Exegetical and Hermeneutical Commentary of 1 Peter 3:15

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

15. but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts ] The better MSS. give the Lord Christ. The original text was probably altered by transcribers to bring it into conformity with the LXX. text of Isaiah. To “sanctify Christ” or “God” was to count His Name as holy above all other names, His fear, as the only fear which men ought to cherish, and therefore as the safeguard against all undue fear of men. The words “in your hearts” are added by the Apostle to the text of Isaiah as shewing that the “hallowing” of which he speaks should work in the root and centre of their spiritual being.

be ready always to give an answer ] The words imply that the disciples of Christ were not to take refuge in the silence to which fear might prompt. They were to be ready with a defence, a vindication, an apologia, for their faith and hope. And this answer was to be given not in a tone of threatening defiance, but “in meekness” as regards the interrogator, whether the questions were put officially or in private, and “in fear,” partly lest the truth should suffer through any infirmities in its defenders, partly because the spirit of reverential awe towards God was the best safeguard against such infirmities.

Fuente: The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts – In Isaiah Isa 8:13 this is, sanctify the Lord of hosts himself; that is, in that connection, regard him as your Protector, and be afraid of him, and not of what man can do. The sense in the passage before us is, In your hearts, or in the affections of the soul, regard the Lord God as holy, and act toward him with that confidence which a proper respect for one so great and so holy demands. In the midst of dangers, be not intimidated; dread not what man can do, but evince proper reliance on a holy God, and flee to him with the confidence which is due to one so glorious. This contains, however, a more general direction, applicable to Christians at all times. It is, that in our hearts we are to esteem God as a holy being, and in all our deportment to act toward him as such. The object of Peter in quoting the passage from Isaiah, was to lull the fears of those whom he addressed, and preserve them from any alarms in view of the persecutions to which they might be exposed; the trials which would be brought upon them by people. Thus, in entire accordance with the sentiment as employed by Isaiah, he says, Be not afraid of their terror, neither be troubled; but sanctify the Lord God in your hearts. That is, in order to keep the mind calm in trials, sanctify the Lord in your hearts; regard him as your holy God and Saviour; make him your refuge. This will allay all your fears, and secure you from all that you dread. The sentiment of the passage then is, that the sanctifying of the Lord God in our hearts, or proper confidence in him as a holy and righteous God, will deliver us from fear. As this is a very important sentiment for Christians, it may be proper, in order to a just exposition of the passage, to dwell a moment on it:

I. What is meant by our sanctifying the Lord God? It cannot mean to make him holy, for he is perfectly holy, whatever may be our estimate of him; and our views of him evidently can make no change in his character. The meaning therefore must be, that we should regard him as holy in our estimate of him, or in the feelings which we have toward him. This may include the following things:

(1) To esteem or regard him as a holy being, in contradistinction from all those feelings which rise up in the heart against him – the feelings of complaining and murmuring under his dispensations, as if he were severe and harsh; the feelings of dissatisfaction with his government, as if it were partial and unequal; the feelings of rebellion, as if his claims were unfounded or unjust.

(2) To desire that he may be regarded by others as holy, in accordance with the petition in the Lords prayer, Mat 6:9, hallowed be thy name; that is, let thy name be esteemed to be holy everywhere; a feeling in opposition to that which is regardless of the honor which he may receive in the world. When we esteem a friend, we desire that all due respect should be shown him by others; we wish that all who know him should have the same views that we have; we are sensitive to his honor, just in proportion as we love him.

(3) To act toward him as holy: that is, to obey his laws, and acquiesce in all his requirements, as if they were just and good. This implies:

(a)That we are to speak of him as holy, in opposition to the language of disrespect and irreverence so common among mankind;

(b)That we are to flee to him in trouble, in contradistinction from withholding our hearts from him, and flying to other sources of consolation and support.

II. What is it to do this in the heart? Sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; that is, in contradistinction from a mere external service. This may imply the following things:

(1) In contradistinction from a mere intellectual assent to the proposition that he is holy. Many admit the doctrine that God is holy into their creeds, who never suffer the sentiment to find its way to the heart. All is right on this subject in the articles of their faith; all in their hearts may be murmuring and complaining. In their creeds he is spoken of as just and good; in their hearts they regard him as partial and unjust, as severe and stern, as unamiable and cruel.

(2) In contradistinction From a mere outward form of devotion. In our prayers, and in our hymns, we, of course, ascribe holiness to our Maker. But how much of this is the mere language of form! How little does the heart accompany it! And even in the most solemn and sublime ascriptions of praise, how often are the feelings of the heart entirely at variance with what is expressed by the lips! What would more justly offend us, than for a professed friend to approach us with the language of friendship, when every feeling of his heart belied his expressions, and we knew that his honeyed words were false and hollow!

III. Such a sanctifying of the Lord in our hearts will save us from fear. We dread danger, we dread sickness, we dread death, we dread the eternal world. We are alarmed when our affairs are tending to bankruptcy; we are alarmed when a friend is sick and ready to die; we are alarmed if our country is invaded by a foe, and the enemy already approaches our dwelling. The sentiment in the passage before us is, that if we sanctify the Lord God with proper affections, we shall be delivered from these alarms, and the mind will be calm:

(1) The fear of the Lord, as Leighton (in loc.) expresses it, as greatest, overtops and nullifies all lesser fears: the heart possessed with this fear hath no room for the other. It is an absorbing emotion; making everything else comparatively of no importance. If we fear God, we have nothing else to fear. The highest emotion which there can be in the soul is the fear of God; and when that exists, the soul will be calm amidst all that might tend otherwise to disturb it. What time I am afraid, says David, I will trust in thee, Psa 56:3. We are not, careful, said Daniel and his friends, to answer thee, O king. Our God can deliver us; but if not, we will not worship the image, Dan 3:16.

(2) If we sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, there will be a belief that he will do all things well, and the mind will be calm. However dark his dispensations may be, we shall be assured that everything is ordered aright. In a storm at sea, a child may be calm when he feels that his father is at the helm, and assures him that there is no danger. In a battle, the mind of a soldier may be calm, if he has confidence in his commander, and he assures him that all is safe. So in anything, if we have the assurance that the best thing is done that can be, that the issues will all be right, the mind will be calm. But in this respect the highest confidence that can exist, is that which is reposed in God.

(3) There will be the assurance that all is safe. Though I walk, says David, through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me, Psa 23:4. The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Psa 27:1. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble: therefore will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof, Psa 46:1-3. Let us ever then regard the Lord as holy, just, and good. Let us flee to him in all the trials of the present life, and in the hour of death repose on his arm. Every other source of trust will fail; and whatever else may be our reliance, when the hour of anguish approaches, that reliance will fail, and that which we dreaded will overwhelm us. Nor riches, nor honors, nor earthly friends, can save us from those alarms, or be a security for our souls when the rains descend, and the floods come, and the winds blow upon us.

And be ready always – That is:

(a)Be always able to do it; have such reasons for the hope that is in you that they can be stated; or, have good and substantial reasons; and,

(b)Be willing to state those reasons on all proper occasions.

No man ought to entertain opinions for which a good reason cannot be given; and every man ought to be willing to state the grounds of his hope on all proper occasions. A Christian should have such intelligent views of the truth of his religion, and such constant evidence in his own heart and life that he is a child of God, as to be able at any time to satisfy a candid inquirer that the Bible is a revelation from heaven, and that it is proper for him to cherish the hope of salvation.

To give an answer – Greek, An apology, ( apologian.) This word formerly did not mean, as the word apology does now, an excuse for anything that is done as if it were wrong, but a defense of anything. We apply the word now to denote something written or said in extenuation of what appears to others to be wrong, or what might be construed as wrong – as when we make an apology to others for not fulfilling an engagement, or for some conduct which might be construed as designed neglect. The word originally, however, referred rather to that which was thought not to be true, than that which might be construed as wrong; and the defense or apology which Christians were to make of their religion, was not on the supposition that others would regard it as wrong, but in order to show them that it was true. The word used here is rendered defense, Act 22:1; Phi 1:7, Phi 1:17; answer, Act 25:16; 1Co 9:3; 2Ti 4:16; 1Pe 3:15; and clearing of yourselves in 2Co 7:11. We are not to hold ourselves ready to make an apology for our religion as if it were a wrong thing to be a Christian; but we are always to be ready to give reasons for regarding it as true.

To every man that asketh you – Anyone has a right respectfully to ask another on what grounds he regards his religion as true; for every man has a common interest in religion, and in knowing what is the truth on the subject. If any man, therefore, asks us candidly and respectfully by what reasons we have been led to embrace the gospel, and on what grounds we, regard it as true, we are under obligation to state those grounds in the best manner that we are able. We should regard it not as an impertinent intrusion into our private affairs, but as an opportunity of doing good to others, and to honor the Master whom we serve. Nay, we should hold ourselves in readiness to state the grounds of our faith and hope, whatever maybe the motive of the inquirer, and in whatever manner the request may be made. Those who were persecuted for their religion, were under obligation to make as good a defense of it as they could, and to state to their persecutors the reason of the hope which they entertained. And so now, if a man attacks our religion; if he ridicules us for being Christians; if he tauntingly asks us what reason we have for believing the truth of the Bible, it is better to tell him in a kind manner, and to meet his taunt with a kind and strong argument, than to become angry, or to turn away with contempt. The best way to disarm him is to show him that by embracing religion we are not fools in understanding; and, by a kind temper, to convince him that the influence of religion over us when we are abused and insulted, is a reason why we should love our religion, and why he should too.

A reason of the hope that is in you – Greek, an account, ( logon.) That is, you are to state on what ground you cherish that hope. This refers to the whole ground of our hope, and includes evidently two things:

1. The reason why we regard Christianity as true, or as furnishing a ground of hope for people; and,

(2)The reason which we have ourselves for cherishing a hope of heaven, or the experimental and practical views which we have of religion, which constitute a just ground of hope.

It is not improbable that the former of these was more directly in the eye of the apostle than the latter, though both seem to be implied in the direction to state the reasons which ought to satisfy others that it is proper for us to cherish the hope of heaven. The first part of this duty – that we are to state the reasons why we regard the system of religion which we have embraced as true – implies, that we should be acquainted with the evidences of the truth of Christianity, and be able to state them to others. Christianity is founded on evidence; and though it cannot be supposed that every Christian will be able to understand all that is involved in what are called the evidences of Christianity, or to meet all the objections of the enemies of the gospel; yet every man who becomes a Christian should have such intelligent views of religion, and of the evidences of the truth of the Bible, that he can show to others that the religion which he has embraced has claims to their attention, or that it is not a mere matter of education, of tradition, or of feeling. It should also be an object with every Christian to increase his acquaintance with the evidences of the truth of religion, not only for his own stability and comfort in the faith, but that he may be able to defend religion if attacked, or to guide others if they are desirous of knowing what is truth. The second part of this duty, that we state the reasons which we have for cherishing the hope of heaven as a personal matter, implies:

(a)That there should be, in fact, a well-founded hope of heaven; that is, that we have evidence that we are true Christians, since it is impossible to give a reason of the hope that is in us unless there are reasons for it;

(b)That we be able to state in a clear and intelligent manner what constitutes evidence of piety, or what should be reasonably regarded as such; and,

(c)That we be ever ready to state these reasons.

A Christian should always be willing to converse about his religion. He should have such a deep conviction of its truth, of its importance, and of his personal interest in it; he should have a hope so firm, so cheering, so sustaining, that he will be always prepared to converse on the prospect of heaven and to endeavor to lead others to walk in the path to life.

With meekness – With modesty; without any spirit of ostentation; with gentleness of manner. This seems to be added on the supposition that they sometimes might be rudely assailed; that the questions might be proposed in a spirit of evil; that it might be done in a taunting or insulting manner. Even though this should be done, they were not to fall into a passion, to manifest resentment, or to retort in an angry and revengeful manner; but, in a calm and gentle spirit, they were to state the reasons of their faith and hope, and leave the matter there.

