You can have a seat and turn to 1 Peter 3. We are now into the third chapter. Looking this evening at verse 1 to verse 6. And I want to consider this week, and then not next week we have the TBS team, but the week after, on hindrances to the gospel's advancement. And you may not think of this text from verse 1 all the way down to verse 7 as a potential hindrance to the advancement of the gospel, but I want us to see this evening after seeing something of the glory of Jesus Christ. We saw last week verse 21. Peter, in the personal pronoun kind of way of his ministry, speaking to these afflicted believers, he reminded them in verse 21 of chapter 2 that Christ suffered for you. Personally, if you're a believer, you know that Jesus Christ suffered for you in your stead, in your place, under your wrath, for your sins. And then he also said in verse 24 of chapter 2, he himself bore our sins in his body on that tree. And then finally he concluded in verse 25 that Jesus Christ is the shepherd and overseer of your souls. That if this is your savior and you have come to him and seen his beauty, this is your shepherd and this is your overseer. And that has implications for chapter 3 verse 1 to 7. Now this shepherd and overseer of your souls wants to shepherd my life and your life in a certain way of conduct so that the gospel of Jesus Christ is magnified, not only in our speech, but also in the way we live. And in our text this evening, and then two weeks from now, speaking to wives and then also to husbands, or broadly speaking to women and men, Peter's going to show us that there is a potential hindrance to the gospel and its advancements in the human kind of way of thinking in that sense, human responsibility. Peter shows us that the way we conduct ourselves in the home can either have a positive influence on the advancement of the gospel, or it can actually be a stumbling block and hinder the advancement of the gospel. And God, by His sovereignty, works through means, and Peter is showing the believers that my conduct of life and your conduct of life either hinders the gospel going forth in power in the church and the world, or it advances it. So for women, verse 1 to verse 6, Peter's going to show that they can have a soul winning ministry among, in their context, unbelieving husbands by their godly conduct. And then for husbands, in verse 7, Peter's going to show us that husbands aren't off the hook. That our responsibility as husbands is to shepherd and care for our wives. And if we deal with them harshly, that's going to hinder our effectiveness in prayer. So often we don't think of those terms. Why do we not see the gospel working in power? Why do we not see effectiveness in prayer life? Peter's gonna say, we gotta each personally look inwardly and seek the shepherd of our souls help so that we can live a way that is pleasing to him. As Paul said to Timothy, If anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, God will make him or her a vessel for honorable use, set apart from the master of the house, useful for any service. So God cares this evening about our conduct, and our conduct will hinder if it's an ungodly conduct, or it will supplement the sweetness of the gospel if it's a godly conduct. And we're gonna look this evening at the role of of the wife here in this context. Verse 1 to verse 6, and then two weeks from now, the husband. And if we take this gospel seriously, and we take this Savior seriously, Peter's going to show us that we must take our lives seriously as well. So this sermon is split up into two sections. First, the way to advance the gospel. And then, secondly, the way to live a gospel-worthy life, speaking to women. Now, if you look in verse 1 to verse 2 here, here's the way Peter's going to set before the church here on how wives can advance the gospel by their conduct of life. Verse 1 of 1 Peter 3, Peter says, Wives, he's building upon this idea of submission, joyful, voluntary, under the headship of Christ, in the areas that God's placed us. Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that for this great end, even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives. Peter here, in his context, is speaking to women, Christian women, who have been converted later in their marriage. So they were unconverted at one time. They were an unbeliever. They married another unbeliever. But then God, in His mercy, as He saves slaves and servants in God's timing, And even as Deb mentioned in the letter to the Philippians, we see that Paul sends greetings to those of Caesar's household. So God is saving sinners in Caesar's household and God's saving servants in that regard in the workplace. And now God is saving women here in this context. But now these converted women are facing this dilemma. Do we, now as Christian wives who have unbelieving husbands, do we get a pass on this submission? Is submission within marriage something that is post-fall and only for the Christian church? Or is this God's design for all humanity? For every man and every woman? covenant of marriage? Is this the role of every wife in the covenant of marriage, whether a believer or unbeliever? There's all these questions here. And these married women that are now Christians, they're losing steam. You can imagine the situation. I know we have some dear saints here that have had unbelieving husbands, and they've spoken the word to