A word of exhortation to women

 

 

 

How a Christian woman should dress and conduct herself

 

Sisters, you also believed in our Lord by the grace of God and obtained through faith the remission of your sins. You are daughters of God for you also received Christ and came out from among the sons of this age and God received you in Christ Jesus, therefore you also are members of the household of God and together we are the body of Christ. “There is neither male nor female” (Galatians 3:28 – NKJV) for we are all one in Christ Jesus. However, you must understand that the fact that in Christ there is neither male nor female does not mean that you can conduct yourselves in the house of God as you like, rather it means that the fact that you are women is not a middle wall of separation among us, who are believers.

You must understand also that God has never showed partiality, therefore do not think that God despises you because Eve, the first woman, was deceived by the old serpent and fell into transgression, because that’s not true. Neither is it true that you are useless in the house of God nor that you can’t contribute to the spread of Gospel, because the Scripture affirms the opposite, therefore do not believe these harmful and vain things, which the old serpent tries by his craftiness to make you believe in order to stir up bitter envy in your hearts and to make you become haughty and conceited.

After this brief introduction, I want to tell you first of all how you should dress so that the doctrine of God may be honoured through you.

Paul wrote: “I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God” (1 Timothy 2:9-10 – NIV).

Sisters, you must wear dresses which are appropriate for you, who were sanctified in Christ. The dresses which are fitting for you are those dresses which are modest and not those dresses which are expensive and which are loved by women of corrupt minds, who are haughty. Therefore do not set your mind on those extravagant and expensive dresses which attract man’s attention and which are a waste of money. Know this, that the women’s fashion of this present evil age leads those women who follow it to be haughty and to walk with outstretched necks and to look humble women up and down; this is something which can be seen by everyone, so do not be fascinated by it; be humble and do not give place to what the haughty women call ‘the pride of being a woman’.

Besides being modest, your dresses must be decent; they should cover your legs, your arms, and your breast, that is to say, all those parts of the body which are not fully covered by indecent dresses. This means that you must avoid miniskirts, and those skirts which reach the knee or the part just below the knee: I exhort you to wear long skirts, which should be without vents and without those strange drawings which are stamped on many skirts to attract men’s attention.

As for your blouses, they should not be see-through nor close-fitting, nor low-necked.

As to the colour of your dresses, avoid wearing gaudy dresses (that is to say, avoid colours such as blood red, lemon yellow and scarlet), lest men be induced to cast longing glances at you.

As for your shoes, I tell you to wear modest shoes and not those shoes with stiletto heels, which don’t permit your feet to breathe well and cause you to have pain in your feet; not only this, they compel you to walk in a abnormal and shameful way, and with much more difficulty. Do not wear gold/silver shoes, lest you attract men’s attention.

As for your stockings, you, as is fitting for holy women, should wear modest stockings and not fishnet stockings nor any other kind of stockings invented to make the woman seductive and provocative.

When you go to buy a skirt or a blouse or a pair of shoes or some material to make a skirt or a blouse out of it remember that the Scripture says: “Do not set your mind on high things, but associate with the humble” (Romans 12:16 – NKJV).

Paul says: “We know that the law is good if a man uses it properly. We also know that law is made not for good men but for lawbreakers and rebels …. And for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:8-9, 10 - NIV); and – as far as women are concerned - wearing trousers is one of the things which are contrary to the sound doctrine, for it is written: “A woman shall not wear anything that pertains to a man, nor shall a man put on a woman’s garment, for all who do so are an abomination to the Lord your God” (Deuteronomy 22:5 – NKJV). The so called trousers for women are still trousers, thus a Christian woman should not wear them.

Those who like to be contentious and to suppress the truth by their lies, say all kinds of things to nullify what is written so clearly. They say: ‘This commandment of God applies only to those women who exchanged the natural use for what is against nature, and to those men who have left the natural use of the women, and to the effeminate!’ Now, it is true that God abhors those women who dress up as a man, and those men who dress up as a woman, that is, the transvestites; however I ask you the following question; ‘Do we not live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, without self-control, which puts darkness for light, and light for darkness? Don’t you think that the trends of the fashion of this age oppose the above mentioned words of God? Today, more than ever we have to proclaim the above mentioned words so that everybody may see that we reject and dislike both the men and the women fashion, which tend to feminize men and to masculinize women.

Brothers, we live in towns and villages where there are many sodomites and also many women who exchanged the natural use for what is against nature, who are encouraged in every way to do evil things; in this country immorality is called cultural tradition, perverse people are called respectable people, and do you know what many believers do? They tolerate and respect the tastes and habits of this sinful generation, and are ashamed of the words of the apostles, which they consider antiquated and old-fashioned and inadequate. If today sometimes from a distance it is difficult to tell a girl from a boy, the reason is because girls dress up as a boy. They begin to be corrupt from youth. The women fashion, which tends to make the woman look stronger and more self-confident, is the fruit of the woman’s desire not to look different from man even in the way she dresses.

Sisters, you who are always ready to oppose the sound doctrine, you have conformed so well to this present evil age that even some women who are outside, such as the nuns of the Roman Catholic Church, can teach you by their example how you should dress. I tell you this because I have seen that the way they dress (it is a sad thing to say it and to see it) is better than the way you dress. Of course, you can tell them that praying to Mary, praying to the dead, making statues and worshiping them, are all things which are an abomination to God; however, on their part they can tell you that you are not dressed with modesty and decency.

Therefore, we would not be surprised at hearing that some unbelieving women have taught some of you, who follow the women fashion, how a Christian woman should dress! What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for some daughters of this age, who are dressed with decency and modesty, to tell you that you must dress with modesty and decency? Are you waiting for some women, who are dressed indecently like you, to reply to you, after you tell them that you are the light of the world, ‘Where is the light in you? We don’t see it, in that you dress the way we also dress!’? Sisters, you must look different also in the way you dress, in the midst of the daughters of this age, and not only in the way you talk; thus examine carefully your wardrobe and get rid of your trousers and of all those indecent skirts and blouses you are still wearing.

The Word of God states also that you must not braid your hair and that you must not wear jewelry.

Some of you plat your hair because you know that plaits make you more attractive and provocative; sisters, stop plating your hair.

