Be perpetually prepared for opportunities to give a gentle and respectful explanation when people ask you to explain the hope they see in you. (1 Peter 3:15 Becky’s No-nonsense Paraphrase)

In-your-Face Evangelism

The churches we attended through my early life celebrated in-your-face evangelism. 1 Peter 3:15 always felt like a command to accost unbelievers, probably because the Bible version we used translated “answer” as “defense.” We were called to defend Jesus’s honor. The Sword of the Spirit could slice, dice, and chop any anti-Christian argument to bits, as well as guard against the wiles of the devil. If you wanted to argue against Jesus, we were ready at a moment’s notice to Take. You. Down. Many of us were unsure of the definition of “wiles,” but they sounded bad, particularly if they belonged to the devil. 

Some of what I experienced falls under preaching style, so I don’t mean to church-bash. Most of those churches trained us well with Bible memory and generally taught solid basic doctrine. However, understanding the Bible’s correct meaning is important. Taking a verse out of context or misunderstanding the intent increases the danger we might misrepresent the love of Jesus. 

Passion vs. Interpretation 

One Christmas, my husband and I walked through a beautiful light display. A young man approached. “A group of us from Nameless Bible College are going to share the Word of God, and we’d love for you to stay and listen.” He was kind and respectful. We thought the kids might act out a Nativity scene or read about the birth of Jesus, so we waited. 

A wild-eyed guy jumped up on a granite bench. He shook a Bible in the air, screamed about how Jesus was born to die for sinners and began “explaining” the “gospel” of an angry God. Within minutes, the serene Christmas crowd fled, muttering about crazy Christians. 

Those pastors, our youth group, and the college students all wanted to serve God. The problem wasn’t passion. The issue was interpretation. 

We must pay attention to the actual words, the full context, and the intent of the passage. Faithful study to understand God’s truth will help us correctly handle his Word (hey, that sounds like something Paul said). 

Living vs. Thumping

We moved into one of the first houses in a new-construction neighborhood. Every time a family moved in, I dropped by with cookies and an invitation to church. One couple actively avoided us for months. When a truck dumped a load of mulch in their front yard, my husband stopped cutting our grass to help with their flower beds. That afternoon, the man shook his head. “We haven’t had the best experience with people who say they’re Christians. What makes you so different?”

1 Peter 3 discusses the way Christians should live—and when we consistently live the way we should, people will want to know why we’re not like the others.

They will ask us the reason for the hope inside us. 

Rather than aggressively “thumping” our Bibles (or thumping unbelievers with our Bibles, for that matter), we should focus on living like Christ so people can see Jesus shine through us. Active evangelism is biblical as well, but maybe we should rethink our strategy. What would happen if Christians intentionally lived in a way that made unbelievers take note—not in a “crazy Christian” way, but in a “wow, I’ve never been treated so kindly—what makes you different?” way. And as we commit to living more like Jesus, let’s also focus on studying his Word well. A good understanding of his heart will help us be ready to explain when people ask us why we are so different.