To All the Ladies

All right, good morning. It's good to see everybody. I'm glad you're here. I want to invite you to stand with us. We'll pray and we'll get started.

Father, we thank you for the day. And Lord, we thank you for another opportunity, Lord, to praise you, God, and to lift a joyful noise, to spend some time in your word. We ask that you would just prepare our hearts, Lord, and move mightily in our lives by your Holy Spirit this morning. We love you and we praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. And you guys can go ahead and have a CD if you like.

We need you to defend us. We need you to be our righteousness.

You are so awesome, Lord God.

Would you guys go ahead and stand with me for this last one?

Faith will help me scale these walls. I'll see the... God, we just thank you again for the day. We thank you that you are our salvation, Lord.

Trust is in you. This morning as Pastor Ryan comes, Lord, I just pray that you would speak mightily through him. Lord, let your Holy Spirit go before you, work mightily in our lives. Soften our hearts to receive that word this morning. We love you, Father. We praise you in Jesus' name. Amen. Let's have some fellowship.

Good morning.

If you could begin the process of locating your seats. Grab a bulletin. We'll get ready to go over some announcements.

Welcome to Calvary Chapel. Glad that you have joined us this morning. A handful of things to take note of in your bulletin. As always, on the left-hand side are places to get plugged in through the week. Over in the middle section, a reminder that the Mowing Ministry sign-up is still out there if you would like to get involved in the Mowing Ministry. Sign up on there. Find yourself a friend and do a little serving.

Together would be a great time. And then also, hey, pardon the mess, right? So as you have noticed, we've got a lot of construction going on out here. We're really excited. I mentioned this like one of the first Sundays of the year, but there was like seven people here because it was snowing and stuff. And so just a reminder, we've got this construction project going on

where basically what is the current nursing mothers slash nursery there, that's going to go away and that will become an enlarged foyer and it will lead out into that building. That's going to be out there, which is going to be more Sunday school classrooms and new nursery and toddler room, some additional bathrooms, multi-purpose room, things like that. So we're really excited about that, but it is going to be, well, we've done construction before, right? So there's always a little bit of mess.

We won't have to hang a piece of plastic down the middle of the sanctuary this time, so that's fun. But please pardon the mess as we continue to grow where that's concerned. So those are the things that are going on. If you would make sure that your mobile device, is silenced for our responsive reading this morning, we're going to be in Psalm 46. Psalm 46. Looking at the New American Standard, at least for this part,

so that we sound the same. If you need a copy, it should be one in a row around you. And as you are turning to Psalm 46, if you are able, please stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word.

I will read the odd verses if you will follow along with Pastor Jared and the even verses. Psalm 46, for the choir director, a psalm of the sons of Corinth. Hora, set to Alamoth, a song. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore, we will not fear, though the earth should change, and though the mountains slip into the heart of the sea.

Though its waters roar and foam, though the mountains quake at its swelling pride, Selah. There is a river whose streams make glad the city of God, the holy dwelling places of the Most High. God is in the midst of her. She will not be moved. She will not be moved. She will not be moved. She will not be moved. God will help her when morning dawns. The nations made an uproar.

The kingdoms tottered. He raised his voice, and the earth melted. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold, Selah. Come, behold the works of the Lord, who has wrought desolations in the earth. He makes wars to cease to the end of the earth. He breaks the bow and cuts the spear in two. He burns the chariots with fire. Cease striving. And know that I am God.

I will be exalted among the nations. I will be exalted in the earth. And read verse 11 with me. The Lord of hosts is with us. The God of Jacob is our stronghold, Selah. And Father, we come to you now, and we do praise you that you are our greatest strength, and you are our stronghold. And Father, we find our refuge in you. And so, Lord, as we spend time in your word this morning,

I just ask for that power of your Holy Spirit to be upon me as I bring forth your word. Bless me with that gift of teaching. And, Lord, be with your people. Bless them with the gift of hearing. And, Lord, may only the things of you shine forth. And may all the things of me fall by the wayside. And, Lord, may your word go out with power. In Jesus' name. Amen.

You may be seated. And if you would, open up in your Bibles to the book of 1 Timothy, chapter 2. 1 Timothy, chapter 2. The title of this morning's message is To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies.

To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. To All the Ladies. We said that Paul was not only addressing a young pastor and instructing him on what it looks like to faithfully handle himself as a pastor, but he also is addressing young churches. And knowing that his time on earth is drawing to a close as he addresses these young churches,

he gives them the instructions that they need to know how they should conduct themselves in the house of God. And so, we come this morning to probably one of the most controversial sections, not only in the Bible, but also in the Bible. in the Bible. the pastoral epistles, but in scripture, and I'm glad that I get to teach it. We had men's breakfast yesterday morning. We talked about the five loaves and the two fish, and I said, you know, sometimes

God calls us to do impossible things. Like, for instance, tomorrow I get to teach this section out of 1 Timothy chapter 2, and I told them about it, and I think they have been praying for me fervently ever since. For the past 24 hours, there has been fervent prayer going up on behalf of those men for me. So, let's read the section. Starting in verse 9, it says this,

Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority, over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. It was not

Adam who was deceived, but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. But women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-restraint. And at that moment, every other man in the room started praying for me. So, again, one of the most controversial sections of Scripture, outside of the church definitely, if the people outside the church read things like this, they just, oh my gosh, I can't believe, you know, it's the patriarchal system. Paul hated women. This is everything that we hate about the

