Pastor Frank DeFusco
Pastor Frank DeFusco
In 1 Peter 3:15, the author is instructing the early believers to always be prepared and capable to give a reasonable answer for the hope that is in us, to every person who asks. The Greek translation of “an answer,” is “apologian,” which points to a defense of one’s beliefs.
But not all queries from those asking for the reasons are in themselves reasonable, but meant to ensnare or embarrass one. Even so, Peter instructs us to give them the answer, humbly, and with reverential awe. This can be the most difficult part of apologetics, in that our Spirit calls for us to be gentle as lambs and wise as a serpent, but our flesh can bring out the attack sheep in a person, namely “Lambo.” This can destroy your witness, and that is exactly what our “Adversary,” the Devil, seeks.
So, we should use the example of our Lord, when Satan misrepresented scripture in the hope that it would cause Jesus to fall. His example was to properly use the scriptures to reason from. “For all of scripture is God breathed, and given to us for instruction and correction.” Peter goes on to tell us why we need reason and scripture in 1 Peter 3:16-18, “having a good conscience, that when they defame you as evildoers, those who revile your good conduct in Christ may be ashamed. For it is better, if it is the will of God, to suffer for doing what is good, than for doing evil. For Christ also suffered once for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive by the Spirit.” What Peter is saying is that the skeptic will attempt to anger and cause us to stumble by proclaiming that belief in a Higher Power is a matter of “blind faith.” And that anyone who claims that there is a “Great Spirit in the Sky” is a fool. Whereas, the scriptures tell us the opposite in Psalm 14:1, “The fool has said in his heart, ‘There is no God.’”
In actuality, it is the godless materialist who lives by blind faith. They believe that the journey of life from lifeless chemicals to the human brain started in an ancient stew from which the first single-cell creatures arose, then multiplied, to become several forms of sea life that then morphed into land dwellers; then came the advent of mankind from apes. Thus, the saying that we came “from the goo, to the zoo, to me and you.” As one apologist said, “I don’t have enough faith to be an atheist.” Another said, “In grammar school they taught me that a frog turning into a prince was a fairytale, but at college, I was taught that a frog turning into a prince was a fact. Our reasoned answer to them; “In the beginning God.”
Pastor Frank teaches Bible Study on Daniel on Tuesdays and Revelation on Fridays at 10 a.m. in the Sports Club. If you have questions, call or text Ellen at 610-428-7244.