Christ, the Hope of Every Sinner.

0:31I desire then that in every place the 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. This is God's word, you may be seated.

1:21After being married for thirteen years, I can confirm the biblical teaching that men and women are different. Here are a few observations for you to consider. How about dinner? When my wife cooks dinner, she takes a few bites and then she will sometimes say something to the effect of, you know, next time I make this, I might season it a little differently, pair it with some different vegetables. When I eat dinner, I think to myself, I love food.

1:56How about car storage? When I see those slots on the inside of car doors, I think to myself, what a great place to temporarily store something that I might need. My wife looks at those slots and says, I love how cars come with built-in trash cans. How about sickness? When my wife gets really, really sick, she'll say, I feel a little run down. I might need a nap. When I catch a little cold, I grab her hand and I say, Honey, have we updated the will recently?

2:42Please remember me. Men and women are different. Both were made in God's image and likeness and equal before Him, but they were made complementary in nature with unique differences that are important. However, both Men and women have also been radically affected by the fall. We were all born with a sinful nature, and our sinful natures express themselves in different ways. But all of our sins dishonor God and dishonor others and potentially disrupt the order of the home and the church.

3:19But thankfully, God has provided a remedy for our sin in the person and work of Jesus Christ. So, as we walk through 1 Timothy 2:8 through 15 today, we're going to learn that both men and women fail to obey God perfectly, but we will be saved through faith in Christ. Let's take a look at verse 8 together as we begin. Paul begins this section by saying that his desire is that in every place where Christians gather for worship, men would lift holy hands in prayer. Well, earlier in this chapter, we saw last week that Paul commanded all people to pray in all ways. And why was that?

3:59It's because God desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. So, since that's true, men everywhere, when the church gathers, should give themselves to prayer, lifting up holy hands to God. Now, standing with your hands raised was a common expression of prayer, of reverence, and devotion in the first century. And Paul is not hitting so much on the posture of prayer. So, staying, standing with holy hands would be akin to saying, I've been on my knees for you. Lately. It would just be an expression that conveys we should devote ourselves to prayer. Paul's focus, rather, is the holiness of those hands being raised. That when we pray, we should do so in holiness, not, as he says, with anger or quarreling.

4:47Now, that would seem intuitive. It's like if we're going to pray, we should probably not be fighting while we're doing it. But the reason that Paul says this is not because men are angry all the time, or because women never struggle with anger, but rather because anger is a recurrent problem for men in particular. It's a recurrent problem for men in particular. So last year we went through the book of Genesis, and if you remember back to our study, or if you've read the book of Genesis before, you know that there is a lot of anger displayed in that book.

5:19In anger, Cain kills his brother Abel. In anger, Noah curses his son. In anger, Esau almost kills Jacob. In anger, Jacob's sons murder Hamor and all of his sons. In anger, Joseph's brothers sell him into slavery. So there's a lot of anger and the fruit of anger in the lives of men in Genesis. And the secret to all of that is that anger is always bubbling beneath the surface for men. That's why you can be Dr. Bruce Banner in one second and the Hulk in the next.

5:54And so I want to think for a minute about where we see this in our lives as men, where anger tends to express itself. Itself so that we can be aware of it and battle against it so that we can lift holy hands in prayer. For the married men, I want to think about how we relate to our wives. Look on the screen at 1 Peter chapter 3. Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.

6:29Because men and women are different, in the marriage relationship, those differences are magnified. You live together 24-7, and so as men, our temptation is to not seek to understand our wives, but to just label them as different and something that we don't understand, and so we're just not going to make any attempt. But Peter here says that we should seek to live with our wives in an understanding way. We should go out of our way to understand their needs and their wants and their desires so that we can seek to accommodate those whenever possible. And he ties that command to a spiritual reality that if we refuse to live with our wives in an understanding way, we're actually hindering our prayers before the Lord. If we get angry with our wives instead of seeking to understand where they're coming from, our prayer life is hindered.

7:20And so, men, we need to understand that this is the command of Scripture. We need to seek to relate to our wives in an understanding way rather than getting angry when we don't understand them. What about with our relating to our children? Look on the screen at Ephesians 6:4. Fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord. This is one of the ways that I think is applicable to every dad, is the struggle with anger with our kids.