Bible. But where it really gets controversial is in the church, because there's so many different interpretations of this Scripture. And I'm going to do the best I can to handle this both delicately and biblically, as I take what I consider to be a pretty historic, but also very biblical approach to this section of Scripture. And I want you to understand, as we approach this, I live my life around girls. I just want you to know that, right? I'm raising

two of them. I live with a wife, but that's not the extent of how much I have spent my life around ladies. I grew up with a sister, but there are multiple girls that would claim me as their brother. My parents' best friends had four daughters, and we spent a good bit of my formative years with them. My dad was very close with Pastor Mark, who had two daughters, and both of them would

tell you to this day that I'm like their brother. And then, of course, I grew up with Alan and Mary Ann Brooke and their three daughters, who also much like siblings. And so I spent the better part of my life around almost nothing but girls. And so as I approach this Scripture, I first of all, I mean, I feel that. That's the way I feel. Whatever's playing there, I feel that deep down.

Like that, that's ominous music, and I feel that. And so as I approach this Scripture, first of all, it's sensitively. Like I approach this with sensitivity because of, of living so much of my life around, around ladies. But, but I also, I also approach it with a great deal of respect because, because I have so much respect for the women in my life. I have so much respect for, for the women that I've grown up around and have now turned into wonderful women

of God. I have so much respect for the women who would, who would also go on to play a very motherly role in my life and in the way that they have helped in the instruction of me and forming of who I am today. And so, so, so I have a great deal of respect for women when it comes to this. I want you to know that because, again, I'm gonna have to address hard things, but it is with love, delicateness, and, and respect. And so, so when it comes to relationships of men and

women, there's always two big problems that we have. The, the first problem came about because of the fall. You see, when, when Adam and Eve sinned, there were consequences that were handed down to Adam and Eve. And, and since we're dealing with ladies, we'll mainly deal with the consequences that came down to Eve. The, the first of which was, was that, that she would have pain in childbirth.

So ladies, bummer, right? So there would be pain, in childbirth. But, but the other part is that, is that God told her, your desire will be for the man. Now, when we hear that at face value, we're like, well, that sounds like a really good thing. She's always going to love her husband. And so we understand how that word desire is used elsewhere in scripture, because elsewhere in scripture, that word desire is used, only it's

not used in the indication of desiring in a physical or even emotional sense. The idea is desiring to rule over. And so, so essentially what God told Eve is your desire is always going to be to rule over the man. And, and, and so there's always going to be this issue between you and men, because of what took place in the garden, because of sin. So there's always going to be this, this,

this conflict that takes place between men and women. So that's the first issue that we have when it comes to relationships between men and women. But then men, we have to own the second part of this. Sometimes we're the problem. Like historically, men have been the problem when it comes to the issue of, of men and women, because we have taken some of the things that are good and godly in scripture,

and we have either A, abdicated our responsibility to the women and said, you take charge, I just want to watch sports and drink beer, or, or we have lorded authority over instead of using it in a godly way. And because of that, because of the often abuse of the authority that God has given to men, we have the situation that we have today. And so as we approach this, we have that in the back of our mind. And we see that what Paul addresses with the women in the church so that they can conduct themselves in a godly manner is he addresses two things. He talks about modesty,

and he talks about order. So he starts off in verse nine, and he says this. Likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women, making a claim to godliness. Now, typically, as a man, especially a man living in a home full of girls, I don't address what women wear very much. As a matter of fact, Adam pretty well ruined that for us because, again, when Adam

and Eve sinned, the first thing that they realized is that they were naked because they had been clothed in the righteousness of God, and that righteousness was gone. And so, so it says Adam made coverings for them, and he made coverings for them out of fig leaves. Now, I don't really know that much about fig leaves, but from everything that I've read, they're the itchiest leaf you can imagine rubbing up against with your body. And so he chose the absolute worst possible thing to clothe themselves in that would make them as itchy as absolutely possible. And ever since then, men have never been allowed to pick out any

clothing, right? We can't pick it out for our wives, we can't pick it out for ourselves, and it all goes back to the fall. However, he does address some principles about clothing in here. He says, likewise, I want women to adorn themselves with proper clothing. That word proper means that which is good and appropriate. That which is good and appropriate. Kenneth Weist gives us a really good indication of what this word proper means. He says,

apparel that is fitting both to the gender and to their position as Christians. Proper clothing, that which is appropriate to the gender but which is also appropriate for your position as a Christian. He goes on to give another word, and that word is modesty. Modesty. Well, this has become kind of a dirty word in our culture, hasn't it? It's so provincial, right? It's patriarchal to

use the term modesty. How dare you put those sort of things on me? But do you know what the word modesty means? It means reverence and respect. That means, ladies, I'm talking to you here. I'm going to deal with the men again here in just a minute because I can never leave them alone. But y'all need to be clothed in yourselves in such a way that is both reverent towards God

and respectful of your own body. And I think if there was ever a word to be spoken to our culture, it would be to tell young ladies, listen, dress appropriately. Dress in such a way that is both reverent towards God and respectful towards your body because, listen, you deserve respect. And before I leave a group of people out, this isn't always just for young ladies because I have seen plenty of women that I would, let's just say I would not describe them as young, who need to hear, dress reverently towards God and respectfully towards your own body.

