The Counter-Cultural Woman
Notes
Transcript
1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
1 Peter 3:1-
1 Peter 3:4-
This sermon is called “The Counter Cultural Woman” because it is counter to what our culture will teach you about womanhood.
My aim is to talk primarily to the women this morning and the men this evening.
So, men, please consider coming back this evening.
1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct. 3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear—
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. 5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
Intro:
Fourteen year old Marie Durand was an example of a countercultural Godly woman. Marie Durand was born in 1712 to a French family of protestant preachers and pastors. Due to religious persecution, they met secretly to worship. Until one fateful day when she was arrested and thrown into prison for being a protestant. They told her that she could get out of prison by uttering one statement: “I abjure” meaning “I renounce.” And Marie Durand wrote on the wall of her prison cell, “I resist.” And her prison cell is where she stayed for the next 38 years, until she died.
My aim this morning is to give you a starting guide to what a Godly woman is.
This is just a start - it goes so much further than what we have time for this morning.
Let this be the spring board of a lifetime of pursuit of God that results in radical devotion and unprecedented joy in Christ!
Biblical counter-cultural womanhood is God centered for his glory
Women were created for his glory
I say this because what the Bible calls Godly womanhood is what our world calls feminine oppression.
And ladies, Satan will whisper into a woman’s ear to convince her that what she is hearing - what is being said - is oppressive to her.
Satan will whisper into a man’s ear to convince him to say and do things that make women feel oppressed.
And when human beings feel oppressed, they are greatly tempted to reject truth.
Satan knows what he is doing.
This message - the Bible - is not oppressive toward women.
Instead, it empowers women to fulfill what God calls them to do - for his glory!
God doesn’t want
The Bible does not have a small view of women - it has a large view.
Because God doesn’t want weak and wimpy women. He wants the opposite.
The world will tell you that the opposite of a wimpy woman is a woman who shows a strong independence that is superior to a dependent need of leadership
But thats not Scriptural. The Bible says that the more dependent upon leadership we are the stronger we are.
That is why the apostle Paul says “I will boast in my weaknesses because when I am weak I am strong.”
The opposite of a wimpy woman is a woman who is confident not in herself, but who is confident in who she is in Christ and delightfully dependent upon him.
God desires Godly women whom he can empower
Because a few empowered Godly women are far more powerful than thousands of worldly men who think their something.
This message - - is for any woman who seeks to be all that God created her to be.
It is for men - husbands - who are called by God to lead their wives spiritually and help her be a Godly woman.
So, if you want to be a Godly woman, if you want your wife to be a Godly woman, if you want your daughter to be a godly woman, the Bible says this is how:
What is a Godly Woman?
What is a Godly Woman?
This is not exhaustive - we don’t have time for that
But in we see three very important aspects of a Godly woman.
A Godly Woman Submits to God by Submitting to Her Husband
A Godly Woman Submits to God by Submitting to Her Husband
1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
1 Peter 3:
As evangelical Christians, we believe in what is called complementarianism.
A Definition: though man and woman are equally loved by God, the husband and wife have differing roles that complement each other.
Complementarianism: though man and woman are equally loved by God, the husband and wife have differing roles that complement each other.
though man and woman are equally loved by God, the husband and wife have differing roles that complement each other.
One of a woman’s complementary roles is to submit to her husband.
What does submission mean?
What does submission mean?
Submission is a woman’s God given role to honor her husband’s leadership in the home and to carry it out through her gifts.
She will so honor and respect her husband that she will allow him to lead her in everything they do together.
Carissa Painting the door and outdoor furniture outside
If you submit to your husband, that does not mean you are less than him.
Submission is not a question of equality
Women typically do not like to hear they should submit to their husbands because they believe it is demeaning and makes them less in value to their husband.
That is not what the Bible teaches
If you believe that submitting to a husband means that you drop in value and equality, I would be interested to know what you believe about the Trinity.
As evangelical Christians, we believe that God is three in one - one God in three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. But each part of the trinity is equally God. When we look at Jesus (the Son), we see that he submitted to the Father. But though he submitted to the Father, he was no less God. Ladies, just as Jesus’ role of submission to the Father did not make him less than the Father, your role of submission to your husband does not make you less than your husband.
Wives are commanded by God to submit to their husbands.
But what if your husband doesn’t love you like Christ loves the Church?
Your respect, honor, and submission to your husband should produce mutual submission.
What if it doesn’t?
What does a man look like that doesn’t love his wife like Christ loved the Church?
Let me give you a possible description:
This man may or may not work hard all week to provide for his family. He seems to always be at work, but even when he is off work he just needs time with the boys so you can find him hanging out with friends. When he does come home, he plops down in his recliner to watch a ball game or whatever he likes to watch and remains there for the next several hours. When the kids need help with homework or a school project he doesn’t help because he doesn’t know how or doesn’t have time. He goes to church ever now and then, but when the kids have questions about the Bible or Jesus they know to go to mommy. When his wife needs help with the dishes or sweeping the kitchen or changing a diaper or fixing a bottle for the baby or any other chore at home, he finds no need to help on the basis that he is tired and had to work to provide for the family all week.
Men, if that in any way describes you, you are not a man! You are a boy that can shave.
