It’s Gotta Be the Shoes!
Beartown Road Alliance Church
July 22nd, 2007
Ephesians 6:15
We’re continuing this morning, with our look at the Armor of God. We’re in Ephesians chapter 6 verses 10-18 and today we’re looking at verse 15. We’ve looked at the belt of Truth. This is a life that measures up to God’s standard of Truth. It is the character of integrity. This is what holds the rest of the armor in place and keeps us from tripping over ourselves. Last week we looked at the breastplate of righteousness. This is the character of godliness. It describes our position before God, He looks at us and sees righteousness because of our faith in Jesus. It also has to do with our actions; we are to choose to do what is right. When we understand our position before God and we are living lives that are above reproach, Paul says that our hearts are protected from attack. Satan will not be able to find a crack to exploit or a flaw to expose. So, we’ve got the belt on and the breastplate secured and now Paul says we need the right footwear.
Some of our guys have been pretty busy this last week. The church softball league that we play in wrapped up with a double elimination tournament. We thought we’d do it the hard way so we lost the very first game. Then we started to win a few. Before we knew it, we were in the Championship Game. This is the same team that finished dead last just a year ago. We ended up giving up the winning runs in the last inning and coming in second but we had a lot of fun playing. One of the positions that gets overlooked when you play slow pitch softball is the catcher. Normally, in our league at least, if you have a girl that’s playing, catcher is the place that you put her. Well, I am not the defensive dynamo that I once was, so the girl on our team played outfield and I was the catcher. During the course of the last game, Kurt Reed, who is a great outfielder, had trouble with a line drive that was hit towards him. It had been raining all night and it was wet and slippery and he lost his footing a bit and couldn’t recover to make the catch. When we got back to the bench, someone pointed out that he didn’t have cleats on. He slipped because he couldn’t get any traction with normal shoes. I figured that since I was catching, a relatively non-skilled position, and one that required little or no moving, I would give him my cleats. We switched shoes and a few minutes later it was my turn to bat. I used my massive size and strength, together with my unbelievable hand-eye coordination and hit a dribbler to the third baseman. I took off running as hard as I could. The third baseman made a bad throw; I think it was my blazing speed that made him hurry the throw! I saw the ball go past the first baseman and I turned to head towards second. I was past the base and actually on the grass part of the field. I’m not quite sure how it happened but the next thing I know, I was lying flat on my back. Judging from the obvious sounds of amusement coming from our bench, I don’t think I fell very gracefully. It was all I could do to get up and get back to first base. The next batter, Kurt with my cleats, got a base hit that would have scored me if I had been on second like I should have been. Unfortunately, I had on the wrong shoes and when it came time to dig in and count on the traction they could provide, there was none there and I fell and it could very well have changed the outcome of the game.
In sports, you have a very definite advantage if you’re wearing the right shoes. If you wear cleats on a basketball court, you’ll break your leg. If you wear basketball shoes in a soccer game, those with the right shoes will dribble right around you because you won’t be have any traction to move quickly. There are tennis shoes, track shoes, jogging shoes, soccer shoes, football shoes and you have cleats for turf, grass, rain, dirt, and any other surface you can think of. Any serious athlete will have the right shoes, they give you what you need to succeed and come out on top.
Just like sports, the spiritual war that we’re fighting in requires the right footwear. This is the third part of the armor that Paul describes in this passage.
The shoes of a Roman soldier were a very important part of the armor. The soldiers often had to march upwards of 30 miles in a single day and if they didn’t have good shoes, they would be unable to make the journey and unable to enter into the battle. The shoes of a soldier were open toed, like a sandal, and tied securely above the ankle as well as just over the calf. They were custom fitted to each soldier’s feet. There was a thick leather upper part that covered the shins. The soles were extremely thick and durable. Often times, enemies would sharpen sticks and other objects and lay them as traps along the road. If a soldier did not have thick soles and the object passed through the shoe into the foot, that soldier could no longer march, therefore, they could no longer fight. The Roman soldiers shoe had another interesting characteristic.
