What is a Godly Woman? | Genesis 1:26-28 | Pastor Mark Griffin (1/21/24)

I have the privilege of opening the word of God with you this afternoon.

But before I do that, I'd like to do something a little different this afternoon. Before I preach, I want us to pray again. And I want to spend some time where each of you silently prays to the Lord. There's a lot of distractions in this world, in our lives, busyness, good things, hard things. I want to pray that now Spend this moment asking the Lord to clear all those distractions from your heart and your mind.

Ask the Lord to soften your heart. Speak to the Lord in these next several moments to prepare your hearts to hear from him. And father, we do pray that you soften our hearts. Would make us receptive to your word today. Lord, help me as I expound and explain and rejoice and celebrate what you have for your people.

Father, anything I say today that is not from you, that is not found in your word, that's from the flesh, may it be quickly forgotten. But, Lord, where I where I speak after you, where I am faithful to your word, may it implant deeply into the hearts and minds of your people, and may we come away more sanctified, more in love with you, more devoted to you. Lord, have your way in this service. In Jesus' name. Amen.

Amen. In March 2022, during the confirmation hearing for United States Supreme Court Ketanji Brown Jackson, one senator asked justice Jackson, can you define the word woman? Justice Jackson failed to do so. She said she couldn't because she was not a biologist. Yet she is not alone in this day and age.

You see, later, a political commentator went around the country asking people on the streets, asking medical doctors and academics, politicians, and psychologists the simple question, what is a woman? Tragically, yet unsurprisingly, their answers were almost incomprehensible. One person said a woman is anyone who thinks they are a woman, or that is hard. It's a stumper, Or I'm not a woman, so I can't answer that. But while the question of what is a woman is an important one, I'll be a simple and straightforward question to answer, One that has not been an issue for literally the whole of human existence and has only recently caused such confusion for Christians.

Both men and women seeking to grow in sanctification, seeking to be more like Christ. We need to ask ourselves the related but far more important question. What is a godly woman? What does the Bible say about God honoring purpose filled, joy abounding womanhood. And as we look at God's word, we can discern that that that there is so much more to being a godly woman than mere biological reality.

There's certainly not less, but biblical womanhood, biblical femininity is so grand, so wondrous, so captivating that the world cannot even imagine it, let alone recognize it. In fact, what the world does is attempt to demean, distort and dismantle any hint of biblical womanhood because Satan knows that God's design for men and women brings true joy, true human flourishing and thriving and true exaltation of Jesus Christ. The LGBTQ movement, transgenderism, and intersectionality with their refusal to define the word woman is a cultural problem and a sin problem. A problem that has infected many church through apostate, attenders, leaders, and denomination. Yet, the more insidious and long lasting, and in many ways accepted problem in the church is a worldview that has damaged and destroyed relationships, marriages, families, communities and caused countless to shipwreck their faith.

A worldview that shares many presuppositions with the l g d LGBTQ worldview, the worldview of feminism. You see feminism says men and women are essentially interchangeable in roles and function. If a man can do it, so can a woman. Actually, so should a woman. If a man can be a pastor, so should a woman.

If a man can have a career outside of the home, so should a woman. If a man can be the primary leader at home, so should a woman. There is little to no distinction between men and women at home, at work, or in the church. And they say anything less than that is discrimination and dangerous and harmful to women, a kind of spiritual and emotional abuse from an oppressive patriarchal system that needs to be overthrown. Church, the Bible rejects that flat out.

And if we say that the Bible contains the very words of God and the Bible is our authority, the Bible is inspired in inerrant, infallible, and sufficient, then we must reject it too. Now this feminism sometimes called egalitarianism in Christian circles has made significant inroads in the church and it is spreading. It has sown seeds of confusion, passivity, strife, unclarity, mistrust, envy, bitterness and apostasy in countless local assemblies and denominations. To stand firm against that, we must know what the bible says about biblical womanhood. So today, we will through the grace and power of the holy spirit answer the question, what is a godly woman from the bible?