Some others among you wear gold jewelry; earrings, necklaces made of pearls, bracelets and rings; I exhort you not to persist in this evil thing, and to throw away all your jewelry. You may say: ‘What harm is there in wearing jewelry? Why do you tell us to throw them away?’ There is harm in it, but you can’t see it because your eyes were blinded by darkness; anoint your eyes with eye salve, that the Lord is willing to give you, that you may see. Why should you throw your gold jewelry away? Because it is written: “If you remove wickedness far from your tent and assign your nuggets to the dust, your gold of Ophir to the rocks in the ravines, then the Almighty will be your gold, the choicest silver for you” (Job. 22:23-25 – NIV)

Some of you say: ‘Even the Israelites when they came out of Egypt wore earrings!’ That’s true, however after the Israelites made the golden calf and Moses destroyed it, the Lord God said to Moses: “Say to the children of Israel, ‘You are a stiff-necked people. I could come up into your midst in one moment and consume you. Now therefore, take off your ornaments, that I may know what to do to you.’ So the children of Israel stripped themselves of their ornaments by Mount Horeb” (Exodus 33:5-6 - NKJV). Sister, if you still wear jewelry, know that God says also to you: ‘Take off your ornaments’, thus you would do well to take them off in order to walk in a manner worthy of God.

You say: ‘Gold was made by God!’ Yes, it is true that gold was made by God, but it is also true that the jewelry you wear were not made by God but by men. Silver also was made by God, however the silver shrines of Diana were made by a certain man named Demetrius who lived in Ephesus (Acts 19:24). Do not try to justify your rebellion with vain words, for “there is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord” (Proverbs 21:30 - NKJV). Take off your dead works which you are still wearing; do not be contentious.

I want you to know that the apostle Peter confirmed what Paul wrote to Timothy, saying to you: “Whose adorning let it not be that outward adorning of plaiting the hair, and of wearing of gold, or of putting on of apparel; But let it be the hidden man of the heart, in that which is not corruptible, even the ornament of a meek and quiet spirit, which is in the sight of God of great price” (1 Peter 3:3-4). Therefore, both the apostle to the Gentiles (who was unmarried) and the apostle to the circumcised (who was married) exhorted women not to wear gold or costly clothing, and not to braid their hair.

Sisters, here is now what you should adorn with. Paul says that the women must adorn themselves “with good works” (1 Timothy 2:10 – NKJV) appropriate for women who profess godliness. Now, Jesus said: “Ye are the light of the world. …. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven” (Matthew 5:14,16). The light which is in you, that must shine in the midst of this world of darkness, consists in your good works because it is written that “the fruit of the light consists in all goodness, righteousness and truth” (Ephesians 5:9 – NIV). Therefore, as the Church of God, which is the wife of the Lamb, wears works of righteousness (as it is written: “His bride has made herself ready. Fine linen, bright and clean, was given her to wear. Fine linen stands for the righteous acts of the saints” Revelation 19:7-8 – NIV), so you also must adorn yourselves with all kinds of good deeds so that the name of God may be glorified in you; yes, because then will the name of God be glorified through you for men will see that you are not corrupt or haughty, but good, merciful and humble. Tabitha was a disciple of Christ, “this woman was full of good works [she made tunics and garments] and charitable deeds which she did” (Acts 9:36 – NKJV), imitate her.

However, if you dress and adorn yourselves like the women who do not fear God, how can people see the light in you? How can the name of God be glorified in you? Don’t you think that the name of God will be blasphemed if you let yourselves be deceived by the prince of this world? Do you think perhaps that the prince of this world wants the name of God to be glorified in you?

Let no one deceive you with empty words, which unfortunately many brethren have ready on their lips, such as: ‘A little vanity won’t do any harm!’ Have you never read in the Scriptures: “A little leaven leavens the whole lump” (1 Corinthians 5:6 – NKJV)? Do you not know that “a little folly outweighs wisdom and honor” (Ecclesiastes 10:1 – NIV)? Do you not know that “dead flies give perfume a bad smell” (Ecclesiastes 10:1 - NIV)? The Scripture cannot be broken because it is given by inspiration of God, and that little vanity, which does not do any harm according to some, harms both you and the Church of God.

Some pastors and teachers say to you: ‘Sisters, do not dress like bigoted women (they call those women who dress modestly and decently ‘bigoted women’), or else the children of this age will not come into the place of worship nor will they accept Christ’; do not give heed to their words, and beware of them for they are poisonous snakes, men of corrupt minds. Do not accept what they say, because they want to use you to attract men with the lusts of the flesh. They don’t have the wisdom of God nor the power of God, and in order to draw people to their meetings, are willing to trample the sound doctrine underfoot and to lead believers to walk in crooked paths. They say to you: ‘You can make up, you can follow the fashion, do not be too austere (the say ‘too austere’ in order to make you think that you exaggerate), lest you cause unbelievers to stumble!’ Know this, that if you obey what the apostles wrote, you will never cause anyone to sin and you will never cause anyone to stumble, but know also that if you obey what these idle talkers teach, you will cause many people to stumble. It is written: “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak” (Romans 14:21 – NKJV) and also: “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the Church of God” (1 Corinthians 10:32 – NKJV), therefore, sisters, please your neighbour for his good, and not for his evil (as these rebels would like you to do).

Some of you say also: ‘I want to please my husband!’. Listen; first of all, if your husband really loves you and fears God, he does not want you to dress like a prostitute. Have you ever read how Babylon, the mother of prostitutes, was dressed when John saw her in the vision he had on the island called Patmos? John says that “the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet, and adorned with gold and precious stones and pearls” (Revelation 17:4 - NKJV). Of course, she was dressed in a very attractive manner, but “on her forehead a name was written: Mystery, Babylon the great, the mother of harlots and of the abominations of the earth” (Revelation 17:4-5 – NKJV). Do you not know that ‘like mother, like daughter’? Do you not see in the market places and in the streets how prostitutes are dressed in order to allure men? Have you not noticed that many prostitutes are still dressed in purple and scarlet and wear gold jewelry and pearls?

You are now daughters of Sarah, “if you do good and are not afraid with any terror” (1 Peter 3:6 – NKJV), therefore you must imitate Sarah, your mother. Peter tells you in his first epistle not to let your adornment be outward – arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting on fine apparel - “rather let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious in the sight of God” (1 Peter 3:4 – NKJV), and he says that “in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (1 Peter 3:5-6 – NKJV). Sisters, you must adorn your heart with a gentle and quiet spirit, which means that you must be gentle and quiet, and not rude or quarrelsome. This is an adornment of great value in the sight of God, and in this manner the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, and among those holy women was Sarah your mother.

Sarah was a beautiful woman, but also a gentle and quiet woman, and she was the wife of Abraham the patriarch, and she did not braid her hair nor did she wear gold jewelry or costly clothing, because she was a holy woman, who obeyed Abraham.

Abraham was a very rich man who had gold and silver (Eliezer, the oldest servant of Abraham’s house, said to Laban and Bethuel: “The Lord has blessed my master greatly, and he has become great; and He has given him flocks and herds, silver and gold, male and female servants, and camels and donkeys” Genesis 24:35 – NKJV) but Sarah his wife did not adorn herself with gold. Someone will say: ‘Abraham did not have god jewelry!’ Have you never read that when Eliezer left for Mesopotamia to take a wife for Isaac, “all his master’s goods were in his hand” (Genesis 24:10 - NKJV), and that among those goods there were “a golden nose ring weighing half a shekel, and two bracelets for her wrists weighing ten shekels of gold” (Genesis 24:22 - NKJV). which he gave to Rebekah? Therefore Abraham possessed also gold jewelry, but Sarah did not wear them.