He says to first of all dress appropriately, appropriate to your gender, but then also appropriate to who you are as a Christian so that your dress reflects who you are in Christ and that should be modest, respectful of who you are. He goes on to say discreetly, which the idea behind that is both sober-minded and self-controlled, and not with braided hair, fancy jewelry, and fancy clothes. Now there are certain portions of scripture that we really do have to look at and go, that was very cultural. Right? Because otherwise, all of you that came in, I'm scanning right now, so you wouldn't call out,

all of you with braided hair that came in here this morning, you're living in sin currently right now. No, that's not the idea of what he's saying. If you wore gold jewelry, get out of this. I'm just kidding. That's not what he's saying. He's saying, listen, don't let your adornment simply be outward. Don't spend all of your time focused on the way that you look on the outside.

And I think that that's a really good word sometimes, is we spend so much, honestly, there's some dudes that can stand to hear that, right? Like, I was watching an old Mr. T video the other day, I don't know why, it popped up on Instagram, and I was like, I love Mr. T, right? And he's pitying the fool while he's got 10,000 gold chains hanging off of himself. I remember that time in the 80s when men wore gold chains.

Thank you, Jesus, that we have been delivered from gold chains in men, right? And if I see it coming back, I am absolutely casting it down in the name of Jesus. It says it shouldn't all be outward. You shouldn't, you just have so much focus on the outward that there's no focus on the outward. Right? You shouldn't have so much focus on the outward that there's no focus on the outward.

Right? You just have so much focus on the outward. Right? You shouldn't have so much focus on the outward. Instead, what he says that you should be is that you should be known for your good works. Notice what he says, but rather by means of good works as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. That phrase good works can literally be translated helping others, but I've put my own little translation on it.

And it means the content of your character. You should be known for the content of your character. Now, I love my wife, and I think she's one of the most beautiful women I've ever seen. women I've ever seen in my life. And she gets prettier every year. She gets more beautiful every year. It's the most amazing thing I've ever seen. And I fall a little bit more in love with

her every single year because of who she is. And it has less to do with what she looks like on the outside. It has more to do with who she is on the inside. As a matter of fact, I'm going to out myself on something here. When my wife and I were dating, I had just gotten out of a really, really bad relationship. And I was scared, right? Plus, men always have the problem of we

don't care what's on TV. We only care what else is on TV, right? And so, that's a joke. You can laugh at it. We've dealt with this already, okay? And so, I actually broke up with her three times while we were dating. And every woman just went. And every time I'd break up with her, I would think, I have to get back together with her. It had nothing to do with how beautiful she is.

It had everything to do with the fact that I couldn't stand not talking. Because I love the content of her character. She is compassionate. She is caring. She is honest. She holds me accountable. She is accepting. She is understanding. She's everything that I want to be but can't because that's who she is. And that's the content of her character. You see, what I see

in her is not just what she looks like on the outside, but I see who she is by the means of her good works, by the means of the content of her character, because it is becoming a woman of her character. And I love the content of her character. She is compassionate. She is caring. She loves God. And every time I'd break up with her, I'd say, I can't help it. And eventually,

she, you know, first time, she was like, what the hey? And the second time, she was like, he'll be back. Third time, she was like, wait for it, right? Because she knew I couldn't stay away. And ladies, that's what you're to be. Because that, listen, you can see the most beautiful woman in the world, and she can't seem to find a guy, right? Why? Because the content of her

character is so bad. Because eventually, good looks wear out. And you want to know that there's something in there. You want to know that there is something to get to know. And that's why we should be spending, ladies, spend a lot more time building up the content of your character than you do in front of the bathroom mirror, right? Spend a lot more time in front of this mirror than you do in front of that mirror, because it will

build the content of your character so that you can become the woman that God has created for you to be. Well, in my fashion talk with Timothy, I want to make sure I point some things out. I want to point out two things. I want to point out two things. I want to point out two things. Number one, I want to point out what Paul is not saying. Number two, I want to point out what Paul

is saying. Number one, what Paul is not saying is that you are not allowed to wear nice clothes or care about the way that you look. Ladies, I know that that's a really important thing to y'all, and he's not saying that you shouldn't do that. Wearing makeup is not a sin. Maybe wearing too much makeup. Anyway, that's a whole other story. Wearing makeup is not a sin. Wearing jewelry is

not a sin. Caring about the way that you look is not a sin. So don't worry about those things. Those kinds of things. That's not what he's saying. The second thing that I want to point out to you is that what he is not saying is he is not saying that you are solely responsible for the purity of every man. Because I think that this is a legalistic trip that has been put on

women at points in time as we have told them, you are responsible for the purity of the men around you. Now listen, wise decisions need to be made. You need to be respectful of your body and reverent towards God. But the way that you dress isn't the way that you dress. You need to know what's creating the impure thoughts in men. Trust me, men are going to have impure thoughts

no matter how you dress. That's just all that there is to it. That's just a little window into men. They're going to have those impure thoughts no matter what because we're men that are fallen. You are not solely responsible for the purity of every man. And can I say this as well? We need to start showing a little bit of grace to especially new Christian girls. Women, young ladies that have

come to the faith, we need to show them a little bit of grace in the beginning. Matter of fact, we may need to show them a little bit of grace in the beginning. But we need to show them a little bit of grace for a long time. One of the pastors at the pastor's conference that I went to shared this story about a couple that started coming to church. And he said, every other church in town

kind of gave them a hard time and they ended up leaving because the wife showed up dressed pretty scantily every single week. And he said, I had to learn to just always keep my eyes straight ahead at her eyes. But eventually, she became a part of the flock. And eventually, it came out that the reason why she doesn't dress better is because she couldn't afford any clothes.