Now to do that, we will look at several fundamental indispensable characteristics of biblical womanhood. And notice we are asking the question, what is a godly woman? Not what is a godly wife? Now to be sure, some aspects of biblical womanhood are felt more intensely in marriage, but being a wife is not a prerequisite for being a godly woman. Also, since God created men and women to act together with distinct roles in a complimentary nature, in order to talk about biblical womanhood, we will naturally see what the Bible says about some aspects of being a godly man.

So this sermon is for everyone. Preliminarily, let's turn to the creation account in Genesis chapter one as we get started. Genesis chapter one unique relationship between men and women, unlike any other relationship in the universe. We also start in Genesis because it was here that Jesus and Paul specifically referenced when explaining marriage and manhood and womanhood. Genesis, not in culture, but in creation.

So Genesis chapter one verses 26 through 28. Genesis one twenty six through 28. Then God said, let us make man in our image after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over the livestock, and over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So God created man in his own image.

In the image of God, he created him. Male and female, he created them. And God blessed them. And God said to them, be fruitful and multiply. Fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the birds of the heavens, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.

At the outset, we see the uniqueness, the equality and the complementarity of men and women in the creation order. It's right here in these verses. Men and women are utterly unique. The Bible clearly distinguishes humanity from the birds, the animals, livestock, and other beasts of the earth. Man is not an animal.

It says, let us make man in our image after our likeness. So God created man in his own image. We are unique because men and women are created in the image of God. Nothing else in all of creation can make that claim. We are all we are not only unique as compared to other creatures but we are equal as compared to one another.

Equal in dignity, in honor, in worth, in standing before God. You see our standing before God is the same regardless of sex or ethnicity or ability or intelligence, social status, income level, education, and more. Men and women have an inherent dignity that is bestowed upon them because we are all made in God's image. That applies to all humans. But how much more does this equality apply to believers in Christ?

Romans chapter eight, that great exposition on the salvation and the glory of God and the way that he brings people to salvation. Romans eight sixteen through 17 says, the spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. And if children then heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ. We we men and women are children of God. Brothers and sisters, we are fellow heirs with Christ.

Men and women equally sharing in the redemptive work of Christ and the eternal glory that awaits us. But equality before God does not mean that men and women are the same. Look again at Genesis one twenty seven. So God created man in his own image. In the image of God, he created him.

Male and female, he created them. God created male and female, two human beings unique and equal in dignity and worth, but very different. Biological differences, personality differences, role and responsibility differences. Men and women are equal, but not the same. Eve was not created to be a duplicate of Adam.

Just a couple verses down in Genesis two eighteen. Genesis two eighteen says, then the Lord God said, it is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him. God created woman to be a helper or helpmate for man. This shows us the complementarity of men and women.

God designed us one for another. Men need women and women need men. Of course, we see that in biology, in procreation. But beyond that, beyond biology, God designed men and women to live and work and function in harmony. Different roles, different responsibilities, same goal.

And just like musical harmony, biblical gender roles are designed for men and women to create full and pleasing and textured and rich and beautiful lives for the glory of God and the joy of his people. Uniqueness, equality, complementarity, There it is at the beginning at the creation order. What the bible as a whole communicates to us is not an enumerated list of outward actions that a godly woman must follow, but rather the bible tell us tells us timeless dispositions and attitudes and characteristics of this godly woman. And as we go through these traits, sisters, this is not the time for you to take out a yardstick and compare yourself and measure yourself and burden yourself that you do not perfectly embody all of these characteristics. No one ever will this side of eternity.

No. What I want everyone here, men and women, to see is how the world's definition of femininity, the world's version of an ideal woman is simply pathetic. My goal today, my hope and prayer for everyone here is for God's word to give you an indestructible vision of the goodness and freedom and joy and the delight of what it means to be a godly woman. Biblical womanhood is not popular. It's not culturally acceptable, but it is truth and it is a glorious truth.

