August 5, 2013
1 Peter 3:15 — But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
Myra asked me to look at a question that bothers her, and it’s so important that I immediately knew I should write about it: “Why is it that we as Christians, when we are confronted by nonbelievers, don’t stand up and answer the questions they throw at us?” It’s a great question. Why do many of us all the time, and all of us some of the time, just say nothing? Are we not sure of what to say, or are we just not real Christians? Paul never retreated, and neither did Peter once he had met the risen Jesus.
I think the heart of the issue is that we take too little responsibility, and we take too much responsibility!
How do we take too little responsibility? We don’t take Peter’s command to “always be ready” seriously. It’s not optional. It’s a command. Peter is repeating Jesus’s instruction, given several times — for example “And he said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature.” (Mark 16:15)
How do we take too much responsibility? We assume that the success or failure of our mission depends on us. No such thing! It is God alone who is active — Jesus said, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws
him.”
It is our responsibility to show up, to be ready to provide a reasoned response to questions (the Greek word used for “answer” is “logos”, an intelligent statement.) of course, that means we need to know what we believe! Many believers, especially newer believers, have only a slight view of what Christianity really is. If that’s you, then two things are necessary. First, don’t let it stop you from answering — do the best you can, and trust the Holy Spirit to do the heavy lifting. Second, get busy — see what you can learn. (Anybody want a little help? Let me know!)
It is not our responsibility to conduct theological debates with skeptical experts, or to argue cosmology with clever scientists. We should know what we believe, and why — what teachers, the Bible, the Holy Spirit and our own experiences have taught us. The Gospel can be attacked, and should be defended, on many fronts. How can we be experts in them all? When we come up against a heavyweight questioner, it’s our job to call in heavier guns. There are some pretty good pastors for that! It’s not our responsibility to be the experts — but it is our responsibility to know how to find them!
Peter defines our responsibilities a little more — we are to answer “with meekness”, that is with gentle strength, and courtesy. We are also to answer with “fear”, that is with due respect for God. To answer aggressively or to be failing in reverence will deprive our words of all value.
Let us take on our share of responsibility, fearlessly, knowing that God will do the rest. The fruits will be amazing!