1 Peter 3:15 is a challenging verse. It reveals a responsibility that every Christian has to defend their faith. Do you feel that you adequately do that?
What kind of faith do you possess? Is it a blind and weak faith? Or, is it a faith that is rock-solid, strong, and your own? Are you prepared to tell people why you believe the things you do?
Why do you believe?
- Why do you believe in God? In a country where fewer people profess to believe in God, we need to be prepared to do this!
- Why do you believe the claims of Jesus? Why do you believe that He is the Son of God? Why do you believe that He is the Lord and Messiah? Why do you believe in what He announces in John 14:6? What makes your belief in Christ true, but the beliefs of the Muslims, Hindus, and Mormons wrong?
- Why do you believe in biblical morality? Why should a person abide by the standard of Jesus?
- Why do you believe that the Bible is God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16)? Why can’t the same thing be said about the Koran, the book of Mormon, or the Hindu scriptures?
- Why do you believe in heaven and hell (Mark 9:43-50)?
- If God is real, why do sufferings and injustices take place in the world? Why is there so much evil taking place across the globe?
You should believe because of the resurrection of Jesus!
- The apostles emphasized the empty tomb more than anything else in their preaching (Acts 2:22-32; 3:26; 4:10; 5:30). They appealed to their eyewitness testimony as convincing proof that Jesus is who He claimed to be (John 20:28-31; 21:24-25; Revelation 1:17-18; Acts 1:1-3). The key foundation stone for the Christian faith is the resurrection of the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:3-19).
- The resurrection confirms everything regarding our faith! It demonstrates the reality of God and the creation (Genesis 1:1). It validates the claims of Jesus and His standard for morality (Romans 1:4). It proves that the Bible is God’s word (2 Timothy 3:16-17). It also proves that heaven and hell are real.
- Regardless of how frustrated we become about the evil and injustice in the world, none of that changes the facts surrounding a risen Christ!
- The empty tomb is where the battle for faith must be waged. Its reality will help us when we start having doubts, discouraging moments, and challenging questions from the lost.
Conclusion:
Have you surrendered to the risen Jesus (Mark 16:16)?
