Welcome to the For the Gospel Podcast, where we provide sound doctrine for everyday people. I'm your host, Costi Hinn. And whether you're listening to this on your favorite podcast platform or you're watching this on our YouTube channel, which by the way, you can subscribe to, I'm really thankful that you've joined me for this episode. Now we're jumping into this topic in just a moment. We've been in a marriage series, but I want to first take a second and thank all of you who support for the gospel. If you don't know, we are a hundred percent donor supported, and we're able to put out all of this free content. We employ a full-time staff. We translate the entire ministry into Spanish. If you don't know that already, there's Poor Ali Vangelio. It's on Facebook, it's on Instagram. It's been blowing up because of the grace of God. We wanted to reach more people in Spanish. They're underserved, in our ministry opinion. And so we just set out to do that. Didn't realize that God would take it to the degree it's already at in just four months. But we are able to do all that we do because of your support. And right now we're reaching around seven unique, seven million unique online users per month. That's not like your grandmother uh watching a video 10,000 times to help out our numbers. That's like unique individual people around the world. And all of that is because you're giving and supporting and sharing. And so I want you to know providing sound doctrine is vital to our mission. That's why we exist. We want Christians to be strong in the truth. We want churches to feel supported. We are not the church. We are para-church, but of course, as believers, we're part of the church. And so our mission is that Christians, pastors, churches, people who utilize for the gospel on any given week would be built up and strengthened and become better, more mature, stronger church members, going to war against sin, growing closer to Jesus. People would know what kind of church to attend. If somebody's on the younger spectrum of church life and they're going, how do I know who to trust and what to do? Or what kind of marriage should I have? What kind of home should I build? What kind of issues should I be facing in the Christian life and how do I do that? So, with a lot of competing voices out there chasing the affections of the next generation, I believe for the gospel is uniquely and strategically positioned to serve that ultimate purpose of strengthening people in sound doctrine. So I want to say thank you. So many people are on board with us as gospel patrons. If the Lord's put that on your heart, we'd love for you to partner with us, or maybe you want to give a one-time gift. But for thegospel.org has all the information, all the resources, and our give page has a statement of financial accountability as well. Everything there. Just want to say thanks and really praise God and share with you what he's doing through your faithfulness. Well, let's jump into this episode. It's part of the marriage series, and I'm focusing on wives and their home. Last time we looked at a wife and her submission, before that, nine keys to a stronger marriage. We're going to get to husbands next time. The guys got theirs coming. I'm excited, even just studying some of those ahead of time. I've been very convicted. You just never, it never gets old. This stuff is good. We need it. One of the most prevalent lies in our society today is that a woman who prioritizes her home is wasting her talents. It wasn't long ago that someone made a comment about my wife not using her degree because she simply, you know, sits around at home taking care of our six kids or however many we had at that time because they just they keep coming. Whereas, you know, we've always thought, since being believers and studying what the Bible actually teaches about a woman or a wife, a mother, and her role, we've been under the impression that the greatest use of her gifts is best utilized in the home because there's no higher calling for her than in these early years, raising the next generation, shaping our children for the glory of God. And the Bible's really clear about that over and over and over again, praising a woman who prioritizes her home. And let's just play that out for a moment. The logical conclusion of the worldview from feminism or just people who think, well, that's that's logical, right? To use her degree, and and babies can be such bondage. Okay, let's say she can go out there and make six figures, and then we'll pawn off our kids to the school system or daycare for seven to eight hours, and then we'll all get home by 6 p.m. just in time to order DoorDash or microwave something for the fourth time that week. We'll clean up, we'll talk briefly, we'll shower, maybe somebody works out, maybe not, maybe people sit around and Netflix it up. Ultimately, we're just gonna go to bed real soon, do it all over again. Also that we could have her extra, quote unquote extra, because we're paying for daycare, we're paying for other things. We can have her extra income and enjoy our few weeks of vacation, drive a little nicer cars, we can pay for the private school or daycare. We could have some really nice furniture that we barely sit on because we're hardly ever home, we're