And I pray everyone here not only accepts it, but rejoices in it. So let's look at six characteristics of a godly woman. You could certainly pick others and you would be correct in adding others. And in a way, all of these characteristics could be said of godly men as well. But for women, these traits will be realized in a different way and they represent the core of biblical womanhood.

So number one, a godly woman loves God and surrenders everything to him. At the root of biblical womanhood, at the very bottom, the foundation of a woman's disposition and attitude and interactions with men and other women is her love for God and her desire to know him and love him more. Now this might seem obvious, but it is essential that we understand its implications. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 10. Matthew chapter 10 and we'll read verses 34 through 39.

In the gospel of Matthew chapter 10, Jesus says, do not think that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law, and a person's enemies will be those of his own household. Whoever loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And whoever does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me.

Whoever finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. A woman's love for God must be so deep and real and authentic that it puts every other relationship as secondary. Even those closest to her, her family, her mother and father, her husband and her children. Now in the parallel passage, you don't have to turn there, but in the parallel passage in Luke fourteen twenty six, Jesus says, if anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters and yes, even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Now clearly, Jesus is not saying that you must literally hate your family to be his disciple.

But what he is saying is that even those whom you have a God given responsibility to care for, to nurture, to love, Even with those, your love for God must be so intense and so all consuming that any other relationship is so far demoted that it may seem like hate. Now if that weren't countercultural enough, Jesus goes farther. He says in Luke fourteen thirty three, just a couple verses later, he says, so so therefore, any one of you who does not renounce all that he has cannot be my disciple. Loving God means surrendering everything to Him. Your will, your plans, your desires, and your dreams.

It means laying before the cross of Christ some things that you may hold dear now, but would in fact be a stumbling block for you in keeping you from realize the fullest measure of God's plan for your life. Ladies, things like your career, your culture, and yes, even your family. This is a kind of love that says, God, you know what's best for me. Your plans for me are far better than anything that I could plan for myself. Your will for my life is greater than what the world could ever offer.

Now, surrendering to God does not mean that God doesn't want you to enjoy and have the things that you submit to him. He it means he doesn't want anyone or anything else to be on the throne of your heart. Mark ten twenty nine and thirty. Jesus said, truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sister or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the gospel who will not receive a 100 fold. Now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands with persecution and in the age to come eternal life.

God does not offer you an easy life, but he does promise you a full life if only you forsake everything for him. A godly woman loves God, but a godly woman also loves the Bible, the word of God. Now the entrance of sin into the world was the direct result of not believing, not trusting, not rejoicing in God's word. If you're still in Genesis Well, if you're not in Genesis, let's look at Genesis chapter three. Genesis chapter three verse one.

The serpent says to Eve, did God actually say? You shall not eat of any tree in the garden. Did God actually say? And we sin because we don't trust God's word. We don't obey God's word.

We see this as the at the beating heart of the anti Christian world views of our age. LGBTQ, feminism, intersectionality, Darwinian evolution, critical race theory. At creation, God spoke. And in the Bible, God still speaks. Sin and these worldviews say, I speak.

I'm going to say what is important, what is real and what is true. A godly woman rejects these lies. A godly woman isn't controlled by her own feelings or her own thoughts or the hypnotic and ceaseless speech of the world and culture. The bible to her isn't simply a manual of good clean living. It's not an ancient book written for antiquated cultures with out of touch norms and traditions.

No. For the godly woman, the Bible is life because the Bible is the very word of God. As Hebrews chapter four verse 12 says, for the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart. The godly woman doesn't judge the Bible. The godly woman understands that the Bible judges her.

She not only understands the reality of the Bible being God's word, but she loves that reality. She rejoices in what God has revealed in it. Even in the difficult to understand passages and the passages that might go against what she grew up believing about men and women and gender roles. So women, read God's word to you, yield to it, Memorize it. Hide it in your heart.

Study it. Learn it. Go deep in it. Men, encourage your wives and your daughters and women around you to be consumed with a love to know God's word. Don't be threatened by a woman who longs to know the Bible deeply and richly or who might even know the Bible more intimately than yourself.

