Onward Christian Soldier

Intro:

Let me take you back to VBS

Onward Christian soldiers!   Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus   Going on before. Christ, the royal Master,   Leads against the foe; Forward into battle,   See, His banners go! Onward, Christian soldiers!   Marching as to war, With the cross of Jesus,     Going on before.

REVIEW

The Belt of Truth-Like a Belt which stabilizes your whole outfit. Truth is the Stabilizer as you battle in the Spirit World. Truth Holds everything together.

The Breastplate of Righteous-Like a Bulletproof vest we are to cover our vital organs with the truth of our Justification found in Christ. You will remember that “Justification” has to do with standing before God. In Christ we have been declared “Justified” because of what Jesus did on our behalf. This keeps us from to dangerous extremes.

Discouragement-because of your sin

Pride-Because of your righteousness

This week we are on to our Foot wear

You will remember the commercial “I wanna be like Mike” that was the slogan for Michael J commercial to help sell his shoes and brand name. The whole hook of the song was that if I wore his shoes when playing basketball I would be able to do the same things as Mike.

Whether it be a dance routine, athletic event, working out, job, or Hand-to Hand combat you better tie up your shoes first before you go and compete.

Always-As a part of your daily preparation for battle it is imperative that you center your life on the firm foundation found in the Gospel

I. Lace em Up!

Ephesians 6:15 NASB95

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Saints we are moving through the Battle Equipment of ancient warrior. We learn about the Belt of Truth, and The breastplate of righteousness. Now we move to the foot wear of the soldier.

First let’s deal with some definitions:

Shod-upodeo-Deo means “Tie or Fasten”

“Having Tied” another Participle in the middle voice. You remember the Middle Voice is where the subject of the verb is seen as acting upon itself or for its own benefit.

Example: “I took a walk to relieve some stress”

Hopefully as you are becoming skilled at looking for patterns in the text. You notice that from (v.13-15) Paul uses the Participial form “having” four times. This is so the reader would be well aware of his responsibility in keeping his mind aware and focused.

Paul wants us to understand unequivocally that we are soldiers fighting against an enemy that is invisible, strong, wise and unrelenting. The only way we can match his onslaught is with this Biblical Battle Attire.

Now let’s take a look at the syntax of this sentence.

Syntax is the study of how words arrange themselves to form a coherent sentence.

I want to look at (v.15) from two different Translation:

Ephesians 6:15 NASB95

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Ephesians 6:15 NLT

15 For shoes, put on the peace that comes from the Good News so that you will be fully prepared.

NASB-When you look at this translation the NASB takes an offensive posture. Meaning it is trying to convey from the Greek that we are to be prepared in our Gospel Shoes to take this message of Peace to Jews & Gentiles held captive behind enemies lines.

NLT-When you look at the Translation the NLT is taking a defensive position for the shoes. By believing the Gospel and its promises we are to stand in those promises as we face waves of attacks from our Spiritual Enemy.

-An ancient soldier had Offensive & Defensive weapons. Example: A sword was purely offensive meaning it is used to initiate contact during a battle. A shield is defensive because it is used to protect you when someone else initiates contact.

Are these Gospel Shoes defensive or offensive? or both?

Lets take a look at other scriptures to try and get an idea of Paul’s Phraseology in this text:

In Biblical Hermeneutics there is a process called the Synthesis Principle:

Synthesis means whole. This is when we compare scriptures from one writer with scriptures from other writers to help us understand the interpretation of obscure passages.

-In our case Paul in Ephesians 6:15 seems to be borrowing an idea from the Prophet Isaiah turn to Isaiah 52:7:

Isaiah 52:7 NASB95

7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

What a beautiful picture of a Herald in Ancient Times:

(EXE-v.7) Look at what Isaiah says is beautiful. “He says the feet are the ancient herald” You remember what a herald does? He is the one who announces good and bad news to the people. He is the one that brings up to date information from the Battlefield.

In this case Isaiah is prophesying about a mass return of the Children of Israel from captivity back to Jerusalem.

Paul like Isaiah talks about the “Lovely Feet” of the Herald?

In the Ancient world before cars walking was the most common form of travel. The scripture often uses “Walking or Feet” as a Metaphor for a persons lifestyle or direction(Purpose) that is the key to understanding this verse. So now let’s rephrase (v.7) “How lovely on the mountains is the purpose of him” and what does he do:

he brings good news

He announces there is a Savior

He assures folks “God is in Control!”

This message would have been especially comforting to the Children of Israel because they had been in captivity for several decades. This would have been like hearing the “Gospel”

Lets take a look at another OT prophet Nahum 1:15:

Nahum 1:15 CSB

15 Look to the mountains— the feet of the herald, who proclaims peace. Celebrate your festivals, Judah; fulfill your vows. For the wicked one will never again march through you; he will be entirely wiped out.

(v.15) Notice what Nahum says about the “the Feet” of the herald.

he proclaims “Peace”

He is proclaiming Peace because a victory has been won against a foreign invader. Israel’s enemy has been wiped out.

You see another writer of scripture praising “The Feet” of the Herald who announces “Our Enemy is Dead” which is “Good News”

Lets take a look at the NT text in Romans spoken by Paul in another context speaking to believers at Rome:

Romans 10:15 CSB

15 And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

(EXE-v.15) Paul gives us the role of the Evangelist. The Preacher role is similar to the ancient herald who announced “Good News” now watch what Paul says about their feet:

How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Is 52:7 he says “How lovely” Paul employs the same verbiage in Romans 10:15 as a rule when you encounter tough scriptures there is a principle in interpretation that should guide your conclusion.

