1 Peter 3:15
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15 but in your hearts sanctify Christ as Lord. Always be ready to make your defense to anyone who demands from you an accounting for the hope that is in you,(A)
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Colossians 4:6
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6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer everyone.(A)
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2 Timothy 2:25-26
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25 correcting opponents with gentleness. God may perhaps grant that they will repent and come to know the truth(A) 26 and that they may escape from the snare of the devil, having been held captive by him to do his will.[a]
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- 2.26 Or by him, to do his (that is, God’s) will
Luke 21:14-15
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14 So make up your minds not to prepare your defense in advance,(A) 15 for I will give you words[a] and a wisdom that none of your opponents will be able to withstand or contradict.(B)
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- 21.15 Gk a mouth
1 Peter 3:2
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2 when they see the purity and respect of your conduct.
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Matthew 10:18-20
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18 and you will be dragged before governors and kings because of me, as a testimony to them and the gentiles.(A) 19 When they hand you over, do not worry about how you are to speak or what you are to say, for what you are to say will be given to you at that time, 20 for it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.(B)
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1 Samuel 12:7
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7 Now, therefore, take your stand so that I may enter into judgment with you before the Lord, and I will declare to you[a] all the righteous acts of the Lord that he performed for you and for your ancestors.(A)
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- 12.7 Gk: Heb lacks and I will declare to you
Titus 1:2
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2 in the hope of eternal life that God, who never lies, promised before the ages began(A)—
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Colossians 1:27
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27 To them God chose to make known how great among the gentiles are the riches of the glory of this mystery, which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.(A)
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Hebrews 6:1
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The Peril of Falling Away
6 Therefore let us go on[a] toward perfection,[b] leaving behind the basic teaching about Christ and not laying again the foundation: repentance from dead works and faith toward God,(A)
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Psalm 119:46
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46 I will also speak of your decrees before kings
and shall not be put to shame;(A)
Colossians 1:5
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5 because of the hope laid up for you in heaven. You have heard of this hope before in the word of the truth, the gospel(A)
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Hebrews 6:18-19
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18 so that through two unchangeable things, in which it is impossible that God would prove false, we who have taken refuge might be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us.(A) 19 We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain,(B)
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Colossians 1:23
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23 provided that you continue securely established and steadfast in the faith, without shifting from the hope promised by the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed to every creature[a] under heaven. I, Paul, became a minister of this gospel.(A)
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- 1.23 Or in all creation
Acts 5:29-31
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29 But Peter and the apostles answered, “We must obey God rather than any human authority.[a](A) 30 The God of our ancestors raised up Jesus, whom you had killed by hanging him on a tree.(B) 31 God exalted him at his right hand as Leader and Savior that he might give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.(C)
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- 5.29 Gk than men
Hebrews 3:6
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6 Christ, however, was faithful over God’s[a] house as a son, and we are his house if we hold firm[b] the boldness and the pride inspired by hope.(A)
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Acts 4:8-12
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8 Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers of the people and elders,(A) 9 if we are being questioned today because of a good deed done to someone who was sick and are being asked how this man has been healed,[a] 10 let it be known to all of you, and to all the people of Israel, that this man is standing before you in good health by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth,[b] whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead.(B) 11 This Jesus[c] is
12 “There is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among mortals by which we must be saved.”(D)
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Daniel 3:16-18
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16 Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego answered the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we have no need to present a defense to you in this matter. 17 If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king, let him deliver us.[a] 18 But if not, be it known to you, O king, that we will not serve your gods and we will not worship the golden statue that you have set up.”
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- 3.17 Or If our God whom we serve is able to deliver us, he will deliver us from the furnace of blazing fire and out of your hand, O king.
1 Peter 1:3-4
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A Living Hope
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! By his great mercy he has given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead(A) 4 and into an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you,
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1 Peter 3:4
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4 rather, let your adornment be the inner self with the lasting beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in God’s sight.(A)
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Amos 7:14-17
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14 Then Amos answered Amaziah, “I am[a] no prophet nor a prophet’s son, but I am[b] a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore trees,(A) 15 and the Lord took me from following the flock, and the Lord said to me, ‘Go, prophesy to my people Israel.’(B)
16 “Now therefore hear the word of the Lord.
You say, ‘Do not prophesy against Israel,
and do not preach against the house of Isaac.’(C)
17 Therefore thus says the Lord:
Your wife shall become a prostitute in the city,
and your sons and your daughters shall fall by the sword,
and your land shall be parceled out by line;
you yourself shall die in an unclean land,
and Israel shall surely go into exile away from its land.”(D)
Isaiah 41:21
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The Futility of Idols
21 Set forth your case, says the Lord;
bring your proofs, says the King of Jacob.(A)
Isaiah 1:18
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18 Come now, let us argue it out,
says the Lord:
If your sins are like scarlet,
will they become like snow?
If they are red like crimson,
will they become like wool?(A)
Isaiah 29:23
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23 For when he sees his children,
the work of my hands, in his midst,
they will sanctify my name;
they will sanctify the Holy One of Jacob
and will stand in awe of the God of Israel.(A)
1 Peter 1:17
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17 If you invoke as Father the one who judges impartially according to each person’s work, live in fear during the time of your exile.(A)
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