Feet of Peace
Peace is something that is hard to find today. It is true that the world will tell you that peace no longer exists with so many different sides against each other. There is so much fear and anger out there that we often forget that we do have peace in this world. However, while the world claims that it can give you peace, we see time and time again how wrong that is, for true peace can only be found in Jesus Christ. As we begin our study in the armor of God, it is important to start at the base of the foundation which is “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace” Ephesians 6:15.
If you are like me, before going out for the day you will check to see what the weather is like to make sure that you are wearing the proper shoes. This aspect of being prepared for the day applies as well to the armor of God. In this case, the shoes that you must wear are the shoes of the Gospel of Peace. The Gospel is called the Gospel of Peace not in that it unites everyone, for in many cases it divides people as seen in Matthew 10: 35 “35 For I came to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; “ if we have family members who do not belong to the family of God, it is often times a dividing factor. The Gospel is hard to understand if you do not have the Holy Spirit to guide you and to teach you. 1 Corinthians 2:14 “14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit.” So if it is not uniting everyone together, then how can the Gospel be called the Gospel of Peace?
It is because the Gospel unites sinful man with Holy God. It is with Jesus Christ that we find true and perfect peace. When we accept that Jesus died for us, that He rose again, and is sitting at the right hand of God interceding for us today, then we receive the Holy Spirit. It is through the Holy Spirit that we are convicted, and it is how we learn to understand the Scripture. The Holy Spirit allows us to be seen as righteous to God and therefore, we are no longer at war with Him. We can then receive the peace that He offers. It is a peace much better than what the world offers! Christ broke down the wall that separated us from God by His actions on the cross. He has united us with the God of Peace. “14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility”. Ephesians 2:14
By wearing the shoes of the Gospel of Peace we have a firm foundation in what the Scripture says. This means that we will not be swayed by what the world tells us. I can think of one aspect of this happening in my own life. If you have read my introduction, than you will know that before I became a believer in Jesus Christ, I attended a church that told me to apologize to the men for bringing sin into the world as a woman like Eve. With no doubt this was not taken well by me but because I did not have a firm foundation in the scripture, I could not rebuke those in leadership who were pushing something that is not Biblically sound. So instead I left the church and thought I was leaving God behind. Thankfully, God was not done with me and instead placed friends in my life who were able to show Biblically what it meant to be a Christian, one of these friends also turned out to be my husband who has continually encouraged me to bring everything back to Scripture and has helped me to have a deeper understanding of God.
The point of this story is that without a firm foundation in the Scripture, we are easily swept away from God. We all need to be thankful that God does not chose to let us wander away, but will come after us “4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it?” Luke 15:4. Now it is easy to see how a non-believer can be swept away with so many unbiblical teachings around today, but how does this affect the born-again believer? If we fail to put on the feet of peace, not having a firm foundation in the Scripture, then we are still putting ourselves at risk for what the enemy would say. Look back into Genesis 3, the serpent simply asked Adam and Eve a question which caused them to doubt God and sin. For a believer to be truly at peace we must understand the Gospel is our only source of assurance in this life, without Jesus Christ at the helm we are lost. Each part of the armor of God is vital but for those who wear the shoes of peace, they have a clear distinction when the rest of the world screams in dismay they have a solid rock to stand on.
When we as believers do not have a firm foundation in what the Scripture says about the Gospel, then we are allowing the enemy to twist things. This is how ideology that salvation comes from works and not by faith alone have been formed as well as many other ideologies that do not agree with what the Gospel says. When we fail to put on the feet of peace, then we leave ourselves open to a spiritual attack. History tells us that in any war there is mass confusion, yet God in His wisdom and understanding that in this spiritual battle we as believers need to be unified. When soldiers march in columns they are in lockstep cohesion, as Christians we need to have our shoes of the Gospel of Peace readily on so that we can stay united and moving in the direction that Christ wants us moving. Soldiers are always focused on keeping their feet ready for whatever war demands, part of that is the careful preparation and selection of boots, likewise as Christians we need to be focused on the Gospel to which will ready us for any demand that this spiritual war may send our way.
In previous blogs, we have seen that the peace that God offers is not the same as what the world offers. We as believers should be grateful that it is different for the peace that the world offers is hardly peace at all, especially with what we are seeing now. While God’s peace is different it does not mean that we will not face trials. “33 These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”” John 16:33. We can have peace in our tribulations because God has overcome the world. “16 Now may the Lord of peace himself give you peace at all times and in every way. The Lord be with all of you.” 2 Thessalonians 3:16. Christ is not only truth, but He is peace and grants us His peace in every circumstance. The more time we spend reading His Word, the more we understand our God who is a God of peace. This allows us to build that firm foundation in the Scripture.
So why then do we need to put on the feet of peace? It is a preparation act, when you are preparing something it means that you are getting ready. In the case of the armor of God, you are preparing for a spiritual battle, a battle that will go on around you weather or not you are aware. How you face that battle depends entirely on your preparation, which is why Paul states that you must put on the Gospel of Peace. This part of the armor allows us to have the peace that only God can offer, with firmly having the Gospel of Jesus Christ, a believer is able to not only be on God’s side but will be able to be used by God when and how He desires to use us in this world. If you stand firm in the Gospel then peace can be found, if not then you will be swept away by the fears and worries of this world. “31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us?” Romans 8:31
Seek the Truth and encourage one another,
Alex