Kenneth W. Yates
Editor
I. INTRODUCTION
In 1 Pet 3:1-6, Peter writes:
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.
I understand that in the first century, a woman’s clothing and how she wore her hair demonstrated her status in society more clearly than today. Schreiner says that the background of these verses might also include the idea of some women dressing immodestly.1 Peter is clearly saying that women in the church should tone down their preoccupation with such things. But he is teaching other truths as well. He is not concerned with only the wardrobe and hairstyles of Christian women.
Whatever else Peter says in these verses, he is telling these ladies to focus on their important inner qualities and not the things of this world. Peter tells them to focus on the inner man.
I want to examine this passage in more detail to determine what Peter is discussing. First, I will address a widespread interpretation of these verses. Then, I will challenge that interpretation.
II. THE SPIRITUAL CONDITION OF THE HUSBANDS
Most writers believe Peter addresses Christian women married to unbelieving husbands.2 This was common during the first century as Christianity spread across the Roman Empire. In many cases, a formerly pagan married woman had believed in Christ for eternal life, but her husband had not.3 A significant point of the passage is that such women should not nag their unbelieving spouses about their spiritual condition. They should not “preach” to these men. They should not encourage these men to attend Christian meetings. These women are seen as wanting to see their husbands’ spiritual salvation (eternal life).
Instead of preaching to their unbelieving husbands, these wives should model Christian living before them. A gentle spirit is more persuasive than any words they could say. They can lead their spouses to faith by their good conduct. Part of that conduct would involve the way they dress, as well as their chaste behavior.
As the writers referred to above, most Evangelicals read these verses and conclude that these husbands are unbelievers. We are all familiar with adages and idiomatic phrases that express this view. They would include: “A person’s actions speak louder than words,” or “I can’t hear what you’re saying because your actions are speaking too loudly.” Peter tells these women that if they want to see their husbands believe in Jesus for eternal life, their godly actions will be better than any verbal sermon.4
This view of 1 Pet 3:1-6 might even be expressed in Norman Rockwell’s Sunday Morning painting, which depicts a woman on her way to church with her three children. She is dressed modestly in her Sunday clothes as she heads toward the door of their home. Her husband is not attending church and sits in a chair in his pajamas, smoking a cigarette and reading the sports page. She does not say a word to him.5
Is that a modern-day representation of the issue Peter is addressing? Those who argue this way put forth various arguments.
III. STRENGTHS OF THE MAJORITY VIEW
There are several arguments for the view that Peter is dealing with a situation in which a Christian woman is married to an unbelieving man. Peter tells her that preaching with actions instead of words has a greater chance of seeing him come to faith. While other arguments promote this view, I will deal with three that are considered the strongest.
The first is an obvious one. As mentioned above, it is the majority view of Evangelical scholars, many of whom are sound Bible teachers. That should make the view worthy of some consideration. It is sometimes daunting to go against the consensus.
Another strong argument for this position is Peter’s phrase in v 1. The goal of the woman’s activity is that her husband “may be won” by her conduct. This is a common phrase used in evangelizing unbelievers.6 We have all heard people say someone was “won to Christ” during a Bible study or church service. The phrase is synonymous with coming to faith or becoming a believer.
This passage may be used to justify the use of this phrase in evangelism. It has become part of the vernacular among Evangelicals. This argument has something in common with the first. We might be afraid to ask: Can a thousand Bible-believing evangelists be wrong in the jargon they use?
However, in my opinion, the strongest argument in favor of the traditional understanding of this passage is the phrase in v 1 that describes these husbands as those who “do not obey the word.” The phrase occurs in only one other place in the NT––just a few verses earlier in 1 Peter.
In 1 Pet 2:8, Peter describes unbelieving Israel. The nation as a whole rejected Jesus as the Christ. They were disobedient, in contrast to those who believed (2:7).7 Those who did not believe are those who were disobedient. Peter says that these non-believing Jews were “being disobedient to the word” (v 8). “Being disobedient” is a participle of the same verb used in 3:1 of husbands who “do not obey the word.”
Anybody defending the traditional understanding of 1 Pet 3:1-6 would point to this phrase. If the phrase refers to unbelieving Jews in 2:8, then it is logical to conclude that it relates to unbelieving husbands in 3:6. Both occur in the same book, by the same author, and in the same general context.
