Duties of the Women
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Welcome to church this Sunday which is the last one for the month of March 2022.
Today, the 4th Sunday in Lent, we recognize the mothers in our midst across the country and some other commonwealth countries of the world like Jersey, Isle of Man, Guernsey, Republic of Ireland and United Kingdom.
This day is official called Mothering Sunday though in alignment with the American event is also called Mother’s day.
Mothering Sunday
In the Middle Ages, a custom called Mothering Sunday began when children, who often left home early to learn a trade or become apprentices, would be released from work every year on the forth Sunday of Lent to attend church with their families. As they returned home, they often took cakes or little gifts to their mothers. This was termed “going a-mothering.” To this day, Mother’s Day in the United Kingdom is celebrated on the fourth Sunday of Lent.
The American event is marked every second Sunday in May and more countries celebrate their mothers on that day.
The drive behind the American event was for each family to take out time to celebrate their mother.
Anna Jarvis was the lady that saw to it and her effort brought about the first celebration in 1907 on the second anniversary of her mother’s death, after it was first suggested in 1872, out of her desire to honor her mother after she had heard her mother say, after teaching a children Sunday school class, something to the effect that
I hope and pray that someone, sometime, will found a memorial mother’s day. There are many day’s for men but none for mothers. - Real Stories for the Soul The Woman who regretted her own holiday Pg 262
This sentiment is understandable especially in context where mothers receive rebuke and admonishing for their children more than the children and the family praise and celebrate them.
Mothering Sunday is response to that view
On behalf of those children and families I say thank you to all the mothers represented here today for all you have been doing for the children, their fathers and the family in the past year and I pray that the family will develop a heart of love where it is missing and demonstrate that continuously to you every time in Jesus Name.
In celebrating our mothers, we can take a few moments to look at some of the issues mothers in particular and women in general face in our culture
#The accusation of mothers as witches in the culture - this is just pathetic
#Encouragement of motherhood without husband - just find someone and get pregnant
#The divorce epidemic -
#Side chick epidemic
#Career woman epidemic
In light of the above and appreciating the mothers in our midst we will go to the text of the bible to get encouragement from the text for us all and our mothers that we may rejoice in the gift of God to His church.
Let’s open our bibles to
Older women likewise are to be 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.
Here we find the Letter of Paul the Apostle to Titus a faithful ministry partner who travelled on 2nd and 3rd missionary journeys with Paul.
He was left on the Island of Crete to Oversee the affairs of the planted church there by appointing godly leaders and teaching them their duties as per their God-given roles in the church to differentiate them from the people around them.
So moving on to chapter two, we find the instruction of Paul to Titus concerning the Older Men, the Older Women, Young Women, Young men and slaves.
As we are celebrating our women today, we will be looking at what Paul asked Titus to teach the Older women and young women.
As our topic today is duties of women, we will look at this epistle to extract the details of these duties so we can maximize the joy and blessing of the women the Lord has given to us.
Duties of Older Women
Duties of Older Women
Reverent in their behavior
Presbytidas - Older Women - 60 -65 end of child rearing/ 40-45 end of child bearing age young women from marriageable age to 60
Hosautos - likewise - in the same way as above
Katastemati - behaviour
hieroprepeis - reverent
Not Malicious Gossips
diabolous - slanderous; the adversary/devil
this is not talking about the simple bad talking about other people which is bad in its own way
Not enslaved to wine
dedoulomenas - to wine, slaves
Teaching what is good
The Reason
Encourage the young women
Duties of Young Women
Duties of Young Women
Titus: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Young Women
As with many worldly influences, the feminist movement has made great inroads in the church, including the evangelical church. In the name of women’s rights, the Word of God is dishonored as being sexist, chauvinistic, and unfairly limiting. Some feminists maintain that standards set forth in these and similar passages were culturally oriented to New Testament times or were simply Paul’s personal beliefs. In either case, they are considered irrelevant and non-binding for Christians today.
Titus: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Young Women
The God-ordained institutions of marriage and family, which are the primary foundation of a healthy society, are attacked as archaic and outrageous or, at best, unnecessary. Tragically, many unthinking, poorly taught Christians are seduced by feminist rhetoric into believing that traditional roles of women—in the family, in society, and in the church—are outdated and oppressive. The phrase “women’s liberation” has an attractive, democratic ring, which, on the surface, seems reasonable and justified. It has special appeal, of course, to women who feel unappreciated, restricted, exploited, victimized, and trapped by the traditional roles and opportunities for women.
Titus: The MacArthur New Testament Commentary Young Women
The feminist agenda is ancient and, at root, satanic. It is a primeval heresy that is part of Satan’s strategy to undermine and destroy God’s plan for mankind. It began in the Garden of Eden, with Satan’s temptation and Eve’s rebellion, first against God and then against her husband. When she chose to follow her own independent way, she led the whole race into sin and made effective Satan’s first ploy against marriage and the family.
