Alliance Christian Church
September 14 2025

      • 2 Corinthians 9:7GS-NETBIBLE

      • Ephesians 6:12–17NETBIBLE2ED

  • Yes I Will
  • Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
  • There Is Power in the Blood

      • 1 Peter 3:1–2NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:7NETBIBLE2ED

  • The Actual Solution

    1 Peter 3:1–7 “In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct. Let your beauty not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes— but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight. For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so. Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners and show them honor as fellow heirs of the grace of life. In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.”
    Exordium.
    I don’t normally bring up current events in my sermons. It’s not that I don’t think it’s important. But I don’t particularly like letting the world around us dictate what we teach about on a Sunday morning.
    The way we go through scripture we’ll pick a book of the Bible, I try to pick out a good healthy balance of old testament, and new testament, and letters, and gospels. So that we have a good healthy rounded diet of scripture
    And then week by week we just work though it.
    And that style of preaching doesn’t really allow for topical sermons, and sermons that have to do with world events, and that sort of thing.
    But this week, I want to acknowledge something as a church.
    We are, as Christians, living in a world that is dominated by sin.
    This week law enforcement in north Carolina apprehended a suspect who stabbed a 23 year old woman to death on a train.
    On Wednesday last week a young man in Colorado took a revolver to school, and shot several of his class mates
    That same day, in Utah, there was an assassination of a political commentator in broad daylight on a college campus.
    And what I’ve noticed is, if you watch the news or if you talk to people, they’ll try and tell you what they think the problem is.
    They’ll say, oh, it’s immigration policy
    or it’s gun control, or it’s political rhetoric, or it’s the democrats or the republicans.
    And the problem is, they’re diagnosing the wrong disease.
    They’re trying to treat the symptoms of the disease, but not addressing the actual root cause.
    And then they get this idea in their head, if only we could pass the right legislation, or if we could just increase security, then we wouldn’t have this problem.
    But the problem is not legislation. The problem is the fact that we live in a world that is dominated by sin.
    Separation from God is the root cause of all of the evil we experience.
    And I hate to break it to you but this is not new.
    We think it’s new, because we only have the ability to remember things within the span of one human life time. But if you go back generations you’ll see, if you read your Bible you’ll see that the problem of sin and death and evil has been waging war on the world from the moment Adam and Eve stepped out of that Garden.
    Narratio
    This morning we’re in the book of first peter. Our series is called “scattered” how the church survives and thrives in exile”
    Because the churches that Peter was writing to were also living in a world that is dominated by Sin.
    And those who are in Christ know that God has dealt with the problem of sin. For those who choose to be a part of His kingdom, he deals with their sin, he gives them the gift of the holy spirit, he makes them dead to sin and alive to righteousness. He transforms them moment by moment into people who look less and less like the world, and more and more like Jesus.
    But the question remains, yeah, but what about the rest of the world? I don’t know if you’ve noticed, peter, but the world is still full of sin and darkness.
    2 years after this letter was written, the emperor Nero began a massive campaign to have Christians murder in masse.
    I watched a video about Pompeii, it was a roman city that was destroyed by a volcano in 79 AD. You’ve probably read about it or seen pictures of it.
    But in Pompeii, they unearthed archeological sites of brothels, where young women, and let’s be honest, girls by todays standards, were trafficked, and kept as slaves, and they had graphic paintings of the women on the wall, so that the travelers could come to town and if they didn’t speak the same language they could just point. I want that one.
    They could order another human being by pointing to a menu.
    So I don’t buy into this idea that the world today is the worst its ever been.
    The world we live in today is dominated by the same sin and the same evil that it was when peter wrote this letter.
    And the question that peter is answering in his letter, is “what do we do about it?” As Christians, as people who have the light, how are we supposed to live our lives, knowing that we are surrounded by so much depravity.
    ___
    Partitio
    When we look around at the world, and we watch things on the news, and we see the state of the world that we are living in, we want the world as it is to be a better place.