IV. RESPONDING TO THE ARGUMENTS
The first two arguments discussed above appeal to popularity, so in that sense, we can consider them together. Are we on shaky ground to go against strong Evangelical opinion? Can the majority be wrong?
If you have been exposed to Free Grace teaching, I hope you can answer these questions quickly and easily. Of course, the majority is often right. But sometimes, even conservative Evangelical scholarship gets things wrong. Even popular opinions must submit to the authority of the Scriptures. Our traditions have a way of becoming doctrine, whether our traditions are correct or not.
There are plenty of examples in the NT on which the Evangelical consensus has been wrong. These mistakes have resulted in oft-quoted phrases applied in ways that contradict the Scriptures. These would include “faith without works is dead” and “even the demons believe and tremble” (Jas 2:19-20). Evangelical scholars almost universally use these to teach that good works are necessary to enter the kingdom of God.8 This directly contradicts the Biblical teaching that works play no part in receiving eternal life. It is all by grace and is a gift (John 4:10; Rom 3:28; Eph 2:8-9).
The same problem exists with “Whoever calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” (Rom 10:13). Like “winning someone to Christ,” it has become jargon used in evangelizing unbelievers.9 But this also adds works to the message of life. The truth is that Rom 10:13 addresses believers, not unbelievers.10 In this case, the majority is wrong. This at least opens up the possibility that 1 Pet 3:1-6 addresses believing husbands and not unbelieving ones.
But what about the phrase “winning somebody to Christ,” as used in evangelism? Is that the way we should understand the verb in 1 Pet 3:1? Is Peter instructing women on the best strategy so their unbelieving husbands will come to faith?
The verb Peter uses for won occurs sixteen times in the NT. In my estimation, it never appears when presenting the gospel of eternal life. It never refers to an unbeliever coming to faith. I say, “in my estimation,” because some may argue that in 1 Cor 9:19-22, the verb does refer to winning the unbeliever to eternal life.11 But even if we grant that it is used in an evangelistic context in 1 Corinthians 9, it is not referring to unbelievers in approximately seventy percent of its uses.
Even in 1 Corinthians 9, there is a strong argument that the verb won is used about believers. This would support the view that it is also used that way in 1 Pet 3:1 and that the husbands are believers.
In 1 Cor 9:19, Paul says that even though he is free from all men, he has made himself a servant to all. The goal in becoming such a servant is that he might “win the more.” He explains that to the Jew, he had become a Jew. To those without the Law of Moses (Gentiles), he had become like them. To the weak, he became weak, for the same reason. He did this to win each group.
It is often assumed that Paul talks about evangelizing unbelievers in these verses. When he was around Jews, he acted like a Jew. When around Gentiles, he did not hold to neutral Jewish scruples about things like food. He acted this way to more easily gain an audience to whom he could preach the gospel of eternal life.12
But in 1 Corinthians 9, Paul talks about how he served believers, not unbelievers. He gave up certain rights to serve the church at Corinth more effectively. He did not get married. He did not ask the church to support him financially (vv 4-7). The weak refers not to unbelievers but to believers whose consciences are weak regarding certain activities. These activities include eating meat sacrificed to idols (1 Cor 8:9-10).13
Paul did such things so that he might “save” some (9:22). The word save does not refer to eternal life but to salvation from a wasted Christian life. Paul wanted the believers at Corinth to become servants, just as he was, to save them from loss at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Bob Wilkin has argued convincingly that the word saved in 1 Corinthians always has this meaning.14
If this is correct, the verb win never refers to winning an unbeliever to faith in Christ in the rest of the NT, so it probably does not mean that in 1 Peter 3:1. The husbands of these women may very well be believers who need to be won over so that they will be rewarded when they appear before Christ.
As mentioned above, the strongest argument for the traditional understanding of 1 Peter 3:1-6 is the phrase “do not obey the word.” Before addressing why that phrase does not refer to an unbeliever, I will make general observations about 1 Peter.
