How to Defend Your Faith
Sometimes, important words can be hard to understand. Like the insurance policy on your car or house. It’s important. It will affect your life. And most of us probably need a lawyer to really understand it.
Other words that affect us greatly are not hard to understand. Like the words “I do” at a wedding.
Today’s passage is very straightforward. What Peter says is not very hard to understand. But what it means has profound meaning for you and I in a great many respects. And I can’t wait to walk through this passage with you and see what God is saying to us today.
1. Who Will Hurt You for Doing Good? (v. 13)
Let’s start at the top of verse 13, where Peter writes, “Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good?” The word “now” reminds us that this is not a brand-new thought. Peter is continuing his line of thought from verse 9, which we looked at last week, where he told us not to repay evil for evil, but to bless those who treat us badly. And then he gave us reason why. We should bless because we were called to do this, in order that we might obtain a blessing.
But that was just the first reason. The second reason is right here in verse 13. This is a second reason for why we should respond with blessing to our enemies’ cursing. And the reason is given in the form of a question: “Who is there to harm you if you are zealous for doing good?”
This is a rhetorical question. Peter assumes we know the answer, which is something like “I can’t really think of anybody.” He’s pointing to a general truth: when someone is treating you badly, saying terrible things about you, and you respond in a kind way, it tends to diffuse the situation.
I mean, we all know that the opposite is true. Repaying evil for evil is a great way to get a fight started or keep a feud going. But when we respond to curses with blessing, in general, it tends to quiet things down. “A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger” (Proverbs 15:1).
And over the course of our lives, if we’re zealous for doing good—not just doing a few good things here and there, but really passionate about doing good, as we should be (Titus 2:14)—in general, we’re going to make more friends than enemies. In general, people are not going to want to hurt us and cause us harm.
And so according to Peter, this is a reason to not repay evil for evil. When we love our enemies, it tends to lead to peace and it tends to diffuse anger and hatred against us.
2. Even if Some People Do, You’re Blessed (v. 14a)
Now those words “in general” I’ve been using are important. Because Peter knows that this is not always the case. There are those who will feel threatened by our good works and will do their best to hurt us even if all we’re doing is good. Case in point is Jesus Christ. All Jesus did was good, but that didn’t stop him from being murdered.
Peter himself had spend time in jail for helping a lame man to walk. Of anybody, Peter knows that this general truth he’s described in verse 13 has exceptions. And God, through Peter, knew that some of the Christians in Rome were about to be mercilessly persecuted by a maniacal Nero who would take delight in torturing them and destroying them just because he could.
And so verse 14 contains a very important exception: “But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake.” It’s a real possibility that this will happen. And according to Peter, if and when this happens—if and when we are treated badly for doing what is right in the Lord’s eyes—“you will be blessed.”
It’s hard not to hear an echo of Christ’s words here. “Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness’ sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matthew 5:10–12).
Right there in the Sermon on the Mount Jesus prepared us for the reality that we will suffer for righteousness’ sake—we will suffer for doing and believing what is right in God’s eyes—but when that happens, we should consider ourselves blessed. Blessed, present tense, because one day, we know we’re going to inherit a kingdom and receive a reward.
And we know that these themes have never been far from Peter’s mind. Just last week, we were told to “bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing” (1 Peter 3:9). Even if and when we do suffer for what’s right, we should consider ourselves blessed. Not because we might feel super blessed, but because Jesus pronounced us blessed. Blessed, because the suffering, and our response to it, proves our faith is real and gives us confidence in our future reward.
3. So Don’t Fear People, but Honour the Lord (v. 14b)
Knowing that we are blessed, knowing that our reward is great, has an effect on us today: fearlessness. That’s our third stop this morning, coming half-way through verse 14: “Have no fear of them, nor be troubled.”
Peter draws these words, once again, from the Hebrew Scripture, specifically from Isaiah 8. Isaiah 8 is another one of those passages that’s clearly been on Peter’s mind. He quoted from Isaiah 8:14 back in chapter 2. These words in our passage today come from just a few verses before then, Isaiah 8:12-13.
It’s helpful to remember the context. Isaiah was prophesying in a time of great fear. The people of Judah were terrified of Syria and Israel, and this fear was causing them to freak out and turn to other nations for help instead of the Lord. And Isaiah himself was not immune to getting caught up in this. So we read in Isaiah 8:11, “the Lord spoke thus to me with his strong hand upon me, and warned me not to walk in the way of this people, saying: ‘Do not call conspiracy all that this people calls conspiracy, and do not fear what they fear, nor be in dread. But the Lord of hosts, him you shall honor as holy. Let him be your fear, and let him be your dread’” (Isaiah 8:11–13).
And so Peter, not quoting these words exactly, but certainly drawing from them strongly, tells us back in 1 Peter 3:14 and 15, “Have no fear of them, not be troubled, but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy.”
