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Turn in your Bibles to 1 Timothy 
chapter 2. 1 Timothy chapter 2. Our focus 
this evening, beginning with the instructions to women. Tonight, modesty and good works. 
Verses 9 and 10. God willing, next Sunday evening, 
the place of women in terms of leadership in the church. They're 
not supposed to be leaders in the church, that's the quick 
answer, but God willing we'll look at that in more detail next 
week. Now as we study this particular 
passage, it ought to be obvious that men as well have the capacity 
of dressing immodestly. Men as well have the capacity 
of doing things that are indecent, just like women have the capacity 
of praying with anger in their hearts. These aren't specific 
categories that only apply to the people. They are specific 
categories that apply to these people in the context that the 
Apostle is dealing with. Remember the overarching theme 
is found in verse 14 of chapter 3. I write these things so that 
you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house 
of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and 
ground of the truth. So I'm not wanting to sound like 
I'm picking on ladies tonight. Rather, I want to open up verses 
9 and 10, see what the apostles' meaning is here, and draw out 
some very practical application. Sermons like these are difficult 
because sometimes you say more than others want you to say, 
and sometimes you don't say as much as other people would like 
for you to say. It does give me some encouragement 
that the apostle here does not bring a ruler, he does not bring 
a catalog, and he does not send them to a particular website 
on how to buy their clothing. He is speaking of specific issues 
that affected the church in his day, but I believe the principles 
that we find in this particular passage are abiding for us in 
our day, and so I think it is our task and responsibility to 
call out those principles and let that then affect us with 
reference to this matter of modesty and good works in Christian women. I do want to read beginning in 
chapter 2 at verse 1. Therefore, I exhort first of 
all that supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of 
thanks be made for all men. for kings and all who are in 
authority, that we may lead a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness 
and reverence. For this is good and acceptable 
in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved 
and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one 
God and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, 
who gave himself a ransom for all to be testified in due time, 
for which I was appointed a preacher and an apostle. I am speaking 
the truth in Christ and not lying, a teacher of the Gentiles in 
faith and truth. I desire therefore that the men 
pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and doubting. 
In like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest 
apparel, with propriety and moderation, not with braided hair or gold 
or pearls or costly clothing. which is proper for women professing 
godliness with good works. Let a woman learn in silence 
with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to 
teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. 
For Adam was formed first, then Eve. and Adam was not deceived, 
but the woman being deceived fell into transgression. Nevertheless, 
she will be saved in childbearing, if they continue in faith, love, 
and holiness with self-control. Amen. Well, let us pray. Father, 
we come now to Your Word, and we pray for Your Spirit to guide 
us. We ask that You would help us 
to think righteously, to think biblically when it comes to such 
matters, Matters we pray that in all things we would adorn 
the gospel and that we would display the things that are enjoined 
upon us in this passage We praise you and how we thank you and 
how we bless you God most high that you speak to us in these 
in these things And we pray now for your blessing upon our study 
and we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen So remember the 
larger context, I've already read there from chapter 3 verse 
15, he highlights the purpose for which he wrote, so that Timothy 
would know how to conduct himself in the house of God, which is 
the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the 
truth. Now the principle specified in verses 9 to 10 are to go outside 
of the church as well. In other words, a woman doesn't 
just do good works in the context of the gathered people of God. 
The primary focus that the Apostle is dealing with here is in corporate 
worship. Specifically, he calls the men 
to pray. Verse 8, I desire therefore that 
the men pray everywhere, lifting up holy hands without wrath and 
doubting. He doesn't want men to come to 
the prayer meeting and in their wrath and doubting, or dissension 
among one another, take the attention off of God, and the focus off 
of God, and bring it upon themselves. Some have understood verse 9 
this way. In like manner, when the women 
pray, they are to do so in this particular manner. I don't take 
it that way. I do not believe that Paul is 
enjoining upon the women to pray in modest dress. I think there 
are two subjects going on here. Men in the corporate prayer meeting 
women in corporate worship, activities or things that are necessary 
in light of any disturbances that were going on in the church. 
I think as we boil down verses 8 and 9, the point is clear. 
God is what worship is about. God is the most important person 
when we come into the house of God. Wrathful men, divisive men, 
dissension among men in the prayer meeting, takes attention away 
from God. So does in a modestly dressed 
woman. Ostentatiousness. That's a word 
I'm going to say a lot tonight. That means drawing attention 
to oneself. When a woman does not dress the 
way Paul specifies, the temptation is for men to look at her or 
for women to look at her. I've heard that women, more often 
than not, dress for women. And what that does is take attention 
away from God. That's the point of the passage. 
