…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)
1 Peter 3:15 is often the “go to” passage for many apologetics textbooks and presentations but, unfortunately, the context of the passage is rarely highlighted. If we fail to consider the context, we risk missing what Peter is saying. The overall context of the passage is that Peter is describing how to do relationships Christianly. He begins chapter 3 talking directly to husbands and wives and then more broadly to how we are to relate to others. And then he says:
To sum up, all of you be harmonious, sympathetic, brotherly, kindhearted, and humble in spirit; not returning evil for evil or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead (1 Peter 3:8-9)
As we see in this passage, it is thoroughly Christian to work for harmony and peace. However, the reality is that it is not always going to work. Sometimes folks will persecute us precisely for doing good and for being Christians. When this sort of suffering occurs, Peter tells us that we should not fear the intimidation and should not be troubled (v. 14). Instead, and here it comes, with Christ as Lord in our hearts, we are to be ready to make an intellectual defense (an apologia) of the hope, namely, the gospel, that is within us (v. 15).
So the context of this passage is that Peter is detailing how Christians should relate to others and live in the world. The interesting thing is that he links having Christ sanctified in our hearts with being ready to make a defense.
There are many things we see in this passage. I will mention four observations.
First observation The term Peter uses here, from which we get the name Apologetics, is apologia. This is a legal term that would bear at least a resemblance with what a contemporary lawyer does in a court room. The lawyer does not only respond to objections but will assert positive theses about his or her client and will defend these theses. In short, the lawyer provides reasons for thinking a certain thesis is true. Similarly, the disciple of Jesus Christ is called to be prepared to provide reasons for thinking that Christianity is true.
Second observation We should notice that Peter is not only addressing pastors and church leaders. He is characterizing Christians in general. He begins v. 8 with “all of you.” Being ready to defend is not optional. It is for every Christian everywhere, no matter one’s vocation. It is as relevant to the plumber as it is to the pastor.
Third observation Peter provides us with only one tone in which these sorts of conversation should take place. We should, when we have opportunity to provide someone the reasons for the hope within, do it with gentleness and respect. There will be times in which we can rhetorically win an argument but lose the battle of winning a soul. This seems to seriously miss the point, to say the least. When we genuinely respect someone as a person and a seeker and gently but firmly make a case for Christianity and gently but firmly point out problems with one’s view, then there will be a far greater impact.
Fourth Observation The thrust of the passage is to be prepared to do Apologetics as a result of our sanctified hearts. It is not here a command to go out and accost the nearest atheist. The call here is not so much to a ministry to others as much as an attitude of the heart and a condition of the mind, to be a certain kind of person first.
This is not to say that apologetics has nothing to do with ministering to others. We are all called to make disciples (Matt. 28:19-20) and this will often involve making a defense of various aspects of the faith. But we often look at apologetics as primarily a ministry to atheists and unbelievers. We may sign up for a study in Christian apologetics to know what to say to our colleague who is vocally hostile to any religious faith or the family member that gives everyone a problem at holidays. This is undoubtedly part of the apologetic enterprise but it seems to skip to answering the questions of others before we have genuinely asked the questions for ourselves. If someone asked you to give an account for the hope that is in you, what would you say in defense of this position? I find that many people in the church have not thought through what reasons they do in fact have. I want to suggest that apologetics should begin with working out this account for ourselves first as the proper source for doing outreach to others.