First Timothy 5, I'm going to be reading just verses 9 and 10. A widow is to be put on the list only if she is not less than 60 years old, having been the wife of one man, having a reputation for good works, and if she has brought up children, if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if she has washed the saints' feet, if she has assisted those in distress and if she has devoted herself to every good work now turn a few pages over to Titus chapter 2 this is found on page 1193 Titus 2 we want to look at verses 3 through 5 this evening Older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslave too much wine, teaching what is good, so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. Let's ask the Lord's blessing. Father, we come now to your word, and it is your word. Breathe from your mouth, spoken with authority. We pray that you would give us ready minds to hear and to receive the truth that your Spirit reveals here to us. We pray that you would guard us all from misunderstanding and from misrepresentation. We desire to please you and to honor your word. For we pray it in Jesus' name. Amen. The years 1941 through 1945 were times of tremendous change for the American people. Until the Japanese strike on Pearl Harbor, the United States remained relatively isolated from the war. But when Japan attacked our homeland, the sleeping giant began to awake. In the early days of our involvement, it became clear that America was vastly unprepared for such a massive undertaking. Not only would our nation need an army, a navy, and an air force, but she would need a production force at home to supply the Allies with the weaponry and materiel for sustained global warfare. President Roosevelt advertised us as the arsenal of democracy, and now it was time for the arsenal to deliver. At first, the factories employed mostly men. But as men went off to Europe and to the Pacific to fight in the war, the country began to turn to its women. Seeing a vast, untapped pool of workers, the government began to actively recruit women to become Rosie the Riveter. At some crucial point, a decision was made to utilize not only single women and newlywed wives, but the war effort would require the mothers of America as well. At Eleanor Roosevelt's encouragement, government-run child care facilities were opened up so that women could leave their children and leave their homes in order to do their part for the cause. After the war was over, there were two lasting effects of this government policy. First of all, the women of our country were no longer content to stay at home and take care of a husband or children. Secondly, the returning G.I.s found that their wives had radically changed and the men were frankly not happy at what they found when they returned home. Divorce rates after the war skyrocketed. In the decades that followed, a movement emerged that was called feminism. From the 60s onward, feminism became a major cultural force, impacting not only women, but men and children and the entire society. And feminism, especially among its more radical proponents, declared its own war. A war on men, a war on marriage, a war against the family, and a war on homemaking. Listen to what one feminist writer, Simone de Beauvoir, said in 1974 in an article, quote, No woman should be authorized to stay at home to raise her children. Society should be totally different. Women should not have that choice, precisely because if there is such a choice, too many women will make that one." they don't know what's good for them. We will deny them their right, their choice, because they might make that choice and stay home with their husband and their children. In 1981, another feminist writer, Vivian Gornick, took the agenda even further when she wrote that, quote, being a housewife is an illegitimate profession. The choice to serve and be protected and plan towards being a family maker is a choice that shouldn't be. The heart of radical feminism is to change that." The clear agenda of militant feminism is to keep the woman out of the home and away from husbands and children. The radical feminist movement hates motherhood, they hate marriage, and they despise the stay-at-home wife and mother. They do everything in their power to discourage such pursuits. They don't believe that such a choice is legitimate. Militant feminism is at odds with biblical Christianity. This is nothing less than a full-scale attack on Christian womanhood. It's incompatible with what the scriptures teach and with God's call upon a Christian woman. By looking at two very brief parallel passages tonight, I want to present to you the ministry of the Christian woman. God's calling upon her life what she is to do with her days on earth now some of what I am about to say may not equally apply to every single woman in this room single ladies do not have a husband and children to take care of and others might have different situations I recognize that but by putting forth the paradigm We are then able to say, okay, this is the paradigm, now let's look at some different situations. And I do hope to come in days ahead to Christian singleness, and how a Christian single person is to carry out their life as a believer. Or a couple that would like to have children but haven't yet, or maybe can't. And we'll deal with that as well. but today we're putting up the model God's call and I believe that there's much in these verses that will encourage each and every lady and even the men among us so I want to look tonight first at the