If you would please turn in your Bibles to 1 Peter chapter 3. 1 Peter chapter 3 verses 1 through 6 is our text this morning. 1 Peter 3, 1 through 6. 1 Peter 3, verses 1 through 6, the word of the Lord. Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they without a word may be won by the conduct of their wives. when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. Do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. the Word of the Lord. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, we thank you for this, your Word. We pray your richest blessings upon it. Holy Spirit, we pray that you would take that which has been prepared this morning, that you would apply it to each and every one of us as you see fit. You are He who searches the hearts and minds of your people. You know our cares, our concerns, our struggles, our doubts, our questions, our fears. You are intimately acquainted with the sins that we so easily get entangled with. And so you know better than me, better than anyone else here in this room, how to administer your word. And so we pray that you would do just that. Jesus, I pray that you would be pleased to bless your servant's work, that you would be honored. that you would be merciful, gracious, kind, and grant me boldness of speech, clarity of speech, clarity of mind. Help me to speak authoritatively, accurately. If I should speak anything amiss, as always, I pray your forgiveness in advance in your most holy wisdom to these, my dear brothers and sisters, in your name. And so we pray that if there's anyone here this morning who has not yet placed their faith, their trust in you, Lord, or anyone listening to this message, we pray that you would look to the Father and that you would mediate on their behalf, that you would plead with the Father to draw them unto himself through saving faith in you. In your most holy name, we live and we move, have our being, and we pray. Amen. This morning, we continue our sermon series of 1 Peter. And so we find ourselves in chapter 3 this morning. On June 16th, we started our journey through 1 Peter. Our sermon series thus far is as follows. First Peter chapter 1 verses 1 through 2, a man on a mission. We learned in that passage that Peter is an apostle of Jesus Christ sent on a mission. And that mission is to minister to those, as we've noted before, they were located, as we know today, as in modern day Turkey, to minister to those who are chosen by God the Father and saved by the Holy Spirit to live obedient lives to Jesus Christ. He was a man on a mission sent to those beloved brothers and sisters in Christ. First Peter chapter one, verse three through nine, we learn about God's abundant mercy. We learn that it is by God's abundant mercy that we've been born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We learn that we are saved not by our own works, not by our own deeds. There isn't anything within us that God seen within us that caused him to move or it caused him to conclude that there's something inherently good within us to save us. No, we are saved by God's abundant mercy, by His mercy, by His grace, unmerited favor. 1 Peter 1, verse 10 through 16, we learn that we are called to holiness, We learned that the prophets of old, the Old Testament, understood that the grace of God of which they spoke of was for our benefit, that salvation through the promised Messiah was coming. The prophets of old were prophesying of this and understood that they were doing so for the benefit of those not yet born. And we also learned that those who have been born again, objects of God's saving grace, that we are called to a life of holiness. As he is holy, we are to be holy. And so we are to be purposeful in our effort to live a holy life. 1 Peter chapter 1, verse 17 through 21, we discussed the importance of living in God's presence. We learn that God the Father takes great interest in the lives of those who call upon him as their God and Father. And for that reason, those of us, the church, the body of Christ, those of us who are his beloved sons and daughters in Jesus Christ, from the moment we open our eyes in the morning to the moment we lay our heads on our pillows at night and close them in sleep, we acknowledge his presence. We acknowledge that he is in the room with us. Wherever that room is, wherever we are, He is there. We acknowledge that. And we order our lives accordingly. We don't go about our day as if He doesn't exist, or He isn't there, or He's disinterested. But we order our lives acknowledging His presence. In verses 22 through 25 of chapter one, we consider the first mark of the Christian. We learn that the mark of the Christian, that which identifies followers of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, is love for the church, love for one another, love for other Christians. You remember Jesus told his disciples in John chapter 13, he says, if you have love one for another, By this, the world will know you are my disciples. And so yes, we can know, we can know who truly are our brothers and sisters in Christ, those who love other Christians, who love the church. In chapter two, the first three verses, we considered another mark of the Christian. We learned that in addition to Christ-like love for one another, We love, we even long for God's Holy Word. That's another mark. We are marked with Christ-like love for the church and an ever-increasing love, or we could say longing for, the Holy Scripture. We long for the Word. We look forward to reading God's Word. We look forward to the time of growing in the grace of the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, as we read and study and apply His Word. We love doing that as Christians. I mean, after all, why wouldn't we? It is when we are in God's Word, when we are reading God's Word, when we are studying God's Word, understanding God's Word, growing in God's Word, the understanding of God's Word, we are growing in our relationship with Jesus Christ. We are growing in our ability to genuinely love the Lord when we're in His Word. In verses 4 through 12 of chapter 2 of 1 Peter, we learned of the Christian's identity. We learned that unlike the unbelieving world, we are the people of God. We are the people of God. That's our identity. We find our identity in who we are in Jesus Christ. We are living stones chosen by God. We are a spiritual house, the church. Collectively, we are a spiritual house. We are a holy priesthood, a chosen generation, a special people. And for these reasons, Peter says, the scripture says, God says, that we are the people of God. That's our identity. From the moment we believe in Jesus, we are numbered among the people of God. In verses 13 through 17 of chapter two, we learned about the importance of living honorably as citizens. We acknowledge the three institutions that God has ordained and given to us in the world, the family government, the