Ministry of Defense | 1 Peter 3:15 Bible Study. Danny Scotton Jr. at Alpha Baptist Church on 6.27.18. Please visit http://catchforchrist.net for sources and resources

1. HE LIVES!
• I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.

2. MINISTRY OF
DEFENSE
1 PETER 3:15
DANNY SCOTTON JR. BIBLE STUDY LESSON 6.27.18
ALPHA BAPTIST CHURCH
• TOPICAL
• TO CHALLENGE
• TO ENCOURAGE
• GOAL: FOR EVERYONE IN THIS ROOM TO WALK OUT MORE CONFIDENT IN THEIR FAITH IN CHRIST
THAN WHEN THEY WALKED IN

3. CAN YOU FEEL IT?
• Ever seen something that made you sick to your stomach?
• Ever heard about something that was truly gut-wrenching?
• Ever had a crush on someone who gave you butterflies in your
belly?
• It seems that we feel some of our most intense emotional reactions
in our guts.
• We have gut feelings
• When it comes to describing the seat of one’s inner emotions, this
is the metaphor that the biblical authors typically used – the
bowels

4. ANCIENT SEAT OF THE EMOTIONS
• ‫ה‬ֶ‫ע‬ ֵ‫מ‬ (mēʿeh) “inward parts, bowels” (TWOT, 518).
• Can literally mean intestines, or entrails, or belly
• Now the Lord provided a huge fish to swallow Jonah, and Jonah was in the belly
(mēʿeh) of the fish three days and three nights. (Jon 1:17, NIV)
• But it often is associated with intense emotion:
• 2 I sleep, but my heart waketh: It is the voice of my beloved that knocketh, saying,
Open to me, my sister, my love, my dove, my undefiled: For my head is filled with
dew, And my locks with the drops of the night. 3 I have put off my coat; how shall
I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them? 4 My beloved put in his
hand by the hole of the door, And my bowels [mēʿeh] were moved for him (Song
of Solomon 5:4, KJV)

5. MODERN SEAT OF THE EMOTIONS
• When we think of the seat of our
emotions, what part of the body part
(metaphorically) comes to mind?
• “Baby, I love you with all my heart.”
• Sounds better than, “Baby, I love you
with all of my bowels.”
• Thus, more modern English translations
substitute “bowels” for “heart.”
• 8 I desire to do your will, my God; your
law is within my heart [mēʿeh]. (Ps 40:8),
NIV)

6. THE ANCIENT HEART
• “Heart” in the OT is a different word: ‫ב‬ֵ‫ל‬ (lēb), ‫ב‬ ָ‫ב‬ֵ‫ל‬ (lēbāb)
• 5 Trust in the LORD [YHWH] with all your heart and lean not on your own
understanding; 6 in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight
(Prov 3:5-6, NIV).
• Not saying trust in the LORD with all your emotions.
• Biblically, the heart is the richest metaphor used to describe the totality of one’s inner
self.
• This includes not merely emotions, but personality, intellect, desires and will.
• In much of ancient literature, the heart not only feels, it wants, it thinks, it reasons.
• Not mixing up our metaphors would be wise.

7. FOR WHAT DID KING SOLOMON ASK?
• 8 Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people,
too numerous to count or number. 9 So give your servant a discerning
heart [lēb]to govern your people and to distinguish between right and
wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?” (1 Ki 3:8-9,
NIV)
• Give your servant therefore an understanding mind to govern your people,
able to discern between good and evil; for who can govern this your great
people?” (1 Ki, 3:9, NRSV cf. ESV, JPS 1985)
• HCSB: obedient heart, NASB95 understanding heart (cf. KJV, NLT, JPS
1917)
• Biblically speaking, your heart refers to your emotions, desires, and
thoughts.

8. BELIEVE IN YOUR HEART
• 9 If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised
him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom 10:9, NIV)
• καρδία (kardia): “heart, mind, the seat of the inner life (thoughts, emotions, will)” (NIDNTTE,
622)
• Believing in one’s heart is not just feeling or desiring something to be true, but thinking –
having good reason – that something is true.
• If I believe something with all that is inside of me, there should be evidence of that belief
on the outside of me – how I live my life.
• Belief that vs. Belief in

9. WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?
• J. Warner Wallace was a cold-case homicide detective in California. While on the
force, he would often ridicule his fellow officers who were Christian.
• Why? Because they often could not articulate, explain, or defend their beliefs
• He was an atheist for 35 years. But one day, he set out to examine the eyewitness
accounts of Jesus presented in the Gospels – essentially using the same criteria
he would use when investigating any other cold case.
• After examining the evidence, he became convinced of the truth of the Gospel.
• J. Warner Wallace is now an adjunct professor at Biola University – a nationally-
ranked Christian institution – and he is one of the most well-known Christian
apologists in the country.
• He travels around the United States, giving talks and presentations. During these
presentations, he often starts with a simple question: Why are you a Christian?