them. They've told their husbands of the Redeemer that saved them. But now these women, you could say they're losing steam. Look what Paul says, these men, these husbands that are unbelievers, verse 1, he uses this phrase, they do not obey the word. And I'll give you a little glimpse of what he's talking about. We saw in chapter 2, verse 8, that phrase about unbelievers. Verse 8, they stumble of chapter 2. They stumble because they disobey the word as they were destined to. And if you flip over to chapter 3, 3 verse 20, again we see this phrase, speaking of those in their day in the times of Noah, unbelievers. Chapter 3 verse 20, they formally did not obey when God's patience waited in the days of Noah while the ark was being prepared in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through water. He's speaking of unbelievers as those who do not obey the word. And then finally chapter 4 verse 17 gives us the answer. What does it mean to not obey the word in Peter's language? He's talking about not obeying the call of the gospel to repent and believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. Chapter 4 verse 17. What does he say? It's time for judgment to begin at the household of God. And look what he says. If it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey? And then he says the gospel of God. And if the righteous is scarcely saved, what will become of the ungodly and the sinner? That's Peter's language that he's using towards these women who are now converted and they're in a marriage with husbands that do not obey the gospel. Husbands that feel like they don't need a savior. They don't see their sin. They don't want to follow the Lord. They've rejected the gospel. And there's women in this context that have preached this gospel to their husbands, or spoken this gospel to them, rather, and told them to look to the Savior that has saved me. Look at my life, look at my conduct, and what's happening? It's falling on deaf ears. They're growing discouraged. And these women are saying, well, if I'm not seeing the gospel work and power in their life, what do I do? Do I not submit to them? Do I just back out of this marriage? Peter says no. He says there's a strategy for wives with unbelieving husbands. As they've spoken the word and they've labored and it's fallen on deaf ears, Peter's saying, lest you think that they're without hope and lest you find yourself discouraged, then don't seek their salvation. I'm gonna give you a new strategy, a new game plan for you to win your husband to Jesus Christ. And he says it's gonna be by your godly conduct. Look what he says in verse 1 and it's astonishing. Here's the new soul winning strategy for these women. Be subject to your own husbands so that even if some do not obey the word, if they reject the gospel and it falls on dull ears, what will Christ use by his grace to save them. Look what he says, that they may be won without a word. You've been speaking the word of the gospel to them, but now the strategy is to win them to Jesus Christ without a word. By what then? By, verse 1, the conduct of their wives. This is the strategy here that Peter's laying out. What's this strategy? He splits it up into two parts. If you look, verse 1, it begins with God's design for every marriage. They don't get off the hook here. Wives, verse 1, here's where it begins. He says, be subject to your own husbands. So he begins on this, you could say, common ground. There is a wife and there's a husband. He assumes here that it's a monogamous relationship under the covenant that they've made with God. This is a creational institution. And this submission, it's not to every husband. So Peter doesn't say, This wife has to submit to every husband in this sphere. But he says, no, submit to your own husband. Submit to the man that God has placed in your life to be head over your household and the shepherd and leader and the marriage. Even if they're an unbeliever, this is God's design for humanity and how a society flourishes and how marriages hold together. Peter says this submission, it's God's design for the wife. Whether believer, unbeliever, all unbelievers, this is what He wants and He'll show us that these women in this context, they don't get off the hook. submit to your own husbands, and we know as we've looked, the submission's not always all-encompassing. You have situations here, I don't think I need to go into it too much because I think we who are here this evening know the context, but if a husband abused His wife, what ought she to do? She ought to go to the other sphere, the civil magistrates, and report that because that's the sphere that God's given to bring the sword to husbands that have abused their authority. So there's that context, or in this context more likely there's unbelieving husbands that may have said, you gotta violate God's will and I'm not letting you go to church. And that context we know the wife is not called to submit in that regard. She honors her Lord. The submission's in that context. But Peter's not giving us an all-encompassing application here. But again, if you look in verse 2, there's that phrase about living a respectable life. And we saw that with the servants. It's better translated reverent or fear-filled life. So he tells these women, verse 2 of chapter 3, when they see, when your own husband sees your respectful and pure conduct, what will