Class Notes on Lesson Five: Purity in the Oblivious

On Monday, August 30, 2010 our class went straight to the hard stuff in Lesson Five: Purity in the Oblivious (Authority, Appearance, and Appetite.) This lesson included the dreaded word ‘submission’ and I almost expected some rebuttal, but there was none.

Authority is the right and responsibility of decision-making.  We discussed authority in relationship to our marriages, our church leadership, our jobs and our government.

Submission is almost a dirty word among women these days. Why? Part of the reason comes from the feminist mindset of our day.  For instance, the feminist tell us that they are fighting for all women.  They say that women deserve equal this and equal that. And what women would not want their rights defended?  The deception is that yes, those words appeal to us, but in pursuing purity we find that God does not instruct a woman to be demanding, He instructs her to be submissive.

As I type these words, I can see all the women reading this beginning to cringe.

The matter of authority in a home does not make a woman a second class citizen, a doormat, or a less valuable person. This is the truth that the feminist deny.  It is much more honorable to follow God and allow the final decision on matters of our marriages and homes be left to our husbands than it does to demand what we think we deserve.

And what do we as Christian women deserve? If we received what we deserved, we would spontaneously combust and find ourselves wandering in the darkness of Hell.  We deserve nothing, but Jesus offers us everything.

This is true for all people, men and women. Submission is not a gender issue. It is a responsibility issue.  This carries over from submission in our marriages to submission to our Church leadership to submission to our superiors on our jobs and to submission to our government. God is not pleased when we rebel against any one of these.  God is pleased when we trust in Him.

God instructs us all to submit. If we are followers of Jesus Christ, we will purify our motives and do as He did. Jesus submitted to His Father for our sakes. Are we any better than He?

A quick look at what God says about loud, demanding, argumentative women is not an appealing look. He in no way regards this behavior as honorable. A woman who understands authority is a free woman, confident of God’s protection in her life and has no need to demand her rights. She has instant access to the most high God. There is no force that can match that power and she rests confidently knowing this.

Moving on to the issue of appearance, we spoke of the women identified in Isaiah 3 and noted the behavior of these women caused judgment to come to Israel. To dress in an alluring, flashy, or sexy way tells the world we want attention and that we are not confident and free. Women who do this may not realize they are causing men to stumble in their faith. Purity here means we must be aware not to become a stumbling block to any.

It would be a worthy study to take one day and observe all instances of the impact a woman’s clothing or behavior that tempted another man from thoughts of his wife or his duties. Pursuing purity means we put away our need for immediate attention and not take part in any man looking at us instead of his wife.

On the subject of appetite, we discussed what truly defiles us. It is not what we eat; it is what we allow in our minds. We restrict what is bad for us when we want a healthy life.  We should do the same in the area of our appetite for entertainment.

There are many avenues we need to discuss here.  What music do we listen to? What television do we watch? What books do we read?  This is all abstract. We are oblivious to harm we do ourselves by listening, watching, or reading anything that does not bring honor to our lives.

I’ve often said “I don’t need any help sinning, I do just fine all by myself.” and this is true.  Why allow such things into our minds? The result is we are defiled. Because once we allow these things in our lives, we will speak of them and we be defiled.