Welcome, friends, to another
broadcast of Morsels for Zion's Poor. Paul writes about the innate
tendency of men to dishonor the Lord and the purpose of God to
show to men their natural corruption by giving them over to their
own lust. All societies, regardless of their religious heritage,
will devolve into utter wickedness apart from His restraint. We
see this manifested in Sodom and Gomorrah as they embrace
wicked acts of the flesh that even the beasts of the field
are not given to. As men dishonor God, the Lord
removes his hand, and in his judgment they embrace all manner
of evil which is contrary to his order and commands. Wherefore
God also gave them up to uncleanness through the lusts of their own
hearts, to dishonor their own bodies between themselves. Thus
we understand that His judgment does not fall on men because
of their adulation of the lusts of their flesh, but rather the
fact that He turns them over to their own reprobate mind is
evidence of His judgment which is already begun. And even as
they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave
them over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are
not convenient. God has ordained a certain order
in the earth which men ultimately despise and pervert. The abandonment
of this order and the commandments of God always bring with it the
destruction of the very flesh which men adore. The Lord created
man, Adam, from the dust of the ground and then created the woman,
Eve, with a rib from his side. He fashioned them both exactly
as He determined that they should be. He illustrated the headship
of Christ over his church by making the man to be the head
of the woman. Each time that this principle
is disregarded, the glory of Christ is impugned. Yet there
is not a society on the face of the earth that does not in
many ways ignore this truth, either by demanding that gender
be abolished or by trying to make the woman into a slave whose
only purpose is to satisfy the lusts of the man. Christ is exalted
when men are men and women are honored and loved by their husbands.
When we look at our society, we see its certain doom as men,
not liking to retain God in their knowledge, burn in lust towards
women who are not their wives. Women dishonor Christ as they
burn in lust toward men who are not their husbands. Men couple
themselves with other men, and women do the same with other
women. Those whom God fashions as men seek to be women, and
vice versa. This is utter confusion, will
worship, and the fruit of unrestrained free will. Some suppose that
God winks at such foolishness, yet in these things He shows
His disdain for man's self-glory by giving him over to his own
desires. Effeminate men and masculine
women are outside of His order and commandments, as well as
disregarding marriage vows, fornication, and other forms of sexual impurity.
Often religious moralists seek to minimize their own wickedness
by pointing out the more egregious sins, as they might define them,
of the sodomites and other sexual perverts. Yet to look upon a
woman who is not one's wife with lust is as much an affront to
God as is the activity of homosexuality. Adam and Eve were both transgressors
of the holy law of God. Eve was deceived by the serpent.
Adam was not deceived, yet he brazenly disobeyed the commandment
by listening to the one whom the Lord gave him. He disregarded
the order of God as he failed to lead the woman as her head,
and instead closed ranks with her in their own combined wickedness.
They both manifested their corruptible nature in their disobedience.
Paul writes that the woman shall be saved in childbearing. On
its surface, this is a difficult passage to comprehend. Yet when
we take it in its context, the meaning becomes clearer. Paul
is setting forth the role of men and women in the church.
In such matters, I believe he would also reference our interaction
in the world. Women are not to be teachers
of men, nor to take places of authority over men in the church.
This is certainly not a favorable viewpoint in the society in which
we live, but seems quite plain in those things which Paul taught
the churches to which he wrote. Christ is exalted as the head
of his church when this pattern is followed. It is through the
woman that the Messiah came, and she has been privileged to
carry on this important function which no man can attain to. Thus
she is not to be ashamed of the calling which the Lord has given
her, and she is therefore delivered from any consideration of being
of less importance in the kingdom of God, where there is neither
male nor female. Whereas the man exalts Christ
as he is the head of the woman, so too does the woman exalt Christ
in her role as his helpmeet. And each time a child is born,
we are reminded that Christ, too, was born of a woman. For a free CD containing 15 of
these radio broadcasts, send an email to forthepoor at windstream.net.