And fear – Margin, reverence. The sense seems to be, in the fear of God; with a serious and reverent spirit; as in the presence of Him who sees and hears all things. It evidently does not mean with the fear or dread of those who propose the question, but with that serious and reverent frame of mind which is produced by a deep impression of the importance of the subject, and a conscious sense of the presence of God. It follows, from the injunction of the apostle here:

(1)That every professing Christian should have clear and intelligent views of his own personal interest in religion, or such evidences of piety that they can be stated to others, and that they can be made satisfactory to other minds;

(2)That every Christian, however humble his rank, or however unlettered he may be, may become a valuable defender of the truth of Christianity;

(3)That we should esteem it a privilege to bear our testimony to the truth and value of religion, and to stand up as the advocates of truth in the world. Though we may be rudely assailed, it is an honor to speak in defense of religion; though we are persecuted and reviled, it is a privilege to be permitted in any way to show our fellow-men that there is such a thing as true religion, and that man may cherish the hope of heaven.

Fuente: Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible

Verse 15. But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts] To sanctify God may signify to offer him the praises due to his grace, but as to sanctify literally signifies to make holy, it is impossible that God should be thus sanctified. We have often already seen that signifies to separate from earth, that is, from any common use or purpose, that the thing or person thus separated may be devoted to a sacred use. Perhaps we should understand Peter’s words thus: Entertain just notions of God; of his nature, power, will, justice, goodness, and truth. Do not conceive of him as being actuated by such passions as men; separate him in your hearts from every thing earthly, human, fickle, rigidly severe, or capriciously merciful. Consider that he can neither be like man, feel like man, nor act like man. Ascribe no human passions to him, for this would desecrate not sanctify him. Do not confine him in your conceptions to place, space, vacuity, heaven, or earth; endeavour to think worthily of the immensity and eternity of his nature, of his omniscience, omnipresence, and omnipotence. Avoid the error of the heathens, who bound even their Dii Majores, their greatest gods, by fate, as many well-meaning Christians do the true God by decrees; conceive of him as infinitely free to act or not act, as he pleases. Consider the goodness of his nature; for goodness, in every possible state of perfection and infinitude, belongs to him. Ascribe no malevolence to him; nor any work, purpose, or decree, that implies it: this is not only a human passion, but a passion of fallen man. Do not suppose that he can do evil, or that he can destroy when he might save; that he ever did, or ever can, hate any of those whom he made in his own image and in his own likeness, so as by a positive decree to doom them, unborn, to everlasting perdition, or, what is of the same import, pass them by without affording them the means of salvation, and consequently rendering it impossible for them to be saved. Thus endeavour to conceive of him; and, by so doing, you separate him from all that is imperfect, human, evil, capricious, changeable, and unkind. Ever remember that he has wisdom without error, power, without limits, truth without falsity, love without hatred, holiness without evil, and justice without rigour or severity on the one hand, or capricious tenderness on the other. In a word, that he neither can be, say, purpose, or do, any thing that is not infinitely just, holy, wise, true, and gracious; that he hates nothing that he has made; and has so loved the world, the whole human race, as to give his only-begotten Son to die for them, that they might not perish, but have everlasting life. Thus sanctify the Lord God in your hearts, and you will ever be ready to give a reason of the hope that is in you to every serious and candid inquirer after truth. Most religious systems and creeds are incapable of rational explanation, because founded on some misconception of the Divine nature.

“They set at odds heaven’s jarring attributes,

And with one excellence another wound.”

The system of humanizing God, and making him, by our unjust conceptions of him, to act as ourselves would in certain circumstances, has been the bane of both religion and piety; and on this ground infidels have laughed us to scorn. It is high time that we should no longer know God after the flesh; for even if we have known Jesus Christ after the flesh, we are to know him so no more.

What I have written above is not against any particular creed of religious people, it is against any or all to whom it may justly apply, it may even be against some portions of my own; for even in this respect I am obliged daily to labour to sanctify the Lord God in my heart, to abstract him from every thing earthly and human, and apprehend him as far as possible in his own essential nature and attributes through the light of his Spirit and the medium of his own revelation. To act thus requires no common effort of soul: and just apprehensions of this kind are not acquired without much prayer, much self-reflection, much time, and much of the grace and mercy of God.

Instead of , GOD, ABC, four others, both the Syriac, Erpen’s Arabic, the Coptic, Vulgate, and Armenian, with Clement and Fulgentius, read , CHRIST. Sanctify Christ in your hearts. This reading is at least equal to the other in the authorities by which it is supported; but which was written by St. Peter we know not.

A reason of the hope] An account of your hope of the resurrection of the dead and eternal life in God’s glory. This was the great object of their hope, as Christ was the grand object of their faith.

The word , which we translate answer, signifies a defence; from this we have our word apology, which did not originally signify an excuse for an act, but a defence of that act. The defences of Christianity by the primitive fathers are called apologies. See Clarke on Ac 21:1.

With meekness and fear] Several excellent MSS. add the word , but, here, and it improves the sense considerably: Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, BUT with meekness and fear. Do not permit your readiness to answer, nor the confidence you have in the goodness of your cause, to lead you to answer pertly or superciliously to any person; defend the truth with all possible gentleness and fear, lest while you are doing it you should forget his presence whose cause you support, or say any thing unbecoming the dignity and holiness of the religion which you have espoused, or inconsistent with that heavenly temper which the Spirit of your indwelling Lord must infallibly produce.

Fuente: Adam Clarke’s Commentary and Critical Notes on the Bible

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; exalt him in your hearts, and give him the honour of all his glorious perfections, power, wisdom, goodness, faithfulness, &c., by believing them, and depending upon his promises for defence and assistance against all the evils your enemies may threaten you with.

And be ready always; prepared to answer when duly called to it.

To give an answer; or, to make an apology or defence, viz. of the faith ye profess; the word is used, Act 22:1; 1Co 9:3.

To every man that asketh you; either that hath authority to examine you, and take an account of your religion; or, that asks with modesty, and a desire to be satisfied, and learn of you.

A reason of the hope that is in you; i.e. faith, for which hope is frequently used in Scipture, which is built upon faith: the sense is: Whereas unbelievers, your persecutors especially, may scoff at your hope of future glory, as vain and groundless, and at yourselves, as mad or foolish, for venturing the loss of all in this world, and exposing yourselves to so many sufferings, in expectation of ye know not what uncertainties in the other; do ye therefore be always ready to defend and justify your faith against all objectors, and to show how reasonable your hope of salvation is, and on how sure a foundation it is built.

With meekness and fear; either with meekness in relation to men, in opposition to passion and intemperate zeal, (your confession of the faith must be with courage, but yet with a spirit of meekness and modesty), and fear or reverence in relation to God, which, where it prevails, overcomes the fierceness of mens spirits, and makes them speak modestly of the things of God, and give due respect to men; or, fear may be set in opposition to pride, and presumption of a mans own wisdom or strength; q.d. Make confession of your faith humbly, with fear and trembling, not in confidence of your own strength, or gifts, or abilities.

Fuente: English Annotations on the Holy Bible by Matthew Poole

15. sanctifyhallow; honoras holy, enshrining Him in your hearts. So in the Lord’sPrayer, Mt 6:9. God’s holinessis thus glorified in our hearts as the dwelling-place of His Spirit.

the Lord GodThe oldestmanuscripts read “Christ.” Translate, “Sanctify Christas Lord.”

andGreek,“but,” or “moreover.” Besides this inwardsanctification of God in the heart, be also ready always to give,c.

answeran apologeticanswer defending your faith.

to every man that askethyouThe last words limit the universality of the “always”not to a roller, but to everyone among the heathen who inquireshonestly.

a reasona reasonableaccount. This refutes Rome’s dogma, “I believe it, because theChurch believes it.” Credulity is believing without evidence;faith is believing on evidence. There is no repose for reason itselfbut in faith. This verse does not impose an obligation to bringforward a learned proof and logical defense of revelation. But asbelievers deny themselves, crucify the world, and brave persecution,they must be buoyed up by some strong “hope”; men of theworld, having no such hope themselves, are moved by curiosity to askthe secret of this hope; the believer must be ready to give anexperimental account “how this hope arose in him, what itcontains, and on what it rests” [STEIGER].

withThe oldestmanuscripts read, “but with.” Be ready, butwith “meekness.” Not pertly and arrogantly.

meekness (1Pe3:4). The most effective way; not self-sufficient impetuosity.

feardue respecttowards man, and reverence towards God, remembering His cause doesnot need man’s hot temper to uphold it.

Fuente: Jamieson, Fausset and Brown’s Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts,…. Still referring to Isa 8:13 not by making him holy, which need not, nor cannot be, he being essentially, infinitely, and perfectly holy; but by declaring and proclaiming his holiness, as the seraphim in Isaiah’s prophecy, and the four living creatures in the Revelation did; and by glorifying of him, praising and applauding all his perfections, and among the rest, this of his holiness, and giving thanks at the remembrance of it; which he has so much displayed in the works of creation, providence, redemption, and grace; hence the Arabic version renders it, bless the Lord God in your hearts: the Lord God is sanctified by his people externally, when they regard his commands, attend his ordinances, and call upon his name, and praise him; but here an internal sanctification of him, a sanctification of him in their hearts, is intended, and what is opposed to the fear of men, and unbelief, and lies in the exercise of the grace of fear upon him; see Isa 8:13 and which has for its object his goodness, and is a fruit of the covenant of his grace, and is a child like and godly fear; and in the exercise of faith upon him, upon his covenant and promises, his faithfulness, and power to help, assist, and preserve; whereby glory is given to him, a witness borne to his truth, and he is sanctified: some copies, as the Alexandrian, and one of Stephens’s, read, sanctify the Lord Christ; and so read the Vulgate Latin and Syriac versions; and certain it is that he is intended in Isa 8:13 as appears from 1Pe 3:14 compared with Ro 9:33

and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear; by the hope that is in the saints, is not designed the grace of hope itself, which is given to them, and implanted in them in regeneration; the reason, ground, and foundation of which are, the love, grace, and mercy of God, through Christ, and his person, blood, righteousness, sacrifice, and redemption; but the Gospel, the whole Christian doctrine, the doctrine of faith, and which the Syriac version here calls the “hope of faith”; and the profession of Christianity, called in Heb 10:23, the profession of hope; in which persons profess their hope of eternal life and happiness through Christ, as doctrine of the Gospel directs them to. Now, a “reason” of this is to be given; not that they are to account for the Gospel, upon the foot of carnal reason; for that is not of men, nor according to the carnal reason of men; nor is it to be thought that every Christian should be capable of defending the Gospel, either in whole, or in part, by arguments and reasons, in a disputatious way, or to give a reason and argument for every particular truth; but that he should be well acquainted with the ground and foundation of the Christian religion; at least, with the first principles of the oracles of God, and be conversant with the Scriptures, and be able to point out that in them, which is the reason of his holding this and the other truth, though he is not able to give a gainsayer satisfaction, or to stop his mouth: and this is to be done with meekness and fear; with meekness, before men; in an humble modest way; not with an haughty air, and in a morose and surly manner, which serves only to irritate and provoke: and with fear; either of God, and so the Ethiopic Version renders it, with the fear of the Lord; considering the subject of the argument, and the importance of it, and how much the honour of God is concerned in it; and taking care lest the answer should be delivered in a light, trifling, and negligent manner, and that no part of truth be dropped or concealed, in order to please men, and be screened from their resentments; or with all due reverence of, and respect to men, to superiors, to the civil magistrates, who may ask the reason; for they are to be treated with honour and esteem, and to be answered in an handsome and becoming manner, suitable to the dignity of their persons and office; as the sanhedrim was by Stephen; and as Felix, Festus, and Agrippa, by the Apostle Paul: and this answer, or reason, is to be given to every man; that has authority to ask, and that asks in a modest manner, and with a reverence suitable to the subject; for the phrases, “with meekness and fear”, may respect him that asks the reason, as well as him that gives the answer; for that which is holy is not to be given to dogs, to impudent persons, mockers and scoffers, nor are pearls to be cast before swine, filthy and irreverent persons; see Mt 7:6 the Alexandrian copy, and some others, and so the Vulgate Latin version, read, “but with meekness and fear”; for if it is not asked in such a way, there is no obligation to give an answer: and this is to be given “always”; whenever it is asked in such a manner, and by proper persons; when there is a necessity of it, and as opportunity offers: and saints should be always “ready to” give and therefore it becomes them daily and diligently to search the Scriptures, meditate on them, and get all the help and assistance they can, to lead them into an acquaintance with them, that they may be so; for though the apostles had extraordinary assistance promised them, and therefore were bid not to consider beforehand what they should say, when brought before kings and princes; yet this is not to be expected by ordinary persons, nor in ordinary cases. Agreeably to this is the advice of R. Eleazar z;

“be diligent to learn the law, and know what thou shouldest answer to an Epicure,”

or heretic: says R. Jochanan a,

“in every place where the Sadducees object, their answer is at their side,”

or ready; that is, in the same Scriptures on which they form their objections.

z Pirke Abot, c. 2. sect. 14. a T. Bab. Sanhedrin, fol. 38. 2.

