Always be ready to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you. – 1 Peter 3:15
What’s the best argument we can give those who ask why we have accepted Jesus as our Savior? How can we most persuasively bear witness to our faith?
“Always be ready,” Peter urged, “to give a defense to everyone who asks you a reason for the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15). The Greek term for “reason” is apology. That doesn’t mean a weak-kneed excuse; it means a convincing argument.
Philosopher William Alston of Syracuse University has written very helpful books in defense of the Christian faith. He has something to say that should encourage all of us: “The final test of the Christian scheme comes from trying it out in one’s life, testing the promises the scheme tells us God has made, following in the way enjoined on us by the church, and seeing whether it leads to the new life of the Spirit.”
Don’t think that because you aren’t a philosopher or a scholar that you can’t be an apologist. You can bear witness to the truth and power of the gospel. Your life can be your own best argument—your best defense of your faith in Jesus Christ—to anyone who asks why you believe.
So put your faith into practice. Let people see the difference Jesus makes.
Vernon Grounds
O that my life may useful be
As I serve Jesus faithfully;
And may the world see Christ in me--
This is my earnest prayer.
People will listen to you carefully if they see you living faithfully.