Roman / American Culture

Colossians 1:25-29

COL-227

© Berean Memorial Church of Irving, Texas, Inc. (1995)

Hebrews 4:12, "For the Word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart."

1 Peter 2:1-1: "Therefore, putting aside all malice, all guile, and hypocrisy, and envy, and all slander, like newborn babes, long for the pure milk of the Word, that by it you may grow in respect to salvation, if you have tasted the kindness of the Lord."

2 Peter 3:18: "Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now, and to the day of eternity. Amen.

We are studying "The Mystery of the Church," segment number 42 in Colossians 1:25-29.

God's principles of wisdom, as found in Scripture, is the guide for protecting one's life in the devil's world, from all of Satan's human viewpoint lies – these things which are the wisdom of man. These eternal laws for living are the only path to satisfaction for now, and for rewards in eternity. Thus, nothing is of greater importance in the life of a Christian than the intake into his soul of the doctrines of divine viewpoint truth. This is the reason for expository preaching, and this is the reason for your offerings. It is not without reason that we tell people that if they do not receive some insight into the mind of God in a preaching service, they have no reason to be giving an offering. The offering is the expression of: "Thank You, Lord, for your point of view." And it has been preached, or it has not been preached. It makes a big difference to the people who are there.

The reason for this is that man, on his own, just does not come to God's wisdom. Isaiah wrote this centuries ago. In Isaiah 55:8-9, he says, quoting the Lord: "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways,' declares the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts." There is no other way for you to get the thoughts of God except through the explanation of Scripture. And there is no other way for you to operate on the thoughts of God except to go positive to doctrinal principles. That is the way it works. So, the first step is what we're doing right now – explaining the Word of God.

Now, as always, however, the apostle Paul points out to us that this wisdom is what he has been giving to Colossian Christians, and that this wisdom is the mind of God. This is what He has taught them. Then he goes on to say, in effect: "Now you must do your part." Once you have been taught the Word of God, you must choose either to obey or not. And the results are drastically different. The consequences are enormous, one way or another, to the individual, whether you obey or do not obey.

At the end of our campout with our teenagers, at our last session in the Word, I said, "Now I have done my job in laying out for you some important principles for living. Now you must make your decision as to whether you'll believe these things or not. And it makes a very, very great difference." Then I gave him a couple of examples. Some of the young people had been with us in the past, here at Berean Church, and who had had great opportunity – the kind of opportunity they had. But when it came to living, when it came down to applying the things of the Word of God that they've been taught, they said, "No." And the consequences in those lives were disastrous.

So, I made it clear to them: "Yes, you've been told now, why as a teenager you should not be dating; and, why as a teenager you should not have somebody who is your steady boyfriend or girlfriend. This is the way that God has constructed life for your prosperity and for your blessing. And if you refuse it, you will do yourself injury. And you must make this decision not on the basis of what your parents think; your friends think; or, any human reasoning you may have. You have to make it on the basis of the Word of God that we have laid out for you. That is the authority.

I told them: "You must now make the decision about the issue of sex. We have laid out for you the disastrous consequences, and the issues that are involved. You must say, 'Yes,' or 'No.' It is up to you now. There are times when life doesn't make sense, and the suffering is inherent, because we live in a sin-infested world. Now you must make the decision whether God is on the throne in your life or not." And concerning their separation from the world system, I told them: "You will now believe that Satan is a liar, as Jesus said he is, and that his whole system of life, which he's created, which surrounds you is a big lie. Or you will say, 'No. I love it. I want to take it to my bosom. I want to be like the people of the world. I want their acceptance.'"

I told him: "You must now make the decision whether you'll be a witness for Christ, and not be accepted by your peers, or you will just keep silent, and be one of them." It's one thing to have good instruction, and I mean biblically based instruction; and, it is another thing to be able to rise and to do those things.

Now, nations as a whole, in the past, have functioned on God's wisdom, and on morality that actually is based upon the Word of God. They operated the divine viewpoint institution of government in the proper way, even though they didn't have access to revelation of Scripture. They did these things based upon information that came from the past; their observation of how these things worked in other nations; and, they organized themselves accordingly. They understood the divine principle of government – that government's role is to keep law and order for freedom in a society. And government's role is to protect the fruits of every man's labor for his own free choice, as to how he uses that privilege of what God has prospered him with.

All of these things were characteristic of nations in the past. And when they did this, they were under the blessings of God. Truth is truth. Every unbeliever, who lives by certain truths of Scripture, is going to be blessed, even though the Spirit of God does not indwell him. He can't be blessed entirely, and experience all the things he could experience, but the truth is that if you do things God's way, then things are going to go well for you. And when things are tough, they will also go well for you, because you'll be in stride and be able to handle those things.

Now, Rome was once that kind of a nation. It was founded on the realities of God's wisdom even though they did not even know the true God. And the glory of Rome continued until it degenerated from God's ways. Then, in the fifth century A.D., as it gradually abandoned the principles of God's wisdom, the base of the nation was eroded, and Rome came to an end.

The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire

There were five basic factors, that have been observed, that characterize the downfall of Rome, and basically other nations as well. And we can apply them to our own situation today. This was put together by (Edward Gibbon), in his The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. That is a classic work by an English historian.

