20260621 Biblical Womanhood II Sunday Sermon Tim Dickmann

So we're going to continue here looking at the

responsibilities or the instructions concerning

women, wives, and mothers in the family unit

here. And so just a quick review. We mentioned

last week again, men and women as image bearers,

equal in value. You know, Dave pointed this out

that we ended last week talking about the crown.

An excellent wife is a crown. And so I hope that

we all see that is, if I've demeaned women in

any way, of course that's not my intent, but

I hope that we see the crown is the exaltation

of the role of the wife in the relationship.

She is that crown. She is beautiful. She is helpful.

She is necessary. She is what brings so much

to the husband. I mean, could we say she makes

him what he is, so to speak? I mean, obviously,

God and his life and all of those things, but

the wife is essential to the husband. She completes

him. And so, I hope we understand that. We are

not saying that this place of submission, this

idea of helper, is any lower or less value in

the home and in this relationship. So, we read

a few verses of a godly and exemplary wives of

what their lives should look like. We looked

at 1 Timothy 5 .9. Where Paul there describes

the widows and all these things that they should

be doing. If they're going to be widows indeed.

And going to be cared for then by the church.

And so, again, this is not a list of just a select

few women. This is what all women in the church

should be doing. Again, maybe we should just

read that real quick here. In 1 Timothy 5. 9.

1 Timothy 5, 9. A widow is to be put on the list

only if she is not less than 60 years old, having

been the wife of one man, having a reputation

for good works, and if she has brought up children,

if she has shown hospitality to strangers, if

she has washed the saints' feet, assisted those

in distress, and if she has devoted herself to

every good work. Okay? So that's what Paul says.

This is an exemplary life. This is the life of

a woman. who is a godly woman who has served

the church, has raised children, has done all

of these things. That's how every woman should

be. And then he goes on there and he says, speaking

of the younger widows, in verse 14, Therefore

I want younger widows to get married, bear children,

keep house, and give the enemy no occasion for

reproach. So again, we see there what he expects

of these young women who are either married or

will be married. Bear children, keep house, and

so on. As well as all these other things that

he mentions. Serving the church, serving those

in distress, and so on. Another passage we looked

at was 1 Timothy 2. Some specific instruction

here. 1 Timothy 2, verse 9. Likewise, I want

1 Timothy 2:9

women to adorn themselves with proper clothing,

modestly and discreetly, not with braided hair

and gold or pearls or costly garments, but rather

by means of good works, as is proper for women

making a claim to godliness. Along those same

lines, 1 Peter 3. 1 Peter 3, 3 and 4. Peter's

instructions for women. Your adornment must not

be merely external, braiding the hair and wearing

gold jewelry, or putting on dresses, but let

it be the hidden person of the heart with the

imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit,

which is precious in the sight of God. For in

this way, in former times, the holy women also

who hoped in God used to adorn themselves. being

submissive to their own husbands, just as Sarah

obeyed Abraham, calling him Lord. And so, what

is the emphasis there? It's this inner man. That's

what makes a godly woman. That's what makes this

beautiful woman. What does the Proverbs say?

Beauty is vain and deceitful, right? But the

inward woman, the inner man, is what? the apostles

are saying we should strive to beautify through

these good works, through these good attitudes,

and so on. So the inner beauty, the hidden person,

submissive, gentle, quiet spirit. Ephesians 5

talks about submission there with wives, being

able to be instructed, and so on. And so, not

this outward. We're not looking for an outward

show. Whether it's, you know, an outward look

or just an outward actions that look good. But

an inner beauty, an inner reality is what a godly

woman should have. I didn't really mention modesty

last week much, so I'll just mention it now.

You know, there's some clear instruction there

to be modest. So what is modesty? Hopefully we

all understand what modesty is. It's not just

covering up. So obviously we could look at a

woman who's scantily clad and we could say she's

immodest. That would be true. But we can also

be fully covered and still be immodest. The King

James uses shamefacedness in one of the descriptions

for modesty. There's a shame, there's an idea

there of not wanting to be seen. tucked in the

corner so that nobody even knows you're there.

