The Footwear Of Peace: Do What Makes You Happy Series

THE ARMOR OF GOD AND THE LIES OF THE ENEMY

Footwear of Peace: Do What Makes You Happy

Ephesians 6:10-18

#armorofGod

INTRODUCTION… Rebellion Over Shoes (p)

Growing up I am pretty sure I was a good kid. I do not recall rebelling often against my parents and I obeyed them pretty much. When I was in 5th or 6th grade, my parents and I did have some issues. We had issues over belts and shoes. My dad was of the opinion that if the dress pants had belt loops that a belt should be worn, especially to church. One just did not wear pants without a belt, especially dress pants. That was our first contest of wills in which I lost because in a family parents should be in charge and not the children.

Next, pretty soon after this very ongoing emotional battle, my mother bought for me a pair of the ugliest dress shoes I have ever worn. After some research this week, apparently they are called ‘boat loafers.’ I hate boat loafers. I hate the square laces. I especially hate the little decorative laces on the side. I detest the crunchy rib around the top of the toe. I do not like them at all. I do not like them now and I did not like them then. I will not like them tomorrow.

One morning, getting reading for church, I recall putting on my belt because my dad told me to and I was so angry. “I am wearing a stupid belt and now I am wearing these stupid shoes. I look like a husky clown.” I reached down and pulled the side lacing decorations and broke them. I felt good for about five seconds until I realized I had to walk out of my bedroom with new shoes that I had just trashed. I am pretty sure it was not a good day, but I’m not sure because my mind goes fuzzy once I leave my bedroom. I wore those shoes broken until I grew out of them, which for me, was not long at that stage in my life.

Shoes and I are not usually friends. I was trying to be funny and asked Kelly the other day: “Name three words that describe me shoe shopping.” Her response: “Drawn to ugly.” I am not sure what that means, but shoes and I don’t get along.

SERIES REMINDER

We continue today to look at the Apostle Paul’s metaphor of the armor of God and look at the foundation of the soldier at their ready feet which is verse 15. The Apostle Paul is teaching us about spiritually preparing to live out our faith in our world in Ephesians 6. Verses 10-13 make it very clear that we have an enemy that wars against us physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually and that we need to stand firm against all his schemes which often come to us as lies, deception, false beliefs, worldly philosophies, and even beliefs from other religions.

Before we dig a little further into verse 15 and the Gospel of Peace, I want you to notice how many times we are commanded to be ready. This passage is all about spiritual preparation, but also notice how much of the passage is dedicated to our foundation and remaining firm in the Lord and the struggle we face:

Verse 10: “be strong in the Lord”

Verse 11: “stand against the schemes of the devil”

Verse 12” “wrestle”

Verse 13: “withstand in the evil day”

Verse 14: “stand”

Verse 18: “keep alert”

THE FOOTWEAR

We will read from Ephesians 6 in a moment, but we will be focusing on verse 15 which shares about “shoes for the feet.” Roman soldiers, during the Apostle Paul’s day, wore footwear called “caligae”. These were heavy military sandals which look like a half-boot half-sandal mashup. These sandals were the sign of a fully equipped soldier and someone who was ready for battle. The caligae are pretty heavy-duty with thick hobnailed footwear. They were worn by the lower ranks of Roman soldiers and possibly by some centurions, who were the bosses of 100 men. A common nickname for Roman soldiers was caligati which meant “the booted ones.”

The open nature of the caligae enabled the soldier to wear them all day. They could march or work or stand in them for hours without any discomfort. It was common that soldiers would march 25 miles. Their feet might hurt, but they would have no blisters. The bottom of the caligae most often had thick hobnails or sharp studs which not only would protect the soldier’s feet over rough ground, but could be used in battle to stomp on enemies.

As you can imagine, a soldier’s footwear formed a firm foundation for his military weapons and equipment and all their tactics. Soldiers needed firm footing in order to concentrate on the battle in front of them, beside them, and in dire circumstances… behind them