7:53I'm reading Paul Tripp's book right now, Parenting. We're actually hosting the parenting conference on October the 14th, Saturday the 14th, so we'll be getting more information out about that, but that's something to look forward to. I've been reading this book, and he talks about the fact that so often, as parents and dads in particular, we deal with our kids' sin and weaknesses with anger. He says it's like we're surprised that children need to be parented. And so, some situation arises where our children remind us again that they need to be parented, and we're like, oh, what is this? I can't believe the inconvenience here. I mean, just yesterday I got upset with one of my kids because of a small matter. I won't go into the detail, it was pertaining to the bathroom.

8:37But this was another instance where my anger was on display towards one of my kids, and it was just childishness. It wasn't a sin issue. So, this is an area that all men tend to struggle. This has been a constant struggle for me as well. We can provoke our kids to anger by dealing with their sin and weakness not with grace and compassion, but with anger. And so we need to understand that. And then think about relating to others. So whether you're married or a parent or not, just in general, look at James 4, a passage we've looked at several times. What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you?

9:13Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive because you ask wrongly to spend it on your passions. So according to James, the reason that we get angry with one another in the workplace, in our houses, in our classrooms, is because we covet and can't obtain. Other people have things that we want, whether it's money or possessions or social standing or whatever else. They have things that we want. We covet those things and can't obtain them, so we get angry. We're envying what they have. And friends, you can't love somebody that you envy.

10:05And so James is very clear with our relationships to other people. We can't covet and we can't envy and expect to love them. This is a major issue. It leads to anger. That's what causes quarrels and fights, is this coveting and envy among us. So since anger is always bubbling right beneath the surface, we get angry and quarrel with each other. For all of those reasons and more, we need to understand that so that we can battle against it. And that's critical because how we respond to one another, whether husbands to wives or fathers to children or one another inside or outside the church, that affects our worship directly. Look at what Jesus said and how he ties these two things together in Matthew 5. You've heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council, and whoever says, you fool, will be liable to the hell of fire. So, if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First, be reconciled to your brother, then come and offer your gift.

11:27You see, when anger is a part of our lives, when anger precedes our worship, especially through prayer, our worship is hindered. If we've been angry with our wives, angry with our children, angry with roommates or co-workers, if that anger precedes our worship, our worship is hindered. And so we must seek to be reconciled first to God and then to each other through confession and repentance. Because we're commanded to pray. So I want to ask, especially the men in the room, but all of us, is prayer a priority? For you, we saw last week we're commanded to pray in all ways at all times, but specifically here in the context of worship, we are to lift up holy hands to God in prayer. Is prayer a priority for you? Do you spend the same amount of time and effort and energy in prayer that you do in so many other things in life? I want to plug the prayer meeting again. I'm just going to keep on doing this. I was so encouraged Tuesday morning, every single seat was filled. So I hope this Tuesday morning at 6.30, we have to get out more chairs because so many people come to prayer meeting. But one of the things that encourages me so much about prayer meeting is that college students are getting up at 5.45 in the morning to come and pray at 6.30. Men and women who are going to work that day get up even earlier than they normally do to come and pray. Moms and dads forsake time at home in the morning to come together and pray. Now, I recognize not everybody can come to prayer meeting for one reason or another, but what I want to encourage you in is that our church is learning together to sacrifice so that we can become a praying church, so that we can learn together to seek the Lord, to lift up holy hands together, and to cry out to God for the things that he says here in chapter 2 that we should be praying for, especially the salvation of all people. So, men, Paul leaves us with this, that we are to lift holy hands in prayer, but to do so without anger or quarreling. And so, next he's going to turn his attention to the ladies in the church at Ephesus. So, let's look together at verse 9.

13:33Likewise, 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. So, Paul's desire for men is that we pray in a way that honors God. And his desire for women is that ladies adorn themselves in a way that honors God. So, how does he define this? Paul teaches that women should dress respectably, with modesty and self-control, and with good works.

14:15You see, Paul's point is that Christian women should be focused on inner beauty. And they should be focused on inner beauty because, unlike outer beauty, it doesn't fade over time. Inner beauty actually grows over time. And God values inner beauty more than external beauty. Look at the parallel passage on the screen in 1 Peter 3. He says, Do not let your adorning be external, the braiding of hair and 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.

14:56Look again at Proverbs 31:30. This is quoted from the Christian Standard Bible. Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting. The ESV says vain, which I think is also a good translation, but I really appreciate this. Beauty is fleeting, but a woman who fears the Lord will be praised. So you see there, charm is deceptive. A woman can be charming, but that does not necessarily mean that she's godly. It doesn't necessarily mean that she is of good character. It doesn't necessarily mean she's intelligent.