If we miss that, we've missed everything. Paul wants us to 
come to the Church of God to worship God, to glorify Him. It ought not to be a fashion 
show. It ought not to be a carnal display. It ought not to be a 
place where we engage in exhibition rather than in worship of the 
living and true God. So I want to look at this passage 
under three considerations this evening. First of all, the general 
principles concerning adornment. Secondly, the specific application 
concerning adornment. And then thirdly, the particular 
focus of the Christian woman. So we have a general principle, 
specific application, and a particular focus, or perhaps a reorientation 
in verse 10. She used to be reoriented from 
decking herself out in all of this accouterment to doing good 
works. That's the point that the Apostle 
wants to bring to bear. Notice first of all with reference 
to the general principles I desire, verse 8, therefore that the men 
pray. Verse 9, in like manner. I think the in like manner points 
back to verse 8. I desire therefore that the men 
pray. I desire that the women adorn 
themselves in this particular way. Again, I've said and suggested 
that some say it's when women pray they are to do it in this 
way. I think there's two distinctive thoughts going on here. When 
the men gather for prayer, they ought to do it this way. When 
the women come for corporate worship, they ought to do it 
this way. Notice that the apostle assumes 
that women will adorn themselves. That is an assumption that the 
Bible makes here. The problem isn't adornment. 
Everybody adorns themselves prior to coming to church. No one falls 
out of bed in their jammies and comes to church. Everybody takes 
some time to adorn themselves. Paul assumes that, and he calls 
them to adorn themselves in a particular manner. It is to be with modesty. The particular word that he uses 
here, they are to do so in a well-arranged, well-ordered, moderate, and modest 
manner. There are clothing, or there 
is clothing, there are Outfits, if I can use that word, there 
is particular dress that is suitable for particular places. There's 
an interesting passage in the book of Genesis. Joseph has been 
thrown in the dungeon according to Genesis 41. Remember that 
Joseph interprets dreams while he's there. The Lord is with 
Joseph, and so the chief baker and the chief butler have dreams, 
and Joseph, this young Hebrew man, interprets the dreams for 
them. Well, then Pharaoh himself has 
a dream, and the chief butler tells Pharaoh, hey, there was 
a fellow in the prison, and he was able to interpret the dream 
for me. Pharaoh says, that sounds like 
a good thing. I want Joseph to come and visit me. Well, the 
text specifies in Genesis 41-14 that Joseph changed his clothes 
and he shaved. That indicates that his pokey 
clothes, his orange jumper, was not fitting to wear in the presence 
of Pharaoh. It was not fitting that he had 
five days of growth. When we go to particular areas, 
it is fit, it is right, it is good for us to prepare ourselves 
for whatever that particular situation is. So adornment, in 
and of itself, is not wicked. It's not wrong. The Bible speaks 
to adornment, and later we're going to look at several passages 
that look at jewelry in a favorable light. So the issue here for 
Paul is not women don't adorn yourselves, just fall out of 
bed and show up in your jammies, but rather adorn yourselves in 
this particular manner. One man says the desire to adorn 
is not in itself sinful. Women are not told to mortify 
the desire to adorn themselves in 1 Timothy 2. or 1 Peter 3. They are told to gratify this 
desire in a proper way. So Paul doesn't say, get that 
wretched idea out of your mind that you have to adorn yourself. 
No, adornment is assumed in the passage. What the Apostle wants 
us to get is how that is to take place primarily in the house 
of God. When we come to gather for corporate 
worship, Now that doesn't mean when you're walking down the 
street you wear the attire of a harlot. Proverbs 7 describes 
that woman and says she's wearing the attire of a harlot. So within 
every culture there is an identifiable look that a harlot wears. In 
that culture it probably looked a whole lot more modest than 
perhaps even some of the non-harlot dressed today. But there is that 
cultural element, but we are able to discern what is the attire 
of a harlot. Notice his specific directive. 
