Well, if you're not there, don't put away Titus 2. If you're not there, turn back to Titus chapter 2. You can see, I think, as we read this, this is an intensely practical section of scripture. We've been studying through it. Here we have teaching on sound Christian living. Sound Christian living. And this is Christ's teaching, isn't it? This is Christ's teaching. When Jesus said to His disciples, Go into all the world and make disciples and teach them all things whatsoever I have commanded you, this was included. It would be included, right? By the Spirit. And that's what this is. This is Christ's command. He came He saved us and He saves us and assures us that He will come and will finally deliver us out of this present evil age. And He will do what He said. But before He comes, He also saves us from the power of sin. He saves us from the power of sin in our lives. He saves us from spiritual deadness and spiritual blindness and satanic control and demonic dominion. and He saves us from inevitably following the course of this world, because we've also been delivered from the power and dominion of sin. And we can break, and what that means is we can break with the fast-flowing current of the sinful world, the sinful society. We can swim and run counter to it. Only the Regenerate in Christ can do that. To paraphrase G.K. Chesterton, dead things flow with the current. Only living things can swim against it. And believe me, what we are talking about this morning is going against the current of the world. The world is following a stream of sinfulness that runs foul of God and counter to Jesus Christ. and everything about it is ruinous in society and to mankind. And eventually it leads straight to hell. The source is Satan. The beginning was man's sin and rebellion against God and the path and end is destruction. But our God is a God of deliverance and restoration and He saves men and He sets them on a right path. He delivers them not just for the future consummation but for the present. The present life. And He saved us and He called us out of darkness and the world's darkness to be a beacon of light. To be light and to be a kind of lighthouse to the world. To reveal the light of Christ. As Peter puts it, to proclaim the excellencies of Him who called us out of darkness into His marvelous light." Or what Paul says here in Titus 2.11, the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lusts we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. looking for the blessed hope and the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works." Sound Christian living based on sound doctrine of God's grace in Christ. You know, grace, this says grace teaches us to live godly. That's what this says. Grace teaches us to live godly in the present age. Let me put it in other words. Grace teaches us to do good works. He didn't save us because we have good works. He didn't save us because we do good works. He saved us to make us zealous for good works. And not to redeem ourselves. Jesus is our Redeemer. He has redeemed us. Our good works don't add to His works to merit salvation. But He saved us to make us zealous for good works. He wants a people that is pure and clean, that deny ungodliness, worldly lusts, live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age. Very clear. And he is making us that kind of people. By his grace, he's making us that kind of people. God's works are evidence Rather, let me say, God's good works in us are evidence of salvation. That's right. Good works are evidence of salvation, if they're really good works and not dead works, which is man trying to achieve God's salvation. Good works are evidence that God's grace is operative in you. And good works are defined for us in this chapter. Again, I've called them sound Christian living, verses 2 through 14. And it's based on sound doctrine. Verse 1, but as for you, he's talking to Titus, the pastor, speak the things which are proper for sound doctrine. In other words, you speak the things which go with sound teaching. You speak the things that fit sound biblical doctrine. Right? Titus is to call the people, he's to call people who claim to be Christians, who claim to follow Christ, who claim to be objects of grace, he is to call them to these things, to these good works. And these are non-negotiable. They are what God expects of His redeemed people. They are Christ's authoritative commands. And so he sort of puts an exclamation point as a summary conclusion on them and their importance in verse 15, doesn't he? Speak these things, exhort and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you. These are non-negotiable. It doesn't mean he's looking for perfection. It doesn't mean he's saying you're justified by these things. These things are what God expects of every Christian. He expects you to be striving for them. Why? And why does Paul say it so authoritatively like this? Because we're swimming upstream against the current of the culture. We're fighting against satanic ideologies. And there are always false teachers corrupting and poisoning the truth and the church. And frankly, we battle our own sinful nature in this, don't we? And so he exerts authority because there will be pushback on these things. There will be challenges to Christ's commands here, especially regarding these things in chapter 2. And remember, he started this chapter in contrast to chapter 1, the sound doctrine, which was being corrupted by false teachers. Look at verse 10, chapter 1, "...there are many insubordinate, both idle talkers and deceivers, especially those of the circumcision, whose mouths must be stopped, who subvert whole households, teaching things they ought not." And he goes on there, verse 13, "...therefore rebuke them sharply, that they may be sound in Faith. Sound in the faith. Sound in the faith. Sound in the Christian faith. Sound in the Christian truth that is believed by us all. Sound in doctrine, is what he's saying. Sound in the doctrine of the apostles. Sound in the doctrine of the Christ. This is the healthy sound teaching. And this is always under assault. Sound doctrine then is the basis of sound Christian living. And so he's forceful because this is always being