Title: The True Beauty of a Godly Woman
Scripture: 1 Timothy 2:9-10
Speaker: Nate Pickowicz
Well, last week we looked at the power of a praying man from 1 Timothy 2, 8. And today we're going to look at a counterpart to that from 1 Timothy 2, verses 9 and 10, in a message that I'm titling, The True Beauty of a Godly Woman. The Bible gives numerous examples of godly women, but the character of Ruth shines particularly bright. After losing her husband, as well as her father and her brother-in-law, Ruth the Moabitess is released from her family obligations and is now free to marry a new husband and to rebuild her life.
However, she displays remarkable faithfulness and loyalty to her mother-in-law, Naomi, and she pledges to remain with her, declaring in Ruth 1 16, where you go, I will go. Where you lodge, I will lodge. And your people shall be my people, and your God, my God.
She remains in the constant fellowship with the widow, Naomi, and travels with her to Israel to live with her. Once they're in Israel, Ruth goes into the fields and meets a man named Boaz, but she goes into the fields to glean and pick grain to provide for herself and for Naomi. Boaz hears about the story and praises her, saying, all that you have done for your mother-in-law after the death of your husband has been fully reported to me.
May the Lord reward your work and your wages be full from the Lord, the God of Israel, under whose wings you have come to seek refuge. Not only is Ruth a faithful and loyal woman, she's hardworking, and not only for her own benefit, but also for the benefit of someone else. By chapter 3 of the book of Ruth, she is encouraged to pursue finding a new husband, but she does not seek a younger man.
Rather, she seeks the man Boaz, an older man, the kinsman redeemer to Naomi. And this is a move that would not only provide for her own needs, but also secure the future for her mother-in-law Naomi. And when she approaches Boaz at night, she lays at the foot of his bed symbolically.
He awakens in surprise, and once he realizes what she's proposing, he responds by saying in chapter 3 verse 10, may you be blessed of the Lord, my daughter. You have shown your last kindness to be better than the first by not going after young men, whether rich or poor. And now, my daughter, do not fear.
I will do for you whatever you ask, for all my people in the city will know that you are a woman of excellence. The gesture demonstrates Ruth's compassion and her virtue. Of course, we know the Lord does bless her, not only with a loving husband, but also with the gift of a son named Obed.
We know that Obed would later become the father of Jesse, and Jesse the father of King David. Ultimately, that genealogical line would produce Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. A tremendous blessing for a woman who became a symbol of inner beauty and godliness.
And yet, we know that it is God's desire for every woman to be as such. And so with that, we turn over to 1 Timothy chapter 2. That will be the focus of our time today. 1 Timothy 2 brings us into the Apostle Paul's specific instructions for men and women in the church, but particularly within the corporate gathering.
He begins by exhorting the body of Christ to engage in evangelistic prayer. He says, Now, all believers are called to pray, but he singles out men specifically in verse 8. Therefore, I want men in every place to pray, lifting up holy hands without wrath and dissension. So, the men are called to lead the church in corporate prayer, but they are to do so under some conditions.
First of all, they must be men of godly character. They are able to lift up holy hands. This is a figurative expression that refers to the purity of deeds and uprightness of life.
But second of all, they must do so without wrath and dissension. They must not be men of anger and bitterness. They are not to be quarrelsome with others.
The Lord wants godly men offering up God-honoring prayers. But after he addresses the men of the church, he then turns his attention to the women, focusing on the nature of their character and then the fruitfulness of their ministry. Now, Paul has a lot to say in the next seven verses, but for today, I'm only going to focus on verses 9 and 10.
So, we're going to look again at 1 Timothy chapter 2 verses 9 and 10. Continuing in Paul's exhortation, he says, Now, as you can imagine, these verses, as well as the verses that come after this, have been the subject of a lot of debate and discussion over the years. And so, it's my desire to help you to understand not only the text itself, but the very heart of God, especially his heart toward women in the church.
