1 Timothy chapter 2. I'll be reading all of chapter 2. Our focus is going to be on verses 8 to 10. 1 Timothy 2, reading the entire chapter, focusing on verses 8 to 10. Hear God's holy word. First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and thanksgivings be made for all people. for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of God, our savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and there is one mediator between God and men, the man, Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all which is the testimony given at the proper time. For this I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am telling the truth. I am not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith and truth. I desire that in every place that men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel. with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. Thus far, the reading of God's holy word, the grass withers, the flower fails, but the word of our God endures forever. Let's pray for God's blessing. Lord, we do thank you for your word. And we thank you, Father, that you've called us again into your presence, and that you've spoken to us through your word read. We ask that you would speak to us as your word is proclaimed. Bless he who brings your word that we would hear what you have for us, and bless us each, Lord, that we might indeed hear, take to heart, change us, Father, where we need changing. We do pray it in Jesus' name, amen. Congregation of the Lord Jesus Christ, We live in a day and age that is constantly trying to blur the distinction between male and female. In fact, some have gone so far as to say that gender is a figment of man's imagination, a fiction created by people and that there's really no difference, no distinction between men and women. I think we all know that that's nonsense. Now, it's true that men and women, mankind, are made, right? We're all made in the image of God, yet there is a distinction between men and women. That goes back all the way to creation, when God spoke and he created man in his own image, in the image of God, he created him male and female. He created them. You see, God created man, or mankind, and He created us male and female in God's image. So right from the beginning, there is a distinction, a God-created distinction, male and female. There's only two genders. There's not multiple genders. Right from the beginning, there's a difference, a distinction. Not thought up by the imagination of man, but created by God himself. God made us different. And since God created man, male and female, it's very clear, again, that there are only two genders. Nor is it possible for a man to be a woman, nor for a woman to be a man. We could also readily admit that male and female have the same way of salvation, Jesus Christ. And we are united in Jesus Christ. That's why Paul says in Galatians chapter three, there is neither Jew nor Greek. There is neither slave nor free. There's no male and female for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Now that doesn't blur a distinction between male and female, but it does say male or female, we have a relationship in Christ. There's one way of salvation, whether you're male or female. But again, that does not mean there's no distinction, no difference between male and female. Now, most of the instructions in the Word of God are given for male and female alike. God addresses us together as his followers. But there are differences between men and women, and sometimes scripture addresses men specifically, and sometimes scripture addresses women specifically. And this is one of those cases. When it comes to the church and worship, there are certain things that certain qualified men, not all men by the way, are called to do, and that women are not called to do, right? Teaching and have authority, we're gonna be getting to more of that in the weeks that follow. But think about it, the church is the household of God. God may set down the rules in his household because it's his household about what we can and should do. Now, this doesn't mean that women are not as wise or as important as men. I think sometimes when an unbeliever hears this in the scripture, they think, well, what does that mean? Does that mean that men are smarter, men are better than women? No. In fact, if a man thinks he's smarter, that's a problem with pride, isn't it? Nor does it mean, just because a woman can't preach or have authority over a man, that she is somehow a lesser servant of God. But today we'll look at some instruction about men and women in worship prior to dealing with the idea of only men being called to preach and to teach. Men are to be praying, praying with holy hands. And then we'll look at some beauty tips. No, not beauty tips, actually. Beauty requirements for women, because the Bible doesn't just give out tips, does it? This is the word of God. And so I wanna remind you, last time we were in Timothy, we looked at the importance of prayer in the public worship of God. Then I desire, then in verse eight indicates that this passage is a continuation of what we looked at last time. And so we must realize that Paul is speaking about matters dealing still with public worship. And so let's look at what God directs to men first. Men are to pray with holy hands. I desire that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. I want you to realize that Paul says, I desire. When he says that, this is not just merely a wish or a personal hope. I hope men will be praying. He's speaking as an apostle of the Lord. This is a