“Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground…Stand firm then…with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace” (Ephesians 6:13, 15).

The Apostle Paul tells us to put on the full armor of God so that we can be strong in the Lord and his mighty power to stand firm against the devil’s schemes:

1. Put on the helmet of salvation to protect your mind
2. Put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect your heart
3. Put on the belt of truth to protect your character
4. Put on the shoes of the gospel so that you are ready in season and out to proclaim the gospel of peace

What does it mean to stand firm with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace? And, why do shoes even matter? What do shoes have to do with the armor for soldiers?

Why do shoes even matter? Ask any athlete why having the right shoes matters for both the condition of the field and the weather. Wrong shoes and you are at a great disadvantage.

The cost of being ill-prepared in athletics is a loss, in war it meant your life.

Being prepared with the right shoes absolutely mattered in battle.

The Greek literally reads, “and having shod the feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace.”

What in the world does that mean?

The Greek for “fitted” literally means to shod. Shod means to put on shoes.

What kind of shoes are we to put on? The shoes of the readiness of proclamation or the sharing of the gospel of peace.

Note that the proclamation and the sharing of peace doesn’t just happen. It has to be “put” on. The readiness and the preparedness of the proclamation of the gospel is intentional. So when you shod your feet with the readiness of the gospel of peace, it means you start the day prepared and ready to share the gospel of peace. You are heading in to the day with the intention of looking for opportunities to share the gospel of peace with those around you.

The sharing of your faith doesn’t happen by accident. It happens because you are prepared. How can you be prepared?

• Know your story. How did you become a follower of Jesus Christ? What difference has that made in your life?
• Know the story of salvation through Jesus Christ. We are sinners in need of a Savior. God sent Jesus to die for sinners on the cross so that through him all might be saved.

Be prepared. You start the day with the intention to share about the goodness of God. Sharing the good news of Jesus Christ is not accidental. Disciples are prepared to share. Disciples intend to share.

So, does that describe you?

Isn’t time to shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace?

Put it on!

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power…stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist” (Ephesians 6:10, 14).

To be strong in the Lord and his mighty power, put on the full armor of God.

• Start with the helmet of salvation.
• Then the breastplate of righteousness.
• And thirdly, the belt of truth.

What does the belt of truth refer to? What does it mean to put on the belt of truth?

The belt for the Roman soldier had two main functions.

1. The Roman soldier wore a loose garment. The belt functioned to keep the loose garment from being unmanageable. The belt kept the garment together so that it would not get in the way of the soldier when he needed to fight and defend himself.
2. The belt was where he carried his sword.

The belt was not decorative. It was absolutely necessary to keep the soldier battle ready.

What does the belt of truth in the armor of God refer to? It has to do with character. Put on the belt of truth to protect your character.

Character is who you are when no one else is watching.

I appreciate what Mignon McLaughlin says about character. He says, “Character is what emerges from all the little things you were too busy to do yesterday, but did anyway.”

Character is something you commit to before the need for character arises. Character are those values and commitments that you predetermine to be committed to.

By the time you need character, by the time you need the resolve to stand firm, when you are in the midst of a battle with anger, jealousy, rage, lust, etc., it’s too late. That’s not the time you pray and think about whether you should be a person of honor and integrity. These are things that you commit to long before the need for them arises.

How do you put on the belt of truth? You predetermine now who you are, what you stand for, what you live for, and what you will die for long before you find yourself in the midst of a battle to prove your character.

The time to win your battle against anger, jealousy, rage, lust, etc., is before it starts.

That’s your belt of character.

Put it on. The belt of truth.

“Stand firm then…with the breastplate of righteousness in place” (Ephesians 6:14).

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and his mighty power by putting on the full armor of God in order to stand firm.”

First, put on the helmet of salvation to protect your thoughts and your mind.

Second, put on the breastplate of righteousness to protect your heart.

What is the breastplate of righteousness? What is this referring to?

Let’s start with what it is not referring to. The righteousness that we are to put on is not our own. Our righteousness will not get us very far. Can you think of a single day where you refrained from sin? Just one day where you did not harbor sinful thoughts? Just one day…me neither.

Our righteousness will get us nowhere. The breastplate of our righteousness is no protection at all.

The righteousness that Paul refers to is the righteousness of Christ. It is Christ righteousness we are to put on.

Now, that breastplate of righteousness, that is mighty armor. What will save us? What will protect us? Christ and his righteousness. He is our strength. He is our hope. He is our righteousness.

What does Christ’s righteousness protect us from? The breastplate of Christ’s righteousness protects us from ourselves. More specifically, our hearts.

Our society loves the heart. We hear trite phrases like, “Trust your heart.” “Do what your heart tells you.” “Your heart won’t lead you astray.”

One of the reasons our society is as messed up as it is, is because of the heart and our belief in trite phrases like those above.

Listen, church. The heart is not neutral. The heart is not good. The heart is evil. The heart lies. The heart has no morals. The heart has no commitment. If one trusts their hearts and what the heart tells them to do, that is a sure recipe for disaster and devastation.

God says in Jeremiah 17:9, “The heart is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it?”

The heart and its desires consume people. Against reason, against one’s best interest, they who follow their hearts follow after that which they know will destroy them.

The heart and its desires are things which we need to protection from, not things that will guide us.

What can protect us from our hearts? The breastplate of the righteousness of Christ.

Put it on. Remember who you are. Remember who’s you are. Remember how our salvation was purchased. Remember your Savior and his righteousness.

So, put it on. Put on the breastplate of the righteousness of Christ.