preparation <\/em>of the gospel of peace. The sandals are not precisely the gospel itself. Rather, the sandals are the preparation of the gospel.<\/p>\nThe preparation of the gospel is accomplished in two ways. We become prepared in the gospel by first knowing what the gospel message is, and then secondly, by preparing and planning to share it with others through our words and our actions.<\/p>\n
Just as the sandals helped keep the soldier on his feet in battle, being prepared to share the gospel with others will help you stay on your feet as a Christian.<\/p>\n
If you are not really clear what the gospel is, and if you don\u2019t really know how to share the gospel with others, then you don\u2019t really know if you yourself have believed the gospel or if you have believed the right thing, or believed enough.<\/p>\n
We must, as Peter writes, always be prepared to give an answer to anyone who asks to give the reason for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ (1 Peter 3:15).<\/p>\n
Just like with the other pieces of spiritual armor, it is not enough to own<\/em> the sandals, you have to put them on. In order to get firm footing on the slippery ground of life in this world, you need to put on your sandals.<\/p>\nYou need to get those steel-studded soldier sandals so that you can have firm footing and not slip around in fear and uncertainty while on the field of battle. And Paul says we put on the sandals by being prepared with the gospel of peace.<\/p>\n
You must be prepared by knowing how the gospel impacts your own life, and you must be prepared in knowing how to share and live the gospel with others. This is what we learn in the final section: how to strap the sandals of the gospel on your feet.<\/p>\n
Putting on the Sandals<\/h2>\n
We already know from the previous section what the gospel is, but it is important to elaborate on the gospel a little bit further in order to properly prepare ourselves with the gospel.<\/p>\n
The gospel is every <\/em>truth and concept related to the person, work, teaching, and ministry of Jesus Christ.<\/p>\nThis means that there are thousands and thousands of gospel truths. After all, since the entire Bible is somehow related to the person and work of Jesus Christ, this means that every biblical truth is a gospel truth.<\/p>\n
Since there are so many gospel truths, this is why the gospel presentations of Christians becomes so garbled. Some Christians prefer to share one set of truths, while other Christians prefer to share a different set of truths.<\/p>\n
For example, many Christians like to talk about the death and resurrection of Jesus. And these are good things to talk about, for they are gospel truths (cf. 1 Cor 15:1-8). But other Christians like to get into prophecies about Jesus, or how all people are sinners in need of grace. These too are gospel truths and can be mentioned.<\/p>\n
But you can see how it gets confusing for Christians and non-Christians alike. One person shares one set of gospel truths and another person shares a different set, and both claim that they are sharing the gospel.<\/p>\n
But if we can focus on one central idea, this helps bring every gospel explanation into proper focus. There is one central gospel truth to which all other gospel truths point, and it is this: Jesus gives eternal life to anyone who believes in Him for it.<\/p>\n
Or to state it another way, eternal life is received by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone.<\/p>\n
This is the central truth of the gospel which must always be kept in mind, and which must always be our focus. Once we keep this truth in the center, all other gospel truths flow from it and support it.<\/strong><\/p>\nSo is it true that Jesus died on the cross and rose again from the dead? Yes. And you can share these gospel truths with people if you want. These truths helps support and defend the idea that the promise of Jesus can be trusted. If Jesus was just any other person, then when He died, He would have stayed dead.<\/p>\n
But the fact that God raised Jesus from the dead, proves that Jesus was who He said He was, and is able to offer what He offered, namely, eternal life. The death and resurrection of Jesus proves <\/em>that Jesus can give eternal life to those who believe in Him for it.<\/p>\nCan we talk about prophecy and human sinfulness? Sure! Prophecy about Jesus helps show that God was planning and preparing the world for the truth that would come through Jesus, which is that we don\u2019t need good works and religion to earn our way back into God\u2019s good graces.<\/p>\n
From the very beginning, God predicted and promised that He would send a Messiah who would show the world the one true way back to Him, which is through faith alone in Jesus. Due to our sinfulness, we can never be good enough to work our way into God\u2019s family, so He freely welcomes us into His family when we believe in Jesus.<\/p>\n
Do you see how the one central truth of the gospel helps bring clarity to every other truth of the gospel? The truth of eternal life by grace alone through faith alone in Jesus Christ alone is the central, unifying truth of the gospel which pulls all of the rest of the gospel truths together into a coherent whole. <\/strong><\/p>\nWhen you keep this central truth in mind, you can share a lot of other gospel truths with others without sounding like you are speaking gibberish. You can share a lot of truths, or a few truths. You can answer questions and objections they might have. The gospel becomes simple to share with others, because you no longer have to worry if you have shared enough truth or the right truth. You have one simple truth to share, and everything else flows from that.<\/p>\n