V. GENERAL OBSERVATIONS
It should be noted that 1 Peter is not a book on evangelism. This does not mean 1 Pet 3:1-6 does not deal with evangelism, but it should cause us to ask whether something else is in play. In 1 Peter, Peter writes to people who are already believers (1:3). The book’s purpose is found in the introduction. In 1:9, he tells them they can experience their souls’ salvation. This salvation does not refer to deliverance from the lake of fire but to an experience of abundant life now and glorious rewards in the world to come.15
The believing recipients of 1 Peter were going through difficulties because of their faith. In 1 Pet 1:6-9, Peter tells them that God uses these trials to produce in them the kind of character that will be rewarded at the Judgment Seat of Christ. Their faith is “more precious than gold.” Peter wants them to focus on the world to come and not the outward things of this world, such as the difficulties they are experiencing.
The mention of faith in 1:7 speaks to inner realities. The same is true of their minds in 1:13 and souls in 1:22. Peter also speaks, in v 22, of the Spirit working in them and their hearts.
Outward things such as gold will perish. They belong to this world. Readers who do not look to these things but to rewards in the world to come will save their souls and reign with Christ in His kingdom, which will last forever.
The mention of these outward things, in contrast to inner qualities, is found in 1 Pet 3:1-6. In both cases, the inner qualities are said to be more precious than gold. The believers, including the women in 1 Pet 3:1-6, should be concerned about what is most important.
Could the problem with the husbands in 1 Peter 3 be not that they were unbelievers but believers who did not understand what Peter was writing about in this book? If so, these men were not living for the world to come. They did not understand the importance of living a godly life amid trials. Their focus was on their difficulties.
There is another reason that the usual way of understanding 1 Pet 3:1-6 may not be correct. Can one preach the gospel of eternal life by faith alone in Christ without using words? If Peter tells these women how their husbands can be saved from the lake of fire and then tells them not to say anything to these men, there is a problem that Free Grace people are acutely aware of. We proclaim that a person cannot be saved from the lake of fire unless he believes in the promise of eternal life, which can never be lost, in Christ alone.
In other words, we teach that the unbeliever must believe in a proposition. That proposition is that Jesus gives eternal life that can never be lost. In John 4, the Lord tells the woman at the well that she needs to know who He is and what gift He has to give her. He tells her that the gift is eternal life, which, once obtained, can never be lost. He then tells her that He is the Christ who will give it to her.
How can a wife preach that message to her husband without using words? How can he believe in a proposition without being told what that proposition is? That makes no sense.
When I was an Army chaplain, a fellow chaplain had a poster on his office door. It had a quote that many say came from St. Francis of Assisi: “Preach the gospel at all times. Use words if necessary.”
I heard many people say that they loved that quote. I hated it. It should be noted that this chaplain was a Unitarian Universalist. His denomination believes that everyone will go to heaven when they die. He told us that we should all just do good and be kind to people. That is all the “gospel” we need. We don’t need to say words. We need to act.
I hated that quote because it is unbiblical to the core. We cannot preach the gospel of eternal life without using words. Paul says in Rom 10:14 that a person cannot believe if he has not heard the message. We are sent to proclaim a message verbally. The terms believing and hearing involve what the unbeliever needs to do when we evangelize them.16
There is another reason we should question the view that Peter is telling women to preach the good news of eternal life to unbelieving husbands without saying a word. How would one do that through the means Peter describes? Is Peter saying that these wives should wear their hair in a particular way and do good works so that their husbands can see those good works and be saved from the lake of fire?
This understanding preaches a gospel of eternal life by good works. It says an unbelieving man can be saved by observing such works. If I, as an unbeliever, can look at someone doing works and think that is the way to avoid an eternal lake of fire, I would conclude that I must live that way to be saved.
At the very least, such a view of 1 Pet 3:1-6 would promote a Lordship Salvation gospel. An unbeliever, observing his wife’s good works, would conclude that he needed to clean up his life before he could believe. Only in that way would God allow him into the kingdom. The unbelieving husband would think he had to become like his godly wife. This adds work to the free offer of eternal life as a gift. That is a denial of the Biblical gospel. It is a denial of grace (Rom 11:6).17
The strongest reason to reject the traditional view of 1 Pet 3:1-6 is Peter’s example in v 6. Peter refers to Sarah and Abraham and uses Sarah as a person the women to whom Peter is writing should emulate. It would be strange if Peter wrote these words to women married to unbelievers.
