Armor of God part 2 (breastplate of righteousness)

Ephesians 6:14, “……and having on the breastplate of righteousness;”

I really like this one. I’ve been reading a book that I would recommend to anyone needing help in this area. It is “Victory Over the Darkness” by Neil Anderson. I actually haven’t finished it yet (sidetracked again) but I have read most of it and it is a very eye opening book about realizing your identity in Christ.
Say you have a friend who has made a lot of very bad decisions and sinned against God (as we all have) many times over. They know they have sinned and have asked God for forgiveness but now they are sitting on their butt seemingly paralyzed to change anything in their life. What is going to happen if you go to that person and say, “You are a miserable, worthless, human being. Why don’t you get off your butt and change yourself?” Do you think comments like that would motivate change in the person? Absolutely not!!!! This is another tactic of satan to keep us from moving on in our walk with the almighty. We may have asked for forgiveness of our sin but satan keeps that thought in our mind that makes it difficult to actually accept the forgiveness that He hands to us. You think, “I would love to do the Lords work in that ministry but who am I to do anything. I am just a no good sinner. I can’t reach anyone for Christ. There is no way I can change, I have tried and it doesn’t work. I’m too weak, I can’t do anything.”
This is not what God says of who you are. Here is a list of verses telling you what you really are in the eyes of God. (I got them from Neil’s book)

You are a citizen of Heaven (Phi 3:20)
You are a child of God (John 1:12)
You are a saint (Eph 1:1)
You have been redeemed and forgiven (Col 1:14)
You are a work in progress that will be perfected (Phi 1:6)
You are born of God and the evil one cannot touch you (John 5:18)
You are God’s temple (1 Cor 3:16)
You have been chosen and appointed to bear fruit. (John 15:16)
You are a personal witness of Christ (Acts 1:8)
You may approach God with freedom and confidence (Eph 3:12)
You can do anything through Christ who strengthens you (Phi 4:13)

That’s only the tip of the iceberg on the words God has for us in his book. What a pep talk!!! Hebrews 4:16, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.” Once we have been given this gift of grace we are clothed in the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. “
That righteousness within us will affect what we do, but what we do will not make us righteous. Crossing over to that line of thinking will bring you into self-righteousness. It is not possible to change of our own will, only through putting on the righteousness of God will this be accomplished. Romans 8 1-4,” There is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”

So to put on the breastplate of righteousness you must first accept the grace of God, then realize who you are in Christ, and finally allow yourself to be lead by the spirit.