House Rules: Week 4, 1 Timothy 2:8-15

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Alright, so go ahead and open your Bibles to uh 1 Timothy chapter 2.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

We're going to be starting in verse 8.

And let me just kind of catch you up as you're finding that piece of scripture.

Go ahead and open your paper Bibles.

If you've got an app on your phone, open that up.

If you don't have an app on your phone that's got a Bible feature, our church app does.

You can open up our church app and find that Bible app right there.

But open up to 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 8.

1 Timothy 2:8

And as you're finding that, let me just kind of tell you what's been going on.

1 Timothy is a letter written by a guy named Paul to a young man named Timothy.

And the occasion of the letter is that Paul has left Timothy in a city called Ephesus.

There's a church there, and it's kind of gotten off track.

And so Paul has left Timothy there to kind of write the ship that's being sunk by faulty doctrine.

So in chapter one, Paul orders Timothy to confront the problem.

In particular, he tells him, you've got some false teachers in this church.

They're making a mess of things, and you've got to really go after these guys.

You've got to really challenge these guys.

And then at the end of chapter one, Paul goes so far as to kick two of the worst offenders out of the church.

So it's a really, really critical problem.

And then we looked at last week, we started chapter two.

In chapter two, Paul begins to sort of lay out a blueprint.

Here's what a healthy church looks like.

So Paul is saying, okay, we've dealt, we're going to deal with that problem.

We're going to get rid of the stuff that's unhealthy.

Here's what healthy looks like.

And last week we saw how Paul just sort of laid out for us that a healthy church is a church that prays passionately for the lost.

So, you know, kind of job one, we're going to be a church that prays.

And now today, Paul is going to begin to describe the kind of leadership that is needed in the church for the church to be healthy.

And we're going to be looking at church leadership really for several weeks now, okay, as we look at chapters two and chapters three.

So he's just going to sort of lay that out for us.

And I was saying to you that as we begin here in verse 8, what we're going to be looking at today, I don't think it's an exaggeration to say that this is one of the most discussed passages in the Bible in the church today.

Because in today's passage, Paul is going to speak very candidly about the role of women in the church.

And over the last few years, the role of women in the church has been, has become kind of front and center in the news.

And so I did a little homework.

I was curious, like, like when did this become such a big news item, you know, in our in our current kind of parlance?

And it really began in 2021.

Saddleback Church in California, very famous pastor at the time was Rick Warren.

And Saddleback ordained three women as pastors.

And this led to kind of a two or three-year-long debate within the Southern Baptist Convention.

It's a denomination of which this church is a part.

And it led to this kind of multi-year discussion.

And the convention ultimately disfellowshiped, removed Saddleback from the Southern Baptist Convention because they had ordained these three women.

And we're not the only denomination that's dealing with this problem, but the Christian Missionary Alliance, which is a great church, they've been dealing with this.

The Catholic Church has been dealing with this.

The Anglican Communion has been debating this.

And just this week, a Presbyterian uh denomination in Australia voted to rescind ordinations for women.

They had been doing this for years, and they said, we're not going to ordain women as pastors any longer.

So the women who are currently ordained can remain ordained, but they won't be ordaining any more women at all to serve as pastor.

Can you imagine the impact that's going to have on their denomination?

So here we are, 2,000 years after Paul wrote these words to a young pastor in Ephesus, and churches around the world are still debating what does it mean, right?

And so as this debate has unfolded, it it, as you can imagine, it hasn't stayed inside the church, right?

Secular media has picked up on this, and as they report it, their conversation has centered on equality, power, exclusion, culture, all of that.

And what we want to do today instead is look at the piece of scripture that's sort of driving this, or one of the key pieces of scripture that's kind of driving this whole discussion.

And that's why we're looking at 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 8.

1 Timothy 2:8

So if you've been following this whole conversation in the church, both here in the United States and around the world, man, today I want you to really dig in and lean in and get this because this is fresh off the pages of where our culture is today.

Okay?

And today we're gonna look at what God says about men and women in the church, and we're gonna look at it through this, through a biblical lens.

