Our scripture again is taken from 1 Peter, 1 Peter chapter 3, verse 15, and it reads as follows. But in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason or the hope that is in you. Do it with gentleness and respect. God richly bless both the reading and the hearing of his holy were. Now this verse is really the go to verse in support of the discipline of Christian apologetics. It's the one that everyone, in fact you could say it's a proof text for the importance of the discipline of Christian apologetics. And that's because the phrase that's in the verse give an answer is in Greek it's pros apology on which simply means to give a defense or an apology. And so for that reason the idea of when we say an apology it doesn't mean to say I'm sorry but it really means to defend to defend one's faith. So this verse has rightly been used to encourage Christians and believers throughout the ages. As Paul little wrote in two books, consecutive books that are very helpful and it used to be the tagline for the white horse in. He wrote two books entitled one was entitled no what you believe and then the other one was no why you believe. And that used to be our tagline for years on the white horse and I guess it remains the same. But the idea is no what it is you believe and be able to explain what you believe. And the idea is that this is the responsibility of every believer. We think about that that's it is important because so many of us or so many people that claim whatever their faith is and especially in Christian rights. That's where we are that will say we believe something and you say well explain it and it doesn't mean that we have to be able to fully explain everything or you say well the Lord says this and he said well how do you know well I just know. And Peter says no it's little more than that you got to say more you got to have more to offer than I just know so this passage has been very helpful in establishing the idea that we should pay attention to not only what we believe but to be able to explain it. So therefore calling attention to the words in this text it's had a very positive impact the idea of recognizing from scriptures that we do have an obligation in a sense to an obligation to the culture and to the world to others who are outside of the faith to be able to explain. Now hold in mind and I think it is sometimes people confuse apologetics with evangelism evangelism is sharing the gospel it's declaring the gospel. Apologetics is defending the faith those are not one in the same and the reason that's important is because in apologetics the aim of apologetics is to make your position clear. The aim of evangelism is to get people to hear the gospel and respond to it in either case here's what we can't do we can't make people believe what we believe but we ought to at least give a reason for it. But here's where the confusion comes in sometimes Christians over zealous with apologetics we assume that because we've won the argument that the other side is going to concede and they're not so even when you're able to give a reasonable explanation I love it when you give an explanation and say well okay well that makes sense. And then they'll at least walk away they may not you say hey wait a minute but don't you want to hear the four spiritual laws they know you know that's it so it doesn't necessarily mean because you win the argument you explained your position that people are now going to be sold on the Christian faith but at least explain it. So therefore I would argue that this verse and the emphasis of apologetics that's grounded in it has had a very positive effect in Christians scholarship and in Christian discipleship. There are a long line of men and women down through the ages of the Christian Church that have taken Peter's charge to heart here going all the way back where if we look in the early 20th century C.S. Lewis and John Warwick Montgomery a contemporary more of a contemporary James White are very much a contemporary. Ronfie Zacharias all of these men have devoted their great intellectual gifts to reasoning and their reasoning abilities to explain and defend aspects of the Christian faith and on top of that we've had men like Walter Martin and then with with his Bible answer man remember that that radio program where and where he began is to help Christians deal with I don't want to say the nuisance but to deal with the reality of Jehovah's Witnesses knocking at the door and two things that Walter Martin really emphasize in the early days of Bible answer man number one when Jehovah's Witnesses come to your door you don't have to run just get your Bible run get your Bible and here's what he emphasized therefore know the arguments that know how to answer their arguments but more importantly know what you believe and that was critical hang handograph picked it up and and and emphasize that and so people would call in with different questions about doctrine and so forth and it is important to know what we believe we don't just begin with morality because every religion in fact even non religions understand that man ought to be moral in his dealings with one another so in a very positive sense I think understanding the apologetic angle of this particular verse that given Christians down through the ages and we've seen it fleshed out in many ways and they are great apologetic books by the way that emphasize the importance of knowing what we believe and man that just it's I think it helps in terms of strengthening the body of Christ at large that we are not believing in something that's made up even if you look in 1 Corinthians 15 Paul says listen what I deliver to you is which is a first importance is the same thing that was received by me and that is and it goes on to talk about the fact of the resurrection so why do we