Lina Joy, 43, lost the court battle to change her religion from Islam to Christianity on Wednesday when the Malaysian Federal Court ruled she should seek permission to officially change her religion from Islam to Christianity at Islamic Shariah courts.
Joy had been engaged in a legal battle for six years with Wednesday’s court ruling, Joy now again faces Shariah courts, where apostasy is mostly considered a crime punishable by heavy fines or imprisonment.
Joy was born and raised a Muslim but began to attend church in 1990. She then received baptism in 1998. Because she is still legally a Muslim, she is unable to marry her Indian fiancé in Malaysia. About 60 percent of Malaysia’s 26 million people are Muslims.
In the grand scheme of Muslim nations, Malaysia is still considered to be one of the most progressive and modern Muslim democracies. The Malaysian Constitution has been criticized as self-contradictory by analysts who point to the fact it both defends freedom of religion and declares Islam the official religion, according to the New York Times.
“After 50 years of independence it appears that Malaysia’s High Court has tipped the future of the country toward Islamization by ruling that Shariah law takes precedence over civil laws,” remarked the Rev. Dr. Keith Roderick, Washington representative of Christian Solidarity International, to The Christian Post. “The courts have ruled that there will be no ‘exit visas’ from Islam; religious freedom itself is subject to the limitations imposed upon it by Islamic law.
“It reveals the flaw of parallel legal jurisdictions - one ruled by secular civil court the other by religious law,” he added. “In essence, the High Court has sentenced Lina to life as a prisoner of her own act of conscience. Muslim by legal obligation, Christian by conviction – Lina is now an exile in her own country.”
Joy hinted that she might leave Malaysia to openly and legally practice her faith in a statement released on Thursday, according to AP.
In Peter’s day when a wife became a Christian, the potential for difficulty was much greater than it was if the husband first became a believer. A wife was expected to profess the religion of her husband. In that society when women, who were viewed as inferior to men, became Christians without their husbands also becoming saved, the likelihood of his being embarrassed and shamed by what was viewed as an act of defiance by his wife, was predictable, as was the conflict subsequently generated. Husband would consider her unfaithful to him and his pagan religion.
Under Roman law, the wife had no rights. Under Greek law, her status was quite limited for example in property rights. Under Jewish practice, she could be divorced for almost any reason with little recourse.
Peter explained a status for women as being of equal worth and value to a man.
Galatians 3:27-28 [27]For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. [28]There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (ESV)
Her responsibility was to be obedient to God’s commands. She was responsible to the human institution of marriage that God instituted.
1 Peter 2:13 Be subject for the Lord’s sake to every human institution
-If you recall from our previous discussions, the reason for subjection was for the Lord’s sake.
Most of us can testify to having a close friend or congregation member that is going through this situation. Once again, this is not some intellectual speculation, but a real life, current issue of concern that touches us all. When we can understand the situation and how to appropriately respond, our counsel will be wise, our testimony will be strong and the radical life changing impact of the Gospel of Jesus Christ will be shouted in its perfection and glory.
In first-century Greco-Roman culture, women received little or no respect. As long as they lived in their father’s house, they were subject to the Roman law of patria potestas (“the father’s power”), which granted fathers ultimate life-and-death authority over their children.
Please turn to 1 Cor. 7
Husbands had a similar kind of legal authority over their wives. Society regarded women as mere servants. If a woman decided to obey the gospel, that decision to change religions on her own could result in severe abuse from her unsaved husband. When such conversion did occur, a wife needed to know how to respond to her husband so that she might win him to the gospel. Her essential duty was to be submissive, as in the case of what we saw in previous weeks with the duty of everyone in civil and workplace relations.
First, the believing wife has the responsibility to stay with her unbelieving husband.
1 Corinthians 7:13-14 [13]If any woman has a husband who is an unbeliever, and he consents to live with her, she should not divorce him. [14]For the unbelieving husband is made holy because of his wife and the unbelieving wife is made holy because of her husband. Otherwise your children would be unclean, but as it is, they are holy. (ESV)
1 Corinthians 7:39 [39]A wife is bound to her husband as long as he lives. But if her husband dies, she is free to be married to whom she wishes, only in the Lord. (ESV)
If an unbelieving husband does not want to stay with his believing wife, she does not need to compel him to remain because such an attempt may produce nothing but turmoil, and believers are called to peace:
1 Corinthians 7:15 [15]But if the unbelieving partner separates, let it be so. In such cases the brother or sister is not enslaved. God has called you to peace. (ESV)
When the bond is broken under such conditions, the believer is free to remarry in the Lord, as in the case of death (v. 39).