challenged. But it's not just a matter of constant challenges and constant battle of false doctrine. It's a matter of God's name. This is important because it's a matter of God's name. Listen, God redeemed you in Christ to set you apart for Himself. You are His own special possession. You are a treasure to Him. And you're a treasure. You're a trophy of His grace. And you're a trophy of His grace to the world and even to the angelic world, good and evil. He is showing you off to the world. Ephesians 3.10. Look at it sometime. Not right now. God is showing off His grace in redeeming you, in revealing Himself to you, but also in your sound Christian living. Just jump ahead to the end of verse 5. What does it say there at the end of verse 5? That the word of God may not be blasphemed. Do you see the importance here? that the word of God may not be blasphemy." When we live contrary to these sound Christian principles, when we live contrary to God's word in these practical areas of life, we open God's word up to blasphemy. And it must mean that God is slandered by a lifestyle that contradicts His word. That's what it must mean. God is slandered by a lifestyle that contradicts His Word. You say you're a Christian. You say you believe in Christ. You say you love and follow Christ. You claim to be a people of the Book. Interesting, that's what the Muslims call Christians, the people of the Book. You claim to be a people of God's Word, the Book, and then you don't follow it? See, the Word of God is blaspheming when that happens. Serious, serious. And hence, this is very, very strong language. This is a very important chapter. Not to be minimized. And it addresses older men, verse 2. It addresses older women, verse 3. It addresses younger women, verses 4 and 5. And younger men, in verses 6 through 8. And this morning we come to younger women. This is God's Word. This is the word of God that we must not blaspheme. This is sound doctrine and sound Christian living. And we have the potential to adorn it as we live it, or we have the potential to bring slander upon our God and his word if we contradict it. When we fail, men will blaspheme the word of God. And I will tell you, without hesitation, I think you know it, that the church is floundering on this point. The church and many, many Christians are either ignorant of what this teaches or they really, and what I fear even more is that they know what it teaches and they openly contradict it. They openly violate it at this point. Many Christians have no problem violating the word on this subject of women. They have rejected the narrow path. Instead, they're swimming downstream in a wide path of the world. What these verses say to young women is completely opposite of what women are taught to be today. Completely opposite. Women are taught to love themselves first. Women are taught to love their careers. They're taught to love their freedom. Women are taught to love whomever they want, whenever they want, to move in and out of marriage as they please, or love without marrying at all if they please, him or her if they please. They're taught to love their own body, and if that means ripping an unwanted baby from their womb and sucking it into a sink, so be it. It's their right. Or if they want a baby, they're taught to ship it out to daycare at the age of four or three or two or one year of age or even younger because of the love of the dollar or career or the love of a boss or love of freedom. One article, And I read from a website, ironically, the name of the website was called Very Well Family. That was a contradiction. Very Well Family. They said, quote, most daycare centers will not take babies under six weeks old. Most? You mean some take babies six weeks and under? and this website, they counsel you, women, mothers, pregnant mothers, to start, quote, to start looking for daycare providers during pregnancy. What a backward philosophy. While you're pregnant, you'd better look early so that once you have the child, you can get rid of it and give it up to someone else to raise it. Today women are taught that it's honorable to care for children as long as they're not your own children. Today women are taught that it's acceptable to give attention and devotion to a man as long as it's not your man. And being a housekeeper to, that is acceptable, we'll allow that, as long as it's not your house. And Satan, through entertainment, and the media, and education, and feminism, he has set this path, and he said that this is the path for a woman to freedom, and self-fulfillment, and personal satisfaction. and a righting of wrongs and abuses." Now listen, God has a wonderful, perfect design for women and He wants a woman to have those things. Truly He wants them to have them. Really He wants them to have freedom, self-fulfillment, personal satisfaction, and freedom from abuse. But our society completely runs counter to God's way to get them. and our society does not give them. Those ways do not give them. They're not the way of fulfillment and satisfying. They leave women empty. God's design of the woman was the most wonderful and beautiful and necessary blessing to the world. When she lives as she was created to live, And it is only and it is the only way. For them to be. To be happy. For their own happiness is achieved only when they live for God in his way. And the only way that God's word and name are glorified is when they live for God's way. And though it's not stated in so many words here explicitly, we certainly see in other parts of the Bible, 1 Timothy 2 for example, that young women, young mothers, wives and mothers who follow godliness and live this and allow God to work in their lives are really a preservative to the society in the world. First Timothy 2.15, nevertheless, she will be preserved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, holiness, and self-control. Women, young women, this is for your fulfillment. It is. This is for your happiness. And this is for the word of God and the name of God and the preservation of society. A society and culture cannot survive in any tolerable way without young mothers training their sons and daughters to love the Lord and love their neighbors. We