Peter instructed all followers of Jesus to be ready to give a defense for what they believe. (1 Peter 3:15) We all know that verse, but if someone asked us to, could we give a defense for our faith? It’s not a trivial question. If you can’t explain why you believe what you do, then why do you believe what you do? The modern landscape is littered with churches that never preach the gospel, much less instruct their people in it. The results are more than tragic.
At best, these churches produce generations of illiterate Christians, and at worst, they are hastening their path to Hell. (2 Timothy 4:3; Hosea 4:6) The fault does not stop at the door of the church, however. The Lord will hold you responsible for your spiritual decisions and growth, so we need to nail this down before we face Him. (Romans 14:12; 2 Corinthians 5:10)
To give a defense of your faith, you must begin with where everything begins: with God. He isn’t a fairy tale someone made up, nor some legend on par with Zeus or any other mythological being. Those are all creations of man. God was not created by anyone or anything. He is and always has been. (Exodus 3:14; Psalm 90:2) He has no beginning and no end. (Revelation 1:8; Isaiah 40:28)
It’s difficult to wrap our minds around, but perhaps not more so than trying to understand how the earth spins on its axis without us falling off or how it hangs in midair at all! There are things beyond our understanding because there is a God that far exceeds our grasp and imagination. (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33)
God is not just the most powerful and intelligent being; He has another attribute we find hard to reconcile: God is holy. (Isaiah 6:3; 1 Peter 1:16) That means He is sinless, never makes a mistake, and never does anything wrong. He is so holy that He can’t bear to look at anything that is any less holy. (Habakkuk 1:13)
This is where our problem begins. We know we aren’t holy. We all mess up, do evil and dishonest things, lie, cheat, steal, and a myriad of other things we know to be wrong. (Romans 3:23; Ecclesiastes 7:20) This puts us in opposition to God, and we have no way to attain holiness because we are forever marred by our sin. (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 8:7) As a result, we are under God’s judgment and subject to His holy wrath. (John 3:36; Romans 1:18)
We would be without hope, except God knew this would be our plight. And in His mercy, He provided a way out of this mess. Instead of punishing us for our sins, He sent His Son to pay the price as our substitute for wrath and punishment. (Romans 5:8; 2 Corinthians 5:21; 1 Peter 3:18) Such love is, again, beyond our understanding. (Ephesians 3:16-19) But not understanding something doesn’t make it untrue.
There is, of course, a catch. We have to accept God’s gift of salvation for our sins. (John 1:12; Acts 16:31) If we reject His offer, we will die in our sins and face the consequences of that sin via an eternal punishment in Hell. (John 8:24; Revelation 20:15) I will trust the all-powerful, all-loving God of the universe and accept His grace. The alternative is to reject His grace and take my chances opposing God one-on-one.
That is why we believe what we do, and this is how we give a defense for our faith. There is a holy God who demands holy worship. (John 4:24; 1 Peter 1:15-16) As imperfect beings, we are doomed to God’s judgment because we cannot measure up to His righteous standard. (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16) He should incinerate us on the spot, but He has mercy and offers to sacrifice His only Son in our place. (John 3:16; Romans 6:23)
What an incredible gift! What an incredible God who loves us so much that He gave Jesus in exchange for our lives. (1 John 4:9-10) How can we do anything but accept such an offer? We are saved because Jesus took on our sin and washed us clean of every impurity so that we can now stand in God’s presence. (1 John 1:7; Hebrews 10:19-22) This is the gospel. Know it, believe it, and defend it at every opportunity.