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SET APART CHRIST AS LORD: Always ready to give a defense

1 Peter 3:15 But set apart Christ as Lord (Master) in your hearts and always be prepared towards a defense to all who ask you a word concerning your hope, with objectivity of mind and respect…

If someone asked you why you believe what you believe, could you answer intelligently?

When we are asked about the hope that we have, it is not much of an answer to say, “We believe because we believe.” Or, in other words, we are not able to give a reason, or articulate, why we accept as truth the things we believe. We cannot have faith for the sake of having faith. Since a promise is always the basis for faith there is no such thing in Scripture as blind faith.
In the context of the book of 1 Peter, the author is encouraging Christians who are suffering unjustly and facing false accusations against their character because they are not getting involved with the lifestyle of unbelievers around them. When we live a life the follows God rather than the ways of the world, we are discernably different to unbelievers because of our actions, not our words, which can give the perfect opportunity to share with an unbeliever the Gospel for salvation and the resulting hope from believing when we are asked why we are so unusual and dissimilar to others.
You do not have to be a theologian to know what you believe. You may not be able to read the Bible in the original languages, or explain every verse, but that does not mean you cannot know what you believe and why you have the hope that you have. All Christians can and should mature enough to know at the very least […]

SET APART CHRIST AS LORD: Always ready to give a defense2023-12-14T12:31:19-08:00

To Hold Down (κατέχω)

To hold down (κατέχω) conveys the act of preventing, hindering, or holding onto something or someone.

In the parable of the land owner who planted a vineyard and leased it out so that he could go to a far away country, the vinedressers sought to hold down his son’s inheritance by killing him (Matthew 21:38). By slaying the heir, they perceived that they would be able to prevent the owner from taking what was rightfully his.

While talking about the Kingdom of the Heavens and how the message is impacting those hearing it, Jesus speaks the parable of the sower and the seeds. Unlike the message of salvation today, which holds an inherent ability to save a person (Romans 1:16), the good news of the Kingdom of the Heavens could be snatched out of the heart of those who heard it. However, those who heard the word with a proper and good heart, prevented the loss of the message in their heart, resulting in bearing fruit (Luke 8:15). Therefore, their lives were impacted by the message of the Messiah because they believed God.

A quality of the wrath of God is manifested today against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men who hold down the truth in unrighteousness (Romans 1:18). The wicked do not succeed because they evade justice, but rather, because God gives them over to uncleanness and the strong desires of their hearts due to their rejection of the truth. As a result, their minds become depraved, calling good evil while being filled with all forms of unrighteousness, thus bringing upon themselves the fullness of judgment (Romans 1:32).

When we were in the flesh, the sinful passions aroused by the law were at work in our […]

To Hold Down (κατέχω)2024-11-21T05:57:43-08:00

Armor for the Christian Life

Within Scripture, two sets of armor are described for the Christian. Panoplia (πανοπλία) is the heavy armor used by Roman soldiers for defense. Hopion (ὅπλον) expresses a weapon of warfare that can included armor.

When the Chief Priests and Pharisees dispatched a troop of roman soldiers to arrest Jesus, they came armed with weapons (ὅπλον), John 18:3.

As we apply the truth to overcome the desires from the sin nature, after reckoning to ourselves that we have died with Christ and are co-raised with Him to walk in newness of life, we are to yield our members as instruments (ὅπλον) of righteousness, Romans 6:13.

The night is well spent, the day is near. Therefore, we are to cast of the works of darkness, putting on the armor (ὅπλον) of light, Romans 13:12, so that we walk properly as in the day, having put on Christ as our outer garment so that we are making no provisions for the flesh and its desires, Romans 13:13-14. This armor (ὅπλον) includes the breastplate of faith and the helmet of salvation, 1 Thessalonians 5:8.

When dealing with persecution and tribulation, we are to commend ourselves as those who belong to God by the internet ability of God, through the use of the armor (ὅπλον) of righteousness, 2 Corinthians 6:7.

Our daily armaments (ὅπλον) of warfare are not carnal but in the inherent ability of God we use them to tear down strongholds, which are the reasonings that exalt themselves above God, bringing the working of our minds into obedience to the Christ, 2 Corinthians 10:4-5.

Panoplia (πανοπλία) is our heavy armor that is used when we are attacked by Satan so that we are able to stand firm against him, Ephesians 6:11. With […]

Armor for the Christian Life2024-11-14T06:34:39-08:00

Abstain (ἀπέχω)

Abstain (ἀπέχω) comes from the root “to have or hold (εχω)”, expressing the concepts of paid in full or sufficiency. In its general use it may also conveying the idea of deliberately avoiding or refraining from something; hence, abstain. Therefore, not holding onto something.

In expressing the concept of sufficiency, Paul uses ἀπέχω in Philippians 4:18 concerning the support he received from Epaphroditus, who was sent by the assembly to fulfill Paul’s physical needs. He conveys to them that he has no need for more, or they may abstain from sending more, because they have met the need.

The village of Emmaus is fully sixty stadia, approximately seven miles, from Jerusalem, Luke 24:13. ἀπέχω (apecho) is used to express its full distance being sufficiently completed by sixty stadia.

When speaking to the Jews about their righteous acts, Jesus warns them to not do them with the intent for others to see them. The one who does work in this manner receives in full what he deserves by the glory he acquired from men, Matthew 6:2, and, therefore, will not be rewarded by God.

In these latter times that we live in, we have many who have departed from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and the teachings of demons. These are the pastors that in hypocrisy speak lies, having their own conscience seared, forbidding marriage and teaching abstaining from food, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and know the truth, 1 Timothy 4:3.

An aspect of the desirous will of God is for the saint to abstain from fornication, 1 Thessalonians 4:3. Each of us is to know how to possess his own body in sanctification and honor, not in the […]

Abstain (ἀπέχω)2024-10-31T05:42:49-07:00

Outwardly conforming (συσχηματίζω)

Outwardly conforming (συσχηματίζω) means putting on a mask to appear as something you’re not. It is to conform one’s mind and character to another’s pattern.

Suschēmatizō (συσχηματίζω) is derived from a word that means to be in the appearance or likeness of something else. When God the Son wrapped Himself in flesh, He was found in the likeness of a man; however, He was still fully God. He emptied Himself of His outward display of Deity and wrapped Himself in flesh, Philippians 2:8. As Christians, we are not part of the world system, for in Christ we are crucified to it, and it to us. However, Christ chose not to remove us from it; therefore, we are to use it but not abuse it, realizing that the outward form of the world is always changing, 1 Corinthians 7:31. It is the one who does the desirous will of God that abide into the age, 1 John 2:17.

In Romans 12:2, we are instructed not to put on a mask (outwardly conform ourselves) as though we are under law. Christians do not govern their lives by law, Romans 6:14. We are not to be inarticulate babblers who need a tutor because we are sons, Ephesians 1:5 (having marked off our bounds to the placement of sons through Jesus Christ unto Himself, according to the good pleasure of His desirous will). Sons do not need governors and tutors, which is what the law served as, Galatians 3:24. In contrast to living by law we are to train our senses to know what is proper from what lacks in character and govern our lives by grace out from faith, Hebrews 5:14; Romans 1:17. This standard needs no law […]

Outwardly conforming (συσχηματίζω)2024-08-09T16:26:11-07:00
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