Sarah’s husband, as Peter mentions, was Abraham. All would agree that Abraham was a believer. If Peter discusses how a believing woman should interact with an unbelieving husband, he picked a couple that did not meet that criterion. At face value, he seems to be citing a marriage in which both spouses are believers, as was the case with Sarah and Abraham.
Finally, the verse immediately following 1 Pet 3:1-6 argues that Peter is talking about believing wives married to husbands who are also believers. In v 7, he addresses husbands with the word likewise. The word has the basic meaning of “in a similar way.”18 Peter addresses a situation in which these men are married to believing women.19 These women are called “heirs together of the grace of life.”20 It would be odd if he spoke in vv 1-6 of a marriage in which a spouse is an unbeliever, then said, “in a similar way,” and discussed a marriage between two believing spouses.
In addition, Peter speaks of “your prayers” in 3:7. The word your is in the plural. This is most naturally understood as referring to the husband and wife praying together, which would indicate both are believers.
VI. A PROPOSAL
As I have already suggested, seeing the husbands in 1 Pet 3:1-6 as believers is much better. The wives do not want to win them to Christ in the sense of seeing them eternally saved. These men already have eternal life.
Instead, these men are not obedient to the teachings of Christ. Specifically, they are disobedient to the things about which Peter writes. They are not being the spiritual leaders in their homes. They are not a godly example for their children. They are not living for the world to come.
These wives want their husbands to live godly lives now so that they will be healthy at the Judgment Seat of Christ. What should these women do to get their disobedient husbands to see the importance of this?
Is this what Peter means in 1 Peter 2 and 3 when he refers to those who are disobedient?
VII. DISOBEDIENT TO THE WORD
As mentioned earlier, the phrase “disobedient to the word” in 1 Pet 2:8 is the strongest argument for the husbands in 1 Pet 3:1-6 being unbelievers. In 2:8, Peter describes unbelievers with this phrase.
The phrase can describe either an unbeliever or a believer. Either can disobey what the Word of God says. The context, not the phrase itself, must determine the spiritual condition of the one who is disobedient.
In 2:8, Peter describes unbelieving Israel and says they are disobedient to the Word. He uses a phrase from Isaiah (Isa 8:14). In 2:6, Peter quotes from Isa 28:16. Interestingly, Paul uses the exact phrase in Rom 9:33.21 Paul also uses the Isaiah passage to refer to unbelieving Israel.
However, in Romans, Paul is not simply saying that the nation of Israel, as a whole, is in a state of unbelief. The nation is also living in disobedience. Being an unbeliever and disobeying God are not the same thing. As a result of their sinful activities, Israel is presently under the wrath of God. But the phrase “wrath of God” does not refer to the lake of fire.22 A believer can live disobediently and experience God’s wrath.23
In 1 Peter 2, Peter speaks of Christian living. He tells his readers to obey the Word of God and to grow in Christ (2:1-4). The readers are already children of God. Peter wants them to be obedient children. He specifically says so in 1:14. An obedient child lives in a holy manner (1:15-16). A disobedient child lives in an unholy way. A believer can be disobedient.
In 1 Pet 3:1-6, Peter addresses Christian wives who have believing husbands who are not obedient to God’s Word. Peter tells them how to deal with the situation.
VIII. FOLLOW SARAH’S EXAMPLE
There is some debate about what Peter means by using Sarah as an example. When was Sarah obedient to Abraham when he was disobedient to the Word of God?
Schreiner argues that Peter has in mind Gen 18:12, where Sarah refers to Abraham as lord.24 But in Genesis 18, Abraham is not disobedient to the Lord. In fact, Sarah is seen negatively as she laughs at the idea that she will become pregnant and have a son in her old age. Schreiner admits that Genesis 18 does not fit the context of 1 Peter 3.
It is better to see a reference to Genesis 12 and 20.25 In both chapters, Abraham tells Sarah to lie about being his wife. He is afraid he will be killed by powerful men who would want Sarah.
But God had told Abraham that he did not need to fear others. The Lord would bless those who blessed Abraham (Gen 12:3). God had also told Abraham that he would become a great nation (Gen 12:2; 15:4). He would have many descendants. Abraham feared that men would kill him before he had children. He was not obedient to the Lord when he was afraid and told Sarah to tell others she was his sister. Sarah is an example of one who submits to her husband’s authority when he is disobedient. He is a disobedient believer.