10. WHY ARE YOU A CHRISTIAN?
• Wallace typically gets answers such as these:
• I was raised a Christian.
• I believe that what the Holy Bible says is true.
• Jesus changed my life. I used to do a, b, and c, but now I do x, y, and z.
• I had a personal experience that convicted me.
• Some of these answers are better than others. But problem is others can respond:
• I was raised a Buddhist
• I believe what the Book of Mormon says is true
• Allah changed my life. I used to do a, b, and c, but now I do x, y, and z.
• I had a personal experience that convicted me.

11. TESTIMONIES ARE POWERFUL & PERSONAL
• I am NOT suggesting that one’s testimony is invalid.
• Christian Philosophers have called this the self-authenticating witness of the Holy
Spirit
• When we cry, “Abba! Father!” 16 it is that very Spirit bearing witness with our spirit that
we are children of God, (Rom 8:15b-16, NRSV)
• However…
• For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? (1 Cor 2:11a).
• The heart [lēb] is deceitful above all things and beyond cure. Who can understand it? (Jer
17:9).
• Not every testimony is necessarily truthful
• Even if testimonies are true, often many people are skeptical.

12. SUBJECTIVE VS. OBJECTIVE
• Who is the best singer of all time?
• Who is the fastest sprinter of all time?
• What is the most beautiful mountain in the world? (subjective)
• What is the tallest mountain in the world? (objective)
• Who is the greatest basketball player of all time?
• What is the best flavor of ice cream?
• Our increasingly secular society sees religion more like ice cream than insulin (Greg Koukl).
• Sometimes we treat the Gospel more like cookie than a cure (J. Warner Wallace).

13. IT’S ALL SUBJECTIVE, RIGHT BRAD PITT?
• In a 2017 interview with GQ, Brad Pitt opened up about his Christian roots.
• “…we grew up First Baptist, which is the cleaner, stricter, by-the-book Christianity. Then,
when I was in high school, my folks jumped to a more charismatic movement, which got
into speaking in tongues and raising your hands.”
• Apparently he wanted to give this a try. In fact, he credits revival meetings as ultimately
birthing his career in acting
• “ I remember going to a few concerts, even though we were told rock shows are the devil,
basically. Our parents let us go, they weren't neo about it. But I realized that the reverie and
the joy and exuberance, even the aggression, I was feeling at the rock show was the same
thing at the revival. One is Jimmy Swaggart and one is Jerry Lee Lewis, you know? One's
God and one's devil.”
• In 2015, on his faith he said he’s “probably 20 percent atheist and 80 percent agnostic. I
don't think anyone really knows. You'll either find out or not when you get there, and until
then there's no point in thinking about it.”

14. FEELINGS: WONDERFUL SERVANTS, TERRIBLE
MASTERS
• It can be dangerous when we rely purely on emotion
• Have your feelings ever let you down?
• Relationships often have a honeymoon period
• Feelings are not always reliable
• Some days I feel like I’m 6’7”
• There is objective evidence to the contrary
• In spite, of my subjective feelings

15. CORROBORATION: SUBJECTIVE + OBJECTIVE
• When a detective asks where you were last night, what’s one of
the worst responses?
• I was home by myself.
• If one is called to the stand, this personal testimony often will
not be convincing.
• If your blood type doesn’t match the blood at the crime scene,
that can serve as corroborating evidence.
• If you say you were at a movie with you friends, and all your
friends can vouch for you, and you have a receipt… you have a
more reasonable defense.

16. MINISTRY OF DEFENSE
• But in your hearts revere Christ the
Lord, always being ready to make a
defense to everyone who asks you for the
reason for the hope that is in you, but do
this with gentleness and reverence. 1
Peter 3:15
• Who is Peter writing to?

17. BACKDROP OF SUFFERING, PERSECUTION
• Peter is writing to scattered, suffering Christians.
• Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to God’s elect, exiles scattered
throughout the provinces of Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia and
Bithynia (1 Pet 1:1)
• In all this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have
had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials (1 Pet 1:6)
• But even if you should suffer for what is right, you are blessed. “Do not
fear their threats; do not be frightened” (1 Pet 3:14 cf. Is 8:12)
• Peter (AD 64?) & Paul (AD 68?) were martyred in Rome by Emperor Nero
• “Peter was crucified, upside down at his request, since he did not feel he
was worthy to die in the same manner as his Lord.” (Water, 143).