And y'all, this is just this is mission critical.

I think for us as Christians, our first response when we hear uh how the society is looking at the church is to say, well, I don't need to look at my church through a cultural lens.

I need to look at my church through a biblical lens, right?

My first question doesn't need to be, what does culture think about this?

My first question needs to be, well, what does God say about this?

Because we don't interpret the scripture through the lens of culture.

We interpret our culture through the lens of scripture.

You got it?

Okay, so uh before we bring our opinions to this passage, let's just hear from the Lord on it and let's just work through it, and together we can learn what God's trying to say to the church here.

So here we are, 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 8.

1 Timothy 2:8

Therefore, I want the men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without anger or argument.

Okay?

So verse 8 just begins with the word therefore.

That you always have to ask yourself, what's the word therefore, right?

Why is it here?

Well, he's reaching back to the first uh what seven verses of chapter two, and he's saying, okay, we've been talking about how we need to be a church that passionately prays for the lost.

And as we've been having that conversation, therefore, he says, therefore, we need men of integrity to be leading the charge in prayer.

Now remember where he's been.

He said, hey man, we got all these false teachers in the church, they're making a mess of things.

And so here's a roadmap of how we can be healthy again.

So he says, we got to be people who pray for the lost.

And now he says, and it begins, men, with you, and it begins with your heart.

Men, if we're gonna have a healthy church, it's because you are men who pray, and as you pray, you pursue holiness.

Look back at the text.

Paul doesn't just say, lift your hands, does he?

Do you see that?

So Paul is not saying, listen, if you lift your hands, you can manipulate God.

He's not saying, hey, man, if you really want God to answer your prayer, just lift your hands.

It's not about the posture.

You look throughout scripture and you see people standing and kneeling and sitting and even laying face down on their face on the ground as they pray.

It's not about the posture.

He's not saying, hey, if you lift your hands, everything's gonna go okay, your prayers are gonna be answered.

The emphasis isn't on hands, the emphasis is on what?

Holy.

Paul says, guys, if we're really gonna see our church go forward, it's gonna be because we've got men in the church who have a heart, who have a heart for purity.

And then he gives us just a couple of examples of the kind of things that that disrupts or throws off that purity.

Do you see it there in the text?

Okay.

The first is is anger.

He's talking about the selfish kind of anger that erupts when we don't get our way or when our pride is wounded.

He says, Man, that kind of anger will upend your prayers.

You gotta you've gotta set that aside if you really want your prayers to be heard.

And then he adds argument.

He says, Man, if you're a kind of person who you're quarrelsome, you're contentious, if that's who you are, your prayer life will be hindered.

So if you're that kind of guy at home, if you're always bickering and quarreling at home, if you're that guy at work, you're always bickering and quarreling at work, if you're that guy in church, you're always bickering and quarreling at church, if that's just who you are.

Paul says, men, you need to think this through.

Because if our church is going to be healthy, it's gonna happen when we've got men who are leading and they're praying, and they're praying from a place of holiness and purity, not with all the dissension and argument and so forth.

And man, I just want you to think about this.

Can you imagine what would happen if today, I mean, like before the day was over, you just took the time to just pray through this passage and ask yourself, am I a man of prayer?

Is that is that who I am?

Am I a guy who regularly prays for my family, my co-workers, my neighbors, my church?

Is that who I am?

Then just Lord, is is my anger controlling me?

Is that who I am?

And just deal with that.

God, am I am I known to be a man who brings peace or am I a man who is known to bring conflict?

Who who am I?

And then pray, God, I just I just pray you burden my heart that I become holy.

Can you imagine the impact that could have on your family, your workplace, and your church?

I mean, if if we just pray and say, God, will you change me in this one area?

I would submit it would change your whole life.

All right.

So there's the foundation that Paul lays.

He says, Okay, we if we want to be healthy, we got to be a praying church.

And men, we need you to lead the charge in prayer by being men who pray from a position of holiness.

Got it so far?

So far, so good, right?

Nothing controversial, all good stuff, stuff that everybody can go, amen.