happen? They'll be won by seeing your conduct, your godliness. And it's better translated, reverent Fear, and I say that because it shows us here the context. We know, as we've seen throughout this letter, fear is always attributed to God. Fear God, Peter says. So when he says, wives, submit to your husbands with this respect or this pure conduct, he's given the parameters. Fear God in your marriage, even if your husband's an unbeliever. Fear God, because this is his design for you as a wife. So it's always in that fear of God, and not a fear for her husband, but a fear of God. The context. But secondly, this way to advance the gospel, as I've mentioned, verse 2, is a submission with hope. And this is their strategy. Look at the phrase. There's a word here, that they may see, verse 2, your respect, or your fear of God, and your pure conduct, your devotion, your holiness to your God and your Creator. That these men, these husbands, may see something, And this word, see, well it goes back to that main key text in chapter 2 verse 12. If you look there, that word sees used again, speaking about honorable conduct, godly living among unbelievers. And it's in light of them seeing good deeds and glorifying God. So chapter 2 verse 12, Peter says, keep your conduct among the Gentiles. honorable or self-controlled, fruit of the spirit life, so that when they speak against you as an evildoer, even if your husband, you can imagine Peter saying, thinks you're insane for worshiping Jesus Christ, live this godly life so that they may see that same verb. You wanna win your husband, and you'll win him to Jesus Christ. When he sees something, Peter says that he sees your good deeds, and glorify God on the day of visitation. That's what Peter's talking about for these wives. It's a submission in hope. Now we know there's some contexts where believing wives never get to see their husband's conversion. So there's exceptions here, but Peter's saying that This is a strategy for these wives to press in on so that Christ would be glorified and the gospel would go in power in this family sphere that they find themselves in. It almost seems hopeless. Maybe the only believer in their own home but Peter gives them this soul winning strategy and it's one of them seeing a respectful, a pure conduct before their life. In other words, you could say seeing or smelling A life that's been transformed by the gospel. Peter's saying if they see the aroma of Jesus Christ in your marriage, that may be the smell that Jesus Christ uses to draw your husband to Christ. And you say, maybe I'm a man here tonight, and this sermon maybe has no implication for me. There's broad implications for every kind of Christian here. Chapter 2, verse 12 talks about godly conduct for every believer. So you say, maybe I've been trying to win my boss to Jesus Christ, and it's fallen on deaf ears. Well, Peter says there's a way of godly living in society that they see the power of the gospel As Philippians 1.27 tells us, that you may live a manner worthy of the calling to which you've been called, that men and women would see this heavenly life that this world cannot explain. That they can see believers being called evildoers and suffering for righteousness, yet there is sweetness and holiness in a self-controlled composure in all these spheres where it looks like the odds are against them. When Nero is pressing in on them, when their boss is afflicting them, when their husband wants nothing to do with Jesus Christ, Peter says, there's another strategy. Live a godly life, that it may be through your life that the sweetness of the gospel resounding out of you in word and deed may come to their heart by the gospel's working. And they may say, I want to know that Savior. I've seen that life before Jesus Christ, and I see that life now after Christ, and I want the Christ that saved them. That's what happened in my household. My sister was converted, and the way she dealt with me when I was sinning against her was sweet and heavenly, that I said, where's this Christ that you know? And the Lord used her godly conduct to lead me to the word and I saw the Savior that saved my soul. That's what these wives can do to advance the gospel. But there's a problem here. Peter's addressing pastorally an issue here where some of these women who have unbelieving husbands are not living a godly life. their conduct of life is actually a hindrance to the gospel with their unbelieving husbands, that these men see no need to follow Jesus Christ, the Savior that they claim and profess. And that leads to the second point, the way of living. If the word's true, which it is, and our godly conduct can either promote, advance the gospel, or it can be a hindrance and a stumbling block to the gospel. What's happening here in this context? He's referring to a hindrance that some of these women are falling into. Then he's going to get to the men and show that their harshness to their wives is actually affecting the prayer meetings and life of the church. So he's not letting anyone in the marriage circle off hook. But he begins here, with this way of living for the sake of the gospel. If there's a way to advance the gospel by godly conduct, Peter doesn't leave these women off the hook, and he's honest with them. That if there's these areas that you can repent of, Peter's saying, the gospel will run swiftly by God's grace, because he loves to have holy vessels that his gospel would go without hindrance. So the way of living for the sake of the gospel It's found in verse 3 all the way down to verse 4. 