Don't be threatened and don't be passive either leaving spiritual things to her. Study with her, memorize with her, discuss with her and see how the Christian women in your life will thrive because of it. Godly woman loves God, loves the Bible. And three, a godly woman affirms and takes part in a complimentary roles of male headship and female submission. Headship and submission.

Two words that are literally hated in the world and in culture, but also in many churches today. Yes. People have abused what these words truly and biblically mean. There have been misinterpretations of the relevant passages and misapplications in homes and in churches. But the very worst thing we could do is to ignore this great biblical reality, to bow to cultural pressure and say that since some people have abused these terms, then we won't preach on it at all.

We are not going to do that. You see in Genesis, God created man to have dominion over every living thing on the earth. And God created woman to be a helper to him. And after Adam and Eve sinned in the garden, God called out to Adam even though it was Eve who had first eaten of the fruit. Genesis three nine says, but the Lord God called to the man and said to him, where are you?

God sought out Adam first because Adam had the primary responsibility to lead his wife not the other way around. And because of his failure, sin entered into the world. Now we see this complimentary complementarity explained more fully in Ephesians chapter five twenty two through 33. And this is a long passage. I encourage you to read along with me in your own Bibles.

It's a familiar passage, but a passage that is packed deep with God glorifying realities. Paul writes in Ephesians five twenty two, wives submit your own husbands as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church, his body and is himself its savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands. Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her that he might sanctify her having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word so that he might present the church to himself in splendor without spots or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish.

In the same way, husband should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself for no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it just as Christ does the church. Because we are members of his body, therefore, a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife and the two shall become one flesh. This mystery is profound and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. However, let each one of you love his wife as himself and let the wife see that she respects her husband.

Notice how Paul does not root gender roles in cultural norms of his time, but rather in Genesis two twenty four. A man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh. He roots it in creation itself. He goes all the way back to Genesis to explain the different responsibilities and expectations for men and women. And while Paul in this passage is directly addressing the marriage covenant, The implications are far broader because men and women do not become godly only in marriage.

The biological differences between men and women established in creation were also the foundation for the social differences established in the garden. We see this in the marriage covenant. And we also see that in the church. In first Timothy's in first Timothy chapters two and three, the Bible roots the complimentary gender roles in the church of having qualified male headship in creation itself. Now from these passages and others, we see that the Bible calls men to lead, protect, and provide.

And women to submit to godly leadership. Men, this role of being the primary leader at home and in the church is not your right. It is your responsibility. It is not something you claim as your due, but rather a humble disposition of being a servant that is more concerned with the needs of his wife and family and others more than his own needs. This role requires men to willingly sacrifice everything, not only for the temporal and physical good and well-being of his family, but for their eternal good.

Men, being a godly leader isn't simply creating a list of demands that you expect those under your authority to complete. Being a godly leader means that you create an atmosphere and an environment and patterns of living where those under your care fully realize their potential and God given gifts. An environment where the women around you thrive. Not because they usurp the primary role of leadership, but because they are loved and heard and valued and protected and cared for by you. Biblical female submission does not imply weakness or inferiority or unworthiness.

It has nothing to do with competency or ability or intelligence. Submission means that you encourage, affirm and support the godly leadership of worthy men. In the home, you care for your husband and your children before other things. Now this doesn't mean you don't have interest and plans and goals outside of the home, but it does mean that these other things are not your primary focus. In Titus two three through five, we see this.

Paul is instructing Titus and he says that older women are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children to be self controlled, pure, working at home, kind and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled. The Proverbs 31 woman first take care takes care of her home. She makes sure her family is fed and clothed and looked after her household and only then does she buy the field and sell the linen garments. Now in the world, today, in our culture, it is assumed that a woman when a woman marries, she will continue with her career. If children come along, it is assumed that they will be placed in daycare and then sent to public schools while both mom and dad work and bring in a double income.