have a lot of work to do because this generation has been taught so contrary to this. for many generations. So many haven't had godly parents teach them or model this. We are now very far removed from these godly ideals in our society. Generations of feminist propaganda and the education system from cradle to the grave, Hollywood, et cetera, is really going to take a concerted effort It may take generations to even see an impact. But we must do it. Now before we get to younger women, let's go back to verse three. Because the younger women are to be constantly taught these things from what? Older women. Verse three, older women, end of verse, older women, end of verse three, teachers of good things. to admonish the younger women. There is an inseparable bond between the older women and the younger women. You notice that for older and younger, the focus here is the home. The focus is the home. If they're not still living it themselves as older women, they are teaching it, they're modeling it, they're mentoring, they're encouraging, they're discipling, all with reference to the home. This isn't so much, it's not, I mean it will be formal classes too, but it's not just formal classes, it's not just a Bible study or a family conference. It is a way of life. This is a way of life. As much as the younger women, as much as the younger women have to have their priorities, their husband, their children, their home, older women are to prioritize this kind of mentoring of younger women, husband, children, home. Verse four, that they admonish the young women. That's training, tutoring, exhorting, It'll be modeling, mentoring, and it's training to sensible living. He uses a word to pick up a word he's always used throughout here for every age category. Sensible, sober, self-controlled. You're training older women, you're training the younger women to be sensible, sober, self-controlled with regard to the home. Obviously everything else, but your priority is the home. Now, young women refers to, let's just say generally the married age, the childbearing age, until about when the kids are raised and out. That's about 60, and it fits where Paul puts widows on the church list in 1 Timothy 5.9. He contrasts them with younger widows there. who want to get married and have children. And the married, and so this is, if you're a widow to be put on the list, you're not to be under 60. So he's dealing with married to about 60. That's what we're talking about, married to about 60. The children are now out of the home generally. Let's look at verse four. that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed." The very first, they're together, and they're very straightforward, aren't they? love their husbands, love their children. Younger women, here it is, love their husbands, love their children. Philandros, to be husband lovers. Philotechnos, to be children lovers. To be husband lovers, to be children lovers. They're one word. Excuse me. Love your husbands. Love your children. It's together. That is your priority. Love your husbands. Love your children. That's your focus. That's to be your ultimate concern, young women. Not lovers of money. Not lovers of mansions or makeup. Not lovers of careers or self. lovers of husband and children. He's saying this is your focus. This is your priority. This is to be your passion and pleasure, your love. These and really these alone. Any other love will be for this love. What this means Let's start with the first one, to love your husband. This means total and complete devotion. That's what this means. To love your husband means total and complete devotion. Obviously under Christ. Obviously in Christ. But total and complete devotion. This is 1 Timothy 5. The widow there that was gonna be put on the list, she can only be put on that list if she's over 60 and she is a one-man woman. That's what this is, a one-man woman. And that is she's faithful and loyal. She is devoted to him, total and complete devotion. And I'll say at the beginning, this is going to be a sacrificial love. It's going to have to involve that kind of love, a sacrificial love. Of course, you won't always feel like it. You won't always feel like loving your husband. You will have to apply, I mean, why did he have to say this, right? You will have to apply God's word, and then after obedience, I am certain feelings will follow. All purest love will imitate Christ, won't it? All the purest kind of love will imitate Christ. And how is Christ's love demonstrated to us? How is Christ's love ultimately demonstrated to us? In laying down his life for his friends. Sacrificial love. It's demonstrated in his love for the church in Ephesians 5. and 25, which he gave his life for the church. Husbands are to love their wives like that, Ephesians 5, 25. And wives are to love like that too, sacrificially. I say that because you won't always have the feelings in the fireworks. The baser attractions fade. The honeymoon period ends. And you get to know them after the honeymoon stage and you see all their faults, right? And they get amplified because you live with them. And soon you start to hate those idiosyncrasies and their quirks. And this is why I say, this is what the world says, right? This is what people say. Women say, I just don't love him anymore. That's based on feelings. That's based on the fireworks. I just don't love them anymore. And that's why it has to involve a sacrificial love. How did Jesus love the church? In her sin, in her unloveliness, in her unworthiness. Husbands aren't worthy of your love, but you can still love them. And I think this, I mean, I think this is gonna be a matter of faith, of course, for you to love. And I think this is gonna be a matter of action. You have to determine that you will love Him. Younger women love your husbands. You determine that you'll sacrifice yourself for Him. You will devote yourself to Him. You will submit to Him and serve Him What did Jesus do when He loved us? He served us. He served us. You do this by faith in Christ and God will give you, I believe God will give you the feelings, they'll come. And if feelings come at all, they come after obedience. But I have no doubt that a woman who gives herself to this