1 Timothy 2:9

Desire, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. In like manner also, that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness, with good works. Let women learn in silence, with all submission, and I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, and then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing, if they continue in the faith, love, and holiness with self-control.

Father, we pray for Your wisdom. We pray for Your Spirit to guide us in all truth and to teach us all things. We pray this in Jesus' name, and all those agreed said, Amen. You can be seated.

I've had the privilege now for my entire adult life thus far to live and work in an environment and with co-workers who are seeking to live their lives in a way that is in line with the Scriptures. They're seeking to live their lives in a way that fulfills the teaching of the Scriptures. None of us do that perfectly. We all are aiming at that; we're all targeting that target, and we miss the mark certainly in trying to do that. But as much as we possibly can, we seek to live after the pattern of the Scriptures, and therefore we seek to live in such a way that we treat each other as equals, as the Scriptures declare that we, the brothers, guys and gals, treat each other as brothers and sisters.

We live and work here at the church, in the office, kind of in a little bit of a sheltered enclave because I realize the rest of the world is not as we have it here. And so I count it as a privilege. What we've seen in the news in the last month as it relates to workplace harassment...

Sexual harassment and mistreatment due to gender are issues that I have thankfully never had to work around. I am grateful for that. In fact, I do not have to hear people's explicit stories, nor do I have to put up with dirty jokes or foul language. It is a privilege to not be in that environment. It is not my world, and I am thankful that it is not my world. However, I am not naive; I realize that this is the experience of many people in the workplace environments they inhabit. What I have experienced as normal is not normal in our society, and I completely understand that.

What we have seen in the last month, particularly through the hashtag movement online, #MeToo, is a sad testimony to our culture. It is shameful for our culture when we see these things come out in the news. It reminds us that, although we live in a relatively equal society and have made significant strides over the last several decades in this area, we still have a long way to go in achieving equality and moving away from any form of mistreatment. We may be light years ahead of some cultures and societies, but I certainly do not want my daughters to ever feel the need to use the hashtag #MeToo. That is not the world I want my daughters to grow up in—absolutely not.

In saying that, as most of you know, my wife works in a secular environment, specifically in a corporate hospital. She attended a UC school and has experience in this field. She has shared stories with me about experiences that could certainly be classified as harassment. Such incidents occur regularly in many of these workplaces. Unfortunately, many times, what would be classified as harassment is often laughed at and shrugged off, with people saying, "Well, it's just the way it is."

As she has shared with me before, it is not just men against women; that is certainly not the case. These issues occur across the board, and it is a sad blight on our culture. It reveals the current state of our society, highlighting the inequality and inequity that exist. Sometimes, people simply put up with it, resigning themselves to the notion that this is just the way things are. It is a sad reaction for us to accept that this is just the way it is. Whether it is the things my wife has shared with me or the experiences of others, it is clear that we have much work to do.

People have shared with me, or the things that we've all read in the news or seen in the news in the last several weeks, when we see these kinds of things going on in our world, it causes two considerations to come to mind.

First is the realization that, just as the Bible says, we live in a broken world. We live in a world that is broken because of sin. A person who is a reader of Scripture, a student of the Bible, understands that. We see that very clearly beginning at Genesis chapter three. The entire world is under the curse and fall of sin, and we experience the brokenness of it.

But also, in light of that brokenness, there is a hope that we should have because the Bible declares there is coming a day when the King of righteousness rules and reigns in righteousness with true justice. We should all look forward to that. Amen. We have an optimistic vision of the future when the King of Kings and Lord of Lords comes and establishes His righteous rule. There will not be inequality, there will not be inequity, and there will not be indignities. That is what we have to look forward to.

Now, the difficult part in all this is that it just so happens that we find ourselves in the teaching schedule at this passage of Scripture at this time in our culture, with all this stuff that's been going on in the news. It makes going through this passage all the more difficult as I've been spending time studying through the section of Scripture that is before us.