In like manner also that the women adorn themselves in modest 
apparel. And the adornment here does mean 
putting on clothing. But the word is broad enough 
to include a demeanor, an attitude, a mindset. And as we work our 
way through the passage, through verses 9 and 10, we see that 
Paul does that very thing. He moves from a consideration 
of external adornment to internal adornment. Those women who profess 
godliness ought to busy themselves with good works. Religion, true 
religion, is more a matter of the inside. It will be reflected 
by the outside, to be sure, and we can't neglect that. But this 
idea of adornment means not only physically, but also spiritually. Towner says, as Paul develops 
this thought, the infinitive, to dress, refers first to outward 
physical adornment, verse 9, and then shifts to refer to inward 
beauty in verse 10. Then Paul gives two general principles 
here in verse 9a. In like manner also that the 
women adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation. With propriety and moderation. Propriety means modesty, discretion, 
decency. The word connotes feminine reserve 
in matters of sex. The King James translates it, 
shame-facedness. And we say, that sounds a bit 
bizarre. That captures part of the Word. It captures something of what 
is involved in this Word translated in the New King James as propriety. The Word, or in the Word, is 
involved in innate repugnance. That means a hatred to the doing 
of the dishonorable. hence the King James shamefacedness. It means to be extremely modest, 
or shy, or even bashful, and that is contained in that word. 
The thought seems to be that when I enter into the public 
place of worship, I don't want to draw a man's attention to 
myself, I don't want to draw a lady's attention to myself. 
You see, the passage isn't simply confined to sexual lust between 
the sexes. It's not just a prohibition or 
a mandate that a woman dresses modestly so that men don't lust 
after her. But you've got to remember, in 
the context of the church, the things that the apostle deals 
with here speak of money. Extravagant. When he says costly 
clothing, he's not talking Nordstrom's. He's talking extravagant. I don't know if Nordstrom's is 
even... I think it's pricier than Walmart. But he is speaking 
about a display of money. And so what some of the commentators 
suggest, and I think they're probably right, is that within 
the context of the local church, it's not just the men lusting 
after this woman who is displaying her sexuality in this way, it 
is the women that are coveting the reality and the fact that 
they don't have any gold, They don't have any pearls. They're 
not able to braid their hair in such a manner. We don't want 
to do that in the house of God. We don't want to make people 
stumble while we're trying to worship our God. It ought not 
to be the case that we've got our Trinity Hymnal, and we're 
seeking to praise our Lord God, and we are fighting the temptation 
to look upon another. That's what the Apostle wants. 
He wants the attention given to God in the corporate worship 
of God. So he speaks of propriety, and 
then he speaks of moderation in the New King James in verse 
9. This word means good sense. It means modesty. It means sobriety, 
and it means self-control. In fact, the word is employed 
again in verse 15. In 9 and 15, this particular 
word brackets the entire section. Notice at the end in verse 15, 
"...nevertheless, she will be saved in childbearing, if they 
continue in faith, love, and holiness..." Here it is, "...with 
self-control." So in 9 and 15, we bracket the entire section 
with this reality. Self-control. This is a passage 
that comes up in the pastoral epistles. The apostle wants people 
to control themselves. Guard against the tendency or 
the temptation to exhibit yourself. Guard against the temptation 
or the tendency to draw attention to yourself. Guard against it 
and control yourself. This is not about you. Public worship is not about us. Public worship is about God. One man says, it stands basically, 
this idea of self-control, translated here as moderation, for self-mastery 
in the physical qualities. As applied to women, it too had 
a definitely sexual nuance. It is that habitual inner self-government 
with its constant reign on all the passions and desires. Now 
ladies, I'm sure that you know this, but men have struggles 
at times. Do not feed those struggles or 
inflame those struggles in the public place. This is what Paul 
is highlighting with reference to this particular situation. 
Those are the general principles. Let us look at his specific application 
concerning adornment. There are three things specified 
in 9b. Notice. He says, "...do this, 
adorn themselves in modest apparel with propriety and moderation, 
not with braided hair." Now, braided hair here does not mean 
the pigtails on the toddler. Braided hair was a way of plaiting 
the hair that drew attention to one's head. It was a big gaudy 
sort of a look. It was about ostentatiousness. It took time to do this. It took 
a degree of effort and it usually took money. Those are the themes, 
those are the principles, those are the concepts that I think 
jump out of the cultural context in Ephesus into the cultural 
context in Chilliwack. Ostentatiousness. Do not seek 
to draw attention to yourself. Effort, time, energy, money. General rule, if you're pouring 
more time and more effort into yourself to prepare to come to 
church than you do worshiping God, there's a problem. If you 
are spending more money on your head, Then, with reference to 
spending the energy of your heart to God, this is what the apostle 
is condemning. The action here was an elaborate 
hairstyle designed to draw attention to oneself. Notice, secondly, 
he prohibits gold and pearls. Now, these two could go together. 
It could be the case that they were plaiting or braiding their 
hair with gold and pearls, or it could be two separate things. 
