Last month I had the chance to visit the Mercedes Benz Museum in Stuttgart. Among the highlights of that expedition was the chance to see the Benz S600 Guard armored car series. All of 500+ horsepower and packing a V12 engine, this is a vehicle marketed towards celebrities, dignitaries, and the obsessively paranoid. Its armor is sufficient to stop standard military small-arms fire, protect against grenade shrapnel and other unhealthy devices including Molotov cocktails. The S Guard’s tires can run even when flat; its fuel-tank can seal itself; it carries an integrated fire-extinguishing system. All the while looking no different from the mere mortal, garden-variety, non-reinforced V12 Benz S-class automobile.
The company’s boast is flagrant: Schutz hat einen Namen. The last word in protection. This slogan is inscribed proudly on the shield in the picture.
The “last word”? In protection? I beg to differ.
Of all the potential perils that could prevail upon us, perdition is the worst. Final and eternal separation from God, the result of sin. For as long as the question of sin persists in rearing its ugly head, every person separated from holy God. But the good news is that this ultimate catastrophe can be averted. For God incarnate, Jesus Christ, paid for our sins, fully and finally, taking the punishment we deserved. Sin, for the believer in Jesus Christ, is, now no longer an issue for salvation. To the one who has placed his or her trust in Christ, eternal life with God is guaranteed. Protection from perdition provided!
Blessed be the God and Father
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His great mercy
has caused us to be born again
… through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to obtain an inheritance which is
imperishable and undefiled
and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you,
who are protected by
the power of God through faith ….
1 Peter 1:3–5
of our Lord Jesus Christ, who
according to His great mercy
has caused us to be born again
… through the resurrection
of Jesus Christ from the dead,
to obtain an inheritance which is
imperishable and undefiled
and will not fade away,
reserved in heaven for you,
who are protected by
the power of God through faith ….
1 Peter 1:3–5
Jesus Christ, I beg to affirm, is the “last word” in protection—the ultimate protection, not some steel- and bulletproof glass-protected contraption that can run on flat tires!
The name of the LORD is a strong tower.
The righteous runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10
The righteous runs into it and is safe.
Proverbs 18:10
God—omnipotent, omniscient, and omnipresent—the believer’s only protection and refuge. Therefore the psalm-writer could exult …
I will lift up my eyes
to the mountains
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade
on your right hand.
The LORD will protect you
from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
Psalm 121:1–2, 5, 7
to the mountains
From where shall my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade
on your right hand.
The LORD will protect you
from all evil;
He will keep your soul.
Psalm 121:1–2, 5, 7
This, of course, is not to assert that earthly turmoil and tumult will fail to touch the believer. But it does claim that in the eternal scheme of things, in light of the full span of our existence—temporal and eternal—protection is promised, certified, warranted. All the wiles of the evil one, all his stratagems and schemes, cannot touch the believer.
But the Lord is faithful,
and He will strengthen and
protect you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
and He will strengthen and
protect you from the evil one.
2 Thessalonians 3:3
Therefore we rejoice.
But let all who take refuge
in You be glad.
Let them ever sing for joy;
and may You shelter them
that those who love Your name
may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses
the righteous, O LORD.
You surround them with favor
as with a shield.
Psalm 5:11–12
in You be glad.
Let them ever sing for joy;
and may You shelter them
that those who love Your name
may exult in You.
For it is You who blesses
the righteous, O LORD.
You surround them with favor
as with a shield.
Psalm 5:11–12
The real shield. The real protection. Truly, THE last and final word in protection! In fact, the only word—God!
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1 comment:
Very true, faith in Christ is our only source of true protection. This past summer I spent some time in Villa Nueva, Guatemala on a mission trip. At night, we could hear the gunfire of the local gang-fights, and many times, during the day, my team and I were 'eyed' by very suspicious looking fellows in streets. These are all things I am not very used to growing up in the US, and I must admit, I was frightened by them.
However, after spending some time in prayer and reading some key passages on God's sovereignty, I began to realize how much my life was in the hands of God. I came to the realization that, if my life were taken on the mission field, my life was still safe in Christ. No one can take that from me. And to conclude the story, I spent the rest of the trip walking in faith with the knowledge that I am already eternally protected.
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