15:35Charm is deceptive. It can throw us off. And beauty is fleeting. It's not that God hasn't created women to be beautiful. He has. But beauty, in terms of physical external beauty, is fleeting. It is fading away over time. And so what Paul is saying is: ladies, focus on the internal beauty. Focus on cultivating a gentle and quiet spirit because those things don't fade over time. They grow with time. That's the kind of beauty that God values most. And friends, the reason that Paul has to say this is because in the first century, just like today, women were tempted to focus more on external beauty rather than internal beauty. And why is that? I want to suggest a few potential reasons.

16:30First, external beauty is easier to achieve. If you invest in the right products and a little bit of practice and some time each morning, you as a woman can make yourself physically attractive. But it takes years of studying the scripture, years of prayer, years of living life together in the local church before internal beauty grows and grows. Second, external beauty gives you social capital. It gives you social capital. It's no secret that physically attractive people have more opportunities. They're invited into more social circles, they're asked out on more dates. It's even been proven that more physically attractive people get offered more and better jobs.

17:23But if you spend your time cultivating inner beauty that God says is precious, you're not necessarily going to reap any of those benefits in this world. And then, third, external beauty is highly valued in our society. In fact, I think you could say that external beauty is only second to money in terms of the highest value system of our culture. So understand, Paul is speaking these timeless words to people who live in a society today in the 21st century where every advertisement, every TV show, every movie, every store and the mall is. Telling you, ladies, nothing is more important than your physical appearance. That is the most important thing.

18:08So, for all of these reasons and more, I think women are tempted to focus more on external beauty than internal beauty. So, church, what can we do? What can we do about this reality? Well, first, both men and women need to ask God to renew their minds. Both men and women need to ask God to renew their minds. We need to immerse ourselves in the scripture, praying that God would help us to value the things that He says are most valuable.

18:40Because simply reading any one of these verses, even more than once, is not necessarily going to result in you having a different value system in your heart immediately. That takes time, it takes meditation on the scripture, it takes prayer, it certainly takes encouragement. It doesn't happen overnight. So, we have to ask God to renew our minds. Secondly, ladies must learn to take their cues from scripture and other godly women rather than the world. Ladies have to learn to take their cues from scripture and other godly women rather than the world.

19:19So, ladies, I want to be clear here. Paul is not saying that physical beauty is worthless or that it's ungodly to do your hair and makeup or wearing unattractive clothing or doing your hair in a certain way. Really bad for anybody who came with braided hair today. The temple prostitutes used to braid their hair really ornately, and they put all these jewels and things in them to attract worshipers to the pagan temples. And so that's what Paul has in mind. He's not saying there's anything inherently ungodly with braiding your hair. So I just want to be clear there. He's not saying here that all of these things are ungodly. It's not like if you're really spiritually mature, you know, you'll roll out of bed and pull on that 2013 maroon out shirt and head out the door.

20:00You know, that's not what Paul is getting at here. Paul is saying that as a follower of Jesus, look at what he says here: for those who profess godliness, as a follower of Jesus, the way that you dress should always be respectable and modest with self-control. So when you get dressed in the morning, ladies, the question that should be in your mind is, will this honor God and help me love my neighbor? Because I think, if you're honest, I think that you might say, sometimes I dress the way that I do to impress other women and to get attention from men.

20:46I think sometimes that's probably true. You dress the way you do to get attention from men and to impress other women. So a different way to say that is, sometimes I dress the way I do to provoke envy in others and lust in others. And so, friends, just understand, the Scripture never is prescribing these hairstyles are good, these are bad. This jewelry is good, this jewelry is bad, these clothes are good, and these are bad. Paul is giving you principles to apply in a wide variety of situations here. And I trust the Holy Spirit to make application to you. But let me just say this: just because an outfit is appropriate to wear to yoga class does not mean that same outfit serves others well if you go grocery shopping in it or if you wear it to class.

21:38So, Paul is saying, let those kinds of thoughts be at the forefront of your mind. How can I honor God? How can I help others, other women and other men, with the way that I'm dressing? And then, third and finally, men must reinforce God's value system for our Christian sisters. Let me say that again. Men must reinforce God's value system for our Christian sisters. I think, guys, the reason, if not the primary reason, that this is such an issue for our Christian sisters in the church is because we have reinforced the world's value system for them.

