Introduction

We have been working our way piece by piece through the armour of God. The armour of God is critically important in a Christian life because we are at war. We have been enlisted to become soldiers of Jesus Christ. That is our calling, and as soldiers of the cross, we must be fortified and well-armed because we have a strong and deceptive enemy.  Here in Ephesians, Paul exhorts us to be strong and courageous. But the only way we can be strong and courageous is in the Lord. Christian life is full of paradox. In our spiritual warfare, the paradox is that the weaker we are, the stronger we are. It is those who tried to be strong in themselves who are in reality so weak.

2 Corinthians 12:10 Therefore I take pleasure in infirmities, in reproaches, in necessities, in persecutions, in distresses for Christ's sake: for when I am weak, then am I strong.

The weaker we are, the more we rely upon Him and the stronger we become. If we are to win this spiritual battle we have to completely rely on the Lord and put on the armour that He has provided for us as soldiers of the cross. We must put on the whole armour of God, that is, each and every piece. This is the only way we could stand.

We begin by putting on the belt of truth. We must wrap our minds with truth like a belt. Everything begins here. Everything begins with truth. We must know the truth, we must believe the truth, we must love the truth and we must meditate upon the truth. Then we must put on the breastplate of righteousness. It is not enough to know, believe, love the truth and meditate upon the truth, we must practice the truth. We must live the truth. We must have  practical righteousness. It is living out the truth in daily living. When we do not live the truth, when we live in hidden or open sin we are giving the devil a place in our lives. And so we must have breastplate of righteousness at all times.

We now come to the third piece of the armour — the shoes of the gospel of peace.

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

"Your feet shod" means literally to bind under and thus means to bind under one's feet and so put on shoes or sandals.

In the ancient days, shoes were used to protect the feet but now they have become a fashion item. Also, today we have shoes for every kind of sport. Every sport requires a different shoe. There are basketball shoes, football shoes, tennis shoes, golf shoes, track and field shoes, and etc.

For an athlete to win a gold medal in the Olympics it is important that he wears the proper shoes. If it is important for an athlete fighting for a gold medal to have the proper footwear, how much more if you were fighting for your life. 

The shoes of the gospel of peace - what is it,  why is it important to have it on, and how do we put it on? To understand this piece of the armour we need to look at the physical shoes, then look at its spiritual significance and then draw some practical applications and admonitions.

I - The Physical Shoes

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

The ancient Rome was well known for many things, particularly for their military might. Rome was the superpower of their day. One of the reasons for the success of the Roman soldiers was the military shoes that Julius Caesar had made and given to his soldiers. They were able to go on long marches because of these shoes. They were able to march quickly across rough terrains because of these shoes. And overtake the enemy suddenly not anticipating that they could encroach upon them quickly. It was these shoes that made the Roman army dreaded army on the earth because of their invincible power. Take away their shoes and you would have taken away their success.

The Roman soldiers wore heavy shoes or sandals. The soles were several layers thick rough leather which were pulled up and laced around the ankle. They are about 3/4 inch thick of the rough and tough leather. In addition, small spikes or iron hobnails were often driven into the soles of the shoes in order to give firm footing on uneven terrain and in order to give them the ability to dig in and not be pushed back.

It is the soldier's shoes that enables him to march to the battlefield. Without proper shoes no soldier can even make it to the battlefield. But if he makes it to the battlefield even without the proper shoes, he will not be able to stand firm against the enemy. Without the proper footwear he would be so easily pushed back and too easily defeated. 

In a war, protecting your feet is important. You can sustain injuries to your arms, our your shoulders, your elbows, and your hands and you can still function and move but if you injure your feet, you are not able to move and march.

Today we have mine fields to trap approaching armies. But in ancient battle, they would plant sticks in the ground which had been sharpened to a point, burying them just beneath the surface of the ground so that they could not be easily seen. This tactic was potentially debilitating to the enemy because, if the soldier's foot was pierced, he could not walk and if he could not walk, he clearly could not fight. 

And so in order to protect themselves the Roman soldiers would wear shoes or sandals that had a heavy sole so that it could not be pierced.

I hope you get the picture that how vitally important the shoes are to any soldier in ancient times in conflict. In order to stand firm the soldier must have have secure footing and protected feet. Many wars have been lost because soldiers did not have adequate shoes. 

II -  The Spiritual Shoes

The soldier's footwear is absolutely essential for victory, no shoes, no victory and the same is true in our spiritual lives.