God has ordained women to have certain obligations to their husbands, which Peter identifies as submission and faithfulness, and modesty.
A) SHE IS TO BE SUBMISSIVE AND FAITHFUL
1 Peter 3:1-2 [3:1]Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, [2]when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
The expression Likewise refers back to the two previously mentioned examples of submission: citizens to civil authorities (2:13) and servants to masters (2:18).
The same verb (hupotassô), rendered be subject/submissive and considered in connection with those two references, appears also here and is a present middle form, emphasizing reflexive action (“submitting yourself”). The New Testament usage of this word, meaning “to submit,” “be subject to,” or “rank under,” is common (cf. 2:18; 3:5; 5:5; Luke 2:51; 10:17, 20; Rom. 8:7; 10:3; 13:1, 5; 1 Cor. 14:32, 34; 15:27; 16:16; Eph. 1:22; 5:21, 24; Phil. 3:21; Titus 2:9; 3:1; Heb. 2:5, 8; 12:9; James 4:7).
Submission does not imply any moral, intellectual, or spiritual inferiority in the family, workplace, or society in general. But it is God’s design for roles necessary to mankind’s well-being. Along the same lines, a commanding officer is not necessarily superior in character to the troops under him, but his authority is vital to the proper functioning of the unit.
That Peter referred specifically to their own husbands indicates the intimacy of marriage and points out that he was not commanding women to be servile to all men in every context.
-This is not a situation where all women are to submit to all men.
Just as with our previous studies in submission to Government and in the workplace there is an important qualifier:
Colossians 3:18 [18]Wives, submit to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord. (ESV)
In 1 Peter 3:1b
Do not obey the word describes the unbelieving or disobedient husband’s condition as a rejecter of the gospel (cf. 2 Thess. 1:8–9; Heb. 4:2). Amazingly, in spite of the profound enmity of his soul toward the Lord, if his Christian wife will continue to submit to him, she may/might be the instrument God uses to win him to Christ
-This is not a pattern that guarantees that you will bring him to salvation. God changes the heart. The question is if you will be an instrument that He will use to change the heart of your husband, or a stumbling stone.
The conduct of the wife is presented as one:
without a word. That expression does not refer to the Word of God but to the wife’s spoken words.
Earlier in the letter, Peter made it clear that Scripture is essential for anyone’s salvation:
1 Peter 1:23 [23]since you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God; (ESV)(; cf. Rom. 10:17).
Peter’s point here is that the wife’s godly behaviour is the most valuable testimony to open the husband’s heart to the gospel. He will need to hear the words of salvation, perhaps from her. But it will be as he is able to observe her submission as a faithful wife that she truly commends the gospel to him. How a believer lives in that most intimate relationship helps make the grace of Christ believable (cf. Matt. 5:16).
Matthew 5:16 [16]In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)
A lovely, gracious, and submissive attitude is the most effective evangelistic tool believing wives have (cf. Prov. 31:26; Matt. 5:16; Phil. 2:15; Titus 2:3–5).
Titus 2:3-5 [3]Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves to much wine. They are to teach what is good, [4]and so train the young women to love their husbands and children, [5]to be self-controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be reviled. (ESV)
Closely related to that is their responsibility to be respectful and pure/chaste, demonstrating their sanctification through Christ by a life composed of irreproachable and pure conduct toward God and her husband.
-The conduct of the wife as pure may actually disappoint the husband who no longer has a wife to will participate in base things anymore. This could be actually viewed as rebellion to his depraved concept of authority.
The word respectful is phobos (“fear”), used in 2:17 to define the required attitude of those who give honor to God Himself (cf. Prov. 24:21). This is precisely what is commanded of the wife in Ephesians 5:22:
Ephesians 5:22-23 [22]Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. [23]For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. (ESV)
That means she shows honour and respect to her husband as to the Lord.
Illustration: George Müller told of a wealthy German whose wife was a devout believer. This man was a heavy drinker, spending late nights in the tavern. She would send the servants to bed, stay up till he returned, receive him kindly, and never scold him or complain. At times she would even have to undress him and put him to bed.
One night in the tavern he said to his cronies, “I bet if we go to my house, my wife will be sitting up, waiting for me. She’ll come to the door, give us a royal welcome, and even make supper for us, if I ask her.”
They were skeptical at first, but decided to go along and see. Sure enough, she came to the door, received them courteously, and willingly agreed to make supper for them without the slightest trace of resentment. After serving them, she went off to her room. As soon as she had left, one of the men began to condemn the husband. “What kind of a man are you to treat such a good woman so miserably?” The accuser got up without finishing his supper and left the house. Another did the same and another till they had all departed without eating the meal.