Fuente: John Gill’s Exposition of the Entire Bible

Sanctify (). First aorist active imperative of . This instead of being afraid.

Christ as Lord ( ). , direct object with article and predicate accusative (without article). This is the correct text, not of the Textus Receptus. An adaptation to Christ of Isa 8:13.

Being ready always ( ). No participle in the Greek, old adjective (Tit 3:1).

To give answer ( ). “For an apology,” the old sense of , an answer back, a defence (not excuse), as in Ac 22:1, from to defend (not to apologize).

A reason concerning the hope that is in you ( ). Original sense of (accusative of the thing with with , accusative of the person) “concerning the in you hope.” Ready with a spoken defence of the inward hope. This attitude calls for an intelligent grasp of the hope and skill in presenting it. In Athens every citizen was expected to be able to join in the discussion of state affairs.

Yet with meekness and fear ( ). Of God (1Pet 2:18; 1Pet 3:2; 1Pet 3:4), not of man.

Fuente: Robertson’s Word Pictures in the New Testament

Sanctify the Lord God. The A. V. follows the Tex. Rec., reading ton Qeon, God, instead of ton Criston, Christ, which is the reading of the best texts. The article with Christ shows that kurion, Lord, is to be taken predicatively. Render, therefore, as Rev., sanctify Christ (the Christ) as Lord.

Ready to give an answer [ ] . Lit., ready for an answer. Answer is our word apology, not in the popular sense of excuse, but in the more radical sense of defence. So it is translated Act 22:1; Phi 1:7, 16. Clearing of yourselves, 2Co 7:11. Meekness. See on Mt 5:5.

Fuente: Vincent’s Word Studies in the New Testament

1) “But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.” (hagiasate) hold ye, or set ye apart in a saved manner, the (Kurion ton Christon) “Lord anointed one” the Christ in your hearts and do not stop there.

2) “And be ready always to give an answer.” (hetoimoi) be ye ready each of you (aei) always (pros apologian) to give forth a defense of logical nature Psa 119:46; Act 26:1-2.

3) “To every man that asketh you a reason of the hope.” To each one requesting or asking for a defensible word of hope, 2Ti 2:15; Psa 115:1-8; Act 17:27-28.

4) “That is in you.” Paul witnessed of “Christ in you the hope of glory” as the “anchor of the soul, sure and steadfast,” Col 1:27; Heb 6:19-20.

5) “With meekness and fear,” (meta prautetos) With meekness, humility, or self control and reverential fear — “to be ready” to give such a defensible testimony of hope that the believer must study, search the scriptures, Act 17:11.

Fuente: Garner-Howes Baptist Commentary

Though this is a new precept, it yet depends on what is gone before, for he requires such constancy in the faithful, as boldly to give a reason for their faith to their adversaries. And this is a part of that sanctification which he had just mentioned; for we then really honor God, when neither fear nor shame hinders us from making a profession of our faith. But Peter does not expressly bid us to assert and proclaim what has been given us by the Lord everywhere, and always and among all indiscriminately, for the Lord gives his people the spirit of discretion, so that they may know when and how far and to whom it is expedient to speak. He bids them only to be ready to give an answer, lest by their sloth and the cowardly fear of the flesh they should expose the doctrine of Christ, by being silent, to the derision of the ungodly. The meaning then is, that we ought to be prompt in avowing our faith, so as to set it forth whenever necessary, lest the unbelieving through our silence should condemn the religion we follow.

But it ought to be noticed, that Peter here does not command us to be prepared to solve any question that may be mooted; for it is not the duty of all to speak on every subject. But it is the general doctrine that is meant, which belongs to the ignorant and the simple. Then Peter had in view no other thing, than that Christians should make it evident to unbelievers that they truly worshipped God, and had a holy and good religion. And in this there is no difficulty, for it would be strange if we could bring nothing to defend our faith when any one made inquiries respecting it. For we ought always to take care that all may know that we fear God, and that we piously and reverently regard his legitimate worship.

This was also required by the state of the times: the Christian name was much hated and deemed infamous; many thought the sect wicked and guilty of many sacrileges. It would have been, therefore, the highest perfidy against God, if, when asked, they had neglected to give a testimony in favor of their religion. And this, as I think, is the meaning of the word apology, which Peter uses, that is, that the Christians were to make it evident to the world that they were far off from every impiety, and did not corrupt true religion, on which account they were suspected by the ignorant.

Hope here is by a metonymy to be taken for faith. Peter, however, as it has been said, does not require them to know how to discuss distinctly and refinedly every article of the faith, but only to shew that their faith in Christ was consistent with genuine piety. And hence we learn how all those abuse the name of Christians, who understand nothing certain respecting their faith, and have nothing to give as an answer for it. But it behoves us again carefully to consider what he says, when he speaks of that hope that is in you; for he intimates that the confession which flows from the heart is alone that which is approved by God; for except faith dwells within, the tongue prattles in vain. It ought then to have its roots within us, so that it may afterwards bring forth the fruit of confession.

Fuente: Calvin’s Complete Commentary

DENOMINATIONALISMOR WHY STAND FOR A SECT?

1Pe 3:13-16.

FOR several Sunday evenings we have given ourselves to the study of some of the creeds and cults that are now playing more or less conspicuous part in the religious thought of America. In the progress of these discourses I trust it has appeared to you that mens doctrines have not been condemned because, forsooth, they were lacking my denominational label, or commended only when they spoke the shibboleths of the Baptist faith.

To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is no light in them (Isa 8:20), was deliberately chosen as the touchstone of these modern movements. Before this text, some fared unfortunately, and others with some favor; but all, we trust, with justice.

The same Scripture provides a standard for the older arid better established beliefs, now embodied in the greater denominations. Hence our subject, Why be a Baptist?

What of the creed of this company of people, and how far can it be shown to accord with the Sacred Word? It makes no difference that their present standing is enviable; even the strength of their numbers, and their increasing conquests, do not prove their doctrines all Divine.

The question is a deeper and a higher one. The criterion before which they must stand or fall is made up of the fundamentals of the Christian faith. How far do these people, who once suffered for righteousness sake, find it possible now to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, and yet stand strictly by the tests of Scripture?

It shall be my endeavor at this time to answer that question, not in fullfor neither the time nor the occasion would permit the review of Baptist doctrines. But thirty minutes will suffice for the selection and discussion of the few particulars by which this people are differentiated from other evangelicals.

If you will pardon me, I want to give a personal reply to this question, Why be a Baptist?

BAPTISTS AND THE BOOK

Baptists believe that the Holy Bible was written by men divinely inspired, and is a perfect treasure of Heavenly instruction. (New Hampshire Confession of Faith.)

The Book warrants this belief. By consulting the marginal reading of your new version, you will find that the King James translation of 2Ti 3:16-17 is practically correct:

All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness:

That the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works.

Peter, in his Second Epistle, said,

For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost (1Pe 1:21).

These New Testament teachers were only reaffirming the faith of the Old Testament penmen. In 2Sa 23:2, we read of David the son of Jesse, * * The Spirit of the Lord spake by me, and His Word was in my tongue. While his greater son Solomon wrote of the Word of God, Add thou not unto His Words (Pro 30:6).

The ecclesiastical air was never so full of flying definitions of the term Inspiration. Some believe in the plenary theorythat God gave to men the thought, and permitted them to clothe it in their own language; some in the progressive theory that with advancing civilization, men have come into larger and larger light, and so have spoken to the world with increasing truthfulness; some in the theory of illuminationthat God let in light upon certain minds in varying degrees and at different times, so that men of today are inspired in the same manner at least, if not in equal degree, with the Prophets and Apostles of Old and New Testament fame.

But unless Baptists are willing to go back on every declaration of faith yet adopted by their churches, they are committed to another belief in the Bible, namely, that its thought and language alike are divinely inspiredelse how can they say, It has God for its author and Truth without any mixture of error for its matter. Our fathers were content to let the critics rest in an infallible Christian consciousness. Romanists and Anglicans parade a faith in an infallible Church while the Baptists boastnever failingwas in an infallible Book.

It matters little to me how many of my brethren and sisters depart from this plain intent of the first article of Baptist faith. I find myself more and more in absolute sympathy with its sentences; and profoundly convinced that they present the sanest and most scriptural view of inspiration.

Baptists believe all creeds and opinions should be tried by the Book. The Declaration of Faith adopted most largely by their churches contains this as the last sentence of the first article:

We believe that the Holy Bible * * is the supreme standard by which all human conduct, creeds and opinions should be tried.

John, in his First Epistle, 1Jn 4:1, writes:

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world.

Isaiah provides for us a crucible in which the true may be distinguished from the false:

To the Law and to the Testimony: if they speak not according to this Word, it is because there is Ho light in them (Isa 8:20).

That is a significant passage (Act 17:11), where the Berean brethren are approved in these words:

These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the Word with all readiness of mind, and searched the Scriptures daily, whether those things were so.

Have you ever tried to imagine how rapidly Truth would advance, how speedily Christian unity would be compassed, and how shortly all man-made philosophies would die, if all the auditors of professed religious teachers turned at once to this Berean custom? As Dr. Behrends says of the Word of God, It is the fixed and immovable center of Divine truth for ever settled in Heaven; it provides the basis of an infallible certainty, just as the sun, by its invisible but constant and efficient energy, secures the stability of the planetary system.

A few years since, the Missionary Review called attention to the fact that the native Christians in Japan had taken the matter of creed revision into their own hands, and in their synod, composed of the various Presbyterian bodies of that country, had fallen back upon the Apostles Creed, assigning as their reason for such action, this statement:

From these Holy Scriptures the ancient Church of Christ drew its confession; hence, we, holding the faith once delivered to the saints, join in that confession with praise and thanksgiving.

That day this section of the Presbyterian Church voluntarily adopted the first and most important article of Baptist faith; while at the same time taking a most scriptural step, in answer to Judes appeal:

Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints (Jud 1:3).

To me, this is the solid rockthe only foundation stoneof the Christians creed. An infallible Book, the supreme standard of faith and practice; and such is the Baptist position.

But again, Why be a Baptist?

THE BIBLE AND THE NEW BIRTH

There is another article common to the creed of Baptists everywhere, which has seemed to us fundamental to the Christian Church. They have expressed it in these words:

We believe that, in order to be saved, sinners must be regenerated, or born again; that regeneration * * is effected * * by the power of the Holy Spirit in connection with Divine Truth * * and that its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance and faith and newness of life.

Regeneration essential to salvation is a sine qua non of Scripture. How else interpret the language of Jesus,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again (or from above) he cannot see the Kingdom of God.

And again,

Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the Kingdom of God (Joh 3:3; Joh 3:5).

We say with the author of The Old Testament Under Fire that salvation is the burden of Scripture; that we are not to go to the Book for our chronology, or science, or even for our history, but to be made wise unto salvation.

Was not that what Jesus meant when He said:

Search the Scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of Me (Joh 5:39).