6, and what he does here is he tells these women what they must put off, what they must put on, what example they must have, and this whole section of commands is really going back to what it looks like to live a life of submission to your husband in honor of Jesus Christ. And the issue here is that these women are not living a submissive life that honors their husband, but also it doesn't honor Christ, in two areas. In verse 2, there's the area of immodesty. And then in verse 4, there's also the spirit that is opposite to gentleness and quietness, which is really the fruit of a submission to Christ and their husband. And Peter's saying if these two things don't come into alignment with God's will and the Spirit's work in your life, it's going to be a hindrance to the gospel. That if your husband sees your immodesty as an unconverted man, He's not going to see the power of the gospel at work in your life. Or if he sees the opposite of a gentle and quiet and submission under Christ in the spheres he's placed you in, that could be a hindrance to the gospel as well. And again, you may say, I'm not a I'm not a wife here, I'm a man, I'm a husband. Well these truths are, as Paul said, you want to wash your wife with the Word. So part of your responsibility is to wash your wife in the Word so that she looks more like Jesus. So ultimately you see it all goes back to the husband actually. And if men are passive and their wives aren't being washed in the Word and they're giving their lives and laying it down for their bride as Christ did for the church, well then we're also guilty if these errors are found among the women in our day as well. So husbands, this has application for us. Also fathers, this has application for daughters that you want to cultivate and shepherd in the household so that They can be godly women and single men. These are qualities that you want to look for a woman as well. Internal beauty ultimately is everlasting, Peter says. So look for these qualities. Now, to continue here, there's three commands. What to put off, what to put on, what to follow as women in this context to have a godly conduct for their husband's salvation. And the first is what they must put off. Look what he says in verse 3. Here's the conduct he wants to see. Verse 3, he says, do not, so it's in the negative, This is what you must put off. Do not let your adorning be external. What does he say? The braiding of hair, putting on of gold jewelry or clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. Verse 3, he says, this is what you got to put off. This is what you got to repent. And we should know this. He's not saying that this command is to prohibit beauty among women and to prohibit having any nice hairstyles or having a nice wardrobe or wearing jewelry or anything like that. That's not what he's saying. The CSB translates it beautifully. The translators say, verse 3, So you get what Peter's getting at? He's saying, don't bank your soul on this. Don't put everything in the bank on the outward. Why? Because that's perishable. He's saying here that if your unbelieving husbands see that your life is given to the outward, They're not going to see any of the inward beauty of knowing Jesus Christ. In this context here, Peter's addressing these women here and their conduct that have a willful or an intentional conduct that's unbiblically proportional to the external. So they have wrong priorities. And what Peter's going to show us is that these wrong priorities, they're actually a symptom of spiritual heart sickness that you ought to go to, as one hymn writer says, you got to go to the omnipresent cardiologist. You got to go to the surgeon that has given you a new heart for a heart checkup to see what you ought to put in your life so that your heart flows with rivers of living water. So here there's women in Peter's day that would have given extensive and excessive amounts of money to the external, just unbiblical proportions. He's not saying it's... You can't invest in any kind of area, but what he's saying is that these women excessively are buying these massively elaborate hats and jewelry and all of this for one purpose. So that every man in the church and everyone else in the church looks at them first in the room. And says, look at that outward appearance and look at this and look at that. And what Peter's saying is that for these women, all the pomp and all the show that is extensive, Well, that's not actually a quiet and gentle spirit that shows submission to Christ first, and then to your husband. Because what it does is it draws attention off of Jesus Christ, and it draws attention off of the weightier matters and the significant aspect of the internal before the external. And these husbands may think Christ is not all that worthy, not all that beautiful. If you want all the eyes of the room on you alone, then you don't want them all on Jesus Christ. You don't want to just be this mirror that everyone sees your godly life and says, what a Savior. I mean, look at the inner beauty of these women. They have the beauty of Jesus Christ on them. Peter's saying that this is what's happening in the church. All the eyes of the room are going to these women with all this this