command, not from Paul even, but from God. Not merely a personal desire of Paul's. This is what men are to do, pray. He desires that men should pray. Now, some might say, but can't men here refer to mankind in general? We do use the word man, right, to refer to male and female or mankind. Well, not here. The Greek word here is the word andros, which is a clear reference to a man distinct from a female. If it wanted to use the word generally speaking for man or mankind, that would be the word anthropos. but this is Andros. Men are specified here in this particular responsibility to lead the church and its worship service. Paul is giving specific instruction to men here in the next couple of verses as well, and then he'll give instruction to women. Men here are commanded to pray. Now don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean women, you're not allowed to pray. Don't pray women, it's not saying that. That's not the point at all. For example, 1 Corinthians 11 talks about women praying with her head covered. Again, that doesn't mean we were in 1 Corinthians. That doesn't mean you all, if you're a woman, you have to wear a head covering. That same passage also talks about her hair being given to her as a covering. But women are to pray in a different sense than men when it comes to the worship of God or corporate worship, public worship. And remember what I said last week, the pastoral prayer, as some have called it, right? This is not the pastor praying all on his own, right? What is the pastoral prayer? It's for the prayers of the congregation, the petitions of the congregation to go before God. And so it's not the pastor who's praying by himself. In the pastoral prayer, the pastor is the voice of the congregation as a whole. And so we together, are praying to God with, in this case, me leading that prayer. Here it's a man who's to lead in prayer in the worship service. As we'll see next time, women are not permitted to teach or to preach or have authority over a man. Now I know there's some that maybe wanna start digging into that now, but we're gonna hold that off till next time. This week we need to focus on the prayer that God requires of men and then the adornment that God requires of women. Paul calls, again, for men to pray. And he calls for them to pray everywhere, that is in every place of public worship. Now, you might remember the question I quoted from the OPC's webpage, the question and answer section that said, can the pastoral prayer be done instead of during the worship service, can it be done at a midweek meeting? And the answer I said to that is no, because prayer is part of worship and it's to be offered in every place of worship. However, everywhere alludes to the worldwide success of the gospel. In the Old Testament, God was worshipped in the temple, and now he's worshipped, he's to be worshipped everywhere, in all kinds of places, in all around the world. Think about it, the God who wants all kinds of men to be prayed for and who desires all kinds of men, people to be saved and who has given his son as a ransom for all kinds of people is to be praised and worshipped and prayed to in all kinds of places. In other words, everywhere. And his kingdom will continue to grow until he is praised all over the globe. God says in the book of Malachi, Malachi 1 verse 11, For from the rising of the sun to its setting, my name will be great among the nations. And in every place, incense will be offered to my name, and a pure offering for my name will be great among the nations, says the Lord of hosts. And you know the hymn by Isaac Watts, Jesus shall reign where'er the sun does its successive journeys run. His kingdom stretch from shore to shore till moon shall wax and wane no more. For him shall endless prayer be made all and praises throng to crown his head. His name like sweet perfume shall rise with every morning sacrifice. Yes, God is to be prayed to and worshiped everywhere. But I also want to talk for a moment about the posture of prayer. Here we're told that in every place the men should pray, lifting up holy hands. Some of you might be thinking, but I didn't see you lift up holy hands when you were praying. Why not, if that's what we're called to? Well, actually, as you look at Scripture, there are different postures in Scripture when it comes to prayer. different postures. Some think the best position is down on our knees, but scripture gives us various appropriate postures. Here, hands being lifted up. But let me give you a brief biblical survey by commentator William Hendrickson on different positions in prayer. There's a proper position of standing that you could see with Abraham in Genesis chapter 18, verse 22. I won't read that passage now. or standing still, 1st Timothy chapter, 1st Timothy, 1st Samuel, chapter one, verse 26, with Samuel's mother. We see the tax collector in Luke 18 standing far off, not lifting his head up to heaven, but beating his breast as he's praying before God. We do see hands spread or lifted up, our current passage, or Exodus chapter nine, verse 29, with Moses lifting up his hands in prayer. Psalm 63 talks about that. David, the psalmist, lifted up his hands to the Lord. There's also the bowing of the head for prayer, Genesis chapter 24, verse 48. Or at Passover, we can read about that as well, Exodus 12, verse 27. There's the lifting heavenward of our eyes, you know, looking up to heaven. You can think of Psalm 121, I lift my eyes to you from where, or to the hills, from where does my help come? Kneeling is appropriate posture in prayer as well. 2 Chronicles