22:17I can think of numerous times, I don't mean once or twice, numerous times where I have seen Christian leaders post a picture from date night on social media. And the caption is something like, out on the With my smoking hot wife. Hashtag blessed. And listen, there's nothing wrong with complimenting your wife's beauty. I think every woman longs to feel beautiful and to have her husband say, You are beautiful. I mean, God created beauty and He displays that in part through beautiful women. So that's a good thing that we should compliment. I just don't also see social media posts saying, like, out on the town with my godly Proverbs 31 wife, out on the town with my woman of high character, out on the town with my blessedly intelligent wife. I don't see a lot of that. And so, guys, what we're doing time and again in subtle and overt ways is we are telling our Christian sisters, I know what the Bible says about inner beauty, but what really matters is how you look.

23:25So, you need to spend your time and your effort and your energy and your money there. And I think we need to repent of that, men. We should be complimenting our Christian sisters at least as much for their godliness, for their character, for their intelligence as we are their physical appearance. So, men are to pray, and women are to dress in a way that honors God and others. And ladies, particularly, are to focus on cultivating inner beauty that displays itself in good works, in discipleship, in evangelism, in social. Serving people inside and outside the church, and ministering to the poor, the orphan, the widow. That's the beauty that God values most highly.

24:09So, Paul now is going to transition and help us to think about proper conduct in worship for men and women since we were created differently. So, let's pick up here in verse 11. 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.

24:52The benefits of expositional preaching are that I can't skip this, it's just next. These are really tough verses, and they're tough verses for a couple of reasons. First, the Greek is notoriously difficult to translate and interpret. So, that's one of the reasons this is a tough passage. The second reason is that it makes modern people very uncomfortable. And it makes modern people uncomfortable for some legitimate and illegitimate reasons. First of all, it makes some modern People are uncomfortable because these verses have been used to deny women legitimate ministry opportunities in the church. And that's not okay. We should be uncomfortable with any interpretations of these verses that deny women legitimate ministry opportunities in the church.

25:51But the flip side of that is that the reason these verses make modern people uncomfortable is because they confront the growing belief in our culture that there are no real differences between men and women. And that's hard to swallow in the 21st century. But the scripture clearly teaches that God made men and women equal, but with distinct and complementary roles. And no matter how hard we try to deny that, that's the truth. That's the reality. I think we know that inherently. That's why you have to work so hard to try to deny those things. So a lot of people read this passage and they think, okay, well, Paul is writing in a patriarchal context. He's writing a long time ago. And women were just kind of more naturally quiet and submissive in that culture anyway. And so these verses, for any or more of those reasons, they don't apply today.

26:40Well, I want to think with you together about that. How do we decide which passages in the Bible apply today and which passages no longer apply? See, a lot of people read this passage, and they say, Paul is only talking. To the Ephesian church in the first century. That's all that he intended these words to be directed to. Well, the obvious question is: okay, well, did these words apply to the Ephesian church in the second century? How about the seventh?

27:22What about the 21st? Ephesus is a real city in western Turkey today with real Christians in it. Do they need to obey these verses or not? In other words, when is the expiration date? People will argue that certain passages in Scripture can be dismissed because the biblical authors were writing to a specific context, in a specific context, to a specific audience. But, friends, the entire Bible is that way. Literally, the whole thing is that way. Every single book was written by an author in a specific context to a specific audience. So if we can write off passages of Scripture because they were written in a specific context to a specific audience, we could literally write off any verse in Scripture. Where do we stop? Where do we draw the line? Now, having said that, I think nearly every Christian would agree that most all of the Bible was intended to apply to all people at all times in all places, but there are passages and verses that do not apply to all people in all times at all. Places. I think most of us would grant that.

28:34So, we need to be very careful, though, when we say this particular part of the Bible no longer applies today. Look at what Jesus teaches in the Sermon on the Mount. Therefore, whoever relaxes one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be called least in the kingdom of heaven. But whoever does them and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven. So, based on Jesus' teaching here, we want to have a high degree of certainty before we say about any verse in the Bible that does not apply any longer. I don't have to obey that. We want to be very careful. So, what does Paul teach here? He says, I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, rather, she is to remain quiet. Now, lots of people will lob the charge of the Apostle Paul that he was a chauvinist. I mean, nothing could be further from the truth. He evangelized women. He actually broke in on a women's prayer meeting in Philippi, just straight up sat down in the middle of the thing. He evangelized women, he made them a priority. He worked alongside several gifted women, including Priscilla, Euodia, Sintiki, Phoebe. Several of those women are called deacons.