It is assumed that a woman's worth is measured by her paycheck or the prestige of her title. Church, may those assumptions not be so among us. May we get it out of our minds and out of our hearts that to work outside of the home is somehow more valuable than to work within it. May we reject the notion that a career is more fulfilling, more meaningful, and more impactful than raising children at home. Christian men and women don't believe the lies of this world that career is everything or that education is everything or that a double income is everything compared with eternity, they are nothing.

Ephesians five, Paul says, wives submit to your own husbands as to the Lord. Wives, you do not follow your husbands into sin. Husbands, don't ask or expect your wife to do so. Biblical womanhood says that a godly woman's allegiance is first and foremost to God. This means that women are to use discernment and wisdom and prayer when submitting to their husbands.

Husbands, your job is to prepare your wife for Christ, not for you. Point her towards Christ. Don't ask her to do something. Don't lead her in a way that goes against what the word of God says. But what if you're not a married woman?

Well, first, you do not have to experience biblical marital dynamics in order to support and affirm them. The things you say to other people, other women about men and marriage will either affirm biblical gender roles or detract from them. Also, you can, as a single woman, submit to and encourage godly male leadership in other areas of your life. Now certainly this type of submission will be different and look different outside of marriage, but the underlying principles remain the same. You can be the one who supports the fact and the glorious truth that God created men and women different with different roles, different responsibilities and you can affirm that this is a good thing.

In your singleness, no matter your age, you can be God's instrument in combating the lives of the world that say men and women are interchangeable, that we might as well look, act and talk the same and that distinct gender roles are harmful to women. You can be God's instrument to expand and expand and deepen and awaken people's hearts to God's glorious design for humanity. Number four, a godly woman is part of a Christian community where she teaches or is taught by other godly women. Let's look again. Turn with me now to Titus chapter two verses three through five.

Let's read that again. Titus two three through five, Paul says, older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slaves too much or slaves too much wine. They are to teach what is good and so train the young women to love their husbands and children to be self controlled, pure, working at home, kind, and submissive to their own husbands that the word of God may not be reviled. Now to put this passage into context, Paul is instructing Titus on how to set local assemblies in order to appoint qualified men as elders to instruct the church on how to live, on church discipline, and sound doctrine. So these instructions for women are given in the greater context of the life of the church.

That tells us, first, godly women must be part of a church community. If it is if it is within your power to do so, church must be a vital, indispensable, and non negotiable part of your life. You are members of the body of Christ. And church is the place where we fully experience and express that membership. And women, godly women, may coming to church not simply be a duty to you, but may it be a delight.

A time where exiles gather together and remind each other that we are not home yet. We encourage each other, strengthen each other, bear one another's burdens. For a godly woman, church is essential. Now within this church context, Paul describes a community where older women, not just in age but more importantly in spiritual maturity, these women train up the younger women. This is discipleship.

This is mentorship. So on the one hand, a godly woman is the one who sacrifices her time and energy to pour into younger women Through experience, not just in life, but in reading and studying the word, through years of prayer and communing with God, this type of woman is called to pass on that wisdom and knowledge and love for God and family to those around her. This is not a perfect woman. A woman who doesn't still sin every day. No.

This is a woman who has seen and experienced the faithfulness of God and wants other women to see and experience it too. Now then on the other hand, a godly woman is one who wants to learn from spiritually mature woman women. This type of woman humbles herself and seeks out spiritual guidance from those around her. She wants to learn from women of different backgrounds, life experiences, generations. She wants to learn from them, grow in holiness and deepen her love for the Lord, her family, and her community.

This woman does not have the spirit of Rehoboam who rejected wise counsel from those older than him, but instead traded ignorances with people his own age. Now can you picture this type of community? Where women serving other women, discipling each other, encouraging each other, and teaching each other. Spiritually mature woman, the godly woman understands the dual nature of Paul's instructions to Titus. Yes.

