The Shoes of Peace
Today we come to the third item in the ‘Armour of God’ as described by the Apostle
Paul in his letter to the Church at Ephesus…. “Stand firm then……………….with
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
As a historian with a keen interest in military history, I am well aware of the
prowess of the Roman army and its great leaders whose strategies, tactics and
exploits are still taught to 21st century officers in military academies across the world.
Well trained, disciplined and led, the sheer professionalism of its legions enabled Rome
to conquer and hold most of the known world 2,000 years ago.
Roman soldiers were well armed and equipped from head to toe. While most Roman
civilians wore thin sandals, soldiers had special footwear which time after time
proved to be a decisive factor on the battlefield. Indeed some historians credit
the military successes of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to their
soldiers’ feet being well enough shod to enable them to undertake long marches
over seemingly difficult terrain at speed.
The soldier wore the caliga, a thick-soled, hob-nailed, half-boot with
leather straps tightly tied round the ankle. Studding with metal nails gave him
stability in all forms of terrain. Good footwear ensured a firm footing when
charging forward in battle and helped him to hold his ground and make quick
moves without slipping, sliding and falling.
What then does the Apostle Paul mean when he says that believers should “Stand
firm then……………….with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace.”
The author John Piper writing on his website at www.desiringgod.org sheds some light on the
‘gospel of peace’: “Sometimes commentators point out how strange it is that Paul
should mention a gospel of peace right in the middle of a passage dealing with
spiritual warfare and conflict and armour. But it isn't strange is it? The aim
of our warfare is that people would accept the terms of peace that God holds
out, namely, faith in Jesus. And the only reason there is any conflict at all is
because the power of sin and the powers of Satan are dead set against making
peace with God.”
The Apostle Paul’s analogy here is one of having our feet shod so that we can resist
Satan and stand firm when we are attacked. In ‘military-speak’ believers are to
stand firm, hold their position and not run away. In order to do that their feet
need to be both protected and equipped to keep from slipping.
In his Epistle to the Romans the Apostle gives this wonderful assurance to
believers under pressure: “And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be
against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up
for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No
one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the
right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:“For
your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
Standing firm with, ‘feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’,
true believers in 21st century Scotland are more than conquerors.
Today we come to the third item in the ‘Armour of God’ as described by the Apostle
Paul in his letter to the Church at Ephesus…. “Stand firm then……………….with
your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.”
As a historian with a keen interest in military history, I am well aware of the
prowess of the Roman army and its great leaders whose strategies, tactics and
exploits are still taught to 21st century officers in military academies across the world.
Well trained, disciplined and led, the sheer professionalism of its legions enabled Rome
to conquer and hold most of the known world 2,000 years ago.
Roman soldiers were well armed and equipped from head to toe. While most Roman
civilians wore thin sandals, soldiers had special footwear which time after time
proved to be a decisive factor on the battlefield. Indeed some historians credit
the military successes of Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to their
soldiers’ feet being well enough shod to enable them to undertake long marches
over seemingly difficult terrain at speed.
The soldier wore the caliga, a thick-soled, hob-nailed, half-boot with
leather straps tightly tied round the ankle. Studding with metal nails gave him
stability in all forms of terrain. Good footwear ensured a firm footing when
charging forward in battle and helped him to hold his ground and make quick
moves without slipping, sliding and falling.
What then does the Apostle Paul mean when he says that believers should “Stand
firm then……………….with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the
gospel of peace.”
The author John Piper writing on his website at www.desiringgod.org sheds some light on the
‘gospel of peace’: “Sometimes commentators point out how strange it is that Paul
should mention a gospel of peace right in the middle of a passage dealing with
spiritual warfare and conflict and armour. But it isn't strange is it? The aim
of our warfare is that people would accept the terms of peace that God holds
out, namely, faith in Jesus. And the only reason there is any conflict at all is
because the power of sin and the powers of Satan are dead set against making
peace with God.”
The Apostle Paul’s analogy here is one of having our feet shod so that we can resist
Satan and stand firm when we are attacked. In ‘military-speak’ believers are to
stand firm, hold their position and not run away. In order to do that their feet
need to be both protected and equipped to keep from slipping.
In his Epistle to the Romans the Apostle gives this wonderful assurance to
believers under pressure: “And we know that in all things God works for the good
of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.
For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to
the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be
against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up
for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?
Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen?
It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No
one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the
right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall
separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or
famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written:“For
your sake we face death all day long; we are considered as sheep to be
slaughtered.”
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,
neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither
height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us
from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our
Lord.”
Standing firm with, ‘feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace’,
true believers in 21st century Scotland are more than conquerors.
