Helmet of Salvation Protection – Past Present and Future

➡ This text is about a ministry called Your Daily Bread, which aims to deepen your spiritual connection with Christ through daily devotions. The main topic is the concept of salvation, which is described as a past, present, and future process. In the past, we are saved from the penalty of sin, in the present from the power of sin, and in the future, we will be saved from the presence of sin. The text emphasizes that salvation is not just a one-time event, but an ongoing process that culminates in a future where there is no sin at all.
➡ The helmet of salvation represents our belief in a complete, final salvation to come, giving us hope in the face of life’s battles. Satan tries to weaken us with discouragement and doubt, making us question our faith and our worth. However, the helmet of salvation protects us from these attacks, reminding us to stay strong, keep our faith, and continue to shine our light in the world. Remember to log on to goddessgovernment.com for daily devotions to strengthen your faith.

Hello. My name is Paul, and I am the voiceover for a ministry provided to you by Jim Pugh, at God Is Government, called Your Daily Bread, taken from Christ’s teaching of the Lord’s prayer in Matthew 6, verse 11. This is a daily devotion ministry focused not only on uplifting Scripture, but Scripture that will grow your spiritual connection with Christ. We hope that you receive these devotions to uplift you, encourage you, but most importantly, advance your knowledge base of the Holy Scriptures. Today’s focused discussion will be the helmet of salvation protection, past, present, and future.

In the past we’ve been saved from the penalty of sin, in the present from the power of sin, in the future, the presence of sin. Do you know there’s coming a day when there’ll be no more sin? That’s right. You know how I know? Because the book of Revelation says there’ll be no more death, and the wages of sin is what? Death. No death, no sin. And we’ll be like Him. 1 John 3 says, We’ll be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And He is sinless, spotless, and without flaw, and without blemish.

There’s coming a day when we’ll be saved from the presence of sin. Now listen, people. Salvation has happened, is happening, and will happen, has, that’s justification, is, that’s sanctification, will, that’s glorification. And Romans 8 says, Whom He justifies, He sanctifies and glorifies. Do you see? So when you think of salvation, you do not think of salvation in terms of something in the past, and you do not think of salvation like some cults think of it, or even some in the Roman church, as something that has to be waited for in the future.

It is past, present, and future. Now if it is past, it is done. If it is also present, then you can’t lose it, right, because it’s continually going on. And if it is guaranteed in the future, then you’re absolutely secure. Now, that is the heart and the soul of the meaning of salvation. The past aspect, the present, and the future. Let me illustrate this by having you look at Romans 8.23, and I’m going to show you several scriptures that I think will really help you to understand it. In Romans 8.23 we read this.

Well, let’s back up to verse 22. Now Paul is talking here about the curse. He’s talking about how sin has affected creation and made it subject to vanity. But that’s still, there’s hope for something different. You know the world is going to get better, did you know that? It is going to get better. In fact, the world’s going to get perfect. It’s going to get perfect, but that’s only when Jesus comes. It isn’t going to get perfect by man’s efforts. And so hope is a very important part of Christian experience. In verse 22 he says, we know the whole creation groans and travails in pain together till now.

In other words, the whole world knows it’s out of whack. The whole world knows that something is desperately wrong. Even the created order is chaotic. And not only they, verse 23, but ourselves also. We know things aren’t right. We know this isn’t the way God intended it. We know this isn’t the way God made life to be. We who have the first fruits of the Spirit, we groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, that is, the redemption of our body. Listen, our souls have been saved and are being saved, and someday our bodies together with those souls will be saved so that there will be absolute holiness.

And that’s what verse 24 means. We are saved in hope. In is a better translation than by. We are saved in hope. So yes, we’ve been saved, but this isn’t all there is. Listen, you know if somebody said to me, oh you know, the salvation you’ve received, that’s it forever. You’ve got it now, and there’s nothing more to be added to it. I’d say, you mean, I’ve got to fight the flesh the rest of my life and throughout eternity. You mean I’ve got to fight the devil like this, and I’ve got to live with the human weakness.

You mean I’m going to stay in Romans 7 to some degree crying out, oh, oh wretched man that is in me. Who shall deliver me from the body of this death? When do I unload this mess? You mean forever, this is it. Then I would say to you, salvation is incomplete. If all the Lord does is aid me in the struggle, then it never reaches fruition. But that isn’t all there is. There is a future element of salvation that means that we will reach a point where there will be no sin at all.

And without that, there’s no hope for now. I mean, it would be like running a race without a finish line, somebody saying, start running and run the rest of your life. What, where, there’s no finish. That’s right, and give everything you’ve got all the way. Are you kidding? Can you imagine God saying, that’s all there is, so fight forever. Oh, come on. Why, even Revelation says that when they died, they rested from their labors, right? I pace myself as it is now. If I had to pace myself for eternity, I’d be doing nothing most of the time.

