Seeds for 05/20/2024 - 1 Peter 3:15b
Scripture:
Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.
Observation:
Hope is a key theme for this letter. Early on, Peter began with the foundation of Christian hope (1:3):
Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead…
Christian hope is not only for the sake of those who possess it now. It is also for others to discover and have as well. In order for other people to gain it, those who already have it must be able to share it.
There are a number of ways to approach this exhortation to be ready to give a reason for our hope in Christ. Allow me to share a few simple ways to share the gospel hope.
The Gospel is the difference between “do” and “done.” Many people are counting on what they do to earn themselves a place with God. But Christian hope is built on salvation through what Christ has done in the cross and resurrection, that we receive as a gift by faith.
The Gospel is being saved “by grace through faith” and not by good works. Grace is the gift of forgiveness through Jesus that reconciles us to God. Faith is the act of receiving and trusting that gift of grace in Jesus alone to give us a right relationship with God.
The Gospel (that is, “Good News”) is that “God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.” Look at those verbs: loved, gave, believes, have eternal life, not to condemn, to save. What truly good news and reason for hope!
Finally, there’s a simple word about the difference Jesus makes in our lives. For this, the paradigm is the man born blind whom Jesus heals. He is the paradigm not because miraculous healing is always to be expected, but because his testimony is something anyone can do. Here is the pattern: “I was blind, but now I see.” In other words, “This is what life was like before Jesus, and this is what life is like with Jesus.” Alternately, it could be something like, “This is what my life is like with Jesus and this is what my life would be like without Him.”
Application:
What else might the Holy Spirit be speaking with you about in the text today?
Prayer: Lord, thank you for the hope that we have in Jesus Christ. Continue to ground us in that simple Gospel hope so we may share it with others. Amen.
“But the seed falling on good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.” (Matthew 13:23)
If you liked this post from Seeds of Faith, why not share it and/or subscribe?
All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide. www.zondervan.com The “NIV” and “New International Version” are trademarks registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by Biblica, Inc.™