Prepared to Make a Defense

Last week’s studies ended with John’s call to walk as Christ walked, the test of obedience that follows from genuine knowledge of the Son (1 John 2:3–6). Today we will temporarily set 1 John aside to consider a related concern that has run beneath the surface of John’s letter from the beginning. The Apostle writes against false teachers, men who advanced corrupted doctrines that endangered the churches he loved. The forms of false teaching have changed in the centuries since, but the duty to recognize and refute error remains constant. For two weeks we will consider some of the most prominent false teachings of our own day, that we might be better equipped to walk with discernment in the world.

The Apostle Peter sets the basic obligation before us clearly. Each believer is called to be ready, when occasion arises, to give a thoughtful account of the hope that animates his life. This is a duty that belongs to the whole people of God.

Note that Peter grounds the obligation in something internal before he turns to its outward expression. We are first to “honor Christ the Lord as holy” in our hearts. The settled reverence of Christ in our affections is the wellspring from which a faithful defense of the faith flows. Where Christ is rightly honored within, the believer cannot be silent when his Lord is contradicted in the world without. The defense is not an academic exercise but the natural overflow of a worshiping heart.

Peter assumes that there are reasons for the Christian’s hope, reasons that can be articulated and shared. Christianity is not a private feeling but a faith built on the historical work of Christ, attested in Scripture, and vindicated by the resurrection. The believer is to know these reasons well enough to give them when asked.

Peter adds an important qualification: “Yet do it with gentleness and respect.” A faithful defense is never harsh, condescending, or contemptuous toward those with whom we disagree. We do not honor Christ by adopting the manners of His enemies. The truth is to be spoken in love, with patience and tenderness, for we are dealing with people who are made in the image of God.

This is the spirit in which we approach the studies of the next two weeks. We will examine these false teachings honestly, with the aim of guarding our own hearts and of being better prepared to bear witness to those who hold them.