Ephesians 6:13-15 Therefore, take up the full armor of God, so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything, to stand firm. Stand firm therefore, HAVING GIRDED YOUR LOINS WITH TRUTH, and HAVING PUT ON THE BREASTPLATE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, and having shod YOUR FEET WITH THE PREPARATION OF THE GOSPEL OF PEACE.
Army Sgt. Jim Freeland, a grizzled veteran of several wars, sat in a frigid Quonset hut in Korea during the late 1960s, listening as a young soldier ridiculed the Army's repetitive training drills as a step below scraping paint. Freeland endured the sarcasm for a while but then weighed in with a bark that could only come from a sergeant: "You know why the Army trains you to take that hill, and then take it again and then take it again and again?" He answered the question himself: "Because when you get into combat, you'll get scared, more scared than you've ever been in your life. And then your training takes over and you do what you've been trained to do. You know the difference between a hero and a coward? It depends which way you're running when you get scared.”
Which way we’re running. We’re talking about the freedom/ability to engage with the spiritual enemy, with the forces of darkness - but also with the brokenness all around us. With people. With our neighbor. Life on life. Neutrality is not an option. Which means we are talking about boots on the ground. Mine and yours.
Now, in the phrase “boots on the ground”, the word boot of course here does not stand for some high-ankle shoe but for the person who wears it. In WWII Marine inductees were called boots, and their introduction to service was in boot camp. As technology advanced, the role of the “foot soldier” — wearer of the boot — was sometimes overshadowed. But one officer put it this way: “to hold or take an objective you must do this on the ground, the way the Roman legions did, by putting your young men in the mud.” Still today that strategy is ascendant: although air and sea power are highly important, a war can not be decisively won and territory controlled without a credible component of armed individual human beings on the ground. Rifles to the firing line. Running to the need. And for Christ-follwers, boots on the ground means getting our hands dirty. Crossing the street - or the ocean - with the Good News! More about boots in a bit.
Last time we talked about girding/wrapping our loins with truth. Mobility. Freedom of movement. Truth is freedom. And Jesus is the truth - He sets us free.
[6.13-15] Breastplate of righteousness [google a pic of a Roman breastplate] The thing that covers our front and back & protects our vital organs, that which is most vital to our ultimate survival, is a bullet-proof spiritual vest (or the classical arrow-proof version of it), an iron-clad standing of being declared right in God’s sight. That is righteousness: in God’s eyes I’ve done everything right. That’s right - all my sins, all my mistakes, all my shortcomings - all washed away, completely covered over by the blood of Christ. The breastplate of righteousness. It really is an arrow-proof, impenetrable barrier covering our upper core. It repels all the slings and arrows and false accusations of our slandering enemy. Remember, diabolos means to throw across. He is the accuser of the brethren. That’s what he tries to do against you and me - falsely accuse us, discourage us. But with this arrow-proof breastplate of righteousness, we can know that not one of his fiery arrows will ever penetrate. Not one of his charges will ever stick. We have an airtight alibi - we were (and are) with Jesus! We were (by faith) with Him on the Cross.
Galatians 2:20 I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself up for me.
And we are now in Him forever. In Christ God has justified us.
Romans 5:9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him. Romans 8:33 Who will bring a charge against God’s elect? God is the one who justifies;
Justified means He declared us righteous, which means we are now right in His eyes. We have done everything right. That’s how He sees us when we are in Jesus - and that is how we should see ourselves. Not in a cocky arrogant way - but in gratitude. Humility. No more guilt. No more shame. When the enemy comes and tries to make us feel guilty for something we did in the past, or inadequate for some shortcoming we think we bring to the table today, or fearful over some misstep we might make tomorrow - we can stand firm knowing that God no longer sees (nor will He ever again see) us in this dim accusatory light. When He looks at us, all He sees is Jesus, and so looking at us gives Him eternal great pleasure!
Psalm 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
In God's eyes, I’ve done everything right! In Christ! Tell yourself that, once and for all, and every day. Every morning. Every time the enemy fires one at you. Tell yourself that right now, and repeat it often. Put on that breastplate of righteousness.
Shod your feet with the preparation of the Gospel of peace [pic] - we are told elsewhere that feet which bring good news and announce peace - shalom - are in fact quite lovely. Have you ever stopped, tho, to actually consider the importance of the foot? Particularly in battle?
“Soldiers live in their boots and many will tell you that there is no piece of equipment more important to their lethality and readiness,” said Al Adams, team leader for the Soldier Clothing and Configuration Management Team at the Soldier Center.
