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Good morning, church family. It is great to be back with you as always. If you would open your Bibles to 1 Timothy chapter 2. First Timothy chapter 2, we're uh continuing through Paul's first letter to Timothy, at least the first letter recorded in Scripture. And I was actually out last week, as I'm sure those who were here know. Uh and so Derek walked us through the first really half, the end of chapter one and the first half of chapter two. Um and in that chapter, Paul provides instruction on godly living. Again, he's establishing right order and conduct within the church, which is what the focus is, and also within our Christian lives. That's the instruction he's providing early on in this letter to Timothy. And last week, Derek did a great job just walking us through the text, revealing that Paul is instructing Christians specifically in the context of a broken world, and that that really matters, especially as we come into our passage today, praying for the salvation of others, proclaiming Jesus as our only hope, and protecting the truth and the faithfulness of the gospel. And that same focus continues today. Don't remove the text I'm about to read from the context of 1 Timothy chapter 2 as we come across one of the most controversial passages in the entire New Testament this morning. And it is a little fortunate timing, and I'll talk about that in a little bit. If you don't, please grab one of the Bibles from the pew back in front of you. If you do, please follow along. This is going to be 1 Timothy chapter 2, starting in verse 8, through the end of the chapter, just through chap uh verse 15. It'll also be up on the screen, or should be up on the screen in front of you if you do not have a Bible, but let's read this passage together. Verse 8. Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands, without anger or argument. Also the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. A woman a woman is to learn quietly, with full submission. I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, instead she is to remain quiet, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed, though she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with good sense. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. This morning I just ask that your word would be you would reveal your word to your church by your spirit, and we pray all of this for Christ's name's sake. Amen. Again, I mentioned that this is interesting timing coming across this passage. Uh this this past week, actually, while I was out for a work trip uh in Miami, again, I'm not necessarily complaining about the location, uh, but I was working the whole time. The SBC has been in some headlines, as I'm sure some of you guys have been seeing. I'm just gonna read a few of the headlines for you from some major sources. Southern Baptists vote to advance a formal ban on churches with women pastors. Southern Baptist Convention overwhelmingly approves stricter ban on female pastors. Southern Baptists vote to ban women pastors sparks outcry from advocates. I I knew that this was gonna be the headline everywhere after this past week. If you aren't, if you don't follow the SBC world at all, which is completely fine and maybe for the better, depending on who you are, uh you didn't you you did miss some things. Here's what actually happened. So Al Moeller, if you don't know the president of Southern Seminary, proposed an amendment to the Baptist Faith and Message 2000, which is our church's statement of faith. If you are part of the SBC, which our church is, that is our statement of faith. So this is relevant to our church. And to be clear, Baptists for their entire history have affirmed that the office of pastor is reserved to men, but this proposed amendment simply adds clarifying language to that description, reinforcing basically the existing uh prohibition, but also in function, not just in title. That's what the language was to support, that the pastor, the role of pastor, is reserved for men, not just in title, but also in function. And this is relevant because there were quite a few churches within the SBC who had uh an elder board or a pastor board, but then would, under their authority, appoint women pastors. And so this has been kind of a hot butt button topic for a while now within the SBC. Uh just so you know, it was voted in favor, 75 to 25, and a vast majority of the people who said no, it was not the actual theological issue at hand, but rather the the nature and the precedent that it sets. But I mention all of this because this is highly relevant today within our SBC world, but also in God's timing, we are looking at the formative text for this conversation. If you have an opinion about this conversation, it is from this text. And that's where the Lord has brought us this week and this morning. I just told our equip class this morning, I did not plan this. This was not structured. I do not have enough foresight to know what's going to happen in the future in order to plan this way. But God in his infinite wisdom has brought our church to this text this morning. And in 1 Timothy 2, do not forget, Paul is concerned with the order of our church, with the order of our worship, with proper and right worship, with our conduct, our roles, that's what he is concerned about. How should our churches look? What should our churches do? What should the members within our churches do? These are all of the questions that Paul is answering in this section of Scripture. If you take nothing else away, and there's