kind of love will begin to have a loving affection. See, he's not removing, there has to be this sacrificial love, but he's not removing an affection kind of love. Matter of fact, this isn't the normal word that you would think of for sacrificial love. This is not agape. Again, this is a combination of two words, philo-andros. Philo is a friendship kind of love, it's a family kind of love, andros is husband. Husband love. This actually is an affection kind of love. And I say now, be friends with your husband. Be friends with your husband. Try to be friends. Make sure he's your best friend. How do you have friends? You prioritize your time and your efforts with them. Friends spend time together. They do things together. And that cultivates a closeness and a companionship and a friendship and love. And I think God will, I think when you sacrifice and you spend time together, God will cultivate feelings of love, affection. I'm more in love with my wife now than when I first met her. And we're best friends. I think she is with me too. I'm not, and I'm not certainly what I was in the looks department. You know, what happens is not only do you find out, you know, kind of who they are, you go through trials, right? You go through trials when you're married. The trials of life and the trials of marriage and the feelings and fireworks wear off. And this is, well, where older women are there to counsel you and encourage you. And they say, my dear, hang in there. It gets better. Usually what happens is the opposite, though, isn't it? Women or friends, quote unquote, often at the water cooler at work, what's their counsel? Oh, forget him. right? Forget him. He's not worth you. Get another. Men are a dime a dozen. And now they don't just do it at work or at the grocery store. They do it on Facebook and Twitter and it's blasted all over the Internet all day long. So how much more do we need older women to teach and admonish and correct and model this love for husbands? And so many women, they have such an easy way out today. Divorce is an easy way out. It's convenient and cheap. The men, we saw a sign as we drove to the men's study the other day where it was something like a little sign that said, get a divorce for $300. It might have been less. Well, they hear that counsel. They have a convenient way out. And it's cheap. It's cheap. And then what happens is they take that path. They get out of the marriage and they never go through the trials. They never go through the battles together. And those are the times that God builds you up. And it works out the difficulties and you get closer and you get better for it. You know, to just escape, that is the lie. That is the lie of Satan. Your heart says, I don't love him anymore. I don't care anymore. I can't take him anymore. He's stubborn. He's got these really bad habits, gross habits. He leaves his socks on the floor, and Satan whispers to your already faltering heart. You see? That's what he does. You need constant support from the church. You need the accountability and discipline of the Scripture, especially the support group of older godly women to teach and to help you through those difficult times. And to just say, love him. Love him. You know, I've been there. It gets better. Love him. Now if you love your husband, let me just quickly say this. If you love your husband, you will be patient with him. You'll bear with Him. You'll tolerate His faults if you love Him. If you love Him, you'll highlight His strengths and you'll compensate His weaknesses. If you love Him, you'll pray for His improvement. If you love Him, you believe Him. You believe in Him. You trust Him. And you believe He'll improve. You believe in God who will improve Him. If you love Him, you'll always be positive. You'll always be hopeful. You'll never slander Him like so many worthless women do to their husbands, to other people. This woman brags about Him. A woman who loves her husband brags about Him. In fact, she is such a worthy woman. If you think of the Proverbs, 31 woman. She models this woman, doesn't she? The Proverbs 31 woman makes the other men a bit jealous. I think that is a little what goes on there. They wish maybe that they could have that kind of wife. Proverbs 31 says, her husband is known in the gates. It's in relation to her. Her husband is known in the gates because of her. She adorns him. She crowns him. And they say, what do they say? Behind every great man is a great woman. That's true. If you love your husband, you'll make him your priority. If you love your husband, you'll be devoted to him. If you love your husband, you'll sacrifice for him. If you love him, you'll always do him good all the days of your life. That's what the excellent wife does in Proverbs 31. Verse 13, she does him good and not evil all the days of her life. That's husband love. He's the priority. And he is the main priority in this tandem relationship, in this tandem command here to love your husbands and love their children. He's not the only priority. Number two, in this tandem love, teach the young women to love their husbands, to love their children. And again, you see how closely related these are. It's not one or the other. He puts them right together. But never forget the sequence, the order, husband first, then the children. Some women, they have the children and love the children and after years and years of pouring your time and life and love into the children, you lose your first love, your husband. Always, and this is what I'd say to you, younger women, always cultivate that love for your husband as a priority of like priorities. Cultivate that love. Well, here are children, children lovers, literally, philotechnos. Love your children, your children. Children are to be the focus of your life then. with your husband, your priority. They're your highest calling and the most godly calling that a woman could ever have is to love and raise her children for the Lord with her husband. And let's face it, only a woman can conceive and carry and bear children. I don't care what the enlightened want to tell us. It's God's design, it's science, it's the realm of possibility. And not only can a woman conceive and carry and bear that