Today we continue our series through the book of First Timothy. So if you would turn with me in your Bibles to the book of First Timothy, chapter two. Our sermon text today is verses eight to the end of the chapter, verses eight through 15, but we'll begin reading at verse one to give ourselves context as we devote ourselves to the public reading of scripture. 1 Timothy 2, beginning at verse 1. Therefore I exhort, first of all, that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks be made for all men, for kings and all who are in authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and reverence. For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in faith. and truth. I desire, therefore, that the 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 a woman 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, 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 faith, love, and holiness. with self-control. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever. Would you bow your heads with me and pray? Father, our hearts are natively rebellious. To your authority over our lives, we pray that you would help us to come to your word with that humility that befits saints of those truly desiring to understand what you have revealed in your word that we might not only be hearers of that word, but also doers. We pray that you would give each person here a deep craving to know you, to commune with you, and to follow the instruction that you have given to us in your word about who ought to pray in the midst of the assembly, about how women ought to dress, and about how women are not to take positions of authority. in the church of Christ. We pray this in Jesus name. Amen. Well, last week, we began a new section of First Timothy, a section dealing with the public prayers of the church. Paul instructed these Ephesian Christians to pray for all kinds of people, he said. And he specifically noted the appropriateness of praying for kings and all who are in authority that we might live dignified, respectable Christian lives. And in our passage today, Paul is finishing his instruction on public prayer. And he then moves on to the topic of a Christian woman's conduct or deportment. Deportment just means the manner in which one conducts oneself. And he gives women of the congregation specific instruction before turning in chapter three to the qualifications for the leaders of the body, qualifications for elders and deacons in the local church. If you turn over to chapter three, verses 14 and 15. First Timothy chapter three, verses 14 and 15. You'll see how Paul summarizes his basic instruction to Timothy. He says, these things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly, but if I am delayed, I write 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 the truth. So how are things to function in our corporate life together at Grace Baptist Church. That's what these two chapters are all about. Paul gives instruction for public prayer, the deportment of Christian women, and the qualifications for elders and deacons who serve as leaders of local churches. All of this instruction is extremely apropos, relevant for Grace Baptist Church. Now, if you look at verse eight of our text, In verse eight, you'll notice that Paul is concluding his instruction on public prayer. He says, I desire, therefore, therefore, he's resuming the point that he made at the beginning of the chapter about supplications, prayers, intercessions and giving of thanks being made for all kinds of men. Now, the New King James Version says, I desire, I desire, therefore. that could indicate that Paul is merely suggesting to the Ephesian church what to do, but that's not true. Paul is giving authoritative instruction to the church. And because of that, I much prefer the King James version, which says, I will, therefore. I will, therefore. This is something that is necessary to follow for Timothy and something that Timothy is to teach to the church in Ephesus. So you'll note in this verse that Paul tells us the who, the where, and the how of public prayer. The who, the where, and the how of public prayer. Look at what Paul says. I will, therefore, that the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and disputing. Now it's important to answer the question, what does Paul mean when he says that he wants men to pray everywhere? The answer is quite simple. He wants men to pray everywhere a local assembly of Christians is gathered on the Lord's Day to worship God. So everywhere in the world that a church gathers to worship on the Lord's Day, public prayers are to be offered in Christ's name to God the Father. And who does Paul want to lead the public prayers of God's people? Look again at verse eight. Paul says, I desire, therefore, that the men pray everywhere. That's very clear, isn't it? Christian men are to lead the assembly in the prayers of Lord's Day worship. In fact, the New King James Version, the note in my study Bible says the Greek word translated men in this verse refers to males distinguished from females. So we asked the question, who does God want to lead the public prayers of his people on Sunday? Here it is. It's not hard. He's revealed it to us. He wants the Christian men of the church to lead in prayer. If someone asks the question, why don't women pray in the congregation? Why don't women lead the prayers on Sunday at Grace Baptist Church? What's our answer to that? Well, God wants the men to lead in prayer. In other words, it's not his will that women lead the worship of the congregation. Men ought to lead the worship of the congregation. And the reason that I want to belabor this point is simple, because we've recently had a member of our church saying, I want to be a part of a church where it's conceivable that a woman would be able to pray in the worship service. And we had the difficulties with that member, as we all know. Well, here's