a lot you can take away from this text, but here is what I want you to leave home with or leave here with. God's people honor God's design through faithful worship. God's people honor God's design through faithful worship. Again, this text, first and foremost, is about right order within worship. That's what Paul is concerned about. He's not concerned about putting anybody down or belittling anyone. Paul is concerned about honoring God's design in our church's worship. As uncomfortable as that may make us. This whole passage, in fact, not just this section, but the entire passage is about worship in the church, worship through prayer, like he talked about last week and continues this week, worship through teaching and worship through submission. That we forget often. And when we miss that, we miss the entire point of this passage. It's very easy to miss the point of this passage. Let me be clear. But Paul gives us three realities of worship within the church. There are three realities we see in this text this morning for our church. So first let's see God-centered worship. Our worship is to be God-centered. I'm going to read verses eight through eleven for us, or through ten rather, again. Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument. Also, the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. Paul begins this latter half of the chapter with a therefore. And if you see Paul, he uses therefore a whole lot. When he uses this word, you know that the following argument, what you're about to read, is simply based off the argument he mentioned earlier. Remember, Paul spends the first half of this chapter talking about Christian conduct. If you haven't, go back and listen to Derek's sermon. It's a great sermon on that passage, but especially in public worship. And Paul desiring the church, as he says, to lead a tranquil and quiet life in all godliness and dignity, as we saw in verse 2, he now gives instruction on how we are to do those things. How do we live godly lives? How do we structure our worship? It's no accident that Paul, while encouraging proper order, right conduct in the church, begins with an instruction of prayer. That's where he starts. If you want right order within the church, begin with prayer. Prayer ought to be the starting point in every aspect of our church. I genuinely mean that. Every aspect of the church is to be littered with our prayers. And men, the charge is on us to lead the way in prayer. Paul is not saying that women cannot pray, that women should not pray. He is simply saying men lead the charge in prayer. Because if you have a church where the men do not pray, you do not have a healthy church. It is as simple as that. We are tasked to lead the way. He wants men in every place to pray. Again, not to say that this isn't for women or anything like that, but the church with praying men is a church that is growing in their sanctification. And Paul encourages the church in Ephesus to be a men-filled prayer church. Men who pray. That's what he wants in the church. But there's a second element to the instruction. It's not just prayer. Men are to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument. Paul does not put things in here by accident. Paul knows the people in this church. He knows the issues that are going on in the churches that he addressed. This was clearly an issue. There were clearly people arguing. We already know this from chapter 1. Remember the beginning of the letter. The very beginning of the letter. Paul's encouragement was for Timothy to stand against those who would cause division. That's like the start of the book. People are causing division. You stand for truth, Timothy, and you unite. I'm going to put this up on the screen if you want to just flip back a page. 1 Timothy 1, 3 through 6. As I urged you when you went to Macedonia, remain in Ephesus, so you may instruct certain people not to teach false doctrine. That's why he's there. Or to pay attention to silly myths and endless genealogies. Why? These promote empty speculations rather than God's plan, which operates by faith. Now the goal of our instruction is love that comes from a pure heart, good conscience, and sincere faith, but some have departed from these and turned aside to fruitless discussion. People were arguing amongst themselves about pointless things within the church, which is not all too unfamiliar for many churches today. They were filling their pews with needless conversation, pointless discussion, argument. So when we pray, we pray in humility. We don't pray with pomp and circumstance. This is why Paul exhorts that particular posture. He says, with lifting holy hands. This would have been a common practice, especially for Jews within the first century. They prayed with outstretched arms. That would have been very common. I don't believe that Paul is commanding every time we pray to pray with lifted hands. Again, I really do believe that the posture is what matters, or the posture behind our prayer is what matters. Prayer is in itself worshipful. So when we pray, we pray to God. What better way to illustrate that than with lifted hands, outstretched arms? That's what he's saying. It's simply a continuation of praying without anger or argument. That's what he's saying. We pray with humility. Prayer is never, ever focused on ourselves. Shouldn't be focused on ourselves, I should say. Our prayers to God, our worship of God. I'm going to say that again. Our prayers to God, our worship of God. It is the same. Therefore, prayer with the intention of causing division within the body is to place the