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1 Peter 3:15
15 But [de] sanctify [hagiazo] the Lord [kurios] God [theos] in [en] your [humon] hearts [kardia]: and [de] be ready [hetoimos] always [aei] to [pros] give an answer [apologia] to every man [pas] that
asketh [aiteo] you [humas] a reason [logos] of [peri] the hope [elpis] that is in
[en] you [humin]
with [meta] meekness [prautes] and [kai] fear [phobos]: KJV-Interlinear
15 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;NASB
To sanctify, means to
make holy, to bless, to consecrate, to purify, and therefore means to transform
your soul from the sin nature state that it is in, to a holy state that it
should be in, through doctrine.
Peter quotes from
Isaiah 8.
Isa. 8:13
13 It is the Lord of
hosts whom you should regard as holy. And He shall be your fear, And He shall
be your dread. NASB
Here he replaces the
Lord of Hosts with the Lord God as his reference to Jesus Christ.
Jesus Christ is the
living word.When we take into our
souls, the word of God, through study and application to our daily lives, then
we are in effect taking in Jesus Christ into our souls.A living source as opposed to a dead thing in
the sin nature.
Bible doctrine is the
truth, and truth is life.Anything else
is not life and therefore a dead thing.If you have ever seen something or someone who is dead, then you
understand that the dead have no life, and are empty, totally empty of
everything.Anything from this world is
dead, and therefore amounts to grand total of nothing.
Of the many reasons for
you to grow up in your spiritual life, one certain reason is so that you will be
able to answer any questions that may be asked of you.People may challenge you in doctrine, or they
may simply ask a question out of curiosity.
The word here for answer,
apologia, means to answer formally before a judge.But Peter is making this response a general
response, and therefore making it a casual answer in casual circumstances, but
an answer from preparation, not from guesses.
You are not expected to
quote scripture, or to list the ten points of a subject and identify each and
why.That is too formal.Most folks, when they ask questions, are not
interested in the nitty-gritty details or proofs of your aanswer, all they
really want is something that makes sense.
Think of a child, when
he or she asks a grown-up type of question.The simple answer is the best answer.The child cannot understand a PhD type of dissertation on a subject, and
so too, a spiritually young individual just needs the basics, not some
complicated answer.
If you have been
studying doctrine for a while, then you are prepared, even if you do not know
it.
In your lifetime, you will
no doubt be challenged or inquired of, by many different folks, and the simple
answer is usually the best answer.
And as Peter here
suggests, answer in humility and respect (gentleness and reverence/meekness and
fear).This is accomplished without
arrogance and not challenging the beliefs of the other person.If more information is sought, then you can
invite them to your study group, online study, or church, or wherever you
assemble for your own personal study.There, they can begin their own study, and hopefully find the answers
they are seeking.
Never close the door on
a potentially positive person.Remember
that Paul was a murderer before he became the primary writer of the New
Testament.Jacob was a chiseler before
his name was changed to Israel, the father of a nation.Moses committed murder before he ran off into
exile, and later returned for the deliverance of a nation.Solomon was a womanizer.David had many wives, and made many mistakes.
None of us are
perfect.Look in the mirror and you ll
see your own flaws.Perhaps they are not
as dramatic, but you have flaws and you are not perfect.
God made room for you,
therefore you have no right to prevent someone from doctrine, even if they
challenge or ridicule you.Their eternal
life is at stake even if they do not understand it.
But you understand, and
God may well use you some day, for the purpose of bringing someone to doctrine
and their spiritual life, and that is something that has eternal
repercussions.What you say will impact
them forever.
Therefore, promote doctrine,
as God would want you to, not by defensiveness, not by arrogance, not with
reservations, but with humble confidence and certainty.
Famous people of
history have an impact on history, but that impact is transient and
temporary.You could and probably will,
have an impact through doctrine, on someone's life, and that impact will have
eternal consequences.
Do your best to do it
right.And if you study daily, then your
preparation will help you to succeed.
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End Of Lesson
Study to show thyself approved (mature) unto God, a workman that needs not to be ashamed, rightly dividing (studying/discerning), the Word of truth.
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