Getting A Hold On Submission 

"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to make themselves beautiful. They were submissive to their own husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her master. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear. Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers." 1st Peter 3: 1-7

Introduction: A man named Steve Beck relates the following story: "Driving down a country road, I came to a very narrow bridge. In front of the bridge, a sign was posted: "YIELD." Seeing no oncoming cars, I continued across the bridge and to my destination. On my way back, I came to the same one-lane bridge, now from the other direction. To my surprise, I saw another YIELD sign posted. Curious, I thought, "I’m sure there was one posted on the other side." When I reached the other side of the bridge I looked back. Sure enough, yield signs had been placed at both ends of the bridge. Drivers from both directions were requested to give right of way. It was a reasonable and gracious way of preventing a head-on collision.

Beck concludes: "When the Bible commands Christians to "be subject to one another" (Ephesians 5:21) it is simply a reasonable and gracious command to let the other have the right of way and avoid interpersonal head-on collisions."

Transition: Marriages often endure frequent head on collisions! Relationships unravel, in other areas of our lives too. Why? Is there away to insulate our relationships from the onset of emotional pain? Consistently?

I believe there is away to have harmony in the home and in every relationship that is a part of our lives! Today in amessage titled " Getting a hold on Submission" we will discover that " Submission" is not a bad word or a term of derision, properly understood and applied it will add vitality to your life, and to those around you. Notice today the Goal, the beauty and the blessing of being submissive.

I. The Goal of Submission

"Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives"

When Peter writes to wives concerning "Submission" heâs using the Greek word hupotasso, it literally is a military term meaning to arrange in military fashion under the commander. It’s talking about being subject. The best translation would be, "Put yourselves in an attitude of submission" *John McArthur

Why submit? Peter declares that there is a redemptive purpose in choosing to place yourself in an " Attitude of Submission" "Wives, in the same way be submissive to your husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and reverence of your lives." We all have heard the statement: " What you do speaks so loudly that I canât hear what you say" So it is with the husband and wife relationship. Peter wants us to grasp a truth thatâs often familiar and seldom fully realized. There is something dynamic and winsome about a life thatâs committed to the Lord! Such a life does not eliminate the need to give a verbal witness as to "the hope thatâs within you" in fact it compliments it!

As a third-century man was anticipating death, he penned these last words to a friend: "It’s a bad world, an incredibly bad world. But I have discovered in the midst of it a quiet and holy people who have learned a great secret. They have found a joy, which is a thousand times better than any pleasure of our sinful life. They are despised and persecuted, but they care not. They are masters of their souls. They have overcome the world. These people are the Christians--and I am one of them." Moody Bible Institute’s Today In The Word, June 1988, p. 18