believe that Jesus was raised from the dead it's not because he rose in my heart and that's one of the things we're coming up in the Easter season we need to know that Jesus didn't rise in your heart and it doesn't matter if that grave is occupied or empty it does matter makes all the difference in the world because if you can dig up a body where where Jesus was buried and proved by DNA that it is actually Jesus then as Paul says we may as well go home our believing is vain and we are still in our sense so therefore on a positive side this has been very helpful the understanding that we need to know what it is we believe we do not believe that Jesus when we go to the garden he walks with us and talks with us no he's too busy at the right hand of the father to be in your garden in the cool of the day Jesus is seated at the right hand of the father in scarred body so what gives me liver shivers is not what I feel when I walk in the cool of the day no that he walks with me and whispers no it's not that he's walking with me and whispering with me he has sealed me with his Holy Spirit as he sits at the right hand of the father and he's there we need to know that we need to know that if Jesus is not raised then we are not saved if Jesus did not die on the cross then we are still in our sense so I think this this this verse has been helpful and that it's made us all more cognizant of the fact that our faith is a is a is a is a fact based faith people say well you believe in a mystery no we we don't believe in a mystery we don't believe in in something that's that in a myth we believe in something that's been documented and you can you cannot believe it or not that's okay it doesn't matter I'm switching to a climatologist talk the other day and he says it's interesting that over 90% of climatologists believe in global warming but only 35% of the population believe in it and he says but what I find ridiculous is that people say do you believe in global warming he says what is it to believe the facts tell you you know and so he says it's interesting nobody asks if you believe in gravity nobody asks you because it's a proven fact and so the same thing with our Christian faith the facts are out there and it's important for us to understand that the Christian faith is a faith that is based on facts and it is not solely a matter of one subjective feelings it's not about what you feel in your heart of hearts but if there is a downside to our emphasis that this verse as an apostolic mandate to defend the faith it would be this if there's a downside it would be that we have a tendency to overshadow the fact that Peter's call is that his call is is to apologetics we emphasize it but we forget that Peter's emphasis on apologetics is both pastoral and personal in other words he's not saying hey guys on top of everything else here's what we need to do because the world is watching and so we need to make sure we go into the marketplace and defend the faith no he's not writing to an elite group within the church but Peter's words here that we are to be able to give an answer to every man that ask us he is writing to a congregation of believers and not only is he writing to a congregation of believers but Peter is writing as an elder to a church and therefore it's it's pastoral because he's writing as an elder but it's practical because it is addressed to all believers as a natural part of their Christian walk so there are four things that we want to briefly address here the first thing is this since this is a pastoral admonition the first thing to note is the assumption upon which Peter gives the exhortation here's the exhortation be ready to give an answer to every man that asks so be ready to give an answer but here's the assumption upon which he gives that that exhortation Peter assumes that the hope that rests in the hearts of every Christian is somehow made recognizable to unbelievers he assumes in other words the reason he says we need to be ready to give an answer is because Peter assumes that unbelievers will ask about our faith let me let me offer a brief definition because of hope because Peter is assuming that internal hope would somehow be tangible or visible even to unbelieving eyes a brief definition of the word hope is this it is the expectation and desire for certain thing an expectation and desire I want to offer that definition so that we don't confuse hope with wishful thinking you know it's what we hope to win the lottery but we don't necessarily have the numbers tell us otherwise right that you don't really have a reasonable expectation of winning it that's wishful thinking but Christian hope is not wishful thinking Christian hope is a reason and reasonable expectation for certain thing to happen therefore Christian hope in particular can be summarized as this it is the expectation that our crucified and resurrected Savior is now at the right hand of the Father and he is coming again to judge the earth I mean that's that's it and when he comes again to judge the earth he is coming to judge the wicked and he's coming to reward the righteous now that's the Christian hope that's not what we are just I don't know what I hope you know this is what the facts lead to this is what God's word says and therefore we expect and we desire the Lord who is raised and right now seated at the right hand of the Father to return to the earth we don't know all of the facts of what it's going to look like and how that's going to play out but here's what we know and here's what we expect we expect the one who was crucified to return to the earth and every I somehow will see him I don't explain don't ask me to explain how that is going to happen but I believe it's going to happen and that is the Christian hope and when he returns then all of our problems within the earth