context of God's call then at the aspects of her ministry and close with some thoughts on promoting biblical womanhood here at Grace Church Now, at first glance, the two passages that I read tonight may seem unrelated and even disconnected. But on closer examination, it becomes clear that these are two parallel passages. In 1 Timothy 5, Paul is speaking to Timothy about widows, and he talks about putting widows on the list. He then outlines what qualifications must be met for a woman to be put on the list. Well, you might wonder, what is that list? What is that about? One of my children asked me, is that about church membership? No, we don't have such stringent requirements for church membership. You might be tempted to think that it is a list for diaconal support. But you know, I don't think that can be the case either. Because diaconal support in the early church was widely given to widows. In fact, it was a controversy over the widespread ministry to widows that provoked the ordination of the first deacons. So I don't think it's a list for support. But as you look at verses 9 and 10, they sound very much like requirements for some sort of official status as I read them in certain respects they remind me of the requirements for elders and deacons now let me be very clear very clear and exceedingly careful read my lips the Bible does not teach the ordination of any woman to any office in the church We are not talking about women pastors, women elders, women deacons. Those offices are reserved for qualified men. Not qualified human beings. Qualified males. And so we do not believe in the ordination of women to offices in the church. However, it seems likely to me that there was a list kept in the early church of capable, godly older women who carried out some very important ministries in the life of the church. They had some official status. They were recognized because they had been put on the lists. but they were not ordained officers they carried out ministries but they weren't the minister of the church well then looking over at the verses in Titus chapter 2 I believe that the speculation is confirmed for in verse 3 these reverent older women are to be quote teaching what is good they are to be encouraging the younger women of the church in a variety of ways so I would suggest that from these two passages it's very likely that the early church saw the value of these dear sisters and the ordained male leadership the elders of the church identified and utilize some of these experienced, mature, godly Christian women especially to work with the young women of the church to mentor them in their calling as Christian women that's what I believe the list is about so from these two passages we actually glean a goldmine of information about God's call to a Christian woman. Now this comes to us really in two different ways. It comes especially in 1 Timothy 5 in terms of those qualifications. And those qualifications that must be met to put a woman on such a list give us really a catalog of her life. This is an overview of how she has lived as a mature Christian woman. And then we also see it primarily in Titus 2 in terms of the curriculum that is assigned for their ministry of mentoring and discipleship. And so you take these two passages with the qualifications and the curriculum and you put them together and you begin to see a portrait of Christian womanhood. You begin to see what a godly Christian woman is to be like over the span of her life. And what God wants to see replicated as one generation encourages and teaches and trains and disciples and mentors the next generation of Christian women. And so this really, I think, is an excellent catalog of virtues for Christian women And it shows us the main lines of her ministry. Now in analyzing these verses before us we see first the center of operations for the Christian woman. The Greek of Titus 2 verse 5 says that the Christian woman is to be an oikourgos. And that compound word really means a home worker. She is to be one who works at home, who is busy at home, who is investing herself in her home. That is her base of operations. That is her headquarters. It is from there that she goes out and serves in a variety of capacities. The New King James says she is a homemaker. And I believe that's probably one of the better translations that also relates to today's usage. She is a woman who is staying at home, working from home, busy at home. This is her base of operation. She is home-based. We also see in these verses the relational side of this home-based ministry. She is the wife of one man. She brings up children. She loves her husband. She loves her children. And she is careful to be submissive to her husband and to willingly, happily serve her family. But her ministry also extends further. It extends to the saints, to strangers, and to any that are in distress. She is reaching out to many different people. She is relating compassionately to them. She is showing the love of Christ to them. And I think we see here how entirely satisfying a Christian woman's life can be. She is rich in relationships, both within her family circle and beyond her family circle. She is not isolated from contact with other people. She is very active in relating and reaching out. There is also a clear behavioral side to her testimony. These verses say that she is reverent in her behavior. In other words, she is godly. She has gained a certain piety about her. and she handles herself with respect and reverence for her God for her family and