The all-important theme of this God-breathed Book, namely, The Way of Salvation, was not left in darkness, nor even in honest disputation. By inspired penmenProphets and Apostles, God has affirmed and reiterated the necessity of the new birth. The doctrine of evolution, popular at this present time, by which the lower animal life is supposed to have given birth at last to the God-like man, has been selected by some so-called teachers as the method of Christian making. But if all the links that are missing to that theorymultitudinous as they arewere found, everyone, they would not bridge the greater chasm between the carnal and spiritual man. Christ separated spiritually forever from the thought of evolution when He said, That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit (Joh 3:6).

Morality is a God-like thing; education is well worth the minds noblest endeavor; culture is so splendid that few ever possess themselves of its greater fortunes; but the combined wings of them all are too weak to carry the dead weight of an unregenerate soul into the Kingdom of God. If they brought it to the very door of that spiritual realm, they would not be allowed to cross the threshold with their burden, since Gods Word guards that entrance as effectually as the flaming sword defended the Tree of Life, saying, Flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God (1Co 15:50).

This regeneration is wrought by the Holy Ghost, effected by the power of the Holy Spirit, in connection with Divine Truth.

It may not be possible to explain the How of the Holy Ghosts work. In fact, when Christ told Nicodemus that he must be born of the Spirit, that ruler of the Jews could not understand just what Christ meant; nor did Christ Himself undertake the explanation. He only illustrated how mystery and Truth combine in one event.

Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.

The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit (Joh 3:7-8).

A little later He shows that birth of the Spirit is at one with belief on the Son, for when Nicodemus pressed him further, for explanation of the birth of the Spirit, He answered:

As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up:

That whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have eternal life (Joh 3:14-15).

The thought is in perfect keeping with what John had before said:

But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His Name:

Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (Joh 1:12-13).

The poet wrote well when he said:

How helpless guilty nature lies,Unconscious of its load!The heart, unchanged, can never rise To happiness and God.

Can aught beneath a power Divine The stubborn will subdue?Tis Thine, eternal Spirit, Thine To form the heart anew.

Tis Thine the passions to recall,And upward bid them rise,And make the scales of error fall From reasons darkened eyes;

To chase the shades of death away,And bid the sinner live;A beam of Heaven, a vital ray,Tis Thine alone to give.

O, change these wretched hearts of ours,And give them life Divine;Then shall our passions and our powers,Almighty Lord, be Thine.

Regeneration is evidenced in good works. Its proper evidence appears in the holy fruits of repentance, and faith and newness of life.

This is a Baptist declaration, but also a Bible Truth. Paul wrote to the Galatians:

Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh. * *

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,

Meekness, temperance (Gal 5:16; Gal 5:22-23).

It was the Godly John who wrote,

Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world (1Jn 5:4).

And again he said,

Ye know that every one that doeth righteousness is born of Him (1Jn 2:29).

Baptist people have made a sharp distinction between being saved by good works, and doing good works as a result of ones salvation. The former idea they repudiate; the latter they have faithfully propagated. It is written,

Therefore by the deeds of the Law there shall no flesh be justified in His sight (Rom 3:20).

For by grace are ye saved * *.

Not of works, lest any man should boast (Eph 2:8-9).

Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone (Jas 2:17).

Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? (Jas 2:19-20).

Henry Van Dyke says: The world has small need of a religion which consists solely or chiefly of emotions and raptures. But the religion that follows Jesus Christ, alike when He goes up into the high mountain to pray, and when He comes down into the dark valley to work; the religion that listens to Him, alike when He tells us of the peace and joy of the Fathers House and when He calls us to feed His lambs; the religion that is willing to suffer as well as to enjoy, to labor as well as worship God, and has a heart to love man, and a hand to help in every good causeis pure and undefiled

If there were time I should like to set before you that article of Baptist faith which refers to the organization and government of believers. But both because our hour is well spent, and we have already printed a discourse upon this subject, it seems better to turn your attention to the most distinctive tenet of the Baptist faith, namely:

THE BELIEVERS BAPTISM

We believe that Christian baptism is the immersion, in water, of the believer, * *. To show forth in a solemn and beautiful emblem our faith in the crucified, buried and risen Saviour, with its effect in our death to sin and resurrection to a new life.

Believers only should be baptized. No difference what enters into the case of the individual to render wanting a personal faith in Christ, the existence of unbelief debars from the privilege of rightly receiving this ceremony. No pool or font was opened in the New Testament for infidel, imbecile or infant, for the very simple reason that baptism signifies what none of these has experienced, namely, death to sin and the resurrection to walk in newness of life, through the exercise of personal faith. In the entire Book, from Gen 1:1 to Rev 22:21, there is not one baby baptized.

And yet, never in the history of the denomination have we taught, by the remotest suggestion, that dying infants were unsaved, for the identical reason that the Scriptures contain no insinuation of any such thing.

Apprehensive mother, thou whose babe passed away before priest or preacher could be had to speak a traditional ceremony and sprinkle common water, be perfectly consoled in that the Son of God, Himself, said of children, Of such is the Kingdom of Heaven.

Christian baptism is the immersion in water of a believer. Baptize means to dip, to plunge, to wash, to bathe, to submerge, to immerse. The baptisms of the Bible were baptisms everyone. Read Mat 3:5-6; Mar 1:9; Mat 3:16; Joh 3:23; Act 8:38-39; Rom 6:3-4.

But, after all, the most important feature of this sacred ceremony is its spiritual significance. It is a profession of ones faith. R. S. McArthur quotes from a clergyman of the Protestant Episcopal Church, these words: The Baptist, in the baptistry, virtually announces his creed touching his personal faith in Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, and His determination to follow Him in obedience to the teachings of the Gospel.

But no more certainly does baptism by immersion manifest a faith in the risen Christ, than it symbolizes our belief in the souls death to sin, and resurrection therefrom. The ceremony in which we are symbolically buried with Him by baptism raises us up from the water-grave to walk in newness of life For if we have been planted together in the likeness of His death, we shall be also in the likeness of His resurrection (Rom 6:5).

Buried in baptism with our Lord We rise with Him, to life restored:Not the bare life in Adam lost,But richer far, far more it cost.

How beautifully an immersion symbolizes the entrance upon a new life, and an absolute repudiation of the old manner of living. Geikie, in his Life and Words of Christ, says of the Masters baptism: Can we question that such an act was a crisis in the life of our Lord? Holy and pure before sinking under the waters, He must yet have risen from them with the light of a higher glory in His countenance. His past life had closed; and a new era had opened.

Is this not true, in a symbol at least, of every man who receives the sacred rite in the same manner? When the fathers f(were all baptized unto Moses in the cloud and in the sea (1Co 10:2), were they not in the very act of leaving life in Egypt for ever, and were not their faces set toward the promised Canaan? So it should ever be!

In baptism, we symbolize our allegiance to Christ as servants of His will, and soldiers of His Cross. To receive this initiatory rite, into His visible Church, is to enlist once for all in the army of the Lord. The vows are then publicly taken; the armor is accepted; the flag under which we march chosen; and the leader and captain elected for time and eternity. No wonder Beddome, when contemplating this act, wrote the lines:

Witness ye men and angels, now Before the Lord we speak;To Him we make our solemn vow,A vow we dare not break:

That, long as life itself shall last,Ourselves to Christ we yield;Nor from His cause will we depart,Or ever quit the field.

In our Civil War, men died clinging to the flag of Stars and Stripes. Right well did they know that to bear that in sight of the enemys line was to invite the hottest fire; and yet, no sooner did one brave soul fall than another wished the honor of standing in the deadly track to wave that symbol of union and liberty. To them it stood for a great principle, and must not be resigned so long as strength remained in the soldiers arm.

So our Kingdom of righteousnessthe coming Kingdom of Christhas its divinely appointed symbol. Christ gave it with His great commission, and in defense of that we ought to be willing to dieyea, many have died already. Do you wonder when we read, There is ** one Lord, one faith, one baptism (Eph 4:4-5)? Do you wonder, when you read again, Repent, and be baptised every one of you (Act 2:38)? Do you wonder, when from our Master we hear, Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you (Joh 15:14)? Will you obey your Lord?

Fuente: The Bible of the Expositor and the Evangelist by Riley

(15) But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts.The tense of this and the two preceding imperatives shows that St. Peter meant this for advice to be acted upon at the moment of being called on to suffer. The passage, as it stands in Isaiah, runs literally, Jehovah Sabaoth, Him shall ye sanctify, and He (shall be) your fear, and He your dread. It becomes, therefore, very striking when we find that, without a shadow of doubt, the right reading here is, But sanctify the Lord the Christ in your hearts. How is it possible, except on the supposition that the Catholic doctrine is really a statement of fact, that a Jew like St. Peter should ever have come to apply to a Man whom he had known familiarly, a Man who had served him at table and had washed his feet, the words which Isaiah had said about the Lord of Hosts? This passage immediately precedes that which was quoted in 1Pe. 2:8, and (like that) is not caught up at random, but as coming in the great Immanuel passage. That presence of God which was the palladium of Israel in the days of Hezekiah has found fulfilment in the Christ now given. But what is meant by sanctifying Him? The phrase is not elsewhere used in the New Testament, except in the Lords Prayer; but in the Old Testament see Lev. 10:3; Isa. 29:23; Eze. 38:23. As to glorify God means (in word and deed) to recognise His glorious perfections; as to magnify Him means to recognise His greatness; as to justify Him means to recognise His inherent justice; so to sanctify Him means to recognise, in word and deed, His full holiness, and therefore to treat Him with due awe. This not only substitutes the fear of God for the fear of man (since they mutually exclude each other), but enforces purity of life, thus catching up again that which is good and for righteousness sake. This, adds St. Peter, is to be done in your hearts. This does not mean simply with your hearts, or from your hearts (i.e., inwardly, or, with all sincerity and devotion), but it signifies the local habitation where the Christ is to be thus recognised. That is to say: St. Peter, like St. Paul (Eph. 3:17), acknowledges an indwelling of Christ in the hearts of the faithful; and this indwelling not merely subjective, consisting of their constant recollection of him, but real and objective: there He is, as in a shrine, and they must pay due reverence to His presence. The Apostle does, in fact, in those words in your hearts, purposely call attention to the difference between Isaiahs use of the name Immanuel and the Christian meaning of it. To Isaiah, God dwelt in the midst of a people in its corporate capacity; St. Peter knew that, through the Incarnation, each individual Christian has God in him, united with him.

And be.The better reading omits the connecting particle, so that we should put being instead of and be.

Ready always to give an answer.This is the consequence of sanctifying Christ within by the worship of a pure life, that no moment, no questioner finds us unprepared to speak with freedom of our hope in Him. The word for answer here is apologia, an apology; not, of course, in the modern sense of an excuse, but a defence, the reply of an accused person, like the well-known Apologia Socratis, or the great modern Apologia pro Vita Sua, or the works from which Tertullian, Athenagoras, St. Justin, and others are called The Apologists. It does not mean that every person is bound to be able to state intellectually the nature and grounds of the Christian creed, though such a duty may, perhaps, be fairly deduced from the text. It does not say that every Christian ought to know why he is a Christian, but that every Christians own life ought to be so free from taint, so conscious of Christ enshrined within, as to cause him no misgiving in defending the faith from the calumnies (see 1Pe. 2:12) brought against it. The constant readiness, or freedom from encumbrance of sin, is the main point, which intimates, says Leighton, it was not always to be done to every one, but we, being ready to do, are to consider when, and to whom, and how far. Consciousness of impurity of life shuts a mans mouth from defending Christian morality.

That asketh you a reason.Rather, that demandeth of you an account. It does not mean inquirers about Christian doctrine, but those who call Christians to account for their profession of the Gospel hopes. Though it must not be exclusively so taken, St. Peter evidently means chiefly the being called into the law court to give account. Probably he is thinking of our Lords charge to himself and his co-apostles, in St. Luk. 12:11. (Comp. Mat. 10:5; Mat. 10:16; Mat. 10:19.)