They're plaiting and they're braiding their hair, and then 
they're wearing gold or pearls. Again, the Bible does not condemn 
the use of gold or pearls. The Bible does not say it is 
wicked to wear jewelry. It is evil, it is wretched, it 
is horrible to adorn yourself. The Bible does not say that. The idea in corporate worship, 
again, is to draw attention to oneself. to communicate to that 
poor sister, look what I got and you don't, or to entice the 
eye of a man and direct it to your form. That's what the apostle 
is against. Let's just run through the scripture 
to see that God is not anti-jewelry. Genesis 24. Genesis chapter 24. We're going to do a bit of a 
biblical theology of jewelry. You say, why do you do this? 
Because some people out there think that the answer is, get 
rid of everything. You know, Christianity would 
be a lot easier that way, wouldn't it? It would be a lot easier 
if 1 Timothy 2, 9 and 10, Paul said, go to this website and 
buy what they have. It's not that easy. It's not that specified and that 
detailed. We studied this morning that 
God alone is the Lord of the conscience. For me to stand up 
here and say, ladies, the skirt line must be so and so. Ladies, 
the hair can't extend three inches of being poofed out. Ladies, 
you can only wear one ring. This isn't the United States 
military. You see, as Christians, we want 
that. As Christians, we want hyper-regulation. As Christians, we want to be 
told what to do, when to do it, how to do it, where to do it. 
Because it's safe. You see, God doesn't deal with 
us in that matter. 1 Timothy 2, 9 and 10 does not 
give you a lot of details. That's why it is incumbent upon 
us to call out the principles, to compare Scripture with Scripture, 
and to see that it's not wicked and it's not evil every time 
a woman wears jewelry, every time a woman does her hair. Every 
time a woman puts on a nice outfit, every time a woman doesn't look 
like she just fell out of her bed, it's not wicked. It's assumed 
that they will adorn. It's assumed that they will adorn 
well. And Paul speaks to the corporate place. He says, adorn 
modestly. Do not let the women in the church 
that do not have what you want covet and desire. Do not let 
the poor man in the church who struggles with lust have this 
competing tendency, one, to worship God as he knows he ought, but 
man, this woman is dressed in such a way as to draw the eye 
and the attention. Paul says, love your brethren 
enough that you don't do that. Genesis 24, Abraham sends his 
servant to fetch a wife for Isaac. Notice what the servant brings 
to Rebekah. Verse 53, then the servant brought 
out jewelry of silver, jewelry of gold, and clothing and gave 
them to Rebekah. He also gave precious things 
to her brother and to her mother. It certainly doesn't seem that 
this was a bad thing. This is not frowned upon. This 
is not evil. It seems to be the cultural convention. When a man sought a wife, bring 
her a gift. Many of you ladies would like 
this cultural convention to make its way back into the 21st century. 
Bring me gold, bring me pearls, bring me silver. And I might 
say yes. Well, I hope it's not that course. Song of Solomon, chapter 1, verses 
10 and 11. Now some of these things are 
typical of the church, to be sure. We read Psalm 45 at the 
outset of worship. Did you see how the Church of 
Christ is decked out there? She's wearing gold. She's wearing 
nice clothing. And in the Song of Solomon, again, 
I think typical of the relationship of Christ and His church, nevertheless, 
in a typical situation, the fact that something is conveyed means 
that it's appropriate. Song 110. Your cheeks are lovely 
with ornaments, your neck with chains of gold. We will make 
you ornaments of gold with studs of silver. Jeremiah 2. Again, the idea or the assumption 
that a bride will adorn herself, a bride will ornament herself 
for her wedding day. Jeremiah 2.32. Can a virgin forget 
her ornaments or a bride her attire? Of course she couldn't. 
It's one thing you never find at a wedding. She forgot her 
nice clothes. She forgot her makeup. She forgot 
her jewels. That she don't find. She may 
forget a lot of things, but when it comes to wedding day, she 
does not forget that. I mean, that's the beauty of 
it. Yet my people have forgotten 
me days without number. You see, it's an assumption such 
that a woman won't do this. over in Ezekiel 16. Again, typical 
of the church, typical of the way God deals with his people, 
but God doesn't use an analogy that is somehow sinful. In Ezekiel 
16 at verse 9, speaking about when He came upon Israel, "...then 
I washed you in water. Yes, I thoroughly washed off 
your blood, and I anointed you with oil. I clothed you in embroidered 
cloth and gave you sandals of badger skin. I clothed you with 
fine linen and covered you with silk." Fine linen is money. Fine linen costs. That Proverbs 
31 woman isn't walking around all frumpy either. She's wearing 
fine linen. She's wearing scarlet clothing, 
or purple clothing. She's decked out. Paul is not 
condemning decking out. He is saying that in the church 
of the living God, you're not the important one. It's about 
God, not you. Notice what he goes on to say. 