We are right in the middle of this passage of Scripture that some people in our culture look to as the reason for mistreatment, inequities, and indignities. There is a vocal, albeit maybe a minority, group of people who look at this passage of Scripture and others like it in 1 Peter 3, Ephesians 5, and other places in the New Testament. They say this is the reason we have the kind of mistreatment that we see in our society today.

Of course, I would push back against that. I don't think that this is the reason we have such things in our world because, as you look at the world over, even in places where the Bible does not have influence and is not dominant, you still see mistreatment and indignities. So, the Bible's not to blame; I don't think that is the case.

As I shared a couple of weeks ago when we started to go through this passage, there are two things that we need to take into consideration when we approach a passage like this.

First, we need to take into consideration our assumptions. What are the assumptions that we bring to the Bible? Every single one of us has them, and I think those assumptions fall into four basic categories.

The first is to approach the Bible and a hard passage like this with the mindset that the Bible is good. Any disagreement that I would have with the Bible is based on a misunderstanding or maybe a misuse of this passage of Scripture. That's one way to approach it.

The second way to approach this passage of Scripture, or any passage, is to say the Bible is mostly good, but those who wrote these things down—holy men of God—were inspired by the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, they were also overly influenced by their own culture. We see the influence of their culture in some of the things they wrote, and therefore, we can throw some of these things out. That's a dangerous place to fall into, but we should know that many within what is called the Christian church today kind of fall into that category. They believe the Bible is mostly good, but there are some parts that we can push to the side.

The third assumption is to come to the Bible and say, "Well, listen, the Bible is just an example of an ancient understanding." So, it's mostly unhelpful and really not much use for us today.

Then there is the fourth view, which is to say that the Bible is wrong in its teachings and even dangerous in its teachings. We have progressed far beyond any need for the Bible, and so we just don't need it anymore. As I mentioned, there is a small, very vocal minority in our culture today that champions this position. One of the big names in that group is Richard Dawkins, an atheist. His position is that the Bible is so dangerous that if you're a parent and you teach the Bible to your child, you should be guilty of child abuse. That's his view on the Bible.

So, we all come to the Bible with certain assumptions. I'm sure you would recognize and assume that my assumption when I come to the Bible is that the Bible is good. Any disagreement I have with a passage of Scripture would be due to a misunderstanding or maybe a misuse of that passage. We come to the Scriptures wanting to understand what is being said here, and this is the message of a good God who has written this message for our good. That's my default when I come to the Scriptures, trying to understand these things.

However, when we do come to a passage like this, we have to honestly acknowledge that there...

There have been people throughout church history over the last 2,000 years who have used passages like this, or I should say they have misused passages like this, whether out of ignorance or malintent. They have used these passages in such a way for the purpose of continuing the mistreatment of certain segments and groups of people. There are people who have misused the Bible.

However, we should also look at the history of the last 2,000 years of the church objectively and say that predominantly, where the Bible has gone, it has brought freedom and liberty, setting free different categories of people, including different races, socioeconomic classes, and genders. We have seen the leveling of so much liberty because of the teaching of Scripture.

Since we see both a bad side and a good side, we conclude that it is not necessarily the Scriptures themselves that are at fault, but rather the people who misinterpret, misunderstand, or misapply some of the teachings of Scripture, either ignorantly or on purpose. This reveals an important point: nothing good can come from a bad heart. If a person has wrong motives and a heart that has not been transformed by the grace of Jesus Christ, they can take good Scriptures and twist them in a way that will not yield a good outcome.

This is why the work of the gospel in our lives is so important. Two thousand five hundred years ago, God, speaking through the prophet Ezekiel, said, "Behold, I will give you a new heart." That is what we need—a new heart. Jesus, through the gospel of grace, comes in and transforms us. This transformation begins on the inside and moves outward through our lives. His saving work begins by giving us a new heart, which starts to transform who we are.

In approaching a difficult passage like this, we need to first acknowledge our assumptions. What are our assumptions when we come to the passage? Secondly, we need to understand the context. What is the context of this passage? The context for this passage is found in chapter three, verses 14 and 15. Just turn one page to the right.