chapter 6, Solomon is doing such, lifting on his knees, lifting up his arms. Psalm 95 verse 6 says, let us kneel before the Lord our maker. There's another posture of maybe even falling down on our face on the ground. John in Revelation chapter 1 is one example of that. And all these things are proper and appropriate postures when it comes to prayer. Hendrickson says this, the standing position indicates reverence. The lifting up or spreading out of our hands, arms outstretched with palms upward is a fit symbol of utter dependence on God and humble expectation. Bowing the head is the outward expression of a spirit of submission. The lifting heavenward of the eyes indicates that one believes that help comes from Jehovah and from Him alone. Kneeling pictures humility and adoration. Falling down with face toward the ground is the visible manifestation of awe in the presence of God. And all of these positions are appropriate. Now, Presbyterians don't usually have kneelers for several reasons, right? Sometimes you might've seen in certain churches, there's these kneelers to help those kneel, but that's not the only appropriate position for prayer. In fact, actually what's stressed more throughout scripture, and even in our current passage, is not the posture we take in our body or the position of one's hands, but the attitude of the heart. In fact, did you notice the kind of hands that were to be lifted towards the Lord here in verse eight? I desire then in every place that men should pray. lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling. It's holy hands that are to be lifted to the Lord and without wrath and doubting, as other translations have it. More than posture, it's attitude. That's not to say that posture says nothing, but attitude is more important. The hands that lift up prayer must be holy or unpolluted. Sin has no place in the presence of God. The hands that are lifted up to God are to be holy. Psalm 24, verses three and four says this, who shall ascend the hill of the Lord and who shall stand in his holy presence? He who has clean hands and a pure heart, who does not lift up his soul to what is false and does not swear deceitfully. takes holy hands and a pure heart to lead God's people in prayer. This is a humbling thing. He who approaches God must be living a sanctified life. And all the focus in our passage is on corporate prayer. This applies to our private prayers as well. How can we approach God if we have no desire to follow him? If our hands are stained with sin, This is humbling and sobering, as I said, for ministers, but for everyone when we pray. Because we know that we're sinners. How are we to lift up holy hands in prayer? Well, certainly to be pretending to be holy like the Pharisee in Luke 18 doesn't do well, right? Who prayed, right? Remember how he prayed, God, I thank you that I'm not like other men. Robbers, evildoers, murderers, or even like that tax collector over there on the other side of the room. It's not lifting up holy hands, is it? But the tax collector, humbled by his own sin, shamed by his own sin, not even wanting to look up, beat his breast, and prayed, God have mercy on me, the sinner. He lifted up hands without hypocrisy, right? The Pharisee lifted up hands with plenty of hypocrisy. You see, the only way to pray is to do so acknowledging that we're sinners in need of grace. This explains why we pray in Jesus' name. Children, what does it mean to pray in Jesus' name? When your parents teach you to pray, when you pray with your parents, often the prayer is ended, right, in Jesus' name. Why is that? Why do your parents teach you to pray at the end in Jesus' name? I think sometimes we think that this is probably like, oh, that's just the way we end the prayer. That's just the way of like, I'm almost done. It doesn't mean that, does it? We pray in Jesus' name knowing that we can only approach God through Christ. Jesus said, I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father but by me. And so when we conclude our prayer in Jesus' name, we're saying, I can't come into your presence on the basis of my own righteousness. I can't come into your presence on the basis of anything I've done. I can only come through what Christ has done. I can only come because He is given access by His perfect life and His sacrificial death. And so when we pray in Jesus' name, it's not just a fancy thing that we say. We're saying that we're leaning on Jesus in the very way, and the only way we can approach the Father is in Jesus. Because of what He's done. Because in Him, right? Our sins are forgiven. How do we pray with holy hands? In Jesus name, because he kept the law of God in our place perfectly. We can approach because if we're in Christ, God sees us as what? Holy. And so can an unbeliever pray? Not in an ultimate sense, right? How can you approach God? The only way to pray is in Christ, believing in Christ, coming on the basis of what Christ has done, coming as holy because we're holy in Christ. Now that doesn't mean that a sanctified life doesn't matter. It does. God calls us to thankful obedience to his law. We've already seen that in Timothy, but we can approach God not because we are righteous ourselves, but because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. We're to approach God as well without wrath or doubting. We're to pray in faith, without anger, without quarreling, or as I said, other translations, without wrath and doubting. That is, we're not to pray with a settled indignation against a brother. Take, for example, the attitude of the unforgiving