But there is a future element. Look, look at Galatians 5, Galatians 5. For we through the spirit, again, we must be talking about believers, because it is the spirit of God that creates the enablement. We, through the spirit, wait for the hope of righteousness by faith. Now, he’s not talking about past element of salvation or the present feature, but he is talking about the fullness of it. We are waiting in hope. We are holding onto hope that someday the battle will be over, and someday we won’t have to struggle with sin, and the flesh, and the devil, and the world, and demons.

Someday we’ll know the hope of a full righteousness. Look at 1 Peter, chapter 1, verse 3. And here is a great benediction. Peter says, blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to his abundant mercy has begotten us again unto a living hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. In other words, he says we have been saved to a hope, saved to a hope, to hope for something. And what is it? To an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you.

Our hope is heaven. We are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation. What salvation? A salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. There is another element of salvation, a last-time element that is the consummation of living hope, when we go to heaven and receive the reward and the inheritance that he has planned for us. And because of that, we don’t mind. Verse 6. A season of heaviness and manifold trials. Do you see? We don’t mind a little pain. There is a finish line. We don’t mind a little effort. There is a goal to reach.

I’ve run enough races in my life, in track meets in high school and college, to know what it’s like when you go down the backstretch and everything’s great, and you make that final turn and head for home, and all of a sudden you do what they call hit the wall. And something goes wrong. Your brain says go, and your legs say no, and there’s this tremendous change in what happens. And you’re fighting that last little while, and what drives you is the sense of victory, and honour, and self-respect, and that which you know awaits at the finish.

And so God has not just given us a past salvation, not even just a maintaining of a present salvation, but has given to us a tremendous hope. And that’s why when Jesus left in Acts chapter 1, and the disciples would have been confused enough up to this point, and now with him gone, they needed a little impetus. And so what he says to them is, sending two angels, speaking through them. This same Jesus, who is taken up from you, shall so come in like manner as you’ve seen him go. In other words, in case you get weary, and you think maybe there’s never going to be an end to it, he’ll be back.

He’ll be back. There will be an end, there will be a goal, there is a finish line. And that’s exactly what the helmet of salvation is, it’s the hope of ultimate salvation. Let me show you 1 Thessalonians chapter 5. 1 Thessalonians chapter 5 verse 8. But let us, 1 Thessalonians 5 verse 8, who are of the day, that is, we’re not of the night, that’s Satan’s dominion. We’re of the day, that’s sons of light in God’s Kingdom. Let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love. Now watch.

And for a helmet, the hope of salvation. For God has not appointed us to wrath. We’re not just going to be in this thing fighting all the way. We’re not going to wind up in judgment, but to obtain salvation. There is still an element of salvation to obtain. God has appointed us to obtain that finally, and it is the helmet of salvation. The writer of Hebrews says this hope is the anchor of the soul. What is the helmet then? Now listen, summing it up, the helmet of salvation is confidence in a full, final, total salvation to come.

It’s confidence that someday the battle will be over. I couldn’t fight if I didn’t think there was a finish somewhere, could you? There’s got to be an end. You say, well, how is this part of our armour? Listen, you know that big broadsword that the Roman soldier would have to face? Do you know what Satan’s big broadsword is? It’s got two sides to it. One side is discouragement and the other side’s doubt. We’re going to talk about doubt next time, but for this time, discouragement. You know what Satan wants to do? He wants to belt you right in the head with discouragement and doubt, get you discouraged.

Oh boy, you’re sure giving a lot and not getting much in return. You’re living this Christian life, setting yourself apart from the world. Boy, you’re living it. And what happens? You just lost your job. Great blessing, huh? You’ve been reading your Bible every day and your wife is as cranky as she was before you even bought a Bible. Hasn’t had a major effect on her whatsoever. What’s God doing in your life? You’ve been going to church for so many years. Look at your kids. They don’t respect you now any more than they ever did.

And you begin to get discouraged. I’ve been teaching a class so long and I wonder whether anybody gets anything out of it, you say. And you get really discouraged. That’s one of the things. The other thing Satan wants to hit you in the head with is doubt. How do you know you’re really a Christian? Are you sure you’re really saved? You don’t deserve it. Look what you just did. Do you think that’s a manifestation of being a Christian? And people get to suffer from doubt and discouragement and that’s what he uses. And the helmet of salvation is a protection.

Thank you for joining us in this exploration of the helmet of salvation protection. Past, present and future. Until next time, remember to keep the faith, stay strong and continue to shine your light in the world. To hear these daily devotions of your daily bread, please log on to goddessgovernment.com. Goodbye and may your faith always lead the way. [tr:trw].