1 Peter 3:1 says, Likewise, ye wives, be in subjection to your own husbands; that, if any obey not the word, they also may without the word be won by the conversation of the wives;  This is basically a call for a wife to live in such a way that she will lead her husband to Christ if He is not a believer, assuming that she is.  If both are believers, and are both obedient to Christ, then they will have no problem in their relationship to each other.  It is not about a power struggle, but about living to bring honor to God.   Verse two states, While they behold your chaste conversation coupled with fear.  This does not mean that the wife is to speak nicely out of fear of her husband, but that she is to speak guided by her respect for God.  Verse three declares, Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel;  This tells us that a woman should not be concerned only with outward beauty or looks.  I don't believe it means that a woman should not do these things, but means that they should not be a priority.  Verse four adds, But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price.  Like any believer in Christ, the wife is to be ruled by her inner being, that personal relationship with Him.  No wife or husband should be controlled by outward appearances, but by the inner relationship with Christ.  Verse five says, For after this manner in the old time the holy women also, who trusted in God, adorned themselves, being in subjection unto their own husbands:  The women of the Old Testament adorned themselves in obedience to God if they believed in Him.  If God is truly in charge of a marriage, then there will be no arguments about who is in charge, because God will direct both husband and wife.  Verse six says, Even as Sara obeyed Abraham, calling him lord: whose daughters ye are, as long as ye do well, and are not afraid with any amazement.  Peter says that as Sara obeyed Abraham, Godly women today should follow her example.  Verse seven declares, Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.  The husband is to honor his wife, and not to just act as a dictator over her.  As long as a husband is led by the Holy Spirit, he will always do what is best for his wife.  We too often make marriage to be between a man and a woman and leave God out of it.  In a true marriage, God will always be the One in charge.  Verse eight says, Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:  As followers of Christ, we are to all have our minds centered on doing God's will.  When we do, we will naturally have compassion for one another, love one another, and be courteous to each other.  Verse nine states, Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.  We are not to meet evil with evil if we are to follow Christ's example, but we are to bless, or pray for, those who treat us badly.  We are not to speak badly about others, even if they speak badly about us.  Verse ten declares, For he that will love life, and see good days, let him refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips that they speak no guile:  If we love the life that God gives us through our faith in Christ, we will control our tongue, or what we say about others, no matter what format we use to say it.  Verse eleven proclaims, Let him eschew evil, and do good; let him seek peace, and ensue it.  I believe this tells us that morality does indeed count.  God expects His people to live bringing honor to Him in all that they do.

1Peter 2:13 says, Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord’s sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme;  We are to obey the law, so that God will be glorified.  I believe that there is the exclusion that if the law requires us to dishonor God that we are not to obey it, but any law that simply has to do with worldly matters should be obeyed.  Verse fourteen continues,  Or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evildoers, and for the praise of them that do well.  Most laws are made to punish evildoers and to help those who follow those laws.  Verse fifteen adds, For so is the will of God, that with well doing ye may put to silence the ignorance of foolish men:  God expects us to obey the law, so that we can silence the ignorance of foolish people.  If we, as followers of Christ, begin to claim that we are above the law, then the lost of the world can speak out against God and us.  Verse sixteen states, As free, and not using your liberty for a cloke of maliciousness, but as the servants of God.  Though we are set free from the power of the world through our faith in Christ, we are not to use this freedom maliciously.  We must always remember that we are servants of God, and are to live to bring honor to Him.  Verse seventeen says, Honour all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honour the king.  We are to live in such a way that we honor others and show God's love to them.  Verse eighteen declares,  Servants, be subject to your masters with all fear; not only to the good and gentle, but also to the froward.  We may not be servants with masters, but we are often employees with employers, and this tells us that we are to follow their orders, even when they may not treat us right.  Verse nineteen states, For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God endure grief, suffering wrongfully.  If we follow God and suffer for it, this is worthy of thanks.  Verse twenty adds, For what glory is it, if, when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently? but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently, this is acceptable with God.  Peter says that if we suffer for our own faults, then there is no glory in this.  We simply get what we deserve.  On the other hand, if we suffer for our faith, then God is glorified.  Verse twenty-one continues, For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:  We are simply following the example set by Christ when we suffer for our faith.  Verse twenty-two adds, Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:  Of course, unlike us, Christ suffered for our sins and not His own.  Therefore, as followers of Christ, we should be willing to suffer for our faith in Him.  Verse twenty-three continues, Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously:  Though He suffered unjustly, Christ did not treat those who abused Him the same way.  At any point, He could have destroyed all those who were around Him mistreating Him, but He acted out of love for them.  We must do the same.  Verse twenty-four concludes, Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.  Christ died for the sins of everyone for all time so that everyone could be restored to God.  Yet, many, many people refuse to accept this forgiveness.  Those who do refuse to accept Christ go to hell even though He had brought them redemption on the cross.  God does not send anyone to hell, but He allows them to go if they so choose.  Verse twenty-five declares, For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.  Every person is guilty of straying away from God, but through Christ and His sacrifice on the cross, we are returned to God if we accept the call of Christ.  We do not really find Christ, but we respond to His call for us to come unto Him.  Christ is the Good Shepherd Who seeks His lost sheep and returns them to His fold.

