Wana wa Mungu (wanaume na wanawake) walk in the light and are witnesses of Jesus Christ, the living Word and Son of the living God. They are saved by faith in Jesus Christ; Njia ya, ukweli, na Maisha. They’re justified by His blood and live in the truth. Because they know the Truth and live in the truth, they speak the truth of God and preach the gospel of Jesus Christ, which is the gospel of peace. They make Jesus Christ known to the people. So that the people can decide to repent and be saved or not . In this article, the third element of God’s armor is discussed, which is ‘the feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace’. What does it mean to have your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace?
The true witnesses of Jesus Christ deliver souls
Wherefore take unto you the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand. Simama kwa hiyo, mkiwa mmejifunga kweli viunoni, na kuvaa dirii ya haki kifuani; and your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace (Waefeso 6:13-15)
A true witness delivereth souls: but a deceitful witness speaketh lies (Methali 14:25)
The sons of God belong to the Kingdom of God and represent the Kingdom of God on earth. They belong to Jesus Christ and are true witnesses of Jesus Christ; Neno Hai.
The Word reigns in their lives and they walk in obedience to His will, whereby they walk in love. By walking after His will in Amri zake, they show that they love Him above all with all their heart, akili, nafsi, na nguvu.
By the Holy Spirit, Who dwells in them, they reprove the world of sin and call the people, who belong to the world and the ruler of the world, Shetani ni nani, kwa toba (Yohana 16:7-11)
The sons of God walk in the truth and preach the Truth, Njia ya, na Maisha (Yesu Kristo). So that many souls, who live in darkness have the ability to be delivered from the power of sin and death, by faith in Jesus Chris and regeneration in Him, and be reconciled with the Father and become a son of God.
Haijalishi, how the person lives at that time and/or what the person has done in the past.
Every person is born as a sinner and walks in sin in darkness. And every person has been given the ability to be cleansed and purified by faith and by the blood of Jesus Christ of his or her sins and iniquities and to be delivered from the past and become kiumbe kipya katika Yesu Kristo
Jesus came for all and not some.
That’s why the gospel of peace must be preached among the people. If Christians keep their mouths and don’t speak the truth of God, but talk along with the world and behave like chameleons, who are wishy-washy’s and please everyone by speaking what they want to hear instead of speaking the words of God, how do souls get saved? (Soma pia: ‘Wakristo wakinyamaza kimya, ambaye atawaweka huru wafungwa wa giza?)
How can you be a witness if you walk in darkness?
A wicked messenger falleth into mischief: but a faithful ambassador is health (Methali 13:17)
How can you save souls if you belong to the world and live like the world in darkness? What kind of message do you preach? What should sinners repent from and be saved from, if you do the same works as they do and live the same life as those, who don’t know God and are sinners? (Soma pia: ‘Kama Wakristo wanaishi kama dunia, what should the world repent of?)
Does the gospel of Jesus Christ, which must be preached contain that Jesus loves you despite the works you do and that you may stay the way you are and live the way you want to live?
Doesn’t it matter how you live, even if you do things that go against the will of God, because you are covered by the blood and no longer live under the law but under grace and therefore, it’s not your work and what you do but His work and what He has done?
That’s odd, since this message is nowhere to be found in the Bible.
This message is not written in the Old Covenant nor in the New Covenant. Therefore there is something wrong.
Or the message in the Bible, which was preached was not the message that should be preached or the message, which is preached nowadays by many Christians is not the message, that should be preached.
Since the Bible is God’s Word and God’s Word is the Truth and tells the truth, Tunaweza kuhitimisha, that the message, that is preached today is not the message according to the will of God. Therefore it has become a false message, which is not based on the truth of God’s Word and doesn’t lead to repentance.
This message doesn’t bring healing (restoration of the spiritual state of fallen humanity through justification in Christ and reconciliation with God) through repentance and the removal of sin. This message doesn’t promote holy lives in obedience to God and His Word. But this message ensures that people persevere in sin and live as enemies of God after the flesh and shall eventually inherit eternal death.
God doesn’t want anyone to perish
God doesn’t want the people to persevere in sin and live like the world as His enemies and perish. But God wants the people to repent of their evil works as a sinners and don’t be sons of the devil, who belong to the world and do the will of the devil.
