The Revivalists: Shoes Of The Gospel Of Peace
Ephesians 6:10-18 (NIV)
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.”
When Roman soldiers wore shoes, they would wear them for long periods of time. It was really comfortable, airy and dry, so that you wouldn’t get blisters on them. Not only that, these shoes often had studs at the bottom. If they were climbing hills, terrain, or standing on rocky ground, these pointy metal studs on their shoes helped them stand firm on the ground without slipping. The nature of these studs also allowed it to be used as a weapon when needed. These shoes didn’t just take them places, it could be used against the enemy.
Illustration of a Roman soldier armoury
When Paul talks about the shoes of gospel of peace, it translates to mean good news or our salvation. Just like the shoes, the gospel should be functional in our lives. It not only helps us stand firm, but also to be used as a weapon of attack against the enemy. When you share the gospel to others, you attack the plans of the enemy. When someone chooses to accept Jesus, we’ve taken away from the enemy and what belongs to God is returned to Him. It truly is our responsibility to bring the shoes of the gospel of peace wherever we go! You may be in family gatherings, at your office, in your own home, and when peace leaves the room, you can put on your shoes of the gospel of peace!
I was watching a movie about Billy Graham with my sons and I was really taken aback at his encounter with the Lord. He went to Bible college and out of curiosity, he learned about evangelism and about the evangelists. As he pursued the subject, he grew to have such a heart for people. There was a point in the movie where he was witnessing to a guy on the side of the road and shared the gospel with him. The guy fell into his arms and started crying! Billy Graham was truly a man that wore the shoes of the gospel of peace. He went into presidents’ offices and stadiums, he went into houses, streets and took those shoes everywhere he went.
Billy Graham (1918-2018)
There are people who have tried to gather a count and it is believed that he was able to reach over 2 billion people worldwide during his lifetime, with millions of them deciding to follow Christ. He understood the impact that is made when a whole army understands the responsibility to share Christ with everyone! It’s a great story to remind ourselves and to encourage us to stand on the solid rock of our salvation, asking the Lord to bring someone across our path so we can share the Good News!
Coming up next: The Revivalists: Helmet Of Salvation
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*Extracted from ‘The Dresscode’ sermon by Jemima Varughese
Jemima is married to Mark and leads Kingdomcity Communications Ltd. They have two sons, Zeke and Caleb.