That's the idea with this. That's part of what

modesty is. And so I remember years ago, Dad

said, you could come in to the meeting dressed

in bright yellow with a big bright yellow hat

and fully clothed and loose -fitting clothes,

and it's totally immodest because everybody's

looking at you. You're drawing all the attention

to yourself. That's being immodest. Just as somebody

who comes in with a little bitty tight mini skirt

and a revealing top and everything else. It's

the same thing. Drawing attention to oneself.

So that's what the apostles are saying here.

That's modesty and that's what women should seek

to be. Modest. In all those ways. We talked about

the roles of women. And so I want to point out

here in 1 Timothy 2 .3. Because I didn't mention

this here. But in 1 Timothy 2, 3, Paul says,

This is good and acceptable in the sight of God

our Savior, who desires all men to be saved.

That is not the passage. Oh, I think it's Titus.

I'm sorry. Titus 2 .3. Yes. Titus 2 .3. Older

women likewise are to be reverent, reverent in

their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved

to much wine, teaching what is good, so that

they may encourage the young women to love their

husbands, to love their children, to be sensible,

pure workers at home, kind. being subject to

their own husbands so that the word of God will

not be dishonored. So we have there again a description

of what women should be doing, their role in

the home. But I want to emphasize here this very

first part where he says the older women. What

does he say that the older women should be doing

there? Teaching the younger and... encouraging

them in these godly behaviors all right and so

that's a responsibility for older women we have

plenty of older women here in the church who

have raised children who have grown up and so

on and so you have a responsibility to be a help

and an encouragement to the young women to the

new mothers to the newly married to the unmarried

to be an example to them and to give them good

counsel instruction in doing these things that

they're called to do. And so, I want to encourage

the older women in that. I want to encourage

the younger women, right? So if you've got the

older women supposed to teach and encourage you

in these things, what does that mean for you

younger women? What should you be doing? Receiving

instruction, right? Listening. Not just hearing

it, but... making it a part of your life and

living it out in these ways. And so there's two

responsibilities there, for the older and for

the younger, to teach and to admonish, to encourage

the younger to hear and to put these things into

practice. So, again, what does he say to do there

in Titus? To love their husbands, love their

children, to be sensible, pure, that word pure

could be translated modest. The word sensible,

curbing one's desires and impulses. Self -control,

exercising self -control. And then workers at

home, keeping the home, taking care of household

affairs. We then mentioned also just being helpers.

And so again, that is a critical and important

role in the home. That wives are help. To their

husbands. And that's why Eve was created. We

said that. There was a question last week. Just

regarding. I said that wives should be a good

counselor. To their husbands. And I might have

said something along the lines of. Helping to

change their minds. Or something like that. But

if you. And that's good and right. I'm sticking

to that. But if you remember what I said in weeks

before. Just as husbands lead in communication.

Leading in communication is saying, hey, here's

what I think. This is what I'm thinking we should

do. And talking to your wife, what do you think?

What have you got to say? What's your input on

this matter? And having a conversation. Again,

husband's leading in that. And then your wife

says, yeah, you're way off base here, babe. Here's

what I think. And you're like, yeah, I didn't

even think of that. So, yeah, you're right. That's

some good counsel. We need to change what I'm

thinking here. Changing your mind in that way

is good. That's a helpful thing, right? And that's

what a wife should do. And that's what a husband

should do. Give me some good advice. What do

you think? Here's what I think. And so that is

a wonderful help in the marriage relationship.

Men and women are different. I don't know if

anybody else knows that, but we think differently,

right? We observe things differently. We observe

different behaviors differently. And so when

my wife tells me, didn't you see what was going

on there? And I say, no, I don't know what you're

talking about. And then she can say, here's what

was going on. Here's what I think should happen.