In hand to hand combat, the kind of battles that these foot soldiers engaged in, taking and keeping ground was essential. If an army could push you back, the soldiers in the rear had no room to advance, your lines would begin to collapse upon themselves and you stood the chance of being overwhelmed by the enemy. So, in order to enable the soldiers to hold their ground and to dig in for the fight, the Romans would drive nails through the soles of the shoes called hobnails. These were short, stubby nails that would stick out the bottom of the shoe and dig into whatever terrain the soldier was marching or fighting on. This enabled the army of Rome to not only stand their ground, but to push the enemy back as well. So the shoes enabled the Romans to march to battle, hold their ground in a fight, and push forward when things got tight.
For the Christian, as we seek to hold our ground and to stand firm in the fight, we need to be wearing the right shoes. The King James says that our feet should be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. The word shod means to bind tightly. As with the belt and the breastplate, the feet are to be firmly fastened, a part of who we are. In the NIV, it says that our feet should be fitted with the readiness that comes from the Gospel of Peace. What on Earth does that mean? Scholars have said that this verse is one of the toughest verses in the New Testament, to translate from the original Greek in to English. We are to have put on, as shoes for our feet, the readiness given by the gospel of peace.
So, there are two key elements here. The first is this Gospel of peace, and the second is the readiness that comes from this gospel that Paul is referring to. With the time that we have left this morning, I want to look at these two key ideas.
I. The Gospel of Peace
The second aspect, the readiness, depends on and comes form this part, the gospel, specifically the gospel of peace. The shoes that we are to wear are made specifically to stand on the Truth of God’s Word. If we try and stand on any other ground, we will fall. You’re going to see some overlap here, the belt and the breastplate both had to do with God’s Truth and it continues with the shoes. However, each part speaks to a different aspect of that Truth. So, what I hope that you’re beginning to see is that as a general rule, putting on this armor and beginning to reflect this character change in our lives that will allow us to stand, means knowing and loving the truth. So far the Truth holds us together, guards our hearts, and allows us to stand. In the coming weeks we’ll see that it can be used as an offensive weapon as well. The Armor of God is all based on the Truth found in the nature of God and in the pages of His Word
So, when Paul uses the phrase gospel of peace, we need to turn to God’s Truth to see what he’s referring to. The Gospel is full of references to peace. It is central to understanding Salvation, to making it through this life, and to being the church that we are called to be. The Greek word that is translated peace, here, is EirAnA. It means that which has been bound together. It’s the idea of two things that once were separate and against each other now being joined and being held together in an unbreakable bond. The first peace that we see in Scripture is:
a. Peace with God
By the work of Jesus Christ, we are bound with God. Two parts that were separate and against each other, now joined in an unbreakable bond. I never get tired of this reality! This is the Good News of the gospel. We were God’s enemies and at war with God because of our sin and Jesus Christ came to bring peace between God and His creation.
RO 5:1 Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2 through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.
When we understand this reality, we can combat the attacks of Satan when he tries to tell us that we’re not good enough for God. When he tries to convince us that God cannot be known or would never draw near to someone like us because of our sins and shortcomings. We can stand with confidence and say God and I are at peace, it’s all good! That is a part of the gospel of peace and there is power in that Truth!
Not only do we have the gift of peace with God, but we have been given the:
b. Peace of God
When life presses in, when money is short and the bills are long, when relationships are crumbling and we don’t know if we can make it another day, we have the peace of God. This is not a promise of ease and comfort but it is a deep seeded peace that comes from understanding that God is in control and that though we may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death, we need not fear any evil, because God is with us and it’s only a matter of time until he leads us back to that green pasture and lays us down beside still waters because we serve a God who loves us and has plans in our lives to prosper us. Believe that promise and you will be amazed at the peace it brings.