“Let scripture interpret scripture.”

So in the case of our passage in Ephesians 6:15 using the synthesis method what conclusion can we come to about the correct interpretation of Paul’s phraseology in that verse.

Ephesians 6:15 NASB95

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Before we get into the final exegesis of this passage we need to do some study on the Roman Sandal

The Roman Sandal was exactly that. It was a leather piece of fabric with leather ties/throngs that a warrior would tie around his ankle before hand to hand combat. Underneath his sandals built into the leather fabric were nails. Similar to baseball players shoes. These spikes were put in to for two purposes:

Defensive-When enemies push against the lines of the Roman Army they needed to able to stick there feet into the ground and not be moved

Offensive-When it was time to pressed forward they needed the spikes to provide grip in the dirt, grass and mud so they could press forward without slipping.

Paul is writing this letter on Home arrest. Everyday a Roman soldier would be monitoring him while on house arrest. He strategically used the battle array of the soldier as well as the metaphor’s found in Isaiah to bring out the necessity of Defense and Offensive equipment necessary for our Christian journey.

Ephesians 6:15 NASB95

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

Using what you know Biblically as it pertains to “The Feet” and what you learned Historically about the Roman’s soldiers Battle Shoes:

How should we approach this passage?

(EXE-v.15) “and having shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of Peace”

“having shod”-This carries the idea of having your shoes tied up and ready to go.

“Preparation” “Readiness”- “hetoimasia”

The Complete Word Study Dictionary: New Testament 2091. ἑτοιμασία hetoimasía

[hetoimasía, or firm footing for the foundation] of the gospel of peace” (Eph. 6:13–15). This intimates the firm and solid knowledge of the gospel in which the believer may stand firm and unmoved like soldiers in their military duty

Now lets put this clause of scripture together via summary:

“Tie your shoes up and have your feet firmly established in the truth of the Gospel(Good news) of Peace.

What is that Gospel?

Ephesians 2:13 NASB95

13 But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

That Roman Soldier would drop his hips dig his heels into the ground and stand against his enemy.

This is the defensive posture of the Gospel. The truth of the Gospel helps you be able to stand firm as your flesh, this world system, and Satan push against you to defeat you.

The Gospel also has an Offensive Posture

Ephesians 6:15 NASB95

15 and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace;

(EXE-v.15) “15and having shod your feet [with] the preparation of the gospel of peace” You will see that word which we just discussed “Readiness” also carries the idea of not just defending yourself, but also going on the offensive dealing a blow to your enemy.

In Paul’s context this involved taking this glorious Gospel right in front of the Temple of Dionysius a pagan and demonic Temple and using it to convert lost people.

Paul did not believe in a gospel that stayed inside the church walls.

APPLICATION

How does one deal a blow to our common enemy Satan?

The Primary way NT believers go on the offensive against the enemy is going behind enemy lines and letting captive sinners know that “He is Risen” “He has conquered the grave” “You no longer have to remain captive to sin” “He has come that you may have life and have it more abundantly.” This is the great commission!!!

You don’t have to go looking for Satan when you start doing things like this he will find you.

When we start reaching out to unbelieving sinners and letting them know about the Risen Savior we go from defense to offense. In Battle both of these are important. In an Evangelistic Situation you don’t have time to get your shoes on, they must already be on and tied up.

Defensive: We are to strap up our Sandals; convinced of the truth of the Gospel; with our Feet Firmly planted in the ground against Error, Bad Doctrine, and Sin.

Offensive: we are also to take the Gospel and go rescue Captive Sinners stuck behind enemy lines “Who are blind & held captive but don’t know it”

Author: James Miller

ILLUSTRATION

A little boy built a model ship, glued all the pieces together, and worked on it for hours.  It was perfect.  Every detail was correct, down to tiny sailors standing on the deck.  He put it in a glass case.  He wouldn't let his brother play with it in the bathtub.  He was going to keep it perfect by keeping it safe.

His parents bought a real boat so they could spend the weekends sailing out on the harbor.  They loved it.  At first.  It was a lot of work to maintain.  Boat owners will tell you that the day you bought your boat was the happiest day of your life, and the day you sold it was the second happiest.  At first, they used it a lot.  But then they used it less.  It was expensive.  After a few months, they went to spend a day sailing and found barnacles growing on the side, algae all over it, and a dead motor.  A real boat is only kept in shape by being used.

The two boats worked in opposite ways.  The model was preserved by being kept safe.  The real boat was preserved by being used.

APPLICATION OF ILLUSTRATION

Churches are like the real boat; they are only kept in shape by being used. Churches that are preserved and spared use will eventually fall into disrepair.  But churches that pour themselves into serving their communities will find energy, calling, passion, and love. 

Conclusion: 3rd verse of Onward Christian Soldier 

Like a mighty army   Moves the Church of God: Brothers, we are treading   Where the saints have trod; We are not divided,   All one Body we— One in faith and Spirit,   One eternally.

Open the Doors of the Church

The Gospel

Giving

1 John 5:14–15 CSB

14 This is the confidence we have before him: If we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 15 And if we know that he hears whatever we ask, we know that we have what we have asked of him.

Benediction

1 Timothy 3:16 CSB

16 And most certainly, the mystery of godliness is great: He was manifested in the flesh, vindicated in the Spirit, seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, taken up in glory.