the earth will be purged of that which which soils it and the righteous will be rewarded and part of that reward is a body that is suited to be with him for all eternity that's our hope and so here's what Peter seems to be to assume he seems to assume that the hope that is in us has caused something from us that gets the attention of the unbelieving world look at what he says be ready to give a reason for what the hope that is in you when men ask you so what is going to prop them to ask you about the hope that is within you and that's when I think somehow it is it is that it's Peter is assuming that internal hope of believing people is made visible or tangible to those who are outside of the faith now that brings us to a second thing and that is the question of how is our eternal hope that is subjective how is it made observable how is our eternal hope how is it made visible or knowable to an unbelieving world we don't show them you know a lot of different signs and in fact Peter is not even assuming that supernatural signs are on display this assuming that the hope that is in us makes an observable difference among unbelievers so here's the question how then is our internal hope made observable and I think he answers this in his own in this verse in the King James opening of this verse in the King James says sanctify the Lord in your hearts sanctify the Lord in your hearts that's it's a it's a it's a it's a strange concept when you hear the idea sanctify the Lord sanctify the Lord the word sanctify means to set apart okay to set apart and so in other words we don't sanctify God in our hearts by making him hold God sanctifies us by making us hold but so the question then is how do we sanctify Lord which is why I like the ESV translation the ESV translation puts it this way in your heart honor the Lord in your heart honor the Lord in your heart honor the Lord always okay in your heart honor the Lord always in other words let your aim in everything that you do let it be to bring glory and honor to our God so so so it's and it's in the dynamics of our seeking to honor and glorify our God that somehow ought to get the attention of those that eat the who are even on believers now hold on mine when he says under the Lord in your heart always so are the the aim of our conduct aim is not so that we can get to heaven I wish Christians would stop trying to obey so we can get to so the aim of our conduct we we are we are to be conscious of the words that we speak the thoughts that we allow to take cover or take take to take up residents in our mind and the how we use our bodies the aim of it the reason we are cognizant of these things is not because if we don't we won't go to heaven we we need to flush that that's not no because you may as well keep doing it you're you're not that's not going to get you there and the aim of our conduct is not so that we can win others even though evangelism should be our concern but that's a different thing what Peter is talking about is how you live your life and the reason we live our lives in thought words indeed is what Paul says in Romans chapter 6 that we now should yield our bodies as instruments of righteousness for what reason to serve and honor him Paul says in first Corinthians whether you eat or whether you drink whatever you do do it to the glory of God and so it seems as if what Peter is suggesting here by having our lives driven by the desire to bring glory and honor to God and not to win honor from men and not so that people would applaud us and not so that we can get a reality TV show or not so that we can get more followers on social media so the aim of all of our doing our words our actions our thoughts is not so that we can get home but it's because we are seated in heavenly places in Christ Jesus because we have been raised with him by the power of the Holy Spirit so therefore we are just glad to be free and so therefore here's what Peter is suggesting he's suggesting that our hope which is the desire and the expectation of the soon return of our crucified Savior ought to have such an impact on all of our thinking that it drives us we are marching to a different drum beat whatever it is that we do whatever portion of life that God has given to us wherever we are in the vineyard it is always our aim to please him it is our aim to honor him it is our aim because we know he's returning we know that he is real we know that he is going to return and he will receive us onto himself here's how we sanctify the Lord by giving our lives over to his honor above all things so that doesn't mean there's a Christian way to change your tire that doesn't mean there's a Christian way to shop that doesn't mean that we only listen to Christian music it means is that now for the first time since our creation of the fall of man we are actually able to do that which pleases him the most famous Protestant catechism question is question number one in the Westminster shorter catechism what is the chief end of man and the answer is to glorify God and enjoy him forever and we don't understand all of the constraints that are on us that keep us from enjoying him and so what we do is enjoy the Lord and Peter is implying that somehow the aim of enjoying and glorifying God is such a strange occurrence that unbelievers are going to say wait a minute why do you know did you see the news why do you love the Lord why why are you devoted what is it that's causing you to be focused why do you do good why are you concerned about this I was reading a couple of weeks ago when they had the minus 30 degrees in Chicago and there was a woman there that that she didn't have much money but but she rented out hotel room she donated she gave money so that homeless people could have a place a warm place to sleep through the blizzard in the storm and