And so, Paul begins here. He says the word, likewise. Likewise.
That points back to the verses that come before it, but a lot of people have wondered what this likewise is referring to, specifically. Is it, likewise, I want the women to pray like the men? Or is it, likewise, I want the women to guard their character like he's instructing the men to do? Certainly, again, verses 1 and 2, God desires that everyone in the church is to be a people of prayer. We are to be a praying people.
And so, that includes both men and women. But in verse 8, Paul specifically singles out the men with the specific instructions on prayer, and yet we know that their prayers must be made in view of godly character. They must be godly in the way that they pray.
This leads us and many scholars to conclude that the likewise, the word likewise in verse 9, is pointing to Paul's concern over how believers carry themselves. And so, lifting up holy hands, offering up godly deeds without wrath, without dissension. Again, Paul's exhorting the men of the church to carry themselves in such a way.
And so, that's why he says, likewise, I want women to do the same thing, to guard themselves, to carry themselves well. I think that fits the context the best here. Paul here, he's exhorting specifically the women.
The women, the Greek word is gounikos, which could be translated women, or in some cases translated as wives. But in this context, women seems to fit the best. Women, Paul says, are to adorn themselves with proper clothing.
This word adorn in the Greek is the word cosmeo, which is where we get our word cosmetic. The word literally means to arrange, to set an order, or to make ready. The usage here refers to furnishing or decoration.
And so, in essence, he's saying, how do you decorate yourself? Ladies, how do you decorate yourself? Paul says, you are to do so with proper clothing. In the Roman world, men typically wore a tunic known as a toga. We know togas from culture.
Togas are still in vogue in some costume parties today when people think about ancient Roman culture. However, the women in that culture did not wear togas, as the toga would have been too revealing in the upper part of their body. So, too much would have been seen wearing a toga.
In fact, togas were only worn by women if they were prostitutes or adulteresses. But the proper clothing for respectable married women was something called a stola. This is an attire that is cosmeos.
This is the word that Paul uses here, decent, respectable, honorable, proper clothing. Even the word clothing in the Greek finds the word stola in there. And so, women are to be adorning themselves, beautifying themselves, decorating themselves with attire that is proper for them.
And that's where he goes here. And he elaborates that proper clothing, the attire of a woman, is supposed to be modestly and discreetly worn. Modestly and discreetly.
The Greek word idos is a unique word in the New Testament, but it refers to reverence or honor, decency, or a sense of reserve. If you were to use an old King James Version, it's interesting. This word is translated shamefacedness.
It's a weird word that we don't use today. It seems a little bit odd, but it does convey a very interesting sense. The sense of that is that a woman would have a sense of shame at the thought of overexposure, an attentiveness to one's own conscience and morality.
It refers to that paranoid, uncomfortable feeling when you know that you're dressed inappropriately, when you feel overexposed, when you're noticeably conspicuous. That feeling that you feel is actually the right kind of feeling. It reveals an attentiveness to morality.
But modesty and decency, they alleviate that because your honor and the Lord's honor are being protected. When a woman is dressed modestly, she doesn't have to worry. She doesn't have to walk around nervous about what people are seeing or thinking about her.
She has confidence that she is appropriate. And so, modesty, that's the sense of the word modesty. What about the word discreetly? Sophrosyne in the Greek, it means a soundness of mind, a good sense or even self-control.
It's not a woman who is careless in her dress or uncontrolled in her disciplines, but rather she has the good sense to dress respectably and modestly without being rebellious and without being foolish. We all hear the stories of the daughters who, in their teenage years, who try to leave the house and the dad stops them at the door and says, you're not leaving the house dressed in that. And there's the confrontation that we all know the stories about.
But that's the sense of it. It's like, don't dress that way. That's foolish.
That's not good. And the daughter doesn't understand, well, why not? That's the sense of it. The dad is being sort of a guardian over her modesty, over her decency.