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

What is this spiritual shoes? To help us understand what this spiritual shoe is, let us look at three words - preparation, gospel, and peace.

1. Preparation

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

Our feet are to be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. This simply means we should be ready, equipped and properly shod for the battle. 

The word preparation implies that it is done before the battle. Preparation is not done during the battle. You cannot wait until you are in the middle of the battle and you are being pushed around. Preparation is what you do to get ready for the conflict, before the enemy attacks. If you are not prepared for the battle you will be defeated. We must be now equipped, like a soldier equipped and trained with the gospel of peace as we live our lives in the hostility of this world.

2. Gospel

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

What is the Gospel? The word gospel is translated from the Greek word evangelion, and it means "good news" or "good tidings." What is the good news? The word "peace" gives us a hint.

3. Peace

Ephesians 6:15 And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace; 

The good news is peace. It is a gospel of peace. It is the good news of peace. It is a message of peace. A message of reconciliation.

To appreciate this good news of peace, we must understand and recognize the true condition of man before God and Paul gives us a summary of our condition in Romans chapter five.

Weak

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 

Ungodly

Romans 5:6 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 

Unrighteous

Romans 5:7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 

Sinners

Romans 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 

Condemned (Objects of wrath)

Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

Enemies

Romans 5:10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. 

The Gospel is that man is weak, ungodly, unrighteous, sinful, condemned and enemies of God, deserving the righteous judgment of God, but God Himself did something wonderful and gracious to change all that!

Romans 5:9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 

When we were weak, the Almighty died for us. When we were ungodly, the Holy One died for us. When we were unrighteous, the Righteous One died for us. When we sinners, the Sinless One died for us. When we were objects of wrath, the Beloved One died for us. When we were enemies, the Son of God died for us.

Romans 5:1 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: 2: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. 

Man was at war with God, but Christ made peace. Because of what Christ has done — "we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ." 

That is the Gospel. The Gospel is that man and God were at war. Man is an enemy of God, but Jesus Christ comes, and makes peace a reality. That is the good news. The good news is that you are at peace with God. If you accepted His terms of peace, you are now reconciled to God. God is no longer against you, instead He is for you. And if God is for you who can be against you!

Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is what we will make us stand firm. Satan our great enemy would bring doubt and rebellion and death, but the whole gospel brings assurance and peace and life. The devil will push you around and the only way you can stand your ground is to have the shoe of the gospel of peace on. The devil may come against us all he wants with all his attacks and accusations and deceptions, but if our feet our shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, if we have our shoes deeply anchored on the solid gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, the devil cannot push us back. We will hold our grounds.

III -  The Practical Admonition

The gospel is not only critical for our conversion, but also for our conquest as well. If we want to experience the reality of being more than conquerors we are to have our feet shod with the gospel of peace.

1. Be continuously learning

We must be ever growing in the knowledge and understanding of the gospel of peace. Ever and always be a student of the cross, learning of His grace. We will be more effective the more we are properly equipped. It is a firm and solid knowledge of the gospel that will help stand firm against the assault of the enemy.

2. Be fully persuaded

We must be fully persuaded of the truth of the gospel.

Acts 4:12 Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved.

John 14:6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.

1 Timothy 2:5 For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus; 6: Who gave himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time.

2 Corinthians 5:18 And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; 19: To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. 20: Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 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.

A solid belief and grounding in the gospel of peace brings hope and peace to a Christian's life.

3. Be constantly ready

We must live with the gospel shoes on. Wherever we go in the world we must be dressed and ready.

1 Peter 3:15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear: 16: Having a good conscience; that, whereas they speak evil of you, as of evildoers, they may be ashamed that falsely accuse your good conversation in Christ.

Be always ready to share the good news to others. Be always ready to speak about Jesus Christ and the peace He offers.

To those who have not made peace with God, understand that you are an object of God's holy anger and wrath. If you have not made peace with God you are still under the just condemnation of God. But you do not have to stay in that awful condition. God offers you His peace. He offers you His terms of peace. You can have the peace He offers but you have to receive it on His terms. God's terms of peace is the peace that has been won through the death of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. He who knew no sin, won the victory at Calvary's cross. He defeated the devil. He defeated death. He defeated our sin. And now He offers this victory to you.

You may receive it by faith with an empty hand receive it by faith and His victory shall be your victory. Would you not believe this day and enter into His peace that He has secured?

AMEN!