And she said, you're the first church that's ever shown me grace and accepted me no matter how I dressed. He said, so I connected her with some of the other ladies in church and they said, we're glad to help you out. And they helped this lady out and they helped her get the right kind of appropriate clothing to wear. And sometimes we see young ladies come into church and they've come out of the world and they're still dressing like the rest of the world. And sometimes we as the church

can look at them and go, I can't believe she's dressed like that. I can. She just came out of the world. She just came out of a world that told her the only thing that she's worth is to be a woman. She's worth is to look at. The only thing that she's worth is to be used. And so that's all she thinks her worth is. And rather than us looking down on her, we need to come alongside her and love

her. Because that's what we're called to do as the church. Because ladies, you're not solely responsible for the purity of every single man. So what is Paul saying? Well, first of all, Paul is saying this. Ladies, your value far surpasses your appearance. I'm going to say it again because out of everything that I say today, I want you to hear this. Your value far surpasses your

appearance. And it hurts my heart to see some of these young ladies who feel like the only thing that they're worth is to be looked at. The only thing that they're worth is to be taken advantage of by a boy. The only thing that they're worth is what they can give some guy. And I want you to know that your worth is not tied up in your appearance. Your worth is tied up in the fact

that you were fearfully and wonderfully made by God. Right around the time my wife and I first started dating, she had just gotten done working at a very high-end department store. And she also had been a fashion major before she went into education. And so she would take me to this high-end fashion store. And I would see this high-end department store. And I would see how much

things cost. And I'm like, oh, you've got to be kidding me. Really? Like here at Arc City Boy, he goes into this high-end Kansas City store. And I see his helmet. I'm like, that's ridiculous. Who in the world? Why is it worth that much money? That doesn't look like it's worth that much money. And I'd say, why is that so expensive? And she said, well, it's worth so much because of the designer. And ladies, that's what I want you to know.

You are worth so much because of your designer. Because you have been designed by God. And because you have been designed by God, your worth far surpasses your appearance. It's the true person of who you are because God has fearfully and wonderfully made you. And when he made you, he didn't make a mistake. When he made you, he didn't say, oops. He didn't do that. When he made you, he said,

that's my daughter. And I can't wait for her to come to know me so that she can really know the worth and the value that she has in me. Because right now, I'm watching girls' lives get destroyed by the fact that they think that the only thing that they're worth is what they look like on the outside. And it's time that you understand that your value is determined by your creator, not your appearance. So don't let your outward adornment,

be something that's inappropriate, something that draws attention to your body because you're worth way more than that. The second thing that I think that he's telling us is this. I think he's telling you ladies that you need to seek to glorify God through your appearance. You need to seek to glorify God through your appearance. Through the way that you dress, glorify God. That throws all

dress codes out the window. You know it? That's called living according to grace. If you can say, this brings glory to God, not my body, then you're fine. Then you're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. You're fine. Then you dress however you feel like it's going to glorify God the best. Because that's

what he's telling you. And then the last thing, I had him put it up here. It's Proverbs 31 verse 30. It's a great verse. It says, charm is deceitful and beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord, she is greatly to be praised. And ladies, I want you to know that. That when the content of your character begins to come out through your love of God, it becomes

the most beautiful thing about you. And it has nothing to do with how you look on the outside. It has nothing to do with how you look on the inside. It has nothing to do with your appearance. It is absolutely the work of the Holy Spirit in you, making you more precious and valuable than you can even imagine. So he gives Timothy this instruction. Can you imagine Timothy getting this and going, so I got to teach the ladies this. Okay. That's

why one of the guys after service goes, I liked the first part, fashion talks with Tim. So anyway, that's what that was. All right, now we move into the controversial part. No one's left yet. Good. All right, hang in there with me. Now we deal with order in the church. He says, a woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. It's okay. Stay

seated. A woman must receive instruction quietly with all submissiveness. You ever wish you could just use a black highlighter on parts of the Bible, right? Just use a Sharpie highlighter. Like, oh, look, that one's gone now. Listen, let's understand. If one of the pastors I was listening to said, if you could just use a black highlighter on parts of the Bible,

if you read that on face value, that sounds like a pretty bad verse. And I was like, uh-huh, right? He said, so let's explain it, right? The first thing that he pointed out, I thought was fascinating, is he said, I want you to realize what he just told them. He told them that they are to receive instruction, that they are to learn. Now, that doesn't sound like a big deal in our culture. In that culture, that was a huge deal. It was a huge deal that

he just told the women that they are to be in a place where they learn. You know why? Because he is speaking both to a Jewish and a Greek mindset. The Jewish mindset viewed women as property, and the men were the ones that were the ones that were the ones that learned the theology. The women were the ones that took care of the home, and that was all that they needed to learn. The Greek culture was not a ton different. Their job

was the home. The men were the ones that went out and learned philosophy and learned how to debate and do all those kinds of things. In both cases, the women were simply property, and they were not in a place where they could learn. As a matter of fact, the Bible is one of the things that elevated women to being on the same plane with men, because now men and women would learn the same thing.