But that's the idea, discreetly, modestly. For example, if a woman were to wear a low-cut shirt without realizing that there are men or boys around, that would betray that sense of good sense, respectability. Or even perhaps in our situation, we might apply this this way.
Maybe it's a nursing mom who is not self-aware as to where she is or who's around her. Now, I don't give that example to shame nursing moms, but rather to encourage you and guide you toward the obedience to Scripture's teaching on modesty and discretion. Be careful about who's around you when you're going to do certain things.
You have to be sober-minded. Don't be foolish in how you present yourself. Be self-controlled.
Be attentive, especially within the body of Christ. We don't want anyone here to stumble. We don't want anyone here to be dinged in the conscience because of the way that we act.
And so all of us, especially the women, are called to be attentive in this way, to have good sense. That's what the Scriptures are teaching us. But Paul continues here.
He says Christian women are to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly and discreetly. But then he gives a word of prohibition. He says be careful.
He says not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments. Well, ladies, all of you are wrecked right now. No, I'm just teasing.
I'm teasing. It does beg the question, well, how do we apply this? Is this meant to be understood literally or is this something of a principle? How do we understand this? Does the Bible prohibit ladies braiding your hair or wearing gold or pearls or anything that is expensive? Must we be poppers and drab dressers? Is that what the Bible teaches? Well, when we harmonize a verse like this and you consider other passages of Scripture, we see that even the wife of King Solomon wore ornaments with gold and beads of silver, Song of Solomon 111. Even Proverbs 31, the excellent wife, verse 22, is praised for making herself clothing of fine linen and purple, in other words, costly garments.
So even the excellent wife wore expensive, costly clothing and she's praised for it. Well, when we study ancient culture, we learn that there's something about the styles and dresses of women. Rich Roman women didn't simply braid their hair like the way that a lot of you ladies might braid your hair.
Rather, they created these hairstyles that were ostentatious. Particularly, we see this from wealthy women but also from high-priced prostitutes of the day. Courtesans is the old word for this.
One scholar that I found this week, his name is James B. Hurley, explains this. He says, Paul refers to the elaborate hairstyles which were then fashionable among the wealthy and also the styles worn by courtesans. These are prostitutes.
The sculpture and literature of the period make it clear that women often wore their hair in enormously elaborate arrangements with braids and curls interwoven or piled high like towers and decorated with gems and or gold and or pearls. The courtesans wore their hair in numerous small pendant braids with gold droplets or pearls or gems every inch or so, making a shimmering screen of their locks. That's pretty extensive.
That's like costume ball kind of stuff. Moreover, this fits the description. This is the symbol of luxury.
Luxury. It's a description of the, even of the prostitutes and harlots which are the epitome of immorality and exhibitionism. If Paul were to make this statement today, he might phrase it differently.
He might use a different way to explain this. He might say something like this that we would understand. Women dress modestly, not with bright red lipstick and high-heeled black boots and a mini skirt.
Well, what is that the picture of? Well, we tend to think in our minds, well, that's the picture of a prostitute. Is there anything wrong with certain kinds of lipstick? No. Is there anything wrong with wearing boots? No.
That's fine. But it's the portrait that he's giving here. That's what he's doing.
This is portraiture, a description of the kind of dress that represents ungodly behavior. And so this is a cautionary warning against showiness and attention-seeking when you walk into the church with this elaborate costume ornamentation that draws all the attention right to yourself. It's brazen excess that Paul is addressing.
He's not talking about legalistic rules about the kinds of things that you're allowed to wear. But ladies, if you're the focal point of the congregation when you walk in, you might be guilty of this. Be careful.
Be careful. Especially when you consider that most churches do have impoverished people in them. And those who flaunt their wealth in the house of God are a stumbling block to those who have little.