First Timothy, chapter three, verse 14, states, "These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly. But if I am delayed, I write to you so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of truth." These things are written so that we would know how to conduct ourselves in the church.

If you're a Christian today, if you're a follower of Jesus, this is written so that we would know how to live our lives as followers of Jesus in the context of the church when we gather together as the people of God.

What we have seen so far in the several weeks that we've been in First Timothy are teachings that instruct the church and the pastor of this church, Ephesus, a man named Timothy, on how he should set in order things in a church that was out of order. They were off course. Paul emphasizes that he wants Timothy to get them back on course so that they would live according to right conduct and teach sound doctrine.

In chapter one, we saw that the priority in the church should be teaching sound doctrine. Then, in chapter two, the opening verses highlight the priority of prayer. Two weeks ago, we examined verse eight of chapter two, which discusses the proper conduct for men in the church. The principle that emerges from verse eight is that Christian men in the church should exhibit a certain kind of conduct when they gather together.

However, this conduct should not be limited to their time in church; it should also be reflected in their behavior in the workplace, the marketplace, and at home. Wherever they are, if they live according to a certain godly conduct in the church, they should maintain that same godly conduct in the world. There should not be duplicity; we should not be hypocrites, as Paul is saying.

Now, Paul turns his attention to the women in this passage. He begins to speak about the proper conduct of women, specifically what is appropriate for women professing godliness, as stated in verse 10. This is a specific exhortation for women who profess to be Christians, declaring, "I am following Jesus." If that describes you today, then this message is for you, just as there was a message for men.

If you desire to be a woman of godly conduct, it is important to note that this message is not only for women but also for men. The second point is that we seek to please God more than ourselves or our society.

As Christians, if you're a follower of Jesus today, there's a transformation that takes place in you when God gives you a new heart. We seek to please God more than ourselves or our society. Before you were a Christian, your desire was to please yourself. However, when you become a Christian and God gives you a new heart, one of the things that comes with that new heart is new desires. Among those new desires is a desire to be pleasing to God.

If you've been following Jesus for any length of time, you know that the desire to please God is not always fulfilled. That's why Paul, in Romans seven, would say, "The good things I want to do, I don't do; the bad things I don't want to do, that I practice. Oh, wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" If you've been a Christian for ten months or more, you've likely had that experience. You have a desire to obey God, but you find yourself unable to do that without the Spirit of God helping you.

We have this desire to please God more than ourselves, but also more than our society. We live in a society that says your entire life is about making yourself happy. Have you noticed that? It is the cultural drumbeat of 21st-century American culture, especially here in Southern California: you live to make yourself happy. But the Christian, when God indwells your heart by faith, experiences a transformation. The Christian desires to please God more than ourselves or our society, or at least that should be our aim. The more we walk with Jesus, the more that will become our aim.

Paul is writing to that group. If you're a man or a woman seeking to follow God and professing godliness, look at what he says in verse eight: "I desire, therefore, that men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath or doubting." We considered that two weeks ago. You can find it on our website, lifeandconnection.com.

In like manner, verse nine continues, "Also that the women adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing, but which is proper for women professing godliness with good works." Notice that Paul begins this by saying, "in like manner." Men, you are to conduct yourselves as the people of God in the church of God in this way. Women, in like manner, you are to conduct yourselves as the people of God.

In the Church of God, Paul wrote to address specific issues he observed. Two thousand years ago, he visited the church in a city called Ephesus. When he arrived, he found that the church was not functioning as it should. Specifically, he noticed that the women, when they gathered together as the Church of God, were not exhibiting good godly conduct. They were not dressing in a manner that reflected moderation, modest apparel, or propriety.

It appeared that the women of the church in Ephesus were not conducting themselves in a way that honored God. Therefore, Paul expressed his exhortation and desire that women professing godliness, when they come together as the Church of God, should wear modest apparel and present themselves with propriety and moderation.