And you need to get to this altar, repent, and stop taking advantage of the gift God has given you.
Never the less, women are called to submit even to that kind of a husband.
Why?
Because that is how God created marriage and you cannot submit to God unless you submit to your husband.
Because by your Godly respect and submission, he may be drawn to the Word of God.
You live a marriage of respect and submission to your husband so that your biblical behavior is so convicting it will draw him to Christ and his Word.
1 Likewise, wives, be subject to your own husbands, so that even if some do not obey the word, they may be won without a word by the conduct of their wives, 2 when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
1 Peter 3:12
If you have a husband who refuses to do his God given duty of spiritual leadership, you are not alone, because you have a husband in Christ who will most certainly lead you.
You cannot be a Godly woman and refuse to submit to your husband.
Because the condition of your soul is directly tied to how you treat your spouse.
Typically, if you fail to submit and respect your husband well, you fail to worship, honor, and serve God well.
A Godly Woman is More Concerned with the Content of Her Heart than Her External Beauty
A Godly Woman is More Concerned with the Content of Her Heart than Her External Beauty
3 Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— 4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
This is not a call for Christian women to let themselves go
Women are naturally more externally beautiful than men
This is not a call to suppress that beauty.
A woman should not suppress her feminine beauty, especially in a day and time when the differences between a boy and a girl are being glossed over.
This is not a condemnation on makeup or wearing your hair a certain way.
This is a condemnation of obsessing over what you look like while not caring what you act like.
Here is the question:
Are you more concerned with the content of your heart and the condition of your soul than you are the size of your waist, the glitter of your lip glass, or the curve of your body?
Do you care more about how your body is perceived than you do the sinful temptations of your brothers in Christ?
I know this is a shocker, but most men struggle with lust.
Our young girls are taught by society that their value and their worth are dependent upon how sexually attracted men are to their body.
We are in desperate need of Godly women and Godly mothers who will be an example to young ladies
And show them that they do not have to conform to the sex appeal of our culture to have worth.
Because God is far more concerned with your submission than he is how much skin you can show.
Let men be impressed by the righteousness of your heart, not by how much you willing to show or how short your dress is.
So many women view this as oppressive - “You men constantly tell me what I can and cannot wear.”
This is not oppressive; it is liberating!
Because it means a woman’s value is not contingent upon how she looks or what society says about her.
It doesn’t matter if you feel fat, ugly, and dumb, your worth is not contingent upon the worlds opinion of you or even your own opinion of yourself.
Because God created you just the way he wanted to and said, “It is very good.”
God made you and died for you
He decided you were worth descending from a heavenly throne and spilling his holy and innocent blood for.
Young lady, find your worth in Christ, not in sexual attraction.
4 but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious.
1 Peter 3:
Im not saying you should stop exercising - you should exercise.
But it doesn’t matter how hard you work at sculpting your body, that body is going to perish.
There will come a day when that skin will sag and your body will age and there is not a thing you can do about it.
But a gentle and quiet spirit that is obsessed with pleasing God almighty and serving him, that will last for an eternity.
A Godly Woman Imitates Other Godly Women
A Godly Woman Imitates Other Godly Women
5 For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, 6 as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.
1 Peter 3:
At least six times the apostle Paul wrote in his letters and told his audience, “Imitate me.”
A Godly woman finds other Godly women and begs them to invest in them, disciple them, and help them become more Godly.
There are plenty of Biblical examples that you should imitate and study:
Noah’s wife submitted to her husband and God when God told them to build and ark.
Sarah submitted to Abraham and God by leaving her home land to go to the land and the future that God promised them. And she is among those listed in what scholars call the Hall of Faith in .
Rebecca submitted to her husband Isaac even before he was her husband - even before she even met him because she recognized what God was calling her to and so she submitted and left her family, likely never to see them again.
Moses’ wife Zipporah submitted to Moses and God by leaving her homeland to lead the Israelites out of Egypt to wander through the desert
These are just to name a few
Read of the examples God’s Word gives us of women who were faithful to submit to God by submitting to their husbands.
Read of them and study them and imitate them.
They are the examples that God has given you to emulate.
But Godly women will also search for and find other Godly women around them.
There are so many examples in this church and in this community.
Find women not that you think are Godly, but are what the Bible says is Godly, and become their apprentice.
Learn from them. Imitate them.
Because I can guarantee you that if a woman is Godly, she has a burning in her bones to invest in the next generation and she is looking for someone like you to help.
Conclusion:
Ladies, men, we have to decide who we want to be.
Men, if your wife has to fight through bitterness to submit to you, you should feel guilty and convicted. You should hit this altar in repentance and ask God to change your heart so that you love your wife well.
Women, do you want to be a woman that relentlessly chases after the crumbling value the world assigns to you?
Or do you want to relentless pursue who you are in Christ?
Do you want to be known as an unbiblical woman of a loud independence?
Or do you want to be a woman of submission to her husband and to Christ?
Marie Durand was a woman who was willing and able to die for her God not because she had a greater willpower than you, but because she was a Godly woman who was madly in love with Christ and was willing to do whatever he told her to do.
I realize this message may have made some of you uncomfortable.
But my question is, is what I said Biblical?
And if it is, and you believe and trust in the Bible, will you do what is says?
Will you do what God asks?