18. NOT FANTASTIC: HUMAN TORCHES
• In AD 64, Emperor Nero blamed the
Great Fire of Rome on Christians
and began using them as human
torches.
• Christians have been dying for the
faith since the beginning of the
faith
• Persecution, not worldly
prosperity, is promised
• In fact, everyone who wants to live
a godly life in Christ Jesus will be
persecuted (2 Tim 3:12)
• Fortunately, the persecution we
may face in the U.S. pales in
comparison to that of others in
history, and around the world

19. DON’T FEAR PEOPLE, REVERE CHRIST
• In spite of their persecution, Peter bravely
encourages his audience.
• February 2017: Christian Executions
• In April 2017, two Christian churches in Egypt were
bombed by ISIS
• On Palm Sunday
• “There were no complete bodies, we were picking our
way through parts to try to identify our relatives. We
were collecting bits of human flesh in plastic bags,”
added Paula, 16, who rushed to the church immediately
after the attack.” (The Daily Beast)
• What do you think they did on Easter?

20. DON’T FEAR PEOPLE, REVERE CHRIST
• “Christians reeling from the attacks while
mourning the loss of their loved ones say all
they can do is pray, and many say they are
determined to go to church on Easter
Sunday” (The Daily Beast)
• The New Testament and church history are
littered with persecution
• Church father Tertullian (c. AD 160 – 225) (who
was African): “The blood of the martyrs is the
seed of the church.” (Water, 66).
• My good friend once said we are promised a
rocky journey but a smooth landing.
• Jesus says: Do not be afraid of those who kill
the body but cannot kill the soul… (Mt 10:28a)

21. ALWAYS BE READY TO MAKE A DEFENSE
• But in your hearts revere Christ the Lord, always being ready to make a defense to
everyone who asks you for the reason for the hope that is in you, but do this with
gentleness and reverence. 1 Peter 3:15
• Make a defense = ἀπολογία (apologia)
• In the New Testament, apologia is usually used in legal contexts.
• In Acts, for example, Paul makes his defense (apologia) before the governor, Felix, the
governor, Festus, and the King, Agrippa. Paul makes his case.
• In these instances Paul is striving to prove the “legitimacy of the Christian faith” (Acts
22:1; 24:10; 25:8, 16; 26:1, 2, 24 ) (EDNT, 137).
• He uses evidence that is not only personally subjective, but evidentially objective.
• a defense in which one attempts to evidentially “prove some act or belief to be
reasonable, necessary, or right.” (Logos, Bible Sense Lexicon).

22. TO ANYONE WHO ASKS FOR THE REASON FOR THE
HOPE THAT IS IN YOU
• Now “ask” may be too weak of a translation, because the Greek word really
means “ask with expectation of an answer” —to demand.
• “The hope that is in you” refers to “a reasonable and confident” (Logos Lexicon)
faith in Christ and our final, ultimate salvation (Davids, NICOT).
• The general point is this: Christians ought to be ready to
give reasonable responses to questions about their Christian faith
• – even when such questions are hostile

23. REVERENT DEFENSE
• But we are not to respond with hostility.
• but do this with gentleness and reverence (1 Pet 3:15b).
• We are to respond with gentleness and reverence.
• Apologetics – which comes from the term apologia – is the art and science of
making a reasonable defense for the Christian faith (Craig, On Guard).
• Not apologizing or making others sorry. It’s simply making our case.
• And, it is to be done with humility towards other people – and with reverence to
God.

24. TEST PREPARATION
• Ever been stressed out about a big test you had coming up?
• If you were to somehow get a copy of a test in advance, wouldn’t that make things little easier?
• You could research and prepare your answers to the questions beforehand.
• On the day of the exam, instead of being nervous and anxious, one could
be cool, calm and collected.
• Part of apologetics is responding to common questions of the faith.
• Generally, one will hear the same major objections over and over again.
• If one researches and prepares answers for these questions, on the day of the exam – when
someone asks or demands a reason for the hope that is in you – you can
be cool, calm and collected.
• When people challenge us, fight or flight often kicks in
• You can make an argument without being argumentative; you can make a defense without
being defensive (Craig, On Guard)

25. WHEN AM I EVER GOING TO NEED APOLOGETICS?
• But someone might say, “people rarely ask me questions about my
faith. I never find myself in these kinds of situations. When am
I ever going to need apologetics?”
• Though I am not a parent, may I humbly suggest that we consider
the fate of our children.
• For it seems that many (if not most) of the youth in American
churches do not even believe basic Christian beliefs.
• Survey data suggests that 68% of teenage Christians do not
believe the Holy Spirit is a real Being. 51% do not believe that Jesus
rose from the dead. And 63% do not believe that Jesus is the Son of
the one true God.