These three principles raise an important question: In 21st-century culture, is there any place that values modesty, propriety, or moderation? The way we present ourselves today does not reflect these values. This was also true in the culture Paul was addressing in first-century Ephesus.

Sometimes, we think we have progressed far beyond that time, viewing them as repressed and oppressed. However, first-century Ephesus was a very free society. If you believe that 21st-century Western culture is a free society, I encourage you to study the history and culture of Rome in the first century. In that culture, almost anything went.

Paul was writing to a society that was philosophically similar to ours. While we have made advancements in science, medicine, and technology—such as the iPhone 10—they shared a worldview that mirrors our own today. Unfortunately, we do not see any area in our culture that emphasizes the need for modesty, propriety, and moderation.

In fact, the prevailing mindset today is that the only thing considered out of bounds in 2017 Southern California is the act of saying something is out of bounds. This reflects where we currently stand: How dare anyone assume they can tell others how to live their lives?

That's what's out of bounds in our day. Everything else is free. As the song from the 90s says, I'm free to do what I want, any way that I want, any old thing, right? Free to do as I choose to get my booze. That's what the song says. It even has one of the lyrics that I looked up because it was stuck in my head all week long. One of the lyrics says, "I'm a new creation." Where does that come from? The Bible uses a verse from Second Corinthians, chapter five, verse 17, to say, "I'm a new creation." I can do whatever I want—no restrictions, no restrictions. This is what is given to our culture constantly.

I challenge you to go listen to the song from the hit movie Frozen a few years ago. That song that Elsa sings—what is it? Let It Go. Go listen to the lyrics. I was listening one day while my daughters were sitting in the back seat, singing, "Let it go." Then it says, "No one's going to hold me back. I'm going to do my thing." I'm like, wait a minute. My five-year-old is saying, "Yeah, do my thing. No one tell me what to do." Maybe I should rethink this song.

Our culture is 100% focused entirely on the external. But point number three on your outline: this passage teaches us that godly women are more concerned about inward beauty than outward. Godly women are more concerned about inward beauty than outward, or at least they should be, especially when we appear before God in His church.

Now, this is not to say that godly women are not at all concerned about outward beauty. Our God is concerned about beauty. Look at the creation He made. My wife and I just had the wonderful privilege of spending a week in Maui. You look at the creation; you look at the sunset. Our God is into aesthetics. He makes things beautiful. So, our God is interested in beauty, and He is not telling us that godly women cannot at all be interested in external beauty. Gals, listen, godliness does not equal ugliness.

Holiness does not equal homeliness. I say that because there have been certain Christian traditions that have claimed, "Listen, if you're going to be a godly woman, you can't in any way look pretty." That is not what Paul is preaching here; that is not what he is saying in this passage. I just want to say that I think my wife is a righteous babe, and I'm perfectly good with that. You know what? She reserves her babeness for me. If she were just off showing it to everybody else, I might be a little concerned, but she's a righteous babe, and she's totally embarrassed right now.

It is not to say that you cannot have any focus on external beauty. It is to say that you should spend as much, if not more, energy and time on inward beauty as you do on external beauty. If you're more concerned about applying makeup than applying God's Word, it will show. If you spend more time on your hairdo, your outfit, and all those things that focus on the outside than you do on time with God to transform your inward beauty, it is going to be apparent. It is going to be seen. Therefore, there should be a concern about inward beauty.

Now, the immediate objection to that statement and this passage is to say that Paul was speaking out of his own cultural repression. He was in the first-century Jewish world, which had repressed women and put them down. Some might argue that he was just coming with that cultural mindset, but listen, not so fast. Historians tell us that this is actually not the world of the first-century Ephesian context that Paul was speaking into during that day.

Understand that the first-century Ephesian world was a culture where women were highly exalted and revered. This was the culture out of which the legendary race of female warriors called the Amazon women came. The Amazon women were not just girls who could shop really well online; they were highly revered. The most dominant structure in the city of Ephesus was the temple to Diana, or Artemis, the Greek goddess of war. All the priests and overseers of the religious system were part of this pagan religious context.