focus of your prayer on yourself. Do you see what Paul is commanding them not to do? It's implied. Otherwise, he wouldn't have to instruct them to pray without argument. But he does. And we've seen this type of prayer before. Jesus has encountered this often. I'm going to read Luke 18 in this parable where Jesus illustrates this, 9 through 14, up on the screen. He also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous and looked down on everyone else. Two men went up to the temple to pray. One a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. Just keep in mind, the Pharisee, in everyone's mind, he would be the guy who knows how to pray, the tax collector not so much. The tax collector is the self-centered guy. The Pharisee is not. But Jesus has a different idea. The Pharisee was standing and praying like this about himself. God, I thank you that I am not like other people, greedy, unrighteous, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week, I give a tenth of everything I get. But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even raise his eyes to heaven, but kept striking his chest and saying, God, have mercy on me, a sinner. I tell you, this one went down to his house justified rather than the other. Because everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted. Again, another reason why I don't believe Paul is commanding that specific posture. He's commanding a posture, but it's the posture of your heart. It is a posture of worship. The Pharisee is not praying. He is not praying. He is elevating himself before other people publicly. He is not praying. The tax collector is praying. And so the tax collector is the one who will go home justified. Paul is saying the same thing. When we pray within our churches, men who lead out in prayer in our churches, you pray with the goal of honoring God for the unity of the church. That's why we pray. We seek God on behalf of our church, not to elevate ourselves, not to look holy or righteous. We pray as worship to God. Our very prayers can absolutely be objects of division within the church. So what do you pray for? That's a question Derek left us last week. What do you pray for? Are you praying for unity? Are you praying for the people in our church? Or are you praying against the people in our church? Even subtly. What are you praying for? And men. Not just are you praying for the health and unity of our church, are you praying at all? Do you pray? If you don't pray, well, I guess you can't pray for disunity, so that's good. But you can't pray for unity. We are all commanded to be men of prayer, prayer for the worship of God, for the unity of the church. That's why we pray. But next, Paul addresses the women in the church. Also, verse 9: the women are to dress themselves in modest clothing, with decency and good sense, not with elaborate hairstyles, gold, pearls, or expensive apparel, but with good works, as is proper for women who profess to worship God. I think too often these two verses are removed entirely from the context, as much of this passage is. Remember, Paul is concerned about proper worship and unity within the church. That is what he is talking about. It seems disconnected that he talks about prayer and then talks about modesty and apparel, but they are absolutely related. These commands are to promote such things, like with prayer, that remove the focus from us and place it back on God. So for men who are praying and causing arguments and dissension within the church, it's the same thing for the women who are dressing themselves up, drawing attention to themselves. Do you see it's the same issue? Just different formats, same issue. So Paul's addressing a very particular circumstance. Women, do not dress like that. In worship, you don't draw attention to yourself. Men, you don't draw attention to yourself in worship. Worship is for God, directed to God. These are related, they just take different forms. When we gather together in worship, the focus should never be about us. It shouldn't be about our preferences, it shouldn't be about our opinions, and it certainly shouldn't be about our appearance. Good or bad. It should not be. So Paul gets very specific. Dress modestly, with decency and good sense, just be smart about it. Not elaborate hairstyles, expensive jewelry, but dress yourselves with good works. That's what he says. Some of your translations may say braided hair. That's the literal translation. I think the ESV uses that. But I again I read it as with the raising of hands with prayer. I don't think Paul is condemning braided hair outright. You know, ponytails are okay, but but braids are a no-go. I don't think that's what he cares about. The idea is not the braid itself. The idea is any hairstyle that once again draws attention to yourself. You can do your hair in the morning. Paul is not saying that. But you don't draw your attention to yourself at church. That's not what it's for. And this is for the men too, by the way. Though some of us have a little less hair to do in the morning. Again, this is not just hairstyle. Gold, pearls, expensive jewelry, clothing in this mid-60s, very Greco-Roman culture, it would have been progressive for the time. It honestly would not have been very different from our culture today. If you saw a modesty and expensive clothing in the 60s AD, you would recognize it. You would know it. Just like we do today. Paul makes it clear that type of clothing does not have place within the church because when we gather to worship, all Christians, both then and now, we gather for Him. We gather for God. We