church government, and the civil government, those three and those three alone. And we learned from the passage in verses 13 through 17 that as we acknowledge the civil government as a divinely ordained institution by God given to us, We learn that as God's people, we acknowledge the God-given establishment and authority of the civil government, and therefore we conduct ourselves honorably as its citizens. In verses 18 through 25 of 1 Peter 2, we learn the importance of living honorably as servants. We learned that as slaves or servants of Jesus Christ, we practice being honorable servants. Or we could say, in modern day vernacular, we learned that being honorable employees of our employers, regardless of whether they are harsh or crooked. So long as they are not asking us to do something that is against biblical teaching. As long as they are not asking us to do something that is sinful, we are to render to them the honor and the respect that they are due as our employers. And this brings us to today's passage in 1 Peter 3, verse 6 verses. Many today, including some who stand behind the Pope each Lord's Day, they say that one's life becomes so much more easier when they become a Christian. One of the things that is often said is that when one becomes a Christian, that their marital problems will go away. Well, beloved, any of us who have been Christians for any period of time know that this is simply not true. When we put two sinners together in one room over a long period of time, eventually there's going to be challenges. That's just life. There's going to be challenges. There's going to be some level of difficulty. And so when we look to scripture, In real life examples, the follower of Jesus Christ finds life to be actually more difficult than when they were unbelievers. One only needs to review Hebrews 11, verse 30 through 40 to be reminded of the long list. It's not an exhaustive list, obviously, but a long list of those who suffered persecution and death because of their faith in the Lord God Almighty. And one only needs to look to John chapter 15, where we find the Lord Jesus Christ preparing his disciples for the work that he has prepared them to do, telling them, advising them, that if the world hated him, that it will also hate them. And then we see in the book of Acts, we read of the church's persecution because of her faith in Jesus Christ. In 1 Corinthians chapter 7, we find the Apostle Paul instructing believing wives how to respond to their unbelieving husbands who desire to depart or to abandon the marriage. He says in verse 15, but if the unbeliever departs, let him depart. A brother or sister is not under bondage in such cases, but God has called us to peace. Beloved, sometimes when one becomes a Christian, their unbelieving husband or wife, and that's a situation Paul is addressing there. He's addressing a couple, husband and wife, who were once both unbelievers, the gospel came into the picture, and one became a believer, and now the unbelieving spouse wants to abandon the marriage. That's what he's addressing there. But sometimes when one becomes a Christian, their unbelieving husband or wife, because they want nothing to do with God, chooses to end the marriage by abandoning their believing husband or wife. And usually this occurs after a long period of marital problems. It doesn't happen overnight. It usually occurs over the course of years. And so the idea that faith in Jesus Christ makes marital problems go away, makes problems within a relationship go away, needs to be abandoned. As we just noted, most often faith in Jesus Christ results in greater difficulty between the Christian and their unbelieving spouse. And as I noted earlier, I mean, the fact of the matter is the unfortunate reality is that we live in a fallen world. There will be challenges within marriages, both Christian and unequally yoked marriages. Needless to say, the challenges will be greater in the unequally yoked marriages. Because the believing spouse will want to be obedient to Christ. The unbelieving spouse will want to attend church. The unbelieving spouse will want to read God's word at home. The unbelieving spouse will want to raise their children to know Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. And that creates, unfortunately, that creates difficulty within that relationship, within that marriage. And I'm sure Peter had these things in mind when he penned today's passage. Our calling as Christians is to glorify God and to enjoy Him now and forever. And the Apostle Peter understood that, and he also understood that if the female believers of the church, the sisters in Christ who had husbands, were going to fulfill their calling to glorify God and to enjoy Him now and forever, that they would need to practice being Honorable wives. They would need to practice living honorably as wives. Let's look to our passage, verses one through six. Once again, we'll read it together, and then look to the Lord in prayer. Beginning in verse one. Wives, likewise be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, They, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives. When they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him, Lord, whose daughters you are, if you do good, and are not afraid with any terror. Let us pray. Heavenly Father, be with us this morning. Holy Spirit, administer your word to us. Jesus, we pray that you are honored in all that is said and done. In your name we pray, amen. Again, verses one through two. Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, even when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. And so Peter says, he opens this passage, this chapter, this portion of his letter with wives likewise, likewise. Here we find Peter directing the attention of the women of the church to the servant-master relationship. Just as servants are to respectfully acknowledge their master's authority over them, even if they are harsh, even if they are crooked, even if they are very difficult people to be around, to be under. Wives, Peter says, are to likewise acknowledge their husband's God-given authority, even if some do not obey the word. As we noted in 1 Corinthians 7, there will be those occasions when the gospel of Jesus Christ impacts an unbelieving marriage by saving one and not the other, at least not at the same time. When that occurs, what often happens is an otherwise peaceful marriage ends up marked by some level of turmoil, some level of difficulty, unfortunately. Sometimes, not always, as a result of his wife becoming a Christian, a good and gentle husband becomes a bad and harsh husband. Reality. We live in a fallen world, it happens. Again, that is not always the case, but it does indeed occur. The wife, by God's grace, becomes a Christian, a new creation in Christ, experiences God's love, and the feeling of His forgiveness, and so she wants the same for her