You may be a woman who teaches and trains other women, but you yourself also seek out women who can pour into you, who you can learn from. Likewise, younger women in age and perhaps in the faith, when you learn from an older woman, when she says something to you, take it to heart. Listen. Learn. Grow in knowledge and love for God.

Pass from spiritual milk to something meatier, something deeper so that you can then turn around and do the same for someone else. And one last note here as Paul is describing an older woman, someone who has the wisdom to be a blessing to a younger woman. Notice what he says. Older women likewise are to be reverent in behavior, not slanderers or slave to much wine. So a godly woman obviously is not a drunkard.

She's not addicted to substances or things and she's also not a slanderer. She doesn't gossip. She encourages the women around her to righteousness and reverence. This type of woman, it means you can rely on her. You can confide in her.

She's not a tale bearer. She's not a busybody. She is trustworthy. Number five, a godly woman is modest. Now we live in an age where female modesty is reviled.

People bristle sometimes even hearing the word. They say too long have women been held back by an oppressive patriarchal system that is afraid for women to truly express themselves and how they look and in what they wear. The culture says that a woman is free and liberated and that she should be celebrated for wearing whatever she wants. Oftentimes, the degree of a woman's liberation is measured by the amount of skin and body she exposes with the ultimate expression of liberty being exhibition with no clothes on at all. And for the woman who still might be hesitant about wearing revealing or tight fitting clothes or adorning herself with abundant amount of makeup and jewelry, the world inundates her through movies and television, social media, magazines, ads, and music that says she isn't a true woman, a desirable woman unless she looks like the latest influencer or celebrated singer or unless men find her visually and sexually appealing at all times.

The result is that we are experiencing an epidemic of immodesty both inside and outside of the church. But the Bible has a cure for this. You see, the Bible speaks to the woman filled with pride, who wears whatever she wants because she has so called freedom. The Bible speaks to the woman who is so trapped by people pleasing that she will put anything on her face or in her hair or on her body just as long as she fits in and is noticed by others. The Bible also speaks to the woman who is so weighed down by insecurities and self doubt that she dresses in a manner to get approval and attraction or thumbs up and likes on her social media.

The Bible is the key. The Bible is the cure to this self destructive spiral. So turn with me now. Turn with me in your Bibles to first Peter chapter three. First Peter three verses three and four.

The apostle 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 imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is which in God's sight is very precious. Now Peter here is not condemning hairstyles or wearing jewelry. We see that because he also says, don't let your adorning be the clothing you wear. Clearly, Peter isn't saying don't clothe yourself.

So in the same way, he is not prohibiting jewelry or hairstyles. His message goes much deeper than the surface outward appearance. Peter is saying that a woman's beauty, her lasting, unfading, eternal beauty is on the inside. The gentle and quiet spirit, the hidden person. He's saying to accentuate that.

Spend your time and energy and passion adorning that because that's what God finds precious. Now similar to Peter, Paul in first Timothy two eight through 10, You don't have to turn there but he says in first Timothy two eight through 10, I desire 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 in gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness with good works. Like Peter, Paul isn't so concerned with creating a list of things to wear, not to wear, or the exact kind of jewelry that is appropriate. He's going deeper.

He's going straight to the heart because ultimately what we wear is a reflection of our hearts. A godly woman, Paul says, as a heart of self control, a heart of modesty and respectability. This is what her aim is. This is a spirit that says my identity is not in what I wear, how I look, or how people look at me, or or how I compare with other women. My identity in what is in what God finds pleasing and precious.

Yes. Wear jewelry if you want. Have nice hairstyles. Choose trendy or fun or beautiful clothes, but don't do so in in a way that is ostentatious or seductive or prideful or selfish. As Proverbs 31 says, let strength and dignity clothe you.

And be a woman that not only understands but rejoices in the fact that beauty is vain. But a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Now inevitably, some will hear this and cry legalism. How dare you tell a woman that she should not wear whatever she wants? But you know, as I read the Bible, you know what I see?

