1 Peter 3:14-16

“But even if you should suffer for righteousness’ sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, 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, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame.”

“Always being prepared to make a defense”.

If you think about the nature of a “defense”, it requires objective reasoning. You would never hear a lawyer in a court argue that his client is innocent because of a good hunch he’s got. A defense would require objective evidence. The Greek word is “apologia”, which roughly defined means “a reasoned argument”.

We don’t have hope for no reason. If we have no reason for our hope, maybe we don’t really have the hope at all.

So, when Peter exhorts us to be prepared with a “defense” it can’t mean the ooey-gooey feeling inside. It must mean that we should seek to understand what we can of the scriptures to the best of our ability. Which, if you follow it to it’s logical conclusion, would mean: Get your theology straight.