family, Well, this creates tension in the marriage because their husband, absent from the grace of God, wants nothing to do with God. He wants nothing to do with Christ or the church or the Bible. It's as the Apostle Paul says in Romans chapter three, verse 11, he says, there is none who understands, there is none who seeks after God. And so unless God opens the heart of a man. He will never understand his need for forgiveness. That's what Paul means when he says, there is none who understands. His need to be reconciled to God and therefore will never seek after him, unless God opens his heart. And again, we need to emphasize, it does not always happen, but there are and there will be those occasions when a good and gentle husband takes a turn for the worse because his wife has been made a new creation in Jesus Christ. And as we already noted from 1 Corinthians chapter 7, sometimes, unfortunately sometimes, that results in the unbelieving spouse abandoning the marriage. Again, Peter says, wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear. And so, again, Peter obviously understood that there would be some, as a result of their newfound faith in Jesus Christ, that would find themselves with husbands who had no desire at all to know or to believe or to obey the gospel of Jesus Christ. And so Peter instructs these dear sisters in Christ to practice living honorably as wives by acknowledging their husband's authority, being submissive to their husbands, conducting themselves in a Christ-like manner, knowing that God may use their faithful witness in winning their husbands over to Christ. There are those occasions when God uses the testimony, the witness of the believing spouse to win the unbelieving spouse over to Christ. Contrary to what many believe, a person cannot be argued or manipulated into the kingdom of Christ. The gospel is the power of God to salvation, and sometimes God uses one's gospel witness to draw their unbelieving spouse to faith in Christ. Sometimes God uses their gospel witness their Christ-like conduct accompanied by fear to win the unbelieving spouse. What did Peter go on to say in verses three through six? He says, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging your hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid of any terror. not fearing the outcome of their faithfulness to Christ, which involves submitting to their husbands. That's what Peter is referring to here when he says, in verse six, he says, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. That's what he's referring to. The faithful sister in Christ who is living honorably as her husband's wife. Peter is saying, do not be fearful for being faithful in your witness. Not fearing the outcome of your faithfulness to Christ, which involves submitting to their husband, and when necessary, disobeying when their husband requests that they disobey Christ. Not fearing the outcome. but trusting, trusting in God as Sarah did. And so they're not to focus on their personal appearance only. Focusing only on one's personal appearance is not God's will. While taking care of one's appearance is important and does play a role in one's witness for Christ, more importantly, Peter says, is one's disposition, one's character. And so yes, wives, they are to take care of themselves. They are to beautify themselves for their husbands. They are to take care of their bodies for their husbands. But more importantly, faithfully pattering themselves after their beloved Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is more important. You do that and your husband cannot help but to take notice of the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit which is very precious in the sight of God. You do that and your husband will undeniably notice that it is Christ who lives in you. And sometimes that leads to the softening of his heart, to the softening of the things of Christ, softening of the things of God. And sometimes God uses that to redeem them, to reconcile them, to bring them to the point where they're willing to consider the gospel. And then there's those other occasions when it causes them to be repelled, causes them to want to abandon the marriage, because they want nothing to do with God and Christ. As Peter said earlier in our passage, that they just may be won over to Christ, witnessing, your faithful witness, of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. So Peter understood that it is God's will for his sisters in Christ to practice living honorably as wives. And he also understood that those with unbelieving husbands desired that they be saved. He understood that. And he also understood the powerful witness that is set forth when God's beloved daughters practice living honorably as wives. He understood that. And so glorifying and enjoying God is our purpose in life. Peter understood that. We understood that. Glorifying God and enjoying Him occurs when God's beloved daughters, Sarah's daughters, our beloved sisters in Christ, who are married, practice living honorably as wives. Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, even if they reject the gospel, even if they want nothing to do with the church, nothing to do with Christ, nothing to do with your Christian friends, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be one. by the conduct of their wives. Not a guarantee. They may be one. God may use that to save them. When they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, putting on fine apparel. Rather, let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God. For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, As Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror. And that doing good that Peter's referring to is living honorably as wives, being a faithful witness, being a faithful follower of Jesus Christ, and he says, without any terror. without being afraid of what the consequences will be at home with your unbelieving spouse. Faithfully following Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Our Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for Jesus. Father, what a privilege it is to be able to safely and without fear assemble together in your name and to open your word and to be instructed from it. Help us all, Father. Help us all to live honorably. And Father, as for our sisters in Christ who have husbands, Our sisters in Christ who will one day have a husband, Father, we pray, we pray that you would strengthen them and that you would bless them with the courage to live honorably as wives. To be a faithful witness of the gospel to the unbelieving husband and to their children, raising them up to know you as their Lord and Savior. Regardless of the outcome, regardless of the fallout, whatever that may be, may they trust in you, that you will work all things together for their good, because you called them and because they love you. In the holy name we pray, amen.