ARE THOSE DESIGNER SHOES?

In the middle of his teaching on spiritual warfare, the apostle Paul discusses the kind of shoes we should wear. Shoes? Really? Yes, and here’s what he wrote: “As shoes for your feet, having put on the readiness given by the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:15, ESV). As you will discover, these are designer shoes! 

 

As I have mentioned several times, Paul uses the Roman soldier’s armament as an example for the Ephesian church. In this verse Paul is stressing the importance of wearing the right shoes. A Roman soldier’s shoes were a type of sandal with thick soles; nails were driven through and protruded underneath the sole. This is the same principle that is used today with football shoes that have cleats. The nails protruding from the soldier’s sandals provided him with firm footing, whether the ground was wet, dry or uneven. Soldiers would plant their feet and not get easily knocked over when in combat.

When Paul says “put on” shoes, he is telling us to plant ourselves in a firm position so that we can stand and not be knocked over. This is essentially the same principle that Jesus taught in Luke 6:46-49 where He told the story of two men, each building a home on exactly the same type of ground. One man simply leveled the sandy soil and built his house, while the second dug down to bedrock and anchored his house on the rock. Both houses were struck by the same flood and the house not anchored to the rock was immediately destroyed; the house anchored to the rock was battered but stood firm.

Paul is saying to us, “When you plant your feet wearing the right kind of shoes, you are going to stand when the enemy attacks! You may take some blows but you will not be knocked off your feet and out of the battle.”

The goal of the enemy in this great spiritual battle we are in is to keep you from planting your feet firmly. The enemy knows that if he finds you unprepared, he can knock you off your feet and cause you to be virtually ineffective in the battle.

Paul goes on to say, “Put on the readiness.” Some translations use the word preparation rather than readiness. The word readiness means preparation or promptness. We put on our “gospel of peace” shoes and it means that we are making ourselves ready to deal with whatever comes our way.

Now we have to ask ourselves, “What is the gospel of peace?” Is this something different from the regular gospel? The answer is no and Romans 5:1 gives us insight into what Paul is referring to with this phrase.

“Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 

The peace that God gives is a peace that comes from within no matter what is going on around us. It is not an inner calm that is only there when everything around us is quiet and serene. God’s peace means you are at rest even when everything else is going wrong.

The Bible says that the peace of God is so completely different from the peace the world talks about that we often have difficulty understanding it ourselves. “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7). The peace of God will protect you and this is why Paul is instructing us to make sure that the firm foundation our life is built upon is the “gospel of peace.”

The verb rendered guard is a military term. It is a picture of a garrison or a military sentinel “keeping watch over” a city or a fort to maintain peace and protect against attacks. What Paul says to his friends is this: As the result of your prayers, God’s peace will stand like a guard to keep your hearts and minds safe from attacks of worries and anxieties.

It is vitally  important that we have an assurance of our salvation, meaning that we fully understand that the “gospel of peace” is our personal “gospel of peace.” I was amused and befuddled by one of the candidates in this cranky, confusing, pre-presidential election period as he attempted to portray himself as a Christian. He said that he had been a Presbyterian since he was a child. Let me tell you something you need to hear, Mister Loudmouth with the Funny Hairdo. Walking into a barn does not make you a horse or a cow and going to church does not make you a Christian! There will not be any Presbyterians in heaven, or Baptists or Methodists or Pentecostals! Only those who have personally embraced the “gospel of peace” and thereby have been “saved” are going to make up heaven’s population.

“For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” (Romans 10:10). 

When we are assured of our salvation, we have put on our shoes of the gospel of peace and planted our feet on the Rock! The assurance of our salvation is the most important foundation we can ever have!