Of the hope that is in you.More literally, with regard to the hope that is in you: i.e., with regard to the Christianity in which you share. It is, of course, quite a modern application to the text to see in this anything of the individual assurance of salvation. However fairly it may be argued that a Christian ought to know why he, personally, expects to be saved, it is not the thought of St. Peter here. Christianity is here called a hope, rather than a faith, as in Act. 28:20, Col. 1:23, because, especially in times of persecution, so much of our creed has a future tinge.

With meekness and fear.There ought certainly to be added a warning But before these words. The readiness of the Christians defence of himself and the Church from all moral aspersions is not to be marred by any self-exaltation or improper confidence. Archbishop Leighton says, Not, therefore, blustering and flying out into invectives because he hath the better on it against any man that questions him touching this hope, as some think themselves certainly authorised to use rough speech because they plead for truth. On the contrary, so much the rather study meekness, for the glory and advantage of the truth. The fear will be, in large measure, a dread of overstepping the bounds of truth or modesty in speaking of the Christian morals. The Acts of the Martyrs, with all their splendour, too often show how St. Peters cautious But was needed.

Fuente: Ellicott’s Commentary for English Readers (Old and New Testaments)

15. The Lord God The proper object of fear, as opposed to terror. The passage is from Isa 8:12-13. Tregelles, Tischendorf, Alford, and Wordsworth read Christ for God, the last two translating “sanctify Christ as the Lord.” But it is rather Christ who is the Lord, the Lord Christ, whom they are instructed to sanctify. Enthrone him in your hearts for life and for death; and in alarm and danger he shall keep you in quietness and rest. The passage is proof of the Godhead of Christ.

Fuente: Whedon’s Commentary on the Old and New Testaments

‘But sanctify in your hearts Christ as Lord, being ready always to give answer to every man who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, yet with meekness and fear,’

So they are rather to ‘set Christ apart in their hearts as holy’, (or ‘acknowledge Him in their hearts as holy’), and as their ‘Lord’ (in contrast with the false ‘lords’ of idolatry), and be ready to give an answer to anyone who asked them for the reason for the hope that was in them. He is enjoining them to become sure of their own position, and of Who possesses them, (compare here 1Pe 2:4-5), and to then be able to put it into words, so that they could set it reasonably before others, in order both to appease their masters, and in order to win others to Christ.

‘Set Christ as Lord apart in your hearts as holy.’ Christ as their Lord was to have full and total possession of them and the central place in their lives. People often had places in their houses set apart for the gods, such as a ‘god-shelf’. But the Christian looked on himself as the sanctuary of Christ his Lord. He was a ‘God-shelf’ on which Christ abode. He was the Temple of the Holy Spirit (1Pe 2:4-9; compare 1Co 3:16; 1Co 6:19 ; 2Co 6:16-18; Eph 2:20-22).

In these days when the occult, which had so long been suppressed in the ‘Christian’ West, is again raising its head, we once again need to be able to refute it in positive terms by pointing to Christ to whom the whole spiritual world has been brought into subjection. The occult is a further attempt of evil spirits to break into the world and possess human beings. And we overcome them because Greater is He Who is in us, than he who is in the world (1Jn 4:4). It is as a result of the coming of the Spirit and the arrival of the Kingly Rule of God that they can be defeated (Mat 12:28). Thus we do it by having Christ set apart as holy in our hearts. But we do not approach the problem lightly. We do it in humbleness and the fear of God (compare Jud 1:9).

It is important to recognise that idolatry and the occult are not just human folly, they are also connected with evil spirits. ‘The things which they sacrifice, they sacrifice to demons (evil spirits)’ (1Co 10:20). This had long been recognised (Lev 17:7; Deu 32:17). Thus Peter was very much aware of what these churches were facing in areas where idolatry abounded. And he wanted them to stand firm in Christ.

There is an echo in 1Pe 3:14-15 of Isa 8:12-13, ‘nor fear you their fear, nor be afraid, sanctify the Lord of hosts Himself and let Him be your fear’. But the cause of their fear was different from that in mind in Isaiah. On the other hand, in both cases the Lord was the antidote to their fear.

Fuente: Commentary Series on the Bible by Peter Pett

1Pe 3:15. But sanctify the Lord God Grotius thinks that to sanctify God means here, to give thanks to, or glorify him; that is, in a time of persecution; or as some of the martyrs gave thanks to God when they heard the sentence of condemnation. See Act 5:41. But in general it may be said, that sanctifying God, is behaving towards him as convinced that he is a holy God, who loves truth and integrity; who will reward the righteous, if they persevere, but punish all such as apostatize. Of the hope that is in you, means, their hope of a resurrection, and happy immortality, for the sake of which, and the glory of God, they were to endure all manner of persecution and evil treatment, and even to sacrifice their lives. For this some would be apt to ridicule them, and others would be curious to know what grounds they had for so surprizing an expectation; especially as they, from such a prospect, exposed themselves to many temporal evils: (Act 26:6-8.) for this conduct, and that hope which was the foundation of it, they were to be ever ready to give a reason; for every part of Christianity is agreeable to right reason, and therefore capable of a rational apology and just defence. Some would understand the last words, of the heathen magistrates, or other persons who should ask the Christians a reason of the hope that was in them; as if the Christians had not been obliged to answer, but when the Jews or Heathens demanded an account of them with meekness and fear. It seems, however, very unlikely that the heathen magistrates would commonly examine the Christians with so much mildness and respect: and therefore it is more probable that this meekness and fear related to the conduct of Christians in making an apology; or that it was a description of the temper of mind with which they were to apologize, rather than what they were to expect in those to whom they were to make their apology. If any person desired them to assign a reason of the hope that was in them, they were to give one; but in a soft and gentle manner, with meekness, and fear of offending any person; lest they should thereby stir up a persecution against the Christians, or prejudice any against the gospel. Nothing can more become the professors of the simple and meek religion of Jesus, than reverence and modesty towards their superiors, lenity and mildness to all men, and a fear of offending any. As to those who have no reason to assign for their opinions, they will be very apt to fall into a passion, to calumniate such as oppose them, and frequently to manifest an intemperate zeal; but they would do well to remember, that the wrath of man worketh not the righteousness of God; Jam 1:20.

Fuente: Commentary on the Holy Bible by Thomas Coke

1Pe 3:15 . ] , in Isaiah equivalent to ; a substitution of this kind is frequently found in the N. T., where reference is made to passages in the O. T., and can be easily explained on the principle that a consciousness distinctively Christian was asserting itself; “ is placed first, as antithesis to ” (Wiesinger). Schott denies that stands in apposition to , holding that is to be taken rather as a predicate of the object, equivalent to, “ as Lord ;” for this reason, that stands here without the article, and that the simple conjunction of and does not occur. But against the first objection the expression may be urged, and against the second the verse Luk 2:11 . It is more natural, and at the same time more in harmony with the passage in the O. T., to connect directly with : “ but the Lord, the Messiah .”

] in antithesis to and ; “ hold , i.e. honour, fear as holy ” (de Wette); the sanctifying comprehends within it the fear of God; cf. Isa 8:18 ; Isa 29:23 ; it thus forms the contrast to the fear of man; where the former is, the latter must give way.

] added by the apostle in order to mark the inward nature of the .

] Whether be the original reading or not, this clause is undoubtedly intimately connected in thought with that which precedes it. Without this being ready is conceived as a proof of the .; with the thought is this, that the . . . ., which banishes all fear of man, should not exclude the before men (de Wette, Wiesinger). Hofmann takes the particle here as equal to “rather;” but against this is the fact that here would have to be taken as a simple parenthesis, inasmuch as would refer only to what precedes, and a second antithesis would then be added to the already antithetical . . .

. . .] , cf. Titus 3 :. “The injunction exempts neither time ( ) nor person ( )” (Steiger).

To limit its application to a judicial examination is arbitrary, and militates against .

not equal to satisfactio (Vulg.), but here rather quaevis responsio, qua ratio fidei (more correctly spei) nostrae redditur (Vorstius; Phi 1:7 ; Phi 1:16 ; Act 26:2 ).

. . .] The dative depending on , cf. 1Co 9:3 ; for with double accusative, cf. Winer, p. 212 f. [E. T. 281]. : “ to demand account of ,” only here, cf. chap. 1Pe 4:5 ; Rom 14:12 .

] : as to its nature and ground.

, not equivalent to (Calvin: spes hic per synecdochen pro fide capitur), but the hope of the Christian looking, on the ground of faith, into the future salvation. [190]

] If be the true reading, as there can hardly be any doubt it is, it will serve to make more sharply prominent the way and manner, in which the should be conducted; de Wette: “as it were: but remember .”

, to be connected not with , but with ; opposed to passionate zeal. is to be applied directly neither to God (Aretius: reverentia et timor Dei; thus Weiss also, p. 169), nor to men before whom testimony is to be borne (according to some: the civil authorities); but it denotes the being afraid based, of course, on the fear of God of every unseemly kind of , and stands especially opposed to all arrogant self-confidence (Wiesinger).

[190] That this “account” had special reference to the removal of the suspicion that the kingdom of Christ was of this world, is nowhere alluded to in the context (de “Wette, Schott). And Schott is hardly justified in giving the apostle’s exhortations special application “to the divinely ordained ordinances of natural social life.”

Fuente: Heinrich August Wilhelm Meyer’s New Testament Commentary

DISCOURSE: 2402
THE CHRISTIAN READY TO GIVE AN ACCOUNT OF HIS HOPE

1Pe 3:15. Be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

THE Christians life must of necessity appear strange to those who know not the principles by which he is actuated. They see a friend or relative pause amidst the crowd of his associates, and retrace, in opposition to them, all the steps he has trodden throughout his whole life. Perhaps he was highly respected; and he now subjects himself to ridicule and contempt, from those who once held him in estimation. Perhaps he had fair prospects of advancement in the world, which now, by what are called his fanatical and over-righteous proceedings, he abandons. He once seemed happy in the enjoyment of all that the world could give him; and now he is turning his back upon it all, and following after phantoms of his own imagination. What can all this mean? Whence does it proceed? Is it the effect of a disturbed imagination? Is it from a desire after notoriety and distinction? or is it the fruit of deliberate hypocrisy? What has he seen, what has he found, that can account for such a change in his conduct?
Such questions will arise in the minds of many. Many indeed will not trouble themselves with making such inquiries. A shorter method with them is to revile and persecute, if by any means they may deter this supposed enthusiast from persisting in his folly: but others, who are more candid, will be glad of information, in order that they may be able to form some judgment about the proceedings which appear at first sight so unaccountable.
Now with respect to the former of these, the open persecutors, the Christian has nothing to do, but to commit his cause to God, and to go forward in humble dependence upon him: but with respect to the latter, he should gladly rise to the occasion, and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh him a reason of the hope that is in him with meekness and fear.
You will perceive that the principle by which the Christian is carried forward, is hopea hope that is within him. What the Christians hope is, will form the first point for our inquiry. His duty in relation to it shall then, in the next place, be set before you.

I.

What is the hope by which the Christian is carried forward?

Whatever may be thought of it,
It is a glorious hope

[It has respect to all that the soul of man can need, and to all that God himself can bestow. Contemplate man as a sinner, redeemed from sin and death through the blood of Gods only dear Son, who at the same time has purchased for him all the glory and felicity of heaven: hope fixes upon all these things as promised to the penitent and believing soul. Pardon and acceptance with a reconciled God; fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ, and a constant communication of grace and peace out of his fulness; the preserving and sanctifying influences of the Holy Spirit; victory over death and hell; and an everlasting possession of heaven as a rightful inheritance;all is apprehended by the believing Christian as his true and proper portion: by hope, he surveys it all, anticipates it all, enjoys it all. How wonderful! how surpassing all conception! Yet to a lively hope of all these things is every child of God begotten [Note: 1Pe 1:3.].]