external, unproportional devotion, and they're saying Christ isn't worthy. Why follow him? But then on the other side, one commentator notes there was other women that maybe weren't dressing elaborately, but they were dressing minimally. And so they dressed with unbiblical proportions in that regard as well, that rather than honoring their husband and having the hidden parts of the body given to their husband alone. These women are saying, I want to give the hidden parts of my body to other men in the room as well. And so they lack submissiveness and modesty, whether having elaborate clothing or minimal clothing. And Peter's saying that this will affect the gospel in the church, that maybe in this context, souls are not being won to Christ because of of a modesty. And he says, yes, God looks at the heart, but God cares about the external as well, because men and women see the external first, and they see the outward, and that reflects Christ, whether he's beautiful, and he's worthy of devotion, or whether other things are more beautiful, and the eyes should be on me. There's that they must put off, And it's interesting, verse 3, you wouldn't pick this up. One commentator helpfully picked it up. We won't turn there, but you can look in Isaiah chapter 3. It's interesting, God often talks about His bride, Israel, who was to be fully devoted to her bridegroom. And instead of being fully devoted to her bridegroom, you could say she fell into the sin of immodesty. She wanted all the pagan nations and men to look at her and had no devotion to her bridegroom, Yahweh. And what Peter does in Isaiah 3 is shows this spiritual immodesty. He says the women, or in that context Israel, the bride of Yahweh here in the Old Covenant, They're going to go bald. They're giving themselves to the external, but they're going to go spiritually bald. They're going to have all the rings and all the jewelry smashed, and they're going to be thrown into exile, and they're going to lose everything that they've given their life to, and be without all the external. So we see here that even spiritually speaking, God says that immodesty, whether in a physical way or a spiritual way, it brings God's displeasure. And He does not delight in using Displeasurable vessels, 1 Timothy and 2 Timothy indicate as well. And we know this is all in the context that I began this sermon with the shepherd and overseer of our souls. We were all immodest in the spiritual sense that we left the God we love now, we ran to other things, we gave ourselves to immorality and all of ungodliness, and what did Jesus Christ do? He died for our sins and he brought us back and washed us clean as his bride, so now we stand pure and spotless as his bride. So you ought to understand that this call for immodesty is not a call to say, you've got to clean up yourself first and then earn Christ's favor and then you'll be in Christ. And then you'll have the shepherd of your souls. But no, these commands ride on the back of the gospel. If Christ died for your sins, and if he's the shepherd and overseer of your souls, You're going to want to live a modest life, Peter is saying. You're going to want to adorn and have this beauty of the gospel oozing out of you, because this is the shepherd of your souls. This is the one who owns you and has bought you. So these put-off commands are always in light of the gospel. Not only if you look in verse 4, the put on commands. This is what they need to work on in areas of submissiveness to Christ and their husbands. Not only repenting of immodesty, but then repenting of the opposite of a gentle and quiet spirit. You could look throughout Woman Folly and Proverbs and you see the opposite there. It's not a gentle spirit. It's the opposite of that. a fierce spirit, or a loud spirit. Peter says if the gospel subdued your heart, women, it's going to produce this quiet, gentle spirit, and that's what you must put on. CSV puts verse 4 this way, that What is inside the heart, the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, that is of great worth in God's sight. So he says this is a soul-winning strategy. Submission looks like this, a quiet, gentle spirit. And you say, well, why do we need that? He gives two reasons in verse four. A quiet and gentle spirit, he says, is imperishable. So if these women and any women in that regard is giving themselves to the external, the hair, the rings, the clothing, everything that's perishable, He's saying that's not really a good investment eternally if your soul's banking on that, because your hair's going to perish, your rings are going to get lost, your clothing's going to wear out, you're going to get holes in them, that's all imperishable. But this is something that is imperishable. He's saying if you strive after these two qualities, quiet and gentle spirits, That's an internal beauty that nothing in this world can destroy. Nothing can corrode. But then he gives the most important explanation for pursuing this as wives. Verse 4, he says, it's very precious in God's sight. If Jesus Christ is a shepherd and overseer of my souls, I want to pursue out of love for Him and His love for me, that which He says is very precious for my soul. And in this context, He says, these two qualities, ultimately going back to submission in your marriage, They're precious to God. Pursue this because God looks at that with delight. What are these two