We should point out that there’s some uncertainty in exactly what Peter was telling us not to fear. In the original language, the words literally say “do not fear the fear of them.” So is this a way of saying not to fear the people themselves who are causing us harm? Is he saying not to fear the persecution and mistreatment and shame which our unbelieving neighbours themselves fear? Is he saying not to be afraid of fearing them? I have a hard time being absolutely certain.
But the big idea is certainly clear: “Fear God, and fear no other.” Know who God is, know who God has promised to be for His people, and refuse to be in fear of mere mortals or the things that mere mortals tend to fear.
What is also abundantly clear from Peter’s quotation is the way that he associates Jesus with God. Isaiah 8:13 says “But Yahweh of hosts, him you shall honour as holy.” And 1 Peter 3:15 says “but in your hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy.”
It’s not hard to see Peter’s belief here that Jesus—the Jesus whom he literally walked with and talked with for three years—He is God the Son, worthy of the honour and fear that belongs to God alone, because He is God.
We also want to notice specifically this word “holy” here. We are to honour Christ the Lord “as holy.” Let’s remember that the word “holy” means “devoted to God.” For God to be “holy” means that He’s devoted to Himself, His purposes, His plans, and His people. God's holiness is our hope because it means that He’s not going to lose the plot or abandon His children.
Our fear of man is put to rest when we remember that God in Christ is holy. The high and mighty people here on earth who persecute God’s children are not going to win. The lunch-room gossip is not going to be the final word spoke about us. God is for us and nothing will change that. We will be saved and redeemed and brought safely into His kingdom despite the best attempts of earth and hell.
And so as we fear the Lord Christ and honour Him as holy, we’ll find that fearing people just doesn’t have that much sway over us. As Jesus gets bigger, people will get smaller.
4. Always Being Ready to Defend Your Faith (v. 15a)
And so, instead of cowering in fear, or trying to hide our faith in Christ away somewhere, as we honour Christ the Lord as Holy we’ll have the confidence to defend our faith before those who question it, which we see in the second half of verse 15: “always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
Of all of the verses in 1 Peter, this is one of the better-known. This verse forms the foundation for much of what we know as “apologetics.” That word “apologetics” doesn’t mean “saying sorry;” it means “defending the faith,” and it comes from the Greek word for “defence” in verse 15 (ἀπολογία).
When you think about “defending your faith,” what comes to mind? When you think about a “Christian apologist,” what comes to mind? I don’t know about you, but I think about an academic, really smart guy on a stage debating famous atheists with brilliantly-researched facts and smart one-liners. Or some guy walking around a university campus with a microphone, making the enemies of our faith look stupid. Someone whose intellect and confidence makes us feel good and reassures us that that believing in Jesus is the most logical thing in the world we could do.
But we need to be honest that this kind of academic, professional, adversarial apologetics is not at all what Peter is talking about here in this verse. What Peter is describing here is something any ordinary Christian can do.
Let’s consider what he’s actually describing. First, he says we should always be prepared. And as we say that, let’s remember that “always being prepared” is just a continuation of the previous train of thought. This starts with not being in fear, but honouring Christ the Lord as holy in our hearts.
Which means that “always being prepared” doesn’t mean “make sure you practice your debate skills every morning.” Always being prepared is something that has to do with our hearts before the Lord. As we walk without fear of man, honouring Christ as holy in our hearts, we’ll be ready when people ask us about our faith. Because defending our faith is far more about our hearts before the Lord than it is about us having smack-down arguments on the tip of our tongues.
Next, we want to notice that Peter says we need to be always ready to make a defence to “anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.” Peter’s assumption here is that Christians have a hope in them. “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead” (1 Peter 1:3).
We have a hope, and we experience hope in this hope. And Peter’s assumption is that our hope is visible in our lives. We live differently than the people around us because of our hope. “Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance” (1 Peter 1:13–14).
Our hope causes us to make a clean break with our sinful past and the desires that consumed us before we knew Christ. And this causes us to stick out. As Peter’s going to say in chapter 4, the unbelieving world is surprised when we don’t join them in their flood of sinful living (1 Peter 4:4). And that should makes people ask for a reason for the hope that’s in us.
Don’t miss how connected this is to the rest of 1 Peter. As we set our hope on the grace to be given us when Christ returns, our lives will look so different from the world around us—as much as if we came here from another country—and some people will ask. “Why don’t you do this? Why don’t you celebrate that? Why are you so uptight about this or that? Why won’t you go to that wedding? Why don’t you watch that movie with me? Why won’t you have another drink with me? Why don’t you just move in with your girlfriend? Why don’t you laugh at those jokes? What’s your problem?”
And in response to those questions that arise from a hope-shaped life, we must be always ready to make a defence.
