MOTHER’S DAY, MAY 9, 2004
“The Good, the Bad, and the Godly” John Chapman
Motherhood is an awesome responsibility, privilege and necessity if the human race is to continue! But, recent years have seen an attack on “motherhood” and God’s plan for what being a woman is all about. This attack has come on several fronts.
1. Feminists or the Feminist Movement
This has been around for several years and says there should be no differences between men and women. We are equal in all ways. The bible agrees. We were all created in the image of God. We enjoy the same salvation, and the blessings from serving Him, but it also acknowledges that there are differences between men and women.
Physically:
1 Peter 3:7 says,
7You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
The King James says “weaker vessel.” In the Greek that simply means “weaker tool or implement.” In other words God created man to be the stronger “tool or implement.” This is necessary because of the curse upon Adam after sin entered the picture. In Genesis 3:17, God says,
“Because you listened to your wife and ate the fruit I told you not to eat, I have placed a curse on the ground. All your life you will struggle to scratch a living from it.
The word here translated “struggle” and in the King James reads “sorrow” means in the Greek, labor and pain. Man is stronger to fulfill the role God gave him.
Science bears this out in studies with athletes. Several articles published in the early 1980’s predicted that, based on trends at that time, women’s athletic performances would catch up with men’s by 1998 for the marathon and early in the 21st century for shorter events. These predictions clearly have not been achieved. According to statistics women’s records in sports are now falling at a slower rate than the men’s. The difference between male and female records is now wider than ten years ago…(Seiler and Sailer, 1997)
AND THAT’S OK! IT’S OK TO BE DIFFERENT!
Mentally and Emotionally:
Hang on guys….women have four times as many brain cells connecting the two halves of the brain! That’s why they think differently than we do! :
Michael G. Conner, Psy.D, Clinical & Medical Psychologist
Generally guys are 1 task @ a time, women multi-task. That sheds some light on our communication between each other
“The Good, the Bad and the Godly”, pg. 2
Gal 3:28 says that we are EQUAL in respect to our position in Christ:
28There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free man, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.
That both man and woman are equal can also be seen in Genesis 1:27:
27God created man (HUMAN) in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.
That both man and woman have different roles in life can be seen in
Chapter 2, verse 18:
18Then the LORD God said, “It is not good for the man to be alone; I will make him a helper (NOT SLAVE) suitable for him.”
The Greek word for helper is broader than our English word and means “help” and “counterpart.” Complimentary, in other words…the “two” compromise “one!”
The attack on motherhood and family also comes from
2. Biblical revisionists.
The following quote is from Christians for Biblical Unity, August 12, 2003:
"The Spirit is calling us to read the [biblical] text anew," said Mimi Haddad, president of Christians for Biblical Equality. "It's the Spirit of God who is drawing people all over the world to the same conclusion [about women leaders in the church]."
I must interject here regarding “reading the biblical text anew.” Unfortunately this is how people re-write scriptures to support their agendas. If the passage saying homosexuality is a sin bothers you, throw it out, or “read it anew.” They would have us treat Paul’s exhortation to women to submit to the authority of their husbands, found in Ephesians 5 and 1 Corinthians 11, as “out of touch with our society.” Well, duh!
Our society is out of touch with God’s Word and His Will!
This rolls right into the next attack on motherhood and family-
3. SIN
God had a plan, Adam and Eve chose their own path – sin!
sIn – sin is the overemphasis of “I”, selfishness, self-centerdness
The Danvers Statement was written in 1987 by The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood. The council consisted of preachers and laypersons, men and women of diverse faith. I will quote only a few portions of this document:
“The Good, the Bad and the Godly”, pg. 3
4. The Fall introduced distortions into the relationships between men and women.
· In the home, the husband’s loving, humble headship tends to be replaced by domination
or passivity; the wife’s intelligent, willing submission tends to be replaced by usurpation
or servility.
· In the church, sin inclines men toward a worldly love of power or an abdication of
spiritual responsibility, and inclines women to resist limitations on their roles or to
neglect the use of their gifts in appropriate ministries.
6. Redemption in Christ aims at removing the distortions introduced by the curse.
· In the family, husbands should forsake harsh or selfish leadership and grow in love and
care for their wives; wives should forsake resistance to their husbands’ authority and
grow in willing, joyful submission to their husbands’ leadership.
· In the church, redemption in Christ gives men and women an equal share in the
blessings of salvation; nevertheless, some governing and teaching roles within the church
are restricted to men.
Danvers by the way is a city in Massachussetts.
Interesting that this document should come from a state that brags about having the first Homosexual marriages!
SIN comes in all forms:
We now have homosexual marriages, both male & female, with children
Single mother families with children
Single father families with children (growing rapidly, I might add)
Unmarried men and women living together with children
and the all-popular, ever-on-the-rise
children living with and being raised by their Grandparents.
Now does that mean that Grandparents shouldn’t raise children or single moms and single dads should not raise their children. NO! But it is not what God intended. It is not His original plan. For those of you in these situations, I say, bravo! BUT
ANYTIME WE DEVIATE FROM GOD’S PLAN FOR THE FAMILY, SIN IS INVOLVED AND THE EFFECTS ARE DEVASTATING:
· By 2000, half of American kids were being raised without dads.