This view of Sarah and Abraham fits the context of 1 Peter 3. Peter does not want his readers focused on this world. Abraham was focused on such things. He was worried that his enemies would kill him. He did not believe God’s promises. The women Peter addresses in 1 Pet 3:1-6 had husbands like that.
IX. FIRST PETER 3:1-6 EXPLAINED
In 1 Pet 1:4, Peter tells the recipients of his letter that an incorruptible inheritance is available to them in the world to come. Believers who walk in obedience will receive that inheritance. The inner qualities developed by such a life are more precious than gold (1:7). These concepts also occur in 1 Pet 3:1-6, where Peter talks of the incorruptible inner spirit of a godly woman. She walks in obedience when she submits to the authority of her husband. This is also precious in the sight of God. Such a woman will receive the inheritance mentioned in 1:4.26 She looks for the world to come.
If 1 Pet 1:1-7 talks about believers and how they ought to live, it is logical to assume that the same concept is at play in 1 Pet 3:1-6. Peter is not telling believers how to evangelize in either passage.
In 1 Pet 1:3-7, Peter tells his readers how they should live amid trials. They are to concentrate on inner, spiritual qualities. In 1 Pet 3:1-6, women can model these qualities before their husbands. Sometimes, their husbands will not live that way, even though these men are believers. Many believers live for the things of this world.
A wife looking for rewards in Christ’s kingdom can demonstrate her outlook by how she lives. She can resist the worldly temptation to display status with the amount of gold in her hair or the price of her clothes. Such an example shows her husband where she expects to find true wealth.
Trials in this life are more easily managed when one looks for the coming kingdom. First, Peter speaks of trials that a faithful Christian will experience. For some believers, one trial comes when they are married to a spouse who does not live for the world to come, even though they are believers and will live in that kingdom. Peter gives a concrete example of the trial a believing woman might encounter.
If a believing wife desires to live for rewards in the world to come, it would be difficult to live with a believing husband who has no interest in such things. The wife can live in such a way as to demonstrate the wisdom of obedience to the Word of God. She can show that the things of this world are passing away.
There is a very practical reason that the wife should “preach” to her husband with actions rather than words. These believing husbands had Peter’s teachings. They knew what he taught. What would the preaching of a wife add that they had not already heard? Peter is telling these women to demonstrate these truths in their lives. Their husbands will see how their faithful wives walk through trials, including the trial of having a husband who does not take his responsibility as a spiritual leader in the home seriously.
Peter says that in such a situation, the adage “Actions speak louder than words” is true.
X. APPLICATION
Understanding that Peter is not talking about unbelieving husbands in 1 Pet 3:1-6 is not just an academic exercise. Peter tells the wives in these verses not to use words. But if a woman is married to an unbeliever, she should use words. When she has the opportunity, she should tell her husband about the promise of eternal life by believing in Christ alone for it. She should tell him that Christ offers this life that can never be lost. When talking to unbelievers, we must use words. In the Gospel of John, the Lord certainly used words to tell the nation of Israel who He was and what He was offering them. He did so even though the majority rejected what He had to say.
Even though Peter talks about a particular situation, it applies to all believers. It might be easy to read 1 Pet 3:1-6 and conclude that it does not apply to you. Maybe you are not married. Perhaps you are married to an unbeliever. Maybe your spouse is a believer who is also obedient to the Word and living for the world to come.
But if you are walking in obedience and doing the things Peter instructs in 1 Peter, you will meet other believers who are not. Many believers do not live for the world to come and focus instead on what this world has to offer. You will meet them in your church.
How should you treat such a believer? If they have never been taught the truths from books like 1 Peter, you can teach them. You will have to use words!
But you can also do what Peter says in these verses. You can become an example to others. You can show through your own life the wisdom of living for the world to come. Hopefully, others will be able to see in you the development of the inner qualities of which Peter speaks. This can be a powerful motivation for other believers to follow your example. If you can live that way, your life also shows that they can. What a great way to be a servant to other believers (Mark 10:45). Show them how to live!
Though the focus of this article has been 1 Pet 3:1-6, in closing, I would turn our attention to the book of Hebrews. Undoubtedly, the believers discussed in Hebrews 11, the “Faith Hall of Fame,” spoke to others about rewards in the world to come. But the emphasis in the chapter is on their actions. They became models for us to follow. We can look at their actions and hear the sermon they “preached” with their lives. We can also be that kind of witness for other believers (Heb 12:1).