I clothed you with fine linen and covered you with silk. I 
adorned you with ornaments. You see, it's not wicked, it's 
not bad, it's not evil. I put bracelets on your wrists. 
I put a chain on your neck. I put a jewel in your nose, earrings 
in your ears, and a beautiful crown on your head. Thus you 
were adorned with gold and silver, and your clothing was of fine 
linen, silk, and embroidered cloth. You ate pastry of fine 
flour. honey and oil. You were exceedingly 
beautiful and succeeded to royalty. Your fame went out among the 
nations because of your beauty. For it was perfect through my 
splendor, which I had bestowed on you, says the Lord God." Of 
course, that image of the New Jerusalem coming down out of 
heaven. according to Revelation 21 to 
prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. So the issue is 
not, don't ever wear gold, don't ever wear pearls, don't ever 
braid your hair. The issue is that in the public 
worship of God, do not adorn yourself in such a way as to 
display yourself, to do so in such a way as to draw attention 
to yourself, to do so in such a way as to trip up a brother 
or to trip up a sister. Dress mindful of the fact that 
you are going into the house of God, you are going to be with 
the people of God, and you are to engage in the worship of God. That's what Paul is commending 
to the people of God. So he speaks of braided hair, 
he speaks of gold and pearls, and he speaks thirdly and finally 
against costly clothing. He says it very clearly, not 
with braided hair or gold or pearls or costly clothing. Again, the idea here is not that 
it's a little pricey. It's not that we've gone from 
Walmart to, what's another store that's a little bit more than 
Walmart? Target? I don't know. I don't know if 
that's a jump up. But you get it, right? You know, 
some people, we start at the thrift store, and Walmart's a 
step up, and maybe not Target, but I don't know. What's another? 
Sears? I don't know. We're not talking 
these levels here. We're talking about 7,000 denarii 
a day. or 7,000 denarii dresses. The commoners wore a dress that 
was about 5 to 700. What's Paul saying? Don't wear 
a prom dress to church. Don't spend that kind of money 
because you're not the focus. It's about God in the house of 
God. Proverbs 31, 22. She makes tapestry for herself. Her clothing is fine linen and 
purple. You see, you cannot come to 1 
Timothy 2, 9 and 10, and then go home and tell your wife, the 
only thing appropriate for you to wear is a gunny sack. That's 
all you can ever have. You don't get any rings. You 
don't get any bracelets. You don't get any ornamentation. 
You can't smell good. You can't look good. You cannot 
adorn yourself. You can't do that. You cannot 
use or misuse or abuse 1 Timothy 2, 9 and 10 like that. The biblical 
text, the data of scripture indicates that it is not wrong 1 for a 
woman to adorn herself. It's not wrong 2 for a woman 
to adorn herself well. It's not wrong 3 for a woman 
to adorn herself. but not in this context. Again, that doesn't mean look 
as bad as you can. I think you all realize what 
it is to dress for this occasion, to dress for that occasion, to 
dress for this occasion. I mean, we have shoes, don't 
we? We have shoes for when we run. We have shoes for when we 
walk. We have shoes for when we climb. We have shoes for when 
we go to church. We have all manner of shoe for 
a different function. Gill also makes the very wise 
and sage observation that people ought to dress according to age 
and station. You know, that 75-year-old woman 
squeezing into designer jeans, somebody needs to tell her, lady, 
that's probably not the best look for you. Age and station. Conversely, taking a two-year-old 
or a three-year-old and slapping a tiara on her head and making 
her look like some stripper is vile as well. Age and station. Men in high places ought to dress 
accordingly. When we come to the house of 
God, we ought to dress accordingly. When we are in the presence of 
royalty, we ought to dress accordingly. We ought not to attempt to draw 
attention to ourselves, but we realize that the station that 
we are in demands, no, dictates that we dress accordingly. So I don't think it's a mystery. 