child, only a mother can love like a mother. Only a mother can love like a mother. And even though we have these scary women and awful mothers out there, We still know, we still sense the significance of a mother's love. We sense that, we know it, we still have many examples of it, of that unique bond. I think of all the sports athletes, you know, when they get their 15 seconds of fame and one of the always shout out, I love you mom, right? There is this special bond with the woman who bore you, nurtured you, raised you, fed you, and loved you like no other human being on the face of the earth has ever loved you. God says in Isaiah, can a mother forget the fruit of her womb? Alas, it happens, right? But he says it that way because it is so out of character of a mother. A mother's love. But even the best mothers struggle with raising children. Even the best? And it is the most difficult job there is, isn't it? You have this, at first, this little life in your hands, and you shape and you mold his future, and you unleash to the world a hero or a villain. And you want to produce a hero, but let's face it, that little blue-eyed cutie is a villain by birth, right, and by nature. You want to produce a saint, but he is such a sinner. And there is no grief and no trial like raising children and raising sinful children. No greater effort, no greater exertion, nothing more humbling And there comes along, in the midst of those difficulties, temptations. The temptation is not to love, but to leave. Right? Or really, what we're saying here is, I'll just let somebody else take care of it. And the world and other women say, you don't deserve that. You deserve your freedom. You deserve your fulfillment. After all, this After all, this mother stuff, that's patriarchal brainwashing. It's the feminist message. That's just archaic religious suppression of women. To make the woman the primary caregiver, teacher, nurse, lunch lady, doctor, babysitter, etc., etc. Why, that's just oppressive male chauvinism enslaving women. Love yourself, right? The culture says children are slavery and a drag on your career and your potential. You can have them if you want to destroy your figure and future, but you can have them, just let someone else raise them, right? You can have them and you can have visitation. with them. After you do your own thing from 6 a.m. to 6 p.m. and then pick them up from the daycare to maybe dinner with them and admire them for an hour and put them to bed to do it all over again the next day. So you can go to your career and you can advance yourself and become something. What? Isn't that amazing? That's what young women are taught. Love yourself. Love yourself. Love your work. It's loving promotion. It's loving praise. It's loving your boss because, listen, it is. It's loving your boss because you do everything to please your boss, to promote yourself. It's loving your money or what? Loving the money so you can, what, pay for the expensive daycare so you can be free to do what you love. And go shopping. More makeup and more dresses and purses and shoes and jewelry. More and more and more and bigger houses and newer cars. That's what a mother is told to love. That's what a mother is told to prioritize by all the media, Hollywood, education system, and advertisement. God says, love your children. Older women are to teach younger women to love their children. That's the focus. That's the priority. It will be a sacrificial love because their sin and your sin, because you have to give yourself to them. But it will be an affection love. This is a call to love them in every way, every way, a devotion to them. To love your children demands that all you have is given to them. That's what this demands. They are your devotion. They have your attention. That you, in your pleasures and human praise, your pleasures and your human praise, take a back seat. That is a great challenge for women. That you become hidden, as it were, so that your children can be loved and raised in the Lord. And hopefully you'll get praises from your husband, hopefully someday from your children because you've raised them right. And really your praise comes from God, doesn't it? And listen, God is not going to come down and speak coddling words to you and pat you on the back. What this is, your praise comes from God because you know what God's Word says, therefore you know what He approves. And you know that when you follow Him, He praises you. It's faith. It's following Christ when the world is following Satan. Raise them for the Lord. What this love is, I can't go before I say this. What this love is going to look like is you are raising your children for the Lord. You are training them and loving them and teaching them the fear and admonition of the Lord. To know Him, to love Him, to serve Him, to be saved by Him. to love your children will mean your deepest desire is that they believe in Jesus personally. You've trained them from infancy on your knees. They've bounced on your knees. You've trained them there to listen to Jesus and hear his word as you've read to them. That's the kind of mother Timothy's mother was. You remember Paul says to Timothy, he says to Timothy, From infancy you have known the sacred writings, you've known the Word of God, which are able to give you wisdom that leads to salvation through faith in Jesus Christ. You've known from infancy the Word of God that leads you to Jesus Christ, who is the Savior. From brephos, infancy, He was taught the Word. Timothy was taught the Word of God. And the previous verse says this, but you must continue, he's saying to Timothy, this is the verse before that, you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing from whom you have learned them. Who taught him in infancy? Now he may be speaking broadly about you've got to remember everything you've been taught, but in the context, who taught him from infancy? It was his grandmother and his mother. Grandmother Lois and his mother Eunice, 2 Timothy 1.5, from infancy he was trained by them, taught the word, led to God from his grandmother and mother. And isn't that a wonderful bridge between older women and younger women? Grandmother Lois, she not only passed it on by the