I see a good father who loves his children. And he not he not only saves us from the penalty of sin, but he enlivens us to defeat the power of sin in our lives. And he does that through our progressive sanctification. We are to become more like Christ in guidelines, standards, expectations, and a higher way of living propelling us to that holiness without which we will not see the Lord is his gift to us. So this means, sister, examine your heart, which may also mean examining the things that you wear.

Do your standards for clothes or jewelry or makeup closely resemble what you see on social media or movies or magazines from people who hate God, hate the Bible and hate godly community. Fathers, care about the heart and spirit of your daughters, which may mean telling her she cannot wear what she wants to. This is not legalism. This is freedom. This is freedom from envy, freedom from coveting, freedom from people pleasing.

This is life. Lastly, a godly woman is fearless. First Peter chapter three verses five and six. For this is how the holy woman who hoped in God used to adorn themselves by submitting to their own husbands as Sarah obeyed Abraham calling him Lord. And you are her children if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.

This is an amazing statement and it flies in the face of some of the caricatures and misrepresentations of gender roles that we see today. Women, godly women are not a group of timid, fearful, anxious, cowering females who mindlessly go along with anything. Far from it. Peter doesn't just say that a godly woman isn't fearful. If he stopped there, that would be fine.

It would be true and it would be biblical. Do not fear. Do not be anxious about tomorrow. But Peter goes farther and that extra step is so glorious. He says, you are a child of Sarah.

If you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening. This is not don't be afraid because there's nothing to be afraid of. This is not coddling or condescending, rather the exact opposite. These the there are things in this world that are fearsome. Situations that are frightening real true danger.

It is reasonable and legitimate to be afraid. Peter says, a godly woman doesn't fear those things. She is not afraid. And this fearlessness isn't born out of recklessness or ignorance or even a blind faith. This courage and boldness is deeply rooted in God.

Look at the verse. Look look at it. It says, for this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves. If God is your hope, if God is the object of your faith, not a blind faith that just jumps off a cliff without knowing what comes next because that kind of faith honors nobody. But this is a faith that says, I know you.

I have seen you work in a thousand ways in my life and in the lives of others. I have read your word and read your promises and you have proven true. So my hope is in you And I will not be shaken. I will not be dismayed. And I will not fear anything that is frightening.

Now one thing this does not mean though, this does not mean that a woman has to prove her fearlessness by staying in dangerous situations. And here, I'm talking about abuse. If you are in a relationship or marriage where you are suffering physical abuse or harm, where you are in danger, where your children are in danger, then you don't remain in that place. You are no one's punching bag. You find a safe location.

You seek out help and you seek out counsel. The kind of first Peter fearlessness that we see, we see this in Proverbs 31. Proverbs thirty one twenty five, the godly woman, she laughs at the time to come. Why? Because she fears the Lord, Proverbs says.

She is filled with godly wisdom and kindness and no matter what comes, she is not afraid. This is the fearlessness of Esther who risked death to go before the king in order to save her people. Esther chapter four verses fifteen and sixteen says, then Esther told them to reply to Mordecai, go gather all the Jews to be found in Susa and hold a fast on my behalf and do not eat or drink for three days, night or day. I and my young women will also fast as you do. Then I will go to the king though it is against the law and if I perish, I perish.

And this is the fearlessness of Priscilla who worked alongside her husband to spread the gospel in the midst of danger and persecution. Romans 16, Paul says, greet Priscilla or Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Jesus Christ who risked their necks for my life. To whom not only I give thanks, but all the churches of the Gentiles give thanks as well. Woman of God. My sister in Christ, be like that.

With your hope in God, be bold, be courageous and do not fear anything that is frightening. Six, God glorifying, joy filled life care life giving characteristics of a godly woman. She loves God. She loves God's word. She rejoices in the complimentary roles and takes part in them of male headship and female submission.

She's part of a community where she teaches and is being taught by other women. She is modest and she is fearless. Church, do you see how the world can't offer anything even close to this kind of beauty? But what about application? How can I apply these truths to my life?