servant in Matthew chapter 18. He was forgiven a large debt. but hated his fellow servant who owed him a small debt and would not forgive that relatively small debt. Anger will hinder your prayers. You can be sure of it. If you're bitter towards a brother in the Lord and you're wondering, why isn't God hearing my prayers? You might want to consider that. The apostle also gives instruction for women in the worship of God. And we'll begin looking at this instruction this week and Lord willing, finish it next week. And as I said, I was thinking about calling this beauty tips, not beauty tips, you might say beauty requirements. And although we're talking about the worship of God especially, we need to realize that these requirements are applicable beyond the worship of God. They're applicable in life in general. So what are we called to here, verses 9 and 10? Likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness, with good works. See, these verses tell us how women are to adorn themselves, especially in the worship of God, but also in general. The general principle is set down in the first part of verse nine. You're to adorn yourselves in a threefold fashion. Respectable apparel, with modesty, with self-control, First of all, ladies, your adorning includes respectable apparel. The word could also be translated honorable, honorable apparel, dressing in a way that is seeking to honor God, pleasing to God. Secondly, related, you could even say, is therefore with modesty, not in a seductive way. It describes a woman who is chaste. This is, Not merely referring to her dress, but to her demeanor. And finally, ladies, you're to adorn yourselves with moderation or self-control. And then Paul gives some knots. You're not to adorn yourselves with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. Now this half of the verse often surprises many people. Can't braid your hair? I was wondering if I was gonna be able to point to somebody tonight, okay, I wouldn't really have done that and say, hey, you've got braided hair, what's that all about? Would have been a fair way to preach perhaps. But sometimes, right, some of the ladies have come with braided hair. Is that a problem here? Is Paul telling us no braided hair in church whatsoever at all? No, there's a longer saying here, isn't there? The idea is, again, moderation, self-control, not with braided hair. In fact, in that time, you know what they'd do? They would braid in their hair all these kinds of gold and things like that, and it became a long process and a very expensive process. And so what we're talking about isn't what we normally think of today. And so this isn't an absolute ban on braided hair. The point is, how are you coming to worship? What is the focus of worship? Do you come to worship with a good attitude to worship God, or do you make sure, I gotta look good? See, we're called to moderation. That's what this is talking about here. In fact, we have to even realize the bride of Christ is even described as one adorned. Revelation 21, verse 2, and I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And so the Bible's not saying, ladies, you can't do any adornment. It's not saying you can't look in the mirror, comb your hair, make sure that you're looking well. It's saying, where's the perspective? Where's the focus? Where's the goal? A Christian woman is not to indulge in such extravagance. As I say, braiding of hair back then took the better part of the day. It wasn't just a simple braid. It was the idea of weaving gold and jewels throughout the hair. It was a show type of thing. And that didn't show that moderation. And so braided hair isn't forbidden. Somebody comes with braided hair the next week, and you don't have to say, hey, you should hear what pastor said the week before. You should see what Timothy says. No, there's a place for doing one's hair. But the point, right, is moderation. You're coming to worship God. You're coming with holiness, to give praise and honor to God. You're not trying to attract the attention of others. You're coming to give God the glory due his name. William Hendrickson wisely points out this. He said, it must ever be born in mind that a proud heart is sometimes concealed behind a mask of pretended modesty. That too is sin. Extremes must be avoided. As I said earlier, the specific context here is worship. But we also read in 1 Peter, as he says to wives, 1 Peter 3, verses three and four, do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair, the putting on of gold jewelry or the clothing you wear, but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious. Right, what's the focus? Not the adorning of the body, but the adorning of the heart, putting on that imperishable beauty. Now, perhaps I should talk about modesty for a moment. In our culture, which is infatuated with sex and sexuality, we all know that. Look at the magazine racks. No, don't look at the magazine racks. But I think you know what I'm talking about. there's a huge tendency in our culture to immodesty. That doesn't mean that a woman has to wear a burka or anything like that, but we're called to modesty. And you might say, well, pastor, can you help us? What means, what is modest? Well, if somebody asks the question, right? If somebody is asking the question, even to themselves, is this too short? Or if they're asking maybe even more so, how short can I go? That question almost reveals something already, doesn't it? What's the focus? You see what I mean? And husbands and fathers, it starts with you. Don't be afraid to tell your children, hey, you