the question that we need to ask. I'm not seeking to cast any personal aspersion at all, but we do need to ask, why is that desire so poignant when Paul says very clearly at the end of his ministry, in the penultimate letter that we have from him before his death, I will, therefore, that the men pray everywhere. Now, how does Paul want men to pray? He wants the men praying to lift up, he says, holy hands to the Lord. And this was a common posture for prayer in the Bible and in the early church. For example, in Psalm 134, verse two, it says, lift up your hands in the sanctuary and bless the Lord. Or Psalm 141 verse 2 says, let my prayer be set before you as incense, the lifting of my hands as the evening sacrifice. But more important than a culturally confined posture, postures which often change depending on the place you live, more important than the form of the prayer, Paul says that prayers are to be offered by men with hands that are holy, he says, and without wrath. and disputing. Listen to this quote. Paul's primary emphasis was the attitude that men were to bring to prayer. The term holy hands describes hands that are morally pure, he says. This calls for a devout lifestyle that seeks to please the Lord. In other words, prayers in the midst of the assembly should be offered by Christian men who desire to keep a good conscience before God, as we've talked about in the past. In the prophets, God reiterates over and over again that he rejects prayers that come from hearts that are far from him. And so prayer is to be offered in the assembly by those who truly fear the Lord and desire to walk before him in truth. Now, Paul also says that public prayers are to be offered by men without wrath and disputing. In other words, if there is dispute and disunity and anger towards one another in the body of Christ, public prayer becomes unfitting from the mouths of men who refuse to live at peace with one another. Let me quote again, the anger Paul denounces is a settled indignation against another person. We are not to pray to God with a settled indignation in our hearts against a brother or sister in Christ in the midst of the assembly. May God preserve our unity so that our prayers might be effective in his sight. Again, this one author says the word disputing, refers to a spirit of controversy that was the special hallmark of the Ephesian teachers, those false teachers in the Ephesian church. They loved to stir up contempt and controversy through their teaching. And Paul implies here that where controversy and contempt reign in a church, the effectiveness of public prayer is vitiated. What a warning for us at Grace. that the preservation of our Christian unity at this church is important for the sake of our corporate prayer life, for God's listening to the prayers of this congregation. Remember what Peter said in 1 Peter 3, verse 7. Husbands, likewise, dwell with your wives with understanding, giving honor to the wife as to the weaker vessel and as being heirs together of the grace of life, And how did he close off that verse? He said, so that your prayers may not be hindered. A husband's prayers before God are hindered when he refuses to live with his wife in an understanding way. And the same is true on a corporate level when hate and anger and disunity and suspicion reign in a congregation, the public prayers of God's people become a pretense. May God preserve our unity and peace at Grace Baptist Church for the sake of our public prayers, the worship of our triune God, and carrying out the mission of gospel proclamation to sinners. Now, in the final verses of this passage from verses nine through 15, Paul turns and gives specific instruction to Christian women and their deportment. It's just a big word that means the manner in which they are to conduct themselves. And you can see that Paul is switching groups here because he says in verse eight, he says the men. And in verse nine, he says, in like manner, also the women. Now, is Paul intimating that there are no men who have a temptation towards vanity? No, but as I said in our series on first Peter, who are generally more concerned about their physical appearance? Women are, isn't that true? Who are generally more concerned about physical beauty? It's true that women are. And so what Paul was saying here is that there is a way for a woman who fears the Lord to dress. There is a way for a woman who fears the Lord to dress. How ought she to dress? And you'll notice that Paul gives no specific prescriptions for what a woman is to wear. He doesn't say that Christian women need to wear long denim skirts. He doesn't prescribe a dress code like they had for us at the Christian school, but he does give principles to guide the women of this congregation. If you are a woman here, and it doesn't matter what age you are, Paul says he wills as an apostle of Christ that the women adorn themselves modestly in modest apparel. Clothing is to be modest, Paul says. And what does Paul mean by that? Paul means that Christian women are to dress so as to avoid impropriety or indecency. That's what he means. Christian women who profess godliness are to dress so as to avoid impropriety or indecency. Now we all know that modest clothing is characterized by what? It is characterized by not revealing or emphasizing one's figure. And Christian women professing godliness ought to care about dressing appropriately rather than revealingly in modest clothing, Paul says, with propriety, meaning with respect for oneself and for others, and also with moderation. which could be interpreted as dressing with self-control. Don't flaunt your wealth in what you wear. It's important to remember that in the first century, there were two types of women who dressed in the gaudy fashion Paul highlights here. Courtesans. would dress to impress for the obvious reason of business. And if the woman was not a courtesan, women who dressed