 It is great to see you guys here tonight and great to be back with you. I feel like this is my home away from home now and Great to be able to fill the pulpit while Pastor David is gone And we're gonna continue as is the theme on Wednesday nights to study God's words So if you have your Bibles, would you please open up to Ephesians chapter 6 and before we get started, I'd like to say hello to my beautiful wife Ruth and my oldest son Hudson and My little girl Ava and my little baby boy Harrison because they're watching online right now and so I just wanted to say hi to them and It's great having just such an amazing family and I'm a very blessed man. And so hi guys Daddy loves you and I'll see you soon Tonight we're gonna be looking at the subject of holiness and righteousness And if you've noticed in this world, those are the furthest things from anyone's mind Holiness and righteousness We're gonna be looking at a familiar passage of scripture in that it's part of what is considered the armor of God and Let's go ahead and pray and we'll get into our study Ephesians in Ephesians chapter 6 tonight father in heaven We thank you so much for this evening. We thank you Lord for all of your blessings, Lord We thank you that you've given us your word and Lord you tell us in your word Be holy for you are holy and Lord tonight as we look at this piece of armor Lord that you give us called the breastplate of Righteousness I ask God that you would help us to walk holy Before you Lord that we would be covered in your righteousness and not our own And so Lord give us ears to hear what your spirit would say tonight as we open your word And we ask Lord that you would help us to not only be hearers But doers of your word also and we ask these things in Jesus name and we all say amen Amen in Ephesians 6 just by way of context in verse 10. It says finally my brethren Breathe strong in the Lord and in the power of his might put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand Against the wiles of the devil for we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against Principalities against powers against the rulers of darkness of this age Against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places therefore verse 13 Ephesians 6 Paul writes and said and says take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to withstand in the evil day and having done all to stand at the beginning of verse 14 it says that we're to take the belt of Truth that literally says having girded yourself with the belt of Truth and a few things to point out as we will not be looking at that particular part of this verse We're gonna be looking at the latter half, but a few things that will help us segue into our study tonight The truth that is found in God's word There are those that have decided to reject that truth and they're not able to listen to the words of Christ because the Alternative to receiving the truth that is found inside the scriptures is to accept the lie that is found outside of them Satan does not stand in the truth He does not stand in the truth that you as a follower of Jesus stand in There is no truth in him, but you have Jesus who is the way the and the life amen When Satan lies to mankind he speaks from his own authority, which we know is less than that of God's Satan is a liar and all the lies in the world originate with the devil and the Bible tells us that if you reject what the Bible has to say you're exchanging the truth for the lies and so as Christians It's very important when there's a lot of things out there in this world today that say this is truth Or they're asking what is truth you have the truth as the follower of Jesus You have the scriptures to look at at any given moment in history and know exactly where you stand with God and Exactly what you should do that honors him or should not do that dishonors him see as Christians We get ourselves in trouble when we start leaning on our own Understanding when we start leaning on our own feelings on a subject instead of what does God's words say? That's why it's so important for us in this spiritual battle for us to gird our waist with the belt of truth the belt of truth Even as the Roman soldier would wear his belt It actually is the very thing that holds all the other pieces of equipment and armor Together and so the truth that you have in God's word is a force that is at work in your life And this is a very important thing to understand the belt of truth holds the sword of the spirit When we begin to believe lies everything starts to unravel when we Start to to receive maybe condemning thoughts that are coming into our minds Or when we start to feel pressured from the world outside on how we should live our lives We are no longer seeking the truth We are believing the lie and then our lives begin our lives begin to unravel Jesus said even though Satan is very subtle and deceptive and crafty You can defeat him because you shall know the truth and the truth shall make you free. Yes Good and so tonight we're gonna look at the second piece of armor that's listed out in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 14 And it is the breastplate of righteousness in verse 14 It says stand therefore having girded your waist with truth having put on the breastplate of Righteousness so he tells you and me as a follower of Jesus stand having girded yourself with the breastplate of righteousness now You can probably picture this in your mind But the breastplate with a soul in the soldiers a suit of armor it was either made of heavy metal or Chainmail it would cover the chest in the back. It would cover up to the neck It would cover the lower or the upper part of the of the thighs and even the rear It was something that you wanted to have on when you were going in to battle in this particular case for us as Christians the metal that the Christians breastplate is made of is Righteousness righteousness and this word righteousness is a very powerful word in the Greek language. It can be translated or even encapsulate integrity virtue purity of life Rightness