God doesn’t want anyone to perish but to be saved. God wants everyone to become sons of God, who have been made righteous by the blood of Jesus Christ and have been set apart from the world and belong to the Kingdom of God and live after the Spirit after the will of God; the will of Jesus Christ; neno.
Only when you repent and become born again in Christ and live out of Him after the Spirit, you shall be saved and be justified and be the light of the world. Kama ilivyo kwa Yesu, Who was the Light in the world (Soma pia: ‘Mara baada ya kuokolewa, kuokolewa daima‘).
The message of repentance is the message Jesus preached
Jinsi ilivyo mizuri juu ya milima miguu yake aletaye habari njema, inayotangaza amani; mwenye kuleta bishara za kheri, inayotangaza wokovu; aambiaye Sayuni, Mungu wako anatawala! (Isaya 52:7)
Behold upon the mountains the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, inayotangaza amani! (Nahum 1:15)
From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Tubu: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand (Mathayo 4:17)
Jesus was righteous and walked in righteousness and the truth of God, whereby Jesus was the Light of the world.
Everywhere Jesus came, the Light came and the Light exposed the works of darkness and testified to the people, that their works were evil. Jesus called those, who belonged to God’s carnal people, but walked in darkness, kwa toba.
Jesus didn’t approve of sin, not even after His death and resurrection. But Jesus confronted the people with the truth of God and called the sinners (those who persevered in sins) kwa toba (Mathayo 9:13, Weka alama 2:17, Luka 5:32).
Jesus belonged to the Kingdom of God and was a faithful Witness of God and represented, preached, and brought the Kingdom of God to God’s people.
That was the life of Jesus and the message of the Kingdom, that Jesus preached. Because the message of the Kingdom calls people to repentance and to live holy lives and brings peace between man and God.
By His words and deeds, Jesus brought peace and the life of God. If there was discord and chaos and the results of the Kazi za Ibilisi were visible in the lives of people, Jesus restored (kuponywa) them.
Jesus preached the gospel of peace and brought the light in places, where darkness reigned. (Soma pia: ‘Yesu alileta amani ya aina gani duniani?').
The true witnesses of Jesus Christ preached the message of repentance
Hata hivyo, I tell you the truth; Ni muhimu kwako kuondoka: Kwa maana kama mimi si kwenda mbali, Mfariji hatakuja kwako; Lakini ikiwa nitaondoka, Nitamtuma kwako. Na atakapokuja, Ataukemea ulimwengu wa dhambi, na kwa haki, Na kwa hukumu: Ya dhambi, Kwa sababu hawaniamini mimi; Ya haki, Kwa sababu ninakwenda kwa Baba yangu, Nanyi hamnioni tena; Ya hukumu, Kwa sababu mkuu wa ulimwengu huu anahukumiwa (Yohana 16:7-11)
Hivyo ndivyo ilivyoandikwa, na hivyo ilimtia Kristo mateso, na kufufuka kutoka kwa wafu siku ya tatu: Na kwamba toba na ondoleo la dhambi lihubiriwe kwa jina lake miongoni mwa mataifa yote., Mwanzo wa Yerusalemu. Ninyi ni mashahidi wa mambo haya. Na, tazama, I send the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high (Luka 24:46-49)
When the disciples of Jesus Christ received the other Comforter; the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentekoste, they didn’t stay in the upper room to enjoy the presence of the Holy Spirit and be ‘spiritually drunk’. The disciples didn’t act weird and didn’t fall on the ground and begin to shake and laugh uncontrollably and behave like animals. Hapana, that didn’t happen!
When they received the Holy Spirit they spoke in other tongues and went outside and preached the good news of the kuja kwa Masihi; Jesus Christ and His death and resurrection. And so they preached the gospel of peace to the house of Israel.
Licha ya ukweli kwamba, that the disciples were mocked and ridiculed, they did what Jesus had commanded them to do.
Did they preach to the house of Israel that they could live the way they wanted to live and that they were saved, because they were God’s people through natural birth?
Hapana, they called the Jews, who had come to Jerusalem from all places around the world, to celebrate the feast of firstlings (the feast of weeks), kwa toba.