Let's hear it, let's keep rocking.

And then we come to verse, yeah.

Thank you.

I wasn't really expecting that, but okay, we'll take it.

Then we come to verse nine.

All right, things change a little bit.

He changes from talking to men to talking to women in the church.

Here we are, verse nine.

Also, 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.

Hmm.

Now it sounds like, okay, he's beginning to meddle a little bit.

He's starting to get in other people's business.

It's fine when he's talking to the men.

He's a dude, you can talk to dudes, no problem.

Now you got a guy telling women how to dress.

What are we doing?

What are we doing here?

Well, let's just take a look at it.

We said that the church was located in the city of Ephesus.

And Ephesus, in its day, was an incredibly wealthy, incredibly influential city, but it was also a city that was deeply morally confused.

It was the home of a temple, the temple to the goddess Artemis, and there were extravagant displays of wealth and sensuality all across the city.

Some women expressed that culture and that sensuality through their hairstyles, their costly jewelry, and their expensive clothing.

So Paul is talking to these Christian women who are in this very difficult, very unique environment.

He says, I want to give you all a fresh perspective on your appearance because what you're hearing from the culture around you about your appearance is that you ought to look a certain way.

Okay.

And I just want to tell you that the way you ought to look is different than what you're being fed every single day as you look around at your neighbors.

And so, okay, you need to be identified as somebody who loves, as someone who loves Jesus.

So the priority for a Christian woman isn't to make a fashion statement, he's saying.

The priority for a Christian woman is to make a statement of faith.

Okay.

And so he's drawing this distinction here.

And you all, it's easy to make this practical.

I mean, for example, ladies, you could go home if you wanted to, and you could just kind of get in front of your closet, right?

My wife has a nice walk-in closet.

She's kind of could just stand there.

And she could just say, Lord, I just I just want to make sure that as I'm as I'm dressing, going out and into the world every single day, that I'm communicating, you know, in a way that honors you.

You know, what I wear, it communicates.

And I just want to make sure that I communicate that I'm honoring you.

And as you go through your closet, you're gonna realize some things need to go, right?

Some things need to be added, okay?

You may need to look at your husband and say, honey, because of 1 Timothy chapter 2, I need to go shopping today.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

It needs to happen.

Let's go, let's be biblical, all right?

Let's head to the store, okay?

You know, you pick your pick your spot and go there, okay?

But whatever changes you feel like you would need to make, okay, what's the goal?

The goal, the goal is to say, as I go into the community, I'm communicating something.

And what I want to communicate as I go into the community is that I love Jesus Christ, and I want to honor him with my whole life.

I want my whole life to encourage people to worship him.

That's what you're trying to communicate.

Now, as we work through these first few verses, some of you might be thinking, David, you've oversold this day.

Okay?

I mean, you promised controversy, you promised fireworks, you told us last week to bring popcorn, and all you've talked about so far is prayer and wardrobes, okay?

When do we get to the good stuff?

All right?

Well, here you go.

Okay.

Verse 11, let's take a look at it.

A woman is to learn quietly with full submission.

Okay.

Well, we're not in wardrobes and prayer life anymore, are we?

Okay.

All right.

So let's just look at what's going on here.

And I want you to, let's just take this verse, just sort of break it into its pieces, okay, so we can really understand what in the world is going on here.

First thing I want you to do is take your attention to a woman is to do what?

Learn.

Stop right there for just a second.

It's important that we stop there.

That word learn, by the way, is the only imperative command in the whole section.

Okay?

In the whole section, not just in this one verse, but in the whole section.

It's the only imperative command you're going to find.

Women, I want you all to learn.

Go learn.

Now, it it's hard for us to appreciate just how radical an idea this world was, but in Paul's world, both in Jewish and in Roman cultures, women were not encouraged to receive formal education.

They just weren't, and certainly not formal religious instruction.

So when Paul says this, he's saying something that's incredibly counter-cultural.

And I'll, again, I want to drill in on this.

God gives us a command here.

Women, you are to learn.