29:55So, whether they served in official or unofficial capacity, that's what they're called in the scripture. Paul labored alongside them. They did important work along with him. He confirmed all of Jesus' teaching in his own writing. He condemned any kind of oppressive behavior in the church or in the home. Paul was about as progressive as you could possibly be. He was no chauvinist. But he teaches on his authority as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ that in public worship, in the church gathered, women are not permitted to teach or to have authority over men. Instead, they should learn quietly with all submissiveness. So, back to the question: How do we know whether Paul intended those words to only be applied in first-century Ephesus or if they apply still to us today?

30:44Well, in the same way, we understand all other scripture by the context. You know many people, and maybe you've been guilty of this. I've certainly been guilty of this before. You read one verse out of context, and then you derive a whole theology from it. Well, that's a bad practice in any text. I mean, think about an email that you wrote on Friday. If your boss took one line out of that email, you might get promoted or you might get fired. Because he doesn't have a context. She wouldn't know what you meant by that one line in that email.

31:17So, it's the same way in Scripture. We have to consider the context. So, why doesn't Paul permit a woman to teach? What does the context tell us? Not because that's not the way we do things around here. Not because women were not educated in Ephesus. Not only is that untrue, but that's not how he argues. What does he say in verses 13 and 14? For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.

31:50You see, Paul's argument is not rooted in any of the particulars of the Ephesian church. He's not commanding this because the women were this way or that way, or the men were this way or that way. It's not rooted in any of those particulars. Paul goes back to creation. When God created people, he created male and female with equal worth in his image and likeness. But he created them as complements with different roles in the home and in the church. He invested Adam with authority, and Eve was created to be a suitable helper for him. And friends, there's no contradiction there. Even in the Godhead, we see this truth. God is revealed as one God in three persons, Father, Son, and Spirit. They're all equally God. The Father is God, the Son is God, the Spirit is God. But they have different roles. The Son submits to the Father. The Spirit submits to the Son and the Father. So there can be equality and submission within the same relationship. We see that from God Himself. So Paul goes back to creation, and that proves that this cannot be a temporary cultural injunction against women teaching and exercising. Authority over men in the gathered assembly. No, in all churches, at all times, this is Paul's command. You see, friends, authority and submission are good gifts from God, and they're necessary. They're necessary in the home, in the church, in business, and in government, because authority and submission lead to order. And order is essential for human flourishing. All you have to do is look at a society whose government has crumbled, where there is anarchy, there is not human flourishing, because there is not biblical authority and submission. I mean, I trust I don't have to spell out for you why it's not the best idea for to have a family meeting and tell the kids, we're all equal now.

33:44We're just going to take turns being in charge. That would not go well. God has set up the home to function in an orderly manner through authority and submission. We understand these things. And so this is what Paul is saying. This is how he's arguing. And in verse 14, there, he seems to be saying, this is what went wrong in the garden. This is what went wrong in the garden. Eve usurped Adam's authority. Rather than allowing Adam to lead, she took his place of leadership. She conversed with the serpent, and she made a decision about what they were going to do. Now, of course, Adam was at fault in the garden, too. I don't think if you've ever read the Bible, you could come to any different conclusion. This is one of the only passages. In the whole Bible, that seems to hold Eve more responsible than Adam. There are 450 passages that talk about Adam being at fault and that we inherit our sinful nature because of his sin in the garden. So that's not what Paul is saying here. And I think you can even make the connection that what did Adam fail to do in the garden? He failed to teach. That is, remind his wife of the command that God had given to them. And he failed to exercise authority. He didn't step in and tell the serpent, hey, you stop it. That is not what God said. We are not eating that fruit. That's what he should have done, but he didn't do that. But here, Paul is emphasizing Eve's sin to remind us that God has created the world with order, and that we must submit to that order if we want to receive the blessings that God intends us to receive from that order.

35:28So, ladies, keep in mind that what Paul is talking about here is when we are gathered together for corporate worship. He's not saying that women can't teach or exercise authority in many other areas. In fact, as we'll see in the spring when we cover the book of Titus, women are commanded to teach. Commanded to teach other women, commanded to teach children. You see that at New Life through our ladies' gatherings, where women regularly are teaching and building up and encouraging one another. You see that through our kids' ministries. Two out of our three coordinators are women.