Well, let me actually start with the men. Men, as you hear the descriptions of a godly woman of true beauty, true lasting value, then your soul should well up within you with a profound desire to be a man worthy of such a woman. Commit in your heart that you will by God's grace, be a humble servant leader. Not passive, not lazy and not domineering. If you are single and desire to marry, seek out a godly woman, a woman who is striving after these qualities.

Don't focus on the external only. Don't focus on the transient and the unimportant. Look for these qualities. If she does not love God, she will not truly love you. Married men, wash your wife with the word of God.

Encourage these godly traits in her. Prepare her for Christ and lead. Don't just be a provider of physical needs, but be the spiritual leader in your home. Now someone when some women today might hear this message and become defensive or frustrated because what we constantly hear from the world is that men and women are interchangeable. Pray.

Pray that the Lord deafens your ears to that noise. And don't fixate on the few roles that God has designed for men only, but rather look at the countless other avenues and opportunities available to you to use your gifts for the glory of God. Grow in your love for God and his word and do that through reading and studying the Bible, through prayer, meditation, and you. Sister, do that in a community. Get around others who love God.

Encourage and be encouraged. Edify and be edified. Strengthen and be strengthened. Single women. Single women desiring to get married.

Look for worthy, godly men. Education isn't the most important thing. Career isn't the most important thing. Income certainly isn't the most important thing in a man. But a true earnest genuine desire to be a godly leader, protector and provider, that's what's important.

If he does not love God, he will not truly love you. And though your desire to marry is a good one, don't waste that desire. Don't waste your singleness being paralyzed by it. Find young mothers you can help. Do life with them.

Seek out older women to learn from. Be a part of ministries where you can exercise your gifts and find someone that you can mentor and guide yourself. Married women. Be fearlessly submissive. Encourage and affirm godly male leadership.

Be a helper to your husband. You ask the Lord to guide him and to protect him? Women, sit with your husbands and talk about the home. Ask the difficult questions. Ask the questions, what is best for this family?

Don't make a default decision that working outside of the home is the best. If you have children, ask the question, how can I best raise them to love the Lord? How can I best prepare and equip them to go out into this world with a passion for Christ? Ask these questions. Now today, one of the biggest contributors to the angst in society about biblical womanhood is social media.

Women, especially young women are constantly bombarded by images and posts, video clips and pictures idealizing fake beauty, inconsequential goals and wasting one's life. It is little wonder that today we see an exponential increase in loneliness, body issues, depression, anxiety, and even suicide among younger women. Christian woman, my plea to you, stop filling your mind with these lies and temptations and snares. Stop comparing your femininity to the deformed monstrosity of the worlds. Do not be held in bondage by this.

And if your phone is constantly in your hands and your eyes are constantly drawn to Instagram or TikTok or this influencer or that video, if your phone is causing you to sin, pick it up and throw it away. Freedom, true freedom and liberation and fulfillment and value and identity are not found on the screen of a smartphone. They're found in the pages of the word of God. I commend it to you. I commend God's design for men and women to you.

I commend to you a life well lived filled with unquenchable, unending, and indestructible joy. Heavenly father, god, we thank you for your word. And God, we believe that your word is life and life everlasting. Lord, I pray for the women in this room. May to a person, may they capture this beautiful, thriving, indestructible vision and plan that you have for them, that you have established from the beginning of time.

May they love it. May they capture it in their hearts and in their minds, and they may may they rejoice in it. God, I pray for the men in this room that we will be men of conviction, men of the book, men of men of Jesus Christ devoted to our wives and our children and the women around us. But may we be an example of Godly leadership. And Father, I pray for this church.

I pray that this church will be a community of men and women where we truly inhabit these roles and where we see your life giving goodness in their expression and in their working out. You fill us with mentors and disciples. Be our delight, sweeter than honey, even honey on the honeycomb. More precious than gold and silver. Our life and our breath and our being.

To you be the glory now and forever. In Jesus name. Amen. Amen. Church, will you please stand and worship our great king?