Furthermore, I tell you that if your husband is not a believer, it is not by wearing provocative and costly clothing that you will win him to Christ, because Peter says: “Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey the word, they, without a word, may be won by the conduct of their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied by fear” (1 Peter 3:1-2 – NKJV). On the contrary, some of you are seeking to win to Christ your husbands only by words, not taking heed to your conduct, which is blameworthy, and then you pray to God and weep in His presence so that He may save your husband! I ask you the following questions: ‘Is it not time for you to throw away all your gold jewelry? Is it not time for you to stop dressing in a seductive manner and exercising authority over your husband?’

Sisters, besides this, I exhort you to be reverent in behaviour as is fitting for holy women; thus, when you are seated don’t cross your legs and don’t part them, lest you provoke sexual attraction or reaction.

Some of you, during the worship service, put the chewing gum in your mouth and chew it, so you move your mouth in a shameful manner; stop doing such a thing.

Be wise, do not pluck part of your eyebrows, do not make up as Jezebel did, the wife of Ahab who practiced occult arts, as it is written: “She put paint on her eyes” (2 Kings 9:30 – NKJV); do not change the colour of your face and of your lips painting them with all those harmful cosmetics which are on the market. Do not put varnish on your nails, keep yourselves pure.

Do not put on those perfumes which are so strong and provocative that distract those who are near you and leave a trail of perfume wherever you go; I assure you that these perfumes are made to make you seductive and to enable you to attract attention from men, and you can realize this by observing the way they are advertised and by reading the name of some of these perfumes (‘Malice’, ‘Temptation’, etc.).

Furthermore, I exhort you to flee all those odd modern hairstyles which are in fashion, such as ‘the perm’. Do not have your hair dyed: why do you want to change the colour of your hair? Are you no longer happy with the way God made your hair?

Now I want to say something to you women who are no longer young and try to look younger by dying your white hair: ‘Why are you ashamed of being old, and do you make all efforts (in vain) to look younger, spending so much money for things which are vain? Have you never read in the Scripture: “The splendour of old men is their gray head” (Proverbs 20:29 – NKJV) and also: “The silver-haired head is a crown of glory” (Proverbs 16:31 – NKJV)?

Wisdom says: “Favour [grace] is deceitful, and beauty is vain” (Proverbs 31:30), because with the passing of time they disappear, therefore do not try to embellish what is perishing day by day before your eyes. God says to the woman who continues to harden her heart: “Though you clothe yourself with crimson, though you adorn yourself with ornaments of gold, though you enlarge your eyes with paint, in vain you will make yourself fair” (Jeremiah 4:30 – NKJV).

You older women, let your conduct be holy, do not be slanderers, do not be gossips, do not meddle in other people’s business, and do not say things you ought not to; do not be given to much wine because when one gets drunk he loses his wits and begins to say and do perverse things; be teachers of good things, so that you may train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, homemakers, good and obedient to their own husbands.

 

 

A woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head

 

It is written: “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God. Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoureth his head. But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered dishonoureth her head: for that is even all one as if she were shaven. For if the woman be not covered, let her also be shorn: but if it be a shame for a woman to be shorn or shaven, let her be covered. For a man indeed ought not to cover his head, forasmuch as he is the image and glory of God: but the woman is the glory of the man. For the man is not of the woman; but the woman of the man. Neither was the man created for the woman; but the woman for the man. For this cause ought the woman to have power [a sign of authority] on her head because of the angels. Nevertheless neither is the man without the woman, neither the woman without the man, in the Lord. For as the woman is of the man, even so is the man also by the woman; but all things of God. Judge in yourselves: is it comely that a woman pray unto God uncovered? Doth not even nature itself teach you, that, if a man have long hair, it is a shame unto him? But if a woman have long hair, it is a glory to her: for her hair is given her for a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:3-15).

Sister, man is your head, that is, the one who has authority over you is the man. Whether you are unmarried or married or even a widow, you must understand that man is your head. Therefore, because of the angels, when you pray or prophesy, you ought to have a sign of authority on your head, and this sign is the veil. In other words, because the angels are being taught through the Church that the woman is under man’s authority, you ought to have a veil on your head. If your head is not veiled, when your pray or prophesy, you dishonor your head, that is, man (in other words, you don’t give him the honour he is worthy to receive from you). I remind you that you must cover your head with a veil not only when you are gathered together with the saints in the worship place but also when you pray or prophesy anywhere else, because man is your head and the angels observe you even outside the place of worship. Furthermore I advise you to tie your veil to prevent it from falling on your shoulders.

To those sisters who say: ‘Since I have long hair I don’t need to cover my head with a veil for my hair is my veil!’ I say this: ‘Listen, if you have long hair, it is certainly a glory to you, however long hair is not the sign of authority you ought to have on your head, because long hair is given to you “as a covering” (1 Corinthians 11:15 – NIV); that is to say, it serves as a shawl for you, thus your hair is not the veil you must wear.’ This is confirmed by what Paul says in verse 6: “If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off,” (NIV) for if we were to substitute ‘hair’ for ‘covering’ this statement of Paul would be ludicrous. Listen how it would read, ‘If a woman does not have her hair, she should have her hair cut off’!!! My question is: ‘But if her hair is already off, how can she have her hair cut off?’ That you may understand what I mean, I will tell you this: as you know the apostle Paul says that “every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head “ (1 Corinthians 11:4 – NIV), that is Christ; and that “if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him” (1 Corinthians 11:14 – NIV), however, if a man has long hair and prays or prophesies he does not dishonor his head, because his head is not covered with a veil or a hat or something else.

In the light of all this, to the question asked by Paul: “Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered?” (1 Corinthians 11:13 – NIV), we answer that it is not proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered.

With regard to this subject, I conclude with these words of Paul: “But if anyone seems to be contentious, we have no such custom, nor do the churches of God” (1 Corinthians 11:16 – NKJV).

 

 

A woman is not allowed to teach or to exercise authority over a man

 

Sisters in the Lord, you must learn in silence with all submission; therefore without grumbling and without interrupting him who is teaching the Word of God. So, when the Church comes together in one place (that is, during the worship service) you must not talk with anybody, rather you must keep silent “for it is shameful for women to speak in church” (1 Corinthians 14:35 - NKJV), says Paul; and if you want to learn something, do not ask the pastor (while the church Is gathered together in one place), but ask your husbands at home, as it is written: “And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home” (1 Corinthians 14:35 – NKJV). You ought to keep silent in the churches, for women “are to be submissive, as the law also says” (1 Corinthians 14:34 - NKJV).