In fact, the apostle James makes some kind of reference to this. He doesn't talk specifically to women, but he does talk about those who would be brazen in their dress and in their jewelry. Just listen to these verses in James 5. He says, "'Come now, you rich.
Weep and howl for your miseries which are coming upon you. Your riches have rotted, and your garments have become moth-eaten. Your gold and your silver have rusted, and their rust will be a witness against you and will consume your flesh like fire.
It is in the last days that you have stored up this treasure. Behold, the pay of the laborers who mowed your fields which have been within you or withheld by you cries out against you, and the outcry of those who did the harvesting has reached the Lord of Sabaoth. You have lived luxuriously on the earth and led a life of wanton pleasure.
You have fattened your hearts for the day of slaughter.'" Poignant words. Difficult words to hear, but James is warning those who would come into the assembly and flaunt their wealth. He says, listen, when you flaunt your wealth, when you flaunt your appearance to other people, especially in the face of those who have nothing, all you're doing is you're just building up judgment from God against you.
And so, again, this is not about the individual items themselves. Rather, it is the heart. It is the heart of a woman who comes to the house of God for the purpose of showing off.
That's the problem. Of course, this can cut the other way too. We're in a country church.
Not many of you came in with all the trappings, right? Most of us don't own a lot of super duper expensive things, and I praise the Lord for your modesty and your discretion. But there are even, on the other side of this, streams of even fundamentalist thinking, rules about clothing whereby women seem to demonstrate or even show off their piety by how they present themselves. Or even more recently, there is something known as the trad wife movement, or even the modern head covering movement.
Now, again, is there anything wrong with dresses, and aprons, and hats, and shawls, and headscarves? No, nothing at all is wrong with that. By the way, sisters, you have freedom in Christ. You have freedom in Christ.
However, it is the motive, the motive behind it that concerns me and concerns the Apostle Paul, by the way. And in fact, I believe that the most recent iteration of the head covering movement, which is only about 15 years old, is based on a misunderstanding and misapplication of 1 Corinthians 11 verses 2 through 16. Paul is specifically addressing the problem in Corinth of women who are casting off their restraint and uncovering their heads in an act of rebellion against biblical submission.
That was the context. But he's not laying down a timeless principle for all women, all places, all times, that they must wear an artificial head covering on the top of their head. There's about a half a dozen lines of argument to understand this, but I think the strongest is simply this.
The Apostle Paul, if you read the Scriptures, opposes any and all external works, customs, and requirements in favor of the gospel of grace. For example, when the Judaizers insisted that all Christian men be circumcised in obedience to the law of God, which is the covenant sign of faith, Paul balks at that, pushes it back against that, talks down Peter for supporting that, and in Galatians 2.5 he says, but we did not yield in subjection to them for even an hour so that the truth of the gospel may remain with you. And so, if Paul did not teach the necessity of circumcision, which is the featured and required discipline in the Old Testament law, then he would not also lay down a requirement for women to wear the artificial headpiece, which was not in the Old Testament law.
Do you understand that? If Paul says we're not under law, we're under grace, then he's not going to make up new laws and subject women to that. It goes against the entire purpose of the gospel. In the same way that faith is not demonstrated by outward circumcision, submission is not demonstrated through the wearing of an artificial headpiece.
And yet, again, there is freedom in Christ. There is freedom for you. A woman is not in sin if she doesn't wear one, and a woman is not in sin if she does, provided that her heart is right.
Furthermore, there's a greater principle here, a greater principle. We see this in 1 Samuel 16, 7, where Samuel says, God sees not as man sees, for man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. God is all about the heart.
Believers, a woman's character is far more important than her clothing, far more important. In fact, turn over to 1 Peter 3 with me. 1 Peter 3, Peter shares a complementary view of that of Paul.
In particular here, Peter is addressing the character and behavior of Christian wives, even when their husbands are disobedient and ungodly. He exhorts the women in the church in 1 Peter 3, he says, in the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the Word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior. Look at verse 3, your adornment must not be merely external.
