What is a Woman to Do? (1 Timothy 2:9-15)

We speak often of the battles waging in culture today against Scriptural truths. But one battle we have not discussed much is the battle against biblical womanhood. This battle has been ongoing since the Fall in Genesis 3. Through each successive age and generation, this battle has morphed and changed. In America, this battle has taken on two distinct fronts which seem opposed to one another, but are allies in seeking to destroy the biblical view of womanhood. 

One front seeks to define women through their beauty and appearance. The other seeks to redefine women’s roles under the guise of liberation. And these fronts have unwittingly infiltrated the church. They have created conflict and frustration. But this is not new. Timothy faced this same battle in the first century church in Ephesus. In our text today, Paul addressed these two fronts and presents for us God’s expectations for women in the church. 

Now this text today is the most discussed passage in the pastoral epistles today. As you read books and commentaries on this text you will discover that interpretations range from seeing Paul as a liberator and champion of women’s rights to dismissing Paul as wrong and irrelevant in today’s culture. George Bernard Shaw, the author and political activist of the early 1900s, called Paul the eternal enemy of women.

Admittedly, this text is going to take us two weeks to work through. It is one of the most challenging texts (possibly in all of Scripture) to interpret and apply. However, as we work through it, I believe that the point Paul is seeking to make will be very evident and that when we are done you will have a firm grasp on God’s desire for Christian women.