do not gather for a social club to point people to ourselves. We gather to worship God. We are not looking to make ourselves the center of attention. We don't want to be the reason that others are distracted from worship, both inappropriately from worship. Again, not to say that sometimes you'll distract people or kids will be loud or whatever. That's not what I'm talking about. It's the intentional focus on yourself that Paul cares about. If anything, we should just strive to point others to God when we gather. So for those of us in the church, think of your dress not simply as the outfit of the day, but as an expression of worship itself. What you choose to wear, what you choose to portray yourself as. That is an expression of your worship. It shows how you view God and how you do not. You can tell a lot about a person by what they decide to wear. In modest dress is a great way to showcase our priorities, both for men and for women. But again, in this particular context, the issue Paul is addressing, especially in this city in Ephesus, was with women. But Peter says the same thing as Paul. He echoes 1 Peter 3, 3 through 4. Don't let your beauty consist of outward things, like elaborate hairstyles, wearing gold, jewelry, or fine clothes, but rather what is inside the heart, the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight. God does not care about your gold earrings. He does not. He cares about your conduct within the church. I'm not saying don't have gold earrings. Get dressed up, have fun. But worship is for God. That's what church is for. So we don't dress ourselves dramatically or in order to impress, we dress ourselves with good works, as is proper for all of us who profess worship in God. Let our prayers be prayers of unity, and let our conduct point others to the God that we worship. We have God-centered worship in church. That's what Paul cares about. But secondly, this is only going to get more controversial. I hope you are aware of that. God ordained roles. This is the second reality of our church's worship. We have God ordained roles. I'm going to reread verses 11 through 14. A woman is to learn quietly with full submission. I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, instead, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. Here we come to the controversial verses in the passages. I'm sure you can understand why just by reading them. It is important that we get passages like this right. It's important that we get every passage right, but especially the controversial ones. Because if we interpret this incorrectly, a lot can follow from that incorrect interpretation. It matters that we get passages like this correct. Some passages Paul says something, you're like, that's pretty straightforward. It's not really another way to interpret that. But it's important that we interpret this one correctly. So some of this is going to be academic. I just want you to know that up front. But before we approach interpretation, we must first ensure we have proper context in mind, both cultural and scriptural. Every single passage you approach, what is the context in which it's being said? Both scriptural and cultural, again, these must be considered with these verses. Again, with really any scripture, but especially the ones that are controversial. Thankfully, the scriptural context here is quite easy to sort out. Derek did a great job of it last week. Paul is writing to a pastor. So this letter is written to an individual, one man, though certainly meant for a broader audience. He would have read it to his church in Ephesus, but it is first and foremost a personal letter in a particular circumstance. So what are the circumstances? Again, the goal of this chapter, as we saw in the beginning, continuing into chapter three, by the way, is proper order within the context of the local church. Paul is simply answering the question here, how should the church operate? That is the question being answered. That's what he is addressing. How should the church operate? All too often, people remove these few verses and just take them alone, removing them from the surrounding context, but Paul is concerned with proper order. So let's see how it applies to us today. Verse 11, Paul says, A woman is to learn quietly with full submission. Here Paul starts to get specific about the roles within the church and how women operate in full submission. Again, this is referring to the role women take within the church's teaching. Again, that's another part of this that can't be removed. Do not remove it from that. The context of the church's teaching is what matters here. We know this because he clarifies that role in verse 12. He says, I do not allow a woman to teach or to have authority over a man. Instead, she is to remain quiet. I will repeat myself on occasion for the sake of clarity. Do not remove this from the context of church's authoritative teaching. Paul is clarifying order within the church, and Paul makes it clear that the teaching roles in authority are reserved for men. Primarily, as we'll see in this book, qualified pastors. That's who teaches. Those are the men who teach. And I'll clarify what I mean there later. If you take this within the full context of Scripture, it certainly follows. We see submission lots of places in Scripture. Submission is not the weird part here, necessarily, the controversial part. We see wives to husbands, children to parents, citizens to governing authorities, church members to pastors. God has ordained submission to be a part of our lives, whether we like it or whether we do not