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Why I am unapologetic about the apologetics of 1 Peter 3v15
This verse disturbs me but in a proactive and profound way! It kept me up the other night thinking about its implications as how we as born again Christians should ALWAYS be ready to give a reason to EVERYONE who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you!
'But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,and always be ready to give a reason to everyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.' (1 Peter 3v15 NKJV)
Am I taking this verse to heart? Am I taking it seriously? Is the interpretation of this particular verse rocket science so only the most educated can discern its meaning? While I am writing this if someone asked me to stop typing and give them a reason for the hope that is in me could I do that? Have I even thought about it? Am I ALWAYS ready to give a reason to EVERYONE?
I am obviously not saying that we should all embark on a post grad course on apologetics tomorrow but what I am encouraging us to do is to remember the Ronseal commercial and to do exactly what it says!
Suppose you are on a train and you have 30 mins to share your faith with someone you've never met before? Are you ready to share your faith. It doesn't matter if your name is not Paul or Peter and you don't feel as though you have a gifting in evangelism. We should always have a reason for the hope that is in us because that is what the word of God says and the word is of no private interpretation as it was inspired by the Holy Spirit.
If you've only got 2 mins or even 30 seconds why not give someone a Bible. Or why not make your own tract for why you believe that the Bible is relevant today and how you can believe in and know Jesus. Forget expensive Bibles with superfluous nice pictures. There weren't any nice pictures in the originals! Go to Keith Jones or a second hand book store and you can pick up Bibles for less than a quid! Give them out and tell the recipient that its the bestselling book in the world and also the best one!
Or why not make a tract. It takes roughly 2 hours to write a tract clearly stating what you believe and why you believe in Jesus that He is the Son of God, that He died for our sins, rose from the grave, ascended to heaven and is coming back again and that without Him we are lost and that we need to repent of our sins, believe in Him and accept Him as our personal Saviour!
In case anyone is still not convinced I will now list some other good translations of the same verse (1 Peter 3v15) and also some other verses from Scripture that encourage us to never be ashamed of the Gospel and to contend for the faith. Scripture is the best commentary on Scripture and it means what it says.
'But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you for a reason for the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.' (KJV)
'But in your hearts set Christ apart as holy (and acknowledge Him) as Lord. Always be ready to give a logical defense to anyone who asks you to account for the hope that is in you, but do it courteously and respectfully.' (Amplified)
'But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence;'' (NAS)
If we were in a court of law and it was considered a crime to profess the Christian faith would there be enough evidence to convict us? Would we be ready to provide a logical defense for the hope that is in us. We should be and furthermore we should never be ashamed of it either!
Psalm 119v46 reads 'I will speak of your testimonies also before kings and will not be ashamed.' and Romans 1v16 'For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ for it is the power of God to salvation to those who believe.'
Furthermore we should contend for the faith as Jude reminds us. We should do battle and engage in contending for our faith in the Lord Jesus Christ the Son of God! ' I found it necessary to write to you exhorting you to CONTEND earnestly for the faith which was once for all delivered to the saints.' (Jude 3)
We should srtrive together for the faith in the Gospel!
'Only let your conduct be worthy of the Gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of your affairs, that you may stand fast in one spirit, with one mind STRIVING together for the faith in the gospel.' (Phil 1v27)
No wonder Paul writes to Timothy, ' Take heed to yourself and to the doctrine. Continue in them for in doing this you will save both yourself and those who hear you.' (1 Tim 4v16)
Josh McDowell wrote a book entitled 'Don't check your brains at the door'. In other words use your minds that God has given you and don't be afraid to ask questions, we are not robots without the capacity to reason!
That's why I am unapologetic about the apologetics (the logical defense and putting into practise of 1 Peter 3v15)
Amen! |
