54
The
Weaponry We Use (3)
The Sandals
Of The Gospel
(Eph.
6:15)
And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
We come
now to the third piece of God’s armor, the armor that protects us from Satan’s
attacks and arms us for battle.
III. The Sandals of the Gospel
Once
again, let us examine two emphases.
The Physical Piece Of
Armor
This piece
of armor is, indeed, an interesting one. Ponder a moment—it is a
well-established fact that our feet are the most neglected part of our bodies;
most of us abuse our feet terribly and give little thought to them. But to the
soldier, the feet are considered more than most other parts of the body. In
fact, great care and consideration is given to the feet among military
personnel.
My
father-in-law, who was a veteran of the Korean War, once told me that in cold
weather the platoon leader would come around to the men at night and make sure
they took off their socks before getting into their sleeping bags. Failing to
do that caused the feet to sweat, and since the boots would be put on
immediately after the soldier got up the next day, the trapped sweat would then
freeze in the cold and cause frostbite.
Another
illustration is found in the Vietnam War, a war fought under completely
different climate conditions. Because of the extreme humidity and ground water
in Southeast Asia, careful attention had to be given to the feet to prevent
them from literally rotting. The feet had to be aired and powdered periodically
and jungle boots even had ventilation holes so air could circulate.
So, to the
soldier, the feet are of the utmost importance. Without his feet, the soldier
is virtually useless and helpless. Obviously, then, foot care involves
footwear. All of us, for example, wear different kinds of shoes
depending upon the activity in which we are involved: every sport has its
special footwear; work shoes are worn for manual labor, some of which even have
steel toes for added protection; even cowboy boots have a special purpose in
that the pointed toe allows the feet to slip easily in and out of the stirrups,
a fact which helps prevent a foot from getting caught in a stirrup if the
cowboy gets thrown.
Well, the
ancient soldier had his special footwear as well. In general, ancient footwear
consisted of simple sandals or thongs. But the soldier’s sandals were quite
special; they had hobnails embedded in the soles to give traction and to form
an anchor as the soldier would stand and fight. In fact, history shows that the
conquests of Alexander The Great and Julius Caesar were due in great measure to
how well their troop’s feet were shod. This special footwear gave stability in
battle and mobility in travel. That thought leads us to some marvelous
spiritual applications.
The Spiritual
Applications
Let us
note two applications.
First, the Sandals of the Gospel provide
STABILITY. The story is told of the nineteenth century Theo. L. Cuyler, a famous scientist of England, who started
of with two other gentlemen to ascend the Piz Morteratsch, a high and steep
mountain in Switzerland. While they were experienced mountaineers, they still
chose to take along a guide named Jenni, the best guide in that district. After
reaching the summit, they started back, and soon arrived at a steep slope
covered with thin snow. As is often done, they were tied together at the waist
with a strong rope. “Keep carefully in my steps, gentlemen,” said Jenni; “for a
false step here might start the snow, and send us down in an avalanche.” He had
hardly finished his statement when the whole snow field broke loose and began
sliding down the icy mountain side, carrying the climbers with it at a terrible
pace. A steeper slope was before them, and at the end of it a precipice. The
three foremost men were almost buried in the whirling snow and below them were
the jaws of death. Everything depended upon getting a foothold. At that time
Swiss guides wore heavy shoes with sharp spikes in the soles, and Jenni now
desperately drove his crampons into the firm ice beneath the moving snow.
Within a few yards of the precipice, Jenni got a hold with his feet, and was
able to bring the party up all standing, when a few seconds more would have
swept them into the chasm.[1] How important it is that we have the right footwear.
The Greek
word behind preparation is hetoimasia, which appears only here in the New
Testament and means “preparation both in the active sense of ‘making ready’ and
in the passive sense of ‘readiness,’ ‘ability,’ and ‘resolution.’” [2] While it is used in a secular
sense in the Septuagint, it often has a spiritual sense. It refers, for
example, to God’s eternal throne and therefore His nature and being (Ps. 103[102]:19):
“The LORD hath prepared his throne in the heavens; and his kingdom ruleth over
all.” These in-turn are founded upon His righteousness and justice (Ps. 89:14):
“Justice and judgment are the habitation of thy throne: mercy and truth shall
go before thy face.” He has also “founded” the earth, “established” the heavens
(Prov. 3:19; 8:27), “setteth fast” the mountains (Ps. 65[64]:6), and even
“prepareth” rain for the earth (Ps. 147[146]:8). He does all this and much more
because his faithfulness is established in heaven (Ps. 89[88]:2.[3]
This word,
therefore, means more than just “firmness” as some translators render it. The
full idea is that we are ready to do whatever is needed: stand, fight, move,
climb, or whatever. Paul uses another form of the word (hetoimos, ready,
prepared) in Titus 3:1 to exhort believers “to be ready for every good work.”
Our Lord also uses it to challenge us to “be ye also ready: for in such an hour
as ye think not the Son of man cometh” (Matt. 24:44).
Why, then,
does Paul say we must have our feet shod with the “readiness” of the Gospel of peace?
For what purpose? A common misconception is that Paul is speaking of our
readiness to take the Gospel of peace and salvation to others, that is, to
evangelize. The reason for this interpretation is because of Romans 10:15, “. .