Therefore, since you, sisters, must learn in silence, you are not allowed to teach the doctrine of God, that is, the same doctrine that Paul, Peter and the other apostles taught to the saints and which Paul commanded Timothy and Titus to teach. Neither are you allowed to exercise authority over your husband because he is your head and you are to submit to him.

To sum up, therefore, what I have just said: “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence” (1 Timothy 2:11-12 – NKJV).

 

A woman is not permitted to teach

 

With regard to the fact that a woman is not permitted to teach, the law also confirms it, and we know that the law is made for whatever is contrary to the sound doctrine (1 Timothy 1:10). For, when God chose the Levites, under the law of Moses, to entrust them with the service of the tabernacle and that they might teach His laws to the Israelites, as it is written: “They shall teach Jacob Your judgments, and Israel Your law” (Deuteronomy 33:10 – NKJV) he chose men and not women.

I can confirm this also by what we read in the book of Nehemiah, for in the days of Nehemiah and Ezra, after the temple and the walls of Jerusalem were rebuilt, when the law of God was read and explained publicly before the people, that was done by some men from among the Levites, as it is written: “Also Jeshua, and Bani, and Sherebiah, Jamin, Akkub, Shabbethai, Hodijah, Maaseiah, Kelita, Azariah, Jozabad, Hanan, Pelaiah, and the Levites, caused [helped] the people to understand the law: and the people stood in their place. So they read in the book in the law of God distinctly, and gave the sense, and caused [helped] them to understand the reading” (Nehemiah 8:7-8). On the basis of these passages, nowadays among the Jews (the Orthodox Jews) the woman is not permitted to read the law publicly in the synagogue nor to explain any passage of the law to the congregation.

Obviously, the New Testament’s writings confirm that a woman is not permitted to teach, for the twelve apostles appointed by Jesus, whom He sent to preach (Matthew 10:1-8; Luke 6:12-16) were all men, as well as the seventy disciples whom He appointed afterward and sent before His face (Luke 10:1).

There were of course some women who followed Jesus, but they did not teach the Word of God, for they ministered to Jesus and His disciples, as Luke says: “The Twelve were with Him, and also some women who had been cured of evil spirits and diseases: Mary (called Magdalene) from whom seven demons had come out; Joanna the wife of Cuza, the manager of Herod’s household; Susanna; and many others. These women were helping to support them out of their own means” (Luke 8:1-3 - NIV). As you can see, the women who were with Jesus and His disciples did not preach nor teach the Word of God, but they provided for Jesus and His disciples from their substance. Is it not written: “Let him who is taught the word share in all good things with him who teaches” (Galatians 6:6 – NKJV)?

 

Replies to the main objections

 

Let us now reply to the main objections raised by some sisters and brothers.

‘Since a woman can prophesy, she can teach because he who prophesies teaches’.

That’s not true, because the gift of prophecy and the gift of teaching are two different gifts, they are not the same gift. That is confirmed by Paul when he says: “Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them; if prophecy, let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our ministering; he who teaches, in teaching” (Romans 12:6-7 – NKJV). Bear in mind this, that Paul did not say: ‘I do not permit a woman to prophesy’ because such a statement would have contradicted the Scripture which says: “Your daughters shall prophesy” (Joel 2:28 – NKJV), but he said a different thing, that is, “I do not permit a woman to teach” (1 Timothy 2:12 - NKJV).

‘According to the Scripture, a woman can serve as a deaconess, which means that she can also teach’

That’s not true; now I am going to explain why. The Word declares that in the Church of Cenchrea there was a deaconess, for Paul wrote to the Romans: “I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant [or deaconess] of the Church in Cenchrea. I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me” (Romans 16:1-2 – NIV). Therefore, a woman can be ordained as a deaconess in the Church, if she has the necessary qualifications. But the deacons are not appointed to teach the doctrine of God, but to minister to the saints; that’s why among the qualifications a believer must have to serve as a deacon we don’t find this one ‘able to teach’. Therefore, it is evident that since deacons do not need to be able to teach the doctrine of God because their job is not to teach the Word, those sisters who are appointed deaconesses are not called to teach the doctrine of God.

‘A woman can teach because in ancient times God appointed some women prophetesses’.

That’s not true, for the ministry of prophet is different from the ministry of teacher, and the fact that one is a prophet does not necessarily mean that he is able to teach. Deborah (who lived in the days of the judges), Huldah (who lived in the days of king Josiah) and Anna (who lived in the days of Jesus), were all prophetesses, but they were not appointed by God to teach the law to the people because according to the law of Moses the precepts of the law had to be taught by the Levites, as God said: “For the lips of a priest should keep knowledge, and people should seek the law from his mouth” (Malachi 2:7 – NKJV).

The prophet Micah also made a distinction between the office of a priest and the office of a prophet, for when God rebuked the people of Israel through him He said: “Her priests teach for pay, and her prophets divine for money” (Micah 3:11 – NKJV). As you can see, it was the priests and not the prophets who were appointed to teach.

A woman, under grace, can be appointed by God prophetess, but to be a prophet does not mean to be enabled by God to teach the Word; a woman who is a prophetess prophesies by the Spirit when the Spirit comes upon her, and tells the visions and the revelations God gives to her, but this does not mean at all that God has appointed her to teach the doctrine of God. In order to be able to teach, a prophetess needs to possess also the ability to teach, but that’s an ability which she can’t receive from God.

‘A woman can teach because when Jesus rose from the dead He appeared first to a woman, that is, Mary Magdalene, to whom He said: “Go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God” (John 20:17)’

Now, according to the Scripture, “Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her” (John 20:18 - NKJV), but she did not go to teach the doctrine of God to the disciples of the Lord. Nor from that day on did she teach, because Jesus had not given her authority to teach. Jesus gave that authority to the eleven disciples, for when He appeared to them on one of the mountains in Galilee He said to them: “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen” (Matthew 28:19-20).

To confirm this I remind you that the Scripture says that (after the Spirit was poured out upon the Church) the early believers “continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers” (Acts 2:42). As you can see, the Scripture does not say that some of the women to whom Jesus had appeared were teaching together with the apostles.

‘A woman can teach because Anna was a prophetess’.

Now, Anna was a prophetess who “departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day” (Luke 2:37). Therefore that godly woman was always in the temple, which was a holy place where the Jews always met. But Anna did not teach the law of Moses to the Jews in the temple, but she served God with fastings and prayers. Then, when the Child Jesus was brought to the temple to be presented to the Lord, Anna was there and “spoke of Him to all those who looked for redemption in Jerusalem” (Luke 2:38 - NKJV). Does this mean that she taught the doctrine of God? How could we say such a thing when the Scripture states only that she spoke of the Child Jesus? I am convinced that if those women who want at all costs to teach began to serve God in the same way Anna served God, that is to say, with prayers and fastings, and stopped teaching, they would do something well pleasing to God.

