1 Peter 3:1-22

Peter continues to give practical and sound instructions to believers concerning their relationship to one another as well as their relationship with God.  The Lord has certain expectations concerning His children as He know what is best for us and what will ultimately bring us the greatest amount of joy as well as what will bring Him glory.  These instructions may seem difficult and we may be tempted to see them as harsh regulations but the reality is that they are for our good.
WIVES MUST BE SUBMISSIVE TO THEIR HUSBANDS: The subject of submission has come up on several occasions in this book.  We must submit to God, ministers, bosses and now husbands.  It is important that we note that this submission is specifically stated to include even unbelieving husbands.  Women are called to make the glory of the Gospel a higher priority than their own pride within the relationship of marriage.  God desires that all of us be far more concerned about the condition of our hearts than we are about our outward appearance.  God has made women very beautiful and it is for this reason that they must be careful not to distract from the beauty and glory of God by drawing attention to themselves.  Women honor God by honoring their husbands and by growing in personal virtue instead of practicing personal vanity.
HUSBANDS MUST BE SENSATIVE TO THEIR WIVES: Husbands run a great risk of having their prayers go unanswered because they fail to treat their wives with kindness and understanding.  Men are called by God to be students of their wives that they might be effective servants of their wives.  Biblical leadership always involves service and husbands are called to recognize their wives as a vital focus of their attention and care.  Men can easily become gruff and harsh and sometimes develop patterns of communication with other men that are not gentle or kind.  Husbands must recognize that their wives are to be treated with tenderness, respect and love.  The beauty of our marriage relationship, as well as the effectiveness of our prayers depends upon our faithfulness as men to be sensitive to and servants of the needs of our wives.  
BELIEVERS MUST BE SYMPATHETIC TO OTHERS: As brothers and sisters in Christ we are called to a life of kindness and compassion with one another.   This love, like the love of Christ, is to be unconditional.  When others treat us poorly, we are called to be understanding and not retaliate but respond with blessing and sympathy.  The sins of our brothers and sisters in Christ should cause sadness in our hearts but should not cause us to speak evil against them to other people or to seek to exact some sort of revenge on them for the pain they may have caused us.  We must never allow ourselves to be corrupted by the evil that may exist around us.  The sins of others are never an excuse for us to sin.  As believers we must promote love and unity amongst one another that the love of Christ might be ever evident in our hearts.
DISCIPLES MUST BE SANCTIFIED TO GOD: Suffering is a constant companion while living in a sin-cursed world.  However, Christ has died to set us free from sin and its consequences in order that we might be set apart for the glory of God.  Some suffering is caused because of our own sin and this is absolutely worthless.  However, much suffering comes about because of the society in which we live and the people with whom we live.  God has called us to set our hearts fully on Christ and live for the purpose of pleasing Him.  We are to always be prepared to point to the hope that we have in Christ and defend the truth with which we have been entrusted.  It is so easy to just “go with the flow” of the perverse people who surround us, but God has called us to stand out in the crowd like Noah who was not afraid to be different in order to obey God.  May we have the grace and courage to stand strong and be sanctified unto God in this generation that so desperately to see God in and through us.

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