The True Defense

Who is going to harm you if you are eager to do good? But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. "Do not fear what they fear; do not be frightened." But in your hearts set apart Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behavior in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. It is better, if it is God's will, to suffer for doing good than for doing evil.
1 Peter 3:13-17

In addition to holy direction from God, the letters of the New Testament can also tell us much about the concerns of the Apostles and the issues they found to be at stake.

A fundamental concern for Peter was the extent to which all believers in the church had set apart Christ in their hearts.

He did not seem to care about Christians having the most persuasive logic. He didn't seem to care about how the evidence for the resurrection was presented. He did not seem to care about how witty or smooth the invitation to know Christ was.

To Peter, the evidence was the faith of those who had a clear conscience. The persuasion was the faith of those who had set apart Christ in their hearts. The logic was the logic of those who were ready to tell others -without fear- about the reason for the hope they had inside.

And what was the reason for their hope?

When many people talk about having a 'ready defense' they mean a number of things.

They mean having evidence for the historical event of Christ's resurrection. They mean having the philosophical means to defend monotheism, or even the Trinity. They mean having doctrine so smoothed down, that everyone would find it nice to look at.

Is this what Peter was referring to?

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope you have within you.

If Peter was referring to the practice of apologetics, he would be implying that apologetics is the reason for the hope within us. Because the word for 'answer' means 'defense' he would be saying the defense of our faith is a matter of forensic evidence, philosophy, and logic.

But is reason the reason for the hope within us?

Certainly not!

It is true that the hope one finds in human hearts needs to be defended.

A bride may be hopeful on her wedding day. She may hope for her family to cooperate. She may hope for satisfactory food at the reception. She may hope for the flowers to show up on time.

But unless she has set her groom apart in her heart, all her hope is vanity.

We are all like that vain bride. Our eyes continually search the world to find confidence in our beliefs, but we refuse to turn our eyes inward. We refuse to set apart the most important thing.

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.

The ancient Greeks often spoke of their knowledge of the gods as a heavy burden to carry. In the pagan understanding of divinity, religion placed a heavy weight on the shoulders of people because the gods were standing on their shoulders.

This is essentially what the work of apologetics claims, that we need to defend Christ so he will be known. The apologist suggests, in a very wrongful way, that Christ reigns because he is standing on our shoulders.

This is the same misconception as paganism. As Kierkegaard noted, it was Christ who carried the weight of the world on his shoulders.

Peter is not suggesting that the reputation of Christ was a trifling matter. He cared very much about what the unbelievers heard about Jesus.

Peter's emphasis, however, was in the genuineness of Christians, and not in the gravity of their logic or evidence.

The true issue at stake for Peter was the extent to which every believer was willing to set apart Christ in their hearts. Peter believed that if people had set Christ so apart in their hearts, that they would tell others about him without fear, and others would see something different about them.

Jesus is the reason for the hope inside the heart of the believer.

May the Lord Himself reign in the hearts of those who fear him, may His Son lay the foundation and legitamacy of hope in their lives, and may his Spirit guide His people into the fullness of peace.