The Bible Matters Because _______________. Sample

Ready

By American Bible Society

Writing to Christians living under Roman rule in a Greek-Roman culture, Peter urges them to be brave in the face of opposition. You know who your ultimate master is, Peter says. Put him first. 

In these verses, Peter envisions a specific situation and advises believers to prepare for it. Be ready to explain why you’re different. Note that Peter is not expecting this difference to show up in their abstaining from or participating in certain behaviors, but in something more internal. People will notice you for something un-fakeable. Not flashy performances, astute arguments, or moral lifestyles. It’s going to be your hope. 

Peter’s focus here is on this curious friend or neighbor who catches a glimpse of what seems like an irrational hopefulness. Maybe that looks like freedom from guilt or a readiness to forgive. Maybe it’s an undercurrent of calmness or lack of anger. Something’s different at the core—and this person who doesn’t have that hope wants to know more. When that happens, Peter says, make your answer with respect—with gentle, careful courtesy. 

Who is being respected here? It’s that person who was discerning enough to observe a subtle truth, and who has been courageous—or hungry—enough to ask about it. Treat that person gently, carefully, listening to her. Be more interested in his questions than in your responses, more attentive to his heart than your own. 

The emphasis on gentleness and respect, on questions and answers, suggests a scenario other than preaching. You don’t ready yourself by preparing a three-point sermon. Jesus once told Peter and the other disciples not to worry in advance about what to say when they were hauled to court, because the Spirit would give them words (Mark 13:11). So maybe our best preparation is to learn reliance on the Lord. Can we learn to respond in each moment, answering each question with the agile grace of God’s Spirit—not striving to argue others into truth, but to woo them into a relationship with the God who gives us meaning?

Why should these friends and neighbors read the Bible? Because it explains the hope that we have, a hope they might want for themselves. Why should we read the Bible? To keep us in tune with the Spirit, who directs this redemptive improvisation.