even for the outsiders that she comes in contact with she maintains a good conscience towards God and man and over the years she becomes known as a woman of God she is very mindful of her own conduct. She also understands how dangerous an uncontrolled tongue can be. She watches over her lips and she will not allow herself to engage in malicious gossip. She has learned the lesson of James chapter 3 that the tongue is a world of iniquity it is set on fire by hell itself and with a few choice words she could set on fire the whole course of her life her home, her family, her world could go up in flames if she allows herself to speak without guarding her tongue and so she has done that difficult task of taming her tongue. She is particularly respectful and loving towards her husband. She realizes that if she is rebellious towards her husband, the word of God will be maligned. Now in that culture of those days, in our culture of our day, Satan and the world love a mouthy disrespectful wife who will slice and dice her husband at any chance because it's such a good opportunity to undermine the Word of God and they will take all the mud they can find and they will sling it against Christ because look at that woman Look at what she said about her husband. Look at how she talks to her husband. And the Bible says, submit to your husband and see to it that you respect your husband. So how do you have this Christian woman who won't respect or submit to her husband? And so this godly Christian woman realizes this equation. When I am called upon to submit my heart to my own husband, if I don't do it, it's not just me that's damaged. It's not just my husband that's maligned, but the very word of Christ will be derided by the pagans. And so she knows that her conduct towards all, but especially towards her own husband, will have ramifications for the glory of Jesus in this world. And so she's very careful in how she conducts herself towards her husband. But at the heart of her ministry, really, is her many godly activities. Over decades of service, she gained a good reputation, well-deserved for good works. People know that she has devoted herself to every good work because they themselves have often benefited from her good works. When strangers come to her door, she is ready, willing, and able to show hospitality to them. When she encounters the saints, she quickly stoops to wash their feet. And as she discovers some soul in distress, she will use all of her energy and her resources to assist them in their time of need. As she grows older and then is put on the list, she takes this new opportunity to teach and train a new generation of young women to mentor them in this good way of serving Christ. Well, the final aspect of her ministry that I would highlight for you is her character. I think this is suggested in 1 Timothy, but it is explicitly spelled out in Titus. A godly Christian woman, especially one who is older and mature, must be sensible, pure, kind, and loving. These characteristics are really the fruit of the Spirit's work in her life. they are the years of sanctification that has gone on and as she is moving towards retirement she is not becoming frivolous and silly and wanton and given to pleasure but she is ripening into the very type of woman that Anna was Anna there in the temple night and day for years and years worshipping God, praising God a paragon of female godliness and so she is looking at the end of her life not as a chance to escape her Christian responsibilities but as an opportunity to reach the zenith of her ministry And in many respects what has gone on during the last 40 or 50 years really are culminated in what happens in the last 20 years of her life. Now I know I've taken a broadside against militant feminism, but let me take another broadside. Fire when ready. The retirement mentality in American Christianity. When you hit a certain age, you've paid your dues, you've done your time, you're out of there. And you have no need to serve anymore because you are retired. Well, let me just give you one example that should resonate with each one of us here tonight. The people that walked in late to worship tonight walked in late because they were in Houghton today. And Ivan and Carla were serving Christ by ministering to that struggling little church plant. Your former pastor and his wife are amazing in their ministry. They are retired, but that's kind of a joke. It just means that Ivan doesn't have to come into the office every day. And he doesn't have to do all of the details of church ministry. But have they retired from ministry? Not at all. I look at my own parents, the same thing. They're serving the Lord and they're bearing much fruit in these later years of their life because they have had so much experience and they've learned through so many hard knocks that they've got wisdom far beyond what I've got. And so we need these older, mature, seasoned veterans to continue and especially when it comes to Christian women who have this character developed over years of sanctification they've borne the rich fruit of the Spirit in their lives they now share that and they evidence it as they carry out their ministry well I want to close tonight by explicitly, overtly encouraging biblical womanhood at Grace Church. I want to start doing that, maybe continue doing that, by rejecting, in no uncertain terms, the perspective of modern militant feminism. This movement constitutes slavery for Christian women. Slavery. Degradation. It takes a woman from her godly