in these ways did so to flaunt their wealth. And it's important to note that both of these things are under fitting for Christian women. Christian women should not dress like harlots and Christian women should not dress in order to ostentatiously display how much money They have. Now is Paul condemning all jewelry here? Is Paul condemning all braided hair? I'm sure somebody has braided hair here today. Or is Paul addressing the overuse of these things for sinful ends? I think that when we ask that question, it answers itself. What should a Christian woman's adornment be? Christian women ought to adorn themselves, Paul says in verse 10, with good works. A godly woman's adornment, her true beauty, Paul was saying, is her good works. Now, what kind of good works does Paul have in mind in this text? Well, interestingly, he actually goes on to tell us what kind of works Christian women should be engaged in in 1 Timothy 5. So if you turn over to 1 Timothy 5, verse 10, You'll notice in 1st Timothy chapter 5 verses 9 and 10 that he says, Do not let a widow under 60 years old be taken into the number and not unless she has been the wife of one man. Well reported, he says, for good works. Well reported for good works. So what are the good works that Christian women should be well reported for? And here, the first one that Paul gives is if she has brought up children. Isn't that amazing? Paul considers one of the good works of a Christian woman to be the bringing up of her children. Let that be an encouragement to you mothers here today who are engaged in such an important and God glorifying endeavor of being a consistent, nurturing and godly example to your children. This is one of the good works that God has called Christian women to in life. It is a place for Christian women of deep reward and joy. And it has been such an encouragement to Christine and I to see how seriously the families of this congregation take the raising of their children. And to see the impact of godly women desiring to educate their children in a way that pleases the Lord. Dear sisters, listen to these words. Let the godly raising of your children be your beautiful adornment. What else does Paul say? Paul says here in 1 Timothy 5, if she has washed the saints feet. Here are the good works of a Christian woman shining that she has washed the saints feet. Now, don't read that too literally. What that means is that the woman has consistently served the saints in their needs. seeking to bless them, being a helping hand, being merciful and comforting in their presence, being hospitable, showing grace and mercy like the woman Dorcas in the book of Acts. Paul says here as well, if she has relieved the afflicted, here are other good works for Christian women to engage in. If she has relieved the afflicted. I think of the meals. that the women of the church have provided to those who have needed them. I think of you women who have been engaged in baby showers that have needed planning and care. The wedding helps that have been offered to those who have recently been married in this church. These are all in the glorious service of God, aren't they? And Paul was saying that there is a distinctive adornment of a Christian woman, a woman who knows and fears the Lord Christ. And her distinctive adornment is the way she lives her life in the service of God. Physical beauty is fading. But true lasting beauty comes from a Christian woman's holy life. Well, the rest of this chapter emphasizes a woman's deportment. the way that she carries herself in the church of God. None of these things ultimately are separated from the church's communal life, are they? And in verse 11, Paul states what a woman's approach is to be to the teaching ministry of the church. First, Paul says, let a woman learn in silence with all submission. Let me point something out here. Women, like all other members of the congregation, are to learn. Did you hear what Paul just said? Sometimes I wonder if women think that the idea of submission means that they no longer have to think deeply about God or about theology or about the word. Perhaps there's a woman here who thinks, I don't have to understand Christian doctrine because my husband does, and I'm just going to be submissive to him. Listen to what Paul says. Let a woman learn. Listen to this quote, Paul's command encourages the women to give attention to God's message in order to learn for Christian growth and development. Dear sisters, you need that just as much as the men here do. You need to know theology just as much as your husband does. But there are distinctive ways, as Paul notes, that a woman is to approach the teaching ministry of the church, and it is to be done with an attitude of respect, of receptive quietness and submission. seeking to understand the teaching of the word rather than to boisterously and loudly add to it. That's the point that Paul was making here. Listen to this quote. This submission did not demand a surrender of the mind. Submission does not demand a surrender of the mind or conscience or the abandonment of private judgment. That's important to state. Paul is not saying, women, shut off your minds when being taught. He's not saying you can't question in Sunday school about something you did not understand. He's not saying you cannot ask a question on Wednesday nights. In fact, we have an example of Aquila and Priscilla both instructing Apollos in private concerning a more full understanding of the faith in the book of Acts. But Paul is calling Christian women to consider their approach to the word of God and their receptivity to it so that they will have a teachable spirit. Now Paul goes on to say in verse 12, something that has deeply divided the Christian church for decades now. But in fact, Paul is not unclear in what he says, is he? He says in verse 12, and I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to be in