‘A woman can teach because some of the women who helped Paul taught the Word of God’.

These women, according to this objection, were Priscilla, Euodias, and Syntyche, for it is written: “And he [Apollos] began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly” (Acts 18:26), and again: “I beseech Euodias, and beseech Syntyche, that they be of the same mind in the Lord. And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life” (Philippians 4:2-3).

Now, if the above mentioned passages meant that Priscilla, Euodias and Syntyche did teach the Word, that would mean that Paul permitted them to teach. Then, if it were so, Paul told a lie to Timothy, because He told him that he did not permit a woman to teach. So, who says the truth? Those who say that these passages mean that those women taught or Paul? Perhaps we might say that Paul permitted some women to teach while he did not permit other women to teach! But if it were so, how could Paul say to Timothy: “I charge thee before God, and the Lord Jesus Christ, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality” (1 Timothy 5:21)? The truth is that Priscilla, Eudioas and Syntyche did not teach. At most, we can say that Priscilla and her husband Aquila told Apollos something about the new Way privately, but certainly we cannot say that Priscilla taught the brethren publicly as Paul and the other apostles did.

I am convinced that you, sisters, ought to follow the example of Mary, Martha’s sister, who “sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word” (Luke 10:39 – NKJV). Jesus said that Mary had chosen that good part, which would not be taken away from her. However, what happens in many Churches? It happens that many sisters have not chosen that good part, that is, they have not decided to hear the Word of God and to learn in silence, but they have chosen a part which is not fit for them, that is, they have decided to teach!

 

A woman is not permitted to exercise authority over her husband

 

I said before that a woman is not permitted to exercise authority over her husband, let us see therefore how a woman must behave towards her own husband. Paul wrote: “Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body. Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing” (Ephesians 5:22-24), and again: “Let the wife see that she respects her husband” (Ephesians 5:33 – NKJV).

Now, the Church is the Lamb’s wife and she must submit to Her head, that is, Christ Jesus, therefore just as the Church submits to Christ with all reverence and doesn’t dare to exercise authority over the Christ of God, so, in the same manner, the wife must submit to her husband.

Sarah is an example of a woman who submitted to her husband, for the Scripture says that “Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord” (1 Peter 3:6 - NKJV). I would like to point out that even though she was submissive to her own husband, she was not a slave of her husband but a free woman, as it is written that “Abraham had two sons: the one by a bondwoman, the other by a free-woman” (Galatians 4:22). Why do I say this? Because some women think that in ancient times the wives of the patriarchs were treated and regarded as bondwomen. Consider this: the holy women who trusted in God were submissive to their own husbands, and because of their respectful behaviour they are called ‘bondwomen’! The reason why today many women think that those holy women were bondwomen is that they think that in this modern age for women to submit to their husbands, as did those holy women, is absurd. Today, what should be a normal thing for a woman, is considered outdated and inadequate; therefore, no wonder that many women do not want to submit to their husbands. Those women who call the obedience and the submission of Sarah towards Abraham ‘bondage’ are nothing but women who have become slaves of a perverse way of thinking, and if they want to escape the snare of the devil into which they have fallen they must repent and obey the truth.

We live in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation which has perverted the straight ways of the Lord, and we see with our eyes that many so called ‘feminist movements’ have risen and these movements are fighting against God, for their purpose is contrary to the sound doctrine of God. The fight which is called ‘the fight in favour of the emancipation of women’ is nothing but a device used by Satan to destroy the family. Furthermore, there are some women who do not know what the verb ‘to emancipate’ means. Now, to emancipate means ‘to set free from slavery’ and when a married woman says that she wants to become an emancipated woman she means that she wants to stop obeying her husband and submitting to him, and if she is unmarried she means that she doesn’t want to submit to man. After the woman was deceived and fell into transgression, God said to the woman: “Your desire shall be for your husband, and he shall rule over you” (Genesis 3:16 – NKJV); these words were spoken by God, the Creator of all things, and the woman, who is just a creature, has decided to nullify the Word of God. Will she manage to nullify it?’ No, she won’t. Did her struggle improve our society? No, it didn’t, rather things in this world are going from bad to worse, and we see that what the woman is doing in order to emancipate herself is hastening the destruction of the family. Am I wrong in saying that divorces and separations are increasing in number because of the perverse ideas displayed by the feminists, who are under the leadership of the devil? Am I wrong in saying that today a woman who is obedient and submissive to her own husband is considered by the feminists (who are filled with hate for the Word of God because it reduces their claims to silence) a crazy and ignorant woman, and thus they encourage her to rebel against her husband to claim her ‘rights’? Today that old serpent, that is, Satan, is still deceiving the woman: he began in the Garden of Eden and is actively prosecuting his diabolical work to this day. Satan knows how to deceive the woman; he knows that it is sufficient to make her believe that God is a liar in order to cause her to fall into transgression. What did God say to Adam? He said: “In the day that you eat of it [that is, of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil] you shall surely die” (Genesis 2:17 – NKJV); but what did the serpent say to Eve: “You will not surely die” (Genesis 3:4), and she believed the serpent and ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thinking that she would not die, and the baleful consequences of that disobedience can be still clearly seen today.

Sisters, I exhort you to obey the Word of God and not to deceive yourselves (by thinking that the freedom proclaimed by the feminist movements is useful to you and to your families). The true freedom is in the Lord, for it is written: “Where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty” (2 Corinthians 3:17 – NKJV). On the contrary, where the spirit of this world is, there is no liberty but only slavery to sin. Sisters, do you want to be really free? Well, then, continue in the Word of Christ, for Jesus said: “If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free” (John 8:31-32).

Daughters of Zion, be homemakers, so that your husbands, when they come home from work, may find the house clean and in perfect order and their clothes washed and ironed ready to be put on. Let them find savoury food, so that their spirit may be refreshed after a tiring day; do them good and not evil, they need you, you are the helper suitable that God made and gave to man; respect them and do not despise them (do not behave like Michal, David’s wife, who despised David in her heart when she saw David leaping and whirling before the Lord, and for this reason she “had no children to the day of her death” 2 Samuel 6:23 - NKJV); show them in deed and in truth that you love them; be faithful to your husbands, do not be quarrelsome, do not raise your voice against them; when they are tested by God stand by them to give them strength and do not behave like Job’s wife who, when she saw her husband’s sufferings, said to Job: “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9 – NKJV); bear children and bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord because this is one of the good works with which you must adorn yourselves.