I think this is so cool, because one of the things that we miss in this culture is just how much the Bible did, just how much Jesus did to elevate the place of women in culture to being on a level playing field with men. I want you to think about one particular scene with Jesus and the woman at the well. So Jesus said, I need to go through Samaria. I have to. And his disciples didn't think too much about it, but Jesus knew there was a woman

there that needed to talk to him. So he went through Samaria. When he arrived, he said, he sat down at the well. The disciples went into town to get some food, and a woman came and talked to him. Now, first of all, she was a Samaritan, which the Jews hated, because they viewed them as less than. There was a great cultural difference between Samaritans and Jews. So first of all, she was a Samaritan. Second of all, she was a woman, and a good

Jewish man would never have a conversation with a woman by himself at that point in time. But number three, she was a woman with a really bad reputation. She was a woman with a really bad reputation. And so Jesus took time to talk to her. He talked to this Samaritan woman with a really bad reputation, and he talked to her just like she was like him. He talked to her just like he would one of the men. And so

he elevated woman to the place where she's on the same level playing field with men. Do you realize that that's what the gospel does? Because the gospel says that the same sin that plagues men plagues women. Therefore, the same Jesus that saves men saves women. And the same word that disciples men disciples women. That's why Paul said, in Christ there is no man that is saved nor free, male nor female. Not that there's not differences between

men and women, because there are, but we're all on a level playing field as far as the gospel is concerned. And he elevates women to that same place. And so when he says that the women should receive instruction, that was groundbreaking to the Greek mindset at that point in time. He says the women should receive instruction, but he says they should receive it quietly.

Now, some people interpret this and say, well, women shouldn't speak in church. I don't think that's what he's saying, Tim. Right? I don't think that's what he means there. What does he mean when he says quietly? Well, the word quietly means without contention. It means without contention. In other words, without being argumentative. Now, back in 1 Corinthians chapter 11, something similar was said. And Paul told them that the women

should remain quiet in church and ask their questions when they get home. And everybody goes, they're not allowed to ask questions in church. Paul's such a chauvinist. No, understand the culture. At that point in time, men and women sat side by side in the church, and they sat side-by-side in the church. Men and women sat segregated in church. Women on one side, men on the other

side. Now, I guarantee a couple of times people have leaned over and gone, what did he say? I can't believe he said that. Why is he getting fashion tips? Right? To your husband or your wife. Only imagine being across the room. You'd be like, why did he say that? Why is he trying to get fashion tips? And there's a great deal of confusion, right? He says to learn quietly without contention. You know why he says to learn without contention? Oh,

I'm going to get myself in trouble here. I'm going to do it anyway. Y'all ladies like to argue, don't you? No, don't pretend you don't. Listen, I live with three of y'all, okay? You know how many times I'm like, you're right. I was wrong. To all three of them, they're like, you don't even mean it. I'm like, I'm trying to mean it. Like, you don't even mean it. Right? I'm in the middle of

this argument. I'm losing. And it's three against one. And I'm like, what the heck? Right? And then sometimes I'm, sometimes I work with these young ladies, and they come and talk to me, and they say, Pastor Ryan, this is what's going on. I'm like, that's a lot of drama. And they're like, yeah, girls are a lot of drama. I'm like, what? And they're like, yeah, I know. I'm like,

what? Like, yeah, it's true. Girls are, listen, y'all like to argue sometimes, okay? That's just all that there is to it. You take it for what it's worth. Did he just say that? Yes, he did. So he says, learn quietly without contention. Dude, I love doing this in a mixed group, too. So many husbands are like, did you hear that? This one's on you, not me. And then he uses everyone's favorite word with submissiveness.

Man, if modesty is a dirty word, this one can't be said anywhere, right? And you know why it can't be said? Again, fellas, this one's on us. It can't be said because we use this word as a two-by-four to beat over the heads of women for way too many years. But we told them that they had to submit without really understanding. Even what that means. And ladies, now it's going the opposite direction. And women are,

not only am I not going to submit, but golly gosh darn, is that not going to happen? So what does that word mean? What does it mean to submit? Well, it's a military term. And that military term means to be under in rank, to be under in rank. It has nothing to do with ability. It has everything to do with responsibility. I was never in the military. I've known several people that are. And they all pretty much tell me the same thing. You have to

learn that the guy in charge is the guy in charge. You might be smarter than him. You might be better than him. But at the end of the day, that guy's in charge. And there's a chain of command. And the most, and the safest place for you to be is to follow the chain of command. Because your job is to do what your superior officer has told you to do. All the rest of the responsibility is on him.

Now, I've never been in a military setting, but I have been in a lot of classrooms. And I will never forget one of the classes that I was in in high school. I will leave all names out so that I protect the innocent and the guilty. But I remember having a teacher one year. And this teacher was teaching this class. And all of us kind of started going, I don't think this teacher actually knows what

they're talking about. I actually don't think this teacher knows very much at all what's going on right now. And there was a young lady in the class who was incredibly smart. She got like a 34 on the ACT or something like that. And it got to the point where the teacher would say, what did you get? And everybody knew she got the right answer. The teacher didn't. Now, even though we all pretty well

knew that person, smarter than the teacher, probably knows the material better than the teacher, at the end of the day, he's still the teacher. That person is still who we have to be under the authority of because they've been given the responsibility of the class. And that's the way that it is. And that's what it means to submit. There's a God-given order that he has laid down. There's a God-given