silence. Here is an express command from the apostle Paul stating, women are not to teach men. nor are they to fill authoritative positions or offices within the church. And I'm under no illusion just how unpopular this teaching is in our day. But just because it is unpopular does not make it untrue. Listen to this quote. Paul consistently refrained from appointing a woman to a place of authoritative teaching responsibility in a congregation. Why? Because that's not a woman's place. If we look over at the qualifications for eldership in the church and we note what it says, it says the elder should be the husband of one wife. Draw the implication. And what does that indicate? It indicates that the elder ought to be a man and not just any man, but a specifically qualified man. Paul says an elder must know how to run and manage his household. But who, according to Paul, is to run or to manage a household? It is the man's responsibility to do that. What does this mean for the teaching at grace? It means, according to the apostolic command, that we are not to have gifted sisters. or elders who are females, but brothers tested and called by the church to serve as teachers of Christ's church, because Paul says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man. Do we believe that? Will we submissively and humbly place ourselves under the word of God and listen to what it says? This obviously means that for certain ministries and certain women, we can think of women like Joyce Meyer and others like her ilk. We can say that Joyce Meyer is sinning. I don't say that with any joy, but she is. Not only by what she says, which is bad, but also by what she is doing in teaching a church that she runs. There are also some modern reformed women. who are sinning by teaching men in the context of Lord's Day worship, women like Amy Byrd, who should stop. These women should not be listened to because they do not follow a clear precedent from scripture relating to who is supposed to teach and to hold authority in the body of Christ, qualified and called men. And how do we know that that is true? How do we know that this is the reality? Paul looks back to the creation of man and woman in the garden of Eden. He hearkens back to Genesis chapter two. Look at verse 13 of our text and notice what he says, for Adam, notice that word for, he is giving the explanation as to why a woman ought not hold authority or to teach a man. Look at verse 13, for Adam was formed first. than Eve. So how do we know that Paul's prescriptions for a woman not to teach her to hold authority over a man is a universal instruction for the church of all ages? Because some people read this text and they say, no, the problem was the Ephesian church. And there were women in the Ephesian church who were disrupting the church's services. So Paul was speaking to a particular cultural event that was happening in that church. Well, that's not true. And we know that because Paul appeals back to the creation order itself, pre-fall, and states, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam's being formed first gives him not ontological superiority, but relational superiority over Eve. Adam is the head and the leader and the husband. Men are to lead the congregation of the Lord Jesus. That pattern existed pre-fall. There was order in creation before sin. Thus, to put a woman into a teaching position or a position of authority over men in a congregation of Christ is not in accord with creational order. And we can say clearly for Paul, our unity and oneness in Christ, which we have, does not erase creational categories. We cannot use texts like in Christ, there is neither male nor female to blur the distinctiveness of the sexes. No, those creational categories of men being the head and leader over the woman and wife continue to exist in the church and in marriage until the end. of time until the end of this age. And Paul was concerned that if a woman was placed into a leadership position, that would reverse the roles of creation as they had been reversed at the fall. Look at what he says in verse 14. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Paul is saying, look at what happens when men abdicate their God-given position of authority. Paul was explaining the role reversal that took place at the fall in Genesis 3. He's not saying that Adam was not morally culpable for the choice of eating the forbidden fruit. He clearly believes that based upon Romans 5. But he is saying in Genesis three, the woman took and gave to her husband and that was a problem. She took the lead in that action and she ought not to have done that. Adam should have protected his wife from the wiles of Satan. Listen to this quote, rather than God being the authority over man who was in authority over the woman who were in authority over the animal world, The pattern prevailing at the fall was the exact opposite. The serpent tempted and deceived the woman who exerted leadership over the man and both rebelled against God and transgressed his commands. Both positively and negatively, therefore, Paul directs that man, not the woman, function in roles of leadership and responsibility for the church. And that same author goes on to state, The fact that Paul is rooting his directive in the order of creation, rather than providing a cultural rationale, strongly favors that verses 11 through 12 are permanently applicable. And we have to note that where denominations have gone, When they have begun to ordain women to the office of elder or pastor or to let women teach in the public assemblies of the church, what has happened to these denominations? The denominations have gone off the rails. Look at the Methodist Church. Look at the Presbyterian Church, United States of America. Look at the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Look at the Christian Reformed Church. Almost all of the mainline denominations are no longer