But we who are of the day, let us be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love and the helmet of salvation (1 Thessalonians 5:8).
This is the daily armor of the grace believer. Since our battle is not physical but spiritual in nature (Ephesians 6:12), it involves protecting the heart—the center of a person where the determinate will resides, and thus the place where our decisions are made. Faith is taking God at His Word and must therefore always be based upon a promise (Hebrews 11:1). Love is seeking the best for the one who is loved and is directed toward other believers as an expression of our love for God (John 13:34; 1 John 4:20). The helmet of salvation protects us from discouragement, disappointment, an ungracious spirit, and spiritual cowardice. It involves maintaining a proper understanding of the basis of our salvation—Christ saved me, Christ saves me, and Christ will save me!