Within a half hour, the husband became deeply convicted of his wickedness, and especially of his heartless treatment of his wife. He went to his wife’s room, asked her to pray for him, repented of his sins, and surrendered to Christ. From that time on, he became a devoted disciple of the Lord Jesus. Won without a word!
George Müller advised:
Don’t be discouraged if you have to suffer from unconverted relatives. Perhaps very shortly the Lord may give you the desire of your heart, and answer your prayer for them. But in the meantime, seek to commend the truth, not by reproaching them on account of their behavior toward you, but by manifesting toward them the meekness, gentleness and kindness of the Lord Jesus Christ.
(George Müller, in a periodical called The Word, edited by Richard Burson, date unknown, pp. 33–35.)
A) SHE IS TO BE SUBMISSIVE AND FAITHFUL
B) SHE IS TO BE MODEST
1 Peter 3: 3-6 [3]Do not let your adorning be external--the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear-- [4]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. [5]For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, [6]as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. (ESV)
The phrase outward adornment comes from the word kosmos from which we get the word cosmetics.
This text does not prohibit wives from styling their hair, wearing jewellery or lovely clothing, which is why the translators added merely.
Some translations add the word “merely” for clarification.
1 Pt 3:3a Your adornment ought not to be a merely outward thing (WNT)
Beautiful women in scripture are often said to have outward adornment:
The bride in Song of Solomon was beautifully adorned, e.g., Song of Solomon 1:10; 4:11; 7:1.
The point is that this was not to be the preoccupation or main concern in the matter of drawing an unsaved husband to Christ. In the Greco-Roman culture, women were devoted to superficial adornment, often wearing the best cosmetics, dying their hair outlandish colors, braiding it elaborately, and wearing—especially on their heads—costly jewellery to crown their elegant clothing.
But braiding the hair, and putting on gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear make no contribution to spiritual transformation. Such surface concerns still consume women in the present media dominated culture. Christian women, however, especially those whose husbands are not saved, are still under this mandate.
-The issue relates to what is more important. Here is a basic test, what did you spend more time on this morning, coming to meet the supreme God of the Universe or on cosmetic issues
It is amazing how beauty is so subjective:
Illustration: The Bigger the Better
Joseph Stowell recounted a story: I was in West Africa—Timbuktu to be exact—and the missionaries were telling me that in that culture the larger the women were the more beautiful they were thought to be. In fact, a young missionary who had a small, trim wife said that the nationals had told him she was a bad reflection on him—he obviously was not providing well enough for her. A proverb in that part of Africa says that if your wife is on a camel and the camel cannot stand up, your wife is truly beautiful.
Fan The Flame, J. Stowell, Moody, 1986, p. 119
God, through Isaiah the prophet, pronounced judgment on women’s obsessive, ostentatious attention to outward adornment:
Isaiah 3:16-24 [16]The LORD said: Because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, [17]therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the LORD will lay bare their secret arts. [18]In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands, and the crescents; [19]the pendants, the bracelets, and the scarves; [20]the headdresses, the armlets, the sashes, the perfume boxes, and the amulets; [21]the signet rings and nose rings; [22]the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags; [23]the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils. [24]Instead of perfume there will be rottenness; and instead of a belt, a rope; and instead of well-set hair, baldness; and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth; and branding instead of beauty.( cf. Jer. 2:32)
Instead of being consumed with their external appearance, Christian wives must be devoted to beautifying the hidden person of the heart.
-Wives should manifest the inner beauty of spiritual virtue.
Paul commanded believing women:
1 Timothy 2:9-10 [9]likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, [10]but with what is proper for women who profess godliness--with good works. (ESV)
In particular, a believing wife should be characterized not by passing earthly fashions, here today and gone tomorrow, but by literally the imperishable
-quality is implied
-The KJV translates this as “incorruptible” in 1:4, where it describes the believer’s eternal inheritance in heaven.
Christian wives should be devoted, not to temporal beauty, but the lovely adornments of godliness.
Gentle/meek comes from a word referring to a humble attitude, expressed in patient submissiveness;
-This is the opposite to the pagan trend of self-assertion.
-Gentleness is a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit (Gal. 5:23), the exact opposite to what the unredeemed will do.
This results in being:
quiet is “still” or “tranquil.”
-This is a trust in God to make all things right.
Personal Illustration
-When I first saw Lisa (my wife) I found her physically attractive, as I still do.
-I soon realized that she had such a godly character that far outshone her physical beauty.
-The more I got to know her, the greater her beauty became. As attractive as physical beauty is, it does not sustain a marriage, but the beauty of Character can move a love to an ever increasing depth and breath of bond.
