13 Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? 14 But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 15 but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy,always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, 16 having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. 17 For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.
Ask most adult singles that have been around the dating scene for any length of time what they most want in a guy/girl and you're likely to hear the word "authenticity" uttered more than any other. Ask the same question of voters in an election year about candidates and it'll be the same. With people in our lives and leaders in our government constantly lacking authenticity when their words and actions don't match, we have become a very skeptical society. In fact, we're more likely to try and read between the words of a person rather than take them at face value.
This is a major challenge for born again/authentically changed Christians. For example, I'm a pretty vanilla kind of guy. I'm more likely to be soaking in the conversation rather than leading it. I love learning about the other person and their experiences even though it makes for kind of a boring date (sorry about that, by the way). On the other hand, start a conversation about Christ and what He's done in our lives and I get excited. I'm laughing, giving high fives, and acting like the life of the party when that comes around. I love hearing about your experience, but I also love to share my own. Why? Because I'm excited about what Christ has done! Really, genuinely, authentically excited! That subject is more important to me than any other because it's the only one that has eternal consequences.
Peter here though warns that our hope and excitement, even though authentic, is going to be met with skepticism. People that haven't experienced the change first hand have a hard time understanding it and fall back on the skepticism that defines our culture. It creates a division between us; a schism. If we're being authentic though, we've done nothing wrong and have nothing to be sorry for. However, we should be careful to make sure that our words and actions match. This world is always looking for a way to accuse the righteous and justify its skepticism. We're never going to be perfect in this world, but we can be authentic even when we stumble. Pray constantly for your heart to be changed to one of service to Christ. If you're genuine with Him, it will show up in your life, and any accusers you may have will all look foolish when people realize there's no truth to dig up - it's been on the surface for everyone to see from the beginning.
This is a major challenge for born again/authentically changed Christians. For example, I'm a pretty vanilla kind of guy. I'm more likely to be soaking in the conversation rather than leading it. I love learning about the other person and their experiences even though it makes for kind of a boring date (sorry about that, by the way). On the other hand, start a conversation about Christ and what He's done in our lives and I get excited. I'm laughing, giving high fives, and acting like the life of the party when that comes around. I love hearing about your experience, but I also love to share my own. Why? Because I'm excited about what Christ has done! Really, genuinely, authentically excited! That subject is more important to me than any other because it's the only one that has eternal consequences.
Peter here though warns that our hope and excitement, even though authentic, is going to be met with skepticism. People that haven't experienced the change first hand have a hard time understanding it and fall back on the skepticism that defines our culture. It creates a division between us; a schism. If we're being authentic though, we've done nothing wrong and have nothing to be sorry for. However, we should be careful to make sure that our words and actions match. This world is always looking for a way to accuse the righteous and justify its skepticism. We're never going to be perfect in this world, but we can be authentic even when we stumble. Pray constantly for your heart to be changed to one of service to Christ. If you're genuine with Him, it will show up in your life, and any accusers you may have will all look foolish when people realize there's no truth to dig up - it's been on the surface for everyone to see from the beginning.
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