way, she helped Eunice, her daughter, in training. That's loving your child. You love them and you want the best for them. You want them to know Jesus Christ. You want them to believe in Jesus Christ. You want them to be saved. You want them to follow Jesus Christ. You want them to be delivered, but you want them to honor God. That's the high call of a godly woman. That's the design. That's the priority. Love your children. Love your husband. Let me say here, singleness is a wonderful rare gift. It is. But by which a woman can devote herself entirely to the church, undivided service to the church and the elders and the deacons and of course other women and mercy ministries and to children. But that is an exception. That is an exception. That is a rare gift of God. Some women are barren and that's for God's purposes and God's glory if they turn to God in that. And what could that be? It could be that they adopt children. Or it could be freedom. Freedom for some other church service. And that's His will, that's God's will and that's God's design. But the general design is this, to love your husband, love your children. The general design is you'll be married, you'll have children. Well, next thing, we've got to move on. Next thing He says, again, older women are to teach the younger women, verse 5, to be discreet, chaste. Put those together. Discreet is this choice word of Paul, Sophron. Sensible, sound, judgment, sober-mindedness, self-control. He uses it for every age group here. It means she's not a wild woman. She's level-headed. She's sensible. She's self-controlled. It means she's thinking right, and she's acting appropriately, and she speaks correctly. I think he's calling for a very rare quality in a woman today that I like to call lady-like, to be a lady. Ruth Decker always comes to my mind when I think of a lady. This is the quality. If she acts, it's good behavior. She's concerned about the inner quality, 1 Peter 3, before God. If she speaks, Proverbs 31, 26, she opens her mouth in wisdom and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue. It's not about charm. It's not about beauty, outward beauty. She's known to fear the Lord. You just think of that Proverbs 30 woman. You just meditate on the Proverbs 31 woman. That woman is sensible in every way. She is self-controlled. She has common sense. She is focused. And there isn't any wasted action. There isn't any questionable behavior. I think discreet approaches the idea. I really do, especially put next to chaste. Chaste often translates pure, it's probably a moral purity in mind here in the sense of the home and the husband. Discreet and chaste together. She is not unwise or uncontrolled or wild as we might see so often among women today. Nothing is questionable, nothing is eye-opening about her speech or behavior. And I think that's why the husband of Proverbs 31, 11 so trusts in his wife. He doesn't worry that she'll gain a bad reputation. He doesn't worry what she'll say. He doesn't worry what she'll do. He doesn't worry that she'll flirt with other men. She loves her husband. She's sensible and pure. She's faithful to her husband, morally and sexually pure. It includes that. It would certainly include that, if not be the primary idea. She's emotionally faithful, too. She doesn't confide in other men. She doesn't get emotionally attached or involved with other men. She loves her husband. She's discreet and chaste. I think this is going to include the biblical idea of modesty. I think that's what this includes. Peter uses this very word, 1 Peter 3.2, for wives. Chaste conduct. chase conduct. And then he immediately says what? 1 Peter 3.3, do not, after he says, chase conduct, do not let your adornment be merely outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel. Modesty, modesty. Peter and Paul both talk about modesty in dress and makeup, etc. First Timothy 2.9, that the woman adorn themselves in modest apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. You see, what is the purpose of, it's the excessive stuff that he's saying here, it's excessive stuff. A little bit's okay, we all appreciate that, right? But it's the excessive stuff, it's the over the top stuff What's the purpose of it? It's this immodest dress, and the excessive hairdos, and the excessive makeups, and the excessive jewelry. It can draw attention to yourself. That's the goal. It draws attention to yourself. And why? Well, I have to think that one of the great reasons is to get men to look at you. Men to look at you. Not always. There are other reasons. I think modesty is the key here. Chaste is the key. Godly women know moderation. Not too excessive to draw attention to self, and not too plain to draw attention to themselves. Because sometimes it's not just to draw men, but it's to say, hey, this is how spiritual I am, right? She's discreet and chaste. She's sensible and modest. These just go together then. In fact, in 1 Timothy 2.9, where he says that women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, that second word moderation, that's the same root as Titus 1.5, sofro, sensible, self-controlled. We might translate discretion. She has discretion. modest apparel, with propriety and discretion. She's sensible in that she controls all of her passions. That's what this woman is. Godly women then need to be called to live discreet and chaste lives, modest and pure, sensible and faithful. So your husbands, husband-lovers, children-lovers, discreet and chaste, and then the most controversial one of all, verse 4, just reading this can get you in a lot of trouble, right? Older women teach the younger women to be homemakers, or workers at home. That provokes Thankfully not in this church because you love the Lord, but that provokes in the world screaming and violence. And I understand there have been abuses. I get that. But the response is anything but discreet and chaste, is it? It is not ladylike. It's embarrassing, it's shameful, it's disgraceful. Well, women don't wanna be home today, that's clear. They don't want to be workers in the home. They want to be working outside the home. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, as of March 2017, almost 47 percent, 47 percent of U.S. workers are women. Forty-seven percent. That's almost half, folks. 