June 16th, 2025

“But in your hearts revere Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”

Why do you believe that the teachings of Christianity are true? Maybe this is a question you’ve never really thought about, or haven’t had a good answer to. For many of us who have grown up in a Christian home all our lives, the question of why we believe what we believe can go mostly unaddressed since our faith is so ingrained with who we are and how our lives operate. In our minds, we think Jesus is God because that’s what we have always believed and were taught by our parents and the Bible. But how do we know Jesus is actually God? How can we know that the Bible is even a reliable source of information? I remember being challenged by these kinds of questions in high school by an atheist friend whom I was trying to evangelize, and, admittedly, the interaction shook what I thought I knew about my faith. 

At some point in evangelism, you’ll have to offer an answer and explain why it is you believe what you believe. The verse from today’s devotion encourages us in this truth.

Much like our age, the audience of 1 Peter existed in a time in which many were hostile to the Gospel and the message of what Jesus did on the cross. For the audience of this book, such persecution included imminent threats of death. The people of first Peter had to face the daily challenge of living in a Godly way, despite mistreatment, as a means to represent Christ well, and not give reason to their enemies to discredit them. In addition to these trials, they had to be prepared to have answers for their faith if ever they were to have to defend it in the courts or with individuals. The verse of our devotion gives us wisdom that can help us as we evangelize

“Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect”

Two pieces of advice appear in these verses that we can use as we evangelize the nation for Christ.

1. Be Prepared

As followers of Jesus, we ought to have answers to the questions people ask us about faith. We have a fantastic hope in the Gospel, and it’s crucial that we understand why the Gospel is such a tremendous hope so that we can communicate that hope to others. To expect others to want to become a Christian when we cannot sufficiently explain to them why they should is silly. It is as foolish as expecting someone to buy a particular car from a car salesman, who can’t even explain why the car would be of any benefit to the person wanting to buy. Throughout scripture, we are encouraged as believers to study and meditate on God’s word daily, and I believe one reason for this is to be prepared for evangelism. Studying God’s word as a daily habit is crucial for successful evangelism.

2. Be Christ-Like

Not only is what we know and say significant, but how we say these truths is equally important. Especially in our era of debate and argumentation where the goal seems to be arguing ideas to showcase the other person as stupid; our goal when we evangelize is not to uplift our egos, nor to belittle those whom we speak to, but to shed light to people caught in darkness to help them see the truth of the love of God who died to save them. Arguing is for the purpose of drawing those who don’t know Christ free from sin and into relationship with Jesus. Thus, our conduct in evangelism must be respectable and God-honouring. Otherwise, we risk doing more harm than good.

Although you don’t need to be the next great theologian to evangelize, it is critical that we prepare ourselves through study to offer satisfactory answers to people’s questions. As we come prepared, we can rely on the Holy Spirit to give us the right words in season to move hearts and draw people to Christ!

Challenge For This Week

Ask yourself, “Why do I believe that the teachings of Christianity are true?”. Consider whether there is proof or evidence to suggest that your belief is reasonable. If you are struggling with this question, contact one of your leaders to help you think about it more thoroughly.