Defense...

"But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence."--1 Peter 3:15.  This verse immediately follows Peter's instructions to do good and consider ourselves blessed if we are harmed or persecuted for it.  We are told in 1 Peter 3:14 not to fear intimidation or be troubled if we are threatened with harm when we do good.  In contrast to fearing we are to sanctify or set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts.  How do we do this? By being ready to make a DEFENSE.

Defense.  We have all heard the chant at sporting events, "DEFENSE, DEFENSE!"  Of course what this means is that the fans want their team to defend their territory with all they got in order to prevent the victory of the other team. When I hear this phrase, my mind goes to football since that is my favorite sport and my favorite team the Green Bay Packers. Yes, I confess I am a Green Bay fan. :-)

Defense.  But back to my point.  The Greek word used in this passage is apologia from where we get apology and the field of apologetics.  The Concise Oxford English Dictionary defines apologetics as reasoned arguments in justification of a theory or doctrine.

Defense.  So what this means is we set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts by preparing to defend what it is we believe in.  This verse is that simple.  Be ready to make a defense "for the hope that is in you."

Defense. So are you ready? Looking at this verse in context, we see that there are going to be people who are going to try to intimidate us for doing what Christ would have us do but why? Well something we have to realize is that human nature has a tendency to attack that which it does not understand.  We know this is true because how often do we get into arguments with someone simply because we do not understand where they are coming from? And rather than seek to understand, we simply create an argument.  This is where gentleness and reverence comes in as mentioned in this passage.

Defense.  I know there have been countless times in my life where I have had to stand up for my belief in Christ in some form or fashion.  At times I have wound up in an argument with the person. Other times not. But what is this gentleness and reverence spoken of in 1 Peter 3:15.  Gentleness and reverence does NOT mean we simply let the person walk all over us.  Gentleness and reverence involves being respectful of the person and defending your position by dealing with the issues and not attacking the persons character or if they are of a different religion or belief, you most certainly DO NOT, I REPEAT DO NOT ATTACK THEIR BELIEFS! Remember apologia means DEFENSE NOT OFFENSE.

Defense.  So what does this mean to us? Well returning to my football illustration, there are certain things required for a good defense in football. Good defense involves being firm so the other team does not gain advantage.  Good defense involves anticipating the teams next move which involves preparation and understanding the other teams maneuvers.

Defense.  If we expect to convert people, first and foremost we need to make sure we have set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts. We do this by preparing to defend what we believe in when others ask and believe me they will ask either because they are interested or they want to mock us, either way we need to be ready because even with the tough ones, you may make a difference and convert them.

Defense. So since people will ask, my encouragement to you is this.  If we expect to convert people, we need to take time to get to know them.  Given the religious diversity that exists in our world today, almost everyone we meet has their own set of religious beliefs.  As you read this, think of someone you have in mind that you would like to share the gospel with. If this person is of a different religion such as Islam or maybe some other denomination, take some time to get familiar with their religious beliefs. This will allow you to understand that person better and know where they are coming from.  As in football, knowing where the other "team" is coming from will allow you to better prepare a defense for what it is you believe in. But I do remind you again DO NOT ATTACK WHAT THEY BELIEVE! Simply defend what you believe as that alone can go a long way if it is based on God's Word.  Let the Word do the judging, you just defend what it says and stick to the truth found in it's pages.

DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT! PRAY ABOUT IT! LOVE Y'ALL! GOD BLESS. Oh yeah and one more thing, DEFENSE! DEFENSE! :-) HAVE A GREAT NIGHT EVERYONE AND THANKS FOR READING!