You are to be disciples.

Okay, it is essential that you know Jesus, that you love his word, and that you grow in spiritual maturity.

Ladies, you are to learn.

Okay?

So Paul drills in on that pretty tightly here.

But remember, he's talking to a church that is divided by false teaching.

And so he's gonna give more information here.

He's gonna explain how it is that women are to learn.

And this is where things start to get a little difficult, right?

He gives us two words they're to learn quietly, in full submission, right?

Men in this room, you should never say amen at this point, okay?

Just don't.

What are we talking about?

What are these two words?

What are these two admonitions, quietly and in full submission?

Is Paul, for example, is Paul here at this point?

Is he saying, ladies, your job is to just shut up, be quiet, and sit there and let people tell you what to do?

Is Paul saying, Women, I'm gonna put you in your place?

Is that what he's saying here?

I would submit that's not it at all.

Okay, let's just take these words one at a time.

The word quietly, the word quietly does not mean silently, okay?

That's not what it means.

He uses the same word, quietly, a little earlier in 1 Timothy chapter 2, uh, when he's talking about Christians, I want to urge you to lead quiet lives.

1 Timothy 2 · chapter mention

It's the same word, okay?

So this is the second time that we've seen that word.

That word there means peaceful and without creating turmoil.

Okay.

So he says, ladies, I want you to learn peacefully without creating turmoil.

Remember, he's speaking into a culture, into a church that's got all this false teaching, all these problems, all this division.

He's saying, saying, ladies, you gotta learn.

You've got to be discipled, but do so peacefully without creating turmoil.

So just as he's confronted the angry men, just as he's confronted the men who are bringing about contention, right?

We just talked about that.

Now he says, ladies, I want to make sure that you're cultivating a peaceful spirit rather than an argumentative one.

Do you get the get the connection there?

What about submission?

Okay.

Now, submission does not mean that you check your brain at the door.

Okay.

Submission means that you willingly place yourself under the spiritual leadership that God established.

And by the way, that word being submissive within the context of the church, submitting to church leadership, that's not something in the Bible that's only given to women.

In Hebrews chapter 13, all believers, men and women alike, are told to obey their leaders and to submit to them because they have the responsibility of watching over your soul, over your spiritual growth and formation.

Hebrews 13 · chapter mention

So Paul is saying, I expect women in the church to learn, but to do so with a heart that promotes peace and order of the church and honor the leadership that God has established.

Okay, so that's what he's saying so far, right?

Okay.

But he doesn't stop there.

He moves on.

There's verse 12.

Look at this.

I do not allow women to a woman to teach or to have authority over a man.

Instead, she is to remain quiet.

And right now you might be thinking, Paul should have stopped when he was ahead.

Verse 11 was far enough, but now he's got to go and take this next step, right?

So this passage is really gonna make us work for it, okay?

Some people have looked at this passage and they've understood it to mean that women should never ever teach in the church if there's if it's a mixed group, men and women together, and they shouldn't have any leadership role in the church.

But I would submit to you that's very problematic.

It simply just does not agree with or fit what the rest of the New Testament teaches us.

Because throughout the New Testament, we see women actively serving the church.

Okay?

They disciple, they evangelize, they prophesy, they mentor, they build up the body of Christ.

It is clear, I would submit, when you look at the New Testament, that God wants his entire church, both men and women, to use all their spiritual gifting and be actively engaged in ministry.

Okay?

I just submit to you, that's that's clearly in Scripture.

And here at Celebration, this is something that we really encourage and that we really celebrate.

Every single week, women are faithfully serving here in church, right?

They're serving in missions, they're teaching in our groups, they're engaged in our children's ministry.

They up here, they lead in our worship, they help us in administration, and so much more.

I cannot tell you all of the different ways that women make a high impact here at celebration.

And we just thank God for all of the dedicated ways that women serve here because it's exactly what we see in the New Testament.

Okay?

So let's come back, bring our attention back to this verse.

What then is it that Paul is prohibiting?

Okay.

Now, the good news is we don't have to guess, okay, because Paul is about to move on.

