1 Peter 3:15

1 Peter 3:15 ‘but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make. defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;'

‘but' -Far from being intimidated into silence or inaction.

‘sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts' -“Sanctify”-‘treat as holy, reverence' (Arndt p. 9). Which means recognize that Jesus is the Lord, that He is in control of this world, even when we find ourselves in the midst of suffering. Points to Note: 1. ‘The alternative to fear is to focus attention on someone else…means truly to believe that Christ, not one's opponents, is truly in control of events.' (Grudem pp. 152-153) 2. In addition this means that we don't have to worry about ‘getting even', for God will take care of that. We reverence Jesus, and we feel sorry for our opponents who are blindly and uselessly attacking something which they were never be able to destroy. 3. In the Old Testament, the expression was ‘Jehovah of hosts, him shall ye sanctify' (Isaiah 2:13). What is ascribed to Jehovah in the O.T. is ascribed to Jesus in the New Testament, which infers His Deity (Colossians 2:9).

‘always being ready' -Christians are to be. prepared people (2 Timothy 4:2; Titus 3:1) Teaching opportunities are sadly wasted when we haven't done our homework (Hebrews 5:12). This verse infers that the Bible is so clear that it can prepare every Christian to answer the objections and questions posed by unbelievers (2 Timothy 3:16).

‘to make. defense' -‘Defense'-‘verbal defense, speech in defense' (Thayer p. 65); ‘an answer back' (Robertson p. 114) (1 Peter 1:7; 1 Peter 1:17; 2 Timothy 4:16). Which means that everything that God stands for-can be defended when questioned and even when attacked.

‘to everyone' -No one can defeat God in. debate. Jesus' dealing with the Pharisees (Matthew 22:1); and the way Jehovah responded to Job (Job 2:1), should teach us that much. We have the truth, and therefore we shouldn't be intimidated by anyone's questions or arguments. In addition, even our opponents need an answer, they also have. soul that needs to be saved.

‘who asks you' -And people will ask! It's not as if the questions may or may not come.

‘give an account' -‘reason' (Vine p. 252). ‘It is significant that the words ‘defense' and ‘account' in the text are closely related in meaning: To everyone who asks an “account” we are to give an “account”.' (Woods p. 98)

‘for the hope that is in you' -Points to Note: 1. The passage doesn't say, ‘Tell people about your hope'. Rather, it says, ‘Give. reason or reasons why you have this hope in God, etc…' 2. This demands that “reasons” exist, objective evidence exists which the Christian can point to and say, ‘This is why. believe in God', ‘This is why. believe the Bible is the Word of God', ‘This is why. believe Heaven exists', ‘This is why. believe that Jesus is the Son of God.' 3. ‘Peter must be assuming that the inward hope of Christians results in lives so noticeably different that unbelievers are prompted to ask why they are so distinctive (cf. 1 Peter 4:4)' (Grudem p. 153) 4. This also demands of the Christian. good knowledge of the Word of God. ‘It is said that every citizen in Athens was expected to keep himself sufficiently informed in civic affairs to be able to participate intelligently in any discussion thereof.' (Woods p. 98) 5. Barclay observes, ‘In. hostile and suspicious world it was, and still is, inevitable that the Christian will be called upon to defend the faith he holds….(this defense)…must be reasonable…To do so we must know what we believe; we must have thought it out; we must be able to state it intelligently…Our faith must be. first-hand discovery, and not. second-hand story…The Christian must go through the mental and spiritual toil of thinking out his faith, so that he can tell what he believes and why he believes it.' (p. 273)

‘yet with gentleness and reverence' -ready, but not over-ready, i.e. not arrogant. ‘Gentleness'-‘an attitude free of scorn, haughtiness and bitterness.' (Woods p. 98). ‘Reverence'-‘yet argue gently and cautiously' (Wey); ‘in. humble and reverent manner' (Nor). See 2 Timothy 2:24. ‘His defense must be given with gentleness. There are many people who state their beliefs with. kind of arrogant belligerence….The case for Christianity must be presented with winsomeness….His defense must be given with reverence. That is to say, any argument in which the Christian is involved must be carried on in. tone and in an atmosphere which God can hear with joy.' (Barclay pp. 273-274) This also suggests, ‘not attempting to overpower the unbeliever with the force of human personality or aggressiveness.' (Grudem p. 153) If we present the gospel with conviction, in. logical and reasonable fashion with persuasiveness, and humility, then we are doing our job. This verse also reveals that we aren't given the right to abuse our audience when we present the truth to them. You don't have to be rude or caustic in order to win people to Christ.