Ready To Make A Defense
“Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and reverence.”
As we begin a focus on mission this year, it will pay great dividends for us to look closely at 1 Peter 3:15-16,; a passage that is oft quoted in Christian circles but perhaps not always properly understood.
In his first letter, Peter writes to dispersed Christians who live among unbelievers. He does so for two reasons: to encourage them to glorify God through their obedience to His commands, and so that in doing so, they will stand out as a public witness to an unbelieving and watching world.
Even though the letter continues past this particular admonition in 3:15-16, the passage stands as a sort of culmination of what Peter has been instructing. Why is that so? Well if the early Christians were to follow all that Peter wrote to them about, they would have no choice but to face the questions from the unbelievers that they interacted with on a daily basis. For Peter does not tell them to prepare clever ways to bring up conversations about God, or to look for ways to insert God’s wisdom into the lives of unbelievers, but rather he tells them to prepare a response for when the inevitable questions come from unbelievers as to why what they believe causes them to act so differently from the world around them.
And why must these early Christians be ready to answer questions from unbelievers? Let’s look at a handful of Peter’s instructions that lead up to our passage of study:
1:13-14: “Therefore prepare your minds for action, discipline yourselves….like obedient children do not be conformed to the desires you formerly had in ignorance."
1:15: “…as he who called you is holy, be holy yourselves in all your conduct.
1:22: “Now that you have purified your souls by your obedience to the truth so that you have genuine mutual love, love one another deeply from the heart.”
2:1: “Rid yourselves, therefore, of all malice, and all guile, insincerity, envy, and all slander.”
2:11: “Beloved, I urge you as aliens and exiles to abstain from the desires of the flesh that wage war against the soul. Conduct yourselves honorably among the Gentiles, so that, though they malign you as evildoers, they may see your honorable deeds and glorify God when he comes to judge.”
2:13: “For the Lord’s sake accept the authority of every human institution, whether of the emperor as supreme, or of governors, as sent by him to punish those who do wrong and to praise those who do right.”
2:18-19: “Slaves, accept the authority of your masters with all deference, not only those who are kind and gentle but also those who are harsh. For it is a credit to you if, being aware of God you endure pain while suffering unjustly.
3:1-2: “Wives, in the same way, accept the authority of your husbands, so that, even if some of them do not obey the word, they may be won over without a word by their wives’ conduct, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives.”
3:3-4: “Do not adorn yourselves outwardly by braiding your hair, and by wearing gold ornaments or fine clothing; rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.”
3:7: “Husbands, in the same way, show consideration for your wives in your life together, paying honor to the woman as the weaker sex, since they too are heirs of the gracious gift of life-so that nothing may hinder your prayers.”
3:8-9: “Finally, all of you, have unity of spirit, sympathy, love for one another, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or abuse for abuse; but, on the contrary, repay with a blessing.”
In writing these passages, Peter perhaps thought back to the Sermon on the Mount that Jesus gave early in His ministry (Matthew 5-7). In that sermon, Jesus commended the meek, the humble, the peacemakers, the merciful, the persecuted, and the pure in heart. Could there be any doubt that if the readers of Peter’s letter lived in such a way they would stand in stark contrast to the world around them? Can there be any doubt that we would stand out if we did the same???
In a world that values strength, good looks, wealth, power, and leisure, wouldn’t our humility and love cause others to question why we are so different?
So for our present focus on living our lives on mission, as pilgrims, we would do well to heed the admonition from Peter to ready a defense for when the times come when the world asks us why we are different. What is it that you believe that causes you to sacrifice your life in order to love and serve those around you? Do you know? If you aren’t ready to answer that question, you would do well to study and pray about it now for the time is coming when the world will demand an answer.
“How beautiful upon the mountains
Are the feet of the messenger who
Announces peace,
Who brings good news,
Who announces salvation,
Who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.”
Isaiah 52:7