    What are we supposed to do in the face of the evil, and depravity that exists in the world?
    The Big idea this morning.
    Probably not a solution that would be the first one you might come up with.
    But I would like to convince you this morning that if Christians want to make a difference in the midst of evil and darkness and pain and suffering you have to start in your marriage.
    We as Christians can do our part in the world by becoming by becoming spiritual leaders in our marriages.
    Marriage is the fundamental building block of the culture. If you don’t get marriage right, everything else goes by the wayside.
    And As we’re working through the book of 1st Peter this morning, we’re going to read about what Peter has to say in his letter to the churches scattered in Pontus, Galatia, Asia, Cappadocia, and Bithinya.
    In chapter 2, we fond out that many of the Christians that peter was writing to were slaves of non-Christian masters. Slave owners who treated them harshly, beat them abused them. And peter gives them encouragement, by reminding them to keep their eyes fixed on Jesus, and live after his example.
    And in our text this morning Peter writes.
    1 Peter 3:1–2 NET 2nd ed.
    In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct.
    2 Things I need you to know for context when we read this pasage.
    Peter is speaking to Christian Wives who are married to non-Christian husbands.
    Much like last week, when we read about peter’s encouragement to slaves being owned by non-Christian masters
    here, peter is encouraging wives who are married to non-Christians husbnads
    And the second thing is, in roman culture the oldest living male in the house, usually the husband, but occasionally if the grandfather was still alive it was a grandfather, the oldest living male in the house had full legal authority over every aspect of the household, up to and including the decision to have someone in the house put to death.
    The court system started in the household, and the pater familias, Latin for, father of the family, had full rights as judge, jury and executioner in the household.
    And so here, in 1 peter, we need to recognize that he is writing to Christian women, who are living with non-Christian husbands.
    And so the conversation about living as the scattered church, being surrounded by the world that denies Christ, and lives in sin, becomes so much more real for them.
    Because when the sin is out there, it’s really easy to say “just stay away from it” just keep yourself away from it, don’t participate in it. live a quiet life, keep yourself from sin.
    but when it’s in your home, in your marriage, it becomes personal. that no longer becomes an option.
    And what peter is going to describe in his instructions, first to Christian wives, and then later to Christian husbands, sets the model for how we ought to show the light of Christ in the world.
    And it doesn’t start with policy. it doesn’t start with a protest.
    The way that Christians ought to begin combating the power of sin and darkness in the world starts in the home. It starts in our marriages.
    Confirmatio
    1 Peter 3:1–2 NET 2nd ed.
    In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct.
    Can we just take a moment and recognize what it is that this command is and isn’t saying.
    This passage is not saying that women in the home need to be overpowered, it is not saying that women in the marriage are somehow lesser than in the relationship.
    There are quite a few commands in scripture relating to husbands and wives. Husbands and wives are given different instructions, and both of them are equally challenging, equally important, and equally valuable.
    But they are given different instructions.
    And I would like to just, at the outset, recognize and acknowledge a key fundamental truth about men and women.
    Men and women are different
    It’s ok to recognize that
    This passage should not be taken as a way to have some sort of power imbalance in the marriage
    Jesus told his disciples in mark 10
    Mark 10:42–43 NET 2nd ed.
    Jesus called them and said to them, “You know that those who are recognized as rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and those in high positions use their authority over them. But it is not this way among you. Instead whoever wants to be great among you must be your servant,
    Christians are not called to have power over anyone.
    And I think that a lot of times when we read “wives be subject to your husbands” our mind immediately goes to a place of “dominance”
    And that’s not the point that peter is trying to get across, that’s not the point that Paul is trying to get across when he writes about it.
    Rather it’s a recognition of the basic fundamental fact that men and women are different
    Anybody who has been married for more than five minutes knows that men and women act differently and approach things differently
    It’s not a difference in worth. In fact, quite the opposite
    I like to think about it like, if you’re lost in the woods, which is more important to have? a map or a compass?
    Let me tell you, either one of those things by themself is pretty useless.