26. MASS EXODUS OF CHURCHED YOUTH
• Several U.S. surveys find that the large majority of young people who are raised in the church
(up to 70%!) leave the church by their sophomore year in college
• – where professors, when compared to average Americans, are five more times likely to be
professing atheists or agnostics.
• Another survey asked an open-ended question about why young ex-Christians left the faith.
There were no multiple-choice options.
• The most popular responses were “intellectual skepticism” and “doubt”
• E.g., “It didn’t make any sense anymore.” “Some stuff is too far-fetched for me to believe.” “I
think scientifically and there is no real proof.” “Too many questions that can’t be answered.”
• The most opportune time for apologetics may not be in a public debate, but in the privacy of
our own homes, and the youth ministries of our home churches.

27. THE RESURRECTION HYPOTHESIS: MINIMAL FACTS
1) Jesus was crucified
2) Jesus' disciples were convinced
that He rose from the dead and
appeared to them -- in the flesh
3) Paul, a persecutor of the early
Christian church, became a
Christian -- and one of the most
influential Christian writers of all
time
4) James, Jesus' unbelieving half-
brother, also became a Christian
and a leader of the early church
5) The tomb was empty.
And if Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile; you
are still in your sins (1 Cor 15:17, NIV).

28. REMEMBER PETER?
• 21 From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must
go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the
chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on
the third day be raised to life. 22 Peter took him aside and began to
rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!”
23 Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a
stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but
merely human concerns.” (Mt 16:21-23)
• 33 Peter replied, “Even if all fall away on account of you, I never will.”
34 “Truly I tell you,” Jesus answered, “this very night, before the rooster
crows, you will disown me three times.” (Mt 26:33-34 cf. Mt 26:69-75).
• Criterion of Embarrassment

29. EMBARRASSING TRUTHS
• While his disciples were elsewhere cowering in fear, the first people to
learn of the Resurrection at the empty tomb were women (Mt 28:1f., Lk
24:1f., etc.)
• Yet, in their culture in first-century Palestine, the testimony of women was
not even admissible in court.
• “But let not the testimony of women be admitted, on account of the
levity and boldness of their sex.” (Josephus (b. AD 37-38), Antiquities,
219).
• If you were going to fabricate a story, why would you choose women --
one of whom was allegedly, formerly demon-possessed -- as your first
eyewitnesses?
• Historians often lend more credence to details that are embarrassing

30. THE EARLY CHRISTIAN CREED
• When was Jesus crucified?
• Scholars say around AD 30-33. Paul is writing 1 Corinthians around AD 51-55.
• “The two earliest biographies of Alexander the Great were written by Arrian and Plutarch more than four
hundred years after Alexander’s death in 323 B.C., yet historians consider them to be generally trustworthy.”
(Blomberg in The Case for Christ)
• 3 For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the
Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, 5 and that he
appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. 6 After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the
brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then
he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, 8 and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally
born (1 Cor 15:3-7. NIV)
• “If the Crucifixion was as early as A.D. 30, Paul’s conversion was about 32. Immediately Paul was ushered into
Damascus, where he met with a Christian named Ananias and some other disciples. His first meeting with the
apostles in Jerusalem would have been about A.D. 35. At some point along there, Paul was given this creed,
which had already been formulated and was being used in the early church.” (Blomberg in The Case For
Christ).

31. MINISTRY OF DEFENSE: CONCLUSION
• Why Am I A Christian?
• Not just because:
• I was raised a Christian.
• I believe that what the Holy Bible says is true.
• Jesus changed my life.
• I had a personal experience that convicted me.
• But because I have good reason to believe that Christianity is true.
• It’s a Truth worth defending, worth staking one’s entire life
• In your hearts, don’t fear people; revere Christ
• Always be ready to make a defense
• Do this with gentleness and reverence
• Please contact me or visit CatchForChrist.net for (re)sources

32. HE LIVES!
• I serve a risen Savior, He's in the world today;
I know that He is living whatever men may say;
I see His hand of mercy, I hear His voice of cheer,
And just the time I need Him, He's always near.
He lives, He lives,
Christ Jesus lives today!
He walks with me and talks with me
Along life's narrow way.
He lives, He lives,
Salvation to impart!
You ask me how I know He lives?
He lives within my heart.