It is a well-founded hope

[It may well be asked, What warrant has the Christian to indulge such a hope as this? Is it a mere conceit of his own, an expectation unauthorized and presumptuous? No: it is a hope founded upon the promise and oath of the immutable Jehovah. God has revealed a way of salvation, through the blood and righteousness of his only-begotten Son; and has promised to accept to mercy all who shall come to him in the name of Christ. To all such, without exception, he has engaged to give all the blessings both of grace and glory. And in resting on his engagements, the believer cannot be deceived: for God cannot lie,cannot deny himself.
The Christian has a further ground of hope, in his own actual experience of these things: for in coming to God through Christ, he has found peace to his soul: he has received grace, whereby he is enabled to serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear: and through the hope that is in him he does actually purify himself, even as Christ is pure [Note: 1Jn 3:3.].

Here then he stands as upon a rock, that defies the assaults whether of men or devils.]
It is a hope that raises him up above all the things of time and sense

[In the prospect of all the blessings that are promised to him, how empty and insignificant do all earthly things appear! They are regarded by him as the dust upon the balance, yea, as lighter than vanity itself. However important the concerns of this world may seem, they are but for a moment: whereas the objects of the Christians hope are everlasting. Nor are the sufferings of this present world, how formidable soever in themselves, regarded by him as worthy of any consideration, in comparison of the glory which he sees revealed before his eyes, and which he expects shortly to inherit [Note: Rom 8:18.]. Here is the great secret of all his movements. Even in this life a man will endure much labour and self-denial, in order to obtain some great advantage: what then will not a man both do and suffer, who has all the glory of heaven in view, and an assured prospect of attaining it, if only he hold on his way, and be not moved away from the hope of the Gospel?]

Such being the Christians hope, let us inquire,

II.

What is his duty in relation to it?

The principle which operates so forcibly on the Christians mind cannot be fully appreciated by one who is a stranger to it in his own soul: yet may it, by a judicious statement, be brought so far within the view of an unenlightened mind, as to carry conviction with it to the heart and conscience: and every one who professes it should be ready to afford to an inquirer all possible satisfaction respecting it: he should be ready to give to every one a reason of the hope that is in him:

1.

With frankness and fidelity

[It is here supposed that an inquiry is made respecting it: for otherwise it is by no means expedient that a Christian be bringing forward his own personal experience, and making that the subject of conversation. To do this is hateful. St. Paul, when forced by the accusations of his enemies to vindicate himself, and to declare the experience of his soul, again and again, with indignation, as it were, against himself, says, I speak as a fool. And, where it is done without necessity, it is as strong a proof of a vain and weak mind as can well be conceived. But where a man asks us a reason of the hope that is in us, we should readily and cheerfully give him an answer. We should not be ashamed of our principles. We should never doubt whether they will bear us out, provided they be perspicuously and justly stated. We should candidly state, That we are sinners, deserving of Gods wrath and indignation: that God has sent his only-begotten Son to die for us: that through his precious blood we hope and believe that we have obtained the forgiveness of all our sins. We should then state our conviction, that sinners redeemed with so inestimable a price are bound to consecrate themselves to him, and, above all things, to seek the glory of his great name. We should further avow our full persuasion, that in the day of judgment we shall all be dealt with according to our works; that those who have suffered any thing to stand in competition with their duty to Christ, will assuredly be cast out as wicked and unprofitable servants; but that they who have loved, and served, and honoured him with their whole hearts, shall be applauded by him as good and faithful servants, and enter for ever into the joy of their Lord. We may then appeal to the most prejudiced mind, and ask, Whether, with such views and principles, it be not our bounden duty to act as we do?
This kind of statement should be made readily, to all without exception who desire to hear it, and are ready to attend to it. Whether they be more or less candid in their inquiries, we should account it a valuable opportunity to set before them the leading truths of Christianity; and we should avail ourselves of it, with a view at least to silence their objections, and, if it may please God, to convert and save their souls.]

2.

With meekness and fear

[There is, not unfrequently, found amongst the professors of religion a very unhallowed boldness and forwardness in declaring their sentiments. This is extremely indecorous, and odious in the eyes both of God and man. Though, as far as respects the truth itself, we should have no hesitation in declaring it, yet we should be much on our guard against any thing harsh or acrimonious in our manner of declaring it. Suavity and kindness become us on all occasions, and especially when speaking on the things of God. We must speak the truth indeed, whether it be palatable or not: but we must speak the truth in love, and instruct in meekness them that oppose themselves, if God peradventure may give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth that so they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, by whom they have been taken captive at his will [Note: 2Ti 2:25-26.]. A Christian on such occasions must bear in mind how much the honour of God is involved in his conduct; and how much, humanly speaking, the salvation of others may depend on him. By an indiscreet mode of vindicating the truth, he may shut the ears, and harden the hearts of many; and so embitter their minds, as to make them determined haters and despisers of vital godliness: but by a meek, modest, affectionate, and prudent statement, he may remove their prejudices, and lead them to a candid examination of their own state before God. Hence then he should speak with fear, even as the Apostle Paul himself did at Corinth, where, as he himself tells us, he was among them in weakness and fear and much trembling [Note: 1Co 2:3.]. By thus combining meekness with fidelity, and fear with zeal, he may hope that he shall be the means of silencing opposers, and of winning many who would never have attended to the written or preached word [Note: 1Pe 3:1-2.].]

I would yet further enforce the exhortation in our text, with such advice as naturally arises out of it

Let it be the daily labour of your lives to be such as our text requires:

1.

Be intelligent Christians

[You ought to be able to give to every inquirer a reason of the hope that is in you. It is a disgrace to a Christian not to possess such a measure of divine knowledge, as shall qualify him for this. It is not necessary that every Christian should be a disputant, and be able to enter into theological controversies: but every man should be able to answer this question, Why are you a Christian? Alas! the generality of Christians, so called, can assign no better reason for being Christians, than a Turk can for being a Mahometan. But to all such I must say, You have yet to learn what a scriptural hope is; and have only the hope of an hypocrite, which will be swept away like a spiders web. I beseech you all then to study the Scriptures with all diligence; and to pray unto God, that you may by them be made wise unto everlasting salvation.]

2.

Be steadfast Christians

[You must expect that your faith and patience will be tried: but you must not give way to fear, or be diverted from your duty by any consideration whatever. There should be in you such a hope, as, like an anchor of the soul, shall keep you steadfast amidst all the storms and tempests with which you may be assailed [Note: Heb 6:19.]. By means of this divine principle you should be realizing all the glories of the eternal world; in the view of which, all earthly glories will sink into insignificance, and all earthly trials appear light and momentary [Note: 2Co 4:17-18.]. Survey then the inheritance to which you are begotten: take Pisgah views of the promised land: and then you shall be enabled to say respecting every thing that may occur, None of these things move me; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I may but finish my course with joy.]

3.

Be humble Christians

[Humility is the root and summit of Christian perfection. If men see you offended and irritated by the unkind usage which you experience, they will say, Wherein are their principles superior to ours; or their conduct better than ours? They pretend to possess a hope that lifts up their souls in an extraordinary degree: but wherein does it shew itself? and what do they more than others? It is no uncommon thing for persons professing godliness to feel towards their revilers and persecutors the very same contempt and hatred which their persecutors manifest towards them. But this is a proof, that, whatever they may profess of love to Christ, they have never attained the mind that was in Christ. If you would be Christians indeed, you must resemble Him who was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and was dumb before his persecutors, even as a sheep before its shearers is dumb, and who in the very agonies of crucifixion prayed for his murderers. So must you: you must shew all meekness towards all men, and be more fearful of dishonouring God, or of casting a stumbling-block before your enemies, by any thing hasty or ill-advised, than of suffering all that the most bitter persecutors can inflict upon you. Thus letting patience have its perfect work, you will be perfect and entire, wanting nothing [Note: Jam 1:4.].]

Fuente: Charles Simeon’s Horae Homileticae (Old and New Testaments)

15 But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

Ver. 15. Sanctify the Lord God ] Consider and conceive of him, as he stands described in the Scriptures, and as related to his people, resting upon his power and love, for safety here, and salvation hereafter.

Ready always to give an answer ] Gr. To make apology, a bold and wise profession of the truth, with due observation of just circumstances. To dissemble is ever a fault; but not to profess is then only a fault, when a man is silent, Intempestive et loco minime idoneo, at an unfit time and place. Let me be counted and called proud, or anything, Mode impii silentii non arguar, said Luther, so I be not guilty of a sinful silence.

To every man that asketh ] Christians should in this case stay till they are asked. Cyprian reproveth the rashness of those in his time, that would go of their own accord to the heathen magistrates, professing themselves Christians; whereby they were put to death. This made one of the persecutors cry out, O miseri, si libet perire num vobis rupes aut restes desunt? O wretches, can ye find no way else to despatch yourselves, but that I must be thus troubled with you Christ, saith Cyprian, would have us rather confess than profess our religion, Now, he confesseth, that doth it being asked; as he professeth, that doth it of his own free accord.

A reason of the hope ] Not every trifling question or malicious cavil. Christ answered the governor not a word to some things, and yet he witnessed a good confession before Pontius Pilate, 1Ti 6:13 .

With meekness and fear ] Lest you should dishonour a good cause by an ill carriage. Austin professeth this was that which heartened him, and made him to triumph in his former Manichism, that he met with feeble opponents, and such as his nimble wit was easily able to overturn. Carolostadius also had the right on his side, but was not able to make it out and maintain it against Luther.

Fuente: John Trapp’s Complete Commentary (Old and New Testaments)

15 .] nay rather (the sharply adversative , see above on ch. 1Pe 2:23 ) sanctify (reff.) in your hearts (in the O. T. passage it is added, . “This addition is not made here, but . , to bring out that the must be perfected in the inner parts of a man and so keep him from all false fear. As if he would say, Care only for this, that your heart may be a temple of Christ, in which becoming honour may be given to Him as Lord; then will nothing further disturb you: you have in Him all that you can need.” Wiesinger) Christ as Lord ( is emphatically placed forward as predicate; and the expression (LXX-F., not A) changed in a Christian sense into ): [ but (so far from being afraid of men, be ever ready to give them a gentle and reverent answer when they enquire of your hope)], ( being ) (the same adjectival sentences as before) ready always for ( . , ref. [i. e. to give]) an answer (an apologetic justification, in the primitive Christian sense. This was most commonly given before official persons and on trial, but in the present case is expressly extended to every person and occasion) to every man ( , dat. aft. , as in ref. 1 Cor.) that asketh of you a reason (a reasonable account) concerning the hope [ that is ] in you ( , not as Calvin = (“ spes hic per synecdochen pro fide capitur”), but as Luth.: “in persecutione oportet nos habere spem: si ratio spei exigitur, oportet nos habere verbum.” And Bengel: “spes christianorum spe commovit alios ad percontandum”), but ( makes a contrast to the ready, but not over ready: see Luther, below) with meekness (see above on 1Pe 3:4 ) and fear (another antanaclasis, after above. This fear is not the fear of God exclusively, nor that of men, but the aspect of the mind as regards both: proper respect for man, and humble reverence of God. The case supposed would generally occur when some one invested with authority asked a reason: and the complexion of the answer to be given is taken from that circumstance. On the injunction, Luther says, speaking from his own experience at Worms and elsewhere, “Then must ye not answer with proud words and bring out the matter with a defiance and with violence as if ye would tear up trees, but with such fear and lowliness as if ye stood before God’s tribunal. so must thou stand in fear, and not rest on thine own strength, but on the word and promise of Christ,” Mat 10:19 f. (in Wiesinger)):

Fuente: Henry Alford’s Greek Testament

sanctify. i.e. separate. Give Him His right place.

the LORD God. The texts read “the Christ as Lord”. There is no art. before Lord, which shows that it is the predicate. Compare Rom 10:9. Php 1:2, Php 1:6. The quotation is from Isa 8:12, Isa 8:13.

always. App-151.

to give = for. App-104.

answer. Greek. apologia. See Act 22:1.

asketh. App-134.

a reason = an account. App-121.

of = concerning. App-104.

meekness. Greek. praiutes. See Jam 1:21. Compare 1Pe 3:4.