And here’s where this could get challenging. “How can I defend my faith? I don’t know how to do that! I mean, I read some stuff once in a C.S. Lewis book that helped me out, but there’s no way I’m going out remember all of that and be able to spit it out on command.”
And that’s where it’s really interesting to see how this word “defence” is used elsewhere in the New Testament—particularly if we look at the book of Acts, and the way that the Apostle Paul uses and practices this idea.
In Acts 22, Paul has just been reduced from a mob by a group of Roman soldiers who give him the cane to address the crowd. And in verse 1, he says, “Brothers and fathers, hear the defense that I now make before you.” Ok, here we go! One of the brightest minds of that day, giving a defence for the hope he has within him. This is going to be some good apologetics, right?
Well, what does Paul do in Acts 22? He shares his testimony. “Here’s who I was”—verses 2-5. “Here’s my encounter with Jesus”—verses 6-16. “Here’s what Jesus has done with me since”—verses 17-21. It’s his story of what Jesus has done for him.
In Acts 24, Paul stands before the governor Felix, and says in verse 10, “Knowing that for many years you have been a judge over this nation, I cheerfully make my defense.” And what’s he share? A variation of his story, with a confession of his faith. Verse 14: “But this I confess to you, that according to the Way, which they call a sect, I worship the God of our fathers, believing everything laid down by the Law and written in the Prophets, having a hope in God, which these men themselves accept, that there will be a resurrection of both the just and the unjust” (Acts 24:14–15).
In chapter 26, Paul speaks before another ruler, and says in verse 2, “I consider myself fortunate that it is before you, King Agrippa, I am going to make my defense today against all the accusations of the Jews” (Acts 26:2). And he goes on to share his testimony again: his background in verses 4-11, his encounter with Jesus in verses 12-18, and his life since in verses 19 and following.
And he concludes in verse 22: “To this day I have had the help that comes from God, and so I stand here testifying both to small and great, saying nothing but what the prophets and Moses said would come to pass: that the Christ must suffer and that, by being the first to rise from the dead, he would proclaim light both to our people and to the Gentiles’” (Acts 26:22–23).
That’s Paul’s defence for the hope that’s in him. A big part of it includes his testimony. As I say that, there’s no question that he points to the Scripture, and to the bigger story of God’s work in the world. Paul doesn’t share a small, personal story that’s only limited to what God did for him. But at the same time, what is Paul’s reason for why he believes in Jesus? “Jesus saved me.” He doesn’t go on and on with philosophical reasonings. He doesn’t try to persuade anybody with loads of smart-sounding arguments. He just gives a simple herald’s message.
This is exactly what we saw back in the summer when we looked at 1 Corinthians, right? Paul refused to try to convince people using human wisdom or the skills of the trained orators. “For Christ did not send me to baptize but to preach the gospel, and not with words of eloquent wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power…it pleased God through the folly of what we preach to save those who believe. For Jews demand signs and Greeks seek wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and folly to Gentiles, but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Corinthians 1:17, 21b–24).
We saw back then that Paul’s whole ministry model was supernatural. He assumed that God, through the Holy Spirit, did the work of making people believe. And he put that into practice as he simply heralded the truth and let the Lord do the work.
And if that was good enough for the Apostle Paul, shouldn’t it be good enough for us?
Let me ask you this morning—what is the reason for the hope that is in you? Why do you believe? For some of you, logical or historical arguments may have had a part to play, but if logic and history were enough to save people, there’d be a lot more Christians than there are right now. If you believe in Jesus—if you have His hope in you—it’s because, at some point, you had an encounter with Jesus and His saving power. He may have used His people, in whom you saw His love. But through them, you encountered Jesus and you saw He was magnificent and you believed.
And you believed, not because you stood on a high hill and decided that the gospel measured up to your very intelligent standards. No, you believed because, like a little child, God gave you the humility to receive His grace as a gift. “Truly, I say to you, whoever does not receive the kingdom of God like a child shall not enter it’” (Mark 10:15).
With that verse in mind, I think we can see how much of what we call “apologetics” can actually work against biblical faith. It can encourage intellectual pride, causing us to place our faith in our logic and evidence, and using our smart arguments as a way to avoid the shame of being an exile and stranger and fool in the eyes of the world.
Now I want to be careful here. I’m not saying that any argument for the truth of Christ is wrong. The Bible contains historical evidence and careful reasoning. We are to love the Lord our God with all of our minds, and to think carefully about our faith. And I’m still open to their being a place for us to use all the tools of logic and philosophy and science to show that the message of Jesus is not just true but necessarily true.