We move into chapter three, and we get into that next week.

Paul's gonna lay out the qualifications for the overseers of the church.

That's the term there.

It's the term that we draw our word pastor from, okay?

Pastors bear the primary responsibility for shepherding the church through the authoritative teaching of God's word.

As we're gonna see in chapter three, that office, that role is reserved for biblically qualified men.

Okay, I just want to be real clear there.

Biblically qualified men.

Every other ministry in the church is to be exercised under the spiritual leadership of the pastors that Christ has entrusted with shepherding the church.

Okay?

And at this point, you've probably got a question.

Because I certainly did.

Well, if men and women are equally created in God's image and equally saved through the blood of Jesus Christ, why would God reserve this unique leadership responsibility only for qualified men?

What's going on there?

Why would he make that stipulation?

Okay.

And he's gonna give us the answer in verse 13.

And I think when you look at verse 13, you're gonna say, oh, that clears it right up.

Okay.

Let's take a look.

Here's verse 13.

For Adam was formed first, then Eve.

Does everybody get it?

Isn't that clear?

Doesn't that just snap that too for you there?

Okay.

You look at that and you go, wait a minute, this an explanation is supposed to help me understand something better.

That I don't know that that helps me understand.

So let's break this down and figure it out, okay?

Well, in order to explain the pastoral role in the church and explain why it's reserved for biblically qualified men, Paul's gonna take us back to the creation account.

And he's gonna remind us if you go all the way back in your mind, all the way back to the book of Genesis, he's gonna say, Hey, do y'all remember that when God was creating the heavens and the earth, and when it came time to create humanity, do y'all remember that Adam was created first?

Now, is Paul saying here, first come, first served?

Is Paul saying here, dibs, I got it?

Is that what he's saying?

No.

He's not saying any of that.

Is he saying, hey, because men got here first, they are superior?

Is he saying because men got there first, they got more brains than women have?

Is that what he's saying?

Not at all.

That is not what he's saying.

What Paul is saying is that God created in the order that he did for a reason.

There was a purpose, an intent by it.

And when you look at creation, can we not see that God was creating the world with tremendous intentionality and with intentional order?

Can we see that, right?

And he says, okay, that applies when humanity was created.

There was a reason that Adam was formed first.

And the reason is, as we look at the rest of the Old Testament, we see that Adam was functioning as the firstborn.

Now, what does that mean?

When you look at the Old Testament, the firstborn son wasn't just given greater privilege, he was given greater responsibility.

The expectation was that the firstborn son was going to lead the family, he was gonna care for the family members, he was gonna provide for their well-being.

And in return, the firstborn son received a larger inheritance.

But the the larger inheritance wasn't so, but it wasn't a way to say, congratulations, you were born first, here you go.

It wasn't that.

The larger inheritance was to say, you're the one who's gonna take care of your mom after your dad dies.

You're the one who's gonna make sure that the family farm stays together and that things keep moving ahead.

You're the one who's gonna take care of all of your siblings if if dad dies before they're grown and out of the house.

You're the one who's gonna have to carry that responsibility.

So, because you carry all that extra work, here are some extra resources so that you can do what needs to be done to take care of the family.

Do you get it?

So being the firstborn wasn't just like, yay, I'm the firstborn.

Being the firstborn was you've got a lot more responsibility than anybody else in this family.

Okay, that's why birthright mattered so much in the Bible and in the Old Testament.

Do y'all remember the story of Esau?

You remember that story?

Do you remember what Esau does with his birthright?

Esau traded that lifelong responsibility of being the firstborn for a bowl of soup.

What are we doing here, right?

So he wasn't simply giving up a larger inheritance.

It wasn't just a bad financial deal.

He was despising the God-given responsibility that came with being the firstborn.

That's why it was such a big deal when you read that story.

Now, let's bring this all back to Adam, okay?

Let's come all the way back there.

When Paul says Adam was formed first, he isn't saying, therefore, Adam is more valuable, okay?

He isn't saying that men are more valuable than women.

He's saying, look back at God's created order.