And I can say, yeah, well, if that was what was

going on, you're right. So being a help in that

way, a wife is a great help. All right. There's

one passage that we didn't look at that I've

really hesitated to look at because there's a

lot that could be said here. And I don't necessarily

want to spend a great deal of time. But regarding

the excellent wife that we mentioned last week,

the crown. We talked about Ruth there as an example

of an excellent wife. We have this passage in

Proverbs. is a wonderful description here of

a woman. And let's go ahead and read it. And

the reason I hesitate, and I don't want to spend

a great deal of time, because so often this passage

is given as an example of a woman who's working

outside the home. Here she is working outside

the home and doing all these things. That's not

what this is. Okay, and so if that's your view

of... Proverbs 31, this woman working outside

the home, then you've missed it. But let's read

it here. It says an excellent wife who can find

for her worth is far above jewels. The heart

of her husband trusts in her and he will have

no lack of gain. She does him good and not evil

all the days of her life. She looks for wool

and flax and works with her hands and delight.

She is like merchant ships. She brings her food

from afar. She rises also while it is still night

and gives food to her household and portions

to her maidens. What is she doing there? She's

caring for the home. She's helping her husband.

He trusts her. She's reliable. He doesn't need

to worry about all these things that are in her

hands because she's doing it. She rises early

before everybody else and cares for her home.

Makes sure everybody's fed. All right. She considers

the field and buys it. From her earnings, she

plants a vineyard. She girds herself with strength

and makes her arms strong. She senses that her

gain is good. Her lamp does not go out at night.

She stretches out her hand to the distaff and

her hand grasps the spindle. Again, she's working.

She's providing. What is she providing for? She's

providing for the poor and her home. She extends

her hand to the poor and she stretches out her

hands to the needy. She is not afraid of the

snow for her household, for all her household

are clothed with scarlet. She makes coverings

for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and purple.

Again, we could say all sorts of things about

that. Her husband is known in the gates. When

he sits among the elders of the land, she makes

linen garments and sells them and supplies belts

to the tradesmen. Strength and dignity are her

clothing, and she smiles at the future. She opens

her mouth in wisdom, and the teaching of kindness

is on her tongue. She looks well to the ways

of her household and does not eat the bread of

idleness. Her children rise up and bless her,

her husband also, and he praises her, saying,

Many daughters have done nobly. but you excel

them all. Charm is deceitful and beauty is vain,

but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be

praised. Give her the product of her hands and

let her works praise her in the gates. If we

could all be like that, it would be such a blessing,

right? I mean, caring for, providing for, working

hard, helping her husband. All of these things

are going on. She is that. Example that we have

in Titus and Timothy. Peter. She is that woman.

A few things that I wrote down here. She's trustworthy.

She's diligent. Hardworking. Never idle. Generous.

Skillful. Wise. Capable. And kind. That's the

description of the woman there in Proverbs 31.

So. It's a good description, and so that's why

I wanted to mention it and mention those couple

things. So, we talked also just about how counterculture

all of this is and the lies that the world seeks

to have us believe. The idea of an independent

woman fulfilling your career, fulfilling your

desires, and all of these other things. At the

expense of your home. At the expense of your

children. At the expense of your husband. Those

are all lies of Satan. We said. If you want to

be fulfilled. If you want to be. In a place of

blessing. Where should you be? Doing what God

has called you to do. Where he's called you to

do it. That is the place of joy. And of happiness.

That is the place of blessing. Another thing

that we did not mention last week that I thought

I would touch on this morning, just briefly,

in a way that a wife is a help to her husband.

So, again, the more I think about everything

that I've said and everything that could be said,

there's just... There's just so much. There's

so much that could be said regarding the home,

the family, the husband -wife relationship. And

so one thing that I haven't mentioned here is

sex. And I was thinking about that this week,

that I hadn't said anything about that. And so

let me read this passage. And again, this is

a way that the husband and wife are a help. And

generally speaking, the wife specifically to

the husband. But in 1 Corinthians 7. Now concerning,

we'll start in verse 1. Now concerning the things

about which you wrote, it is good for a man not

to touch a woman. But because of immoralities,

each man is to have his own wife, and each woman

is to have her own husband. The husband must

fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also

the wife to her husband. The wife does not have

authority over her body, but the husband does.