What do you mean, Pastor Butler, and what does Paul mean? Dress 
for church like you're going to church. Not like you're walking 
down the runway somewhere. Not that I even know really what 
that means, but... Knight says, it is the excess 
and sensuality that the items connote that Paul forbids. It 
is the excess and sensuality that the items connote that Paul 
forbids. Not braids, gold, pearls, or 
even costly garments in and of themselves. We've already seen 
the biblical testimony does not indicate that. He says, this 
is borne out by the fact that the Christian community of the 
New Testament is quite willing to use these terms with positive 
connotations. Gold, pearls, bride adorned, 
as is the Old Testament. As I mentioned, John Gill has 
some sage remarks on this particular passage. He says, there is no 
religion or irreligion in dress. It's very important. There is 
no religion or irreligion in dress, provided pride and luxury 
are guarded against and modesty and moderation preserved. My 
mind went this way after reading John Gill. There is nothing specifically 
religious about dressing in a frumpy manner. It's not somehow more 
holy to wear a gunny sack. It's not somehow more godly to 
cover up your femininity. It's not somehow more righteous 
and thereby commending oneself to God based on what it is that 
I wear. In fact, some of that look, in 
my estimation, can be ostentatious. In other words, it can draw attention 
to a woman when she dresses like Laura Ingalls Wilder and she's 
walking down Yale Street in Chilliwack in the 21st century. I gotta 
tell you, I am prone to say, what is she doing? You see, that's 
not fit. It's not neat. It is not consistent 
with this station, you see. So there are those who could 
think that adornment is bad, good-looking is bad, happiness 
is bad, joyfulness is bad, everything bleak is good, and therefore 
I'm going to dress that way. And somehow think that that is 
religiously good. Gill's right. There is no religion 
or irreligion in dress, provided, here's the qualification, 1 Timothy 
2, 9 and 10, pride and luxury are guarded against and modesty 
and moderation preserved. He then says this, speaking about 
clothing, however justifiable such dress may be at other seasons, 
You see, you've got a problem with the Proverbs 31 woman. If 
you take 1 Timothy 2, 9 and 10 and say, you can't spend more 
than the thrift store, you can't ever go to Target, you better 
not go to Sears, and you certainly ought not to go. She defies that, 
and we treat her as the godly woman of Proverbs 31. So Gil 
acknowledges that there are times, there are occasions, there are 
seasons where such a dress may be justifiable. He says, the 
apostle judged it very improper at the time of public prayer, 
or at the time of public worship, seeing it might swell the heart 
of the wearer with pride, so as to forget herself and the 
business she was come about, and draw the eyes of others upon 
her, and so cause a general inattention. You see, that's what's condemned 
here. So, as we summarize, as we sum 
up, four principles or four observations at this point. First, the poor 
women in the congregation should not be provoked to covetousness 
by her dress during the worship of God. I think that's a legit 
and a very valid implication of the passage. You know, I oftentimes 
take this passage and just say, wow, men have trouble with lust 
and women should dress in such a way that they don't provoke 
that. But I've heard it. Maybe you have, maybe you haven't. 
Women oftentimes dress for women. Look what I got, and you don't. 
Well, that's wicked. That's evil. It's not right. 
Don't do that to your sisters. Look what I got. Look at how 
good I am. My husband really loves me. That's 
not what we want to communicate as the body of Christ. Second 
principle, the men in the congregation should not be provoked to lust 
by her dress during the worship of God. You have to appreciate 
that. Men work in the world for six 
days. We work in a world and we live 
in a world where there is this sexual element thrust upon us 
every single moment. You cannot drive down the street 
without a billboard. You cannot drive down the street 
without seeing something. You can't go into a grocery store 
without having to shield your eyes. It is everywhere thrust 
at us in this culture. May we have a haven in the house 
of God. So that on the Lord's Day Sabbath, 
the struggle to lust is not provoked by a sister in Christ. Thirdly, the particular things 
practiced in that culture may not be the practice of our culture. However, the concepts here, ostentatiousness, 
time, money, and effort, are abiding and practical to our 
situation. And then fourthly, I've mentioned 
this throughout, the point is obvious, worship is about God. 
Angry men, verse 8, and immodest women, verse 9, take the focus 
off of God. Don't do that. You should want 
to, on a Lord's Day morning, facilitate the people of God 
entering into the Holy Presence of God and enjoying His nearness, 
His kindness, His smile, and His pleasure. It ought to be 
about God on the Sabbath day. And then thirdly and finally, 
the particular focus of the Christian woman, verse 10, but. This is 
a strong adversative. Not this, but this. not that but this, but which 
is proper for women professing godliness." It is proper. It is good. It is legit. You 
see where in the contrast lies in verses 9 to 10? Peter develops 
it in 1 Peter 3, 1 to 7, very vividly. See, the tendency or 
the temptation is, when putting on clothing, is to stress the 
external and to neglect the internal. God is just the opposite. He 
says, stress the internal. Certainly it will have external 
effect, but the primary emphasis of the Christian woman according 
to verse 10, but which is proper for women professing godliness. Proverbs 31.30, charm is deceitful 
and beauty is passing. Sisters, I have news for you. You're growing older. Gravity 
is a reality, and brothers too. I mentioned to Steve I couldn't 
tell who was sitting toward the back. I can't always see so good 
anymore. I'd be like my brother Roger 
wearing those glasses all the time. I already got to use them 
for John Gill when I'm in my study because I can't see that 
print. What's the point? Entropy. We're decaying. The outer man is perishing. This is what Solomon says. Charm 
is deceitful. Beauty is passing. What does 
God care about? A woman who fears Yahweh, she 
shall be praised. 1 Peter 3. As I said, the Apostle 
brings out this contrast beautifully. 1 Peter 3, 1. Wives, likewise, 
be submissive to your own husbands, that even if some do not obey 
the word, they without a word may be won by the conduct of 
their wives, when they observe your chaste conduct accompanied 
by fear. The New King James supplies a 
few words in verse 3 that really helps the sense of the verse. 
