The Whole Armor of God – Part 3
“Stand therefore . . . having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace . . .” Ephesians 6:15
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It is the third armor in the spiritual armamentarium. Among the spiritual armors, we have offensive and defensive weapons. Even though shoes may have some defensive role, the main purpose of this armor is to captivate the enemy. Its beauty (Romans 10:15) catches everyone’s attention. This “weapon” is our willingness and readiness to share the Gospel. The Gospel of Peace is the Gospel of His Kingdom (Matthew 4:23). Our willingness to share, proclaim and propagate the Kingdom should be the major guiding principle for every move we make! Walking around barefooted but with all the other armor on is little awkward. It not only makes us vulnerable, but it also makes us lose the stability and readiness required in our walk.
We know our adversary uses people around us to defeat and distract us from our God-given purposes. They could be our friends, families, neighbors, coworkers, or the people that we meet in our life journeys. Our willingness to share with them the Gospel of Peace can captivate their hearts. The enemies of the cross are transformed into the proponents of the cross by this Gospel. The Gospel of Jesus Christ (Mark 1:1) is the only armor that can captivate the heart of people and help them to surrender their lives to the Lord. No matter how wicked they are, this Gospel is still the Gospel of Grace (Acts 20:24). You might be walking into a “war zone,” but Romans 10:15 says, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the Gospel of Peace, who bring glad tidings of good things.” Yes indeed, this Gospel changes our foes to friends.
This Gospel that is entrusted to us, is to bring the peace of God into the hearts and minds of people and enable them to have peace with God. Shoes help our walk. As a believer, our every step/move should be motivated to establish His Kingdom –we need to be Kingdom minded. The enemy of our soul has destroyed or handicapped many people since they were found shoeless!
The shoes helps us to tread on the areas which are otherwise difficult to walk. Luke 10:19 writes, “Behold, I give unto you power to tread on serpents and scorpions and over all the power of the enemy, and nothing shall by any means hurt you.” There are evil forces that try to harm you and distract you from the God-given purposes, but our willingness to share the Gospel of His Kingdom changes the situation around us. Paul was in chains in Rome. The enemy might have thought that it was the end of his mission, but Paul could say in Philippians 1:12, “I want you to know, brothers, that what has happened to me has really served to advance the Gospel.” This is why he boldly says in Romans 1:16, “For I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Christ: for it is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth; to the Jew first, and also to the Greek.”
The only way we can live peacefully in this world is through the Gospel of Peace. When we walk in these shoes of readiness to share the Gospel, we are becoming the peacemakers of this world!
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I pray that the Lord may guide, protect and empower you all. Be blessed so you can be a blessing!
Pastor Dr. AK George
Senior Pastor
Ozark Christian Tabernacle
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