Tuesday, February 16, 2016

Imagine If...


"God has a magnificent and wonderful design for women. It is a design which will fulfill their created purpose, maximize their uniqueness, make them a blessing to the world, and bring fulfillment to their own lives and glory to the name of God. And that design is briefly stated there in those two verses {Titus 2:4-5}. The instruction there is God's design for women - women in the church - so that the church can have a powerful witness and so that God can be glorified and His Word honored." {John MacArthur}

That they may teach the young women to be sober, 
to love their husbands, to love their children,
To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, 
good, obedient to their own husbands, 
that the word of God be not blasphemed.
Titus 2:4, 5

Imagine if all the churches who proclaimed Christ as Lord taught these verses to women from the pulpit and older women taught all the younger women. 

Imagine if all Christian women loved and obeyed their husbands; they submitted to them in everything, they learned what pleased them, and they reverenced them. 

Imagine if all Christian women loved children enough to have many, discipline them properly, and raise them in the nurture and the admonition of the Lord; knowing that children are gifts from the Lord that keep on giving {grandchildren!}. 

Imagine if all Christian women were keepers at home who were the ones raising their children, being help meets to their husband, keeping a clean and tidy home, feeding their families nutritious food and ministering to those around them when they could. 

Imagine if churches, families and relatives took care of the widows or the single mothers so they could be at home with their children. Why should children lose both of their parents? It’s difficult enough for them to lose one. 

Imagine if Christian women acted and dressed like Christian women with modesty and decency. 

If all of these things were true, the Church would have a powerful witness, God would be glorified and His Word would be honored. Instead, Christian women all over the world are BLASPHEMING the Word of God {speaking evil about God and His ways} by the way they live their lives in complete opposition to how the Lord has called them to live.

"There are times and places in human history where this particular section of Scripture would be commonly believed, even in the culture, where there would not be a reaction to any of these things - it would be the accepted norm for society. But ours is not such a time nor is it such a place. In our culture what is being said in these verses to young women is the very opposite of what young women are being taught. Young women today are being taught to love whoever they want, farm their children out to somebody else, don't worry about being sensible, do whatever pleases you, don't worry about being pure, fulfill your physical and lustful desires, don't work at home, work outside the home, don't worry about being kind - you do whatever you want. You grab your moment in the sun. Take care of you, not somebody else. And by all means, don't be subject to your own husband." 

"When this comes into the church it therefore dishonors the Word of God. I mean, even an unbeliever can read those verses. The most unschooled non-believer can read that the Word of God says young women are 'to love their husbands, love their children, be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, and subject to their own husbands.' And if he can read the Bible and look at the church, he can make a very simple conclusion – 'You Christians say you believe the Bible, why don't your women live like this?' You see, it brings discredit on the Scripture to say we affirm the Scripture, but we live however we like. Or worse, we live however the culture - being basically controlled by Satan, the prince of the power of the air - dictates us to live." {John MacArthur}