
let me go on reading what Paul went on to say. Yea, doubtless
I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ Jesus, my Lord, for whom I've suffered the loss of
all things and do count them but done that I may win Christ
and be found in him. When God comes looking for me,
I want to simply be found in him so that all God sees is Jesus
Christ. Now, what does that look like,
Paul? Let's go on reading. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law. I don't want to have anything
to do with that because I know what it is. It's nothing more
than filthy rags. Not having my own righteousness,
which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of
Christ. The faithfulness, the obedience,
the law-keeping of Jesus Christ, the righteousness of God by faith. Now that's the breastplate of
righteousness that he is speaking of, the righteousness of God,
the righteousness that was worked out by the faith of Jesus Christ. Somebody had to believe God perfectly,
and he did. He said, though he slay me yet
will I trust him. Now listen to this scripture.
David said in Psalm 71, 16, I've made mention of thy righteousness,
even thine only. David, why do you say that? Because
his righteousness is the only righteousness there is. Psalm
119 verse 142, thy righteousness is an everlasting righteousness.
It never had a beginning and it can never end. Let me read
this passage from Psalm 40. This is the preaching of Christ.
This is a great Psalm of Christ and he says, He says in verse
7 and 8, Then said, I, lo, I come in the volume of the book it's
written of me. I delight to do thy will, O my God. Yea, thy
law is within my heart. Now Paul, or whoever wrote Hebrews,
quotes this in Hebrews 10 as the very words of Christ. Or
Hebrews 8, I'm sorry, as the very words of Christ. Now look
at Christ describing his own preaching. He says, I have preached
righteousness in the great congregation Though I've not refrained my
lips, O Lord, thou knowest, I have not hid thy righteousness within
my heart. This is the same righteousness
that Noah spoke of, who was a preacher of righteousness, the righteousness
that the Lord Jesus Christ preached in the great congregation, which
he called thy righteousness. Jeremiah 23.6, this is the name
wherewith he shall be called, Speaking of the Lord Jesus, Jehovah
Tzedkenu, the Lord our righteousness. But it says in Jeremiah 33 verse
15, this is the name wherewith she shall be called. This is
my name. This is the church's name. Jehovah Tzedkenu, the Lord
our righteousness. In Psalm 22, that great Psalm
of the cross that begins with a, my God, my God, why have you
forsaken me? The Lord says this, they shall
come and declare, his righteousness unto a people that shall be born,
that he hath done this. Isaiah 45, 24 says, surely shall
one say, in the Lord have I righteousness and strength. And Isaiah 54,
17 says, their righteousness is of me, saith the Lord. Now the righteousness, the breastplate
is made of the righteousness of Jesus Christ only. Now when David said, as for me,
I'll behold thy face in righteousness. He's talking about the righteousness
of God. He's talking about the righteousness
of Christ. And the reason he can behold
the face of God is because he has the righteousness of God.
He can do and every believer can do what no seraphim can do.
The seraphim would hide their face They couldn't look upon
him. They don't have the righteousness
of God. They're innocent creatures. They've been preserved from sin,
but they don't have the righteousness of God. They still have to cover
their face. But David said, as for me, I will behold thy face
in righteousness. I'll be satisfied when I awake
in thy likeness. You see, the righteousness of
Jesus Christ is the saints, every believers, personal righteousness
before God. And to her was granted, Revelation
19, eight, and to her was granted five, that she should be arrayed
in fine linen, clean and white. For this fine linen is the righteousness
of the saints. Notice, it doesn't say it's the
righteousness of Jesus Christ credited to the saints. This
is the righteousness of the saints. This is the uniform teaching,
both of the Old Testament and the New Testament. Here's a scripture
that ties the Old Testament and the New Testament together in
this. Hebrews chapter 11, verse four, by faith Abel offered unto
God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, by the which he obtained
witness that he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts.
It doesn't say righteousness was credited to his account,
although it was. It says he was righteous. God testifying of his gifts. I love it when the Lord comes
to John the Baptist to be baptized. And John said, I have need to
be baptized of thee, comest thou to me? Put yourself in John's
place. What if the Lord Jesus Christ
came to you and said, I want you to baptize me? You reckon
you'd feel unqualified? Listen to the words of the Lord.