correctness of feeling acting and thinking it can also describe the teaching of the Bible that pertains to how a man might attain a state of being approved by God See the moment that you put your faith in Jesus those of you that have put your faith in Jesus the moment you did that You were imputed the righteousness that belonged to Jesus The Bible tells us that the soul that sins will surely die that the wages of sin is death and on that day When we stand before the Lord on that day of judgment you will receive either the grace or the justice due to you God's justice would require that we pay the price for our sin But because Jesus paid the price for our sin and we're seeing now in his righteousness This breastplate of righteousness that we cover ourselves with and are covered by we are seen as righteous in the sight of God That's you No matter what you've done no matter where you're from No matter the sins that you've committed the moment that you confess those things to the Lord The Bible tells us he is faithful and just to cleanse us and forgive us and cleanse us from all Unrighteousness and we say amen to that. Thank you Lord So the righteousness that we have through faith in Jesus is the very thing that we need to cover ourselves with on a daily Faces for a soldier the breastplate would be the type of equipment that you would armor up with when you went to war It'd be the very thing that would protect your heart And your lungs and your other major organs from wounds that would take your life You want to want to go to battle without your armor on? The belt of truth as I mentioned earlier is the very thing that holds the armor together Truth it cinches up your clothing so that you can move without being tripped up. I See in this world Lie upon lie upon lie and It's filtering into the church and the church is being swayed by the lies of Satan and by the pressures of society See truth if we don't have the truth that is found in God's word It's in order to guide our personal relationship with the Lord will be stuck in a place of self-righteousness This is very important to understand see without a relationship with Jesus We're still dead and our trespasses and in our sins. We're alienated from the promises of God We're utterly without the ability to live a life approved by God. So let's look at that subject of self-righteousness It's important for us to remember tonight that the breastplate of righteousness is a righteousness that comes from God and not from you Not from me not from us Righteousness that we would seek to cover ourselves with is called Self-righteousness the Bible speaks of this in not a nice way and Isaiah 64 verse 6 It says but we are all like an unclean thing and all our righteousnesses are like filthy rags We all fade as a leaf and our iniquities like the wind have taken us away So when we act self-righteously, we are blatantly ignoring our need for forgiveness of sin We're filled with personal Spiritual pride What's unfortunate is that the self-righteous person deals with other people in a more harsh and severe way than they would deal with themselves I mean isn't that the case really we see someone else do it It's like oh my how could you when we do it as I slipped up. It was an accident was a one-off See the self-righteous person does not find it in their hearts to forgive or bear with the weaknesses of those that are weak Enrollments chapter 15 verse 1 from the NIV. It's translated we who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves We're very quick to point out the problems with others while simultaneously ignoring our own problems Maybe you're in a relationship with somebody or know someone that's very self-righteous They they don't admit fault. They can never be wrong. It's always your fault And it's always your room for improvement that is needed They refuse to admit that they've ever been at fault Self-righteousness can be also called Ferreciacal or legalistic now Self-righteousness grieve the Lord Jesus when he was on this earth and you guys know you've studied the Gospels he dealt with it regularly with the Pharisees See the danger of a Christian being self-righteous is that it blinds you to your need for repentance You're constantly just trying to have your good deeds outweigh your bad deeds You don't understand that you actually need to turn from your sin and you need God's forgiveness to cleanse you Self-righteousness will Entrap us in this false state of spiritual Security because you'll seem right in your own eyes and you'll look at those people over there and be like I am not as bad as them and I am way better than them over there And so I'm okay and see what's happening in our world today Christian or non-Christian is Self-righteousness places the individual in the place of ultimate authority They're raised to that place of ultimate authority by none other than themselves as they Compare themselves to others around them Jesus speaking of this in Luke 16 verse 15 said you are those who justify yourselves before men But God knows your heart You have an appearance You actually think that if there's enough of you thinking the same way then that must mean it's okay That sounds like the world we live in and you don't have to be a Christian it could be anything Where I become now the authority on what is righteous and what is not righteous and then I decide what is good for me I Decide what makes me acceptable With my morality with my spirituality or you name it See the self-righteous person has the appearance of spirituality But is without the power of the Holy Spirit and I'll never forget what your pastor told me that there is two main things that we Need and we need the power of the Holy Spirit and we need the Word of God and see the person that is filled with Self-righteousness is not living according to the Word of God And he does not have the power of the Holy Spirit even though he has an appearance of being a spiritual man Paul wrote to Timothy and He penned having a form of godliness But denying its power and who are the people that have a form of godliness listen to