Adam being created first signified his God-given responsibility to lead.

And his headship isn't about privilege, headship is about responsibility.

And as you can see, this has nothing to do with equality.

It has everything to do with God's design.

God has entrusted men with a unique responsibility.

And when they faithfully fulfill it, good things happen.

And when they neglect it, bad things happen.

Okay?

In fact, when you look at the story in Genesis, you don't have to wait very long before you see bad things happening because Adam does not lead as he should, as, if you will, the firstborn.

He doesn't do a very good job here, and things begin to go south in a hurry.

And Paul references Genesis again in verse 14.

He takes us back to that part of the story.

Look at 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 14.

1 Timothy 2:14

And Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and transgressed.

Now, is Paul saying, hey, ladies really can't be trusted because they're gullible?

Is that what he's saying?

No, that's not what he's saying at all.

Okay, throughout the Bible, we find wise, discerning, godly women just like we find foolish and undiscerning, discerning, and deceived men.

That's not his point at all.

His point is that Genesis 3 shows us what happened when God's created order is ignored.

Adam was created first, he was given the responsibility to lead.

And we don't know exactly where Adam was when Eve was talking with the serpent serpent, but we do know where he should have been, right?

He should have been standing between Eve and the serpent.

He should have been protecting his wife, right?

He should have been confronting the serpent.

He should have been saying to the serpent, hey man, God has already spoken.

This matter is settled, and we are not listening to you, right?

But Adam was nowhere to be found in that moment.

Adam failed to fulfill the responsibility that God gave him, and Eve was deceived.

And then Adam knowingly followed her into sin, and together they plunged all of humanity into sin.

So Paul is saying, hey, you all, creation order matters.

And then he says, and it matters in the church too.

And his whole point here is that just as God entrusted Adam with a responsibility to lead, he entrusts pastors with a responsibility to lead and shepherd the church.

They're called to teach God's word faithfully, they're called to lead God's people wisely, they're called to care for the flock sacrificially.

And one day, one day, every single pastor, every single pastor will give an account to God for how they led, because pastoral authority isn't about privilege, it's about responsibility.

So Paul here isn't tried to hold women back because they're inferior to men.

His concern is for preserving a good order that God has established in creation.

And when the church honors God's design, both men and women flourish as they faithfully serve together, right?

And then Paul ends all this section in verse 15.

And you all gotta be honest with you, if you think we've read some strange stuff so far, you have not seen anything yet, okay?

Verse 15 is one of the strangest verses, perhaps, in all of the New Testament.

Here it is, 1 Timothy chapter 2, verse 15.

1 Timothy 2:15

But she will be saved through childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness with good sense.

Wow.

Okay.

What in the world?

What is he talking about here?

Well, let's just start with what we know it cannot mean.

It absolutely cannot mean that, ladies, you have an alternate way to be saved.

Okay?

You can be saved through faith in Jesus Christ, or you can be saved by having babies as long as they grow up to be good babies.

Okay?

Clearly, he's not saying that.

You can look at the balance of the New Testament, and it's very, very clear that there's one way in which we can be saved, and that is through the work of who?

Jesus Christ.

That's it.

Okay?

That's it.

So clearly, that can't be what Paul is talking about here.

So what does Paul mean?

Well, given everything that he's just said about Adam and Eve, I think that he's once again pointing us back to Genesis.

I think he's once again pointing us back to Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

He's saying, hey, I want you to go back to that story, right?

And I want you to see kind of what happens later.

I want you to see what God's solution, right, to the fallenness of humanity.

I want you to get what that is.

I think he's pointing us back to Genesis chapter 3, verse 15.

Genesis 3:15

Okay, here's what 315 says.

Okay.

After Adam and Eve were deceived by the serpent, here's the promise that God makes to them.

He says, He's speaking to the serpent.

He said, I will put hostility between you and the woman, between your offspring and her offspring.

He will strike your head, and you will strike his heel.

And that seems like a curious statement for God to say to the serpent, doesn't it?

All right.

But God is giving us a promise here.