 

The reasons of these prohibitions

 

Now, let us see why the woman is not permitted to teach nor to exercise authority over her husband but she must keep silent. Paul says that it is because “Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression” (1 Timothy 2:13-14 – NKJV).

Therefore the reasons of this prohibitions to women are these.

First, because man was not created for the woman, but woman for the man (1 Corinthians 11:9), as it is written that after God formed Adam, He said: “It is not good that the man should be alone” (Genesis 2:18), and He took one of his ribs and made it into a woman. So man was formed before the woman. Being created first, the man has the creational priority, he is the head; and creational priority entails functional authority.

Second, because in the Garden of Eden it was not Adam who was deceived but Eve. Paul confirms this by saying to the Corinthians: “The serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness” (2 Corinthians 11:3 - NKJV). Why is it not written that the serpent deceived Adam by his craftiness? Because it is not true that the serpent deceived Adam. Of course, when Adam ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil he sinned, as it is written: “Like Adam they have broken the covenant – they were unfaithful to me there” (Hosea 6:7 – NIV), and again: “By the one man’s offense many died” (Romans 5:15 – NKJV). But we need to say all the truth about what happened in the garden of Eden, by saying that the serpent deceived Eve and not Adam. The woman herself recognized that she was deceived, for – after both she and her husband had sinned - when God said to her: “What is this you have done?” (Genesis 3:13 - NKJV), she said: “The serpent deceived me, and I ate” (Genesis 3:13 – NKJV). And that is what the old serpent is still doing, for he is still deceiving the woman. Why do many women refuse to submit to their husbands in everything? Why do they refuse to be homemakers? Why do they refuse to bear children, and if they want to have children, they say arrogantly: ‘Just one or at the most two’? Why do they refuse to do what God commands them to do, but they want to do what they are not allowed to do? Because the serpent has deceived them by his craftiness, and through them he induces many men to sin. Yes, I am fully convinced that in the Church of God, many men are deceived into disobeying some commandments of God by these women, who, having been deceived by that old serpent, through smooth and flattering words, induce them to take crooked paths, and the consequence of their disobedience is confusion.

Therefore, women, submit to your own husbands as is fitting in the Lord, and do not have the presumption to teach. Be humble and respectful and you will be honored by God and by all those who love God and fear Him. Do not think about the so called emancipation of women, because you have already obtained the true freedom, and this freedom is in the Lord.

 

 

Women will be saved in child-bearing, if they continue in faith, love and holiness with self-control

 

Paul says to Timothy: “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression. Nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing if they continue in faith, love, and holiness, with self-control” (1 Timothy 2:14-15 – NKJV).

What does Paul mean when he states that the woman will be saved in childbearing? He means that she will be saved after bearing children. Be careful, Paul does not mean that a woman who can’t bear children (for she is barren) will go to hell! Nor does he mean that if a woman dies immediately after the wedding ceremony she will go to hell! If childbearing were necessary for the woman’s salvation, that would be tantamount to saying that all believing women must get married. However we know that there are some women who remain unmarried for all their life because their fathers have determined in their heart that they will keep their virgins unmarried (as Paul says to the Corinthians – 1 Corinthians 7:37), and their fathers are not blameworthy at all for doing so for they do a good thing in the sight of God. What shall we say about these women then? Shall we say that they will not be saved for they did not bear children? Certainly not, for Paul did not say that the woman will be saved if she bears children, but if she continues “in faith, love and holiness, with self-control” (1 Timothy 2:15 – NKJV).

“She will be saved in childbearing” (1 Timothy 2:15 – NKJV) means that God wants every married woman to bear children, for Paul says: “I will therefore that the younger women [widows] marry, bear children ….” (1 Timothy 5:14). So a woman who gets married must desire to bear children, I say ‘she must desire to bear children’ because there are some women who don’t want to bear children. I say it again: ‘God wants the woman to bear children,’ for God said to man and woman at the beginning: “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Now, someone may say to me: ‘Brother, you have quoted some words which don’t apply to the modern couple, for they were spoken by God a long time ago when the earth needed to be filled; today man and woman don’t need to multiply to fill the earth because the earth is already too full according to the calculations which have been made!’ First of all, I say that you are wrong, because the word of God is a living and enduring word, and then I tell you that if it were as you say I don’t understand why you don’t accept the above mentioned words of God and at the same time you accept the following words of God: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 – NKJV) which were spoken by God after He made the woman.

I want to tell you something else. We are not under the law but under grace. However, this does not mean that the law is useless because Paul says to Timothy: “But we know that the law is good if one uses It lawfully, knowing this: that the law is not made for a righteous person, but for the lawless and insubordinate, for the ungodly and for sinners, for the unholy and profane, for murderers of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for fornicators, for sodomites, for kidnappers, for liars, for perjurers, and if there is any other thing that is contrary to sound doctrine” (1 Timothy 1:8-10 – NKJV). Now, if someone asks you: ‘Can a man have sexual relations with another man?’, you answer him: ‘No, he can’t, because it is written in the law: “You shall not lie with a male as with a woman. It is an abomination” (Leviticus 18:22 - NKJV), and you do well to give him that answer quoting the law. If someone else asks you: ‘Can a man have sexual relations with a woman who is not his wife?’, you answer him saying: ‘No, he can’t, because it is written in the law: “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and they shall become one flesh” (Genesis 2:24 – NKJV), and in this case also you do well to answer him in that way quoting the law. Now, I ask you: ‘If someone asks you if it is right to prevent conception in order not to have children or to limit the number of births, what do you answer him?’ If the practice of preventing conception is contrary to the sound doctrine, the law must state or show that it is not right to prevent conception in the eyes of God. I do not use the law to command you to keep the sabbath day, or new moons, or the Jewish feasts, nor do I use the law to command you to pay tithe or to abstain from the so called unclean foods, because if I used the law in this way I would use it unlawfully and my conscience would rebuke me, but I use the law to show you that the practice of preventing conception is contrary to the sound doctrine of God. I remind you that Paul in his epistles to the Gentiles in Christ used the law of Moses, but he used it lawfully and wisely to confirm the sound doctrine; he did not use the law to bring the Gentile believers into bondage to the law of Moses. For instance, in one of his epistles to the Corinthians, in order to confirm that “the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should live from the gospel” (1 Corinthians 9:14 – NKJV), he quoted the law, saying: “For it is written in the law of Moses, ‘You shall not muzzle an ox while it treads out the grain” (1 Corinthians 9:9; Deuteronomy 25:4 – NKJV). I want to remind you also that when the Pharisees asked Jesus if it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife for just any reason, Jesus answered them quoting the law, as He said to them: “Have you not read that He who made them at the beginning made them male and female, and said, ‘For this reason a man shall live his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh?” (Matthew 19:4-5 – NKJV). Then when the Pharisees asked Jesus why then Moses commanded to give a certificate of divorce and to put her away, Jesus said to them: “Moses, because of the hardness of your hearts, permitted you to divorce your wives, but from the beginning it was not so” (Matthew 19:8 – NKJV). As you can see, in order to show the Pharisees that he who sends away his wife for any reason except fornication causes her to commit adultery, Jesus quoted some words God spoke at the beginning. Therefore, if Jesus cited those words spoken by God at the beginning in order to show that at the beginning man was not allowed to give a certificate of divorce to his wife and to send her away, I think that in order to show that he who prevents conception transgresses the law of God, thus he commits a sin, we must cite the words that God spoke at the beginning. He said to man and woman: “Be fruitful, and multiply” (Genesis 1:28). Notice that God gave that order to both man and woman, therefore if they disobey they will provoke God to anger. Yes, brothers, the law is made for any thing that is contrary to the sound doctrine, and the practice of preventing conception is contrary to the sound doctrine.