phrases? Gentle means a humble and meek spirit. God delights to see wives walking in this humble, dependent spirit on Jesus Christ, even when it's hard in their marriage and things look out of odds for them. He says, if your husbands see that humble, dependent, Christ-attached spirit among you, that's gonna stir something in their souls. They're gonna wanna know that Christ that you're leaning on, even when your husband treats you poorly. This quiet spirit means a peaceable spirit without turmoil is what it means. Essentially, he's saying humility. And as Brother Deb talked about, this gospel of peace that is so worked in our soul, what does it produce? As we've seen, this word submission is joyful, voluntary worship to Jesus Christ in all these spheres of life. They'll see this unexplainable way of life that these women are living and they'll want to glorify Christ. They'll want to join in and praise Him. What does this quiet, submissive, gentle spirit look like? It doesn't mean that women have to put tape over their mouth and all of this and that. Look what he defines in verse 4 and verse 5 as a gentle and quiet spirit. It's a spirit that hopes in God. That's what he's getting at. Wives submitting to their husbands with a quiet, gentle, modest way of living. What does that look like? Verse 5, he gives us the example. If this is what we put off and this is what we put on, do we have any help? He says, verse 5, this is how the holy women, so these are godly women, this is how the holy women And then he says, hoped in God, used to adorn themselves. Now he's already begun this submission text with respectful living, fear of God, and then he wraps it all back together and says, if you're gonna have this way of living that is gentle and quiet, humble and meek, not a spirit of turmoil, but a spirit of peace in the home, Where do you get that way of life? He says those holy women of old give every woman in Christ this example. What did they do? Verse 5, they hoped in God. That's how they adorn. That's this inner beauty that they had. Now interesting, he says they hoped in God. There's the ultimate. But then he says, by submitting to their husbands. And then, verse 6, he gives us an example. He says, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And then he says, and you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Now, why does he do that? Well, sometimes in the New Testament, The apostles quote part of a verse, but what they're intending is their audience picks up the whole context of that verse. So this is not a deliberate modern-day command in that sense that every woman has to call their husband Lord to be submissive. But what he's doing in this quotation is pointing to this inner beauty that Sarah had when her outer beauty was wasting away. What he's doing here is quoting Genesis 18. We won't turn there. But he quotes verse 12, when Sarah calls Abraham, Lord. And what's the context there? They're in their 90s. And God came to them, came to Abraham, and said, though your wife is 90 and barren and past bearing age, her external beauty is fading. I'm going to give you a son through her and through Isaac. I'm going to bring about my purposes. I'm going to send blessing to the nation." Though her outer self, her external beauty is wasting away as a 90-year-old woman would be in that day. See, in a direct, there's all the DNA breaking down after that, but nonetheless, she's past childbearing years. Her external beauty is waning and aging, and she laughs. I mean, this is impossible. Unless I have a child, it must be from God. But what Peter's doing here when he says, Sarah called Abraham Lord, that's a title of respect and honor in the context here. She's submitting to her husband, and here's a believer, husband that's a believer. And what's happening here is that God called Abraham for this purpose. And Abraham is living in light of the promises that he's been received. He was counted righteous by grace through faith in the one to come. And now he's calling his family and now he's leading his wife in this way. And how did she respond? She responded with hope in God. This is impossible by man. Their external beauty is fading away. But that wasn't where her ultimate beauty was resting. She had, Peter says, this inner beauty of a heart that hoped in God, of a heart that knew God will do that which He promised. And Peter's saying that this Sarah, who had a husband, Abraham, He says here, you're her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. Now he's not saying your husband should frighten you. What he's saying is that their context, it would have been frightening. What would it look like for a woman whose external beauty is fading away, past childbearing years, and now they're going to be given a son. That would have been frightening, terrifying. All the possibilities. Yet he said she didn't have fear of all the human responsibilities or all the externalities because her hope was in God. And she understood that her husband Abraham was leading her as unto the Lord to see this promise fulfilled. And this submissive, this modest, this gentle, this quiet life Peter's saying that will win unconverted husbands is a life that is lived out in trusting God and waiting upon God and hoping in God, even when it's a difficult circumstance. Even when it seems impossible for God to defeat the human odds. Peter says, this is an