-Such character in the spirit of a believing wife is the true inner beauty that in God’s sight is very precious and effective in making her not only valuable and attractive to her husband, but demonstrating the beauty and value of regeneration.
-This is the key. There is nothing more unnatural from a human ability than submission. There is nothing greater that points to the life changing power of God. A believing wife shouts the power of God in godly submission.
It is certainly possible for a woman’s appearance to be so unkempt and unadorned as to embarrass and discourage her husband, to whom such indifference in the name of Christ would make the gospel offensive and be just as spiritually detrimental as too much attention given to externals. The Lord is most pleased when a believing woman’s modest yet thoughtful and lovely adornment reflects the inner beauty Christ has fashioned in her.
Please turn to Proverbs 31
Peter now gets into examples of how this submission has worked and glorified God:
1 Peter 3:5 [5]For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, [6]as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening
In former times (Old Testament days) many believing holy women exemplified these principles of submissive and modest godliness
Proverbs 31:10-31 [10] An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.[11]The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.[12]She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life. [13]She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands.[14]She is like the ships of the merchant; she brings her food from afar. [15]She rises while it is yet night and provides food for her household and portions for her maidens.[16]She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. [17]She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong. [18]She perceives that her merchandise is profitable. Her lamp does not go out at night. [19]She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.[20]She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. [21]She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet.[22]She makes bed coverings for herself; her clothing is fine linen and purple. [23]Her husband is known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land. [24]She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.[25]Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come.[26]She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. [27]She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness.[28]Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her:[29]"Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all."[30]Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised.[31]Give her of the fruit of her hands, and let her works praise her in the gates.
-I can honestly testify that Lisa my wife meets these qualities. Her wisdom, beauty, resourcefulness and respect that she has from me and our children testify to her godliness.
Peter says in 1 Peter 3:5 they adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands. Thus his call for such behavior is not unprecedented, and he specifically cites Sarah as an illustration, noting that she obeyed Abraham, going so far as calling him lord (master). Calling him (kalousa) is a present participle, which indicates Sarah’s continual attitude of respect toward her husband Abraham—she treated him as her lord or master.
Sarah is an example of a woman who trusted God and obeyed her husband. Abraham lied in identifying Sarah as his sister and not his wife (Gen. 20:1–18), and Sarah was immediately taken into the king’s harem! Sarah was not trusting Abraham; he had been deceptive and more concerned with saving himself than protecting his wife. Sarah trusted God by giving Him time to work in Abraham’s life and in this difficult situation. God intervened and told Abimelech in a dream that Sarah was Abraham’s wife. Obviously, if Abimelech had attempted to force Sarah into a sexual liaison, she would have had to tell him the truth and say a definite “no” to intimacy.
When Paul wrote in 1 Peter 3:6 that by faith all saints are children of Abraham, he was saying that all who believe have followed the same path Abraham took. He is the Old Testament model for believing God’s Word, and all after him who do the same belong to the same family of faith (Rom. 4:1–16; Gal. 3:7–29). Similarly, all believing wives who follow Sarah’s example of submission and modesty have in that sense you are her children. Wives who follow Sarah’s pattern have made the commitment to do good/what is right, even though they might nevertheless have some serious fears as to where such submission under an unsaved husband could lead. The Greek word for fear is ptoçsis, a strong word meaning “frightening,” or “terrifying.” Instead of succumbing to such terrors (cf. Ps. 27:1; Prov. 1:33; 29:25; 2 Tim. 1:7; 1 John 4:18), those who are faithful to submit because it is good and right can be used by the Lord in the salvation of their husbands.
-The action commanded here is the same for all the submission we have looked at: It is done unto the Lord as the primary obedience
-If a husband asks a wife to do something that is unbiblical, she must obey God rather than man. (Acts 5:1-10)
POEM: Be Gentle With Thy Wife (from Doris Shields)
Be gentle, for you little know
How many trials rise;
Although to thee they may seem small,
To her of giant size.
Be gentle, though perchance that lip
May speak a murmuring tone,
The heart may beat with kindness yet,
And joy to be thine own.
Be gentle; weary hours of pain
‘Tis woman’s lot to bear;
Then yield her that support thou canst,
And all her sorrows share.
Be gentle, for the noblest hearts
At times may have some grief;
And even in a pettish word
May seek to find relief.
Be gentle, for unkindness now
May rouse an angry storm
That all the after years of life
In vain may strive to calm.
Be gentle – perfect there are none;
Thou’rt dear far than life;
Then, husband, bear and still forbear.
Be gentle to thy wife.