like it. The list is long. And I know it's taboo to say in these days in our current cultural climate, but God has created men and women to Do different things. Shouldn't be controversial. Certainly has nothing to do with ability or value or worth. That is not what Paul is concerned about. He is not talking about value, about sinfulness, or or that women are more gullible. That is not the point of this passage. It is simply what men are designed to do and what women are designed to do by God. That is what Paul cares about. We all stand before God equal. We are all image bearers. We were all sinners. We were all saved by grace. Praise God. But there are roles that God has established in His created order. And according to this passage, the teaching roles within the church are reserved, as we'll see next chapter, qualified men. Certainly, men can learn and do learn from women. Men are taught by women. We have women scholars, seminary professors, authors, Bible translators, missionaries. All of these are roles that women fill today. Teachers of other women, disciplers, they teach their children, they teach their families. So are all of these women just living in sin? Are all of them doing something inappropriate? Absolutely not. All throughout the New Testament, in fact, Paul encourages women to teach. Other women encourage, he says, older women to teach younger women. Mothers he encourages to teach their children. Even in Timothy's own life, his grandmother instructed him in the faith that Paul commends. Women teach men. But the authoritative preaching and teaching of the church is reserved for men. I hope that clarifies. This is not to say that women cannot teach, do not have the ability to teach, ought not teach. If they feel like they want to teach, they should just turn away and go the other direction. It's not what he's saying. But there are guidelines that God provides for his church for proper order, and this is one of them. These are all good and godly things that the church ought to do. Again, Paul here is directly addressing our conduct and order within the church. When we gather, when we preach, our pulpit is filled by qualified men only. But I'll be honest, that's really not the hard part of this text necessarily. It's not one of the hard parts of the text. Like, okay, fair enough. God is like I can't I can get behind that. Like, okay, pastors are for men, like they're the ones who teach, that's that's whatever. But women are to just sit there and be quiet. Is that what Paul is saying? Like they just don't say anything? Let me reread again. I do not allow a woman to teach or author or have authority over a man. Instead, she is to remain quiet, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. We need to be very careful with how we approach this text here. Paul uses the same word twice in Greek, once in verse 11, once in verse 12, that the CSB uses quiet. That's how it translates that word. And this is not the only time we see that word used in Scripture. Word studies are very valuable. When you're reading Scripture, it was not written in English, it was written in Greek. You should know, at least the New Testament I should say. You should know what it means. There's lots of references, and we can misunderstand, trust me, many people misunderstand this to be total and utter silence, which is not what that word means. There are various other passages where this word is used, and we see it used to describe a crowd settling down, just quieting a crowd. It's used to encourage someone to hold your peace, to not speak when you have something to say. Paul uses it in 1 Thessalonians 4. He encourages the church to lead a quiet life, nothing to do with speech, just a quiet conduct. Also, the verse we referenced earlier in 1 Peter 3, 3 through 4, Paul, or Peter uses it to describe a gentle and quiet spirit. Not necessarily verbiage. It's not just saying something. It's not that Paul wants women to show up and then never say anything. And you can't greet anybody in the hallway. You can't ask to go to the bathroom. You can't do any of that. You can't use your words. That's not what he's saying. Paul wants participation in worship. We are encouraged to sing. We are encouraged and instructed to greet one another. So either Paul is just contradicting himself, or we need to understand this differently. It's not that he doesn't want them to sit there and not say anything, but rather women submit willingly and peaceably to the teaching authority within the church. That's simply what he's referring to. With a quiet spirit. As by the way, all non-elders do. By doing so, by being quiet within the church, not literally, not saying anything, you are submitting to God's teaching, to God's authority. It is truly a type of rest in the sovereignty of God. I hope you see that. There's this, you may have seen it. It's funny, I think it was a tweet originally, it's a meme online now at this point, about online discourse, which is, you know, the just peak human discourse is found online. And someone said, referring to it, it's the only place where a well-articulated sentence will get misinterpreted. You can say, I like pancakes, and someone will reply, oh, so you hate waffles. Which is not at all what was said. And I think people do the exact same thing with this passage right here. When Paul exhorts women to keep quiet, he's not saying men are to be loud by contrast. That is not the instruction. He is not saying that men can say whatever the heck they want, they don't have to worry about what they say, they have no filter, they can be loud and