order. In the home, it's that God is the head. The husband is under God as far as the protective order goes. And the wife submits to the husband. She falls into the rank, under the rank of the husband. It has nothing to do with superiority or inferiority. It has everything to do with responsibility. And quite frankly, in a home, if a husband does not take that role, God

will still hold him responsible. And it's the same in the church. God is the head of the church. And he has instituted pastors as the head over the church. And then elders. And then under that, all of the other people. And there has to be that submission to the rank and the order. And if men don't take that position in the church, God will still hold them responsible. It's all that there is to it. And so he says, women are to receive instruction

quietly without contention and submissively. And then he goes on, wait, I'm not done yet. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, who is a man of the church. And that's a thousand years of love and devotion. And he is to receive that teaching. It's not just a question of that. It's to give me that word to teach. And I take a very historical position on this, and that God has a plan. And his plan is that a woman is not to hold the office of the teacher.

The Greek construction of the word here is not just to teach. It's not that a woman can't teach. The Greek construction is that of a teacher. So, for instance, there's places where it's laid out what the different offices in the church are. Some are given to be evangelists. Some are given to be servants. Some are given to be pastor teachers. Same Greek word there.

In the same Greek construction of the word, indicating an office that's given. So he's not saying women can't teach. He's saying women are not to hold the office of a teacher. Kenneth Weiss does a really good job of explaining this just a little bit better. He says, to be in the position as a teacher exercising authority in matters of church doctrine or discipline.

One, they are not to exercise authority over the men. Because God has established that the only two places that the women are not allowed to serve in the church is as the pastor and as the elder. Any other position is available. Any other position within the church is open. And so he lays out this order for the church. Now let's put a little bit of context on it before you get too offended with me.

Let's put a little bit of context on this. Let's first of all say what Paul is not saying. I feel like I've said this two or three times now. Paul is not saying in any way that women are in. And to point that out, because if you read a certain number of commentaries, they will tell you that that's exactly what Paul is doing. That Paul is this chauvinist who is saying that women are inferior to men.

That's not what he's saying at all. He's saying that there's a God-given order. Second of all, Paul is not saying that women cannot have any kind of position in the church. As a matter of fact, if we take the entire body of the word of God, it's fascinating to see all the different places where women have been used in very powerful ways. In the church. So I made a little list here of some places where I've seen it.

And I just did the New Testament. There's Old Testament places as well. But I just did the New Testament since we're specifically dealing with the church. Places where God used women in very powerful ways. First of all, there was a lady named Anna who was a prophetess. Who was one of the very first people to see Jesus on the day that he was presented at the temple.

Jesus was about eight days old. They brought her up to the temple and there was a lady there named Anna. And she actually prayed over Jesus and kind of gave a prophetic word over Jesus. It was a very powerful woman. And it was used in a very powerful way in the life of Jesus very early on. When we go on from there, we find that there were women who actually supported Jesus financially.

They felt like the ministry that he was doing was great and so that he could do it more full time. They helped support him financially. And that's specifically mentioned within scripture. We find that there was a woman who anointed the feet of Jesus shortly before his crucifixion. And he was so moved by what this woman did that he said, You know what? Anywhere that anybody hears about my gospel.

Anywhere that anyone hears about me. They're going to hear about this woman because what this woman did was so powerful. What this woman did was so amazing that anybody that hears about me is also going to hear about her because of the act of service that this woman provided for Jesus. The women were the last ones to be at the foot of the cross, which is always kind of fascinating to me.

All of the fellows, we need to pay attention to this, all of the men ran and all of the women stood at the foot of the cross. When Jesus was dying, and you who the first people were to see the risen Christ, because the first people at the tomb were women. The first people given the charge to tell about the resurrected Christ was women. They were the first ones given essentially the gospel to go and declare Jesus is alive.

It was the women. They played a really important role. As we move into the book of Acts, we find that there was a woman by the name of Phoebe who was a deaconess. She actually filled an office within the church. The office of a deaconess. Someone who helped handle the physical needs of the church. As a matter of fact, Phoebe was so great that she'll go on to carry the book of Romans to the Roman church.

And so used in a very powerful way and mentioned by name. We find that there are prophetesses in the book of Acts. There's a father who's mentioned that has several daughters that were prophetesses. And some of them even spoke words over the life of Paul before he went to Jerusalem. And even Timothy himself was raised. By his mother and his grandmother. And brought into the faith by his mother and his grandmother.

And Paul specifically mentions that. And he says, I'm so glad for the work that your mother and your grandmother did in your life. In pouring into you. And I got to be honest. For me, I have seen the exact same. God has used some ladies so powerfully in my life. I mean, quite frankly, I came to Jesus at a women's retreat, right? I was washing dishes at a women's retreat.

And I'm listening to a pastor's wife give a message. And that's what brought me to a place where I'm like. I've got to surrender my life to Jesus. And throughout my life, both as a kid, as a teenager, as a young pastor. And even currently, there are women who speak words of exhortation into my life that I need to hear. And even sometimes prophetic words that I need to hear.

And God uses that in very powerful ways. And God uses them in the church in very powerful ways. So I want us to understand that what Paul is not saying here. He's not saying women have no role within the church. I think women are used very powerfully within the church. Particularly in the areas of like Phoebe with the deaconess. Those prophetic, sometimes exhortation sort of words that are given.

