1 Peter 3 - Sometimes our actions as a Christians speak louder than our words, but our words definitely speak louder when backed by our actions.

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3 Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that, if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without words by the behavior of their wives, 2 when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. 3 Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry or fine clothes. 4 Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight. 5 For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own husbands, 6 like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.

It is important to connect "in the same way" from chapter 2 to what Peter is tellings wives in this chapter, in this case to submit to their husbands. The "same way" refers to Jesus submitting to the Father, even when he was suffering at the hands of those who hurled insults at him. Anytime the bible tells a believer to "submit" to anyone, we do so realizing that Jesus submitted to sinful human beings even though he was the Son of God. 

In this case as these godly women submitted to their husbands, if they were not believers, the husbands might be won over by their behavior. He encouraged them to focus more on their inward than outward beauty. I don't think he is saying that it is wrong for a woman to get their hair done or own nice jewelry, he is teaching them that their worth does not come from these things. 

It is their inner self. which radiates God's beauty, which will set them apart. This is a completely different way of looking at the word "submission". It is not about the degrading of a person, but about bringing out their very best.  It is at the essence of Philippians 2:5-8 where Paul says about Jesus,

"In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus: 6 Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; 7 rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. 8 And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death— even death on a cross!"

7 Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers.

Again Peter uses the words, "in the same way". Husbands are to be considerate of their wives and respect them as the "weaker" partner. What does this term "weak" mean? Again I don't think he is using the word "weak" in a pejorative sense. I think he is referring to weak in physical terms. Of course, we all know women who are incredibly strong physically so we have to be careful here and not generalize. 

"In this context weaker speaks of the woman’s relative physical weakness in comparison to men. Men aren’t necessarily stronger spiritually than women, but they are generally stronger physically. As Peter brought in the idea of the woman’s feminine nature with the words the wife, he continues in appreciating the feminine nature and how a husband should respond to it. - Guzik

All Christians

8 Finally, all of you should be of one mind. Sympathize with each other. Love each other as brothers and sisters. Be tenderhearted, and keep a humble attitude. 9 Don’t repay evil for evil. Don’t retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will grant you his blessing. 10 For the Scriptures say, “If you want to enjoy life and see many happy days, keep your tongue from speaking evil and your lips from telling lies. 11 Turn away from evil and do good. Search for peace, and work to maintain it. 12 The eyes of the Lord watch over those who do right, and his ears are open to their prayers. But the Lord turns his face against those who do evil.”

Peter concludes by reminding them the importance of unity in the body of Christ. The qualities he impresses upon them are the same qualities that we see Jesus exhibiting as a man. I like it when he says don't return an insult with an insult, but with a blessing. 

Can you imagine how a person might react when after they insult you, you bless them? Not only will you be the bigger person, but God will grant you a special blessing. Peter also exhorts them to be careful what they say and to turn from evil to do good. 

He says to, "Search for peace and work to maintain it." Sometimes it is hard to find peace in our world. We have to search for it and be a "person of peace". We need to be a person who fosters and keeps the peace rather than stirring up dissension and arguments. 

In becoming the person who does these things and exhibits this kind of character, Peter promises that the Lord will be watching over that person. His ears will be receptive to their prayers. What an awesome truth. As obey God in these things, God inclines toward us and hears our prayers. But for those who pursue a life of evil the opposite is true. 

Suffering for Doing Good

13 Now, who will want to harm you if you are eager to do good? 14 But even if you suffer for doing what is right, God will reward you for it. So don’t worry or be afraid of their threats. 15 Instead, you must worship Christ as Lord of your life. And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way. Keep your conscience clear. Then if people speak against you, they will be ashamed when they see what a good life you live because you belong to Christ. 17 Remember, it is better to suffer for doing good, if that is what God wants, than to suffer for doing wrong! 18 Christ suffered for our sins once for all time. He never sinned, but he died for sinners to bring you safely home to God. He suffered physical death, but he was raised to life in the Spirit.

Usually when we do good, we are not rewarded with evil, but there will be times good people suffer for doing good things. But God rewards those who remain true to Him, especially those who suffer for doing good. 

It is in this context where Peter utters words that I have repeated hundreds of times in my ministry.

"And if someone asks about your hope as a believer, always be ready to explain it. 16 But do this in a gentle and respectful way." 

The best evangelism happens in the midst of living out our life of faith. People might ask why we are not retaliating against those who are insulting us. This might the perfect time to share why you don't do this and also share about the hope you have in Jesus. You can share about what you used to be like. What it was like coming into a relationship with God through Jesus. And what life is like now. 

Sometimes our actions as a Christian speak louder than our words, but our words definitely speak louder when backed by our actions. 

Importantly, Peter says to do it in a gentle and respectful way. I have seen a lot of damage done in the name of Jesus when people, even with good intentions. try to "cram" the gospel down someone's throat. Jesus never did that. He invited people to follow him and experience the abundant life he came to give. Jesus attracted people through his very nature and love for others. What makes us think that we would need to do anything different as we seek to bring others to Him. 

19 So he went and preached to the spirits in prison— 20 those who disobeyed God long ago when God waited patiently while Noah was building his boat. Only eight people were saved from drowning in that terrible flood.[f] 21 And that water is a picture of baptism, which now saves you, not by removing dirt from your body, but as a response to God from[g] a clean conscience. It is effective because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 22 Now Christ has gone to heaven. He is seated in the place of honor next to God, and all the angels and authorities and powers accept his authority.

These verses can be difficult to intepret because this is the only place where it talks about Jesus preaching to spirits in prison. Those spirits being the people in Noah's time that did not listen to his warnings. Then he makes a reference to water baptism. 

We also don’t know exactly why Jesus preached to these imprisoned spirits. In all probability this was preaching (the proclamation of God’s message), but it was not evangelism (the proclamation of good news). Jesus preached a message of judgment and final condemnation in light of His finished work on the cross to these disobedient spirits. - Guzik

Peter drew a picture with his words here. Even as Noah’s salvation from the judgment of God was connected with water, so the Christian’s salvation is connected with water, the water of baptism.

The water of the flood washed away sin and wickedness and brought a new world with a fresh start before God. The water of baptism does the same thing, providing a passage from the old to the new.

Water does not save us but water God connected to God's Word and our faith in it does. Baptism does not save us but it is a visible sign of God's grace being poured out over us and cleansing us from our sin. As we have faith in Jesus and what he has done for us on the cross, our sins are forgiven. As Jesus rose from the dead after three days, so we too will be raised from the dead and be given new life!