Fuente: Companion Bible Notes, Appendices and Graphics

15.] nay rather (the sharply adversative , see above on ch. 1Pe 2:23) sanctify (reff.) in your hearts (in the O. T. passage it is added, . This addition is not made here, but . , to bring out that the must be perfected in the inner parts of a man and so keep him from all false fear. As if he would say, Care only for this, that your heart may be a temple of Christ, in which becoming honour may be given to Him as Lord; then will nothing further disturb you: you have in Him all that you can need. Wiesinger) Christ as Lord ( is emphatically placed forward as predicate; and the expression (LXX-F., not A) changed in a Christian sense into ): [but (so far from being afraid of men, be ever ready to give them a gentle and reverent answer when they enquire of your hope)], (being) (the same adjectival sentences as before) ready always for (. , ref. [i. e. to give]) an answer (an apologetic justification, in the primitive Christian sense. This was most commonly given before official persons and on trial, but in the present case is expressly extended to every person and occasion) to every man (, dat. aft. , as in ref. 1 Cor.) that asketh of you a reason (a reasonable account) concerning the hope [that is] in you (, not as Calvin = (spes hic per synecdochen pro fide capitur), but as Luth.: in persecutione oportet nos habere spem: si ratio spei exigitur, oportet nos habere verbum. And Bengel: spes christianorum spe commovit alios ad percontandum), but ( makes a contrast to the -ready, but not over ready: see Luther, below) with meekness (see above on 1Pe 3:4) and fear (another antanaclasis, after above. This fear is not the fear of God exclusively, nor that of men, but the aspect of the mind as regards both: proper respect for man, and humble reverence of God. The case supposed would generally occur when some one invested with authority asked a reason: and the complexion of the answer to be given is taken from that circumstance. On the injunction, Luther says, speaking from his own experience at Worms and elsewhere, Then must ye not answer with proud words and bring out the matter with a defiance and with violence as if ye would tear up trees, but with such fear and lowliness as if ye stood before Gods tribunal. so must thou stand in fear, and not rest on thine own strength, but on the word and promise of Christ, Mat 10:19 f. (in Wiesinger)):

Fuente: The Greek Testament

1Pe 3:15. , but prepared) The word prepared gives the idea of boldness; has force. Not only ought the conversation to be good, on which point see ch. 1Pe 2:12, note, but every one also ought to be prepared to make confession.- , to him that asketh) Among the Gentiles some were openly wicked, 1Pe 3:16; others were in doubt. To these latter believers are ordered to give a kind answer.-, of the hope) which they confess, who say that they are strangers in the world, and avoid its lusts, ch. 1Pe 2:11. Comp. Heb 11:13, and following verses. The hope of Christians has often excited others to inquiry.-, with) Twells, P. I. p. 125, joins this with every man that asketh; but it depends upon prepared to give an answer. There is need of meekness with regard to ourselves; of fear, with respect to others; of a good conscience towards God.-, fear) In common language, respect. They who have a good conscience, when accused, are more easily provoked, and less easily preserve meekness and fear, than the guilty. Therefore they are here admonished, to unite with a good conscience, meekness and fear, and thus to gain a complete victory. Meekness avails especially, when we have to do with inferiors; fear, when we have to do with superiors.

Fuente: Gnomon of the New Testament

sanctify: Num 20:12, Num 27:14, Isa 5:16, Isa 29:23

and be: Psa 119:46, Jer 26:12-16, Dan 3:16-18, Amo 7:14-17, Mat 10:18-20, Luk 21:14, Luk 21:15, Act 4:8-12, Act 5:29-31, Act 21:39, Act 21:40, Act 22:1, Act 22:2-5, Col 4:6, 2Ti 2:25

a reason: 1Sa 12:7, Isa 1:18, Isa 41:21, Act 24:25

the hope: 1Pe 1:3, 1Pe 1:4, Col 1:5, Col 1:23, Col 1:27, Tit 1:2, Heb 3:6, Heb 6:1, Heb 6:18, Heb 6:19

with: 1Pe 3:2, 1Pe 3:4, 2Ti 2:25, 2Ti 2:26

fear: or, reverence

Reciprocal: Deu 6:7 – shalt talk Jos 22:21 – answered Job 11:4 – For thou Psa 25:9 – meek Pro 15:28 – heart Pro 22:21 – answer Pro 26:16 – General Isa 8:12 – fear ye Isa 24:15 – glorify Eze 20:41 – and I will Eze 36:23 – sanctify Mat 5:5 – the meek Mat 24:6 – see Joh 15:16 – that your Act 4:9 – the good Act 10:29 – as soon Act 18:14 – when Act 24:10 – I do Act 26:25 – I am not Gal 6:1 – in the Eph 2:12 – having Eph 4:2 – lowliness 1Ti 1:19 – Holding 2Ti 4:16 – answer Jam 3:13 – with meekness 1Pe 1:13 – hope 1Pe 3:6 – and Rev 21:8 – the fearful

Fuente: The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge

REASONS FOR FAITH

Being ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you.

1Pe 3:15 (R.V.)

St. Peter reminds the early Christians how important and necessary it was that in a heathen land, and in the days of trial and persecution, they should be able to give a reason for their religion. This is sound advice for the Christians of all times.

I. In defence of the Christian position.We are Christians, most of us, by inheritance. Born in a Christian land, of Christian parents, we have been called, in Gods good Providence, to this state of salvation. But this is not sufficient reason. The mere accident of birth cannot be enough. On this principle a heathen by birth should remain a worshipper of many gods, or a Mohammedan remain a Moslem. In our case indeed the circumstance of our birth is a blessing; it is on the right side, and in our favour. But it brings a responsibility with it. It will add to our condemnation if we have had the light from our entrance into the world, and yet have not apprehended or used it intelligently.

(a) A Christian believes in the Founder of Christianity, in the Christ of history, not only of theology. As we read the Gospels of the life of Christ we cannot help being struck not only by His work and His teaching, but by what He says about Himself. Come unto Me is His constant cry to men. It is this which primarily distinguishes Him from the rest of teachers, not because He was guilty of self-assertion, but because it was true. And he who would be a Christian must take Christ at His own estimate of Himself; we must believe Him to be Who and What He said He was.

(b) A Christian believes what He taught.We cannot separate the Teacher from His teaching. We cannot say that He was the best of men, but that His teaching was untrue and not to be believed, for then the best of men would be the worst of teachers. And this is an impossible position for any reasoning man to take; it is a reductio ad absurdum.

II. What did Christ teach?What does He tell us which we accept as true because we are Christians and believe in the Christ Who said it?

(a) Christianity, as He teaches it, is a philosophy which guides us into all the truth, if we will but follow it patiently. In every religion worthy the name there is to be found some grain or grains of truth, but in Christianity we have a mine of priceless wisdom.

(b) Christianity is a moral system which leads to righteousness towards God and man. This is the essence of the religion of Christ. Nothing in it takes the place of right doing. Wherever Christianity has made its way, it has been a new and potent force for righteousness in the world, whether ancient or modern.

(c) Christianity is a revelation of man to himself. It tells man what for long centuries he has tried to find out, and has failed. What am I? Whence came I? Whither am I going? men have asked. There have been many answers, but none of them have satisfied the longings of men until Christ came.

(d) Christianity is a revelation of God to man. It is only in Christ we can know God as a loving Father.

(e) Christianity gives man a new motive for right doing. Not merely admiration for the good nor fear of the consequences had proved sufficient to transform man. But Christ revealed the true secret. What admiration or fear could not do, love alone effected.

(f) Christianity throws a light on the mystery of evil in Gods world. Christ teaches us that evil is a disease, and points us to a remedy for the disease which no other teacher had discovered. If any man sin, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the Righteous, and He is the Propitiation for our sin.

(g) Christianity is a religion for all. Its teaching is so profound that the wisest cannot exhaust it, and yet so simple that the unlearned peasant and the little child can find sweetness in its truths. It is for all, and so in every land where it has been carried it has taken root.

(h) Christianity has been tried and proved by the experience of nations and individuals. True, its progress has not been a triumphal march nor the upheaval of revolution, but as certainly it has not been a failure in the world. As Christ said would be the case, it has made its way quietly and slowly, like the leaven or the seed, in the heart of individuals and peoples.

If this be the Christ, and this be Christianity, then let each professing Christian be at the trouble to think and learn and pray, and he will find in these and other aspects of the question strong and sufficient reason why he should in very truth call himself by the name of Christ.

Bishop C. J. Ridgeway.

(SECOND OUTLINE)

THE AUTHORITY FOR THE CHRISTIAN FAITH

We are Christians because we believe that God has given a revelation to us in Jesus Christ and His Prophets and Apostles; and the first question, therefore, which we have to answer, in giving a reason of the hope which is in us is

I. On what grounds we rest that belief.There can be no question, moreover, which has been of more practical moment in Christian controversies, especially in the later history of the Church. It is the primary controversy between ourselves and the Church of Rome. Their whole system is based on the assumption that the ultimate authority for Christian faith resides in the Church and that the voice of the Church is that of the Pope. Whatever authority they may allow to the Scriptures, yet the interpretation of the Scriptures rests with the Church and the Pope, and consequently upon his infallibility the whole system ultimately depends. Our Church, on the contrary, recognises in the Scriptures the sole authority for our faith in all matters necessary to salvation; so that whatsoever is not read therein, nor may be proved thereby, is not to be required of any man that it should be believed as an article of the faith or be thought requisite or necessary to salvation. It expressly repudiates the infallibility even of General Councils. They may, it says, err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining unto God. Wherefore things ordained by them as necessary to salvation have neither strength nor authority unless it may be declared that they be taken out of Holy Scripture. This was the first and cardinal controversy at the time of the Reformation; there are few questions more carefully discussed by our great divines, and we have therefore abundant assistance from them in the consideration of it.

II. Our acceptance of the Scriptures as the Word of God cannot, according to our Church, be based on the authority of the Church.The Church as a whole can only speak by General Councils; and if General Councils may err, and sometimes have erred, even in things pertaining to God, it follows that no decision of a Council can be adequate ground for our belief on such a point. There may be good reason for accepting the decisions of such Councils, and we may in practice defer to them; and in point of fact our Article says that fin the name of the Holy Scripture we do understand those Canonical Books of the Old and New Testament, of whose authority was never any doubt in the Church. By that expression it cannot, of course, be meant that no doubts respecting them were ever entertained. No one can be ignorantand our Reformers, who were, as I have said, deeply concerned in this controversy, were as well aware as any oneof such statements as that of the Church historian Eusebius, that in his day some books of the New Testament were generally acknowledged and some few were disputed. What the expression means, as is explained, for instance, by Cosin, is that the Church as a whole, and speaking authoritatively, never entertained any doubt of them. Many points, I suppose, have been disputed at law, respecting which, nevertheless, there has never been any general doubt. Doubtful points have been ruled by authority, and the hesitations of individuals have been overborne by superior judgment. Our Church accepts this general judgment; but she does so on her own judgment, and not, as she expressly explains, by virtue of any inherent authority in the Councils to decide the question. Any attempt, therefore, to base our faith in the Scriptures on the authority of the Church is directly contrary to the principles expressly affirmed in our Articles.

III. From first to last, the authority of the Scriptures has been equivalent to the authority with which they themselves convinced men that they came from God.In point of fact, God Himself, according to the Scriptures, is making His voice heard among men. At sundry times and in divers manners He spoke in time past unto the Fathers by the Prophets. He was always standing among them, as He is standing among us now. There are voices in the Scriptures which men cannot account for unless they be the voice of God. Men may try to do so. They may struggle in our own time, as they struggled in our Lords time, against that claim. We cannot expect the Scriptures, the written voice of Christ, to escape dispute in a higher degree than His living voice escaped it when He was upon earth. As there were plenty of mennay, the majorityin His day, to deny that the living voice of the living Son of God was Divine at all, so there will never be a time in the history of the world when there will not be manyperhaps the time may again come when they will be the majorityto deny that the written voice of God is His. But that voice must defend itself. It is its own authority. Certainly, the attesting voice of the Church of all ages gives it a momentous claim to the reverence and the acceptance of reasonable and thoughtful men. It gives to each individual the invaluable assurance, in all moments of anxiety and doubt, of knowing that he shares the faith in which the greatest saints of past generations have lived and died. It assures us that, in trusting our souls for life and death to the promises and the guidance of those Sacred Scriptures, we are encompassed by a great cloud of witnesses. But still, in the last resort, it is on the voice of God Himself that we must rely. In proportion as we submit ourselves, with an honest and humble heart, to those Scriptures, shall we be sensible that a Divine voice is speaking to us in them, answering the Divine voice which is also speaking in our consciences; and we shall more and more be able to say, like the people of Samaria, who were brought to their Lord by the report of another, Now we believe, not because of thy saying, for we have heard Him ourselves, and know that this is indeed the Christ, the Saviour of the world.

