“Make sure in your hearts that Jesus is Lord”
I’m starting a newsletter series on the different aspects of always being ready to give an answer or reason for the hope we have in us as Christians. 1st Peter 3:15 is the base scripture for this newsletter series. Jesus commanded the disciples before He ascended up to heaven, “Go therefore make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. Teaching them to observe everything I commanded you.” 1st Peter 3:15 shows how to accomplish this commandment from Jesus.
The first part of 1st Peter 3:15 has in most translations, “Sanctify in your heart Jesus as Lord.” Other translations have Regard, Revere, Worship, Honor, Set Apart, and my personal favorite “Make sure in your heart” hence the title of this letter. I looked up synonyms for sanctify which are as followed: Holy, Consecrate, Canonize, Approve, Confirm, Ratify, or Accredit. These synonyms tend to suggest we need to investigate the claims of Christianity to verify Jesus is who He said He was. How do we do that? By researching the claims of Christianity using our minds to analyze the evidence that God has provided us to determine the truth.
You might be thinking “Kevin, why do I need to look at the evidence for Christianity to know it is true since I already believe in Jesus with all my heart and nothing will turn me away from it!” Ok, if you believe with all your heart then can you give good reasons that Christianity is true without the Bible or your feelings. Some people don’t think the Bible is reliable and your feelings don’t prove something is true.
Why do you think God created our minds? Don’t you think the God who made the universe so detailed to sustain life on planet earth that He would create our minds just as intricately as the universe to think critically and analyze information to come to a conclusion that He is real as well as Jesus. God has given each human the free will to determine the truth about Him and His Son with their minds.
In Job 38:36, God was giving some responses to Job and this verse is one of them, “Who gives wisdom to the heart and understanding to the mind?”. Jesus said the greatest commandment is “Love the Lord Your God with all your heart, and all your soul, and all your MIND.” God doesn’t just want our hearts but also our minds to believe in truth about Him and Jesus.
I’m not saying the evidence for Christianity is more important than the Bible. No Way!!! The Bible is still a guide to Christians to know God, Jesus, and how to live out our Christian journey. If you are going to get someone to commit their life to a book (Bible), a person (Jesus) and a worldview (Christianity) then you need to give good reasons they are true other than I have been a Christian for a long time and my faith makes it true.
I remember an old TV ad from the United Negro College Fund with the catch phrase “A mind is a terrible thing to waste!” I think its terrible when Christians don’t apply their minds to the evidence that God has provided outside of the Bible to confirm He is real and His Son is Lord. When Christians analyze the evidence for Christianity with their minds to confirm the truth they are honoring God who created their minds for that purpose. Its worshipping God as the same as praying, reading the Bible, or singing songs with other believers praising God.
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