working all the time. We can have a kitchen table that looks gorgeous, but we barely ever gather at it. And we can live a life that makes feminism happy or makes people happy because their opinions are, well, you have this degree and you have all this talent. Why are you wasting it? You should be using it. And by using it, they often mean making money out there working, and you're just kind of stuck here with a baby strapped to you. And oh, I just feel so sorry for you. No, actually, there is nothing more honoring to God in line with biblical principles than a woman prioritizing her home, not to mention the logical outcome of a life where two people, not for survival, and we'll get to that shortly, but for not needs but greeds, just working and out there so that we didn't quote unquote waste our degree, meanwhile, the home has wasted away. No thank you. The idea, my dear sisters in the Lord, ladies, that the Bible pushes is not that corporate America is your true calling, and that the home is holding you back. And then the beckoning call of the world is the one that's saying, go make a real life for yourself. And and you're so much more than just a housewife, a mom, whatever. That's actually feminism in its most demonic and dangerous form, beckoning women away from what God has called them to. Meanwhile, the beckoning call of God is to take full advantage of your special empowerment and your calling by the Holy Spirit to shape your children, to impact your home, to support your husband in a way that the kingdom of darkness can't stop. Why do you think the devil works overtime to advance the feminist agenda? Well, because he can destroy the home. He can destroy the role of a wife. In fact, one of the worst caricatures of what we would say is the complementarian approach to a home or a marriage or motherhood and fatherhood, that men and women are different. We're equal spiritually, 1 Peter 3, but we are different, we're complementary in roles. And a husband is the head of the home, he's the head of the wife, Christ the head of every man. One of the things the devil hates about that is it makes strong homes. And strong homes make for a stronger church. Stronger church makes for a more advanced society in gospel understanding. Not in just mere technology, not in economics, not in education, not in just, oh, we're gonna have a better world because we're conservative, a better world because of this, that, and the other. No, no, no. Or certainly what the left would say, a better world because we're we're more open-minded. But no, strong homes, strong church, strong society where the gospel is advancing and Christianity is making headway. The devil hates strong homes. You know why? Because even if society is in a downgrade phase at certain times, and it often is throughout history, there's going to be these long stretches where it's difficult. Guess what? Strong homes, strong church, strong children, grown up to be strong adults, living for Christ, no matter what the culture says, and now we have another problem: is the devil can't shake the church, even when persecution is on the rise. A strong home is everything, meaning gospel advancement, being fortified in the faith, the Lord Jesus receiving ultimate glory. Now, I want to give you some principles on this. We're gonna look at one in particular and then 13 marks of the Proverbs 31 woman. I'm gonna answer your questions whether or not it's a sin for a woman to work. Have I gone off the rails? And now Costi is the chauvinist where if you have an Etsy store, or you're a teacher, or you're in a position where you have to work right now just to make ends meet, or you're a single mom. You know, you you're you're just following the demonic agenda of feminism. No, I want you to listen to everything that I teach you from the Word of God in this episode, and you're gonna be real clear on the principles where you start from, and then we build from there. Let me just give you one right here off the bat. This is the main one. The Christian wife prioritizes her home. The Christian wife prioritizes her home. She may have many enjoyable pursuits and wonderful things that are going on in her life, but she prioritizes the home. It's not something that's holding her back. It's a high calling from God. One of the most prevalent temptations in the ancient world still assaults women today. Feminism calls on women to abandon their husband's headship. The home is a place of oppression. Motherhood is stifling you. The babies have stolen your body. You're so much more than just a helper, a cook, a cleaning lady, a baby maker, and a maid. All of these false dichotomies. Feminism just spewing every kind of straw man argument that they can come up with. Instead, opposite that, God's design from his word glories in a woman who prioritizes husband, home, and children. She's a crown jewel. She's the blessing of all blessings. She's the queen of the castle, and she's the bow that fires out the next generation of God's children out of the womb and into this world. There's a very important passage in Titus 2, verses 3 through 5. It says, Older women likewise, you are to be reverent in your behavior, not malicious gossips, not enslaved to much wine. Why does he say that? Because older women, when they