THE GOSPEL OF PEACE
(Weapon)
(By: Norm Rasmussen)
"And having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;" (Ephesians 6:15)
Proper foot protection is necessary when engaged in war. Let's see exactly what kind of foot protection God is speaking of.
Let scripture interpret scripture. Scripture reads in Romans 10:15:
As it is written: "How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"
The Apostle Paul is quoting this scripture from Isaiah 52:7.
Isaiah reads in it's entirety: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, Your God reigns!"
If one continues to keep reading after Isaiah 52:7, he discovers that scripture is talking about none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. Jesus is the Deliverer of both Israel, and all of mankind.
Jumping back to Romans 10, the Apostle Paul verifies this. Starting with verse 1, it reads:
"Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God."
For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.
For Moses writes about the righteousness which is of the law, "The man who does those things shall live by them."
But the righteousness of faith speaks in this way, "Do not say in your heart, 'Who will ascend to heaven?' " (that is, to bring Christ down from above), or, " 'Who will descend into the abyss?' " (that is, to bring Christ up from the dead).
But what does it say? "The word is near you, even in your mouth and in your heart" (that is, the word of faith which we preach):
That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus Christ and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.
For the scripture says, "Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
For whoever calls upon the name of the Lord shall be saved.
How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach unless they are sent? As it is written:
"How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace, who bring glad tidings of good things!"
God wants you and I to understand that sharing the Good News of Salvation -- sharing the Good News of the Gospel -- that in sharing this Good News, you cannot become righteous enough to please God by your own merits, but rather ... it requires the righteousness of God to satisfy God's demands of becoming righteous enough ... to be granted entry into heaven, and to be granted pardon for our sins, receiving eternal life as your reward.
So ... what has the above got to do with it being a weapon ... surely we must ask ourselves?
Is it supposed to be a defensive weapon or an offensive weapon? Does this spiritual weapon, sharing the Good News of the Gospel of Peace, (whether a defensive weapon or offensive or both), somehow help protect us from satanic attacks?
I'm not sure this is what God is primarily addressing to us Christian disciples, His soldiers. I believe He wants us to realize that as soldiers of His victorious Army, (we are on the winning side, you know!) we are to give people everywhere the Hope that the Salvation message is promised to all who desire to enter into it - to receive true liberty and true spiritual freedom.
If you are a soldier from America in a third world country, most likely sooner or later local residents of where you are assigned will ask you what it is really like living in the freedom and abundance of America. You will tell the positives that they do not enjoy in their country, most likely (if you are a good soldier). God's true disciples are aliens and foreigners to this planet, the Bible tells us. We are God's Ambassadors - God's soldiers - from heaven on assignment, essentially. We are to constantly be looking for opportunities to share the Good News of spiritual freedom and liberty concerning our sins which can be forgiven completely. We are to share with people everywhere that it is impossible to "be good enough by our own efforts" to please God, and to get to heaven. We are to tell people everywhere that no amount of our "doing good" will grant us entry into heaven. Rather, the Good News of being able to get entry into heaven is made available totally free of charge! It is given free of charge by thanking God that we can be given the righteousness of Jesus Christ free of charge, simply by receiving it ... again - free of charge. The righteousness of Jesus Christ - God! - is given free of charge by putting one's trust in Jesus Christ for taking full punishment for their sins when He was put to death on the cross. He took your punishment so you would be free from being punished for your sins. That is Good News indeed!
True disciples of Jesus Christ are to be fighting demonic forces wherever they find themselves on planet earth ... looking for those God puts them in contact with to hear that liberty and freedom is promised in none other than Jesus Christ; the One who not only died for their sins, but gives us His righteousness that is the only righteousness that will ever please God. We don't have to try to tell someone they can earn enough righteousness of their own to please God, because it's impossible anyway.
Thus ... if we are wearing combat boots that are not looking for opportunities to share the Salvation message -- the Good News message -- we better trade those boots or sandals in quickly and get the right kind!
As we move ever closer to end times, I believe God wants us to have the assurance that as we seek constantly for opportunities to help reach lost souls, God will grant us ample protection from both His warring angels, and sensitivity to His Spirit in warning us of evil so we can deal with it accordingly. Serious soul winners need to stay closely in touch with the Holy Spirit for direction on a very frequent basis.
People who are not active soul winners are most likely not active prayer warriors either. People who are not active prayer warriors might just get caught sleeping when the Lord suddenly returns for those who are praying and watching for His return. (Are you watching for His return in prayer often?)
Thus ... I see soldiers of God who are constantly looking for ways to help reach lost souls as using their feet protection as both a defensive weapon and also an offensive weapon. Active soul winning keeps us from becoming dull spiritually. God tells us to be prayerful and stay watching in the end times, because demonic deception is going to become greater and greater. People who are dull spiritually will be the most prone to come under greater spiritual demonic deception, and not even realizing it as they become ensnared by it.
We cannot afford to be (stay) deceived ... not if we want to remain in a state of alert to hear that knock on our door when Jesus shows up suddenly to usher us away to safety when the whole world is going to come under "the hour of trial" God speaks of in Revelation 3:10:
"Because you have kept My command to persevere (in watchful prayer and soul winning?), I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth."
If you are not familiar with what God speaks of when He uses the word "test" ... it almost always has to do with "refining, purging, and purifying." Translation: Pain.
Get yourself a good pair of Gospel of Peace boots and demand that when they bury you, they remain on your feet, like a good Cowboy for Jesus would insist upon.
Dear Reader - are you at peace with God? If not, you can be. Do you know what awaits you when you die? You can have the assurance from God that heaven will be your home, if you would like to be certain. You can even have that assurance RIGHT NOW! Either Jesus Christ died for your sins, or He didn't (He did!). Are you prepared to stand before God on the Judgment Day and tell Him that you didn't need the shed blood of Jesus Christ on the Cross to have your sins forgiven and get in right-standing with God? We plead with you...please don't make such a tragic mistake.
To get to know God, to be at peace with God, to have your sins forgiven, to make certain heaven will be your home for eternity, to make certain that you are in right-standing with God right now ... please click here to help you understand the importance of being reconciled to God. What you do about being reconciled to God will determine where you will spend eternity, precious one. Your decision to be reconciled to God is the most important decision you'll ever make in this life, because in Christ, it is impossible to put a value on the worth of your soul in light of eternity.
PLEASE HELP US HELP YOU SHARE THE BEST NEWS GOD HAS FOR EVERY PERSON BECAUSE...
JESUS DID IT! and...
Remember: All that we do in this life comes back to our God-given purpose which is to serve and glorify God. The money and assets we accumulate, the fame and power we've attained or seek to attain - all of the things of this nature will one day pass away, but those lives of others we impact for Jesus Christ will last for eternity, and we will be rewarded for the part we helped play by impacting those lives ... for eternity. (Matthew 6:19-20 is our assurance)