    If I have a compass, but no map, then I have direction without any context of where I am. That’s not helpful. It’s not helpful to know the direction without knowing where I am or where anything is.
    And if I have a map, but I don’t have a compass, I know where everything is, but I have no idea which direction I need to go to get there.
    You can’t say “the compass is more important” or “the map is more important” you need them both working in their own unique ways or else you’re going to be completely lost.
    So how do men and women become spiritual leaders in the home in their own unique way.
    Ladies
    1 Peter 3:1–2 NET 2nd ed.
    In the same way, wives, be subject to your own husbands. Then, even if some are disobedient to the word, they will be won over without a word by the way you live, when they see your pure and reverent conduct.
    Ladies you have an opportunity to bring a sense of moral clarity into the home by the way you live your lives.
    Anybody ever heard the phrase “Actions speak louder than words?”
    The example here, Peter is speaking to these women who know Christ, but their husbands don’ts
    And they are given the blessing of being able to live lives that are so good, and so pure that their husbands look at them and say “whatever it is that my wife has in her life, I want in”
    I don’t know what it is about her, she just has this purity and goodness that just overflows out of her, and I want to be a part of that.
    And when he asks her, what is it about you? she has an opportunity to say it’s not me, but christ who lives in me.
    Husbands ought to be able to look at their wives and say “you know what, I might talk the talk sometimes, but you...you walk the walk
    Ladies you bring a sense of what is truly important into the marriage
    1 Peter 3:3–4 NET 2nd ed.
    Let your beauty not be external—the braiding of hair and wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes— but the inner person of the heart, the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquil spirit, which is precious in God’s sight.
    Ladies, you have a way of setting the tone in the home that makes it clear what is truly important
    Jewelry, fancy clothes, money? those are all status symbols that the world tries to tell you are important
    But everybody knows that person who is beautiful on the outside, but on the inside their just rotten.
    Peter tells the ladies, you’re going to be different. You’re going to set the tone in your marriage that says this is what is truly important
    Not stuff.
    Men are more often than not better at interacting with “stuff”
    That’s why men go into fields and careers that have to do with things. Stuff.
    Women are more often than not better suited to deal with relationships
    And peter says to the women, you’re going to set the reminder that all of that stuff is just junk.
    What really matters to God is the lasting beauty of a gentle and tranquile spirit. That’s what’s precious in God’s sight.
    And you have that opportunity to set that tone in your marriage, in your household.
    You can bring a general tone of respect
    1 Peter 3:5–6 NET 2nd ed.
    For in the same way the holy women who hoped in God long ago adorned themselves by being subject to their husbands, like Sarah who obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. You become her children when you do what is good and have no fear in doing so.
    The example here that peter is reminding them of is of sarah and abraham
    In case you don’t know, Abraham led his family through a lot of crazy things.
    He packed them up and moved them halfway across the world.
    And when they were 99 years old, and god told abraham, hey you’re going to have a kid
    She didn’t know it was from God at that point
    The normal response would have been to pull abram aside and say “honey your are out of your mind”
    And she kind of said that, but while she did it she called him lord. sir.
    She gave him a title of respect.
    And this is not a teaching that wives need to go around calling their husbands Lord. That’s not the point.
    But the point is, she treated him with respect by the way she spoke, even when he was saying and doing things that to any rational person would be insane.
    I learned respect from my mom. She was the one who taught me, this is how you act, you say yes sir, no ma’am. You say please and thank you
    She set a tone of respect
    Gentlemen.
    1 Peter 3:7 NET 2nd ed.
    Husbands, in the same way, treat your wives with consideration as the weaker partners...
    Gentlemen you have a role to play in the marriage to recognize the vulnerability that your wife can be in.
    Can we all acknowledge the fact that when a woman enters into a marriage she puts herself at much greater risk than the man does
    From the pure biological fact that men are physically bigger and stronger
    Men are typically the earners of money in the household.
    I don’t think we recognize sometimes
    There’s the common analogy of wolves and sheepdogs.
    Both of them have the capacity to do a lot of damage to the flock.