inexpressible, uncontainable, beauty that God says is very precious, and He will use in this context, but also for any woman in that context. So there's that example, but we'll conclude with one last example in 1 Timothy 2, verse 8 to verse 14. Paul here, he's bringing a parallel text to a similar situation in his day, And he goes back further than Abraham and Sarah in their role as Abraham as the head of the home and the leader of his wife and Sarah as the one who submits as Abraham's helper. He says this wasn't just a pre-fall ideal. But it actually goes back to creation. This is God's good design for everyone. So you may not have an unbelieving husband, but this goes back to creation. Every role in the household. Look what Paul has to say in 1 Timothy 2 verse 8. He says, I desire that in every place men, so he addresses men here first. Men should pray lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. Verse 9, he uses the same illustration as Peter. Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty, self-control, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly attire. But then he says, but with what is proper, for women who profess godliness with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet." Does he go to Abraham and Sarah? No, he goes back to Genesis 1 and Genesis 2. Look what he says. This is God's creational design. Why? Verse 13 of 1 Peter 2. for Adam was formed first. This is God's design. He created Adam first, then Eve, verse 14, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor, yet she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. What he's saying is that this is how human society will flourish. This is how the Savior will come into this world through the line of Abraham But Sarah had a vital role in God's purpose and plans. I mean, humanly speaking, if she did not respond with hope in God and a lack of submissiveness to Abraham, well, you could say there would have been a hindrance to the promises of the gospel being set forth. This gives us a plethora of examples. This shows us that men are the head of their homes, wives are their helper. Living out a submissive life in this fallen world, it can be God's blueprint for winning sinners to Jesus Christ. And as I conclude, I put this question to myself and all of us as well. Could it be that as we look upon this world and we long for revival and for the Spirit of God to work swiftly and powerfully for the conversion of sinners, we know revival, is a sovereign work of God, so we're not saying you can manipulate God's sovereignty and somehow live a certain way and secure revival. That's not biblical. It's a sovereign, unmerited, pouring out of the Spirit in a greater measure through ordinary means that He's given us. But nonetheless, could it be that in our day, Maybe it's within the home that we don't see the power of the gospel like we long for because simply we've neglected the home and we failed to take care of the home. And could it be as men and women give themselves to what Jesus Christ has placed them in as his servants, and pursued holiness and godliness, could that be the cusp of God bringing revival in our day? We won't go there, but you can look at the Puritan era. Those Puritans, what they did was they placed a priority on marriage. These Puritans often get a bad rep, but you read stuff they wrote to their wives and the relationship that they had with their bride. It was beautiful. These men gave themselves to their families. And what do you see? There's a ripple effect. When homes are built and strengthened, then local churches that consist of converted believers, converted husbands and converted wives, when their homes are strengthened and godliness is seen in every area, wouldn't that be something God says, 2 Peter 2 verse 12, that your conduct among the Gentiles, when they see the supernatural marriage where marriages are breaking down all over the world and men are not loving their wives but abandoning their wives and women want to crush their husbands and function as the head of the home, all these things, when they see something Christ-like, between Christ and his church lived out in this world in marriage. Could it be that Peter says they may not obey the word when we preach it to them, but could it be when they call us evildoers and they see this godly life of ours that Jesus Christ may win them without a word by the conduct of our lives? I pray it is. Let's pray and ask the Lord to do that. Father in heaven, we ask that you would forgive us, Lord, where we have failed as your servants in this sphere, Lord. Different hats you've placed on us, Lord, but we see the home in marriage, Lord, as Christians, as the institution that also proclaims the bride of Christ and her bridegroom, Lord, as we live out our roles for those who are married. We pray, Father, that the families of this church would would be nourished and strengthened and protected, that husbands and wives would love their spouses in such a Christ-empowered way, Lord, that as unbelievers see our lives, though they may put their fingers in their ears, we pray, Father, that our conduct, our life, would not be a hindrance to the gospel but be it one that that sweetens that is one that has the aroma of Christ in all that we do that they may see our good works and glorify you on the day of visitation and we pray this in Christ's precious name amen amen we're gonna sing