boisterous and disruptive. Absolutely not. Paul reserves the speaking here, which remember is a direct reference to authoritative teaching in the church. That is authoritative, God-willed, scripture-centered teaching to be reserved by qualified men within the church. Everyone else remain quiet, is what he's saying. So likewise, unqualified men remain quiet. You submit to the teaching of the church. Do not remove that from this context. Paul is not saying you cannot say any words when you go to church. But the authoritative teaching comes from qualified men, pastors within the church. Everyone else submits to that teaching. That's what Paul is saying. Don't remove the verses from the context. There is an element to this text, though, that matters, which is that there is a cultural thing happening within Ephesus that I think matters. But we do need to be careful. Because a lot of people, in order to justify this text as not really meaning what it means, have really gone down some interesting paths to do that. There's been lots of study done now on the church in Ephesus, particularly on this cult of Artemis, which would have been very prominent during this time period, highly relevant, far more egalitarian, even women-dominated spaces, especially in the religious space. Not a lot of men involved in the religious space here in Ephesus. So in these religious groups, women would dress very well ordained, often promiscuous. It was a woman-led cult, had great influence throughout the city. And according to these commentators, these teachings from these women were infecting the church. So with that understanding, some commentators have argued that Paul is just combating that cultural element. He's not actually commanding right order within the church here. He's just telling them how to operate within that context specifically. But I'll be honest, I find that argument, maybe there's truth to it, but largely uncompelling in its practicality. Well, again, this certainly may have been the case. There very well may have been a very prominent cult of Artemis here who did all of those things. It doesn't follow then that Paul would give instruction only to be different than the culture around them. That doesn't follow. He doesn't do that elsewhere in Scripture. Like for no other purpose, just to be different than the culture. Women are to be submissive at church, but just to look different from the culture, that doesn't follow. It also doesn't follow how he backs his argument up, which is by referring to Adam and Eve. Why even mention the creation story if it's just cultural? Do you see what I'm saying? Verse 13, for Adam was formed first, then Eve. If it was simply a uniquely cultural issue, why mention them at all? Why not mention the issue? Paul was prone to do that. It seems to me that Paul, with the idea, again of establishing right order within the church, refers back to God's original order within the creation story to prove his point here. He says, here are the roles with the church here, and I know it because God made roles here. That's what Paul seems to be saying to me. He uses the example as Adam and Eve that shows that God created men and women to do different things, to fill different roles. Why else would he not create Adam and Eve at the same time? He doesn't do that. He creates Adam out of the dust and creates Eve for Adam to complement Adam. Which is a quick aside. That's the same Hebrew word helper used to describe the Holy Spirit. That's how women are described for men. She is created for him, to complement him. That's the understanding that Paul uses to instruct the church today and in every age. So we must be careful. I like the way this commentator puts it, to avoid literalism, which is everything Paul says here must be strictly adhered to. Cultural context does not matter. Meaning every time we pray, we lift up our hands. Women can literally never braid their hair. Or there's something different. But we also must avoid the flip side, which is more liberalism, which is dismissing it altogether and saying only the cultural context matters. You must marry the two. They matter. You must marry the two. If Paul says women are to be quiet, it's not that women must not say a word. But also, it's not just a cultural issue where we can just ignore it that it doesn't matter. And dismiss it. Say it's only tied to local context. Just so I am clear, which I've I've tried to be clear here, I do believe Paul is giving instruction for all churches. I believe this is instruction that can be applied to all churches in any context, that the role of teaching within the local church context is reserved for men. Specifically authoritative, pulpit-led teaching from Scripture. That's what I mean. It does not mean that women don't participate in so many other ministries, that women evangelize, they teach women and children. It doesn't mean they're lesser or they hold no influence or they have no say. None of that is true. Like to believe that the employee has less worth than their boss is like, that's what we're saying here, if we believe that. That because women do different things in the church, they have less value. That is not, does not follow. God has created different roles to be filled by different people, and it's up to us to be faithful to find that calling within ourselves, to find our true fulfillment within church ministry and not fighting against it. I think that's what matters. But to end this section, he gets more unclear, which is great for us. He doesn't only refer to the creation account, he gives us first an example of the