this second Timothy chapter 3 Verses 2 through 5 and all our verses will be in the New King James version unless otherwise noted in verse 2 It says for men will be lovers of themselves lovers of money boasters proud blasphemers disobedient to parents Unthankful unholy verse 3 second Timothy 3 unloving unforgiving slanderers They're without self-control Brutal despisers of good traitors headstrong haughty Lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God and it says they have a form of godliness But deny its power and from such people turn away So you might think oh this form of godliness is for this for the people that are wicked and they're claiming Christianity no, it's actually People that are claiming to have a relationship with God have all the appearance of having a walk with the Lord But look at the fruit that is coming from their life. I mean look at that list lovers of themselves lovers of money He's not describing the world. He's talking about those that have an appearance of godliness But that's what's inside their heart Because God knows our hearts. He knows man's heart And so for us it is not enough to have an appearance of godliness because we might be fluid in Christianese we might know when we're to raise our hands and when you know, we're to nod our heads You know, we might even have a little two-step during worship going You know and we we know how to whatever we need to do we might look a certain way But when it comes down to our hearts being right with God That is the most important thing Because for the Christian there has to be a sense of responsibility for their own actions their own actions of sin against God For the Christian if you truly want to be covered in the righteousness of Christ You have to not only take responsibility But you have to recognize that apart from a divine intervention of God in your life You would be going to hell and that's a very serious thing for people to actually come to grips with That if it was not for the Lord, we would be dead If it was not for the grace and unconditional love of the Lord, we would be doomed And so in light of those things There is absolutely no room for self-righteousness or spiritual pride in the life of the true follower of Jesus To this point Jesus and Luke chapter 18 verse 9 said and Jesus spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and despised others Isn't it fascinating that Jesus would say that those that trust in themselves for their own righteousness despise other people My how that truth is communicated in verbal and nonverbal ways The condescension that the looking down upon other people spiritual arrogance Jesus would go on to say in Luke 18 verse 10 and he gives an analogy of this that two men went up to the temple to pray One a Pharisee the other a tax collector the Pharisees stood and prayed thus with himself God I thank you that I am not like other men extortioners unjust adulterers or even This tax collector right here. I fast twice a week I give tithes of all that I possess and then it says in verse 13 of Luke 18 and the tax collector standing afar off Would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven But he beat on his breast saying God Be merciful to me a sinner And Jesus says I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other for everyone who exalts Himself will be humbled and he who humbles himself will be exalted when we realize our sin and Own it and say you know it instead of blaming other people or factoring these excuses It's like hey, I sinned and Lord against you and you alone. Have I sinned Lord would you please forgive me? It's not the other person's fault. It is your responsibility This is a very very important thing in the life of the Christian that wants to be covered with the breastplate of Righteousness because the person that is self-righteous is all about what they have done And the person that is covered in the righteousness of Christ is all about what Jesus has already done Hey, look what I've done. Look what Jesus did That is the separating factor Every other world religion in this area the religion in this world is a works-based religion you earn your way You pay you I Guess we could say self-righteousness is all about do do and do Christ's righteousness is all about did did and done. That's it That's what we have as followers of Jesus so On the subject of Christ's righteousness as we read in Ephesians 6 14 the breastplate of righteousness is not the breastplate of self-righteousness Your own our own righteousness cannot protect us against the attacks of Satan, but rather just to be frank with you It's inviting him to destroy you Satan loves the person that believes they are covered in their own righteousness because he actually knows the truth of God's righteousness Satan does he has that wisdom Satan understands that Self-righteousness that person that is self-righteous is so filled with spiritual pride that he knows that the laws of God will always be True and not fail and he knows that pride goes before destruction before a fall and Here we are With our garments that are like filthy rags Like if you had that old t-shirt that your wife was telling you to throw out for years And it was full of holes and you use it to fix the sink and do yard work She's like you got to get rid of that thing, you know throw it out. That's our righteousness in our own efforts That's like you going out to battle with a holy t-shirt Not the HOLY t-shirt. We're talking about WHOLY. You're you have gaping holes You are not covered. You are not protected. That's what self-righteousness is. You're wearing filthy rags And Satan would love nothing more than to see you fall This is one of the hardest things that you deal with as a pastor in ministry is seeing people that you love and care about Fall they think they're good in the area or they rely on their own strength their own effort They're not covered in the righteousness of Christ And they fall Proverbs 16 18 says that pride goes before destruction in a haughty spirit before a fall For this reason Knowing the truth of God's word is