And likewise also the husband does not have authority

over his body, but the wife does. Stop depriving

one another except by agreement for a time so

that you may devote yourselves to prayer and

come together again so that Satan will not tempt

you because of your lack of self -control. But

this I say by way of concession, not of command.

And he goes on there. So what's Paul saying there?

That it is good that you have a husband and a

wife, that you are married and that you fulfill

these sexual desires. With one another. That

you're not tempted outside. To sin. And so. In

the marriage relationship. Sex is a good and

a wonderful thing. It's an enjoyable thing. It's

pleasurable. And it's also obviously. Where children

come from. And so. I just wanted to mention real

quick. That this is an important part. Of the

marriage relationship. This is not just a little

side note. That something. That, yeah, we have

sex because we're married. But this is a huge

part of your relationship. And it is often a

part of frustration at times and difficulty.

Because, again, men and women are different.

And men may desire it more than women. Women

may not be in the mood and so on and so forth

and all of those things. You have to work those

things out in your marriage and in your relationship.

You have to consider one another, the other person,

more than yourself. What does Paul say there?

It's not your body. It's your husband's body.

It's your wife's body. And so you have to fulfill

those desires for them, obviously, as long as

they are good and biblical desires. So, in that

way, a wife is a wonderful help to her husband.

And satisfying those desires. That he has. Alright.

So. This morning then. I want to spend some time.

Speaking directly to mothers. And I want to start

by saying. That the role of mothers. The role

of motherhood. I don't know. There's no greater

calling. For a woman than to be a mother. This

is. You cannot say too much. And you cannot elevate

it too much. The role of being a mother. To your

children. This is not a small matter. It is not

insignificant. It is so superior. To what the

world thinks. The world says what? Have your

children and send them to daycare. Send them

to school. Do, you know, whatever. Get them out

and live your life. Right? A totally warped and

wrong view of children. You have the opportunity

as a mother to influence and impact your child

more than anyone else. More than the husband

and the father. Why? Because they should be with

you all day long. They're with you. You're caring

for them. He's off at work, right? He's providing

for the home. What's the wife doing? What's the

mother doing? She's caring for these all day

long. When we work in our society now, we only

work, you know, we're gone ten hours. We've got

an hour drive, an hour drive home. We're working

eight hours, whatever. Roughly. Again, it's all

different. That's 10 hours extra that the mothers

have with these children to influence and to

impact, to train, to teach, all of these things.

They play, you wives, you mothers, play a vital

role in the raising of children. And God has

put this upon you. No one else. Obviously, as

we've already said, husbands and fathers. They're

lead, they're responsible for all of these things.

But you mothers, this is a huge responsibility

that the Lord has placed upon you. He's not given

this responsibility to anyone else. If you neglect

this responsibility, you neglect your children.

You neglect their good. You neglect their care.

What does Paul say? What does he say to these

women? Love your children. Older women teach

these younger women to love their children. How

do we love our children? All of those things

that we mentioned before that fathers are responsible

for. Mothers are also responsible. Again, under

the leadership and guidance of the husband and

the father. But mothers are responsible for all

of those same things. The Proverbs are full of

instruction to mothers. to teach and to train,

to instruct your children. That is your responsibility.

You can't do that when they're not with you.

You can't do that when you're at work. It's impossible.

You are responsible for discipline. You are the

arm of your husband when he's gone. That is resting

solely upon you. You have to do it. Again, it's

what your husband should be saying. Honey, you

have got to discipline. You've got to instruct.

This must be done while I'm gone. I have to work.