Love their Husbands
So I would have younger widows marry, bear children, manage their households, and give the adversary no occasion for slander.
philandros - to love their husbands/having affection for one’s husband
We love the romantic story and the idea of choosing love and choosing whom you want to love and so when the love is no longer there nothing else is worth it. There are those whodont have the opportunity rather they
This is not responding to what the husband has done or doing but choosing to love the husband in Christ
The worthy woman is a crown to her husband. A woman lacking in virtue causes him shame and produces suffering that is like a painful, incurable condition (Prov 12:4). A woman’s character prior to marriage will determine her quality as a marital spouse, thus underscoring the importance for every Christian woman to embrace virtue at an early age. To live a life characterized by virtue should be the ambition of every Christian woman (Matt 5:8)
Love their Children
philoteknous - love for one’s own children
Opening Up Titus What Women Who Are Younger Are to Be
So, too, in regard to children. Young mothers are to be trained ‘to love their … children’. It is not love to so indulge our children that they always get their own way. Nor is it love to refuse to discipline them. Showing love means making wise decisions about appropriate behaviour and disciplining when there is disobedience. Young mothers may need help in this, and older women should be there to help them.
“Few misfortunes can befall a boy which bring worse consequences than that to have a really affectionate mother”
A writer’s Notebook(1949) pg 27 - W. Somerset Maugham English novelist 1874 - 1965
Be sensible
sophronas - self-controlled / wisely keeping self-control over one’s passions and desires
I desire then that in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands without anger or quarreling; likewise also that women should adorn themselves in respectable apparel, with modesty and self-control, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly attire, but with what is proper for women who profess godliness—with good works. Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.
Be Pure
hagnas - having no faults / pure
when they see your respectful and pure conduct.
Workers at home
oikourgous - busy at home/ characterized by applying oneself diligently to caring for one’s house and household; especially understood as if a trade or vocation.
#This verse is one that is attacked the most when it comes to women in the bible especially concerning the church
No biblical standard is more viciously attacked today than the God-ordained role of women in society. And no passage is more ridiculed or reinterpreted by assailants within the church than these two verses.
As with many worldly influences, the feminist movement has made great inroads in the church, including the evangelical church. In the name of women’s rights, the Word of God is dishonored as being sexist, chauvinistic, and unfairly limiting. Some feminists maintain that standards set forth in these and similar passages were culturally oriented to New Testament times or were simply Paul’s personal beliefs. In either case, they are considered irrelevant and non-binding for Christians today.1
1 MacArthur, John F., Jr. 1996. Titus. MacArthur New Testament Commentary. Chicago: Moody Press.
#Emphasis is that the home is the priority for the woman
This worthy woman sets an example for her children by her personal and physical involvement in the management of her home. In the context of Proverbs 31, she trained her servants and then supervised the tasks they performed. She was actively involved in her well-managed household (v. 27), fabric and garment construction (vv. 13-24), trading in the marketplace (v. 24), and ministry to others (vv. 19-20). Application to the twenty-first century would find the worthy woman training her children and then supervising them to efficiently use today’s many “electrical servants.” Concurrently, she is involved in Christian services that complement those toward her children, rather than neglecting them to perform “her ministries.” Her role model is Christ (Phil 2:5-11), who cares much more about those under Him than they care about Him.
#Society begins to fail when mothers run from their responsibilities
#When mothers look to the popular ideas in the community to raise their children rather than the word of God
Kind
Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did.
And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room.
Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.”
So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them.
agathas - kind / having a desirable or positive qualities; especially those suitable for a thing specified
Subject to their own husbands
hypotassomenas - submissive / subject
Bondservants are to be submissive to their own masters in everything; they are to be well-pleasing, not argumentative,
Remind them to be submissive to rulers and authorities, to be obedient, to be ready for every good work,
The reason
Word of God will not be dishonored
blasphemetai - to become slandered/dishonored
All who are under the yoke as slaves are to regard their own masters as worthy of all honor so that the name of God and our doctrine will not be spoken against.
1 Spence-Jones, H. D. M., ed. 1909. Titus. The Pulpit Commentary. London; New York: Funk & Wagnalls Company.
St. Paul complains that the Name of God was blasphemed among the Gentiles on account of the evil deeds of the Jews (Rom. 2:24; see Ezek. 36:20–23). Our Lord, on the other hand, exhorts that Christians, by their good works, should lead men to glorify their Father which is in heaven. The passage before us shows how much the honour of Christianity is bound up with the faithful discharge by Christians of the simple domestic duties of life. In truth, the family is the chief seat, and often the main test, of Christian virtue, as it is the distinctive feature of humanity as ordained by God.1
Conclusion
Conclusion
We talked about Anna Jarvis at the beginning of the sermon, we will now talk about her mother.
Anna Maria Reeves-Jarvis of Grafton, West Virginia, organized a club of women to nurse wounded soldiers from the North and South during the Civil War. After the war, Reeves-Jarvis started “Mothers’ Friendship Days” to reconcile families that had been divided by the conflict.
Throughout her life, Reeves-Jarvis modeled the ideals of Victorian motherhood. She gave up her dreams of college to care for an older husband and four children. She bore the loss of seven other children with grace. She taught Sunday school in the local Methodist church for twenty years and stayed active in benevolent work.
Her death in 1905 devastated her daughter Anna. She honored her mother’s memory by initiating a holiday honoring all mothers. Mother’s Day was first celebrated in 1908 in Grafton (where Anna grew up) and Philadelphia (where she lived as an adult). Later, in a resolution passed May 8, 1914, the U.S. Congress officially established the second Sunday in May as Mother’s Day.
—Elesha Coffman, “Mom, We Salute You,” Christian History Newsletter