This is a peace unlike any that man can give. Phil 4:7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Man can’t understand it because man can’t give it or come up with it on his own. The peace that man can offer is tenuous and unstable and always based on what we can do or provide. This is different. This is based on what God can do and provide. We have the Peace of God. How do we get it? Listen to the verse before this one:
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
God’s peace is a gift that comes when we give it to God and trust that He will accomplish His will in every situation. Too many times we give it to God and then take it back again so that we can worry and try and figure it out on our own. You want peace? Believe God. You want peace? Trust God. Rest in Him and you will have this peace. Again, this is an essential part of our defense. Satan will try to convince you that God doesn’t care or that God can’t accomplish something that we are asking Him for. Stand with the peace of God, knowing that God cares and that God listens and answers and is able to work out any circumstance in our lives for our good.
We have Peace with God, the Peace of God, and are also called to have
c. Peace with Others
The first one has to do with our relationship with God, the second one has to do with a gift of God to us, and this aspect of the Gospel of Peace is our response.
HEB 12:14 Make every effort to live in peace with all men 1 Thes 5:13 Live in peace with each other. Romans 12:18 If it is possible, as far as it depends on you, live at peace with everyone. Mark 9:50 and be at peace with each other." COL 3:15 Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace.
3 Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace.
1 Cor 7:15 God has called us to live in peace. RO 14:19 Let us therefore make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification.
Over and over again we see that the charge on the life of a Christian is to live in peace. The importance of this when we talk about spiritual warfare are fairly obvious. This is the crack that Satan gets into in a lot of churches. When there is no peace among the members of a church, there can be no unity. When there is no unity in the church the focus always remains inside, on what is happening among the people already in the church and not on the outside on those who need to hear the gospel. And if the church tries to shift the focus to the outside, people come in and when they don’t see peace, they want nothing to do with our God. I think that Satan keeps so many pastors busy putting out little fires between the people of the church that they can’t concentrate of God’s command to make disciples. We’ve got to see the bigger picture of what the church is called to be and be at peace with each other so that there is unity in the church and so we can be used by God together to change the world! As long as there is one unsaved soul left outside these walls, we all have a common mission and calling by God to reach the lost. This can’t happen when we don’t have peace.
When someone says something that offends you, choose peace. When you get overlooked for something that you did in the church, choose peace. If you aren’t happy with every little aspect of the service or don’t like the preaching, choose peace! This will make a world of difference in this place and in your life and you will be a peacemaker.
MT 5:9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called sons of God.
So, the gospel of peace is threefold. We have peace with God, we have the peace of God, it’s time that we strive in everything that we do to have peace with others as well. Each aspect strengthens and empowers us to stand when we understand the implications of them in our lives and how we can use this Truth to fend off the attacks of our enemy. There’s another aspect to these shoes though. Paul says that there is a readiness that comes from this gospel of Peace.
II. Readiness
When we put these shoes on, we have to be ready for action. My Jr. year in college, I played the whole soccer season with ingrown toenails in both big toes. My brother had missed some games the year before with this problem and I had laughed at him, an ingrown toenail? How bad could it be? Now I know! They hurt! Both of mine had gotten infected and my toes were a mess. Kicking the ball was agony and if they got stepped on, I felt like I was gonna pass out. But I kept playing. One game, we were up two goals with about 10 minutes to play and my coach took me out. I immediately went to the end of the bench and took off my cleats to get some relief. No sooner had I them off then the other team scored. My coach looked down at me and called my name to go back in and I wasn’t ready. I scrambled to get them back on but my feet had swollen and I couldn’t get them on again. I was being called into the action, I was supposed to be ready, and I wasn’t wearing my shoes so I couldn’t go.
When we have feet that are shod with peace, we need to be ready at a moment’s notice to enter the action. It may look like things are under control and we can just sit back and relax but the Gospel of Peace is filled with calls and commands to action. Don’t put on your shoes and sit on the couch! We look earlier in Ephesians and we see some of the things that we are to be ready for:
EPH 4:14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming.
a. To Stand our Ground
The soldier’s shoes dug in and did not allow them to be pushed back. We need to be ready, as Christians, Paul says to stand our ground. We can’t allow ourselves to be tossed back and forth and blown here and there. What does this mean practically today? We’ve got to learn to defend our faith. We’ve got to learn to stand up for what we believe. Satan wants to convince us that we don’t know enough so we should keep our mouths shut! How are you going to answer the evolution questions? Where do you stand on abortion and why? What does the Bible say about homosexuality? The time is coming in America when the Christian will no longer be able to be passive because we are already coming under fire and its only going to get hotter. We’ve got to strap on our shoes and be ready to stand our ground.
