Confused by Protestant Response to 1 Peter 3:15&16

J

Jaguar1

New member
Can someone help me understand this Protestant regarding the meaning of 1 Peter 3:15-16? What is he saying? I'm not following. Thank you.

The problem is with the misreading & application of those texts. Read the first sentence in v.15. It qualifies the context to which a person would be confronted about their motives in doing so - 'Sanctification' or keeping one's self unspotted from the world. THIS is what draws the attention of speculation & curiosity NOT this Apologist rhetoric of treading & retreading over tired religious philosophy. Then look at the REASON for giving such a response? To direct those in speculation to THE HOPE that is within those 'Keeping themselves unspotted from the world.' This is not talking about being an Apologist. It's talking about YOUR LIFE pointing to The Hope.
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If it's okay, I'm going to reproduce the relevant passage here (RSV Catholic Edition):

15 but in your hearts reverence Christ as Lord. Always be prepared to make a defense to any one who calls you to account for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and reverence; 16 and keep your conscience clear, so that, when you are abused, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame

I'm not clear what issue you are having with this passage. It basically says what it says, and there's nothing confusing about it.

Anyone?
 
That's what I thought, but perhaps I was missing something, by him saying, "The problem is with the misreading & application of those texts."

I just asked him to rephrase his response & give an example. He followed with, "I knew a guy that was a heavy partier & drinker & slept around & was known for that. He was born again & the first party he went to he refused alcohol, stayed for an hour & turned a girl down that asked him to go upstairs. She asked him 'What happened?' His response was 'Im a New Creation.' Thats what Peter is saying."

I'm thinking, "yeah, okay!"

I feel he was trying to correct me for something. Who knows. Thank you for being helpful.
 
I really wouldn't bother with trying to decipher a tortured, barely comprehensible Protestant exegesis of this or any other passage of Scripture.

As I always tell my son, we can take a drive out some country road near our home, pass ten Protestant churches, and they will have ten different sets of beliefs. There's no end to it. They're good people, they just go astray so, so easily.
 
Yes, that is pretty much what I have concluded. His latest "contribution" was word salad. Sometimes, it takes a little longer to figure out those seemingly intelligent people ... aren't so much.

I appreciate your help. I guess I just needed someone to confirm my initial thoughts.

God Bless.
 
Yes, "word salad", that's exactly what it is. I wouldn't burn time on trying to figure out what they are getting at.
 
Jaguar1 said:
Can someone help me understand this Protestant regarding the meaning of 1 Peter 3:15-16? What is he saying? I'm not following. Thank you.

The problem is with the misreading & application of those texts. Read the first sentence in v.15. It qualifies the context to which a person would be confronted about their motives in doing so - 'Sanctification' or keeping one's self unspotted from the world. THIS is what draws the attention of speculation & curiosity NOT this Apologist rhetoric of treading & retreading over tired religious philosophy. Then look at the REASON for giving such a response? To direct those in speculation to THE HOPE that is within those 'Keeping themselves unspotted from the world.' This is not talking about being an Apologist. It's talking about YOUR LIFE pointing to The Hope.
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We cannot argue against another's ego. Protestantism is founded on the human ego, the perception of self-perfection. His words are the obfuscation and blurring of the plain meaning of the text which is required by Protestantism. Pure sophistry. Opinion and confused opinion at that.
The verses are so inherently clear that this is all that the Rev. George Leo Haydock Bible Commentary has to say:
"Ver. 15. Always ready to satisfy,[1] &c. S. Peter would have every Christian, according to his circumstances and capacity, ready to give general reasons of his faith and hope of salvation, both to infidels and heretics that refuse to believe. Wi."
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po18guy said:
We cannot argue against another's ego. Protestantism is founded on the human ego, the perception of self-perfection. His words are the obfuscation and blurring of the plain meaning of the text which is required by Protestantism. Pure sophistry. Opinion and confused opinion at that.
The verses are so inherently clear that this is all that the Rev. George Leo Haydock Bible Commentary has to say:
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Hard to go wrong with Haydock. Thanks.
 
Jaguar1 said:
Can someone help me understand this Protestant regarding the meaning of 1 Peter 3:15-16? What is he saying? I'm not following. Thank you.

The problem is with the misreading & application of those texts. Read the first sentence in v.15. It qualifies the context to which a person would be confronted about their motives in doing so - 'Sanctification' or keeping one's self unspotted from the world. THIS is what draws the attention of speculation & curiosity NOT this Apologist rhetoric of treading & retreading over tired religious philosophy. Then look at the REASON for giving such a response? To direct those in speculation to THE HOPE that is within those 'Keeping themselves unspotted from the world.' This is not talking about being an Apologist. It's talking about YOUR LIFE pointing to The Hope.
Show less
Click to expand...
While it is true that a holy, versus worldly, lifestyle, caused by faith (Ja. 2:18) and led by the Spirit, (Rm. 8:14) in part of the testimony to Christian gospel hope, and must be consistent with sharing the gospel - and which sanctity is the aspect Peter is focusing on in that text (as Christians should as distinct in culture as Amish are in dress) - yet it is not a substitute for actually proactively preaching the gospel of grace. (Acts 10:43-47)

I surmise that this apologetic, with its reference to James 1:27, is from one of the many belonging to the class of lifestyle evangelists who imagine that living virtuous lives are a substitute for proactively preaching, as Apollos did, "publicly, shewing by the scriptures that Jesus was Christ" (Acts 18:28), by the grace of God.

This false balance (cf. Proverbs 11:1) can be in order avoid persecution, as if the Lord and the NT church suffered such because of their good deeds, versus actual words which accompanied them.

Often, such invoke "preach the Gospel at all times. Use words if necessary" which is attributed to St. Francis of Assisi, although as this site points out, it lacks substantiation.
 
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