Wouldn't the Sword of the Spirit be a tool? And I have a question-what is the Helmet of Salvation?

Didn't you know Christians are supposed to be hard headed? In Eph 6:17 Paul refers to taking (receiving) the helmet of salvation, and in 1 Thess 5:8 he tells Christians to put on... "the hope of salvation as a helmet." The helmet of salvation was first referred to by Isaiah as being worn by the arm of the LORD (Jesus the messiah) when he came/comes to intervene and to adminster justice (Isa 59:16-18). Without the hope of salvation, confidence that God has done and will do as He said, guarding our minds, we are vulnerable to doubts, uncertainties of all sorts, and misdirection (false teaching). God wants us to be confident of our salvation, which means confident that he is trustworthy. Confidence (hope) of course needs to be based on what is real and true.

About the "tools of salvation," perhaps the question is first of all whether "salvation" is found in the Christian faith or any other sort of religion -- is the Christian faith the right one? If that is the question, then the answer revolves upon whether we can trust the Bible or not. Either it is the word of God, faithful and true, or it is not. We can be sure of that only by considering the Bible, and whether it stands critical scrutiny. It does, and is a sound basis for confidence that the Christian faith is the right means to salvation. I won't attempt an apolgetic for the Bible in this message, but that is is right can be determined and accepted with well founded confidence.

If the question is, how do we know whether we've made the right choice of doctrine (teaching) and practice among all of the beliefs that are variously summarized as "Christian," the answer is really still the same. If the Bible is right (and it is) then we can only be right to the extent that we are willing to hear and obey what God says in this, his chosen means of direct communication for all ages. Salvation is a gift of God (Eph. 2:8, Tit. 2:11), not something that can be built, earned, or achieved by man with any tools whatsoever. However, it is not an unconditional gift, it is based in faith (Rom. 1:16) and obedience (Heb. 5:9), it requires repentance (2 Cor. 7:10) and is something to be obtained (2 Tim. 2:10) and worked out (Phil. 2:12).

Since salvation is a gift, strictly speaking there are no "tools for salvation." Rather, we might say saved persons become tools of God (vessels, 2 Cor. 4:7, 2 Tim. 2:20-21, Rom. 9:21). Still, it seems fair enough to refer to the weapons of our warfare as tools (2 Cor. 10:3-5, Eph. 6:10-18, 1 Thess. 5:8), and that largely brings us back again to... the scriptures, the Bible. Jesus said to his disciples, "you shall know the truth, and the truth will set you free" (John 8:32) and to his father, "Sanctify them by the truth, your word is truth." (John 17:17) It is only in knowing the truth (consider 2 Thess. 2:12) that we are given freedom, salvation, and that needed truth which sanctifies is only known by God's word. Any "tools" we use, must come from that source or conform to that source. As Paul told Timothy, "... from infancy you have known the holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus." (2 Timothy 3:15NIV) The church as Christ's corporate body, and the Christian as a member of his body, must turn to the holy Scriptures for wisdom, guidance, direction, teaching, and certainty in salvation.

Maybe a comment or two about how not to "be sure we have the right one." Feeling good or being excited are popular measures, but aren't a very good gauge of what's right. Every religion and political philosophy has its excited adherents, and followers who feel good about their practices and beliefs. Truth can make us feel good and be exciting, but it isn't always either of these things, and as Plato observed, evil often seems more interesting than good. Jonah wasn't excited about what God wanted him to do, and didn't at all feel good about it. These kinds of things are tenuous at best. I