2 Tim 2:15 "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
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A HEART IN WHICH GOD IS SANCTIFIED (II)
THURSDAY, MAY 13
1 Peter 3:1-17
Acts 16:16-34
“…give an answer to every man
that asketh…”
A HEART IN WHICH GOD IS SANCTIFIED (II)
After going through an example of Christian submission within the family (1 Pet 3:1-7), the Apostle Peter returns to the subject of suffering “for righteousness’ sake” (v 14), and the opportunity it affords for witness. By following in the example of Christ, and bearing suffering and injustice patiently, Christians are manifesting to the world the “hope” (v 15) of the gospel. And we must be “ready always to give an answer,” to explain and defend this hope, to any who would ask.
Our need to give an answer. This leads us to the first question we must seek to answer: why must we, Christians, be the ones to give an answer? We can come to terms with this by asking another question. Why would we, Christians, be the ones who are asked to give an answer? Because others see something in us ‒ “the hope that is in you.” This particular response of patience in the face of wrongful suffering is evidence of a particular hope that the world does not naturally possess.
We see an example of this in the account of the interaction between Paul and Silas, and the Philippian jailer (Acts 16:16-34). When the earthquake opened all the doors of the prison, and loosed the prisoners’ bands, the jailer “would have killed himself ” (v 27). He had lost hope, “supposing that the prisoners had been fled,” and that he would be blamed for it. But he saw in Paul and Silas something special: a hope he did not have, and now desperately wanted. These men were not angry, not afraid, not despondent and resigned to their fate; in fact, they had been singing in the prison! And when the doors opened, they did not even try to escape. It seems likely that the jailer would have known about the controversy which had led to the pair’s imprisonment, and so he would have heard that they were preachers of “the way of salvation” (Acts 16:17). Now, he asked them for that way: and they were ready with the answer (Acts 16:30-32).
Dear reader, Christians have a hope that is uniquely sure, because it is founded on the truth. This is why we have to give an answer: we know the truth that God has revealed, and thus have a sure foundation for our hope. We must be ready to share this truth and this hope with others.
THOUGHT: Do I have a hope founded on God’s truth?
PRAYER: “But I will hope continually, and will yet praise thee…”