The Readiness Given by the Gospel of Peace

Ephesians 6:14-18a
February 23, 2020
Abraham Hong

Sermon Script

When we were little kids, few things were better than the experience of getting a brand new pair of shoes. I remember the joy of visiting stores on the weekends and going through boxes and sitting on benches. I remember the feeling of wearing new shoes to school. And I remember doing my best to keep them super clean. There is something special about getting a brand new pair of shoes.

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Because he saves you, he loves you, and he has given you a brand new pair of shoes. A pair of shoes that protects you and gives you strength as you stand firm in the full armor of Christ and wait for his imminent return.

There is something very special about your new pair of shoes. It brings to mind, and it is connected to, the shoes and the feet of your King.

Your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is the Prince of Peace who has reconciled you to God the Father. You were once an enemy of God. But not anymore. You have the ultimate peacemaker who lived and died and rose again… in order to remove your sin against him, in order to restore your fellowship with him, in order to rout the enemy of the Devil and the enemy of death, in order to reign over all things forevermore.

He was pierced for your transgressions; he was crushed for your iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought you peace, and with his wounds you are healed (Isaiah 53:5). And now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is your peace. For he came and preached peace to you (Ephesians 2:13-14, 17). He made peace by the blood of his cross (Colossians 1:19-20).

All of this was his war. He went to war for you. He fought to save you. And he did it with his shoes - shoes that are of his readiness… of his gospel… of his peace.

Praise be to our Lord Jesus Christ! And thanks be to God for his feet. In the realm of sports, in almost any kind of athletic warfare, footwork is huge. Whether you’re a quarterback in the National Football League or a quarterfinalist in next week’s table tennis tournament, you get so much agility and balance and effectiveness from good footwork. If your feet are not ready, you won’t be ready. If your feet don’t go, you won’t go. Good footwork is important for victory.

Brothers and sisters, take a good look and marvel at Jesus’ footwork. The Bible describes his victory very vividly as a putting of his enemies underneath his feet. According to Hebrews 1:13 and Psalm 110:1, Jesus’ enemies are a footstool for his feet. His enemies are judged and shattered underneath his feet. With his feet, he crushes his enemies with sovereignty and authority and majesty and supremacy. And listen to the word of the Lord from 1 Corinthians 15:24-27. “Then comes the end, when he delivers the kingdom to God the Father after destroying every rule and every authority and power. For he must reign until he has put all his enemies under his feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death. For “God has put all things in subjection under his feet.” This is the footwork of the King.

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The feet that was washed by the tears and the hair and the ointment of the sinful woman is the same feet that was proclaimed in Genesis 3:15 to crush the head of the offspring of the serpent. And so though the Pharisees accused the sinful woman and condemned her in the spirit of the enemy, Jesus overruled their words, he put their words underneath his feet, and he said to the sinful woman, “Your sins are forgiven. Your faith has saved you; go in peace” (Luke 7:48, 50). This is the footwork of the King.

Praise be to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. When Stephen was about to be killed by stones thrown by his persecutors, he looked up to heaven and saw Jesus standing at the right hand of God, standing on his feet, standing for the sake of Stephen. This was an encouraging validation and vindication for Stephen. And so instead of responding with hatred against his persecutors, Stephen was at peace, and at the moment of his death he prayed for the very people who were trying to kill him, saying, “Lord, do not hold this sin against them” (Acts 7:60). This is the footwork of the King.

This is the footwork and the war and the supremacy of the Prince of Peace. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns” (Isaiah 52:7). Jesus does all of this as a fully armored champion. His shoes and his feet are awesome.

And your shoes and your feet are like his. Because you have the armor of God. You have, as shoes for your feet, the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Our Lord graciously gives us readiness. This readiness is our strength. But it does not come from ourselves. It comes from Jesus and from the peace that we have because of his gospel. We are putting on put a “readiness given by the gospel of peace.” When we put on these shoes, we are saying, “I’m ready.”

Here are three ways in which this readiness happens to you. When you know that you are right with God and reconciled to him, then you can go through life’s trials and temptations and failures and disappointments with your head held high and with your heart full of contentment and thanksgiving. That’s readiness. The enemy wants you to forget about God’s gospel of peace so that you would be scared of God and run away from him or find peace in other things such as money or romance or achievement or fame. Brothers and sisters, know that you are right with God and reconciled to him. This is your strength in Christ. This is the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Here is a second way in which the readiness of the gospel of peace happens to you. When you know how Jesus went to war for you and made peace by the blood of his cross, then you will be very alert and very sensitive against sin. That’s readiness. The enemy wants you to forget about God’s gospel of peace so that you would not take your sin seriously or Jesus’ work seriously. Brothers and sisters, know that Jesus went to war for you and made peace by the blood of his cross. This is your strength in Christ. This is the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Here is the third way in which the readiness of the gospel of peace happens to you. When you know how beautiful are the feet of him who brings good news, good news of happiness, who publishes peace, who publishes salvation, then you will want to bring all of this to others as well - just as Christ brought all of this to you. That’s readiness. The enemy wants you to forget about God’s gospel of peace so that you would not evangelize in season and out of season (2 Timothy 4:2) or so that you would not be prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you (1 Peter 3:15). Brothers and sisters, know that Jesus brought you good news of happiness and peace and salvation. This is your strength. This is the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

Remember that we are at war. And Satan’s overall scheme, with regard to your readiness, is simple. He wants you to think that you are at war with God. And he wants you to think that you are at peace with him. This is shoeless nonsense! Do not think like this. You are not at war with God. You are at peace with God. And you are not at peace with the devil. You are at war against the devil. Do not be shoeless in the war that we are in. Stand firm, having put on, as shoes for your feet, the readiness given by the gospel of peace.

And stand firm, knowing that victory is promised and guaranteed. I would like to conclude this sermon with one of the coolest words in all of Scripture, from Romans 16:9. “The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet.” Jesus loves you. Jesus crushes Satan under his feet. And Jesus will soon crush Satan under yours. Under your feet… with his brand new pair of shoes.

Soli Deo Gloria