Let's just read it without the supplied words. Do not let your 
adornment be outward, arranging the hair, wearing gold, or putting 
on apparel. Obviously, Peter doesn't want 
Christian women to walk around naked. Right? The New King James supplies the 
words accurately. Verse 3, do not let your adornment 
be merely outward. You see, of course a woman is 
going to adorn herself, but don't let it be merely outward. Verse 
3, arranging the hair. Again, this isn't a condemnation 
to run a comb through it. Wearing gold. Again, not a condemnation 
to take off your rings. Or putting on no fine apparel. Of course Peter wants you to 
put on apparel. That would create a lot of problems if you did 
not put on apparel. He's telling you to put on, or 
don't let your adornment be merely these things, be focused on the 
outward, be focused on the external. Rather, verse 4, rather, he says, 
let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the incorruptible 
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is very precious 
in the sight of God. He gives a reason, verse 5. He 
gives an example, verse 6. So you see the contrast is set 
up by the Apostle, Peter in 1 Peter 3, and by Paul in 1 Timothy 2, 
9 and 10, between the external and the internal. What is important? Mount says, therefore, here Paul 
is not requesting the total absence of external beauty, but a priority 
placed on the internal. And then verse 10 at the end. 
but which is proper for women professing godliness, let her 
adorn herself with good works." We supply the verb, we supply 
the infinitive. This is what I think Paul is 
saying. Let a woman adorn herself with good works. You say, Pastor 
Butler, what's good works? Well, Paul helps us to understand 
what good works is. All throughout his writings, 
we are his workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works, 
which he prepared beforehand that we should walk in them. 
That's a general statement, but look over for just a moment at 
1 Timothy chapter 5. Paul is specifying which women 
can get on the widow's list. I always think about this passage 
when people just ask for money from the church. Can you give 
me money? That happens sometimes. People 
come to the church and say, can you hand me money? There's an ATM down at Envision. That gives you money. We should 
love the poor. We should be benevolent. We should 
be gracious. We should be kind. But we should 
be responsible. Sometimes when you just hand 
money out willy-nilly, I hate to burst your bubble, but sometimes 
people do unseemly things with that money. I know it's strange, 
but sometimes they might buy a drink or drugs instead of buying 
food. That might just blow you away, 
but that happens sometimes. You see, the apostolic church 
did not just willy-nilly pass out dough. You show up, we'll 
give you 20 bucks. Look at what a woman had to do 
in order to qualify to be on the list. And by being on the 
list, that means she was honored, and not honored by, hi Mrs. whoever, it's great to see you. 
Honor in the context, as Paul uses it later with reference 
to elders, is paying, giving money, remunerating, taking care 
of them, giving them some cheddar, giving them some money, giving 
them some dough. Look at what it says, verse 9, 
1 Timothy 5, do not let a widow under 60 years old be taken into 
the number, and not unless she has been the wife of one man. 
Here it is, verse 10, well reported for good works. What do you mean by that, Paul? 
What sort of good works? If she has brought up children, 
if she has lodged strangers, if she has washed the saints' 
feet, if she has relieved the afflicted, if she has diligently 
followed every good work. So you see this idea that we're 
just going to slap a five on you and you go buy a hit or whatever, 
that's just not apostolic. If a man does not work, neither 
shall he eat. If a woman couldn't qualify for 
the widow's list without having done these things, you see that 
the church is not an ATM. She is not designed just to pass 
out willy-nilly money. But notice here, good works is 
fleshed out for you. That doesn't mean that's a comprehensive 
summary of every work that is good, but you get the idea. I 
do want to close here with a quote by our good brother John Gill. and clothes by meaning exposition. We still got a little application 
to do, so don't get too raring to go here. But listen to what 
Gil, this nails it. I thought this statement in that 
brother just puts this whole passage into living vivid color. I mean, this is money. He says, 
good works are like good clothes, to which the apostle alludes. They don't make persons men and 
women, but they adorn them as such. So good works! They don't make men and women 
Christians or believers, but they adorn them as such. They are ornaments to their persons, 
and to their profession, and to the gospel they profess." 
