We're in the final stretch of our study of the Book of Romans. I'm so grateful to all who have joined me along the way - please stay with us for the last four days!
Our Scripture passage today is Romans 16: 1 - 6 ...
I commend to you our sister Phoebe, who is a deacon in the church in Cenchrea. 2 Welcome her in the Lord as one who is worthy of honor among God’s people. Help her in whatever she needs, for she has been helpful to many, and especially to me. 3 Give my greetings to Priscilla and Aquila, my co-workers in the ministry of Christ Jesus. 4 In fact, they once risked their lives for me. I am thankful to them, and so are all the Gentile churches. 5 Also give my greetings to the church that meets in their home. Greet my dear friend Epenetus. He was the first person from the province of Asia to become a follower of Christ. 6 Give my greetings to Mary, who has worked so hard for your benefit.
Many people have a mistaken idea that God and the Bible dishonour and devalue women. This view is utterly false!
While Ancient Middle Eastern culture was very often male-dominated, andin some cases downright misogynistic, the Scriptures are not. Let's look at a few passages that prove that the Father loves and values men and women equally:
Leviticus 19: 3a: "Each of you must show great respect for your mother and father"
Ephesians 5: 25 - 33: "For husbands, this means love your wives, just as Christ loved the church. He gave up His life for her to make her holy and clean, washed by the cleansing of God’s Word. He did this to present her to Himself as a glorious church without a spot or wrinkle or any other blemish. Instead, she will be holy and without fault. In the same way, husbands ought to love their wives as they love their own bodies. For a man who loves his wife actually shows love for himself. No one hates his own body but feeds and cares for it, just as Christ cares for the church. And we are members of his body. As the Scriptures say, “A man leaves his father and mother and is joined to his wife, and the two are united into one.” This is a great mystery, but it is an illustration of the way Christ and the church are one. So again I say, each man must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband."
Genesis 1: 27:"So God created human beings in His own image. In the image of God He created them; male and female He created them."
Matthew 26: 6 - 13: 'While Jesus was in Bethany at the house of Simon, a man who had a serious skin disease, a woman approached Him with an alabaster jar of very expensive fragrant oil. She poured it on His head as He was reclining at the table. When the disciples saw it, they were indignant. “Why this waste?” they asked. “This might have been sold for a great deal and given to the poor.” But Jesus, aware of this, said to them, “Why are you bothering this woman? She has done a noble thing for Me. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have Me. By pouring this fragrant oil on My body, she has prepared Me for burial. I assure you: Wherever this gospel is proclaimed in the whole world, what this woman has done will also be told in memory of her.”'
Paul continues to show that the church is a counter-cultural force in today's passage of Scripture, as he mentions 28 people by name, and includes 10 women in his list!
Paul commends the women in his list for being helpful to the brethren and to him personally (verse 2), for risking their lives for the sake of the Gospel (verse 4), and for working hard (verse 6).
He is certainly not scathing of women or downplaying their role in the church and in the Kingdom of God!
Kelli LaFram says in today’s devotional: "God loves and values each and every one of us. Man, woman, single, married, black, white, young, old, rich, or poor - when we put our faith in Jesus for salvation, we are all saints and fellow workers in Christ."
If you have ever felt marginalised or under-valued because of your race, your gender, your age, or your socio-economic position, today I want to remind you from the Word of God: "For as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ like a garment. There is no Jew or Greek, slave or free, male or female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you belong to Christ, then you are Abraham’s seed, heirs according to the promise." (Galatians 3: 27 - 29)