need something else on. And what can happen in our day and age? Can a daughter say to a father, dad, you're old fashioned. And dad can say, might be old fashioned, but I want to be biblical here. How you dress can send a message. What message are you trying to send? It's interesting, sometimes we hear people saying, women saying, I don't want to be treated like an object. Present a message. that you're a woman who honors God. What makes a woman truly beautiful? See, this is really what Paul is getting at. What truly makes a woman beautiful? It's not the hair. It's not the gold. It's not the pearls. It's not the costly attire. What does? Not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness. Good works. You want to look beautiful? Good works. The woman who professes godliness is to adorn herself with good works. Later on in the book, Paul is going to give a list of some things that are appropriate, that are good. Having a reputation for good works, if she has brought up children, has shown hospitality, has washed the feet of the saints, has cared for the afflicted, has devoted herself to every good work. And by the way, when you think of it this way, A Christian woman, while the body may grow old, right? And wrinkles may come and hair may turn gray, a woman who adorns herself with godliness gets more and more beautiful the longer life goes on. And so ladies, the older you get, the more beautiful you can become. Because the outward aging process, that's not going to be reversed, but inwardly, the godly woman who adorns herself with good works is the one that is truly beautiful. Proverbs 31 verse 30 says, charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. And so brothers and sisters, this church should be the best beauty parlor in the world as we encourage one another on in love and good works. And young men, what you should be looking for in a prospective wife is a truly beautiful woman, one who adorns herself with good works. And when a man notices a woman who's devoted to the Lord, who is godly, who loves the saints, who's a servant of Christ, who cares for the sick, who tries to feed the poor, he shouldn't be saying, well, she's not all that good looking, but she's got a good heart. What he should be saying is, now that's a beautiful woman. And young ladies, let me ask you, what are you doing to prepare yourselves for marriage? Are you keeping up with the latest fashions, the latest hairstyles? Maybe saying, if I don't, nobody's going to like me. What kind of man do you want to attract? Do you want to attract somebody who loves the Lord as well? Then adorn yourself. with good works. Again, that doesn't mean don't do your hair. It doesn't mean you can't put on some makeup or put on some earrings or whatever it might be. But the real focus is not the external. The focus is adorning yourself with good works. Dave Mings, who for a time was a missionary to India, said this. A Christian wife is a beautiful woman who will continue to grow in beauty. A Christian woman will always be more beautiful than the women of the world, as real beauty comes from a heart softened by the word and spirit of God. In fact, a bride and woman of the world attempts to make up for a lack of real beauty by adding paint and ornaments on the exterior to compensate for a lack of beauty on the interior. God actually hates beauty in a woman if the matching inward beauty is not present. Furthermore, God vows to remove the external beauty from a woman who is internally ugly. And then he quotes Isaiah 3, verses 16-24. The Lord said, because the daughters of Zion are haughty and walk with outstretched necks, glancing wantonly with their eyes, mincing along as they go, tinkling with their feet, therefore the Lord will strike with a scab the heads of the daughters of Zion, and the Lord will lay bare their secret parts. In that day the Lord will take away the finery of the anklets, the headbands and the crescents, the pendants, the bracelets and the scarves, the headdresses, the armlets and sashes, the perfume boxes and amulets, the signet rings and nose rings, the festal robes, the mantles, the cloaks, and the handbags, the mirrors, the linen garments, the turbans, and the veils. Instead of perfume, there will be rottenness, and instead of a belt, a rope, and instead of well-set hair, baldness, and instead of a rich robe, a skirt of sackcloth, and branding instead of beauty. And so, brothers, may we be men of prayer who lift up holy hands in prayer before the Lord. Let's be men whose sins are forgiven because we're resting in Christ, who are striving, therefore, to live a sanctified life. And sisters, may you be women or young ladies who adorn yourselves, not focusing on the outward beauty, which is fleeting, but on that inward beauty, adorning yourself, adorning the heart with godliness, seeking to glorify God in all things. That's beautiful in the sight of God. And that's beautiful in the sight of a young man who truly loves the Lord as well. Let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we give you thanks and we give you praise for the blessings you give. Thank you, Father, for the call to be in prayer. Thank you, Father, for the call to adorn ourselves with godliness. Lord, work in each of us that we would love you more in how we thank you, Father. that our salvation, again, isn't dependent on how well we do the things you call us to do. We thank you for what Christ has done and the salvation we have in him. And so, Father, work in us that in thankfulness we might live for you and glorify you. We pray it in Jesus' name. Amen.