people started funding that he said well why do you do that some might say so that I can get a crown and you know what I don't know if this woman was a believer or not she might have done it simply because there was another human being in need and so if you were to ask her why she did it she might say simply because someone needed it but others insist here's what Peter seems to be convinced of that those who have been saved by grace are set on fire by grace and the grace that that that that that sets us on fire frees us for the first time to be able to bring glory and honor to God. Here's what what the Lord says in Isaiah which is absolutely true that even our righteousness is a filthy rags you know what that means that means if you are outside of Christ you're just out of luck just keep trying to do and you're good is never going to be good enough it's going to help your neighbor so continue to help your neighbor but what it does mean for all those of us who are in Christ is that God takes our little dirty good because it is ministered through the hand of his son and he looks at it as if it's a thing of beauty. So why do we do good because the father accepts it and delights in it see why do we see justice why do we why are we concerned about our neighbors whether they are believers or not because it delights the father that we do and since we are the children of the heavenly father we want to delight him. Stephen Brown put it this way he says that you know how we have children our children our elementary school and they bring home these drawings that they took their great time to draw and he says you know what we do with them we put them on the refrigerator and when we take it from the hands of our child we look at it and we say oh baby that's sweet that's beautiful we put it on the refrigerator and we are proud of every family that is children in fact our son was a grown man we still have some of this stuff on the refrigerator because for us it's like the Louvre and Steve Brown says that in heaven God has a big old refrigerator in all of our filthy rats righteousness is tacked on to that refrigerator as if it is perfect and that gives the father delight and so our love our service our good brings honor to our father so it's not the the the fear of hell that drives our good doing it's the it's the twinkle in our father's eye when he sees us operating according to what he created us for and so Peter is assuming that that our commitment to doing these things is going to be noticeable to unbelievers that's our hope our hope and our desire is that we will see him we expect Jesus to return and when he returns we expect to be received by him and because we expect to be received by him we conduct our lives accordingly. Peter says the unbelievers around you are looking at you so here's the third thing let's look at the context in which Peter assumes that internal hope because he says it's going to be made visible how is it going to be made visible so that men would ask questions it's going to be made visible as we consciously seek to bring honor to God in all of our actions. So what's the context in which we are going to do this look at verse 14 in our text in verse 14 or the verse before our text in verse 14 he says but even if you should suffer for righteousness sake you will be blessed have no fear of them nor be troubled. In other words the context in which Peter this is probably why it's causing unbelievers to ask questions see the context in which we are to do good now in this instance Peter is specifically referring to suffering suffering that is issued because of our doing good. In fact if you back up a little bit and in verses 12 and 13 he said or in for in verse 13 he says now who is there to harm you if you are jealous of doing of doing good well unbelievers are. So here's what he's saying is that when you suffer for the cause of good don't pounce keep doing good. That's his exhortation do good sanctify the Lord in other words honor God or the Christ who is the Lord honor him more than when we get up in church I just want to give honor to God who's ahead of my life let it be more than a catchphrase let us seek to honor God as the Lord of our life in every department of our lives. Even when we are done wrong even when people don't understand you know what people expect when you do them wrong we talked about this Wednesday night in our Bible study that when Esther and she is elevated and then you have more to God who's given he's given Hayman's position and now he issues in edict to reverse the edict that have been developed by by Hayman where all of the Jews were to be persecuted and killed in the land. And then now Mordecai is given a position and he issues an edict to revoke the first one. And then the scripture is really interesting it says that he went on to give a day of revenge now we talked about what's wrong with that but but here's the interesting thing that when this day of revenge was given we are told that all of the Jews were happy and all of the non Jews were trying to pretend like they were Jews and our discussion was this. The reason they were trying to be to be like Jews is because they knew what they would do if someone did to them what was done to the Jews. And so it's not right but here's the issue. People expect I for and I that's why Jesus in the sermon on the Mount says you have heard it said I for an I to for to you haven't read it in my word but you heard it said and when you hear it said it makes sense. That's you know that if you if you dog my cat that I'm going to catch your dog you know it's that we that's the law that's that's the way we we function we we operate that way in our fallen nature but here's what Peter is saying is that when heavy falls upon you when you do good and the good is rubbed or not even received