tend to get out of those phases of life where they're busy, they're uh got the babies, they get they tend to sit around, they're gonna, you know, mama needs her wine, grandma needs her wine, they gossip, they sit around talking, wasting time. A lot of older women can be guilty of just gossip constantly, like a hobby. Paul says, instead, I want you to teach what is good, and I want you to encourage the young women to look at these three things love their husbands, love their children, and to be sensible, pure workers at home. Kind, subject to their own husbands, so that the word of God will not be dishonored. In that context, it was Titus, he was establishing the church on the island of Crete. The women were busybodies today. Same thing. God doesn't want women sitting around gossiping, being enslaved to much wine. They're to model and teach the younger women to prioritize husband, children, and home. And that phrase workers at home comes from a Greek word where we get our word homemaker. It refers to a woman who sees her first priority as what's in her home, husband, children, if she has them. That's what she's focused on. It doesn't mean it's a sin for a wife to work. There's obviously single mothers who have to work, and the church should be encouraging them and supporting them. And I always want to make it a tenor in our ministry that we are saying to you who are single mothers, we're with you, we're praying for you. You have a unique calling and a very difficult burden to bear. You're not in sin for being out there doing your best. Not at all. In fact, you should never feel ashamed. You should be boldly asking the church to get your back. This is what we have to do sometimes when men are abusive, they're adulterers, they abandon you. And so we're with you all the way. There are obviously times in situations with poverty where both a father and a mother have to work. I remember one time I was involved in uh this kind of orbit that was very dogmatic about this topic. And one time, this pastor, you may know him, his name is Alex Montoya, faithful, faithful pastor, one of our professors at the Master's Seminary, and he is amazing. I we've nicknamed him El Jefe. He's like this Mexican godfather. Pastor Alex Montoya, one time, I was part of a panel, and it was a lot of dogmatism on you know, women shouldn't be working, they should be in the home. If they're working, you know, they're in sin. Just to and he speaks up. And granted, he is strong doctrinally. He is drawing clear lines, he ain't playing around. Pastor Alex Montoya says, you know, these are nice things to say, you know, like an older, wiser man. And and they and true in principle, but we have to remember, and he said these words family provision or provision for the family was a family affair for so much of human history. And so we come along today in our first world context, and you know, mommy has to sit at home and clean all day or she's in sin. I have people in my congregation who both have to work and they work very hard just to make the barely the bare ends meet. And I remember being so convicted. I was kind of a younger pastor, I was flamethrowing and all this, and I was very strong on it, and I still am, but older men, they come alongside and say, Hey, listen, you can talk about the priorities of a godly mother, but be careful because in my congregation, brother, there is a man who's out there working two jobs, there's a woman who's who's cleaning homes, or she is delivering Amazon packages, she's doing this. There's there are people both working just to make ends meet. They're in poverty. And you look at biblical history and like was Ruth in sin and Naomi in sin, and uh early human history were women in sin because they were out in the fields? No. In all of human history, provision's been a family affair, and for many cultures, it's completely normal. But here's the deal it's the priority of the home that drives their work needs, not greeds. Christian mothers in first world contexts where they don't have to work, but they're doing it to have the you know, the huge payment for the Cadillac escalate or the boat or the bigger house or the second house should just double check the motives. Doesn't mean it's a sin. Every situation's different, but here's the deal. In 2002, the U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics released its numbers, and nearly 70% of U.S. mothers with children six and younger work. And 76% of mothers with children ages six to seventeen work. Now, some of those no doubt have to, but how many in America have simply bought the lie that they need to go to work in order to feel valued or have more money? It's not needs, it's greeds. Or that if their husband makes enough for her to stay home, man, she can help them double up that income. And they can drive a Tesla, a Benz, and whatever else, and she can keep up with the Joneses, and so can he if she'll work. And so he makes plenty to keep her home, but she can go out there with her degree and make another 80 grand, and now here we go. And think about the education system loading our young people with degrees that come with massive student loans, and now women feel guilty and homes feel guilty and obligated. She's got to go work to pay off the $80,000 student loan she