Believing Wife -- Unbelieving Husband

Every culture has its own 'household code', rules, either written or unwritten but understood, which govern the relationships of life. In the Greco-Roman culture of the first century, women were expected to live under the total power of their husbands. They were expected not to have friends of their own nor to worship a God different from their husbands. Roman society was built on the premise that the family that worships together not only stays together but holds society together. So, what happens when a wife trust Christ as Savior and becomes a part of a new community of believers? She is now under a new 'household code'. What happens when two cultures collide? Peter addresses wives who are married to unbelieving husbands and gives them counsel on how to maximize their witness for Christ to their unbelieving spouse. This sermon lays out Peter's instructions about living with a non-abusive, non-Christian husband. The sermons ends with dealing with the question of whether a believing wife should stay with an abusive, non-Christian husband. Some have used Peter's instructions to counsel women in abusive situations to stay in the marriage, suffer for Christ, but is that necessarily what Peter is saying?