The directness of scripture is absolutely fascinating. I often find myself overthinking scripture (it is often very direct) or underthinking scripture (assuming I know more than I do). I have read 1 Peter 3:15 more than a handful of times and assumed I know the answer, but what exactly is my response to this directive? 1 Peter 3:15 – Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give a reason for the hope that is in you.
Be prepared to give an answer…
How forward…how intimidating… I mean, can’t I just say that I love Jesus because He saved me from my old life? Can’t I just say how awesome He is, that everything I have is because of Him, and that He is the greatest, most awesome, rad God/dude that has ever lived? I think I know the answer, but do I really know how to explain it if I was asked in the next 10 minutes? I know that we are supposed to always be ready to answer this question, but what does the bible say about where my hope should be? Can’t I just wing it and The Spirit will throw me a bone during the conversation?
Let’s dig a little deeper…
1 Peter 1:13 – So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. PUT ALL YOUR HOPE in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world.
Aha! It is a future hope that is based upon what is going to happen when Christ returns, not just what has already happened to Christ and in me? How interesting! So, let me get this straight. Christ came as predicted by the prophets, allowed himself to die at the hands of man, conquered death and rose again three days later, gave us the great commission, ascended to heaven, and if we believe we are filled with The Spirit and are saved…but ALL of my hope is in the salvation that is to come? So I have faith that Christ is who He said He was and trust in Him for my salvation, my hope is in the future based promises that accompany that life giving faith? Christ’s pending return gives us an unperishable hope.
What does Paul have to say about this?
Romans 8:22-25 – 22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
The tension between what we have already received (adoption into God’s family, salvation, firstfruits of The Spirit, The Spirit indwelling us, etc.) and what we will receive (perfect resurrection bodies, to be with The Lord forever, sickness and suffering are gone forever, etc.) exists, but not in conflict with on another. John Piper sums it up well:
Fulfillment of the kingdom is here; but consummation of the kingdom is not. Many kingdom blessings can be experienced today; many are reserved for the consummation and the coming of Jesus.
The King has come. The King has dealt with sin once for all in the sacrifice of himself. The King sits at the Father’s right hand and reigns now until all his enemies are under his feet. The King’s righteousness is now already ours by faith. The King’s Spirit is now already dwelling in us. The King’s holiness is now already being produced in us. The King’s joy and peace have now already been given to us. The King’s victory over Satan is now already ours as we use the sword of the Spirit, the Word of God. The King’s power to witness is now already available to us. And the King’s gifts—the gifts of his Spirit—are now already available for ministry.
And now with a sober awareness of the mystery of the kingdom—present yet future; fulfilled but not consummated—let us go on as a church to seek the kingdom first—to discover all we yet should be for the salvation of lost sinners and the glory of King Jesus!
Wow…what does that mean for us?
We know what has been given to us by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. Let us keep our eyes fixed on God’s promises and be ready to give an answer to the hope that we have. Hope not only in what has happened, but in what God has promised is yet to come. That is contagious hope. Let us remember where we came from before we knew Christ, the comfort that was afforded to us when we accepted Christ, the immediate riches that followed, and the unimaginable future hope of what will happen when Christ returns. Let us be ready to share this hope with confidence and clarity. Christ is coming back and eternity is ahead of us long after this life over….what a glorious hope we have in what has yet to come!
Piper, J. (1990, February 4). Is the Kingdom Present or Future? Retrieved from Is the Kingdom Present or Future? | Desiring God.
Meaders on a Mission! 