1 Thomas R. Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman, 2003), 154.
2 Ibid.; Roger M. Raymer, “1 Peter,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 848; John Peter Lange et al., A Commentary on the Holy Scriptures: 1 Peter (Bellingham, WA: Logos Bible Software, 2008), 52; Gary Derickson, “The First Epistle of Peter,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 1157.
3 Warren W. Wiersbe, The Bible Exposition Commentary, vol. 1 (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1996), 591. See 1 Cor 7:12.
4 Derickson, “Peter,” 1157.
5 See https://fineartamerica.com/featured/sunday-morning-norman-rockwell.html? Accessed Dec 18, 2024. If Rockwell has 1 Pet 3:1-6 in mind, it is clear that he is adding humor to his interpretation. The woman in the painting does not say a word to her husband, but one gets the distinct impression that she had plenty to say to him an hour earlier.
6 Edmund P. Clowney, The Message of 1 Peter: The Way of the Cross, “The Bible Speaks Today” (Leicester, England; Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1988), 117. Clowney uses the phrase this way when he refers to “winning others to the saving gospel.”
7 David Walls and Max Anders, I & II Peter, I, II & III John, Jude, Holman New Testament Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1999), 30. Walls and Anders say that those who are disobedient to the word are those who “refuse to believe.”
8 J. Ronald Blue, “James,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 826; Kurt A. Richardson, James, The New American Commentary (Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1997), 133.
9 Robert H. Mounce, Romans, The New American Commentary (Nashville, TN: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995), 210. Mounce quotes Calvin for support.
10 René A. López, “The Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Romans,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 678.
11 David K. Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” in The Bible Knowledge Commentary: An Exposition of the Scriptures, eds. J. F. Walvoord and R. B. Zuck (Wheaton, IL: Victor Books, 1985), 524. Five of the sixteen uses of the verb in the NT occur in these verses.
12 Dwight L. Hunt, “The First Epistle of Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians,” in The Grace New Testament Commentary, ed. Robert N. Wilkin (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2010), 740.
13 Lowery, “1 Corinthians,” 525. Lowery takes the position that vv 20-21 refer to unbelievers and that the “weak” refers to believers. Weak believers need to be “won.”
14 Wilkin refers to this salvation as being “healthy” at the Judgment Seat. All believers will be in the kingdom of God. Those who are “healthy” will receive rewards in that kingdom.
15 Zane C. Hodges, First Peter: The Salvation of the Soul (Denton, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2017), 23.
16 Zane C. Hodges, Romans: Deliverance from Wrath (Corinth, TX: Grace Evangelical Society, 2013), 307. Calling upon the Lord is something the person does after hearing and believing the message of life.
17 Ibid., 324.
18 BDAG, s.v. homoíōsis, 708.
19 Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, 161. Schreiner believes the husbands in vv 1-6 are unbelievers. The word likewise in v 7, in his view, simply means that Peter is addressing a different group and loses its main emphasis.
20 Raymer, “1 Peter,”, 849. Raymer believes that the husbands in 3:1-6 are unbelievers and recognizes the problem with v 7. He says that the wives in v 7 are also unbelievers who are offered the gift of eternal life. The unbelieving wife only shares physical life with her Christian husband. While this consistently sees marriages in which one spouse is a believer and the other is not in vv 1-7, it is difficult to see why Peter would refer to an unbeliever as an heir of the grace of life.
21 Some see Rom 9:33 as combining these two verses from Isaiah. Hodges, however, argues that Rom 9:33 only quotes from Isa 28:16. See, Hodges, Romans, 287 and Gleason Archer and Gregory Chirichigno, Old Testament Quotations in the New Testament (Chicago, IL: Moody, 1983), 97.
22 Hodges, Romans, 277.
23 Ibid., 142. To avoid God’s wrath, Hodges says the believer must have the correct “lifestyle.”
24 Schreiner, 1, 2 Peter, Jude, 157.
25 Derickson, “First Peter,” 1157.
26 The idea that believing women are “heirs” together with their believing husbands in 3:7 also connects this passage with the inheritance in 1:4. It is available to all believers, even though not all will receive it. Ibid., 1158.
