Innocent conscience
quiets foes
Key Verses: 1, 4, 7, 8, 15, 18,
Talk
about a politically insensitive statement! At least that is the way verses like
this get spun, in both directions. Remember that there were no chapter or verse
interruptions when this letter was written. They were added in the 1550s to
make it easier for us to find particular sections of the Scriptures. So women
are to surrender to Christ just like everyone else. If we have surrendered to
Him, then surrendering to your husband (just like your husband surrenders to
you) should not be difficult. Our behavior needs to model Christ in every area
of our lives.
Notice
that Peter says the sticking point for most women is that they use words to try
to persuade their husbands into the faith. Peter says it should be their
behavior that does that. Their inner beauty should shine through, and that will
convince their husbands. Husbands have the tendency to be too harsh, too
‘manly’ with their wives. We try to use our strength and power to influence.
Peter says we should use our consideration and respect to win them.
I am
again struck with the number of times that the writers remind us what the walk
of faith looks like in concrete terms. It must have been just as hard back then
to figure out how to live faith out day by day as it can be today. And they
have given us much food for thought and action. We can ask in every
circumstance “What would compassion look like lived out in this?” and get a pretty
good idea of the Gospel in action. Doing good is always a good idea.
Knowing
what to do starts by putting Christ in the driver’s seat in our lives. He must
be in charge. When that happens then our lives should exude hope. And it is the
hope that people see when life gets tough. And that hope pulls their questions
right out of their chests. They can’t help but ask why we have hope, when they
themselves are so devoid of hope. The same thing happened with Jesus. It was
His acts of compassion that awakened hope in the hearts of those who witnessed
them. When they themselves had given up, Jesus stepped in and did the
impossible.
When sin
had bested the human race, Jesus came, lived the perfect life, died, and
demonstrated His mastery even over death. Death had no rights to Him. He was
perfect in His actions. And this reality gives us hope. The battle that we rage
with sin can be won. Jesus invites us to join Him in His victory. This victory
is symbolized in the act of baptism. We turn the page on our life. Before
baptism lies the old self. After baptism the life of faith. It is a choice we
make, not a magical waving of the wand. We can look back to our baptism and
say, “At that moment I died. Have you died?