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“The Hope That Is in Us”
Categories: Meditations
Like most Christians, I’ve heard plenty of teaching on 1 Peter 3:15. Indeed, I’m responsible for a fair amount of it myself. Typically, and rightly so, this verse is often brought up in the context of evangelism. In particular, teachers are concerned with the phrase, “Being prepared to make a defense.” They use it to argue that we need to Know Our Bibles. Gotta be ready to debate all those deluded denominationalists right into the baptistry!
However, during my recent Texas odyssey, I heard a fascinating sermon from Jeff Wilson that pointed out that this application is misguided. The text doesn’t say, “Being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for your specific beliefs on salvation.” Instead, it says, “Being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you.”
That’s very different. We might be tempted to slap a generic definition on “hope”, but the context doesn’t allow us to do that. In 1 Peter 1:3-4, Peter is very specific that the hope is our hope of an eternal inheritance in heaven.
Indeed, he is very specific about the reason for that hope. It is the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When we are making a defense of the reason for the hope that is in us, we are talking about the resurrection and what it means for us.
1 Peter 3:15 is thus another piece of evidence that first-century Christianity was much more resurrection-centric than its 21st-century variant often is. “The gospel” isn’t the 27 books of the New Testament. It is the good news that eternal life is possible through the risen Lord. The vast importance of the cross is undeniable, but without the empty tomb, the cross is meaningless. Don’t take my word for it. Take Paul’s word for it, in 1 Corinthians 15:17.
“But what about baptism???” the legions of battle-hardened personal workers might cry. Frankly, if our teaching on baptism doesn’t start with the resurrection, we’re doing it wrong. As per Romans 6, baptism is best understood as a spiritual union with the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ. If you are buried with Him, you will rise to walk in newness of life like He did.
In fact, the more we exalt the resurrection, the more we also exalt baptism. If the resurrection is the central event of Christianity, it ought also to be the central event of becoming a Christian. What does the sinner’s prayer have to do with the resurrection? Nothing! What does baptism have to do with the resurrection? Everything!
This is the hope that is in us, the hope that we must defend whenever anyone asks. Christ is alive! The Scriptures prove it. Because He is alive, we can live too if we follow Him.
If that’s the defense we make, we might find a whole lot more people who are willing to listen.