Imperative for righteousness before God in which you are approved in his sight. This is what is necessary for salvation Believing in the truth of God's word because you know it nowadays There are so many people that are saying just toss this toss it We don't need it. You go to churches and they don't teach from it. I don't even reference it I don't even use it You're like what in the world is going on in church today? If you do not know what God's word says see believing in the truth of God's word leads you to Christ's righteousness and away from self-righteousness because the truth in God's word always Proceeds true righteousness before God because you don't know what it is until you know what it is You take the belt of truth So that you might know that the righteousness of Christ covers you as a breastplate You're protected With the righteousness of the Lord For those of you that have sinned I hate to break it to you, which is all of you guys not me of course, but you guys When we sin we feel discouraged Maybe you're here and you're like man. I blew it and you're feeling condemned You're wearing your righteousness not Christ Because the Bible says if you confess your sin He's faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness and maybe even in the privacy of your own heart You need to confess your sin to the Lord and say Lord cover me in your righteousness because mine has gaping holes in it So as it is written in Romans 3 verse 10 it says there is none righteous. No not one There is none who understands there is none who seeks after God Romans 3 12 says they have all turned aside They have together become unprofitable. There is none who does good. No not one Even the most religious person in all the world is not righteous in the sight of God by his or her actions Bible says there's none righteous. No, not one stop pretending Stop stop thinking that there is another way that you're gonna earn your your way There's none righteous playing field is level for everyone because no one can observe the laws of the Lord perfectly No one is perfect. No one people make mistakes Self-righteousness leads us to think that we're all that's needed man. All I need to do is get myself together When you're not even close Now remember an old pastor Went home to be with the Lord. His name was J. Vernon McGee. Does that ring any bells for any of you guys? Yeah, very unique voice on the radio, too, right I remember him giving this analogy where he said I Want to take some of the best athletes and I want to go to the Huntington Beach pier You know right there were rubies if you guys have been down there right at the end and on a nice clear day I'm gonna have them some of the finest Olympic athletes in the world That their main event is the long jump and I want to see how far they can jump off of that pier And so you got this guy jumps 20 feet and then this guy goes 29 feet and this guy goes 30 feet and this guy sets the world record It is unbelievable, but they all fell short of jumping to Catalina, which was 26 miles away And he said that is what Paul is talking about when all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God Your self-righteousness may set a world record But it is filthy rags in the sight of God and Catalina is still out there and you're in the middle of the ocean of your own self-righteousness Maybe even getting chased by sharks. Who knows? In Galatians 6 verse 3 it says for if anyone thinks himself to be something when he is nothing he deceives himself so we need To not allow outside influences to affect the church the church needs to affects affect the world outside Outside the church. It is this kind of mentality You did it You earned it Now you deserve it That's self-righteousness to a tee You did it you put in the work you earned it now you deserve it Paul would say by grace you've been saved through faith. It's not of works less any man should boast Enroman's 321 it says but now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ to all and on all who believe The Bible tells us that Abraham believed God and that belief was accounted for righteousness The righteousness of God only comes to those who have faith or believe in Jesus Christ The righteousness of God is to all and on all who have faith in Jesus That's what we need. That's what we want. If you're here tonight, or maybe you're watching this You've realized your sin. You've understood that you can't live a perfect life no matter how hard you try You're in a good spot You're in a very good spot if you've recognized your shortcomings and your failures and you've seen how you know it I try and try again, and I just can't seem to be perfect That is a great spot to be in Because you've recognized your sin and now if you own up and say yes I take responsibility for my actions and you're like that man that went home Justified as he prayed Lord have mercy on me a sinner. That is the one of The two that we need to be That man is the one that left covered in the righteousness that only God can provide In Romans 3 24 it says being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, and that's it guys This might be foundational for you This might be something that you're hearing for the first time But you're made right in the sight of God by his grace and redemption through faith in Jesus in Romans chapter 3 verses 25 Through 26 it says whom God set forth as a propitiation by his blood Through faith to demonstrate his righteousness because in his forbearance God had passed over the sins That were previously committed to demonstrate at the present time His righteousness that he might be just and listen to this and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus That makes me happy passed over Garrett's sin Why? Because I deserve it. No But because God has given me his grace That propitiation it just means a substitutional sacrifice Jesus took your place He died on the cross You were justified as if you were standing in front of God Almighty the judge and that problem of guilt for your sin has been removed through justification Redemption