36:01You see that through our public worship. We have women on stage helping to lead worship. We have women reading the scripture publicly because they're not prohibited from doing those things in scripture. There's only one thing that women are prevented from doing: teaching or exercising authority over men. And those things are linked together because, of course, all teaching comes with authority. That's why I tell you guys often, I'm most worried not that you're going to not do what I tell you on Sunday morning, but that you are going to do what I tell you. And so, ladies, be comforted here as well. Like we looked at James 3:1 a few weeks ago, not many should presume to be teachers because, as such, we will incur a stricter judgment. I mean, you can thank God that the burden of interpreting and applying the word of God before hundreds of people does not fall on your shoulders, but falls on the shoulders of men recognized by the body. That's a good thing, and that should comfort you. So, my hope is that the ladies of New Life would not feel restrained in any way by God's command or by our practices, but rather would be empowered and released to do meaningful ministry in the local church as well as out in the community and the world. That's what we want. That's my hope. And that's where the passage ends with this great note of hope. It may not seem that way, but that's what it is, trust me. After speaking about Eve's sin in the garden, he reminds us of one of the consequences of her discipleship. Disobedience, pain and childbirth. But God is gracious and merciful, and so even though women will experience painful consequences from their sin, Paul says this in verse 15: yet she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith and love and holiness with self-control. Now you read that and you're like, what?

37:55I know. And this is what I mean. The Greek is notoriously difficult to interpret here. But listen, obviously, Paul is not saying that women are saved, forgiven, and counted righteous before God by having children. I mean, he goes against that many times in this letter, to say nothing of the rest of the New Testament. We know that's not Paul's theology. Paul's theology is: you are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Jesus alone. We know that. So, what does this difficult verse mean?

38:27Paul seems to be saying to us that even though women are going to experience the consequence of the fall, just as we all do through painful toil and work, women are going to experience the consequence of the fall and childbirth, but they're going to be saved through it. In other words, God has not forgotten you. Pain and childbirth is not evidence that you are forsaken by God. Rather, you are going to be saved through it. And you're going to be saved through it by childbirth, meaning the birth of the Christ's child.

39:01Look on the screen at Matthew 1.21. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. That means the Lord saves. For he will save his people from their sins. Look at Galatians 4, verses 4 and 5. But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. You see, friends, when Adam and Eve disobeyed God, they died spiritually and they passed on that dead, sinful nature to us. That's why we sin. Sinning does not make us sinners. We sin because we are sinners. That's how we were born. We can't save ourselves from sin and its consequences. That's what Paul was saying in the first section in chapter 2. Rather, there's one God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. Only he can save us. The only way to be saved is through faith in Christ, which reveals itself in lives of love and holiness and self-control, as he says here in verse 15.

40:16So understand, both men and women are capable of dishonoring God and disrupting corporate worship through our respective sin issues, particularly anger for men and immodesty for women. Instead, Paul's command is that men should pray in holiness, not with anger or quarreling. And that, ladies, you should dress respectably, modestly, with self-control, focusing on cultivating internal beauty rather than external beauty. Those things promote peace within the church because those are done according to God's orderly design. The good news, friends, is that even though men and women, all of us, fail to do what we've been commanded to do, God has given us a Savior, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem us at the right time. The good news is that both men and women fail to obey God perfectly, but we will be saved through faith in Christ. Let's pray.

41:17Father, we begin by confessing our sins and failures to you. I know I speak for many men when I confess that I have responded with anger many times when the situation called for compassion and grace and patience and kindness. We as men confess our sins that we've committed against our wives, against our kids, against other Christians in the church, and maybe even most sadly of all, against those outside of the church who don't know Christ. Ask that you would help us to walk in repentance, and we pray in the name of Christ that you would forgive our sins, trusting that you will.

42:09God, I pray for the ladies. I know this is a very difficult passage to read. It's a difficult passage to listen to as it's preached. And I just pray that you would give them hearts that desire to honor you in every way. Rather than feeling condemned or limited in any way, I pray that they would see these as good words from a good God who loves them and who wants them to flourish. God, I pray that we as men would do our part to help women flourish in the home and in the church. Please forgive us for the ways that we have oppressed women, for the ways that we have denied them legitimate ministry opportunities inside and outside of the church. Forgive us for the way that we have not led or that we have taught poorly.

42:56And help us, God, help us to change. I pray that we together would be a beautiful picture of the reality that men and women were created equally by you, but different. So that when the world looks at us, they would say, there is so much peace and order, so much goodness in the church. I want what those people have. And so I pray that new life and that every local church in our community would exhibit that faithfully. Thank you, God, for our word to us. Help us to believe it and obey it. In Jesus' name, amen.