Maybe our adversary has hit you with his questions before: “If you are God’s child, why do you struggle just to make it through the day? God said He’d take care of his children, but where is He at this crisis in your life? How come His promises don’t come true in your life? Are you sure God’s Word is true? And what’s with all this confessing sins, life changes and obedience, isn’t there a better way? Are you sure His plan is best?” Satan loves playing these games, causing doubts, fears, and confusion.
You see, every great general knows that if you can conquer the enemy’s mind, you’ve won the battle. Many battles are won before they even start, because fears and doubts invade the soldier’s mind. Satan knows this, and since he couldn’t conquer our Commander, he turns his assaults on us. As long as we remain unprotected from these mind games, we will suffer defeat and fall. Sadly, we too are often defeated before we even face the battle.
It is no surprise then, that Paul’s next recommendation for our armor is a helmet or, more specifically, the Helmet of Salvation (Ephesians 6:17). Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5:8, that we are to put on “the hope of salvation as a helmet.” It is this hope, or assurance, in the power of salvation that will protect our minds from being defiled with fears and doubts from Satan.
The sad thing is that many go into battle without it or, possibly worse, with a counterfeit. Satan has convinced many that Salvation is not necessary and presents his Headband of Security as a better alternative. Security makes us comfortable—which is what Satan wants us to be. Of course, it will not stand up to the trials of battle and will fail to protect. Man, once again, takes a completely different approach with their Hairspray of Holiness. This holiness, something we all know we need, is artificially made of course. Its ultra-strong hold makes your hair hard as a rock—almost like a helmet! It also creates a nice halo effect when you spray it on. Yet, this false sense of holiness creates a major vulnerability that makes failure definite.
Paul is clear, though: God’s armor contains the Helmet of Salvation and we are to “take” it. Like the shield of faith, the hope of salvation is something that we need to carry with us also. So, what is it about Salvation that can protect our minds?
First, we must understand the games that our enemy plays with our minds. The Bible is clear on our initial status: we are sinners (Rom. 3:23, 6:23) which results in death—an eternal death. And anything we do to save ourselves just puts us deeper in debt. That’s what Satan likes to throw at us: we’re hopeless sinners with unbelievably bad debt.
But there’s good news: God has a Plan to save us from this debt! “The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord” (Psalm 37:39). In 1 John 5:11 we’re told that the eternal life God offers us is “in His Son.” And Joseph and Mary were told by an angel to call their son Jesus, “because he will save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). “Jesus” literally means “the Lord saves.” This is why the Bible says, “There is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved” (Acts 4:12). Jesus is our salvation—He paid our debt. Salvation wasn’t meant to come from us; it comes from the One for Whom nothing is impossible! It was never about our works, but about His sacrifice.
But why would God bother to save us? John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, that who ever believes in Him shall not perish but have everlasting life.” It is because of the love He already has for us that He offers salvation. He loved us first. Our response is to believe in Jesus.
So, I believe that Jesus died, is that enough? No. You have to believe that He can and will save you. Believe that He has paid your debt. You must believe that the gift offered is yours to keep. This is how it would look: if you believe that Jesus can save you, then you’ll stop trying to save yourself. It will cause you to Repent (Acts 3:19), which means that you will turn back—you’ll turn/ return to God’s plan. When you turn back you will begin to hate sin because of the fullness of God’s love you have felt through Christ. As this dislike of sin grows, you’ll recognize and own up to (admit) the sin in your own heart (this is what we do when we confess). The result of confessing our sins is full forgiveness from God (1 John 1:9)! And it is when we have accepted this forgiveness that we have fully accepted the gift of salvation.
If we accept God’s plan of Salvation we accept Christ. 1 John 5:12 reveals the simplicity of this Gospel: “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.” Then, in verse 13, John says he writes that so we can know we have eternal life. We can be confident of our salvation. Yes, you and I can know today that we are saved.
Hebrews 2:3, asks, “How shall we escape if we ignore such a great salvation?” You have been bought by the blood of Christ—you are a child of God. When satan attacks you with fear and doubt, let the hope of your salvation in Christ guard your thoughts. It really is that simple: whoever has the Son, has life. Don’t let satan play mind games with you any longer. Live in confidence. With Jesus, your salvation is sure. With Jesus, your victory is sure. When satan attacks with his mind games, may we be able to say: “I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed unto Him against that day” (2 Timothy 1:12).