created order being undermined. In verse 14, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed. So what is Paul saying here? He is not arguing that Eve or women in general are more gullible or more susceptible to temptation. That is not what he says. I'm just going to read this commentary here. Rather, it is an illustration of roles out of order. Adam was to be the head, not the follower. Adam was ultimately then responsible as he gave up his role. That's how Scripture describes sin. You're under the headship of Adam. It is his fault. Paul is simply describing and giving an example of out of order. And it has deadly consequences because sin is now in the world. Adam failed to lead, Eve fell prey to temptation, did not submit, and Adam followed her. And so we get to deal with sin. But as he does often, Paul does not leave us with bad news, he gives us good news. And do not misunderstand verse 15. It is good news. If you thought that the confusing verses were done, verse 15. But she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with good sense. As you might imagine, there are some differing ways that people interpret this particular verse. And when you read it in a vacuum, this is one of the most alarming verses in the entirety of Scripture. But that's why we don't read Scripture in a vacuum. We read Scripture in context. So let's first begin with what Paul is not saying in verse 15. Firstly, certainly it is not a claim that women achieve salvation by giving birth. That is not what Paul is saying. That would directly contradict the entirety of his letters in the New Testament and his letters following, and in his words after this verse, in the same book. That cannot be it. Paul is not saying that women are saved, not by grace through faith, but by giving birth. Not what Paul is saying. We are saved by grace because of Christ's work on the cross, the nature of salvation, and many other things is found in Scripture. Paul is not contradicting that. He's not contradicting his own teaching. He even said, if I do contradict my own teaching, let me be accursed. So that cannot be what's happening here. Secondly, this is not only directed to Eve. I think some people read it that way too. While Paul mentioned, right, that she will be saved through childbearing, it is certainly a generalization for all women who, if they continue in faith, love holiness with good sense. It's referencing women in general, not just Eve. But it also isn't to say that Christian women who remain faithful will have successful or protected births. I have seen this translation used. That they'll be protected from harm during their pregnancy. That is unfortunately not the case, as is close to home for many of us. That is not true. Pregnancy is not easy. It is often difficult and tragic. There are health problems, there is death involved. It is not an easy thing. Paul is not promising that every Christian woman who gets pregnant will be protected. That's not the promise we have in Scripture. Pregnancy is difficult, and we live in a world infected by sin with its deadly footprints everywhere, including there. So that cannot be what Paul is saying either. So what is he saying? I think there's two things that he's alluding to. Two things that I see in this text. Look with me all the way back to Genesis 3, 16. You don't need to turn there, it'll be up on the screen. And he says, He said to the woman, I will intensify your labor pains, you will bear children with painful effort. Your desire will be for your husband, yet he will rule over you. This was the curse placed upon Eve immediately after they both ate the fruit. Remember, God places a curse on both of them, but also on the land around them. It will fight against them. For Adam, nature literally will push back. There will be thorns and thistles. He will get food from the sweat and blood he produces. And for Eve, childbirth is going to be, as many of you know, through great pain. It's not going to be easy. So for Paul to mention this here, certainly a callback to that curse that you're going to endure difficult childbearing. Because you ate the fruit, you are cursed with painful labor. But here's the key. Despite her transgression, eating the fruit, despite her painful labor, she would be saved through it. How can that be possible then? It's easy to see that the references, Paul's talking about the curse of Eve, but how are we saved? Where does he get that word? And here's another element to this that we cannot miss, because God doesn't only curse Adam and Eve. It's not just to them, he also curses the serpent. And this helps us interpret this text. Genesis 3, just the verses prior, 14 and 15. So the Lord God said to the serpent, Because you have done this, you are cursed more than any livestock, more than any wild animal. You will move on your belly and eat dust all the days of your life, and here's what matters. I will put hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring, plural, sorry, singular, and her offspring singular. Somebody who is going to be born, he will strike your head, and you will strike his heel. There is one coming that God says to the serpent, a descendant of Eve, who through childbearing would bring forth the one that will crush the head of the serpent and offer salvation to people. I do believe, church family, that this childbearing referenced in 1 Timothy 2 is a reference to the God who became flesh and was born, just like you and me. Through childbearing, through difficult labor, through suffering, through the curse, he's born through it all, and that's how we are saved. So