Message of the Week

The Little White Community Church

Scripture: 1st Timothy 2:9-15

August 16, 2026

Message: “Guidance for Women!”

by Pastor George Gnade

Listen to the Message

7:48

Introduction:

1. Today we are continuing our study of Paul’s first letter to Timothy. In Ist Timothy 2, Paul taught us to pray for those in authority, especially kings. I’m sure that includes our President. They need our prayers, whether they are Christians or not, that God may help them make the best decisions for their countries.

2. In the first 8 verses of this chapter the stress was more on men, urging them to pray and provide godly leadership. Now in vs. 9-15, Paul’s stress turns to women, especially women who love the Lord, and what God expects of them.

A. The very first word of advice that Paul gave them was to dress modestly.

1. That is certainly good advice in our culture today. Television and the media put great emphasis on looking as sexy as you can. Paul’s stress is on pleasing the Lord.

a. Every woman wants to look nice. Paul mentions how you do your hair and how you dress and so on.

b. But God desires you to “dress modestly with decency and propriety.”

2. In our study of Colossians, we were all taught to ask God to help us take off our wrong behavior and to clothe ourselves with godly behavior.

a. In this passage, that includes “good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship the Lord.”

b. So how we look to others is far more than just how we dress. It is how we act and the kindness that we show so people will know we are different from the world around us.

3. Paul described it as portraying “decency and propriety.” So it is good to ask the question: “What is appropriate?”

a. What is appropriate will vary depending on what you are doing.

b. Life is full of variety. How you dress and how you act on the job is different from how you dress around the house with your kids.

c. In our day, what is appropriate to wear to church is different than it was 30 years ago. God can lead us and help us know in our hearts how we want to dress to be a good influence for the Lord today.

B. I think Paul is teaching all of us that how we dress and act goes far beyond just what we do in church.

1. We are saved when we choose to ask Jesus to forgive our sins and to come into our hearts. But that is not meant to be a once for all decision followed by a life that does not reflect that decision.

a. Everything we do should reflect that decision. For a woman, having babies and living for Christ as a mother or grandmother should reflect that decision.

b. In Ist Tim. 2: 15, it says a woman should “continue in faith, love, and holiness with propriety.” There is that word propriety again. Assuming you love the Lord, then your life should show it no matter where you are or what you are doing.

c. As a woman who loves the Lord, will you make mistakes? Of course you will. All of us do. That is why we must learn to be patient with each other. But those who know you should still be able to see that you are different.

2. That applies to all of us. In Col 1:22-23, Paul wrote: “Now God has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through His death to present you holy in His sight, without blemish and free from accusation – if you continue in your faith, established and firm, not moved from the hope held out in the gospel.”

a. So our one time decision is meant to be a life time decision. Having accepted Christ and been forgiven by Christ we are now to live for Christ until God calls us home.

b. That is what Paul was asking of godly women in our passage this morning.

3. I like the way the hymn writer put it: “Things are different now. Something happened to me since I gave my life to Jesus.”

C. That brings us Ist Tim. 2:11 that says: “A woman should learn in quietness and full submission.”

1. The role of women has changed dramatically since the days of Christ. In Paul’s day, women were almost treated as slaves. Men made all the decisions.

a. Women were expected to be “submissive and to learn in silence.” Remember Eph. 5:22: “Wives be submissive to your husbands as unto the Lord.”

b. How about Ist Peter 3:1-4. “Wives, in the same way, be submissive to your husbands so that if any of them do not believe the Word, they may be won over without a word by the behavior of their wives when they see the purity and reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward adornment…Instead it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle quiet spirit, which is of great worth in the eyes of God.”

c. You can see how much these three passages have in common. But submission is not just expected of women.

2. In Eph. 5:21, just before telling wives to be submissive, Paul wrote: “Submit to one another out of reverence to Christ.” So this is meant to be a two way street.

a. Consider also James 3:17. “But the wisdom that comes from above is first of all pure, then peace loving, submissive, full of mercy and good fruit, impartial and sincere.”

b. So listening and submitting to each other is a godly characteristic meant for every Christian. It goes a long way toward avoiding arguments in marriages and making each other feel special.

3. This also fits in with what Jesus taught us when He said: “I have come not to be served but to serve and to give my life a ransom for many.” So listening and submitting and serving each other are all ways to show the world we are different. It is amazing how God can use this humble approach to win people to the Lord Jesus Christ.

4. So we should not let the changes in our culture make us think the Bible is out dated. Our culture is built on the concept of who has more power. But the Christian life is built on the concept of how we can love and serve each other. I can guarantee you that the way of love is far more effective than the desire for power.

D. Finally, this passage is used to define the role of women in the church.

1. Many believe Christian women should only teach women and children with no authority over men.

a. Others believe this was more of a cultural matter. God’s desire is to win people to the Lord. Telling women to seek more power in Paul’s day would never have accomplished Jesus’ desire to win people to the Lord.

b. The same could be said about slavery. By teaching masters that serving others is more important than lording it over them led both masters and slaves to serve the Lord, not by seeking more power, but by loving them instead.

2. And clearly the more Christian husbands learned to “love their wives the way Christ loved the church” the more women were lifted up and appreciated too. Amen!