Suffer to be so now, for thus it becometh us to fulfill all
righteousness. You see, when he fulfilled all
righteousness, everybody in him fulfilled all righteousness. You know the reason I don't try
to keep the law? Because I've kept it. When he kept it, I kept
it. Just as when Adam sinned, I sinned
by one man sinning into the world and death by sin, so death passed
upon all men in that all sinned, everybody in him sinned, everybody
in Christ, when he fulfilled righteousness, everybody in him
fulfilled all righteousness. When the Lord said, seek ye first
the kingdom of God, he didn't say, and seek to live a righteous
life. Well, we ought to seek to live
a righteous life, but that's not what he said. He said, seek
ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. Now, what's
his righteousness look like? I love what Peter said in Acts
chapter 10 when he's preaching to Cornelius. He said, he that
feareth God and worketh righteousness. In every nation, Jew or Gentile,
in every nation, he that feareth God and worketh righteousness
is accepted of him. That is the summary of the life
of every believer, a life fearing God, that fear that's the beginning
of wisdom and the working of righteousness. Now understand
this thing of justification is not just a legal standing. Somebody says, why are you speaking
negatively of that? I'm not. I want to have a legal
standing before God. that's righteous, no question
about it. But if all it is is a legal standing,
that doesn't really give me any comfort. The only comfort I have
is that I, in my person, because of Christ's work for me, I, in
my person, have never sinned. That's what justification is.
It's having never sinned, having a perfect righteousness before
God. Listen to this scripture. Paul
said, I'm not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, For it's the
power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth, to the
Jew first and also to the Greek, for therein in the gospel is
the righteousness of God revealed. That's not only talking about
his righteous character, but a believer actually having as
his own personal righteousness, the very righteousness of God. Romans 4, 5 says to him that
worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly.
His faith is counted for righteousness. Paul calls righteousness in Romans
chapter 5, verse 17, the gift of righteousness. We read in
Romans 10, 4, Christ is the end of the law for righteousness. What kind of breastplate is that?
Talking about something that'll protect you, having the very
righteousness of Christ. Romans chapter 14 verse 17 says,
the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteousness
and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost. If I have his righteousness,
you know what I have? Peace. If I have his righteousness,
you know what I have? Joy. Oh, the joy and the peace
of believing. Isaiah chapter 32 verse 17 says
the work of righteousness is peace. And the effect of righteousness
is quietness and assurance. Now let me tell you what gives
me assurance of salvation. That everything God requires
of me, he looks to his son for. And that my righteousness, my
personal righteousness before God is nothing less than the
righteousness of Christ. What a breastplate this is. 1
Corinthians 1.30 says that he is made unto us of him or you
in Christ Jesus, who of God is made unto us wisdom and righteousness
and sanctification and redemption. Listen to this scripture, 2 Corinthians
5.21. For he hath made him to be sin
for us. On Calvary's tree, Christ was
made sin. Do I understand that? No. Do I believe it with all my heart? He was made sin. That's why God
forsook him. He was made sin. You see, God's
no respecter of persons. When he sees sin on his son,
in his son, he forsakes him. Scripture says he bore our sins
in his own body on the tree. hath made him to be sin for us
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God in him." Oh, what a breastplate! Every believer is nothing less
than the righteousness of God. This breastplate is not your
righteous living. Now, I wish every one of us would
never sin again. I wish we'd live in such a way
as to glorify God. That's what we want to do. We
don't want to sin. We want to honor Him in our life. But do
you want any of your life to be part of this breastplate?
I sure don't. The only safety I see is in the
righteousness of Jesus Christ. I love what Paul said, I do not
frustrate the grace of God. For righteousness came by the
law, by my law keeping, by my acts of obedience. then Christ
died in vain. But righteousness comes by the
death of the Lord Jesus Christ. I say again, what a breastplate. What a breastplate to have. What
comfort there is to have this breastplate of the righteousness
of God in Jesus Christ. It is equal to God's righteousness
for this reason. It is God's righteousness. It's
not a righteousness that can be compared to His or that's
like His. It's His righteousness that every
believer wears. Now believer, put this breastplate
on. It's already on you. Put it on
and here's what it'll protect you from. When you believe that
His righteousness is your righteousness before God, It doesn't leave
any room for pride or self-righteousness, does it? There's no room for
that. Where is boasting then? It is
excluded. By what law? By the law of righteousness? Nay, but by the law of faith.
Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith without
the deeds of the law. If you have on his righteousness,
there's absolutely nothing that you can glory in but him. if
you really believe the only righteousness you have is His. This is also
a great protection against discontentment. If you have His righteousness
as your personal righteousness before God, what do you have
to be discontent about? What do you have to murmur and
complain about? You have the very righteousness
of God in Christ Jesus. No matter what God sends your
way, you have the righteousness of God. There's absolutely nothing
to be discontent about. Everything is good if you have
the righteousness of God. He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all, hastily not with Him freely,
give us all things. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
is he that can condemn? It's Christ that died, yea, rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God, who
also maketh intercession for us. Now listen to this. It's
only when you have only his righteousness that you can have a proper motive
for obedience. You see, if you don't see that the only righteousness
you have is his righteousness, you'll have some mercenary motive
for your obedience. You'll be doing it to get paid
back for something. Only when you believe that his
righteousness is the only righteousness that you have, you can serve
out of love to him. Having his righteousness is the
cause of you being forgiving and gracious toward other people.
You know that the only reason that you have a perfect standing
before God is His righteousness. He put away your sins. He gave
you His righteousness. And you can be gracious and forgiving
to anyone else if you really believe this. Ephesians 4.32
says, Be ye kind, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. Now listen to this.
How many times have you sinned? and sin is fresh on your conscience,
and you think, I can't come into God's presence. I can't pray. I've got to wait until I feel
better or I do better. Do you know that just works? That's all it is. This will give you boldness in
prayer. You'll quit thinking, I've messed up and I can't pray
now. His righteousness is always the same. It's always His righteousness. And my sin, I hate my sin, but
my sin does not affect His righteousness. It's always new. It's always
fresh. When I believe this, what a breastplate
this is, His righteousness against despair, against despondency,
against anxiety, against doubts and fears and depression. Oh,
what a breastplate. Righteousness. Now somebody says,
hey, how do you go about putting it on? I want to put this breastplate
on. Well, listen to this scripture. I've already quoted it. And here's
how to put on this breastplate. You put it on yourself. Romans
4, 5. To him that worketh not. Now, the first thing you're going
to have to do to put on this breastplate of righteousness
is to completely Understand, salvation has nothing to do with
your works. You know your works are sinful
works, and there's nothing that you would bring of your own before
God and think it could recommend you to him. To him that worketh
not, would that be you? You're convinced that salvation
can't be by your works. You're convinced. To him that
worketh not, but believeth, but relieth. on him that justifieth
the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness. If you trust
Jesus Christ as your only righteousness before God, the one who made
a way for God to be just and justify you, you have put on
this breastplate of righteousness. And you can't possibly have the
joy and peace of believing, if this breastplate has anything
to do with your personal righteousness, worked out by you in cooperation
with God, Him helping you to do it. If that's what your hope
is, you can't really have any peace, not true peace. You might
act like you have it, but you don't have any peace. The only
peace there is, is believing His righteousness is the only
righteousness there is, What a blessed breastplate of protection
you have. And let me remind you this. This
is a closing statement. I will leave you with this. This
breastplate. He is either all of your righteousness. Or you have no righteousness
at all. And let me repeat that. His righteousness. Is either all of your righteousness. or you have no righteousness
at all. This breastplate is not a combination
or a mixture of yours and his. You have none. It must be his
only. And anything else is being corrupted
from the simplicity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This breastplate
that the believer is privileged to wear, this armor of God's
providing, is the breastplate of righteousness, his righteousness
alone. On Christ, the solid rock I stand,
all other ground is sinking sand. Let's pray together. Our merciful heavenly father,
how we thank you for his righteousness. Truly, thy son's blood and righteousness,
our beauties are our glorious dress. We thank you for the gospel
that reveals your righteousness as the very righteousness of
all who believe. Bless this message for Christ's
sake. In his name we pray. Amen.