Mars Hill Fellowship

Footwear for Life

SERIES |

Be Strong in the Lord

SCRIPTURE |

Ephesians 6:10-15

SPEAKER |

Pastor Joseph Ardayfio

KEY THEME |

I.  In Ephesians 6, the Apostle Paul describes six pieces of armor that the believer must wear. The third piece of armor is feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

1. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place. ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace.

II.   Why was the Apostle Paul concerned with what we wear on our feet?

1. The feet bear the weight of the body. With a normal gait, the forces from the ground are absorbed by our feet each time we take a step. Our feet help us adapt to different terrain like grass, dirt, concrete, etc.
2. The Roman soldier protected his feet with sandals having thick leather soles embedded with hobnails or bits of rock for increased traction. The sandals were tied to the feet with numerous leather straps.

III. Footwear is associated with action and movement. The choice of footwear is unimportant if someone remains stationary. However, for those who are responding to the call to action, they pay careful attention to their choice of footwear.

1. Some Christians never reach the fullness of their calling because they have chosen the wrong footwear for the Christian life.
2. The New Living Translation says, “For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

IV. The scheme of the enemy is to destroy our peace with God, our peace with others and our inner peace. The enemy is on mission to distort or shatter the harmony that should exist in lives.

V.  We can understand the importance of having our feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace in three concepts: peace; the gospel of peace; and fitting our feet with readiness.

VI.  1 – What is peace?

1. Peace in Scripture has several dimensions. The concept stems from peace with God, which allows inner peace, and which overflows into interpersonal peace.
2. Shalom, or peace be unto you, was a common greeting in the Old Testament. It was meant to act as a blessing on the one to whom it was spoken: May your life be filled with health, prosperity, and victory. As an adjective, it expressed completeness and safety.
3. The opposite of peace is anxiety, worry, stress, strife, or indebtedness.
4. Peace is made possible through the elimination of hostility.

VII. 2 – What is the significance of the Gospel of Peace?

1. ROMANS 1:16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God that brings salvation to everyone who believes: first to the Jew, then to the Gentile.
2. The peace that we have from God allows us to freely enjoy the way that He has created us, the world that he has placed us in, and the people that he has created.
1. 2 Corinthians 5:17 tells us that God reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation. God did this by not counting people’s sins against because of the eternal sacrifice of Christ on the Cross of Calvary. This means that we are forgiven by God.
2. The peace that we have with God allows us to walk in peace with others.
1. EPHESIANS 2:12 reminds us that “13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ. 14 For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,15 by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace, 16 and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. 17 He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. 18 For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.”
3. Our peace is secured through God’s forgiveness.
1. MATTHEW 6:14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
2. COLOSSIANS 3:12-13 Put on then, as God’s chosen ones, holy and beloved, compassion, kindness, humility, meekness, and patience, bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive.

V.  3 – How do we fit our feet with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace?

1. Putting on peace is a choice that we have to make on a daily basis. Peace is a spiritual weapon that God provides for us to be able to endure through the schemes of the enemy
2. JOHN 16:33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
3. The first thing that the Roman soldier understood was that the proper footwear was necessary to advance
1. The soldier had to advance against traps set along the path. Gall-traps, multitudes of sharp sticks were inserted on the surface of the road, keen as dagger points, were set to obstruct the advance of an enemy, and to maim his soldiers and compel them to fall out
2. The peace of God protects us against the enemies schemes along the path of life. We cannot control what the enemy places in our path but we can be equipped with the right footwear to defend against whatever comes our way.
3. Putting on the proper footwear for life means that we live by a life of forgiveness. Our forgiveness towards us dulls out the impact of those things which were intended to maim or hurt us. Forgiveness eliminates bitterness
4. Unforgiveness is like taking off our shoes and walking on a glass and rock filled street. We only hurt ourselves.
4. The second thing that the soldier understood was that the proper footwear was necessary while engaged in battle
1. The sandals had soles embedded with hobnails or bits of rock for increased traction. Footwear without traction cause us to slip or, at best, make no progress.
2. Without the gospel of peace, we go from experience to experience but we never truly live in the eirene (Gk peace) life that God intended for us: The life of peace with God, ourselves and with others.
3. Satan wants us to live in a constant state of hurt, shame and hostility but God is our peace.

Sermon: Footwear For Life