has. And meanwhile, we're farming our kids out to some education system or daycare for an average statistically of $361 a week, which cuts into the paycheck and pollutes their child if they're in the wrong environment. All of that. To do what? Because American culture has all these opinions, and we're not thinking biblically and logically. It's important. What do you do if you're a mother who said, Well, I gotta go use my degree and I gotta be out there, and your boss gives you a command, but then your husband also calls you to do something. Who wins? Who do you submit to? Think about Paul's words. Wives submit to your own husbands. And now you have women in the workforce in positions where because they're chasing greeds and not needs, they've got to obey their boss, and their husband says, Hey, I need you to do this or I need you to do that. And she says, Well, I can't, my boss said this. You're literally disobeying Paul's command to submit to your husband, your own husband, because the boss holds the paycheck over your head. What if your child needs you? Since the 1960s, women have been told, liberate yourself, liberate yourself. And now many are in bondage because of feminist ideals with the school system, internet, daycare, workers, iPads, YouTube influence, kids are being influenced by so many other factors. Where are the mothers? And so no wonder that society is in peril, because you take out the mothers and you've taken out one of God's primary mechanisms for nurture and discipleship in a home. Yes, men are the spiritual leader, and who is the man's helpmate? His godly warrior wife. She's the secret weapon. And some will argue, what about my gifts, Costi? What about my talents? What about what I can offer? Yes and amen, absolutely. You can bring a lot to the table in a number of different ways. It doesn't mean you're a doormat in the home and you never have an opinion. It doesn't mean that you don't help your husband with his business or some aspect of life. It doesn't mean that you're not partnered together. It just means that you are being vigilant and guarded against that which will pull you from your home and call you to bow to the world. Let me give you 13 marks of the Proverbs 31 woman. And you tell me, is this woman a doormat? Is she a woman who gets after it? Is she industrious? And yet, what's the priority? Number one, her husband trusts her and she does him good. That's a woman whose husband and home are at the top of the list. Number two, she works with her hands with joy. Oh, look at that. She's not sitting around just doing nothing. This is a woman who's utilizing her strength and her gifts. Number three, she benefits the home with business savvy. That's in Proverbs 31, 13 to 16. She considers a field and she buys it. She looks well after the ways of her home. It's not a sin for you to have an Etsy store. It's not a sin for you to be savvy with some of your business acumen. And we have wonderful women who we're dear friends with and very close with, who are quite savvy in the way that they do things, and their home does not suffer, and they are industrious. Number four, she's strong physically because she's active. So none of this means you sit around and it's, you know, the babies have you in bondage and you can never go do some Pilates. You're never out there, you're not active, you're not busy. No, this is a woman she is strong physically, Proverbs 31, 17 speaks to. Number five, she's caring for the less fortunate. She's got wonderful purpose. Number six, she's prudently caring for her family's needs. Number seven, she marries a respected man. Number eight, she's known for her excellent ways. How can you be known for your excellent ways if you're just this useless doormat sitting around at home, make the meals, have the baby, clean the baseboards, you know, whatever. No, this woman is known for her excellent ways. Which means she's fellowshipping with people. She's around, she's seen. And if anything, she's just seen and known, being busy about the priority and the need of her home. Number nine, she's dignified, joyful, and kind. That means she's a woman who embraces her life and her role and what God has called her to. She's not complaining about it. She's not whining over it. She's not going, oh, the kids, these kids, oh, I'm just so tired of this. Oh, just always complaining. No, she rejoices. In this window of time, I get the privilege of influencing these children that God has given me. Number 10, she's not a lazy and idle homemaker. I think there's a lot of women today that could and should be way more busy in their home and with things that matter. Meanwhile, they just pawn off everything to someone else. They hire this out, they hire that out, they do that, and then they sit around and scroll Instagram all day, or they go do girls' day, girls' night, girls' afternoon, and what have you. And they've got like, you know, three different Pilates classes they've done. They've went and got their eyebrows did, they went and shot some Botox in their lips, and they look amazing, and their home is done by someone else, and then their husband wants a meal, and they're like, Oh, I don't cook. You just order something. This Proverbs 31 woman is the ultimate wife. She's not a lazy and idle homemaker, but