Can you share the gospel without saying a word? Can you preach Christ without speaking? Some may say: “Absolutely not! Don’t you know that ‘faith comes by hearing…” Others may say: “Well I think so, how does the quote go? ‘You are the only Bible some people will read'” I’ll give my answer up front: Yes. Most certainly yes.
“In the same way, you wives, be subject to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, as they observe your pure conduct with fear.” 1 Peter 3:1-2 LSB
Christ as Example
The context to the above verse is key. Peter is in the middle of exhorting two groups of people that were treated terribly in his age and culture: Slaves & Women. He just finished exhorting slaves to be obedient and serve their masters even when they suffer wrongdoing. Why? Because “if when you do good and suffer for it, you endure, this finds favor with God.” (1 Peter 2: 20) But, to encourage them to do so, Peter gives them the greatest example to which they are called to follow: Christ.
And he wrote it best: “Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in His steps, ‘WHO DID NO SIN, NOR WAS ANY DECEIT FOUND IN HIS MOUTH’; who being reviled, was not reviling in return; while suffering, He was uttering no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously. Who Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that having died to sin, we might live to righteousness; by His ‘WOUNDS YOU WERE HEALED’. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.” (1 Peter 2:21-25 LSB)
Then we come to our verse. “In the same way, you wives…” Which leads you to re-read verses 21-25 to define what this ‘same way’ is. And, put shortly, it’s the Jesus Way. What I’m interested in, now, is how the conduct of these wives can have an effect on their husbands that “refuse to believe the word” (Mounce-NT)
Won Without A Word
So you are a wife with an unbelieving husband. You have been saved by the grace of Jesus and desperately long for your husband to know God in Christ as well. It’s not that he is a rioter, drunk, abuser, etc (that’s a conversation for another time) but he simply refuses to believe this whole “Gospel” thing that seems to have you possessed. What do you do? Sit him down and expound a Systematic Theology textbook to him? Start trying to answer all his skeptic questions and become a YouTube certified apologist because you think that if only he will have his doubts answered he will “be won”? No. Peter makes it very clear:
“they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives” It brings me goosebumps that phrase: ‘without a word’. Could it really be? Not a single word? Yes, I believe it with all my heart, yes. If the wife studies verses 21-25 and learns to live “in the same way” around her husband and family then Peter is saying this speaks all the Christ needed to her husband who, without a doubt, is observing her character. And after patiently bearing fruit for her Father’s glory, day after day after day, finally….finally… the husband can’t deny it. As Peter says elsewhere: “that by doing good you may silence the ignorance of foolish men”.
Conclusion
To land the plane I want to make it clear: most certainly this applies to more than just wives. Employee, employer, brother, sister, friend, husband, father, mother, etc. Someone in your life fits into the category of “refuse[s] to believe the word”. Maybe you have tried to speak words, answer questions, and invite them to church. All good things, don’t get me wrong. But I want to challenge you: try not speaking and try loving. Go read and reread verses 21-25 and seek to live around them “in the same way”. And, if done patiently for the glory of God, it may just be they can “be won without a word” as they “observe your pure conduct with fear.”
Action
- Praise God for the example of His Son and the grace give to us by Him
- Confess to God your swiftness to speech before love and humility.
- Ask God to help you live “in the same way” and follow Christ’s example
- Listen to this post’s song: The Jesus Way