“But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account for the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence” (1 Pet. 3:15, NASU).

To sanctify means to consecrate or set apart. We are to set Christ aside from all other persons. He is to be exalted to the position of Lord. Christ alone is to be the Master of our lives. This position is not to be shared with anyone else: spouse, parent, teacher, preacher, or friend – not even ourselves.

Christ is to be set apart and exalted to the position of Lord in our hearts. When He truly occupies this position in our hearts, He will really be Lord in our lives, because every aspect of our lives is directed by the heart (Prov. 4:23).

It is important that we understand the significance of calling Christ our “Lord.” This is not a mere religious title. It is a position of absolute authority over every aspect of our lives. Jesus asked, “Why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say?” (Luke 6:46). When we call Christ “Lord” we are not trying to get on His good side or align ourselves with others of like mind – we are subjecting ourselves to His will and trusting Him in our obedience.

Jesus gives us an example of exactly how this is done. Although He was an equal member of the Godhead, He placed Himself entirely in subjection to the Father while on earth. “For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me” (John 6:38). Jesus knew this path would lead Him to suffer the terrible death of the cross. “So Jesus said, ‘When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak these things as the Father taught Me. And He who sent Me is with Me; He has not left Me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to Him’” (John 8:28-29).

Nothing Jesus did was of His “own initiative.” Whatever personal plans or preferences He could have pursued were laid aside when He came to this earth. He would speak and act only as He had learned from the Father, Who was set apart from all others in Jesus’ heart. He made it His aim to always do the things that were pleasing to the Father.

Only when we have thus set apart Christ as Lord in our hearts are we in a position to give a defense to those who ask about our hope. Our defense (answer) will be both personal and Christ-centered. It is our defense, but it will point to our belief and trust in the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We are willing to suffer for our faith in this life because we have given our lives to Christ – the One who has first given His life for us.