right when you suffer as a result of doing good don't revert to Adam revert to Christ don't honor you know because you know well my family my family you just don't do that to us well take it to your other family that's what he says see it through the lens of your other family. You don't cross us no no no and here's what he says he says therefore be conscious be conscientious and be be serious about this speed as Paul says in second Corinthians 10 he says the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but their spiritual and their spiritual for bringing down every argument and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God. So when someone does you wrong I know how to do that I was raised in South Central they told me how to do that somebody take this I know how to handle that but I don't know how to handle it in Christ. The strength that I have in Christ says put down the right put down the left and let's let's think about this is what Peter is saying is that when we refrain from tick for tat when we refrain from seeking vengeance because somebody did us wrong and instead we pray for them and instead we serve them. He says an unbelief is going to come and ask you what on earth are you doing they don't know that they're asking you about your hope they don't know that they just want to know what's wrong with you. Then you hear what they said about your mother what's wrong with you Peter says no here's our purpose in this life it is to bring glory and it is to bring honor to Christ who is the head of our life. And so he says when man asked you for the hope when when will they ask when you get pushed when you get proud of when you get nudged when you get picked on and you just stand doesn't mean we become you know doesn't listen it doesn't mean we become doormats. That doesn't mean when somebody break any house you read them a Bible verse no you unless it's the last rights you know that's not that's not what that means it doesn't mean you don't protect property and and and and and and personhood but what it does mean is that just because somebody wants to something about you you don't have to get even but it does mean is that our purpose in this life is what we used to saying if children this little light of mine I'm going to let it shine well here's the light the light is I don't have to be victim to my fallen nature sometimes the strength of a person is to withhold from saying or doing what your impulse tells you you have a right to do but it goes further than that because Paul says don't just he doesn't he doesn't just say refrain from doing evil but our commitment ought to be to every image bearer of God. Now here's the fourth and final thing we see the context here see so again the exhortation is be ready to give an answer that exhortation is based on an assumption that unbelievers will see something about you that puts your hope on display and so that the context of that then is our how do we put our hope on display how do how do we show forth our hope externally by consciously seeking to glorify God and all that we do and the context in which we do it is not just when things go well but it's when things don't go well. But here's the conclusion the conclusion is that our devotion to Christ as we engage a fallen world and as we endure suffering in this world our devotion to Christ ought to be as such that it gives rise to questions from unbelievers I don't believe how you can handle this. I have a friend whose older brother was shot down and killed and it was gang violence and they caught the person that killed him and when they went to court and the sentence was was given and the mother his mother stood up and in the middle of the courtroom she told the people that killed her oldest son baby I love you and I'll be praying for you. And I pray that I want you to know that I'm not holding this against you but I pray that something would happen that would cause you to know the saving love of God. Brothers and sisters we don't always need a pound of flesh we can't get enough flesh but here's what we know that when Jesus returns. That everything that has done has been done to us he will repay and he will reward his saints sanctify the Lord in your heart always and as you seek to bring glory and honor to him with all that you do. You know this that men are going to ask why it doesn't mean they will all of a sudden become believers but don't be ashamed to say because God has loved me with an everlasting love and he loved me when I was an enemy and therefore I love him in return. Be ready to give an answer that's apologetics it's a grounded in our on the ground day to day suffering and contextualizing God's grace in the arena of our pain and our suffering that we don't give up that whatever it is that we endure we do not give up because we know that Jesus is coming again. Let's pray our God and our Father we come to you again we do thank you for your word we thank you for the knowledge of your grace in the person and work of Christ. We pray that it would be our aim in our homes in our communities even in our churches to sanctify you. To filter the knowledge of your grace and love towards us into all areas of our thinking that our reflex would not be in the flesh our reflex to suffering and persecution in this world would not be to get even our reflex would be to turn to you and to continue to serve you in spite of what men say. We pray that when they ask why we are able to give them the answer because Jesus is coming again. We thank you Father for your grace in him and it's in his name that we do pray. Amen. Now unto him who was able to keep you from stumbling and present you faultless before his presence with exceeding joy to the only wise God our Savior be power, majesty and dominion both now and forever that all of God's people say.