I have to provide. I'm relying upon you. There's

no greater help to a husband than a wife and

a mother who cares for her children and cares

for her home while her husband is away. No greater

help there. So, the discipline, the training,

the instruction of our children, spiritual maturity,

emotional, physical, social maturity, all of

those things that we said fathers are responsible

for. We as fathers place the responsibility on

our wives. Again, not solely. We make sure these

things are being done. We help. We encourage

when we're home. We do all those things with

her. Mothers are responsible for these things

and have a great and enormous impact upon these

children that the Lord has blessed us with. So,

do not believe the lies of the world that say

it's okay to turn the care of your children over

to someone else. It's not. It's not okay. The

Lord has given them, committed them to you. For

this purpose. To train them up. To raise them.

To teach them. To love them. This is how we love

them. We provide for them. We care for them.

We guard them. We protect them. I want to make

sure that we don't. You know obviously. Our children

are not going to be with us. 24 -7, as they grow

older, they're going to go. I'm not saying you

can't have a babysitter and all these other things.

But we are responsible. You mothers, how are

you able to control what your children see, what

they hear, if you're not with them? If you turn

them over to the school system, what are they

going to hear? What are they going to see? They're

going to learn of evolution. They're going to

learn all the depravity of sexual depravity.

And here all these things are okay. And they're

good and they're acceptable. How can you protect

your children in those ways? You can't. And so

it's important that as mothers and fathers you

consider all of these things as you raise your

children. How are you able to fulfill what God

has called you to do? You've got to consider

all of that. So mothers, again, I want to emphasize,

I think I've said it, but I'm just saying it

again. You have a great and enormous responsibility

and a huge impact upon your children for good

or for bad, depending upon how you use those

responsibilities that God has given you. So take

it seriously. Consider it. Another thing here

that I wanted to mention. For mothers. You knew

mothers in particular. So it's. I think I've

already said this. But it's. It's here you are.

You've got this new baby, right? And you've got

to have all of these. You've got to learn. There's

so much to learn. You're trying to protect them.

You're trying to keep them. You're trying to

keep them healthy and all these other things.

You also have to let them grow up. You have to

let them mature. You have to let them take responsibilities.

They have to do things. They have to fail at

things. You know, they've got to learn to use

the stove. When are you going to let them do

that? When they're 16 and you're really sure

now that they can use the stove, they really

understand. Long before then, hopefully. But

those are all things you have to consider. You

have to let them grow up. You have to let them

do these things. And if they don't want to, you

have to make them do these things. They've got

to learn to dress themselves. They've got to

learn to pick out their clothes. They've got

to learn responsibility. So guard, protect, keep,

all of those things. Don't baby them, though.

Make them grow up. Again, there's a balance there.

But just be mindful of that. It's good. It's

good for them to be out and about. It's good

for them to be doing different things. and i

think i said this before but i just it came to

my mind again again one way that we encourage

our children in being social and learning and

trusting other people is here at the church passing

those babies around is a wonderful way that that

baby knows he can go to anybody and be just fine

here he can be cared for he's gonna be loved

get used to these other people it's a good place

To teach your children. It's a safe place to

teach your children all of these things. So,

mothers. Everyone's different, right? Each mother

is different. And some of you, you know, this

is just a natural thing for you. It's what you've

always wanted. You're wanting to stay home. You're

wanting to do this. Others of you have other

desires. Oh, I'd really like to do this. I'd

like to do that. Everybody's different. And so

you have got to put your desires, your wants

in line with scripture, no matter what. That's

our goal, is to serve the Lord and to be submissive

to what he's given us. There is, like I said,

only blessing in following after the Lord. There

is only blessing as we are obedient to the calling

that he has given us. given us as husbands as

wives as mothers as fathers and so it's imperative

that we all consider what is what are our responsibilities

and let me say this one more time these are not

just decisions for for wives and for mothers

right who's who's ultimately responsible for

what goes on in the home the husband you husbands

have to lead You have to say, here's what the

Bible says. This is what we should be doing.

This is what's expected of us. This is how I'm

going to lead us. And so lead your wives, men.

Lead them in the way that they should go. Lead

your homes in a godly, biblical manner. We'll

just end there for the day.