Right Conduct: Marriage Series

You can listen to this. and all NPBC sermons, at https://www.npbc.org.au/podcasts/media

NORTH PINE BAPTIST CHURCH

Sunday 10th August 2025

1 Peter 3:1-7

“Right Conduct: Marriage”

Today we are going to focus on a text which has not always been very well liked.

The text is 1 Peter 3:1-7

1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, 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. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

7 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.

Wives be submissive!

Sarah called Abraham her lord!

Six verses for wives … only one verse for husbands! 85% to only 15%.

Calling wives the weaker partner.

No wonder so many people get upset at Peter he is just a … misogynist.

And then this passage gets dragged out and applied to arguments about headship, inequality, gender roles, ministerial leadership and authority.

That is often how the passage is used.

It is not always well-liked.

But it is not well-liked because it is misapplied and misunderstood.

It is also often used in the wrong way because the wider context is ignored.

That context starts at 1 Peter 2:12

12 Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day He visits us.

Peter has applied this principle to the social issue of dealing with human authorities, and also the social issue of slavery. In 1 Peter 3:1-7 Peter is applying this principle to the social issue of marriage.

More specifically, Peter is equipping Christian husbands and Christian wives to “live good” in a marriage even where the spouse is an unbeliever.

You saw that didn’t you?

…

That Peter is speaking into a relationship where the wives and husbands are married to unbelievers? In the case of the wives this is very clear in 1 Peter 3:1

1 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behaviour of their wives.

It isn’t as clear that the males being addressed are married to non-believing women.

But when we look at the context.

And the application of the principle of “living good” in pagan social situations.

And Peter’s words to the Christian wives.

We can be certain that Peter also has in mind Christian husbands who are married to non-Christian wives.

Which perhaps raises a question for some of us. “How did these Christians end up with non-believing spouses?” For doesn’t Paul say in 2 Corinthians 6:14

14 Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness?

If these Christian men and women had been faithful to God’s Word, they would not have ended up in these marriages.

It’s easy to be a person who looks at a situation and, on the basis of very little knowledge, make a judgment without being willing to consider the context.

But we can’t do that.

And Peter definitely is not making this judgement. Because Peter knows the context.

This is not an issue of disobedience. This is an outcome of the transforming work of the Gospel. At one time all these husband and wives were unbelievers.

But then the Gospel came into that relationship.

And, in a response of faith, one of those unbelievers became a believer.

So now there are multiple numbers of Christian men and Christian women who are married to unbelievers. And they are faced with a very practical question, “I’m married to a “pagan” … now what do I do?”

That is the context.

In 1 Peter 3:1-7 Peter is equipping Christian husbands and Christian wives to “live good” in a marriage even where the spouse is an unbeliever.