When you share the gospel with others, keep it simple and keep it scriptural. Share the central gospel truth with others the same way Jesus did. Whenever Jesus told someone about how to receive eternal life, He told them to believe in Him for it. If this was good enough for Jesus, it should be good enough for us. We do not need to try to change these words or improve upon them. For example, I hear many Christians invite others to do one of the following things:<\/p>\n
\n- Believe and ___________ (Repent, confess, be baptized, etc.).<\/li>\n
- Accept Christ as your Lord and Savior.<\/li>\n
- Repent of your sins.<\/li>\n
- Confess your sins.<\/li>\n
- Be sorry for your sins.<\/li>\n
- Be willing to give up your sins.<\/li>\n
- Confess Christ.<\/li>\n
- Follow Christ.<\/li>\n
- Accept Jesus as your personal savior.<\/li>\n
- Commit\/submit\/surrender your life to Christ.<\/li>\n
- Put Christ on the throne of your life.<\/li>\n
- Turn your life over to Christ.<\/li>\n
- Give your heart\/life to Christ.<\/li>\n
- Let go and let God.<\/li>\n
- Believe in God.<\/li>\n
- Have faith.<\/li>\n
- Believe that Jesus died on the cross.<\/li>\n
- Ask\/invite Christ into your heart\/life.<\/li>\n
- Pray this prayer.<\/li>\n
- Walk an aisle.<\/li>\n
- Come forward.<\/li>\n
- Raise your hand.<\/li>\n
- Sign this card.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
Some of those things are good things to do. Some of them are even biblical things to do. But not a single one of those is stated anywhere in the Bible, or ever used by Jesus, Paul, or any other biblical author, as a way to receive eternal life.<\/p>\n
In fact, a person can do or believe every single one of the items on that list, and still not believe in Jesus for eternal life.<\/p>\n
Some of the items on that list are good works, so when we use them, we are telling people to perform good works in order to receive eternal life.<\/p>\n
So when Christians start to use practices and phrases like these as a way to share the gospel, it gets confusing for them and for those who hear us.<\/p>\n
Rather than use such muddled messages, let us use the words that Jesus used and simply invite people to believe in Jesus for eternal life. It\u2019s simple; it\u2019s clear; and it\u2019s biblical.<\/p>\n
Now, this central gospel truth about eternal life also helps us in our own life.<\/strong> As indicated earlier, it helps keep us on our feet as followers of Jesus. If you don\u2019t know that you have eternal life, then you will be uncertain about what you need to do, or how good you need to be, in order to gain eternal life.<\/p>\nThis uncertainty creates much fear and instability in your life.<\/p>\n
But once you believe in Jesus, and you know that you have eternal life as a result, you no longer have to worry about whether you are doing enough, or obeying enough, or performing enough good works.<\/p>\n
Instead, you can step out in faith to follow Jesus without fear because you know that He will keep you safe and secure, no matter what.<\/p>\n
Once we know we have eternal life in Jesus, we can begin to practice all the rest of the gospel truths that are contained in Scripture. After all, if the gospel contains every truth related to the person and work of Jesus Christ, and since many truths related to Jesus are about how to live our life here and now, then this means that the gospel contains many truths about how we are to live.<\/p>\n
The gospel is not just about what we believe or what we say, but also about what we do.<\/p>\n
But again, if we think that we need to live a certain way in order to gain or keep eternal life, then we will live in constant fear and will never be surefooted on the field of spiritual battle.<\/p>\n
But maintaining a hold on the central truth of the gospel, that eternal life is the free gift of God to anyone who believes in Jesus for it, helps us then maintain a proper perspective on the purpose of every other gospel truth. Many of the other gospel truths are given to help us live in this life the way God wants and desires.<\/p>\n
When we live out the truths of the gospel, we will get rid of sin in our lives, because sin trips us up and causes us to stumble into the muddy ground at our feet. When we live out the truths of the gospel, we will love our enemies, forgive others, and serve those who mistreat us and abuse us.<\/p>\n
In other words, we will be creating pockets of peace in our lives and in the lives of those around us. We will be standing on our feet in the field of battle, living out the truths of the gospel of peace with those who surround us. We will have our feet firmly planted on the ground.<\/p>\n
So do you have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace? <\/strong><\/p>\nYou must first know that you have eternal life by faith in Christ.<\/p>\n
This will then allow you to know how to simply and clearly share this message with others.<\/p>\n
And finally, the clear and central gospel message will enable you to live out the rest of the gospel in your life right now.<\/p>\n
This is how you shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Knowing the central truths of the gospel, knowing how to share it with others, and knowing how to live in light of the gospel will greatly aid you in staying on your feet during spiritual battle. It will keep you from becoming muddled and unclear as you bring good news of peace to a world that needs to hear.<\/p>\n<\/a>Do you want to learn about spiritual warfare and how to put on the full armor of God?<\/strong> If you want to defeat sin and gain victory in your life over temptation so you can better follow Jesus, take my course on the Armor of God as it is explained in Ephesians 6:10-20. \r\n\r\nThis course costs $297, but when you join the Discipleship group<\/a>, you can to take the entire course for free.\n