The Scripture tells an incident that occurred in the days of Jacob (remember that the law had not yet been given to the children of Israel), which was written for our learning. It is written: “And Judah took a wife for Er his firstborn, whose name was Tamar. And Er, Judah's firstborn, was wicked in the sight of the LORD; and the LORD slew him. And Judah said unto Onan, Go in unto thy brother's wife, and marry her, and raise up seed to thy brother. And Onan knew that the seed should not be his; and it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother's wife, that he spilled it on the ground, lest that he should give seed to his brother. And the thing which he did displeased the LORD: wherefore he slew him also” (Genesis 38:6-10). Note that it is clearly written that Onan prevented conception (in the IBRV instead of ‘it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he spilled it on the ground’ we read ‘quando s’accostava alla moglie del suo fratello, faceva in modo d’impedire il concepimento,’ that is, ‘it came to pass, when he went in unto his brother’s wife, that he prevented conception’), for he did not want to give children to Tamar, so God killed him. Paul, after speaking of those who did not like to retain the knowledge of God, says about them that “although they know God’s righteous decree that those who do such things deserve death, they not only continue to do these very things but also approve of those who practice them” (Romans 1:32 – NIV). Therefore, if according to God, Onan was deserving of death because of what he did, that means that his transgression was serious in God’s sight. Don’t you think? Note also these words: “The thing which he did displeased the LORD” (Genesis 38:10), for they are very similar to these other words: “But the thing that David had done displeased the LORD” (2 Samuel 11:27), which are written in the story of the adultery committed by David with Bath-Sheba and of the murder he committed putting to death the husband of Bath-Sheba. I think that this should lead you to reflect upon the seriousness of the sin of preventing conception.

It is written in the Psalms: “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb is a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior, so are children of one’s youth. Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them; they shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:3-5 - NKJV). What are children then? They are an inheritance from the Lord; while “houses and riches are an inheritance from fathers” (Proverbs 19:14 – NKJV), children are an inheritance from the Lord because they are given by God. To have children does not mean to be unfortunate, rather it means to receive a precious inheritance from God. Many people are happy and willing to receive an inheritance from their parents or from their grandparents, such as houses, lands and riches, but they are not willing to receive some children by inheritance; some of them because they don’t want to have children at all, some others because they don’t want to exceed the limit, yet not the limit fixed by the law of this nation or by the law of the Lord (such a limit does not exist), but the limit fixed by their pride and their selfishness.

“The fruit of the womb is a reward” (Psalm 127:3 – NKJV) or a prize (the IBRV) Do you know what a reward is? A reward is a thing given in recognition of service, effort or achievement. Do you know what a prize is? A prize is a thing given as a reward to a winner or in recognition of an outstanding achievement. For example some people are given a prize for they have done a courageous deed, some others are given a prize because they have won a race or a game and so on. Do you think that a prize is a bad thing? Do you not know that in this world those who are given a prize are honoured, praised and respected by their neighbour? Do you not know that those who distinguish themselves during a war by their heroism, and those who obtain the best results in sports competitions, are given a prize? And do you not know that when they are given a prize they are moved and some of them even weep for joy before all those who are present? On the contrary, many women, when they get pregnant they weep with rage and begin to curse their husband and the day on which they got married, instead of blessing God and rejoicing with exceedingly great joy. Do you not realize that such a behaviour is wrong and perverse?

The children of one’s youth are like arrows in the hand of a warrior; do you know what arrows are? Do you know what a warrior uses arrows for? Arrows are weapons which are used by a warrior against his enemies during a war or a battle. When an archer goes to fight against his enemies he makes sure his quiver is full of arrows, because how could he fight against his enemies without arrows? Arrows are important for a warrior, they are of great value, and the more arrows he has the safer he feels. Brothers, children are like arrows in the hand of a warrior, therefore they are useful and precious, not only when they are few but also when they are many (“Happy is the man who has his quiver full of them” Psalm 127:5).

Of course, it is God who chooses how many children to give to a couple, however on the part of the husband and the wife there must be no opposition to God who is the one who gives children.

Furthermore, know this, that the fact that a woman gets pregnant means that she has been visited by God, for the Scripture says that “the Lord visited Sarah” (Genesis 21:1 – NKJV) and “the Lord visited Hannah, so that she conceived and bore three sons and two daughters” (1 Samuel 2:21 – NKJV). To be visited by God is a wonderful thing, while not to be visited by God is a sad, very sad thing for a woman.

An awful thing is being done in the midst of the people of God; some men as well as some women undergo sterilization in order to limit the number of children and – as they say – ‘to feel secure’. Listen, what is the fatal danger you want to escape? What is the tragedy you want to escape? How is it possible that some believers put themselves on a level with those men and women who prostitute themselves? Those who act in this way have been deceived by the old serpent and are not safe at all because only the righteous are secure (Proverbs 28:1). You are asleep; awake and expose these unfruitful works of darkness.

