What do our clothing and behavior say about us? Does our freedom in Christ mean we have a right to dress any way we choose? If men have a problem with it, is that their problem? What about off-color language? Is it simply part of life in today’s world? And what, if anything, do modesty and discretion have to do with pig’s noses?
Today, we’ll also look at what it mean to worship God, how our whining affects our children, why God did not allow Moses to go into the Promised Land, and why we should pay our taxes.
Sometimes, even when we sincerely want to obey God, we come to passages in Scripture that make us stop.
First Timothy 2 may be one of them.
We read that men and women are equally heirs of salvation in Christ.
We know God values women.
We know Jesus treated women with honor.
And yet Scripture also teaches that wives are to submit to their husbands and that certain leadership and teaching roles in the church are reserved for qualified men.
So how do those truths fit together?
Can two people be equal in worth before God and still have different God-given roles?
Or does submission automatically mean that one person is less important than another?
Our culture has largely answered that question for us.
It tells us that authority means superiority.
Submission means inferiority.
And any difference in role must be unfair.
But is that the way Scripture defines those things?
And perhaps an even harder question is this:
Have we allowed the world’s definition of equality to shape the way we read God’s Word?
If God is good, if His Word is good, and if men and women are equally precious to Him, then we should be able to approach even difficult passages trusting that His commands are not designed to diminish women.
So today we’ll look at modesty, teaching, leadership, submission, equality, and why biblical submission does not mean that women are less valuable, less intelligent, or less useful in the kingdom of God.
We’ll also look at the boundaries of submission and why obedience to God always comes first.
How do you know whether you’re a spiritually mature Christian?
Is it how long you’ve been saved? How much of the Bible you know? How faithfully you attend church? How many ministries you’ve served in?
Or perhaps we measure ourselves by the things we don’t do.
I don’t get drunk. I don’t steal. I don’t commit adultery. I don’t live like the world.
Those things matter. But Ephesians 4 brings spiritual maturity much closer to home.
How do we respond when someone irritates us?
How do we handle anger?
Do we speak the truth—or shade it when honesty is uncomfortable?
Do our words build people up or tear them down?
Are we easily drawn to teaching that sounds good, or do we know God’s Word well enough to recognize error?
And what about bitterness, forgiveness, pride, and the way we handle disagreements?
Paul began this section by urging believers to “walk worthy of the calling with which you were called.”
So what exactly does a worthy walk look like?
Ephesians 4 gives us a surprisingly practical picture—and it may reveal that some of the areas we use to measure spiritual maturity aren’t the ones God emphasizes most.