Absolutely in Sunday school classes and women's ministry and all those places. God uses them in very powerful ways. And so he's not saying that women can't be used in church at all. He's just saying there's one particular area where they can't be. He goes on. We go on from there. So what is Paul saying? Paul is saying that there is a proper order and a God-given responsibility.

Now, I know that not everybody in the world agrees with me on this. I can't imagine why. But they don't. Not everybody agrees with me on this. I have known women that are pastors and that's the only place that we disagree. We agree on everything else. And I can still fellowship with them. I can still get along with them. I just feel like we disagree on this one particular area of scripture.

I don't think it's a salvation issue. But it is one that we disagree on. And as long as they're right on everything else, that's fine. But for Calvary Chapel, this is the stance that we take. And for me personally, this is the stance that I take on it. That there is that God-given order. That there is that God-given responsibility. And as I've said before, oftentimes I feel like in a place where a woman is the one who is the pastor,

God's not going to hold her responsible for the condition of the church. God's going to hold the men responsible for the condition of the church because that's the responsibility that he's laid out. And so he starts to talk about this. He starts to talk about this order. And then he goes into why. Right? And so this is what he says. For it was Adam who was created first, and then Eve.

And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman, being deceived, fell into transgression. He says, first of all, it was an order of creation. And this is why I feel like this is not cultural in nature. Because he goes back to something that supersedes culture. He goes back to the very beginning. He goes back to creation. He says there was an order that was established.

Adam was created first, and then Eve. Now, that doesn't mean Eve wasn't important because I want to point something out to you. So it says that when Adam was created, God looked at him, and it was the first time God said, that's not good. It's not good that man should be alone. God says, I'm going to make a helper for him. Now, usually when we think of that word helper, what do we think of?

My little helper. You know, the one that carries my tools for me. Right? And that's what we think of when we think of the word helper. But that's not what that word means. That's a really powerful word in Scripture. The word helper carries a great deal of weight and authority with it. Because that exact same Hebrew word is used later. Because later when we get to the Psalms, we find that David writes this Psalm.

He says, I lift my eyes up to the mountains. Where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the creator of heaven and earth. That's the same Hebrew word. That's an indication of the power of women is that you all have the power to come alongside and undergird and strengthen the man that's in your life. And I would tell you that any man that's in here that has any kind of walk with the Lord and is worth their salt and is married to a woman will tell you that the only reason they are who they are is because of the woman that God has given to them.

I am where I am today because God has given me the wife that he's given me. Because she makes me a better version of myself. Because she makes me better than I ever could have imagined being. And she pushes me towards greatness. She keeps me from mediocrity. And she pushes me towards what God wants me to do. And she supports me in a way that I could have never imagined.

Because she's the greatest strength of my life. She's the greatest strength of my life next to the Lord. So he says there's this order that God created Adam first and then he created Eve. And interestingly enough, when we look at God giving the commands, who did God give the command to not eat the fruit to? He gave that command to Adam. We never read in scripture that he gave it to Eve.

Indicating that Adam had a role that he had to play. And that was to be the leader, especially the spiritual leader in the home. Give that command to Eve. But then we come to the next part. He says, and it was Adam. Or it was not Adam who was deceived. But the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Some have somewhat wrongfully looked at this and said, well, you know, those women are pretty gullible.

They'll fall for anything. And that's not what he's saying here at all. Listen, I have way too much respect for you as women to act like that perhaps what Paul is saying there is that you're just a bunch of gullible women that will fall for anything in the world. If anything, the women in my life have had the most discernment. If anything, the women in my life are the ones that are going, ah, something feels wrong.

Something feels off with that. There's no gullibility with it. He's not criticizing women and saying they'll fall for anything. You see, what he's really saying here is that it was the woman who was looking to overturn the divine power. I want you to think about something. When Satan tempted Eve, what was the thing that finally got her? Do you remember? What was the last step?

What was the last thing that finally got her? You can be like God. You can be like God. Knowing good from evil. See, there was a deception that she could become like God. There was an overturning of the divine power. And everybody's going, it was all Eve's fault. No, because Adam played a real big part in this too. What did Adam do? Nothing. And that's the problem.

Adam abdicated his responsibility to his wife and said, you do what you want to do. I don't want to tell you no. And he stood there according to the Hebrew scripture. He stood right next to her while this entire thing was happening. Meanwhile, what Adam should have done is he should have jumped in and said, you know what? Stop. This is not what God wants us to do.

This isn't what the command said. This isn't what the word says. And that's not what he did. Instead, he abdicated that responsibility to Eve. You just take the lead on this one. That's okay. I'll just step back and let's see what happens. But it was Eve who was ultimately deceived to turn over her authority. To turn over or to try to gain that authority. It's interesting.

I was listening to a pastor teach on something very similar. He was teaching about prayer. And he said, one of the things that we really need to do as men is we need to be praying for the minds of our wives. Because they are susceptible to the lies of the enemy ever since then. They are susceptible to the lies of the enemy. And he pointed this out. He said, that's why every woman does not believe that they're beautiful.

That's why every woman has the insecurities that they have because they are susceptible to the lies of the enemy. And we need to pray for our wives that their minds will be solidified with the truth of the word of God. And not give in to the lies of the enemy. And so he gives these reasons why. Not only because of order, but because of the issues that arose.

