Ephesians 6:15 - The Shoes of the Gospel

Paul is drawing from thepicture of a Roman soldier. The Roman soldier wore strong sandals—oftenreinforced and fitted with hobnails. Those nails gave him traction andstability in battle. A soldier could not stand, advance, or fight effectivelyif his feet were slipping or injured. And spiritually speaking, if our feet arenot protected, we will not stand very long. The Gospel gives us firmfooting and a key word in this verse is “preparation.” And that is exactly what weneed in spiritual warfare: stability, firmness, and confidence. So manybelievers fall—not because they do not love the Lord—but because their footingbecomes unstable. They are shaken by fear, doubt, temptation, ordiscouragement. And often because of unconfessed sin in their lives their feethave gotten dirty with the world. Remember Jesus washed the feet of thedisciples in John 13 signify the need of forgiveness.  Paul also calls it the “gospelof peace” because the Gospel brings peace in every direction. First, it brings peacebetween God and man. Romans 5:1 says, “Therefore being justified by faith,we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” One of Satan’sfavorite weapons is accusation. He wants believers to doubt their standing withGod. He wants to disturb their conscience and rob them of assurance. But theGospel settles the greatest issue of all: our relationship with God. ThroughJesus Christ, we have peace with God. That means we do not have to fear thedevil, and we do not have to fear men. We belong to Christ. Second, the Gospelbrings peace within our hearts. Even when life is difficult, the believer canstand with confidence because we are resting in Christ. Third, the Gospelbrings peace with one another. This is important because Satan loves division.If he can destroy peace among believers, he can weaken the church. These shoes also remind usthat our feet must be protected everywhere we go. There are places Christiansshould not go. There are doors we should not walk through unless God is sendingus there and we are walking in the protection of His armor. The temptations aretoo great otherwise. But wherever we do go, we must go as soldiers of the Kingand ambassadors for Christ. This verse also speaks ofreadiness. We are not only called to stand—we are called to go. Jesus gave ourmarching orders in Matthew 28:19-20: “Go ye therefore, and teach allnations… and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world.” Myfriend, the world is full of people who have never heard the Gospel clearly.Lost men and women are held in the grip of Satan. Surely there is someone towhom we can go with the Gospel of peace. And that brings us back to that word “preparation.”Many believers shrink back from Christian service because they do not feelprepared. But preparation matters. Jesus spent years training His disciples.Paul often traveled with young men and trained them for ministry. And in thesame way, each of us must learn Scripture, grow in our faith, and learn how toshare the Gospel. A Christian does not become effective overnight—we growthrough obedience, service, and dependence on the Holy Spirit. These shoes as protectionagainst traps laid in the path—sharp sticks and hidden snares meant to stop anarmy. That is exactly what Satan does. He lays traps to hinder our walk, tostop our progress, and to wound our feet so we cannot stand. But when our feetare shod with the preparation of the Gospel of peace, we can walk steadily—evenwhen the path is difficult. When we join God in the publicationof the Gospel we have this wonderful promise in Isaiah 52:7: “How beautifulupon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that publishespeace…” Paul quotes this again in Romans 10:15, reminding us that Goddelights in the believer who carries the Gospel.Satan declares war, but youand I are ambassadors of peace. 2 Corinthians 5:18-21 tells us we have beengiven the ministry of reconciliation.