The system in the city of Ephesus included priestesses. These were women who held a very high and prominent position in the culture of that day. To claim that it was a repressive culture for women is not accurate; it simply does not align with what historians tell us about that society.

So, what is Paul doing here? It is very clear. He is addressing a culture that had thrown off all restraint, exhibiting zero moderation and no propriety. In a society where there was no emphasis on inward beauty, particularly in relation to the temple of Artemis, Paul speaks to the church, emphasizing that there should be a difference among the people of God. He had expressed this idea about ten years earlier when he wrote to the church at Ephesus in Ephesians chapter four. He states, "I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles."

Paul is telling the church that their conduct should differ from that of the rest of the world, applicable to both men and women. The cultural norms for men in Ephesus are not the standards for God's people. Similarly, the cultural norms for women in that society do not apply to the people of God in the church. If you are part of the church, he would say, as he did to the Corinthians, "Come out from among them and be separate; be set apart."

He reminds them, "For you were once darkness, but now you are light. Walk as children of light" (Ephesians 5:8). Therefore, he instructs women to adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation. This was not the cultural norm in Ephesus during the first century. Paul asserts that it should be different for those in the church. Godly women should prioritize inward beauty over outward appearance.

Paul writes that adornment should not consist of braided hair, gold, pearls, or costly clothing, but rather what is proper for women professing godliness: good works. He emphasizes that a woman's adornment should not be purely external—gold, silver, or pearls—but should focus on good works as the primary adornment that beautifies. There is a certain decorum for both men and women following God, and even though we live in a culture where this is not the norm, he insists that it should be especially evident in the church.

When you gather together as the people of God and the church of God, there's a certain way that we carry ourselves. There's a certain way that we come before God and before one another.

About five years ago, I was asked to do a wedding for a friend of mine, and it was going to be in Ireland. The groom flew my wife and me to Ireland, and we stayed at this beautiful castle called Ashford Castle in Western Ireland. One of the nights we were there, the bride and the groom said, "Hey, let's get dinner together." So we went to this beautiful restaurant in the castle. We arrived at the door and were standing at the little booth, getting ready to be seated, when the host pulled the groom and me aside. He said, "Excuse me, gentlemen, where is your dinner jacket?"

"What?" I replied. "You cannot come in without your dinner jacket." We explained that we didn't have one. The host then said, "Okay, well, we will lend you one." They took us into a little room, gave us blazers, and we put them on. The most awesome part about this whole experience was that we walked through the restaurant with our dinner jackets on, walked about 30 feet to the table, and then the hostess helped us take off the jackets, fold them, and put them on the back of the chairs.

What was the point of that? You can't come in here without the dinner jacket. There's a certain dress code required for this place. Now, I get it. We live in San Diego, California, at Cross Connection Church. I sometimes wear shorts and sandals. This specifically deals with our motivations and what we seek to accomplish in the way that we look. Are we seeking to direct attention to God or to ourselves? That's the gut check here.

When we, the people of God, gather before God, we should understand that there is an adorning that is proper for women and for men who profess godliness. It is an adorning with good works.

Continuing on to verse 11, let’s kick it up a notch. Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. Bam! Right? A little Emeril Lagasse there. Kick it up a notch.

And that's the difficult verse. That's the verse that causes our culture to react, "What? Are you kidding me? This is really what you're going to study here?" Well, we have to break it down. What does he say? He says, "Let a woman learn." This is intriguing because you need to understand that Paul came out of a Jewish background, which included Jewish rabbinical teachings and the Babylonian Talmud.

This is during the time that the children of Israel were exiled in Babylon, about 2,500 years ago. This is when the Jewish people began to gather together on the Sabbath in what they called synagogues. They had never done that before. When they gathered together as the people of God in the synagogue for the reading of the law, the rabbis started to put together their comments on the law and to say, "This is how we are to do this."