And then we come to verse 15. He says, but women will be preserved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with self-respect. I don't care what stance any commentator took on this. They all said the exact same thing. And they said. That's a really hard verse. That's a really hard verse to understand. He says, but women will be preserved.

Some of your translations say, but women will be saved through the bearing of children. Now there are some who teach. Well, that means women are always supposed to be barefoot and pregnant. It's the sacrament of motherhood. And that's part of their salvation. Therefore they, you know, childbearing is so important because it's a part of their faith. It's a part of their, that's not what it says.

As a matter of fact, I think he's talking to Christian women. You know why I say that? Because what does he say? If they continue in faith, love, and sanctity with self-restraint. These are Christian women he's talking to. So he can't be talking about salvation. Not only that, it would go against everything else Paul ever taught. So he's not talking about salvation.

Some say, well, it's because he's talking about the birth of Jesus. Women will be saved through childbirth. Speaking of the birth of Jesus. Well, Jesus was already born by this point in time. So why is he still taught? That doesn't make any sense. That doesn't seem to fit. So there's all these different explanations for it. But ultimately what I think it came down to is this.

And what I'm about to say almost got Harrison Bucker canceled. But I'm going to say it anyway. This is what W.E. Vine says. And I thought it was fascinating. He says, the idea seems to be that through motherhood she can escape the social evils of the time and maintain the testimony of the local church. That through motherhood she can escape the social evils of the time

and maintain the testimony of the local church. I thought, now that makes sense. That makes a lot of sense to me. Ladies, I think one of the most beautiful things that you can see is a mom with her brand new baby. It's one of the most beautiful scenes in the world. I love seeing moms with kids. We get to see a lot of that around here. A lot of beautiful ladies here, right?

Lots of moms with kids here. And I love it. I love to see that side of a mother come out. And honestly, that was an honor. Honestly, that was another one of the moments where I fell a little bit more in love with my wife. It was when I got to see her with her kids. When I got to see her with my daughters. And they got to say, that's mom. That's so beautiful the way that she treats those kids.

It's so beautiful the way that she nurtures them. It's so beautiful the way that she cares for them. It's so beautiful the way that she worries about them in the best way possible. And sometimes not. But usually the best way possible. It's so beautiful because that's what God made you all to do. I know that sounds provincial. It sounds patriarchal. And no one's supposed to say that anymore.

But ladies, you're being robbed of something right now. You're being robbed of what is a God-given beautiful thing for you. And you're being told this. Listen, if you want to be really happy, you can't just be a girl. You can't just be a mother. You can't just be a wife. You need to have a career. You need to have a job. And you need to make a name for yourself.

That's what you need to be if you're going to be happy. And if you don't do these things, you won't be happy. And you know what you find with people who forego having kids so that they can have a career and the money and make a name for themselves? Is eventually they get to a place in life where you know what they say? Gosh, I really want to have kids. I really want to have kids.

Because listen, you can't fight what God has made you for. I'm not saying that's the only thing you're made for. God has made you for all kinds of things. I feel like I've said that ad nauseum this morning. But it is so beautiful to see a mom with her kids. Because there is truly something about that that we as men can never experience. I remember when my daughters were born.

And they immediately wanted mom. Why did they immediately want mom before they wanted me? Because they spent nine months growing in her womb. And there was a closeness to her that I will never experience with my daughters. Ever. Because there's a connection there that I'll never understand. I'm still just always dad. And ladies, those of you that have had kids, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

You're bearing witness to what I'm saying right now. Because motherhood is one of the greatest blessings that God has given to you. And it is truly a holy and righteous thing. So ladies, let's wrap this thing up. And hopefully you all leave here happy with me and not mad at me. God has created you specifically, individually, and purposefully the way that you are.

And your worth is not tied up in how you look. Your worth is not even tied up in what you can do. Your worth is tied up in your creator. The one who designed you. So learn to understand what that design is. And learn to get to know that creator and the order that he has for the church. Amen? Let's all stand. And if you disagree with anything I say, you can email Jared.

I'm just kidding. If you'd bow with me. Father, we come to you now. And Lord, I thank you so much for who you are. I thank you for what your word is and what your word says. And Lord, even though there's parts that, man, they're hard. And Lord, sometimes they're very unpopular. Lord, they're still good because it's still your word. And we still need to hear it.

Lord, we should just know and understand your word is always going to be unpopular in the world. And for anybody that's fighting the will of God, it's always going to be unpopular with them. But Lord, may we hold onto it with all of our hearts. Knowing and understanding that you are the God who has created us. And you are the God who has loved us. And the God that saved us.

And that you're just trying to get Egypt out of us. So Father, be with us as we pray. Father, be with us as we go out from here. As always, may only the things of you remain. And may the things of me fall by the wayside. In Jesus' name. Amen. Be blessed. I need a bird. I need a surgeon. My soul needs a friend. So I'll run to the Father again. And your son for redemption.

So I'll run to the Father. That we can come to you with anything. Anything that we are dealing with. Whether that be a sin issue. We thank you that you are a loving Father. Who wants nothing more than to take what's broken in our lives and make something new out of it. We thank you that you love us so much. That you sent your one and only Son to pay the price that we rightfully deserve.

To hang on that cross that we rightfully deserve. We love you Father God. And we praise you. We praise you and we thank you. In Jesus' name. All God's people said. And just so you know, I have a rule forwarded in my email to forward everything to Ryan.