THE FIRST EPISTLE of Peter says that there are circumstances in which Christian witness may be given even without words, simply by Christian conduct. 1 Peter 2:12, already quoted, says that malicious slander may be turned into an admission of God's glory because of the witness of good conduct. And in 3:1, the Christian women are told that even if pagan husbands do not listen to what is said, they may yet be won over to Christianity when they see the reverent and pure conduct of their wives. But the fact that this is possible is no excuse for not speaking up. The same epistle, as we saw earlier, bids Christians to be always ready to give an explanation of their hope (1 Pet. 3:15). And one of the most striking things in the Acts is its account of the witness of words. Indeed, this, above all, is where the reader may discover the secret of how the Christian Church came into existence: it is the church explaining itself.

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