though you were a slave to sin you're set free from the bondage of it and then our offenses against God This propitiation was taken care of through faith in Jesus and so Paul will say in Romans 3 27 Where is boasting then? He asks that rhetorically hey if it's about Jesus you can never earn it He gave it to you which one of you is going to boast about earning it Which one of you is going to walk around all High and mighty saying how spiritual you are and like I hope you guys might be able to be like me one day There's no room for that He says where is boasting then it it is he says it is excluded by what law of works No, but by the law of faith When you believe in the truth found in God's word You will understand exactly how one is made righteous Why is this so important for those of you that have been a part of this church for a long time This could be elementary You go outside of these doors and people are looking left right up and down all over the place Like how do you make yourself right with God because I got this guy saying this over here And I got her saying that over there and then these guys don't even know because they change their minds every single day about What is righteous and unrighteous and then I got these people over here think they're they're their own gods and what is it? What is it? Second Corinthians 521 it says for he made Jesus who knew no sin to be sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God in him We need to be covered in the righteousness of Christ We receive and are covered by the righteousness of God through our belief in the truth of God's word And it's not popular you believe in the bible. What in the world's wrong with you? The bible, are you kidding me the bible? Yes Because there are times as a Christian that you'll get discouraged Maybe today you feel a little bit beat down. You feel discouraged exactly Maybe you even come to the realization that you've sinned you've fallen short of the glory of God and you're in that place where you just feel like Lord, I Know better. I still sinned Maybe you've been relying on your own strength Your own resources to battle in the spiritual warfare and quite frankly you've gotten wrecked You've blown your witness and now the condemnation of satan is upon you saying you can never show your face again Who are you to say anything to anyone else? Look what you've done And one of the things that I've seen that paralyzes people is the fact that They committed sin so they feel like how can I tell somebody else not to do this sin when I've done it and they know I've done it You know like that mom who before she was married moved in with her boyfriend And now her daughters are moving in with their boyfriends and she thinks how can I not be hypocritical and say hey Don't do this because it's wrong when I did it And so satan will use this and say how how are you you sinned you've blown it Who are you to go and say anything to anyone about what's right and what's wrong? And one thing that I could just tell you that is an absolute game changer as far as that attack comes from satan is this You can say this very thing. Yes. I did that and it was wrong It's not being hypocritical It is actually taking responsibility for your actions. It is saying I was wrong. I did that I asked god to forgive me and he has helped me through that And so i'm trying to tell you now what god's word says me doing it and trying to tell you not to do it later on down in life Listen, I am not being hypocritical I am telling you I made a mistake and I want to do what's right and I'm hoping that you will do the same as well So don't think because you had sinned in the past That that disqualifies you from living a righteous and holy life and being a bold witness in the future Take responsibility for your actions confess it to the lord Admit that they were wrong and be that light in this dark world that god has created you to be So for christians Righteousness and holiness are the very things that preserve us When we do not have righteousness and we do not have holiness we are in a very bad spot See for the christian to live unrighteously or unholy is to live a defeated and disobedient to god life See when we do that which is not fitting for the follower of jesus we will find Our spiritual lives mortally wounded Now you might see in battle where a guy gets sliced on his arm or sliced on his shoulder Sliced on his leg But if you were to get stabbed in the heart stabbed in the lungs stabbed in the liver stabbed into any of the major organs that you have You're dead When we do not have The righteousness and holiness covering our lives through our acts of obedience to god's word We will be mortally wounded because righteousness and holiness They protect you They protect your conscience as well They protect your spiritual life When we're in sin as a christian, we're not covering ourselves with righteousness And you know what i can guarantee you if you're here tonight and you are calling yourself a christian and you're living unrighteously You can feel the difference You can feel the difference spiritually even as a roman soldier who is battle hardened Can feel naked not wearing his armor breastplate There he is with just his tunic and he feels like something's missing something's not right here I'm going into battle and i'm not armored up The same applies for the christian living in disobedience because when you sin You feel naked you feel ashamed vulnerable and condemned The breastplate of righteousness Is something that's imputed to us given to us through faith in jesus And it's also something that we put on daily through our obedience to the commandments of god And there are no two ways about it Because when you're in sin you're in fear and if you're in battle And i have friends And family that served in the military and saw live action If you're in battle And you're paralyzed with fear And you can't act and you can't move You're dead It's been said and i quote there is not much difference between an army towering in fear And an army dead A dead soldier will do as much good as