When we used to play tug-of-war at summer camp, the team that won was always the one with the huge guy in the back with the rope around his waist that refused to give up ground. But that wasn’t all he did, once he had established position, he began to move and take new ground. Feet that are fitted with the gospel of peace need to be ready:
b. To Take New Ground
The spikes in the soldiers shoes helped them to push forward and take enemy ground. Paul continues in chapter 4 and says: 15 Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. We are to grow up, we are to be moving forward. The Christian walk can be measured by growth. We are not made to be the same year after year. If you look back at your walk with God last year and you don’t know if you’ve grown or not, there is something wrong. Erin has been organizing old pictures that we have in the house. I sat with her on the couch and began to look through them with her. It is amazing how quickly our children have grown. Each year you can see a huge difference in them. You may not notice it day by day but when you look back, it is so obvious. The Bible says that we are to be like children. Have you ever considered that this is one way that we do that? Kids grow, kids are always learning, Christians are to be no different. We have to learn to take new ground in our spiritual battles.
Finally, we need to be ready to:
c. To Carry the Good News
When the battle was won, a soldier would run as quickly as possible to inform those who needed to know of the good news. The right shoes were vital to this journey. In our lives, one of the functions of these battle shoes is the preparation and readiness to go anywhere that God leads to share this Gospel of Peace with others. We are surrounded by a world that needs the answer that we have, that need the hope that we have, and that needs the peace that we have and yet for so many of us, while the world outside is turning further from God, these shoes sit by the door while we remain unmoved inside. It is estimated that over 95% of Christians have never led anyone else to Christ. When is the last time you shared your faith with someone else?
Romans says 10:13says that "Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved."
But it goes on to say, very logically:
RO 10:14 How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? 15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written, "How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!"
Those beautiful feet are wearing these shoes! Shoes that are ready to go and share. We can’t count on someone else doing it! We are to be ready to share the Truth at every opportunity that God gives us and to anyone that will listen. God will give us chances, but Satan will try and convince us that we have no right to force our beliefs on anyone. That’s one of his greatest achievements, the movement towards tolerance in this world. He’s convinced people that all roads lead to God and that Christians have one way, not The Way. Because of that, we need to keep our beliefs to ourselves. That’s what the world says, do you want to know what God says?
2 Cor 5:20 We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us.
1 peter 3:15 But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect,
We don’t need to cram our beliefs down anyone’s throat, that does no good. We do, however have to understand that we are Christ’s ambassadors, we represent Him and His interests in a hostile world and we need to be ready always to share the good news of God’s love with a lost and dying world. God says in Ephesians 5:16 that we are to make the most of every opportunity. We can only do this when our feet are fitted with the readiness that comes through the gospel of peace and we are ready to go where he sends us and say what he asks us to say.
The two aspects of this armor are the knowledge of the peace and then acting upon that knowledge and being ready and prepared for the battle. Do you remember the old Nike commercials where Michael Jordan would do something amazing and that weird guy would say, “it’s gotta be the shoes?” Well, in our spiritual lives, if we are going to stand our ground and dig in our heels in preparation to move forward, it’s gotta be the shoes.
For some of us it’s time to take off our comfy slippers and have our feet fitted with peace. We have peace with God and are promised the peace of God if we’ll let things go and trust Him. Will you accept that peace this morning and lay down whatever burden it is that you’re carrying? You can have this peace that passes all human understanding. And we can have peace with others, if we make some hard, unnatural choices. We are made to have peace and to experience unity in the Body that is this church. When we have this peace, we need to be ready to stand, ready to grow, and ready to share with all who will listen, that there is but one source of peace in this world and it is found in a relationship with Jesus Christ. This news is much to good to keep to ourselves!