    and the only difference is that the wolf is bent on destroying, and the sheepdog is bent on protecting.
    Peter describing women as the “weaker vessel” is not a slam against women, it’s a recognition of an imbalance that exists and a call for men to be men, and protect and care for their wives.
    Men, in your homes you have an obligation to set a tone of safety.
    Your wife should be able to know without a shadow of a doubt that you are on her side, and that you would never do anything to let her think otherwise.
    She should see you as a sheepdog, not a wolf
    1 Peter 3:7 NET 2nd ed.
    ...and show them honor...
    b. Number 2, for the husbands,
    Ladies you were called to set a tone of respect in the home, gentlemen you are called to set a tone of honor and let your wife know how valuable she is.
    I’ve noticed a lot that children in a marriage will learn what marriage is like more often than not from their fathers.
    It’s not that mothers don’t influence in that way, that’s not what I mean.
    But more often than not, girls will grow up and marry someone who is like their father.
    And boys will grow up and become husbands like their father.
    for better or for worse.
    Husbands in the marriage have an opportunity to treat their wives in such a way that sets that tone
    sub point iii
    And how do we say we should honor them?
    1 Peter 3:7 NET 2nd ed.
    ...as fellow heirs of the grace of life...
    Husbands you have the opportunity to set a tone of equality in the marriage.
    To recognize that the two of you are co-heris of the grace of life.
    Equal in value, equal in importance.
    And gentlemen you can be spiritual leaders in the home when you set that tone.
    And then he says at the end of verse 7
    1 Peter 3:7 NET 2nd ed.
    In this way nothing will hinder your prayers.
    Think about that for a minute...
    This is a profound statement. peter is saying to husbands the way you care for and honor, and set a tone of equality, equal value with your spouse will determine the way God pays attention to your prayers.
    Ladies: You’re called to set a spiritual example in the home by setting a tone of moral clarity, showing what is truly important, and setting a tone of respect.
    Gentlemen: likewise, you are called to set a tone of safety and security, of honor and value for your wife, and a recognition of equality between the two of you as fellow heirs to God’s kingdom.
    Peroratio
    We started this conversation talking about the evil and sin in the world
    I was on facebook and one of my friends was talking about all of the things that are going on in the world.
    And someone, I don’t know who they are, not a friend we have in common, responded and said
    The time for weeping is over if you’re a Christian it’s time to stand up and fight and if you’re not willing to do that you’ve got a problem
    I understand the sentiment, the emotion. It feels like the right thing to say.
    It feels like, with all the evil in the world, that it’s time for us to take up the cause and fight for what is right. We see the sin and awful things that go on in the world, and we just feel angry.
    But I don’t live my life based on what feels right.
    I’ve spent a lot of time reading this book. A lot of time reading about what how our king tells us to live.
    And I can’t find a single example of Christians being called to take up arms and fight. I just can’t
    Christians are called to wage spiritual warfare in a completely different radical way.
    Not with our fists, not with anger in our hearts.
    We’re not called to repay evil with evil. We’re called to overcome evil with good.
    And one of the ways we do that is by showing God’s love in our marriages. In our homes. In the places we spend the most time.
    The marriage is the most basic fundamental unit of society. It’s the thing that underpins every other institution that exists in the world.
    If you want the world to be a better place, start by having better marriages. Christ filled marriages.
    And the best place to start doing that is in our own.
    Jesus already dealt with the consequences of sin. Every sin that that has ever happened or ever will happen is either going to be forgiven or judged. And God is going to do both.
    Our job is to be a part of the kingdom he is creating, and to be his hands and feet, and to be a positive influence in the world. And I can’t think of a better place to do it than in our marriage.

      • 1 Peter 3:1–2NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:1–2NETBIBLE2ED

      • Mark 10:42–43NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:1–2NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:3–4NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:5–6NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:7NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:7NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:7NETBIBLE2ED

      • 1 Peter 3:7NETBIBLE2ED

  • When I Survey the Wondrous Cross
  • I Surrender All
  • Isn't He Wonderful
Alliance Christian Church
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https://www.alliancechristian.church
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