· Today 30% of babies are born out-of-wedlock.
· 50% of first marriages will end in divorce.
· The best predictor of violent crime in a neighborhood is the proportion of fatherless
households. Statistics reported by St. Peter's Catholic Church, Lincoln, NE, July 25, 2000
IT’S GETTING WORSE
1970 1996
87% 69% children living with two parents From almost 90% down to
12% 26% children living with single mom just under 70% in only 26 yrs!
1% 5% children living with single dad
“The Good, the Bad and the Godly”, pg. 4
• More and more young children are being left alone. According to the U.S. census, nearly 1 out of five children between the ages of 5 and 14 regularly cared for themselves.
OUR FAMILIES ARE IN TROUBLE!
Perhaps you’ve heard of the Federal Marriage Ammendment…defining marriage as the union between a man and a women. I wrote to Representative Kolbe encouraging him to vote in favor of the amendment. He wrote me back and told me that he will not support the Federal Marriage Amendment…His reason…It would affect “families” living together that are not married. Where does it stop? God says that is sin!
WE MUST TRAIN UP A CHILD IN THE WAY HE SHOULD GO, ACCORDING TO GOD’S STANDARDS. THIS IS A CRISIS SITUATION!
We, the church, must hold high the banner of motherhood and God’s picture of what a woman should be. So let’s take a look at the characteristics of motherhood as seen in God’s Word..
1 Kings 17:8-16
8Then the word of the LORD came to him (Elijah), saying, 9“Arise, go to Zarephath, which belongs to Sidon, and stay there; behold, I have commanded a widow there to provide for you.” 10So he arose and went to Zarephath, and when he came to the gate of the city, behold, a widow was there gathering sticks; and he called to her and said, “Please get me a little water in a jar, that I may drink.” 11As she was going to get it, he called to her and said, “Please bring me a piece of bread in your hand.” 12But she said, “As the LORD your God lives, I have no bread, only a handful of flour in the bowl and a little oil in the jar; and behold, I am gathering a few sticks that I may go in and prepare for me and my son, that we may eat it and die.” 13Then Elijah said to her, “Do not fear; go, do as you have said, but make me a little bread cake from it first and bring it out to me, and afterward you may make one for yourself and for your son. 14“For thus says the LORD God of Israel, ‘The bowl of flour shall not be exhausted, nor shall the jar of oil be empty, until the day that the LORD sends rain on the face of the earth.’” 15So she went and did according to the word of Elijah, and she and he and her household ate for many days. 16The bowl of flour was not exhausted nor did the jar of oil become empty, according to the word of the LORD which He spoke through Elijah.
1. She LOVED her son – we read elsewhere that people have killed their children, so that they should live. But a Godly mother exhibits self-lessness. She was fixing dinner, the “last meal,” she believed, for her son.
“The Good, the Bad and the Godly”, pg. 5
2. Her OBEDIENCE to God went beyond her earthly love for the child. This goes hand in hand with the next trait, because it was
3. Her FAITH that allowed her to trust that if she gave her last bit of flour and oil away that her son would be taken care of.
· It reminds me of Abraham’s faith when he was obedient when
asked to sacrifice Isaac…
· of Christ when He was obedient even unto death (Phil 2:8).
A self-less, faith-ful obedience
LOVE FOR GOD above all, with a faith that leads to obedience.
1 Samuel 1:9-18
9Then Hannah rose after eating and drinking in Shiloh. Now Eli the priest was sitting on the seat by the doorpost of the temple of the LORD. 10She, greatly distressed, prayed to the LORD and wept bitterly. 11She made a vow and said, “O LORD of hosts, if You will indeed look on the affliction of Your maidservant and remember me, and not forget Your maidservant, but will give Your maidservant a son, then I will give him to the LORD all the days of his life, and a razor shall never come on his head.”
12Now it came about, as she continued praying before the LORD, that Eli was watching her mouth. 13As for Hannah, she was speaking in her heart, only her lips were moving, but her voice was not heard. So Eli thought she was drunk. 14Then Eli said to her, “How long will you make yourself drunk? Put away your wine from you.” 15But Hannah replied, “No, my lord, I am a woman oppressed in spirit; I have drunk neither wine nor strong drink, but I have poured out my soul before the LORD. 16“Do not consider your maidservant as a worthless woman, for I have spoken until now out of my great concern and provocation.” 17Then Eli answered and said, “Go in peace; and may the God of Israel grant your petition that you have asked of Him.” 18She said, “Let your maidservant find favor in your sight.” So the woman went her way and ate, and her face was no longer sad.
4. a women of prayer: distressed, sad and troubled, but, she took it to the Lord in prayer.
5. a women of joy IN THE LORD: She was no longer sad because she believed God would bless her. Her faith in God produced joy.
1 Samuel 1:20-27
20It came about in due time, after Hannah had conceived, that she gave birth to a son; and she named him Samuel, saying, “Because I have asked him of the LORD.”