Then he gives examples, braiding of the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses. Is it that Paul is against women wearing dresses, or braiding their hair, or wearing jewelry? Excuse me, Peter? No, it's not. But verse 4, he says, but let that be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.
Notice what Peter says in verse 3, it's not about their braided hair, or their gold jewelry, or their dresses, their fancy dresses. It isn't about that. It isn't about all the trad wife things that we see on the internet.
And it's not as much the older ladies. Most of you are not on TikTok, so you don't see it. But I'll tell you, the younger generation of women are seeing all of this, and it's in their face.
You must do certain things, dress a certain way, posture a certain way. I mean, there's a push to wrangle young women into dressing and acting outwardly a certain way. And it's popular, so there's pressure to do this, without examining what God really desires for young women.
Again, is there anything wrong with doing these things externally, by themselves? No. Dress and do however you'd like, as long as you don't violate modesty, of course. But it's not about the external.
Rather, it's about being a woman of God, being, verse 2, chaste, respectful. It's her character, her inner beauty. Her inner beauty.
What Peter calls, look at this, the imperishable. What is imperishable being? It means it can't be degraded. It can't go away.
It doesn't ever get old. It doesn't perish. The imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit which is precious in the sight of God.
It's not about appearing to be humble. It's about being humble. It is not about manufacturing the appearance of submissiveness.
It is about being submissive in heart. You can wear any kind of clothing externally and have godly character, and therefore you are godly. But beware if you're a lady who wants to dress outwardly as submissive and humble, and yet your heart is not submissive and humble.
As Jesus teaches, out of the heart that the mouth speaks, I would add to that, out of the heart the deeds are displayed, out of the heart the clothing is worn. We wear externally something of a reflection of what is inside the heart. Proverbs 31 30, charm is deceitful and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Show me a woman who fears the Lord, and I will show you a beautiful woman. Ladies, you are most beautiful when you demonstrate a heart that loves Jesus Christ supremely. But again, a woman must adorn themselves properly.
Go back to 1 Timothy chapter 2. She should not clothe herself with immodesty or showiness or ostentatiousness, but rather, he says in verse 10, but rather by means of good works, as is proper for women making a claim to godliness. Your true clothing is not what you put on in the morning. Ladies, your true clothing should be your works, what you do.
And what you do, as I just said, flows out of what you believe, what's in your heart. And so he's saying, don't worry about what you're putting on. Worry about that you're adorning, you're making beautiful, you're furnishing yourself with good deeds.
That's where he goes here in verse 10. Of course, we know that this is a requirement for all believers. All believers should be adorning themselves with good works.
Ephesians 2.10, for we are God's workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works that he has prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. That's every Christian, every believer is to be engaging in good deeds. Furthermore, Titus 2.14 says that Christ gave himself for us to redeem us from every lawless deed and to purify for himself a people for his own possession, zealous for good deeds.
But there are certain good works that scripture commends to women specifically. We think about even Titus 2, just listen to these verses here. Titus 2 verse 3 says, older women likewise are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips or enslaved to much wine, but teaching what is good so that they may encourage the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands so that the word of God would not be dishonored.
Again, reverent behavior, working with other women to teach them how to love their wives and to love their children, to be sensible, pure, hardworking like Ruth was hardworking, kind, submissive. I mean, these are elements of Christian beauty. Even Paul has words for widows in 1 Timothy 5.10. He says they ought to have a reputation for good works.
When a woman has been widowed and she loses her husband and she decides that she's not going to remarry, and we're going to get to this when we get to chapter 5, Paul exhorts younger women who are widowed to go get remarried. But the older women who lose their husband, he says in many cases if they're not going to remarry, listen, you need to develop a reputation for serving the church and be known for good works. Don't waste your seasoned years, your final years, spinning out into gossip and slander and drunkenness and whatever else.