Dean Wace.

Illustration

No authoritative decision respecting the Canon of Scripture in the Christian Church can be quoted until the Council of Laodicea, after the middle of the fourth century. We have, indeed, evidence more or less clear respecting the books which, as a matter of fact, were regarded as authoritative in the Christian Church, and they are in the main those which we now recognise, though there are several variations. Some books were in early ages regarded as carrying sacred authority which were afterwards felt not to deserve such a position, and which have consequently fallen into disuse. Such were the Shepherd of Hermas, the Epistle of Barnabas, and the Epistle of Clement of Rome. But there is no evidence that the decision was made in the Church of the first three centuries by any general ecclesiastical authority. The books of the New Testament became recognised among Christians just as the books of the Old Testament had been recognised among the Jews, by virtue of their own inherent evidence. Certain witnesses came forward and recorded in writing the teaching of our Lord, or announced certain messages for which they had His authority, or the guidance of His Spirit in communicating them to their fellows. Men had to decide for themselves whether they believed those claims. The Apostles were supported, indeed, in many cases by miracles, but not always; and though those miracles afforded momentous evidence, they were not recognised in themselves, and standing alone, as decisive of the whole question. No apparent miracle, it was felt, could of itself authenticate a message from God, which did not bear internal evidence also of having proceeded from Him. The appeal, in short, in the early Church was directed, as in the time of our Lord Himself, to the hearts and consciences of men. He Himself could but appeal to those hearts and consciences, and men accepted or rejected Him, not by reference to any external authority, but in proportion to their capacity for recognising His Divine character.

Fuente: Church Pulpit Commentary

1Pe 3:15. Sanctify is from HAGIAZO and Thayer’s first definition is, “To render or acknowledge to be venerable [sacred], to hallow.” The reader should carefully note that the word has a twofold meaning, namely, either to cause another to become holy (which can be done to man by the Gospel), or to recognize another to be already that way (which can be done only to the Lord who is the author of the Gospel). The passage instructs disciples to recognize the Lord as holy and entitled a permanent place in their hearts. The way this can be done is made clear in Eph 3:17 by the words, “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith.” Add to this the statement as to the source of faith (Rom 10:17) and the subject is complete. We should make ourselves so familiar with the word of God that He will be in our hearts (minds) all the time. If all this is done we will be prepared to comply with the rest of the verse. Answer means an explanation that shows the basis for believing anything that might be called in question. When any man asks us to show that basis we must be prepared to do so. Neither is this to be done at stated times only or after we have “brushed up” our memory on it, but we are to be ready always. This will be possible if we have obeyed the first part of the verse which will have made us acquainted with the word of God. With meekness and fear. We should be humble and not overbearing when someone asks us to defend our position. We should have great respect for the subject and answer the questions according to Him who is living in our hearts and whom we fear or reverence.

Fuente: Combined Bible Commentary

1Pe 3:15. but sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts. The A. V., following Tyndale, Cranmer, and the Genevan, adopts the reading of the Textus Receptus, viz. the Lord God. The Vulgate, Wycliffe, and the Rhemish have the Lord Christ, and this reading must be accepted as having by far the weightiest evidence on its side. The Revised Version rightly accepts it, giving it at the same time greater point by making the term Lord not a mere name of Christ, but a predicate. The Greek, though not absolutely conclusive, is on the whole in favour of this rendering. Isaiahs words, therefore, are continued, but with two significant modifications. Christ takes the place of the Jehovah of hosts, who is presented in the prophecy as the object of sanctification, and the words in your hearts are added in order to express the fact that this sanctification is not to be of a formal or external order, but to rest in the deepest seat of feeling. The term sanctify here means to regard and honour as holy; and, as appears from the explanatory terms, let Him be your fear and let Him be your dread (Isa 8:13), it amounts to much the same as fear. The fear of man is to be displaced by the fear of Christ, and of Him as our true Lord (comp. Luk 12:4-5). Thus the Apostle places before us Christ to be our Lord, and to be set up in our hearts as the object of reverence and godly fear, in words which the prophet of the Old Testament uses with regard to the Lord Jehovah (Humphrey, Comm. on the Revised Version, p. 442).

ready always to give answer to every man that asketh you a reason concerning the hope that is in you. The and with which the A. V. introduces this sentence is not found in the best manuscripts. This makes it more probable that what now follows is not to be taken as a distinct counsel, be ready, etc., but as in intimate connection with the preceding statement. One way in which this sanctifying of Christ as Lord will express itself is in meeting fairly and frankly the difficulties and questionings of others. The inward homage to Him does not absolve from responsibility to others, or justify disregard of their inquiries. What it implies is neither on the one hand the reticence which fear or indifference may prompt, nor on the other the propensity to dispute about our hope, but a readiness to give an account of it, wherever it may be necessary or helpful to do so. The phrase means literally ready for an apology, the noun being that which is variously rendered in our A. V. as answer (Act 25:16; 1Co 9:3; 2Ti 4:16 and here), defence (Act 22:1; Php 1:7; Php 1:16) and clearing of oneself (2Co 7:11). It has been supposed to refer here to official examination, or to legal processes such as Christians were subjected to under the Emperor Trajan. The general terms, however, in which the inquirers are described make it clear that what is in view is not readiness to face judicial investigation, but readiness to give at all fit times to all fit persons a reasonable defence or explanation of the Christian hope. The term apology is used not in the popular sense of an excuse, but in that of an apologetical vindication. It was afterwards applied to the early treatises written in defence of the Christian faith by the so-called Apologists, Tatian, Theophilus, Athenagoras, etc. The times are defined by the always, which covers all fit occasions, small or great, pleasant or the reverse. The fit persons are defined as embracing not indeed all and sundry, but all who ask an account (a phrase occurring only here) of this hope, all who demand to know what can be said on the subject of a hope in One risen from the dead, which so manifestly makes new men of those whom it inspires. These are to be considerately met, and, if possible, satisfied.

but (or, yet) with meekness and fear. A qualification of the kind of satisfaction that is to be attempted,

a caution against an over-readiness, which, instead of conciliating, prejudices and hurts. The spirit of truth, says Leighton, is itself the spirit of meeknessthe dove that rested on that great champion of truth, who is truth itself. This meekness (on which see also 1Pe 3:4) is another of those virtues which have been so elevated and enriched by the Gospel as to be made practically new things. In the old Greek system of morals it had, indeed, a better place assigned it than was allowed to the quality of humility (on which see 1Pe 3:8). In the ethical teaching of men like Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch, it is commended as the virtue by which a man retains his equanimity, as the mean between the extremes of passionateness and insensibility, and as the opposite of rudeness, severity, harshness. So far, therefore, it had a good sense, where humility had the reverse. It remained, nevertheless, on a comparatively low platform, and with a value essentially superficial. Christianity carried it far beyond this, giving it a deeper seat than natural disposition, a loftier sphere of action than our relation to other men, a happier connection with humble-mindedness (comp. Eph 4:2; Col 2:12), at once a more inward and a more Godward aspect. Having its roots in the Christian consciousness of sin, it is first of all a grace with a Godward aspect (comp. Mat 11:29; Jas 1:21), the temper of spirit in which we accept His dealings with us as good, and therefore without disputing or resisting (Trench). It is, in the second place, the disposition to meet whatever demand is made upon us by the oppositions and sins of our fellow-men in the spirit which is born of the sense of our own ill-desert in Gods sight. So it is set over against a contentious spirit (Tit 3:2), want of consideration for offenders (Gal 6:1), and harshness toward opponents (2Ti 2:24), etc. The fear which is to be coupled with it is best understood neither as the fear of God exclusively, nor as the fear of man specifically, but more generally as the dread of doing or saying anything out of harmony with the solemnity of the interests involvedthat reverential fear, as Bishop Butler expresses it, which the nature of religion requires, and which is so far from being inconsistent with, that it will inspire, proper courage towards men. While we are to be ready with our answer, it is not to be given in a forward, irreverent, or arrogant spirit. Reference is appropriately made (by Alford, etc.) to the interpretation put upon this counsel by one who had the best title to speak, the hero of Augsburg and Worms: Then must ye not answer with proud words, and state your cause with defiance and with violence, as if you would tear up trees, but with such fear and humility as if ye stood before the judgment-seat of God; so shouldest thou stand in fear, and not rely on thy own strength, but on the word and promise of Christ.

Fuente: A Popular Commentary on the New Testament

But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts;– This phrase in scripture imports, 1. A firm belief of God’s Almighty power, that he can protect from sufferings; and a full affiance in his goodness and providence, that he will do it, if it be good for us.

2. It is from the heart to own and believe the truth of all that God delivers in his word by way of promise to his people, and by way of threatening to their enemies, that his eyes are over the righteous, and his face against them that do evil.

3. To sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, is always to maintain upon our minds such an holy fear, and awful reverence of God, as will effectually prevail upon us to dread more the displeasure of God, than any thing we can suffer at the hand of man.

Learn hence, 1. That when sufferings are approaching we ought to strengthen our hearts against all fears of suffering, by putting our trust in God.

2. That by this trust and confidence in God in a suffering hour, we do eminently sanctify the Lord God in our hearts, Sanctify the Lord of hosts himself, and let him be your fear and your dread. Isa 8:13

–And be ready always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you, with meekness and fear: As if the apostle had said, “If you be Christians indeed, you are not without hope, an hope of everlasting bliss and happiness, which will infinitely recompense you hereafter for all the hard things which you suffer for the sake of Christianity here; and forasmuch as this your hope is not a vain and groundless expectation, but a rational hope, be always ready to render a reason of that hope that is in you, with meekness and fear.

Learn hence, 1. That the Christian’s hope is a rational hope, he has a reason to hope for what he hopes, his hope is well-grounded upon the promise of God, upon the purchase of Christ, and upon the operations of the Holy Spirit, quickening him by its renovation, leading him by its manuduction, actuating him by its influence, animating him in devotions by its assistances, by being the author of all that grace that is in him.

Learn, 2. That it is a Christian’s duty to be always ready to render a reason of this his hope, when the glory of God, the honour of religion, and the good of others do require it.

Learn, 3. That this must not be done with vanity and ostentation, but with meekness and fear: Be always ready to render a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.

Fuente: Expository Notes with Practical Observations on the New Testament

Verse 15

Sanctify the Lord God, &c.; that is, praise and honor him.

Fuente: Abbott’s Illustrated New Testament

3:15 But {l} sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: {16} and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear:

(l) Give him all prayers and glory, and hang only on him.

(16) He will have us, when we are afflicted for righteousness sake, to be careful not for redeeming of our life, either with denying or renouncing the truth, or with like violence, or any such means: but rather to give an account of our faith boldly, and yet with a meek spirit, and full of godly reverence, that the enemies may not have anything justly to object, but may rather be ashamed of themselves.

Fuente: Geneva Bible Notes

Rather than being fearful we should commit ourselves afresh to Christ our Lord (Yahweh of armies, Isa 8:13) by purposing to continue to live for Him. We should also have the reason we are living as we do on the tip of our tongues so whenever an opportunity arises we can explain why we behave as we do (cf. Act 22:1; Act 25:16). Our inquisitive questioner may not ask about our hope per se. Nevertheless our hope is the root cause of our behavior and should be the subject of our answer. We should give this answer with a gentle spirit to those asking and in a reverent spirit toward God.

Fuente: Expository Notes of Dr. Constable (Old and New Testaments)