she does get after it. She's strong and she looks good. She's dignified and joyful. Her countenance is glorious. She's the ultimate woman. Number 11, she's praised by her children and husband. Show me the way that a husband and children talk about their mother, and I will show you the kind of woman she is or has been. So many times throughout scripture, women, godly women, are praised for their faithful prioritization of the gospel in their home, discipleship of the next generation. Think about Timothy. It was his mother and grandmother who are the reason that he knows the scriptures. Beautiful picture of what children and husbands will say. Oh, many have done well. Sweetheart, you you exceed them all. Her children rise and call her blessed. Number twelve, she fears the Lord and she's blessed. Number thirteen. She gets out exactly what she puts in. Proverbs 31, 31. Oh, give her the reward. Give her the working of her hands. So, ladies, I tell you, as your brother in Christ and your pastor, if you attend our church, you're gonna get out exactly what you put in. What you prioritize is going to produce. So the question is, what are you prioritizing? What are you pouring in? Is your husband in your home at the top of the list? And while it's not a sin to pursue wonderful things and to enjoy your life or to use your talents and to be industrious and to bring income into your home, what is at the peak of your priority list? You tell me who wins. American feminism with its wild women and rebellious divas who view the home focused wife as a useless doormat, or God's design that results in highest praise from God Himself and from your husband and from your children. And so fire the arrows from your quiver. You were made, you ladies, you were made to be a game changer, not by using your talents and climbing some corporate ladder to live the 35-year dream of packing a 401k full of your hard-earned dollars, but your children were given over to whoever knows what else, but by raising godly children who impact eternity. Let me just close in summary by saying this it's not a sin to work, and nothing in the Bible would say that. Provision has been a family affair for centuries. However, it is a sin. It is unbiblical. If your work takes you away from your husband and your children in your home for hours on end because you're chasing greeds and not needs, leaving you unable, completely unable to fulfill your God-given calling in this very short season, if you have children, to do what Titus 2, 3 through 5 describes as loving your husband, loving your children, and being a diligent worker in your home. And I would say that as much as possible, make it the goal of your home. This may take time. Let me just tell you real quick: my wife worked for almost two years when we started having children. It was brutal. She made more money than I did. I was the poor guy in ministry and she was making more than I did. And I it was brutal. It was hard. It was difficult. Eventually that paradigm started to flip. I got a second job. There were things we did. And I remember somebody coming over and saying, Hey, can I just free you from the legalism of you know Christine's in sin and you're in sin? You're a bad husband because you don't make enough to keep her home at all. Like we weren't enjoying, we didn't have iPhones, we didn't have anything. We're just like bare bones of life, rice and beans level. And I remember just feeling such relief as this older man said, It is it your goal to have her home? I said, Absolutely. He said, Then your heart's in the right place. Now go and do the things you need to do over time and just give it time. And so I would encourage you the same way. Don't hear this episode and think, oh man, I it's a legalistic burden now and I'm in sin. Just talk about it as a spouse, as a wife and a husband with your spouse. Make it your goal to ensure the home is prioritized when children are in their picture, the picture, as much as possible. Make it the goal to enable mothers to stay home during those childhood years. That's not always possible because of income needs, but let's make sure we're even willing to lay aside our greeds for however long it takes to make sure that the number one ministry was done with faithfulness. There will be seasons where that's not possible, but it should never be far from our hearts to help moms prioritize the home. In the next episode, we'll dig into the husband's side of things. We're going to look at what it means to be a sacrificial husband. And I can't wait. I need it, you need it, we all do. I hope this series has been an encouragement to you. Thanks for listening, watching, sharing, and supporting. If the podcast has been a blessing to you, would you leave a review on Apple and let others know how these resources can strengthen them too? And to watch videos on a variety of Christian topics that I've been teaching on and other friends and partners have been as well, you can go to our YouTube channel, click on playlists, and we've got dozens of studies for you to choose from. Lastly, for more information about for the gospel or to become a gospel patron and give a monthly gift, you can go to for thegospel.org. I'll be back next Monday with another episode. Keep on living for the gospel.