70%, quote, 70% of mothers with children under 18 participate in the labor force with over 75% employed full time. Well, they're mothers, children 18 and under, 75% employed full time. Quote, mothers are the primary or sole earners for 40% of households with children under 18 today. And 56.8% of women participate in the US labor force. That means we have more women in America working outside the home than inside the home. It's not just about, and it's not just about a house or a structure or being in the place. It's about family, isn't it? That's what he's talking about. It's about the priority of the woman taking care of her family. It's about God's role for women. It's about creative design. Why don't they want to be in the home or responsible, really what we're saying here, responsible for working in the home? It's not that they're just rebelling against abuses. We understand some of that. But don't be fooled. They're rebelling against God. They're rebelling against God's way and God's design, which is to focus on her husband and children to love them. And he's saying, get in the home. Be responsible for the home. Stop trying to get away from the home family responsibilities. That's what he's saying. Stop trying to get into the workforce so you can get out of the home. Stop neglecting your home duties. Now listen, the Proverbs 31 woman, she does some entrepreneurial things. She buys a field. She works the field. She trades. Her dominion is her home, though. She never neglects her home. In fact, all that she does is for her home. All of that outward things that she does is for her home, and she never neglects her home by doing that. That has to be the goal. She never neglects her husband. She never neglects her children. And it's described there as Proverbs 31, 27, she looks well to the ways of her household. It's not that you're locked in a cell called the home. It's not so much the house as the people in the house, right? The priorities of home life. But I think he does feel a need to say workers at home, doesn't he? Keepers of the home. He's saying here is her dominion. Here is the young woman's responsibility. Here is her work. Here's the place of her employment. Oikourgas. Home worker. Worker at home. Men are workers outside the home. Women are workers in the home. there are, when there are children there, and when the husband comes home. That's her focus. Now, listen, we admit, I want to admit, in our modern world, we have wonderful advances, don't we? You're not as needed, and it's not as time-consuming, you're not as time-locked, and place locked today. Women aren't grinding wheat on these little grinding millstones to make flour for bread. You see those all over Israel when you go visit there. They don't have to prepare everything from scratch, and they don't keep animals and milk, and they don't butcher them or pluck the feathers. I mean, they do in some places, but we don't have to do that. And the process of cooking is greatly reduced, is what I'm saying here, right? You're not shoveling wood into the brick oven. You flick a switch, it's instant, or you microwave it, done. You're not shearing the sheep to spin wool, or sew some garment for your children in a blanket. You have more time, that's what I'm saying. You have more time, and having more time, you may, And having more time, you can't be idle in the home. That's not what he's saying either. I actually think that's why he adds good right after that. Good, be good workers in the home. You can be in the place of the home and be very unfaithful. You can be lazy in the home, especially today. I've seen women do that. You have all things done and you have nothing to do. This isn't just staying in a building. and watching soap operas. Be productive. Be good. Be a good worker in the home. And I say this, if the home duties are complete, and maybe you have tutors at times for the children to help you teach them, or maybe you send them to a Christian school and you have more time, and maybe you're able to Maybe then you're able to do a little work outside the home. Maybe you're able to help in their Christian school. Maybe you're able to garden and supplement the income by having a garden or some kind of part-time job even. Or you volunteer in some kind of mission work or church-related function or something else. Maybe you give piano lessons or something. And frankly, with the internet, you can start a business now and you can operate it when you want to operate it in your time. But whatever you do, whatever you do, it's got to be for the family. The priority is loving your husband and loving your children, bringing them up in the fear and admonition of Lord. And whatever you do like that, you want to be very careful because outside work brings temptation. With the desire for money and praise and promotion, you can get your priorities out of whack very easily. So you have to come back to this and make sure your priorities are right. Make sure your children and your husband aren't neglected at all, of course. There's also, when you go outside and you work outside, there's a temptation with other men. There's an epidemic of adultery in the workplace. I don't even need to tell you that. And women, you are susceptible to emotional attachment to men that you spend hours with. That's just the way it is. And you only see, and what happens is you only see that person in their best light. You only see their good side. You never see the dirty laundry of that guy, literally or figuratively. If you've kept your priorities and you work a little outside, and I think that's between you and God and your husband. But what, the word, the word has to sort of monitor your priorities, if I could say it. You have to take everything you do to this word and make sure you're loving your husband and loving your children. And I think the older women, I think this is where the older women, too, they see something and they say, they're maybe concerned that you're spending too much time, I don't know, helping out at the school. Whatever it could be. You're spending too much time in something other. And so they just want to find