Adornment of Women in the House of God

In this part of the sermon: Martin delves into the grammatical construction of verse 9, explaining that the adverb 'likewise' borrows the verb 'I desire' from verse 8, not 'pray.' He argues against importing…

Martin explains that modern translations often act as mini-commentaries, blurring the line between strict translation and exposition, which he sees as a weakness.

to grasp the passage, we must begin with the question, this is one of the most difficult passages in this epistle, and in many sections of the new testament, you will see in terms of 1981 American east, or I should say 1981 northeast American east, even within the framework of our own country, words that say something accurately in the northeast will say very little in the south or the southwest, the sense of relation is different from the work of exposition, one of the great weaknesses of the modern translation, the modern translation is that they try to do a mini job of exposition and explan...

8:34 - 9:50 Read in full sermon

Driving home: And Paul did not say, by any of the known rules of Greek grammar, like ways I will that the women pray and then emphasize the adorning with which they were to pray in the house of God. That is not translation. It is not …

He uses 'in like manner also the cup' from 1 Corinthians 11:25 to illustrate how a verb (he took) must be borrowed from a preceding verse (23) to make sense of the phrase, paralleling the grammatical structure of 1 Timothy 2:9.

in this passage, 1 corinthians 11, 25 you have in verse 25 the words, in like manner also the cup. in like manner also the cup. now that doesn't make any sense. in like manner what?

11:38 - 11:52 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: Through a vivid illustration, Martin exposes the absurdity of a wooden, legalistic interpretation of the negative directives, demonstrating how such an approach misses the spirit…

Martin tells a humorous, hypothetical story of a woman entering church with an exaggerated, bizarre appearance (fire-engine red beehive hair, teacup-sized chrome earrings, ten silver bracelets, bright polka-dot dress from a thrift shop) to set up a legalistic misinterpretation of the passage.

We were about to begin our worship tonight, and all the chairs at the back were filled, and we just had these front row chairs empty. Maybe we're going to have a whole game of late visitors coming. The whole front row is empty tonight. And Mr. Davies, or one of the deacons or ushers, was brought down, walked down, and behind him came a woman. She didn't have a braid in her hair, but her hair was teased up, beehive style, about two feet high on top of her head.

29:14 - 29:41 Read in full sermon

Driving home: What Paul is doing should be obvious even to not all the youngest, but even most of the youngest. When he commands in his general directive becoming dressed, dictated by the inward graces of modesty and good sense, he sa…

He recounts being in circles where men avoided gold rings in the pulpit and women avoided gold bands, believing it was obedience to Scripture, yet they were heavily made up, illustrating a legalistic mentality that misses the spirit of the command.

I have been in circles where men would not appear in the pulpit with a gold ring on their fingers to be speak. I think that they are identified in the intimate and blessed bonds of marriage with a woman, where women would not wear a gold band because the Scripture says a woman who professes godliness is not to adorn herself in gold. Yet you could smell them three blocks away. ...that just fell out of every pole together with powder and makeup base and everything else under the sun. But they really thought that they were adorning themselves with a gold ring on their fingers. In becoming a paren...

32:25 - 33:23 Read in full sermon

The point: Let the principle of modest apparel grip you and become a deep conviction, accurately reflecting the state of your heart.

Martin points out that bizarre external appearance is often an instinctive indicator of mental derangement, connecting the concept of 'good sense' in dress to rational thought and sanity.

attire ought accurately to reflect the state of your heart? Now, if your heart is full of pride and ostentation and desire to be envied and to provoke lust, your dress be speak a lie. If your heart by the grace of God is full of humility and preoccupation with Christ and with holiness and with godliness, let your dress become that profession as it is determined by the dictates of modesty. One of the points I failed to make because I got too far away from my notes was that under that word good sense, have you ever noticed when people are mentally deranged one of the usual manifestations is thei...

41:02 - 42:29 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The ultimate concern in all aspects of life in the house of God should be the state of the heart and the consistency of a godly life. Martin argues that God created us to…

He quotes a preacher who asked how much care would be spent on externals if the whole congregation were blind, using it to powerfully convey the truth of prioritizing internal godliness, while also acknowledging the reality of visible worship.

He asked a group of professing gods and Christians this question. How much care would you have spent on preparing your externals for worship if the whole congregation were blind? Well, the congregation is. So you do have to be concerned with whether or not your tie matches your shirt.

56:11 - 56:31 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The ultimate concern in all aspects of life in the house of God should be the state of the heart and the consistency of a godly life. Martin argues that God created us to…

Martin asks the congregation to imagine the discomfort of listening to a preacher whose tie clashes with his shirt, arguing that God made us to appreciate order and harmony, not the devil.

Imagine what pain it would be for any of you who are not color blind and who at least notice obliquely the color of a man's tie. What an agony it would be to have to listen to someone preach for an hour where every color in the tie clashed with the color of the shirt. Well, who made you so that you feel uncomfortable when colors clash? God did, not the devil.

56:31 - 56:53 Read in full sermon

In this part of the sermon: The ultimate concern in all aspects of life in the house of God should be the state of the heart and the consistency of a godly life. Martin argues that God created us to…

He asks how the congregation would feel if he preached with disheveled hair, illustrating that people instinctively desire order and propriety in appearance, which God created.

God did, not the devil. And how would you feel if while I was preaching there was a shocker hair that was right down the middle of my forehead and over here to the left? You'd be wishing all the while he was preaching, will he please put that thing over there? Sure you would.

56:53 - 57:07 Read in full sermon