calling and it makes her into something she was not made to be nor called to be. It is slavery and oppression to every woman that is caught under its power. I believe that modern militant feminism is a great evil in our time and that it has defrauded the church and the family. It has stolen many good women, good wives, good mothers out of their homes and out of their churches. And it has pushed them out into the world and it says, you'll only be happy if you behave like a man. Go out there and be a man, be a pseudo-man. And we're right behind you, pushing you all the way. And don't worry about home, don't worry about a husband, don't worry about children. That's an illegitimate choice. Well, modern feminism is illegitimate. God does not approve of their opinions and their perspectives. for too long the church of Jesus Christ has cozied up to modern feminism thinking that we can be friends and that they will somehow approve of us they know it's a war but we don't seem to understand that I mean just think of what would have happened to the American troops if they had gone over to Europe thinking that the Germans really do want to be our friends if they had gotten up out of their foxholes and walked over to the German lines to talk with the Germans and make friends with them the machine guns would have cut them in pieces when there's a war going on that has been proclaimed by an aggressive force You are naive if you think you can just cozy up and be friends. Modern feminism doesn't want to be our friend. It wants to control us and it wants to strip us of God's calling on our lives. It wants to say that men are women and women are men. It wants to turn the whole created order on its head and we must repudiate it. We cannot think naively about this movement. It wants to destroy us. And while we want to be charitable and godly in our responses, we hold no illusions as to its true purpose and its real agenda. So I want to encourage the ladies in our church who have made a commitment to Christian womanhood. who have made a commitment to love a husband, to love a child, to be busy at home, to deal with those strangers who need hospitality, to reach out to those who are in distress. To every woman who has washed the feet of the saints, you have made a good choice, a legitimate choice. The world and the culture is going to be scorning you but we here in the church say you have chosen the better way you have chosen a ministry that God calls you to and that is a good thing I guess I know from watching my own wife that being a home-based mom can be an awfully hard task thankless at times whether it's dirty diapers, or dealing with school problems, or relational issues with teenagers, or just putting up with a husband. It's tough. And you may wonder sometimes, is it really worth it? Couldn't I find my satisfaction and my significance better elsewhere? And the world says, go ahead. Go ahead. Abandon ship. I say, don't abandon ship. If you took every woman out of every corporate setting, take them out of the boardroom, take them out of the managers' meetings, take them out of industry, take them out of retail, you know what? The society would continue. It might take some adjustments, and they'd have to find some men to fill those empty spots, but society would continue. Take the woman out of the home. and the home will crumble. Take the woman away from that base of her ministry and nothing can fill the void. We need Christian women out of conviction and principle to say I am going to love my husband I am going to love my children I am going to be showing hospitality to those strangers I am going to wash the feet of the saints I will seek out those in distress and I will help them as best I can and so dear ladies who have made this choice, who have made such a commitment, who have spent your lives in this important labor. You have not labored in vain. You have made a good choice and God will indeed bless it. I also want to take the opportunity to encourage the older women in our congregation, those of you with years, decades of experience with a level of maturity and knowledge and understanding I want you to take an interest in the younger women of this church there's something very healthy when the older women look out for the young women and say we're going to take them under our wing and we're going to love them and encourage them and help them I also need to say to the young ladies of the church, it's in your best interest to look up to these wise veterans and to glean from them so that you can gain from their insight and their understanding. One time, a few years ago, I preached on this topic and one of the older ladies came up to me afterwards and said, you know pastor, I agree with you, and I've tried, but these younger ladies just don't want any part of it. They think they know everything. And I thought that was very unfortunate. Because here you had an older woman who had things to share, and yet the younger ladies thought that they knew it all and could do it themselves. there's a kind of synergy when the older ladies say let's take an interest and the younger ladies say boy let's look to these wise women who can help us to know how to carry out our calling as Christian women and so I think there's a lot of room for fruitful ministry here who knows maybe someday this church will have a list But in order for such a list to exist, we first need to have older women of great faith and wisdom and younger women who are eager to grow. And that combination will yield much fruit.