out. And that's a necessary guard. That's a necessary fence of protection. And they just come alongside you very graciously and say, honey, is everything going OK? Dear, have you got your priorities? Are you keeping your priorities with the home? So checks and balances. And of course, this is all at the discretion of the husband, right? Isn't this at the discretion of the husband? Because he has to give you permission. Oh, yeah. This is the next great controversial one, middle of verse five. Obedient to their own husbands. So she has permission from her husband. She has permission from her husband, and he evaluates and he says yes. Okay, because he's being biblical, hopefully. And he sees that the priorities are taken care of. But men, and this is where we talk to younger men who are going to be husbands, sometimes men are too interested in the buck, in the dollar. I've seen women who wanted to stay home. and their husbands expect them to go get a job and make as much as they do and still come home and take care of the home. That's not gonna happen. That old thing where she can fry up in the kitchen and take care of everything and then she can go out and work all day and then can love you, that's not gonna happen. So it harms the home and it harms the children. And also, look, when you get a job, you usually have what? A boss. And now you have, when he says here, submission to your own husbands, obedience to your own husbands, he may be getting at that. You have to be very careful, because when you get a job, she's submitting to another man, at some level. And when that comes in conflict with her husband, that is a problem. If it becomes a problem, she's got to leave that job. She used to be obedient to her own husband. Wives, the wife is to submit, hupotaso. Probably better to translate it subject here, or to submit to. Although let's face it, whether you translate this obedient or subject, this is gonna be highly offensive. But submit is a bit better, I think, because there is a difference when we say that children ought to be obedient and a wife is to submit. That's a little different, we get the idea. But even submit has become a bad word. Right, it's a bad word. And again, we understand it a bit because women have been abused all through history. We don't tolerate that as Christians. No godly man tolerates that. It's actually godly men and Christian men and Christ and apostles, they hate that. They're always defenders of women. But biblical submission is clear all through scripture. And it isn't oppressive. It isn't oppressive. This isn't to be domineering or lorded over. And we need men to imitate Christ as they lead and make it more palatable for a woman to submit. I'm having dyslexia of my tongue today. But we also have to reject this rebellious culture which says all submission is oppressive. Reject that. Don't allow that word submission, that biblical word that is beautiful and can be glorious to be taken so wrong. It's used for oppression. It's used for servility. It's used for stifling. It's used to mean something ignoble and demeaning. That is a satanic lie to overthrow God's order. That's what that is. Jesus submits to the Father. Is that ignoble? Is Jesus' submission demeaning or stifling? No, it was honorable and glorious and beautiful and saving. It's the greatest act and the greatest mission was when Christ came and submitted to the Father. God is the head of Christ and Christ is the head of man. And 1 Corinthians 11 says, man is the head of woman. There's a pattern there. There's nothing inglorious about that. Submission to her own husband. Young women, young youth, older women, older men, and younger men. These are the priorities of a young woman. There is a reason Paul devotes more time and ink to this. This is attacked by the enemy. If he can tear this down, he can tear down the family structure and he can tear down then the foundational structure of society. And our society, you know, is tinkering and teetering on the brink because of the loss of the family and because of the loss of young women who love their husbands and love their children first. who are discreet and chaste, who know their responsibility to be good homemakers and submissive to their own husbands. This is sound teaching. This is sound Christian living. This, my dear beloved brethren, this is following Jesus Christ. This is what preserves a society. And this is the real fulfillment and satisfaction and happiness of a young woman. God says it. And to do otherwise, young women, is to harm society and yourself. But more than that, it blasphemes God. It blasphemes God's word. Obviously, it blasphemes God. Because what he has revealed in his will is rejected. and then it can be spoken against. Scripture is slander. God is blasphemy. Well, if you love God, you'll obey Him. If you love Christ, you'll follow His command. If you want to honor and glorify God, and you want the greatest happiness you can have, you will write these words on your heart. You will meditate them on them, young women. You will apply them by faith. Older women, you'll make them also your priority to teach them to young women. Old men and young men, you'll support this sound Christian living and you will do everything not to hinder this in younger women, your wives, younger gals. And we'll all pray. We'll all pray to God to help our young women, wives and mothers, to live these commands and live these principles and forsake the world or anyone who goes against them. Let's pray. Oh, Heavenly Father, on some level, this is so clear, so crystal clear, but boy, we are truly fighting against the world and very often fighting against those who claim to be Christians. And we pray for grace. We pray for the same powerful extension of grace, which is you, your gift to save us. We pray for that grace to work in us. We cannot believe these things or trust these things or apply these things without your power working in us. But Lord, by faith, let us embrace these truths. Let us trust you. even in these practical matters. And Lord, I hope you will show your people, as they follow you and submit to you, that you will reward them with that peace that passes all understanding. In Jesus' name, amen.