no, you're not saved by giving birth. You are saved because Mary gave birth to Jesus. How else are we to be saved than through faith in a man, Christ Jesus? So, women in the room, you are saved through childbearing, but not your own. You are saved because 2,000 years ago there was another woman named Mary, and she was faithful to the promise of God, and she delivered our Savior through pain in a dirty room that we might be saved. I was reading through these a lot this week, and I came across a text from John Stott. I love what he says here. So I'm gonna put it on the screen. I guess I'm pulling from a lot of commentary, just so you know. I will tell you if I'm these are not my words. This is all him. So then, even if certain roles are not open to women, and even if they are tempted to resent their position, they and we must never forget what we owe to a woman. If Mary had not given birth to the Christ child, there would have been no salvation for anybody. No greater honor has ever been given to woman, to a woman, than in the calling of Mary to be the mother of the Savior of the world. That is the greatest calling any person has ever received in the history of the world, and God gave it to an unmarried woman. Certainly, God has called men and women to do different things, but no greater calling has been given to anybody than to bear the Savior of the world. And that's where Paul wants this to end, not with just instruction about how women are worse. That's not what he's talking about. Not arguing about roles, not debating authority or getting lost in controversy. That's why he's writing this in the first place. He wants us to end where scripture ends, which is with Jesus. The same chapter that speaks about God's design for women and women also reminds us that our hope has never been in ourselves, ever. In our difficulty, in our ability, in our roles, our hope is found in the promised offspring of the woman. That is Jesus Christ. The one who came in the world to save sinners, who crushed the serpent's head, the one who reconciles us to God, and the one who is building his church according to his wisdom, not our own. So the call this morning is simple. I leave you with three charges. Three charges. First, for the men in the room, lead with prayer. That's what this text calls us to do. Lead with prayer. God calls us in this text to be men of prayer and to be men of peace. So do you pray at all? Do you lead your family in prayer? At all? Do you lead your spouse in prayer? Do you lead yourself in prayer? Do you pray? God will not neglect a church whose men lead in prayer. Pray. For the women in the church. This is the call the text gives us. Embrace God's calling. Whatever that looks like. Not with a view of limitation, but with a view of trust, of obedience to God. The call of this passage is not silence, it's not insignificance, it is faithfulness. It is trust in your role in God's mission, whatever that looks like. Throughout scripture, God uses women in extraordinary ways. In church history, God uses women in extraordinary ways to advance his kingdom. And Paul reminds us that true fulfillment is not in demanding roles, God has not given, but just embracing the role he has given you, whatever that looks like. So what is that role? What is it? Is it just being a mother today? Is that your role? Is it displaying godliness in your workspace today, outside the church? Is it working in a godly fashion? Is it evangelism? Is it leading a ministry? Is it discipling others in your church? Is it being an obedient daughter today? Is it being a faithful spouse today? I don't know what your role is, but embrace the role that God has called for you to do. And trust God in it. But for all of us, not just men, not just women, for all of us, submit to Christ this morning. Whether man or woman, young or old, if you're married, if you're single, if you're like me and you lead different things or you're a member, the ultimate question is the same. Will we submit ourselves to Christ? Because every one of us comes to Scripture, let's be honest, wanting certain passages to say different things. Every one of us encounters commands that challenge our preferences, myself included. But discipleship means trusting that God's wisdom is better than your wisdom. The roles he designed for the church are better than what you would have come up with. It means believing that his design is good, even when the world says it's not. So submit to Christ this morning. We're going to have a time of response as we always do. I did not have a prayer up on the screen, but feel free. Use these couple minutes just to pray. Use them to reflect on what the mission God has for you, what the role in the church God has for you. He's calling each and every one of you to something. And it's up to us to figure out what that is. So please respond when you're ready. Daryl's going to lead us in the Lord's Supper and we will continue in worship. Would you pray with me? Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word. We thank you for texts like this, the hard, difficult texts to encounter, the texts that are counter-cultural. I just ask that you would help us get passages like this right, that we would interpret the word of truth correctly. You would guide us by your spirit to understand these things and to convict us when necessary, to correct us when necessary. I ask that you would find roles for everyone here, that you would call us to ministry to some degree in here, that we would pursue your kingdom and your glory. And I pray all these things for Christ's name's sake. Amen.