Use those years to build for yourself a reputation in the church for serving and having good works. Again, we're going to get to all of this in chapter 5. But let me ask the question, ladies, are you known by others for your good works of love and service? If someone were to look at you or know you or think of you in their mind, would they think to themselves, oh, what a godly woman. She's always serving and loving and praying and giving of herself and encouraging and caring for people.
Is that what they think of when they think of you? Well, they ought to. They ought to. Scripture says that you should be clothed, clothed in good deeds.
Do not obsess over how you're dressed externally. If you're going to obsess over dress, obsess over what are my deeds. How do I live my life? Do I have a love for God that radiates from within me and therefore bears fruit for God? That's character.
That's integrity. That's godliness for a Christian woman like Tabitha in Acts 9.36, who was a woman who was abounding in deeds, didn't just have a little bit of deeds, was abounding in deeds of kindness and charity. She used to make clothing and garments for poor widows.
That's what she used to do. And the scripture notes her piety for doing so. Or like Lydia in Acts 16 verses 14 and 15, who was a worshiper of God.
She opened her home to the believers in Philippi. Where do you want to go to worship? Let's go to Lydia's house. She's opened up her home for us to worship the Lord together.
What a wonderful ministry of hospitality, of opening your home to people to come to you and to worship God and to have fellowship. Or like Phoebe in Romans 16.2, who was known to be a servant of many, including the Apostle Paul. She made her ministry about serving those who serve the Lord.
What a wonderful ministry. We went to a leadership conference. Several of us went to Reformation Bible Church on Friday, and we went and we just were learning about leadership and principles and how to develop elders and all those different kinds of things.
Well, there was a whole team of people at church. Some of them were men, but a lot of the women, they provided this wonderful spread and banquet, and they were cleaning and serving. I mean, they provided for our every need.
And I'll tell you, I was impressed with the teaching. My heart was moved by the women of that church who served us so faithfully. And there wasn't a big sign saying, notice our servants.
They served quietly in the background. But man, they spoiled us. And we felt so loved.
What a marvelous ministry to serve pastors and leaders who are trying to labor for the Lord in New England. Oh, it was so beautiful. So beautiful.
The stake was to die for, but it was so beautiful. I was so moved by it, honestly. There are countless ways, beloved, so many ways that you can clothe yourselves with good works.
However, there is a caution. There is a caution, and that is to make sure that your good works are derived from and directed to a sincere devotion to God. There's always a temptation, and it's very, very easy, especially for women, to get busy doing deeds and accomplishing tasks, but for the wrong reasons.
It's very easy. Many women burn themselves out serving their husbands and their families and their friends and the church, and they burn themselves out. And when they do so, they become bitter and angry and proud.
It is insidious how the enemy uses initially well-intentioned works and throws it back in our face, and we become sinful in this way. If your motives are not godly, then your deeds are going to be tainted by what you believe and how you feel. Verse 10 says that adorning yourself by means of good works is to be done in a way that is appropriate, Paul says, for women making a claim to godliness.
The focus is godliness. This word here for making a claim or professing is ipengelo. What is your profession? What claim do you make? Why do you do what you do? What is your motivation? You do good deeds as a part of your profession of godliness.
This word godliness is theosabia. Literally, it's a reverence for God. He needs to be the focus.
He needs to be the reason why you do what you do. Serve others because you want to serve God. Let me tell you, if you engage in good deeds in order to be a people pleaser or to receive glory for yourself, you will always be tired, you will always be discouraged, and you will always be bitter.
But if you engage in good deeds for the purpose of godliness because your love and reverence for God is the focus, then He will ever fill your cup with joy and thanksgiving. Serving will then become an energy for you. It will fire you up.
You'll enjoy serving, and yes, you'll go home tired, but you'll serve from a full tank. And so do it that way. In fact, that's the testimony of Hannah in 1 Samuel chapter 2. She struggled to conceive a child, and she was mocked by her rival.