1 Peter 2:1 says, Wherefore laying aside all malice, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings,  This is what God expects from His followers.  We are to lay aside many of the attitudes that exist in too many people.  We are not to look at others thinking of how we can use them to benefit ourselves or envying what they have.  Also, we are not to speak badly about them.  If we profess to follow God and do these things, we are but a hypocrite.  Verse two adds, As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby:  When we become a follower of Christ, or are born again, we are like a newborn baby that needs milk to grow, and our milk is the word of God.  We need to feed on it daily as we grow in our relationship with God.  Verse three continues, If so be ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious.  I believe that this means that we will do these things if we have accepted the grace of God shown to us through our accepting His gift of salvation.  Until we do this, none of this will be possible.  Verse four declares, To whom coming, as unto a living stone, disallowed indeed of men, but chosen of God, and precious,  This refers to the coming of Christ as the Savior of the world.  He was rejected by mankind, but He is chosen by God as the precious cornerstone of salvation.  Verse five adds, Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God by Jesus Christ.  We are to be as spiritual stones ourselves, a holy house and a holy priesthood, or one set aside for God.  This is the only way that we can offer spiritual sacrifices that are acceptable to God.  We must do so through accepting Jesus Christ as our Savior and Lord.  Verse six continues, Wherefore also it is contained in the scripture, Behold, I lay in Sion a chief corner stone, elect, precious: and he that believeth on him shall not be confounded.  The coming of Christ was not a sudden new idea for salvation, but was predicted throughout the scriptures.  God knew what was going to be necessary for the redemption of mankind even before Creation.  This does not mean that God created us to fail, but that when He gave us free will, He knew we could fail and would need a Redeemer to restore us to Him.  Verse seven says, Unto you therefore which believe he is precious: but unto them which be disobedient, the stone which the builders disallowed, the same is made the head of the corner,  it is the choice of each individual how Christ is viewed.  To those who believe in Him, He is the precious cornerstone of our faith.  Even though Jesus was rejected by almost everyone when He came to earth and by most since, He is still the only cornerstone on which faith can be based.  Verse eight adds, And a stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence, even to them which stumble at the word, being disobedient: whereunto also they were appointed.  Many people stumble over the fact that Christ is the only way to salvation.  Many people today proclaim that Jesus is but one way to salvation, if He is a way at all.  Others claim that being born again is not a requirement for salvation, but we must declare that being born again through faith in Christ is the only way to salvation.  Otherwise, Christ becomes a stumbling block.  Verse nine continues, But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  We do not need a priest because as followers of Christ we are priests.  Because as Christians we are a royal priesthood, a holy nation, and a peculiar people, we are to praise God for His marvelous Light, which is Jesus Christ.  Verse ten states, Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.  Though this does apply to the Jews, I believe that it applies to the Gentiles as well, who until the coming of Christ were not considered a part of God's people.  Of course, it really applies to anyone who accepts God's mercy that Christ brings to anyone who accepts Him.  Verse eleven adds, Dearly beloved, I beseech you as strangers and pilgrims, abstain from fleshly lusts, which war against the soul;  Peter begs that those who are strangers to the God to accept Christ and become pilgrims in life and abstain from the lusts of the flesh.  This is still very good advice to anyone today who is seeking to please God and follow His path.  Verse twelve continues, Having your conversation honest among the Gentiles: that, whereas they speak against you as evildoers, they may by your good works, which they shall behold, glorify God in the day of visitation.  Though this was spoken to the Jews, I believe that we can say that it applies to Christians today.  We are to speak to and about the lost in a way that brings honor to God.  I don't believe that speaking to or about the lost with anger or disgust will ever bring honor to God.  We are to reach out with God's love and mercy, because we are but sinners saved by grace.

