But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear. 1 Peter 3:15
Nobody asks a profane person living in open ungodliness and filthy habits about their faith. But when was the last time anybody asked you about your faith? Hopefully we are not like a young man who trusted Christ in a series of Gospel meetings one summer, but who went to work in a remote logging camp for the winter. Other Christians were concerned about how he would fare in such a place. When he returned in the spring, they asked him how he managed to survive as a Christian. ‘No problem’, he replied, ‘they never suspected a thing.’ We cringe at such an attitude by a believer. But do people around us suspect us of being different from them in spiritual matters? If not, we will never have an opportunity to give them an answer when they ask about it.
During the days when Peter was writing this letter, people had no problem distinguishing who were Christians and who were not. It was a day when immorality and dishonesty were the norm, and anyone who was moral and honest would stand out. This led to a great deal of persecution for the Christians. But it also led to wonderful opportunities for the Christians to witness to those around them who were curious or concerned about the difference. Peter is encouraging the Christians of his day to have a ready response when those opportunities came. And they were ready. The Gospel spread like wildfire in those days, largely because the Christians were so ready to give an answer whenever they were asked. The Gospel should spread like wildfire today, too, because our modern world is as rampantly immoral and dishonest as in the early days of Christianity, and Christians should stand out as sharply as those early Christians did. Do you have an answer ready?
What do you tell people who wonder why you don’t tell smutty jokes or ‘run with them to the same excess of riot’ (1 Peter 4:4)? What do you tell people who wonder why you don’t smoke, do drugs, or engage in other destructive habits? What do you tell someone who asks if your modest clothing is ‘because of your religion’? How do you respond when asked if it isn’t unfair for ‘your church to expect you to be so good all the time’? And can you explain why your faith is different from the religion that doesn’t seem to make much difference in the lives of those who have it? Where do we get answers for questions like these? From the Bible. If we read the Bible as much as we should, we won’t have any problem answering any questions about our faith.
If nobody asks you about your faith today, do you know why? If somebody does ask about your faith today, do you know what to say? -Jim MacIntosh