She was harassed because she couldn't conceive, and yet Hannah, she still served the Lord faithfully. And what is her testimony in chapter 2 when she's faced with all of that and trying to serve the Lord? She says this, My heart exalts in the Lord. My horn is exalted in the Lord.
There is no one holy like the Lord, nor is there any rock like our God. Boast no more so very proudly. Do not let arrogance come out of your mouth, for the Lord is a God of knowledge, and with Him actions are weighed.
He sees what you're doing. He knows why you do what you do. Well, I want to serve Him, but I hope He notices.
He sees. I want to serve, but I hope other people see. Be careful.
Be careful. Don't be so quick to do a deed and do it in such a way that other people will notice it, because at that point, you have your reward. Congratulations, you served.
Don't do it with that. Do it with the idea as privately, as secretly, as quietly as possible, because you want God to see it. Ladies, if God is the one watching your deeds, then serve Him, and everyone around you will be blessed.
Hannah's worship and rejoicing, they found their satisfaction in the Lord because she knew, she knew that if she kept her heart pure, God would vindicate her deeds, and He did. Or consider the testimony of Mary. Mary, entrusted with carrying and raising Jesus.
Can you imagine that? My goodness. Parenting, being a mother of children, is already a high enough calling. Can you imagine being the mother of Jesus Christ, misunderstood by her family, ostracized by her town, consigned to future heartbreak when she would watch her son suffer and die on the cross? But where was her heart? Where was her heart? She says in the Gospel of Luke, my soul exalts the Lord, and my spirit has rejoiced in God my Savior, for He has regard for the humble state of His bondslave, for behold, from this time on, all generations will call me blessed.
See, Mary's heart was transfixed on the Lord. She wasn't concerned about everybody around her. She was worried about, Lord, what do you think of your bondservant? I'm your slave, Lord.
What do you think about me? And yet her confidence is then, I know that when I do this, whatever the future holds, I know I'll be blessed. Other generations, they will call me blessed. I'm not worried about that.
Her entire life, her entire life was consecrated to the Lord's service, even though it would be a life of difficulty. Many of you ladies have a life of difficulty. And if you don't now, some of you might have a life of difficulty.
I know there are moms out there who have children with excessive needs. Maybe you're married to a husband who's very difficult, or maybe you yourself are sick. Maybe you're impoverished.
Maybe you just can't seem to make ends meet. Whatever the difficulty may be, maybe you live in such a way that people outside of yourself, your extended family, your friends, other people, co-workers, whatever it may be, maybe they persecute you. Maybe they talk you down.
Lots of women have experienced a life of difficulty. And yet, we are exhorted by Scripture. You are exhorted by Scripture to hold your testimony, to serve the Lord with reverence and godliness.
Mary, her life and faith, they were beautiful, weren't they? She is a picture of beauty. Well, toward the end of her life, there's a woman named Elizabeth Prentiss, who incidentally was the daughter of Edward Payson of Portland, the one we talked about last week. Elizabeth Prentiss, toward the end of her life, she wrote a book called Stepping Heavenward.
And as she considered her life, she said this, If I die, it will be to leave a wearied and worn body and a sinful soul, to go joyfully to be with Christ, to be weary and sin no more. If I live, I shall find much blessed work to do for Him. So living or dying, I will be the Lord's.
But I wish, oh how earnestly, that whether I go or stay, I could inspire some lives with the joy that is now mine. For many years I have been rich in faith, rich in an unfaltering confidence that I was beloved of my God and Savior. But something was missing.
I was always groping for a mysterious grace, the lack of which made me often sorrowful, even in the midst of my most sacred joy, imperfect when I longed for most perfection. It was that personal love of Christ, of which my precious mother often spoke to me, which often urged me to seek upon my knees. If I had known then, as I know now, what this priceless treasure could be to a sinful human soul, I would have sold all that I had to buy the field in which it lay hidden.