.how beautiful are the feet of them that preach the Gospel of peace and bring
glad tidings of good things.” This is actually a quote of Isaiah 52:7, and
since it refers to preaching, then many assume Ephesians 6:15 does also. In
fact, most reference Bibles wrongly list Romans 10:15 as a cross-reference of
our text.
As may
commentators agree, however, Paul is not speaking here of preaching or even
personal witnessing. Rather, as we know, the entire context concerns our
conflict and battle with Satan. So, Paul is saying here that our “readiness”
means to be ready to do whatever is needed because of the Gospel of peace;
it is it that helps prepare us for the battle.
This term Gospel of peace
refers to the good news that believers are, first of all, at peace with
God. As Paul wrote earlier in this Epistle, at one time we were all alienated
from God, dead in sin, and children of Satan (see also Rom. 5:6-10). But,
because we are in Christ, “Therefore, being justified by faith, we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Rom. 5:1). Because we are in Christ,
we are no longer at war with God; Jesus Christ is truly the “eternal peace
treaty.”
Not only
do we have peace with God, but secondly, we have the peace of God.
Let us meditate on Philippians 4:6-7:
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
While
peace with God is judicial, the peace of God is experiential.
No matter what our circumstances may be, no matter what the conflict or
turmoil, we have a peace of mind and heart that the world can never understand.
While the world is in turmoil, we can feel relaxed, assured, and confident.
So, all
that we have seen shows the STABILITY that the Sandals of the Gospel give us.
Truly, one of the greatest needs in Christianity today is stability. Paul
mentions the instability of Christians back in Ephesians 4:14:
That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive.
This
challenging verse shows that the cause of instability is a lack of knowledge of
God’s Word. Instead of being rooted, growing, reproducing plants, many
Christians are more like tumbleweeds; they tumble from one thing to another,
one church to another, one worldly value to another. These folks do not know
what to believe, much less being able to stand on conviction.
May we
add, included in this stability there is a need for balance. Many Christians,
preachers and laymen alike, have what we might call “tunnel vision;” they see
everything only in the light of some “pet doctrine.” This “pet doctrine”
receives their full attention at the expense of all else. For example, in some
circles there is a total emphasis on evangelism with little or no thought about
deep preaching and teaching.
The
opposite is also true; some concentrate only upon scholarship but exercise no
practical outworking in the form of witnessing. Another other example is found
among those to whom the study of prophecy has become an all-consuming subject;
this attitude usually causes a serious inattention to other doctrine and
practice. This type of imbalance is like trying to walk with only one shoe! How
we need to strive for balance in our study and presentation of God’s Word!
Second, the Sandals of the Gospel give us
MOBILITY. Historically, mobility has been a key to successful warfare. Many
agree that Alexander The Great was the first to prove this principle. In only
ten years (334-324 B.C.) he and his armies covered over 3,000 miles,
overrunning most every civilization in their path. Alexander began in Macedonia
(what is today northern Greece) and went some 2,000 miles west to the borders
of modern day India and some 1,000 miles south through Palestine and down to
southern Egypt. The Romans later adopted the same kind of mobility and produced
a giant empire.
One of the
classic examples of mobile warfare is found in the German army of World War II.
France, after World War I, built their “Maginot Line,” a line of concrete
fortifications and a whole underground complex, all connected by tunnels. For
all practical purposes, this defense was impregnable. But the problem was that
the French were still living in the World War I mentality of the trenches,
which called for little mobility. In fact, General Charles DeGaulle warned his
country that it was making a terrible mistake; he predicted years before the
fact that the next war would be a mobile one. Sure enough, in May 1940, the
German “Blitzkrieg” (lightening war) simply went around the Maginot Line and
raced straight across France to the English channel, cutting the country in
half. In seven weeks all of France and the Low Countries were in German hands.
One other
example is found in the Vietnam War. In the early days of the war the marines
were simply torn to shreds until they learned to fight as the Viet Cong did.
The VC would ambush the American soldiers, and before the Americans could even
figure out what direction the attack came from, the VC would simply melt back
into the jungle.
What is
the spiritual application of all this? In many a Christian today there is
little or no vitality, excitement, or enthusiasm, no forward movement in their
Christian living. Oh, how excited folks can get over a football game, a
television program, a school activity, or some outdoor pleasure! And, may we
add, how disgraceful it is when these replace the Lord’s house and work! Often,
indeed, when it comes to God, His Word, and His house, there is little or no
thrill or faithfulness. There can be little doubt that this fact is the major
cause of Christianity’s ineffectiveness nowadays.
Oh, how we
each need to be moving ahead! A battle is not won by standing still. We need to
be moving and gaining ground. We must outflank Satan. The only thing that will
give this movement is the Sandals of the Gospel. May I interject here that we
must disagree with those who say, “As the years pass and as society changes we
must change our tactics and methods; this is what mobility means.” So, to meet
the changes, many use all sorts of gimmicks and programs. Well, times do
change, but there is only one method God wants us to use: the preaching and
teaching of God’s Word, not the things that change with the times.
Dear
Christian, are you stable? Put on the Sandals of the Gospel so you will be
ready, stable, and balanced in your Christian walk. Are you moving? Put on the
Sandals of the Gospel so you can be constantly moving forward in your Christian
walk and warfare.