To you who say: ‘Life is very expensive, children are expensive and we cannot afford many children!’, I say this: ‘It is true that you need money to bring up your children, however, do you think that God does not know it? Do you think that God is not able to meet all the needs of a large family? Is the Lord’s arm shortened? Listen carefully to what I am going to say: ‘God increased His people greatly in Egypt (Psalm 105:24), afterwards He brought it out of Egypt and He (for forty years) guided them in the wilderness in which were fiery serpents and scorpions. Do you know how many Israelites were in the wilderness? According to a census of all the congregation of the children of Israel taken in the wilderness, all who were numbered of the children of Israel, from twenty years old and above, were six hundred and three thousand five hundred and fifty (Numbers 1:45-46). Now, the Scripture teaches us that God met all the needs of that large congregation in the midst of a wilderness and the children of Israel lacked nothing during those forty years spent in the wilderness, for Moses said to Israel (before Israel entered the land of Canaan): “These forty years the Lord your God has been with you; you have lacked nothing” (Deuteronomy 2:7 – NKJV). Therefore, if God by His power supplied all the needs of a whole nation in the midst of a wilderness for forty years, we believe that today He is able to meet all the needs of a large family. Paul wrote to the Philippians: “My God will meet all your needs according to his glorious riches in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19 – NIV); therefore, have faith in God and in all His faithful promises, do not doubt His faithfulness. Remember that in the wilderness, during those forty years, not one of the children of Israel died of hunger or thirst because God “rained down manna for the people to eat, he gave them the grain of heaven” (Psalm 78:24 – NIV), and “he brought streams out of a rocky crag and made water flow down like rivers” (Psalm 78:16 – NIV). Remember what king Asa in his distress said to God: “Lord, it is nothing for You to help, whether with many or with those who have no power” (2 Chronicles 14:11 – NKJV) in order to realize that it is nothing for our God to help, whether a large family or a little family. Let us take Job as an example, who had seven sons and three daughters, of whom God said to Satan: “There is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil” (Job 1:8 - NKJV). Some people say that Job had many children because he could afford them being a very rich man. However, this is not true, because Job begot many children because he feared God and dreaded destruction from God (Job 31:23). Today there are people who are very rich and do not fear God, who don’t want to have children or they want to have only one child, while there are poor people who fear God and have many children. Furthermore, brothers, what is the cause of these economic problems some Christian families have? The Scripture says that “he who loves pleasure will be a poor man” (Proverbs 21:17 – NKJV); of course, if one spends his income for useless things, in that he loves the world and the pleasures of life, rather than for useful and necessary things, he will become poor and will have serious economic problems …. however it is his fault. Whereas if one works honestly and uses his income wisely, he and his family will have abundant food. If you began to abstain from the worldly lusts you do not want to forsake and the pleasures of life you like so much, you would realize that you have got more than what you have. If you ceased to set your mind on high things and began to set your mind on humble things, I am convinced that you would have much more money, which you could use to meet both your needs and the needs of the poor among the saints.

To you who say: ‘If we have many children, many people will say that we behave like beasts!’ I say: ‘First of all, you must not be afraid of the possible insults some people will hurl at you, rather if you are insulted for this reason, you are blessed! Peter said: “Let none of you suffer as a murderer, a thief, an evildoer, or as a busybody in other people’s matters ….” (1 Peter 4:15 – NKJV), therefore since having many children is not a crime which deserves to be punished by God or by the laws of this country, I do not see what you should be afraid of. You see, the Scripture says that on the earth there are “righteous men who get what the wicked deserve, and wicked men who get what the righteous deserve” (Ecclesiastes 8:14 – NIV). However I remind you that the righteous are treated badly by men filled with every kind of wickedness and not by God.

One thing is sure; the Scripture says that those who have many children “shall not be ashamed, but shall speak with their enemies in the gate” (Psalm 127:5 – NKJV).

If you think that it is a bad thing to beget many children according to the flesh, then you think that it is a bad thing also to beget many children in Christ Jesus through the Gospel!! I hope that in reading these words of mine you will be persuaded by God and you will acknowledge the truth.

You know that, from the spiritual point of view, we believers in Christ Jesus, who have been begotten by God the Father through the Word of truth, have a mother, who is the Jerusalem above, as it is written: “But the Jerusalem above is free, which is the mother of us all” (Galatians 4:26 – NKJV). When we repented of our sins and believed in the Gospel we were brought forth by our mother, who is free. We are her children because we have been set free from sin and we are free in the Lord. How many children does our mother have, who was barren for a long time and at God’s appointed time she bore children? They are many because the Scripture says: “The desolate has many more children than she who has a husband” (Galatians 4:27 – NKJV. Isaiah 54:1). That’s why it is written: “Rejoice, O barren, you who do not bear! Break forth and shout, you who are not in labor!” (Galatians 4:27 – NKJV. Isaiah 54:1). Do you know what happened in heaven when our mother brought us forth and by the grace of God we were born of God? It came to pass that the angels of God rejoiced (for Jesus said: “There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents” Luke 15:10 – NKJV), our mother rejoiced, and God also rejoiced as it is written: “He will rejoice over you with gladness … He will rejoice over you with singing” (Zephaniah 3:17 – NKJV). Someone will say: ‘What do you mean by that?’ I mean: ‘Let us rejoice when we see the Christian families multiply, for it is written that God “makes their families like a flock. The righteous see it and rejoice, and all iniquity stops its mouth” (Psalm 107:41-42 – NKJV). As you can see, iniquity also speaks, but it stops its mouth, while the wisdom that is from above speaks and cries out and nobody is able to silence her for she tells the truth.

Sisters in Christ, I conclude by urging you to continue in faith, love and holiness, with self-control, till the end, “for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11 – NKJV). To Him be the glory forever. Amen.

 

 

A word to you who want to emancipate yourself

 

I speak to you, sister, who want to emancipate yourself (as the haughty women have advised you to do). You have looked for and found a job you did not need at all, because you do not want your husband to buy to you the things you need with the money he earns, because you consider such a thing a dishonour for you who are a woman and you also want to have an account with a bank so that you may handle your money as you like and nobody may open his mouth, and thus you may say. ‘That money is mine!’. Furthermore, you found a job because you have set your mind on designer dresses, on provocative and costly dresses, which make you feel ‘more woman’ (as you also say now). You have been deceived, for you say: ‘I want to fulfil myself’, but you have not yet realized that you are seeking your self-fulfilment by rebelling against God. You now do things which are not necessary and neglect the things which are necessary, which you must do for your good, for the good of your husband, and for the good of your family; when you come back from work you are tired, angry and knowing that you have to cook, to do your washing, to iron, and to do other useful things, you murmur, you do not do these things joyfully any longer, but half-heartedly and you dare to tell your husband that he must do housework. The rhythm of your life has become frenetic, you have got too many things to do; you are overloaded with work, you do not want to think of bearing children, and when you hear someone speak of children and see other women bear children you try to pretend nothing happened; you have become haughty, you walk along with outstretched necks, tripping along with mincing steps, you have shoes with stiletto heels on.

You neglect your husband, your children and your house because you decided to do things which are not necessary; perhaps your husband had said to you many times: ‘I go to work, you stay at home and do housework, you do not need to find a job, my income suffices to cover all our expenses’, yet you did not want to live a humble life; you began to read fashion magazines, you began to wish to spend your holidays in famous summer resorts, you wanted to have a modern villa with a modern and costly furniture because you envied your haughty neighbours and girlfriends, and in order to afford all these things the money earned by your husband was not enough. Repent, obey God, and you will be blessed and you will make your husband happy.

 

 

 

 

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