Feet surely need footwear, all the moreso if you’re heading into battle. And again, the role of foot soldiers - infantry - in warfare cannot be underestimated, even in modern times. Foot soldiers have always been the primary means for holding and claiming ground. To that end, a British military historian once wrote, ‘Marching is the foundation of all operation in war. An army below the standard in marching power is at the mercy of a more mobile force. Actual battle consumes but a fraction of the time spent in marching. The most brilliant plans fail if the troops do not march the distances calculated upon. Mobility is the first requisite of the soldier.’ Elsewhere, from the US Army Medical Corps Handbook: “During ordinary troop movements using a standard march of 15 miles, each foot will strike the ground some 18,000 times during the day. … even a relatively slight defect in the relation between the foot and shoe,… can scarcely fail to do injury… If the defect be considerable… complete incapacity for marching will scarcely be avoided.” 18000 foot strikes a day for soldiers in battle! It should come as no surprise then that preventing foot injuries - down to even the tiniest blister - are a top priority for any military force, thus the critical need for good footwear. Have you ever had to endure the debilitating effects of a foot blister resulting from an ill-fitting (or improperly laced) pair of shoes? Soldiers are instructed during basic training, your weapon and your boots - take special care of these, they are of utmost importance.
-Shoe fit and comfort, length and width and instep, breaking in the shoe, foot care, cleaning, toenails: for foot soldiers all of these must be given the strictest attention. Continuing from the Handbook: “It is quite conceivable that about any article other than shoes could be ill fitting and still be worn by the soldier without particular discomfort or detriment to his military efficiency. An ill fitting pair of trousers or shirt would have no particular influence on the performance of field duty, though appearances might suffer somewhat. But in respect to shoes, he must have exactly the length and width of shoes his feet require… So long as infantry is the backbone of an army and mobility is the most important element in strategy, frequent careful inquiry into the condition of the feet, and constant interested oversight looking to their continued welfare, are properly to be required of all officers...Probably no one thing will more conduce to greater marching radius, the success of tactics, and the delivery on the firing line of the maximum number of rifles, than will proper foot care.”
”it cannot be too strongly emphasized that the shoe cannot be considered by itself alone, since its actual utility to the wearer depends upon the tripod of supply, fit and construction. If any leg of this tripod fails, the whole apparatus of foot comfort falls to the ground.” In other words, an army must not only have a well-constructed shoe, and it must also have sufficient supply in sizes that fit.
-How much more important then, for believers to give attention to our metaphysical footwear, our spiritual shoes, the boots in which we march to war against the enemy of our souls, against His methods, against evil. As it turns out, we have an unfathomably good set of boots. That which carries us through life and into battle is the Good News of peace…! The Gospel! And as it relates to that tripod (of construction, fit, and supply) in a spiritual sense, our Supreme Commander has all the bases covered. The Gospel is just what our spiritual feet need, incomparable construction, is always a perfect fit, and has no shortage of supply! Each and every believer is furnished with the Gospel at salvation, and it always fits perfectly! It fits your life and mine perfectly. And so we must be careful to remember to draw on these boots once and for all - and every day. Gospel-preparation, that which enables us to march into battle, means I keep the truth of the Good News in the forefront of my mind. The truth that God loves me and sent His Son to die for me to pay the penalty for my sins and secure for me forgiveness and eternal life which I then receive through faith alone - do you believe that this morning? This truth must be my constant companion, my daily meditation, my mantra throughout the day, from reveille until taps, from the moment I fall out of bed for first call, PT and breakfast all the way through evening personal time and lights out. Almighty God loves me! I am forgiven, accepted. In His eyes I’ve done everything right, thru Jesus! I am His child - He is for me! He is always with me! I preach this oh-so-better-than-Good Message to myself, every day. The Gospel says, I (and you) need Jesus - and Jesus is all we need. Got Jesus? This Good News must carry me everywhere I go, everything I do.
So - boots on the ground…where does the Gospel carry us? Boots on the ground means getting closer to the people God created. Everybody always. All of them, not just some of them. Because they all matter. We are talking about not overlooking them. Seeing them. Stopping to ask them a question. Running towards their need. And giving them a word about this message of peace. Helping them get their boots on!
-And in all this talk of battle, which of course is quite real, the reality of course is that the Gospel, this Good News, is a Message of peace. THE Message. Peace on earth, good will among men. Peace with God, that which is our deepest soul need and longing - to be able to rest in peace with our Maker. Shalom, overall well-being. It’s all good, in other words. It is well with my soul and God is working everything together for good - for those who are called according to His purpose, for those who are in Christ. Because if this is true, does it not far outweigh all else that concerns us? It is of infinite importance! Infinite value! Can it, should it not with Christ as our head lead us thru life in triumph? Death is defeated! It need no longer be feared! We are forgiven! Children of the King! Peace! Indescribable, unfathomable peace - this is our reality, the truth which is found only in Jesus, the core of the Good News, that which enables us to be boots on the ground for Jesus, to daily march headlong into the brokenness of life, face first against the flaming arrows of our fiercely-determined enemy, with our heads held high and a song on our lips. Get your boots on, people!
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