But not till I was shut up to prayer and the study of God's Word by the loss of earthly joys, sickness destroying the flavor of them all, did I begin to penetrate the mystery that is learned under the cross. And how wondrous as it is, how simple is that mystery to love Christ and to know that I love Him. That is all.
True feminine beauty found at the heart that knows and loves Jesus Christ, a heart that does not seek its own glory, a heart that doesn't flaunt itself, a heart that is not bitter or boastful, but a heart that is humble and quiet and gentle and modest and reverent, serving, giving, loving. In other words, a heart like Christ, who didn't clothe himself on earth with splendor or majesty, even though he would have been justified. But rather, Philippians 2 says, he emptied himself.
What was his clothing? He took on the form of a bondservant. He wrapped himself in our sinful flesh, even though he himself was not sinful. But he wrapped himself, he clothed himself in humility.
He says, by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Jesus, why would you do that? He could have come in on the back of a white horse in regal splendor and majesty. He could have been the one to walk down the center of this aisle here and proclaim the beauty and majesty of who he is.
And yet he came as an example of humility and submission and suffering. Why did he do this? Why did God in human flesh, why did Jesus do this? Because in so doing, he demonstrated and accomplished the work of salvation for us. That God in his majesty and splendor humbled himself to the point of death, brought himself below us and died on the cross, wrapped in our sinful flesh, died on the cross to pay the penalty for our sins, was buried in the ground, and then rose again the third day to bring us new life.
And the Bible tells us that if we confess our sins and trust in him, believe in him, we will have eternal life and we'll be cleansed. The most beautiful clothing we could ever put on is Christ himself. Clothe yourselves, the Bible says, with Christ's likeness.
Live like him. Let him be your joy and your crown and your boast and your treasure. And ladies, don't worry about the external.
Don't worry about what other people think of you. Don't worry about posturing and modeling for others around you. Don't worry about praise.
Don't worry about competition. Worry about loving and serving the Lord. And as you do so, to demonstrate that by how you love his people.
Love your husbands if you're married. Love your children if you have them. But love the brethren.
That is a beautiful life, a life of godliness, a life that is truly wonderful. Let's pray. Oh Lord God, you've given us so much treasure in your word.
We see when we connect all these verses together, we see a portrait, a picture of what you desire for Christian women. Lord, daughters of the most high God that you treasure. Oh Lord, we see in Scripture that you love them.
We don't even go here today, but even in Proverbs 8, when wisdom is personified as a woman, we see such godliness, such character, such integrity, such reverence in the heart of a Christian woman who loves you. Oh Lord, I pray that you would magnify yourself and magnify your glory through the true beauty of your daughters here. Oh Lord, let their deeds and heart and godliness praise you.
Lord, I pray that they would serve as models to their husbands, to their children, to brothers and sisters around them. Oh Lord, that they themselves would devote themselves in such a way, just as the men are exhorted to be men of character, integrity, and strength, and prayer, and godliness. Lord, you have exhortations for all of us in this way.
And so Lord, we lift up your exhortation to our sisters here, and we pray that you would do your sanctifying divine work in their hearts. And Lord, above all things, thank you. Thank you for giving us your word.
Thank you for loving us so much that you care enough to tell us what you want us to do. You care enough about us to tell us what you want our hearts to be like. And you don't just say, here it is, go do it.
No, you, by your grace and by your mercy, you enable us and empower us to live godly. This does not exist within ourselves, oh Lord. You, the Bible says, he who began a good work in you will complete it until the day of Christ Jesus.
You have promised that you will manifest godly character in your saints. So Lord, we receive your power, your strength, your enabling. We receive Christ in his way.
Thank you, oh Lord, for such a tenderness and such a love for us. You are truly a wonderful Father. You are truly a mighty Savior.
You are truly our precious Holy Spirit. We love you, oh Lord, and we praise you. In Jesus' name, amen.