And he's kind of tipping us toward understanding what's ultimately gonna happen, how how we're all ultimately going to be redeemed from our sin.

So he says to the serpent, this woman is going to have an offspring.

There's gonna be a child born, he's saying.

And you're gonna you're gonna strike his heel, he's gonna strike your head.

Who do you think he's referring to here?

He's referring to Jesus, isn't he?

And there was gonna come a day when Jesus, the Son of God, the Savior of the universe, would be born of a woman, and that child, that that savior, what's gonna happen?

Well, he's gonna go to the cross, right?

And on the cross, what's gonna happen?

Satan's going to strike what?

Strike his heel.

But in the resurrection, Jesus is gonna defeat Satan.

He's going to strike his head, right?

It's as if the serpent goes by and Jesus is standing there.

And as the serpent passes, Jesus goes, that takes care of that problem.

Okay?

Mission accomplished.

So Paul ends this very difficult passage reminding us that our hope was never in Adam or in Eve.

Our hope has always been in the promised Savior that's that's kind of hinted at all the way back here in Genesis chapter 3.

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

And at the moment that sin entered the world, God points us to a coming Savior who can transform and make all things new.

He's saying, Man, you don't have to be dominated by the weight of your sin anymore.

There is new life that's going to be available through Jesus Christ.

If you look back at verse 15 there, you get a glimpse of what that new life looks like.

How is it that someone who's been saved by Jesus, what describes their life?

And Paul describes it there at the end of verse 15.

They continue in faith and in love and in holiness with good sense.

His point is not that those qualities earn salvation for us.

He's saying those qualities reveal that salvation has been given to us through Jesus, right?

Do you see the difference?

And Paul's hope for the church at Ephesus was they would leave behind false teaching that had just done a number on this congregation.

They would embrace God's design and once again just center their lives around the fact that lostness is absolutely horrible.

It's a terrible thing to be lost without Jesus Christ.

And as a church, we've got to be a church that's on mission.

We've got to be a church that's praying for people who are lost.

We've got to be a church that's made up of men who lead in prayer with integrity.

We've got to be a church where women seek to communicate that they are in love with Jesus, even in how, and even how they dress.

And we've got to be a church that is so well buttoned up and put together in how we're organized that everybody who looks at us says there's something different about those people because they continue in faith and in love and in holiness and good sense, right?

Paul says this is what you've got to do if you want to be a healthy church that impacts the community around you.

Because being lost and without Jesus is a terrible thing.

And the church's mission, the church's mission is to take on that lostness.

And there's a way, there's a design that we accomplish that mission, right?

And it may be that you're here today, and as you're here today, you've learned maybe the hard way, that your hope isn't found in, oh, I'm gonna be a better husband, or I'm gonna be a better wife, or a better father, a better mother, or a better church member.

Your hope is found in Jesus Christ.

He's the promised offspring, talking all talking talked about all the way back there in Genesis 3.

And he lived the perfect life that you and I could never live, and he died on the cross in your place to pay the penalty for your sin.

And he rose again in victory over sin and death and Satan.

And today he invites you to turn from your sin and trust him by faith and live a life marked with faith and love and holiness and good sense.

And y'all, I'm just asking you if that's a decision, a step that you've never made, will you make that step today?

Will you do it today?

Let me pray with you.

God, we've been confronted by just a really challenging piece of scripture this morning.

And Lord, we see your design behind it.

Lord, we're just grateful for the church and we're grateful for the opportunity that it presents for us to all minister in such a way that the whole world hears the gospel of Jesus Christ.

We've seen how the gospel changes everything, how it allows us to continue in faith and love and holiness and even in good sense.

And Father, for those who are here today who are find themselves apart from that truth, apart from that message, our brother today is the day that they take a step.

We love you, Father, and we pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.

Thanks for joining us on the Celebration Baptist Church Podcast.

We hope today's conversation helps you take another step in your faith journey.

For more resources, upcoming events, and to join us live, visit iCelebration.org.

Until next time, keep connecting with God, connecting with others, and living on mission.