在家中為基督而活
彼得前書三章1至7節
1你們作妻子的要順服自己的丈夫；這樣，若有不信從道理的丈夫，他們雖然不聽道，也可以因妻子的品行被感化過來；
2這正是因看見你們有貞潔的品行和敬畏的心。
3你們不要以外面的辮頭髮，戴金飾，穿美衣為妝飾，
4只要以裡面存著長久溫柔、安靜的心為妝飾；這在神面前是極寶貴的。
5因為古時仰賴神的聖潔婦人正是以此為妝飾，順服自己的丈夫，
6就如撒拉聽從亞伯拉罕，稱他為主。你們若行善，不因恐嚇而害怕，便是撒拉的女兒了。
7你們作丈夫的，也要按情理（原文是知識）和妻子同住；因他比你軟弱（比你軟弱：原文作是軟弱的器皿），與你一同承受生命之恩的，所以要敬重他。這樣，便叫你們的禱告沒有阻礙。
信息分享
彼得如今將話題一轉，論到夫婦之中的一人成了基督徒後，可能引起的家庭問題。
為甚麼他給妻子的勸勉，遠遠多過他勸丈夫的話呢？因為在當時的異教社會中，妻子如果接受了基督，而丈夫並未接受的話，她遇到的困難和問題會較多。今天的情況也可能差不多。
做丈夫的如果成了基督徒，他的妻子和兒女極可能會隨他一起信主。但反過來說，如果是妻子成了基督徒，而丈夫卻未信，那就問題大了。因為當時的女性並沒有自主權，她只是屬於丈夫的一項資產，她的丈夫可以隨時把她休棄或與她離婚。
即使是今天，信徒與非信徒結婚所產生的問題，也絕不容易處理。有見及此，信徒應該一早就摒棄與未信者談戀愛及結婚的念頭。
彼得沒有教導已信主的妻子離開丈夫，也沒有叫她不斷向丈夫傳道，或為信仰與丈夫爭辯，或經常囉唆他信主。反之，他勸勉她們要忠於自己的丈夫，和盡量做好妻子的本分。他指出，她以賢淑的品行來為基督作見證，遠遠比她用美麗的衣服來妝飾更為有效。她的丈夫見到她的美好品行，便曉得是信仰改變了她。
有一位作者曾經用一句話來概述這番教導，就是：「以美好的生活見證來潛移默化地傳道」。
已信主的丈夫也同樣有他的責任。他應該體貼和愛護妻子，謹記我們所擁有的一切都是從基督而來。
彼得最後提出了一項嚴厲的警告：我們的家庭生活若失去見證，便可能會妨礙我們的禱告生活。我們必須切記這點。
LIVING FOR CHRIST IN OUR HOMES
1 Peter 3: 1-7
1 Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives,
2 when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear.
3 Do not let your adornment be merely outward—arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel—
4 rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God.
5 For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,
6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord, whose daughters you are if you do good and are not afraid with any terror.
7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with them with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.
Message
Peter turns now to the domestic or family problems which arise when one partner becomes a Christian while the other does not.
Why is his advice to wives six times as long as his word to husbands? Because the wife's problem in those heathen days, if she accepted Christ and he did not, was much more difficult than that of a husband. It is possibly much the same today.
If a husband became a Christian, his wife and family would probably follow his lead. But if she was the Christian and he was not, she faced tremendous problems. She had no rights of her own. She was only a piece of property. Her husband could dismiss or divorce her at any moment.
Even today there are few experiences more difficult than to be united in marriage with an unbeliever. No Christian should ever begin such a union.
Peter did not tell the Christian wife to leave her husband. He did not tell her to preach, argue or to nag. He did tell her to insist on her rights as a Christian.
Instead he told her to be loyal to her husband and to be a good wife to him. He said that a Christian wife witnesses for Christ by being more interested in her clothes. In these ways, her husband will see Christ in her.
One writer says that all of this can be summed up in this phrase, 'the silent preaching of a lovely life'.
The Christian husband has his responsibilities too. He should be thoughtful and loving, remembering we all owe everything to Christ.
Peter adds a strong word of warning. It is possible for our prayers to be hindered by failure to live for Christ in our homes. That is something we all need to remember every day.