doctrinally sound, at least broadly speaking, because role reversal leads in a direction that is fundamentally unsound. And when men abdicate their God-given responsibility to lead and women to take a place of subservience, things go sour. Well, Paul closes off this text with what some consider to be one of the most enigmatic things in the New Testament. In verse 15, he says, nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, holiness with self-control. What does Paul mean here when he says these words? What Paul clearly does not mean by this is that a woman is saved by the act of childbearing. Because that would be a form of works righteousness, and not all Christian women who are saved by Christ have had children. So that cannot be what Paul means. So what does he mean? It becomes clearer if we translate the verse like this. She, namely the woman, will be saved through the childbirth, namely the specific bearing of a child. And we ask the question, by whose birth from a woman, Galatians 4.4, are women saved? By the birth of Jesus. So I want us to note here how Paul has explained the roles of men and women in this text. He highlights and puts an equal sign between Adam, men, and Eve, and woman. And even in verse 14, the woman being deceived is a reference to Eve. So I think what Paul is doing here is saying that this promise of the salvation of women through the birth of a child relates to Genesis 3.15. That the woman would be saved through the seed of the woman, namely Christ. Paul has appealed to Adam's creation first in Genesis 2. Then to Eve's usurpation of a leadership role in taking and giving to her husband, who followed her willfully in Genesis 3. But now at the end of the text, he highlights the Genesis 3.15 promise of the seed of the woman. And Eve was called to embrace her identity, specifically as a woman, to bear seed that would bring forth Messiah, who would come from the virgin's womb. In other words, Paul was saying that even though Eve was deceived and usurped her role in God's redemptive story, God has dignified the woman's place as the one in God's plan who bears children. Since it would be through the birth from a woman that salvation would be made possible. So Paul was highlighting that the woman, Eve, and thus all women who profess faith in Christ are saved through the messianic seed born of the woman, but he emphasizes that it is necessary for Christian women to continue to persevere in faith distinctively as women. To continue in faith in the Messiah born from woman and in love for that Messiah born from woman. and in that personal growth and sanctification that God requires of women, and in the self-control of embracing womanhood that honors Christ, rather than vaunting themselves into positions and places where God says they are not to be. So how should we close our time today? It's simple. Men should lead the prayers of the public worship of God. Men should lead the prayers of the public worship of God. That's what God wants. Men, we should not pray with any wrath in our hearts towards each other or any disputing with one another, but rather lift up our prayers to God in peace instead of pretense, asking that he would cause his face to shine on Grace Baptist. Women, should dress modestly in worship, yes, but in all of life as those whom Christ has redeemed, as those who profess godliness. The women of this church should learn the truth of God deeply, but with the right posture, a posture of godly femininity that receives God's word with quiet reverence. Grace Baptist Church must not give way to a feminist culture that does not treasure the truth of God and reviles the creation norms God has made. Men should be leaders of this church. Men should be leaders of their homes because Adam was created first and our oneness in Christ does not erase creational distinctions, but sanctifies them. and brings a particular nobility to the woman as one who takes a subservient role as the mother of children. As one who in Eve shares in the womanly identity that brought forth the Messiah Jesus for the salvation of all mankind. Dear sisters in Christ, continue soldiering on in faith, love, holiness, and self-control. looking to the word of God rather than culture to define how you will live. Let's pray. Father, we praise you for the order of creation that you have established and for the desire that you have in this church, that men would not abdicate their responsibility of leading, of prayer, of being elders and deacons, and of leading their homes, but that we might take the helm of that leadership with all that responsibility you have given to us and desire to be servant leaders. We pray that you would help the men of this congregation as we pray publicly to lift up our hands without wrath or disputing that we would desire to walk before you in holiness with no sin clinging to us tenaciously that we are not willing to let go of. Oh Christ, we pray that you would bless the women of this congregation and that they would resort to your word desiring to follow in those good works that you have given to them distinctly as women. We pray for the mothers of this congregation that they would take great stock in the fact that the raising of their children in a godly way is a good work that you have given to them to pursue. We pray that you would help them to see their dignified position as women in this congregation, but that they would also recognize the place that you have put them into as those who are to listen subserviently and with a teachable spirit to the teaching of this church. We pray that you would help them to think about the way that they dress Help them to bring their understanding of godliness to that subject so that they might dress with propriety and appropriateness in the worship of God, but at all times, too. Father, be with us. Bless us. Keep Satan far from our congregation, we pray for Jesus' sake. Amen.