The Babylonian Talmud stated that a Jewish woman could come to hear the reading of the law, but she could only listen; she could not learn. However, notice what Paul says here: "Let a woman learn." There is an equality that he is speaking of here that was not normal in the Jewish religion under the Babylonian Talmud.

Point number four on your outline: Godly women are learners of God's word and ways alongside men. In the church of God, godly women are learners of God's word and ways with men. And that doesn't cause any problem, does it? No, that's a good thing. Many, if not most of you women here, gather with us and learn the Scriptures and the ways of God as it should be.

But he goes on to say, "Let a woman learn in silence with all submission." There you have it: the two S words that our culture absolutely hates. However, when we, the people of God, come before the word of God as learners—both men and women—one of the things we learn as we study through the Scriptures is that our God is the Creator. Our God, the Creator who made all things as they are, created a created order. He ordered things in a way that He desired and designed.

He set it in place, and one of the good works that adorns the women of God within the church of God is that they willingly subject themselves to that which we learn from God's created order. He has ordered a way in which the home is to be governed. He has ordered a way in which the church is to be governed. The church is the people of God, the pillar and household of truth, as He says.

So, He has set up a created order. Now, we can acknowledge that being in our 21st-century culture, this created order is difficult.

Our fallen nature doesn't align very well with God's created order. That's the whole reason we're falling. We live by nature, contrary to God's created order, and virtually everything that we do reflects this. When He calls us to be His people, He calls us out of a current in culture that is going against the things of God. Now He says, "I want you to walk in line with My order." Can we accept this? Yes, it's difficult. Our nature doesn't easily step into that. We are fighting against our nature and our culture, which is also fighting against God.

First, we must acknowledge the difficulty. Second, if we are following Jesus as students of the Scripture, we must come before this by saying that we believe God is good. Therefore, we believe that if God is good and He has revealed His message to us in the Scriptures, then His word is good and it's for our good. That's the assumption I come to this with. He is telling us this truth because He knows what is for our good.

However, my nature doesn't say that this is for my good. My nature doesn't like this, and my culture doesn't like this. So how do I wrestle with this? Can you accept that the philosophy of this world, which you have been pressed into for your entire life since birth, potentially leads to more bondage and death than the philosophy that God is giving? He is the one who comes to us and says, "I want you to have life, and to have it more abundantly."

There is a cultural philosophy that all of us know really well, which reacts to this biblical philosophy and says, "I don't like that." But we have to ask the question: Where is the cultural philosophy leading? Look at our society. Does it seem like it's leading to a much more progressive area, a wonderful utopia where everybody is free and happy? Or does it seem like it's leading to devastation and chaos? I would suggest to you that if left to its own devices, it descends towards chaos. Read the rise and fall of the Roman Empire; they kind of just let off all restraint and see where it leads.

And so, he calls women professing godliness to a quietness and a submission ordained by God. He says that this is a good adorning work that women professing godliness put on to beautify themselves. You may wonder, "Wait a minute, this is a beautifying thing." Well, let me read to you quickly from First Peter, chapter three, where Peter says a very similar thing. He writes, "Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of

He's not even saying that women never teach over men. He's saying that they don't occupy the office of teaching and having authority within the church. Therefore, it's our position at Cross Connection, and it has been and will continue to be a complementary position wherein we say all ministry is open for all believers, except for the office of the overseeing elders. We are following the created order that God has given.

Point number five: godly women yield to God's ordained order as an act of worship and good works. You may ask, "Is this really an act of worship?" Yes. Ephesians chapter 5, verse 22 says, "Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord." Your submission in the household and in the church is an act of worship to the Lord, and worship is offered willingly; it's not forced. We do this as to the Lord.

Again, the objection to this is that Paul is speaking from a male-dominated culture in the first century. However, that argument doesn't hold up against what historians say. Notice that he is not appealing to culture. In verse 13, he states, "For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression." He is not appealing to culture; he is appealing to creation, which is exactly what Jesus did when he spoke on marriage, and it is exactly what Peter does. They appeal to creation. God, who is the Creator, has set up a creative order.

