For the Ladies.  (Everyone else can listen)

O-529

RR-829

 

Today as I talk with you about the Christian woman, I am not
going to go down the list of exceptional qualities of the God
-fearing wife given in the book of Proverbs. You might want to
peek at that on your own. 

Today, I want to start in the book of Genesis where we have the
beautiful story of the creation of mankind. How God stooped
down, and with his hands gathered clay and formed a man and
breathed into him the breath of life,  and then, after man was
able to recognize his loneliness, after he noticed that all the
animals had their two parts, male and female, and that he was
only half there, God put him to sleep and took part of his body
and formed the other part of man. And it is interesting that if
you look at the original language here what it describes is the
man or human, and the female of the man or human, much closer
than any it can be described in English. It describes
beautifully the equality of M/F.

The Bible goes to describe the fall, and how Satan, through the
women enticed the man to eat what he knew he shouldn't, and as 
result they were both lost their garden home. It was after this
happened that an was put in charge of the family. Before, they
had communed with Christ, and He had taught and directed them.
Now that personal contact was impossible, and the man was given
the duties of house-band.

We should take note that after the fall, mankind was no longer
living in the ideal circumstances that he had been before. Two
perfect beings would have automatically moved in the same 
direction, for the same purposes. But once sin entered the
picture, for two to be in unity one had to set the direction and
one was to follow. As long as the leader is following the ways
of God in Spirit of Christ, this is good and proper.

However, this was not to be. For the majority of the population
has, is, and will take the path of least resistance, and move
directly against the will of God. Thus you have historically,
that mankind has taken the initiative to be head of the
household and of the wife, but has not followed the direction of
God in assuming this responsibility. Before going any farther,
let me say that the man who claims his authority without
acknowledging the authority of Christ over him, is taking a
position never granted him by God.

And this opens up an area of problems for many Christian women,
for it seems that in our time, many women are more susceptible
to the workings of the Spirit of God, and often end up taking
the spiritual leadership of the family because of the abdication
of the husband and father in this area. We have record of this
in the Bible, where Moses had delayed doing God's will in
circumcising his children, and his wife took the initiative and
saved them all from destruction. 

But what does the Christian woman do when she is faced with an
unbelieving husband? How does she divide her loyalties? What are
her priorities? Should a Christian wife leave an unbelieving
husband, or as far as that goes, the other way around?

1 Cor 7:10  Now to the married I command, yet not I but the
Lord: A wife is not to depart from her husband.

11  But even if she does depart, let her remain unmarried or be
reconciled to her husband. And a husband is not to divorce his
wife.

12  But to the rest I, not the Lord, say: If any brother has a
wife who does not believe, and she is willing to live with him,
let him not divorce her.

13  And a woman who has a husband who does not believe, if he is
willing to live with her, let her not divorce him.

14  For the unbelieving husband is sanctified by the wife, and
the unbelieving wife is sanctified by the husband; otherwise
your children would be unclean, but now they are holy.

15  But if the unbeliever departs, let him depart; a brother or
a sister is not under bondage in such cases. But God has called
us to peace.

16  For how do you know, O wife, whether you will save your
husband? Or how do you know, O husband, whether you will save
your wife?

We should all remember that the main duty of every Christian is
to draw others to Christ. If you have a husband, or wife, who
seems to be pulling away from God, it is your duty to attempt to
win that person over to the side of the Savior. It is hard. It
is a discipline, but the spouse of a non-believer should be the
living example of patience and self control. Everything  within
your power should be done to draw that person to see Christ,
without yielding up one principle of truth. Be patient,
considerate, forbearing. Live your beliefs, don't talk them. Do
not stop loving that person. Use the love that you have for them
to bring you closer together, and if you are close to Christ,
then the closer your spouse becomes to YOU, the closer be will
be to God. The pattern is: Obey God, please your spouse whenever
you can.

But what of authority? The Christian always has their first
allegiance to God.  He does not require that a woman obey her
husband if he would have her go against the law of God. Even in
marriage the women is an individual. She has personally  been
bought with the blood of Christ and she does not belong to
herself or to her husband. 

1 Cor 6:20  For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify
God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.

One of the things that should be addressed is the relationship
of Paul to women.  Most will agree that Christ freed women, and
elevated them. But after reading some of the things that Paul
says, some feel that he hates women. Perhaps I can at this point
 take up for Paul just a little bit. Paul was living in a time
of change. The Christian church was revolutionary in its thought
about the individual. The Jewish worship, and virtually every
other religion, was a corporate religion. The blessings came to
the nation as a whole. Likewise the curses. In this corporate
identity, the status of woman was relegated to the back with the
Jews. However, with the pagan religions, the women often played
a large part at temple prostitutes and prophetesses.  So there
was a movement afoot similar to what we have saw in the
so-called gospel movement that believed that because of
salvation and the sacrifice on the cross, that works were no
longer important to the Christian. While in essence it is true
that we are not saved by our works it is also true that there
are works that we work to our own destruction and works that are
a result of our salvation.

When Paul stated that a woman should not be heard in church and
that she should keep her head covered he was not reacting
particularly to women, but rather to excesses which were the
result of fanatical fringes of the Christian community. Just as
he warned the Corinthians not to make the Lord's Supper a time
of gluttony that the church might not be shamed, so he warned
the women in that church be respectful and reserved so that it
couldn't be said that they worshipped like the Pagans, or like
the ones who were corrupting the truth. 

Evidently, women of these groups had declared themselves
liberated  and were causing a lot of commotion in the churches. 
Thus in this  regard we have Paul responding to a problem. As we
well know, when directions like this are given, it is almost
always in response to a problem, and not out of the clear blue
sky. 