1 Peter 1:13 says,  Wherefore gird up the loins of your mind, be sober, and hope to the end for the grace that is to be brought unto you at the revelation of Jesus Christ;  We are to wrap our minds in the hope of the grace of Jesus Christ, Who will be with us forever.  Our thoughts are to always be directed by the Holy Spirit.  Verse fourteen states, As obedient children, not fashioning yourselves according to the former lusts in your ignorance:  Our thoughts, directed by the Holy Spirit, are to lead us to be obedient children of God.  We are to no longer be led by the lusts of our ignorance as we were before we became followers of Christ.  Verse fifteen adds, But as he which hath called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation;  Holy does not mean self righteous or sanctimonious, but set apart from the world under the guidance of God.  We are to honor God in all that we say and do.  Verse sixteen concludes, Because it is written, Be ye holy; for I am holy.  We can never be holy by our own strength and understanding, but can only be so by the grace and power of God.  We never have a reason to boast of our own goodness, but only of the goodness of God.  Verse seventeen proclaims, And if ye call on the Father, who without respect of persons  according to every man’s work, pass the time of your sojourning here in fear:  When we call on the heavenly Father, if we have accepted Christ as Savior and Lord, He will hear us no matter who we are in the eyes of the world.  Of course, God will hear anyone who calls to Him by faith for salvation through Christ.  God does not forgive some and not others.  This should give us an awesome respect for God.  Verse eighteen states, Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers;  Salvation is not made available by the things we consider valuable in the world, such as silver and gold.  We cannot buy salvation with corruptable things, but can only claim it as a free gift from God.  Verse nineteen adds, But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:  The only way to salvation is through the blood of Christ, the sacrifice without blemish.  This does not say that faith in Christ is a way to salvation, but that it is the only way to salvation.  Verse twenty continues, Who verily was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you,  Christ was the only way to salvation even before Creation.  He was not an afterthought.  Because God gives people free will He always knew that they could rebel against Him.  Still, God loves us enough to make a way of salvation available, even at a great cost to Himself.  Verse twenty-one concludes, Who by him do believe in God, that raised him up from the dead, and gave him glory; that your faith and hope might be in God.  We must put our faith in Christ, believing that He died for our sins.  We must give Christ the glory, so that our faith and hope will be in God.  Verse twenty-two states, Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently:  When we accept Christ as our Savior and Lord, our souls are purified.  Then, we are to have a love for our fellow believers that is real and not faked.  We are too truly have their best interests at heart.  Verse twenty-three declares, Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God, which liveth and abideth for ever.  This is not an option.  If we are to be saved, we must be born again by faith in Christ.  To say we are Christians but not born again makes a liar either of God or of us.  Verse twenty-four proclaims, For all flesh is as grass, and all the glory of man as the flower of grass. The grass withereth, and the flower thereof falleth away:  Our physical bodies are as temporary as the grass or the flowers.  Verse twenty-five concludes, But the word of the Lord endureth for ever. And this is the word which by the gospel is preached unto you.  Only the word of God lasts forever, and it is by the word of God that the gospel is preached to us.  We can add nothing to the gospel, nor can we take anything away from it.  We can simply accept it by faith, or reject it altogether.