My fallen nature might fight against that order, but if I believe that God is good and that He is writing these things for my good, then I can step out in faith and say, "I'm going to trust You, God, and I'm going to do this as unto You because I believe You have my good in view." It's a step of faith.

Now, of course, we get to what is considered by many to be the hardest verse in the whole Bible. Verse 15 states, "Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with self-control." What on earth does this mean? If you consult 25 Bible commentators, the 25 top Bible commentaries on this passage, you will probably get 50 different opinions, which means there is very little agreement on what this means dogmatically. Therefore, we cannot say this is what this means; we can only suggest that it might mean this or it might mean that.

And that's typically what you're going to hear when people preach on this passage. I'll give you the two most common interpretations of "nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing."

The first interpretation, which is the most common, is that this is a reference back to the Old Testament. Genesis chapter three contains the very first prophecy given in the Bible, the very first prediction about the coming of the Savior, Jesus. This prophecy is found in Genesis chapter three, verse 15, where it states that the Savior is going to come from the seed of the woman. The salvation that God desires for His people is impossible without the seed of a woman, without childbearing. Therefore, the Savior would come through the seed of the woman. This is one interpretation: Paul is speaking of a salvation that would ultimately come through the line of a woman, Jesus.

Interpretation number two, which is also common, suggests that women are not called by God in His created order to be overseeing pastors and teachers over a church. However, this desire is satisfied, or in some way saved, through motherhood and childbearing.

In this respect, I think it's really important to point out a sad reality in 21st-century progressive culture, particularly in Western Europe and the United States. In this culture, motherhood has been diminished and is often seen as a detriment to a woman's potential. That is not what the Bible says. Children are a heritage from the Lord, and to be a mother is an honorable and high position, an awesome calling of God.

There is a group among the elites in the progressive parts of our culture that claims motherhood is bad and children are a burden. The Bible does not teach that; it says motherhood is good. Many Bible teachers believe that in motherhood, there is a satisfaction of the desire for leading and overseeing that women are especially gifted for.

I see this with my wife; she is especially gifted to be a mom. I am not a mom, and I would be a horrible mom. I would be a horrible Mr. Mom.

I do dad okay, but Mr. Mom is bad. The kids would starve, and the house would fall apart; everything would fall apart.

What we find in God's created order is that there is one place set aside for male leadership: the office of overseeing teaching pastors. Do you realize there is one area in all of God's created order that is only for women? No man will ever be able to do childbearing. Both are honored positions, and both should be accepted as being highly lifted up.

Here's the devastating part: just think, because you're not called to be in the overseeing pastoring position, you don't have to receive the emails about this message. So that's good for you. Is this a challenging passage? Yes. But here's the thing: God has called and gifted all of us to serve within the body. There is just one area where He says, "I've set this aside in my created order for male leadership," but everything else is open for women to serve in every capacity. God has gifted and called for this.

We live in a culture that has a problem with this, but this is an issue of worship as we are learners of the Word and ways of God. May we take the step of faith and say, "God, we trust, though we may not perfectly understand all things, that you have our good in view, and we seek to follow you by faith." Amen.

Would you stand with me as we close in prayer? God, we read in Hebrews that your Word is living and powerful, sharper than any two-edged sword. It cuts deep and is challenging. This inspired scripture was given for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness, so that the man or woman of God would be thoroughly equipped for every good work.

Lord, sometimes when we are challenged, rebuked, or corrected, it's hard. But I pray, God, that you would help us to approach your Word, this passage, and every other passage with the mindset that you have written this for our good. We want to know you and your ways, and we desire to live in a way that honors you and is the most satisfying for us. So, God, I pray that you would give us humility in approaching your Word.

And would you teach us by your Spirit so that we would know You more fully and know how to walk with You as You have ordained? We ask this in Jesus' name. All those that agree said, "Amen."