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15 But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, 16 keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. ~ 1 Peter 3:15-16
Today, we continue our study in 1 Peter 3 where the Apostle is revealing to us how to battle against being defined by this fallen world. In context, Peter has taken us to the importance of good solid relationship skills including good communication with the Lord and with one another.
In v.15 of today's passage we read, "But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect."
Literally, the first sentence of this verse is written, "But, set apart Christ in your hearts." This is the heart of the whole book of 1 Peter. You see, before we go out and face the world every day, we must first give Him His rightful place in our hearts, otherwise we will be inauthentic before a lost and dying world. In reality, He sets Himself apart in the first spot of our hearts as we allow Him to reveal Himself to us. Having experienced His goodness and faithfulness for ourselves, we naturally will develop a love for Him which will, in the end, be unparalleled. It takes a long time to get to this place and many never get there. I am in process myself.
As a result, we will be loyal to Him, although imperfect in our attempt to be so. We will have His heart because He will have revealed it to and for us through the various trials of life. What is required of us is that we go through the trails with Him. We must not only embrace Him through the trials, we must allow Him to embrace us through the trials. This scenario creates in us a love for Him, and this kind of love can not be faked.
The more we trust Him, the more we will give Him safe passage into our souls. The interesting part of growing in our trust of God is we do not learn of His faithfulness without dealing with our need. And, the greater the need, the more magnanimous will be our discovery of His faithfulness. And even then, we have to go through stuff with Him in order to see that He is truly committed to us.
With the next sentence of this verse we discover that the plot thickens. It reads, "Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have."
The word "answer" here means defense. We get our English word apologetics from it. Apologetics means to have a defense or offer explanations or give good reasons for that which we believe. The Greek word used here is used to describe lawyers who stand in a courtroom and give good and compelling reasons on behalf of their client. We live in a world where we are always in the courtroom. We are never out of the courtroom. This world is a living courtroom, and the best defense for the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the relationship that we have garnered with Him and from Him as we go through the stuff of life with Him.
This grand concept of hope is always magnified by our suffering. And, as others see us dealing with the suffering that they also go through, they see our hope. This type of hope creates inquisitiveness in others. And, without even knowing it, they are asking of us a revelation of God.
At the end of this verse and on into the next, the Apostle Peter directs us to add three ingredients to this presentation of God before the lost onlookers. The last sentence in this verse reads, "But do this with gentleness and respect."
The word Peter used here for gentleness means mild, calm, kind, quiet, and tender. The word used for respect is the word from which we get our English word phobia or fear. The picture Peter is giving us here is that of a person who treats people who perhaps humanly deserve unkindness, yet who get kindness because of the givers authentic relationship with the Lord.
In v.16 of today's passage we read, "Keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander."
This is not about winning arguments with people, it is about God loving them into heaven through our broken and yielded lives. You see, when we are defined by God, our actions will reflect Him and not our natural selves. This, of course, will always leave us with a clear conscience which enables us to continue to pursue God unimpeded. This is the key to living this life which garners the curiosity of those observing our relationship with God.
The Apostle Paul stood up in Acts 23, and said, "I have lived in all good conscience before God until this day." And the point is this: A clear conscience will help us face anything, even a hostile world. As we are criticized by others, our conscience will be clear because we set the Lord Jesus apart in our hearts. They might accuse us of all sorts of things, but we will have a clear conscience. This will result in a loving boldness that will enable us to endure even with the worst of the hurting that are out there.