And yet, over this past year, I’ve been rediscovering the simple and humble and profound way in which the Bible talks about these matters, and I’ve realized that, like Paul, my defence for the hope that you have in me is that I’ve experienced the power of Jesus. I read the Bible and find it to be trustworthy. I believe the stories are true. I’ve seen too much to deny. I’ve tasted glory. I find Jesus irresistibly compelling. His cross, His sacrificial death for sinners, is captivating. My greatest joy is worshipping Jesus with His people. I love Him, and I can’t help but believe.
And when we think of “defending our faith” in this sense, then maybe it becomes a bit more clear why we need to not be afraid. Because what I’ve just described might not seem like the best “defence” in the world’s perspective. Jews demand signs, and Greeks seek wisdom, and what do modern, smug, self-confident, meme-making Canadians seek? Entertainment? Self-affirmation? Whatever it is, they don’t seek the simple power of the Biblical gospel.
And so when we give it to them, we might feel a little silly. A little scared. When we get smugly smirked by the mockers who say “you seriously believe that?”, and feel ourselves wilting inside, that’s exactly when we must honour Christ the Lord as holy and refuse to give in to fear.
5. With Gentleness and Respect (v. 15b)
A the same time, honouring Christ the Lord as holy protects us from the pendulum swinging the opposite direction and turning us into arrogant, argumentative snobs.
We’ve met people like that, haven’t we? They’re right, and they’re confident about it, but they have a swagger and an proud spirit, which represents Jesus just as bad as fear does.
So that’s why Peter tells us, starting in the second half of verse 15, “yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience.” As we defend our faith, we must be gentle. This is the same word from the “gentle and quiet spirit” verse we looked at a few weeks ago. It’s a word often translated as “meekness.” In Titus 3:2 it’s translated as “courtesy.”
We know this word doesn’t mean we’re never bold, because Jesus was bold even though he was also “gentle” (Matthew 10:28). But this word does describe the opposite of a proud, “I know better than you, you dumb atheist” kind of attitude. This is the opposite of the comment section in the “conservative hero DESTROYS liberal snowflake college student” YouTube videos.
Notice the next word Peter uses is “respect.” And I’m actually not totally sure about this translation. The word here translated “respect” is just “fear.” And every time this word has been used by Peter, it’s speaking about the fear of God. That’s why the KJV translates this word “fear.”
This is a reminder again of our need to fear God, but also that this fear doesn’t make us flippant or rude with the people we interact with. Fearing God makes us not fear people, but instead to treat them with gentleness.
6. So That No Slander Can Stick (v. 16)
Verse 16 shows us the goal in this. It opens up with, “having a good conscience.” As we defend our faith, we need to conduct ourselves in such a way that we have no regrets. No, “I wish I hadn’t said that” moments later on. Why? “So that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame.”
See this theme popping up again? We will be reviled, or insulted, or threatened, or mistreated, even for our good behaviour. But if we conduct ourselves with gentleness and the fear of God, maintaining a clean conscience, than the opponents of the gospel will be the ones who are put to shame. This may happen here and now, as they are shamed by our gentle responses to them. This may happen when Christ returns, and the gospel is publicly vindicated before every watching eye.
This is much the same idea as back in chapter 2:12, when we read, “Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation” (1 Peter 2:12)—whether that’s God visiting them with salvation today, or when Christ returns like He promised.
The idea here is that we not do anything that lets their slander stick. I think it was Katherine Hepburn who said about the tabloids, “I don’t care what they say about me, as long as it isn’t true.” People are going to say terrible things about us. Let’s make sure none of it is true.
7. Summary: How to Defend Your Faith
And so, who is there to harm us if we are zealous for doing good? Truthfully, there might be some. And so, even if we should suffer for righteousness’ sake, know that we’ll be blessed. Let’s not fear our opponents, or be troubled, but in our hearts honour Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defence to anyone who asks us for a reason for the hope that is in us; yet doing so with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when we are slandered, those who revile our good behaviour in Christ may be put to shame.
And that, brothers and sisters, is how we defend our faith—the hope that’s in us. And this is a passage that should be relatively easy for us to put into practice.
Let’s prepare to put this into action by asking: do you have a hope in you? Have you encountered Jesus in His word, believed that He died and rose again to redeem His people, and that He’s returning to make all things new?
Is this hope transforming your life? If not, why not? If so, are you letting it show? Is there any place where you’re hiding your hope? Is your hope obvious enough to make people ask?
And when they ask, are you ready? Always ready? Are you putting your fear to death by honouring Christ the Lord as holy in your heart? Are you ready to give an answer with gentleness and fear? Are you daily preparing your heart to tremble before the Lord instead of the opinions of humans?
In the end, none of this is up to us. We can’t conjure this up on our own, we can’t save anybody on our own, we can’t convince anybody on our own, we can’t obey this passage on our own. And so it’s fitting for us to end now by looking to our hope together and confessing that anything good that happens is through Christ in us.