Ephesians 6:15 tells us that after we girt our loins with the TRUTH, and after we don the Breastplate of Righteousness, (God's, not ours) we are commanded to put on our foot gear.
We are not told to shod our feet with the Gospel of Peace....
Rather we are told to shod our feet with the "preparation of" the gospel of peace.
These are two completely different things.
Those who teach that we should shod our feet with the gospel of peace often misrepresent what this means and preach an unscriptural gospel of peace, love, and unity at the expense of contending for the faith. The Bible does not teach that, and Jesus never taught it. In fact, Jesus said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword...
When he comes the second time, he will bring peace, but only after he militarily defeats all of his enemies.
So what in the world does it mean to shod our feet with the "preparation of..." the gospel of peace?
Here it is in a nutshell:
Always "be prepared" to tell the good news of man's peace with God.
Are we always prepared to share Christ?
We are not told to shod our feet with the Gospel of Peace....
Rather we are told to shod our feet with the "preparation of" the gospel of peace.
These are two completely different things.
Those who teach that we should shod our feet with the gospel of peace often misrepresent what this means and preach an unscriptural gospel of peace, love, and unity at the expense of contending for the faith. The Bible does not teach that, and Jesus never taught it. In fact, Jesus said that he did not come to bring peace but a sword...
When he comes the second time, he will bring peace, but only after he militarily defeats all of his enemies.
So what in the world does it mean to shod our feet with the "preparation of..." the gospel of peace?
Here it is in a nutshell:
Always "be prepared" to tell the good news of man's peace with God.
Are we always prepared to share Christ?
If we are not always prepared to tell the good news of man's peace with God, then there is a serious gap in our armor. That is the messages the angels were broadcasting the night Christ was born.
Glory to God! Peace on earth! Good Will to men!
The "peace" on earth they were referring to, is only available through Christ, who was born that night. Personal peace comes only through the good news of Messiah's death, his burial, and his resurrection. Only when we know Jesus personally, by being born again, can we hope to have peace with God. The death, burial, and resurrection of Christ will also ultimately bring peace to the entire earth.
1 Corinthians 15:1-4 is the gospel. The good will the angels referred to, on the night Christ was born, is the demonstration of a love so powerful that God made a way to allow mankind (who had been a natural enemy of God ever since the Fall) to come close to Him, and to have peace with Him--again--through the blood of Jesus' cross (Colossians 1:20-22).
God's will towards all mankind is only good.
Shodding our feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace is part of our armor and victory against a foe much stronger than we can ever hope to be apart from Christ and the supernatural weapons he gives us.
There are those who shamelessly ridicule soul winners as spiritually deficient and undeveloped as Christians. They are accused of being the lowest, most pathetic of all among the Body of Christ. But soul winning is a critical part of successful spiritual warfare and personal victory when under any kind of enemy attack. Aside from an evil desire to keep people from eternal life, no wonder the enemy fights so hard against soul winning.
The scriptures say, "They that win souls are wise." It is no coincidence that soul winning is listed among the top three pieces of the Armour of God. God arms us strategically. He is out to give us the greatest advantage possible.
By following his instructions, we not only get an edge over enemy maneuvers--we WIN.
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