1 Peter 1:1 says, Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the strangers scattered throughout Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia,  First, Peter identifies himself as an apostle of Christ, then he identifies those he is writing to.  We should always identify ourselves as Christians, or followers of Christ.  We should also know who we are talking to, whether they are fellow believers or not.  We do not have to share the gospel with someone who already accepts it,but we can still share the results of living by faith.  Of course, we need to share the gospel with the lost.  Verse two states, Elect according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ: Grace unto you, and peace, be multiplied.  This pretty much lays out the gospel.  God knew before creation that there would need to be a way to salvation, and He sanctifies it through the work of the Holy Spirit once we accept the sacrifice of Christ on the cross.  Verse three proclaims, Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,  We, like Peter, should praise God for His abundant mercy for allowing us to be born again through our faith in Christ.  We should have a lively hope.  We do not have to question our everlasting relationship with God once we accept Jesus as our Savior and Lord.  Verse four adds,  To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,  The promise of our everlasting relationship with God cannot be stated more clearly.  It is incorruptible, undefiled, and will never fade away.  Salvation is ours forever, and we will fully enjoy it in heaven.  Verse five concludes, Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.  The reason we can be certain of our everlasting salvation is because once we accept Christ as our Savior, then God Himself keeps us as His by His power.  We never can earn or keep salvation by our own power, but it is a free gift of God, secured by our faith in Him.  Verse six declares, Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:  We are called on to rejoice in our salvation, even if we are suffering in this world.  Though we may have manifold temptations, we are to remain strong and rejoice in our faith.  Verse seven adds, That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:  Though our faith may be tried by fire, if we remain true to God it will only be purified.  We are to remain true to our faith in Christ until we die or He returns.  Verse eight continues, Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:  Though we, like those Peter was writing to, have not physically seen Jesus, we believe in Him as our Savior and Lord, if we have accepted Him by faith. Because of this, we should be filled with unspeakable joy.  Verse nine concludes, Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.  The end of faith in Christ will always be the salvation of our souls.  Anything beyond that is simply a bonus.  Verse ten says, Of which salvation the prophets have inquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you:  Salvation through Christ was not some new or secondary plan, but was in place from the time of creation.  The Old Testament prophets looked ahead to the coming of Christ.  They prophesied of the grace of God to come.  Verse eleven adds, Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.  These prophets testified even before His coming about the suffering that Christ would endure.  Then verse twelve concludes, Unto whom it was revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us they did minister the things, which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into.  The Old Testament prophets never saw the fulfillment of their prophecies, but all those who have come after Christ have.  The Old Testament pointed to the coming of Christ, and the New Testament points to His accomplishing salvation for all who accept Him and to His return.  We, as followers of Christ, are to hold firm to our faith and rejoice in our salvation through the power of the Holy Spirit.

Also, in Proverbs, we learn to listen to and obey our parents.  I believe this refers to parents who follow the teachings of God, but to the best of our ability we are to always love our parents, even if they are basically unloving towards us.  We love and treat them with respect because of who we are, if we are followers of Christ.  Of course, if we aren't, then we are not going to be guided by God's teachings anyway.  Another thing that we learn is God expects us to be honest in our relationship to others, whether they are in a position over us or below us.  We can never justify cheating the rich because they have so much and we have so little.  Neither can we justify doing as little as possible for those that we work for, but as followers of Christ, we are to work in such a way as to bring honor and glory to Him.  Neither can we justify cheating those who are below us, the poor and those who may work for us, just because we are in a position of power over them.  The book of Proverbs also calls on us to be good citizens.  As long as the government, or those in power, does not come between God and us, we are to obey the law.  We cannot follow God and cheat on our taxes, for example.  We can never glorify God by choosing to ignore the law, unless it affects our ability to follow God's law.  We also learn that material things do not determine whether or not we are following God.  We are not promised material blessings simply because we are followers of Christ.  As a matter of fact, the opposite may be more true.  Nor are people necessarily followers of Christ simply because they are poor.  To be a follower of Christ, we cannot allow material things to control us.  We are also warned against being controlled by sexual desires or alcohol, which often occur together.  Finally, we are to be diligent in our relationship to God and at work to advance His kingdom.  These are but a few of the things we can learn from Proverbs.  Next, we will look at the book of 1 Peter.

What have we learned from Proverbs?  The first thing that we can say is that true knowledge and understanding come only from God.  No matter how intelligent or educated we may be, if we deny God and His laws we are but a fool, which we know God defines as anyone who denies Him.  We will never find wisdom through gaining the material things of this world, and gaining them will not prove that we are wise.  Solomon, one of the richest and wisest men in the eyes of the world at that time attempted to find the meaning of life through every pleasure imaginable and declared them to all be vanities, or nothing.  He concluded that only knowledge of and obedience to God mattered, and so must we if we are to become God's children.  Though this may be stated more clearly in the book of Ecclesiastes, it is still expressed in Proverbs.  We next learned that God expects us to help the poor.  This is repeated so many times that we cannot see it as an optional thing.  Just as God has mercy on the poor, so must we.  I don't believe that God ever expects His people to live in luxury and ignore the poor.  If we acknowledge that everything we have belongs to God, then we have to acknowledge that the way we use what we have should be directed by God.  We cannot just look down on the poor with disdain, but must look at them with compassion guided by God's love.  Also, we learn that we are not to hate anyone, even those that may hate or wish to harm us.  Just as God loved us even when we hated or attempted to deny Him, we are to share with everyone the love of God.  If we hate them, we will be unwilling to do this.  We also learn that God expects those who are His followers to be productive and not to just sit idly by while someone else provides for their needs.  We should know that God always has a purpose for those who follow Him, no matter how rich or poor we may be and we should be busy accomplishing that purpose.