That brings us to the text in Ephesians 5:22ff.

22  Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord.

23  For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head
of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.

24  Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let
the wives be to their own husbands in everything.

25  Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the
church and gave Himself for her,

26  that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of
water by the word,

27  that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not
having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be
holy and without blemish.

28  So husbands ought to love their own wives as their own
bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself.

29  For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and
cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church.

30  For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His
bones.

31  "For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and
be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh."

32  This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and
the church.

I believe that here Paul is trying to define among other things,
that the family should be in order, and this order is to reflect
the order in heaven.  Paul also recognized the importance of the
family cell, or group.  He then goes on correlate the human
relationship of marriage, to the divine relationship between
Christ and his church.  And while it is not explicitly stated,
it seems to be taken for granted that the submission is to the
husband who is part of the church, and, as such, is in obedience
to Christ just as much as the wife is expected to be in
obedience to the husband.  And this is precisely where the Devil
has had so much success, for rare is the husband that demands
allegiance who is submitting totally to God. If he were, the
wife could have no reason for complaint. However, the state of 
things being what they are most men have forfeited that place
given by God and have abused their position, giving raise to the
kind of feelings that we read of earlier. That is not an
endorsement of feminist policy, but an explanation of the reason
that it has become the issue that it is .

In dealing with the topic of the Christian woman, we cannot
neglect motherhood. This is a term that has fallen into disfavor
among many these days, and many who have called themselves by
this title have done nothing to deserve it. Contrary to what we
hear so much today I believe that motherhood is the most
important and uplifting work that woman can take on.

It also requires more skill, patience, energy, perseverance, and
time than any other. Perhaps that is why so many are defaulting
on their responsibility. Not only that, I believe that raising
Godly children is the most important work that any human being
can be involved in.

What the world needs more of now is mothers.  Not such only in
title, but who are mothers in function. I think that it is safe
to say that the distinctive duties of woman are more sacred,
more holy than those traditionally relegated to man, and women
should realize that they are engaged in a sacred work when they
take on the challenge of bringing up Christian children in a
pagan world. This is a challenge that includes molding the
character of her children that they might be fitted for a higher
immortal life. The mother is God's agent to Christianize her
family. This thought is interesting in the light of the feminist
assertions along with those of Engel and Marx that the family
structure as we have it must die and the state take over the
responsibility of raising the children. 

A mother is quite often the main agent in perpetuating the
values  of Christianity, and of a free society as a whole, and
the Devil knows this and has unleashed a withering attack that
is unprecedented against the family and mothers in particular. 
This work of influencing the child for the Lord takes many and
varied turns. First, it requires that the mother be close to the
Lord herself. The good that she will do will far surpass
anything that any preacher could do because of the sheer weight
of time that she spends with them. The word instructs us, God's
children, to instruct our children of his way and love here a
little and there a little, when we stand up and sit down. This
we do from the word. This a mother does by her actions and
attitudes. She has to remember that if the child sees her throw
a tantrum, the child will assume that is proper behavior. Satan
knows this and tries to reach those little ones by influencing
the mother.

Unfortunately, many mothers feel that they are doing an
unimportant and thankless work.  There are no engraved
cornerstones on a clean kitchen, or the legs of a growing child.
Often she will feel that she is in a round of drudgery that will
not stop, and that she has accomplished nothing. But this is not
true. This duty of the mother is so important that nothing
should be allowed to take its place. Not even being directly
connected with active religious work is more important than the
work of a mother, and the mother that ignores her duties as wife
and mother and asks for some great work to do instead is going
against what the Lord has desired. The mother should not even
accept positions the church which would compel her to neglect
the children .

A mother needs fixed principles. The devil is after her with
allurements just like he is the children and the father. And it
is so easy to get absorbed in them. How many moms do you  know,
or as far as that goes, who will not let any one interfere with
their special time each day... Not with the Lord, but with their
favorite soap opera. And I doubt that you can point out any of
these programs that consistently uphold the principles of good
and virtue that are so necessary to the Christian life.

I am going to continue meddling.  A mother and wife, or anyone
else, should keep themselves up.  An important part of this is
regular physical exercise.  Mothers should be health reformers,
not in the kooky sense of the word, but they should be
knowledgeable in the area of foods and diet, and through correct
diet should protect her family against disease and illness.

She should not run around the house looking like a scarecrow. I
do not believe that she needs to be dressed fit to kill all the
time, but if she keeps clean and neat, even if in worn clothes,
there will be an example set for the children, and the husband
will respect her more for it. This will influence the children
to be cleaner and neater themselves. By their example and
teaching, mothers should guide their children to be clean ,
neat, and tidy in their home and in their personal appearance.

Finally, the instruction given in the Word goes a long way in
helping solve the little and larger problems that wifehood and
motherhood are faced with.

The Lord requires submission in the Lord that the family might
run smoother. Submission not to any other male, but to your
husband in the Lord. Not denying your individuality, your
special talents or interests. Pulling together to bring your
family closer to God, and closer to each other.

The Lord requires that He be the first in your lives. Second,
that you work with your husband to bring up the children in the
ways of the Lord. That your Christian influence is such that
others want to know more of the Lord. That we should become on
in our families just as Jesus and his father are one. One in
love, purpose, desire, and concern. That our words might build
rather than destroy. That our influences might join rather than
divide.

I would not have you become discouraged at what has been
presented today.  Every task that God calls us to He also equips
us for.  His grace and mercy provide the strength and wisdom
that we need to carry on His sacred work.  There's  power in the
blood to help you.  It is available to all of God's Children.

Today, I want to invite the ladies who would like to dedicate or
rededicate themselves to the special calling that had been given
them to come forward for a special prayer of commitment.