Kwa njia ya ubatizo wa Roho Mtakatifu, the disciples were clothed with power, and in the Name of Jesus Christ; in His authority, they preached in boldness the message of repentance, just like their Lord and Master; Yesu Kristo.
The gospel of peace produces life
The message Peter preached wasn’t soft, but it was a hard message. Hata hivyo, this hard message brought the people to repentance and saved them. Because by hearing the confronting words of Peter, 3000 Jews were touched in their heart and were convicted of their sins and repented and gave their lives to Jesus Christ. They were saved from the perverse generation of fallen man and reconciled with the Father.
Kupitia imani katika Yesu Kristo na kuzaliwa upya ndani yake (ubatizo wa maji na ya baptism with the Holy Spirit) they were redeemed from the power of death and became sons of God, who also became witnesses of Jesus Christ. In the power of His Name and the Holy Spirit, they preached Jesus Christ and revealed and brought His Kingdom to the people. They were the light that shew in darkness.
The sons of God have their feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace
When you are born again and have received the Holy Spirit, you are clothed with Christ, and your feet are shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace.
Your feet are not shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace once in a while, for example when you go outside on the street to evangelize.
Hapana, if you are clothed with Jesus Christ and have become a witness of Jesus Christ, your feet are always shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace. Just like your loins always girt about with truth and you always have on the breastplate of righteousness. (Soma pia: ‘The loins girt about with truth‘ na ‘Having on the breastplate of righteousness‘)
Unfortunately not many have always shod their feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace and behave like undercover Christians in their daily lives at school, at their job, in their family, among friends and/or acquaintances or in other places, where they put their feet. They keep their mouth shut about the truth of God and instead they speak the words of the world.
Their feet are only shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace when it suits them.
“Kama kuna mtu atakuja baada yangu, ajikane mwenyewe, na kuuchukua msalaba wake, na nifuateni Mimi”
Then said Jesus unto His disciples, Kama kuna mtu atakuja baada yangu, ajikane mwenyewe, na kuuchukua msalaba wake, na nifuateni Mimi (Mathayo 16:24)
But as a son of God and true witness of Jesus Christ, your feet should always be shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace, which brings peace between man and God. Hata hivyo, this is only possible, when you have died to yourself.
Because the gospel of peace is a hard message that opposes the gospel of the world and is not always appreciated by everyone.
But it is important and necessary that you preach the truth of God, despite the consequences.
Because without preaching the truth of the Word, many people shall keep walking in the lies of the devil and live in the bondage of darkness and be lost.
Therefore open your mouth and dare to take a stand for Jesus Christ.
Dare to be a true witness of Jesus Christ in this world and preach Him among the people.
Preach the truth of God, Kazi yake ya ukombozi, and call the people, who walk in darkness, kwa toba, so that many shall be saved and redeemed from death.
The sons of God reject the lies of the world and speak the truth of God
Don’t be led by your flesh and the words of the world, but be led by the Holy Spirit and the words of God. Don’t speak any more lies and don’t say that it doesn’t matter if someone lives in sin and that Jesus loves the person despite his or her perseverance in sin and that the person is saved. Because that is only part of the truth and not the whole truth and therefore a lie.
If that were the truth, then Jesus’ sacrifice wouldn’t have to die and become a Substitute kwa mtu aliyeanguka, because the blood of animals would be sufficient (Soma pia: ‘The difference between the sacrifice of animals and the sacrifice of Jesus Christ‘).
And if it doesn’t matter how someone lives, then the apostles and disciples of Jesus Christ would not have called the people to repentance and Jesus would not have confronted the seven churches in the Book of Revelation with their works, which were not according to His will and would not have called them to repentance (Soma pia: ‘Wito wa toba‘).
Yesu alisema, “Whosoever therefore shall be ashamed of Me and of My words in this adulterous and sinful generation; naye Mwana wa Adamu atamwonea haya, when He cometh in the glory of His Father with the holy angels” (Weka alama 8:38)
Whosoever therefore shall confess Me before men, huyo nami nitamkiri mbele za Baba yangu aliye mbinguni. Lakini yeyote atakayenikana Mimi mbele ya watu, him will I also deny before My Father which is in heaven (Mathayo 10:32-33).
‘Kuweni chumvi ya dunia’