21Then the man Elkanah went up with all his household to offer to the LORD the yearly sacrifice and pay his vow. 22But Hannah did not go up, for she said to her husband, “I will not go up until the child is weaned; then I will bring him, that he may appear before the LORD and stay there forever.” 23Elkanah her husband said to her, “Do what seems best to you. Remain until you have weaned him; only may the LORD confirm His word.” So the woman remained and nursed her son until she weaned him. 24Now when she had weaned him, she took him up with her, with a three-year-old bull and one ephah of flour and a jug of wine, and
“The Good, the Bad and the Godly”, pg. 6
brought him to the house of the LORD in Shiloh, although the child was young. 25Then they slaughtered the bull, and brought the boy to Eli. 26She said, “Oh, my lord! As your soul lives, my lord, I am the woman who stood here beside you, praying to the LORD. 27“For this boy I prayed, and the LORD has given me my petition which I asked of Him. 28“So I have also £dedicated him to the LORD; as long as he lives he is dedicated to the LORD.” And he worshiped the LORD there.
6. A woman of integrity: She kept her promise and left him with Eli
NOTE: Husbands: this is Christ’s love (vs 23) where Elkinah says she can stay home, NOT a love that demands it’s own way, but one that acknowledges a higher authority over his wife, namely that of Hannah’s promise to God; RATHER than insisting that she go with Him.
7. A woman willing to give thanks to the Father (read 1 Samuel 2)
· Her tremendous faith in God in leaving Samuel with a stranger.
· Her continued love for the boy in making a coat for him ea. Yr.
Essential Qualities of a Godly Mother/Women
1) A Women of love…for God and others
2) A Women of faith
3) A Women obedient to God
4) A Women of prayer
5) A Women of joy in the Lord
6) A Women of integrity
7) A Women of thankfulness
FOOTNOTE:
Eph 5:17ff says we have different roles in the family, just as we have different roles in the body of Christ. Not all are teachers, not all are prophets, etc. God here and in 1 Cor. 11:3 ordains the man as the spiritual leader of the home and Jesus as the spiritual leader of the man. Obviously then, if a woman is not married, her spiritual leader is Jesus alone. If a man neglects his duty (is disobedient to God) as spiritual leader then that position defaults to the Lord.
UNFORTUNATELY this is what is happening in families all over this country. Men have abandoned their positions as spiritual leader.
More women go to church than men and more women pray than men. Why do you think some churches are turning to women to fill these roles? We men need to step forward and assume the role of spiritual leader in the family and in our communities that God intended for us to do.
“The Good, the Bad and the Godly”, pg. 7
Two passages on the inter-workings of the marriage relationship:
I. 1 Corinthians 11:1-16
1-2It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ. 1-2It pleases me that you continue to remember and honor me by keeping up the traditions of the faith I taught you. All actual authority stems from Christ. 3In a marriage relationship, there is authority from Christ to husband, and from husband to wife. The authority of Christ is the authority of God. 4Any man who speaks with God or about God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of Christ, dishonors Christ. 5In the same way, a wife who speaks with God in a way that shows a lack of respect for the authority of her husband, dishonors her husband. 6Worse, she dishonors herself—an ugly sight, like a woman with her head shaved. This is basically the origin of these customs we have of women wearing head coverings in worship, while men take their hats off. By these symbolic acts, 7-9men and women, who far too often butt heads with each other, submit their “heads” to the Head: God 10Don’t, by the way, read too much into the differences here between men and women. 11Neither man nor woman can go it alone or claim priority. Man was created first, as a beautiful shining reflection of God—that is true. But the head on a woman’s body clearly outshines in beauty the head of her “head,” her husband. 12The first woman came from man, true—but ever since then, every man comes from a woman!
And since virtually everything comes from God anyway, let’s quit going through these “who’s first” routines. 13-15Don’t you agree there is something naturally powerful in the symbolism—a woman, her beautiful hair reminiscent of angels, praying in adoration; a man, his head bared in reverence, praying in submission? 16I hope you’re not going to be argumentative about this. All God’s churches see it this way; I don’t want you standing out as an exception. 21Out of respect for Christ, be courteously reverent to one another.
II. Ephesians 5:22-33 (begin reading vs. 17)
22Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. 23The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. 24So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewise submit to their husbands.
25Husbands, go all out in your love (the Greek word here is “agapao” or what we know as “agape” love…NOT eros or romantic love) for your wives, exactly as Christ did for the church—a love marked by giving, not getting. 26Christ’s love makes the church whole. His words evoke her beauty. Everything he does and says is designed to bring the best out of her, 27dressing her in dazzling white silk, radiant with holiness. 28And that is how husbands ought to love their wives. They’re really doing themselves a favor—since they’re already “one” in marriage.
29No one abuses his own body, does he? No, he feeds and pampers it. That’s how Christ treats us, the church, 30since we are part of his body. 31And this is why a man leaves father and mother and cherishes his wife. No longer two, they become “one flesh.” 32This is a huge mystery, and I don’t pretend to understand it all. What is clearest to me is the way Christ treats the church. 33And this provides a good picture of how each husband is to treat his wife, loving himself in loving her, and how each wife is to honor her husband.