a dead hearted one paralyzed with anxiety His heart is attacked and murdered while he is still alive end of quote one of the things that The lord has been particularly encouraging me with with things that i've been dealing with It's found in proverbs 28 verse 1 It says the wicked flea when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion food for thought Why do you think there is such a lack of boldness with christians today? Why do you think there are so many christians that are afraid to say anything to do anything to stand up for anything? Honestly, like i listen. This isn't beat the sheep. I like just generally I think that's a good thing to do I think that's a good thing to do I think that's a good thing to do I think that's a good thing to do I think that's a good thing to do I like just generally if you look at the world and we have Certain states and certain countries with massive concentrations of mega churches And yet you see legislation being passed and evil prevailing. Why do you think? There is such a lack of boldness with the christians today I can tell you according to what god's word tells us that a massive part of that reason has to do with christians living in sin The wicked flea when no one pursues means they're always afraid However for the follower of jesus it says the righteous are bold as a lion I don't know if you realize this or not. He's on the top of the food chain He's not afraid of anybody taking him out When our hearts and i'm hoping that tonight we will be united In this decision to have our hearts covered with the righteousness of christ and find that there is great boldness there for the christian I'm not living in sin. I'm not compromising. I'm not watering it down I am covered in the righteousness of christ and through my acts of obedience unto the lord I find great strength and great boldness nothing tripping me up Nothing hindering me nothing impeding my progress. I'm armored up for spiritual battle And your personal holiness will affect every single area of your life Every area It's been said by this commentator by the name of william gurnell And I quote he says we cannot recover our courage until we recover our holiness righteousness Will fill you with courage in the face of fear and even death In psalm 118 verse 6, you know it. Well, the lord is on my side. I will not fear. What can man do to me? What can man post about me? What can man say about me? Well, if you intend to be a true follower of jesus It's imperative for you to hold fast to the power of holiness and righteousness and the way you live your life If you want true power of the lord the true power of the lord working through you There is power impurity and there is power that comes through your obedience to the word of god Now personal inventory reflection question How many of you today and don't raise your hand? This is just something for you to think about can recognize an area of your life that is paralyzed by fear Do you not know that that is of the devil? For the lord hasn't given you a spirit of fear but a power of love and a sound mind You are not wearing the breastplate of righteousness if you are fearful So armor up with the holiness of the lord and stop allowing the enemy to rob kill and destroy Stop it Do what you know is right because you know what god's word says God's word says Your personal holiness Will affect your marriage your family your relationships your job your hobbies It'll affect your health You name it Because there's a complete attack from satan against the christians righteousness and holiness One commentator put it like this and i quote the devil's design is so strong against the saint's holiness that he always has a know for god's yes Every promise that the lord has given you in his word satan will say did god really say that Did god really promise you this Is that really true? so for everything that god says there is a complete opposite and it's provided by none other than satan and Continuing on with what this commentator said and i quote he says your holiness Is what the devil wants to steal from you and he calls no gain victory until he makes a christian lose his righteousness satan will allow the christian to have Anything or be anything rather than be truly and powerfully holy end of quote So satan wants your holiness and your righteousness He wants that from you It's not your self righteousness, which is a counterfeit display of righteousness But rather the power of christ's righteousness working in you that satan would seek to destroy In second timothy 312 it says yes and all who desire to live godly in christ jesus will suffer persecution So if you're following the lord and you're doing what's right Don't be surprised that the enemy wants to shut you down Don't be surprised that he attacks your kids and attacks your marriage and attacks your health and attacks your job because he wants your righteousness and holiness He wants that from you Because he knows then you go out into battle Without your armor You go into battle without the boldness that comes from wearing the breastplate of righteousness I Can tell you just in my own minds I can think of a guy going out to battle and nothing but his bathrobe Like that guy's toast for sure You see this guy armored up from head to toe and there's a confidence that comes from that. I'm completely covered I'm ready for battle. So you have to ask yourself. Which one are you? And that's why paul says and as we close Ephesians 6 14 again He says stand therefore having girded your waist with truth and having put on the breastplate of righteousness And so christian's church the lord says be holy as he is holy The standard is not the person next to you or behind you or in front of you Even though we are to be examples and leaders of what is right God is the standard And he says be holy for i'm the whole for i'm holy And there you will find great power and great boldness to be a victor in these last days And that's what we want. So do what you need to do confess your sin Wear the breastplate of christ's righteousness and walk in victory