Beautiful! The adornment that we put on 
our bodies says something about who we are. The attire of a harlot, 
Proverbs 7, or a modest, chaste, godly woman, 1 Timothy 2 and 
1 Peter 3. Insofar as that outward adornment 
reflects who we are as men and women, Gill says the argument 
follows. that our good works adorn that 
profession of Christ that by the grace of God we engage in. It's a beautiful statement concerning 
this situation. In summary, the principles that 
the apostle specifies, I think, can be boiled down to this. The 
Christian woman is to pursue modesty, not exhibition. The Christian woman is to pursue 
self-control, not self-promotion. The Christian woman is to pursue 
good stewardship of her time and resources, and not frivolity. There are some questions that 
I don't think it's inappropriate to ask oneself, not just women, 
but men. When Joseph is sitting in that 
dungeon and he gets called to the Pharaoh's house, he thought, 
wait a minute, I should clean up, I should shave, I should 
put on fresh clothes, and I should appear my best. Who am I dressing 
for? It's a very basic question. Am 
I dressing for God? Am I dressing for sister someone 
or brother whoever? What am I dressing for? Corporate 
worship is not a whole lot of other things. Where am I going 
and what will I be doing? Function, station, activity. Again, I think we all know this. 
You don't go jogging in a suit. You don't play racquetball in 
a dress. There are certain appropriate 
clothing articles or articles of clothing for particular tasks. And I think key as well is how 
will I be perceived? How will I be viewed? Do I want 
to convey the principles that are enjoined here in 1 Timothy 
2 and in 1 Peter 3, or is it about me? Is it all about what 
I can get, what I can garner, what I can glean? The Christian 
woman is to dress modestly, modestly she is to conduct herself with 
modesty, and self-control in her demeanor, and she is to engage 
in good works. That is the mindset of the apostle. We need grace, because as you 
know, in anything we are called to do, those twin L's oftentimes 
plague us. There's the legalist, and there's 
the licentiousness. The two brothers in the prodigal 
son. We got the Antinomian, he goes out into the world, and 
we got the legalist who says, well, I never did anything like 
that. Vincent Alsop speaks to this. He says, love will lend 
us one safe rule, that we impose a severer law upon ourselves 
and allow a larger indulgence to others. Impose a severer law 
on yourself and allow a larger indulgence to others. I know 
that in a sermon like this, the tendency arises The temptation 
presents itself to say, I'm so glad that so-and-so is hearing 
this. I'm so glad that this is going through the airwaves, because 
I hope sister so-and-so is sitting in front of her computer and 
watching this, and boy, she's really getting a mouthful. Brethren, 
we need to internalize text for ourselves first. We need to appropriate 
the message of God's word for ourselves first, and I think 
Alsop is right. Love will lend us one safe rule 
that we impose a severer law upon ourselves and allow a larger 
indulgence to others. He says the rule of our own conversation 
should be with the strictest, but that by which we censure 
others a little more with the largest. Be gracious and be thankful, 
my dear sisters and my brothers, that Jesus Christ has saved us 
from our sins. If our entrance into heaven is 
about our always being modest, chaste, and righteous. We are 
destined for hell. Christ came. He secured our salvation 
by his life, by his death, by his resurrection. Anytime we 
look at the law, we ought to look equally at our Lord Jesus 
Christ who freed us and who saved us, not so that we can live against 
the law, but so that we can praise God that He won our salvation, 
and in light of that reality, we can pursue those things which 
are specified in our text and seek, by the grace of God, to 
glorify Him as individuals and as the Church of the Living God. Well, let us pray. Our Father, 
we thank You for Your Word, and we thank You for Your kindness 
in communicating truth to us. We know that this is unique in 
the religions of man, in the religions of this world. We have 
God who spoke a word from another world. We thank You for the 66 
books of the Old and the New Testaments. We acknowledge that 
they are in fact God-breathed, and they are profitable for doctrine, 
for reproof, for correction, and for instruction in righteousness. Help us to take these things 
to heart, help us to pray them in, and help us to live in conformity 
to this holy rule. Please supply the Holy Spirit, 
please grant us grace, please grant us help in these things. 
And we ask through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.