Giving A Reason For The Hope We Have

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect, keeping a clear conscience, so that those who speak maliciously against your good behaviour in Christ may be ashamed of their slander. (1 Peter 3:15-16)

Because of the forgiveness and redemption we’ve received through Jesus’ work on the cross, we have hope in him who will bless, lead, and empower us in this life, and hope in the magnificent inheritance he’s promised us in the life to come. Peter’s words lead us to ask ourselves several questions:

• Is this hope so evident in our lives that people will be compelled to ask us to give the reason for it? If not, why not?

• Even if people don’t ask us for the reason for our hope, what resistance do we have to sharing it?

Peter’s assumption is that this would be done with such care, gentleness and respect that even those who slander us for sharing Jesus with them would be ashamed of their own slander!

For the next few weeks we will continue our series on Paul’s letter to the church in Ephesus, focusing on what his message reveals to us about sharing Jesus with others. In the talk below we looked at Ephesians 1:15-23 and hear from three people what sharing Jesus means to them.

https://soundcloud.com/user-779559513/19th-february-23?in=user-779559513/sets/church-talks-2023