The Breakdown of the Family Unit

Gibbon said the first factor that brought Rome down was the breakdown of the family unit in various ways. This was the primary thing that ended the power of Rome. There was, then, no basis for maintaining moral stability in society, and for rearing the young, so that they had a heart to maintain freedom. Divorce became commonplace, resulting in devastation to the children, as parents did their own thing. Yes, it was true, in ancient Rome, that parents put their children ahead of themselves – their own desires; their own squabbles; their own frictions; and, their own differences. The children came first, and that was the way it should be, and that was the way it was.

Well, the time came when, in Rome, children no longer mattered. Parents were focused on themselves. Naturally, sex, then, became detached from love and marriage, resulting in a barnyard level of relationship. Sexual activity by God's laws were constantly violated, where, once, even without Scripture, they were respected. Not the least of which was that that activity was within the confines of marriage. And within marriage there was a responsible use of physical relationships. It wasn't a willy-nilly thing. It was designed by God in a certain way. And this is one of the things that we tried to teach our teens on the campout. The progression to improper physical relationships begins with little things down the line that God has designed in the human structure to trigger the mechanism that goes to that ultimate end.

Well, Rome was very morally oriented in its early history. And what they were doing, without knowing it, was operating on 1 Corinthians 7:1-5, where Paul says, "Now concerning the things which you wrote about, it is good for a man not to touch a woman." Now, indeed this does begin with the physical touch, but the physical touch is to leading up to the sexual activity. And this verse refers to engaging in illicit sex, though it does begin with triggering mechanisms.

However, 1 Corinthians 7:2 says, "Because of immoralities, let each man have his own wife, and each woman her own husband." Why? So that there is a legitimate, and proper, and restricted expression of this function in human activity.

Therefore, 1 Corinthians 7:3 says, "Let the husband fulfill his duty to his wife, and likewise also the wife to the husband." They exchange their sexual relationships. It is their duty, as well as their right.

1 Corinthians 7:4, "The wife does not have authority over her own body, but the husband does. And likewise also the husband does not have authority over his own body, but the wife does. That claim is there only within marriage. That's the point that Paul is making, because in Corinth, they were used to doing it outside, in their unsaved days, and they were still struggling with it.

1 Corinthians 7:5 says, "Stop depriving one another (that is, of physical sexual relations). Stop depriving one another within the marriage union, except by agreement, for a time, that you may devote yourselves to prayer, and to come together again, lest Satan tempt you, and because of your lack of self-control."

So, God has put in a very powerful mechanism in the human experience. And He has also laid down the ground rules by which this is to be conducted, and the parameters within which it is to be exercised. This law is never optional. And I don't care who the authority is, and how famous the person is. This is God's order of an activity that is restrained within the marriage union itself. Why? It is the foundation of the family.

So, if you want to start destroying the family, that's the way to do it. Just start destroying the restraint on the physical level that God has prescribed that should be exercised only within marriage. This started the downward fall of the family unit in the Roman Empire.

The Father's Role of Authority

The next thing that happened in the fall of the family was that the husband's role as a final court of authority and decision in the family gradually was eroded. What they were abandoning was 1 Corinthians 11:3. Paul says, "But I want you to understand that Christ is the Head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the Head of Christ." There is the line of authority that is built into the human structure. And I don't care how much the feminist movement does not like this, this is the way it is. And if you try to live in a way other than this, life will come unglued.

"I want you to understand," Paul said. "Christ is the Head of every man. (He is the authority.) And the man is the head of the woman. He is the authority in the family unit. And God is the Head of Christ. So, authority comes from God the Father, to God to the Son, to the father in the family. That is the line of authority. You cannot beat that. You cannot change that. You cannot play games with that.

What happened in Rome was that the father's authority was no longer fully recognized as it was in the early days. And yet, this is the most important feature of having a family unit. What they were doing, again without knowing it, was obeying the Word of God. For example, in 1 Timothy 5:8, the father, the man within the marriage, has duties and responsibilities with authority. 1 Timothy 5:8: "But if anyone does not provide for his own, especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith, and is worse than an unbeliever. When God told Adam, "You will live by the sweat of your brow," that's what he said. He did not say, "You'll live by the sweat of your frow." And that is what has happened to the family units.

Today, the sweat of earning, and providing, and caring is borne together. It is shared. That's not the scriptural way. There is not that in the Word of God. It is the husband's role to provide for the family. Now, where the wife fits into that, at various stages of their experience, depends upon children, and the elements in the family unit that take the top priority. But the husband's role as the final court of decision is based upon the fact that he is also to be the person who provides for the material care of that family, and for its spiritual guidance.

Children, Obey Your Parents

Ephesians 6:1-4: "Children, obey your parents in the Lord." Why? Because this is right. Why is this right? Because the Father is the authority, and the mother is under the Father. "Honor your father and mother (which is the first commandment with a promise), that it may be well with you, and that you may live long on the earth. And fathers, do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord."

Fathers have authority, but you do not use that authority in a careless way, so that your children are driven from a love for Christ, or so that your children are not led to think that it's all right to play ball with the world system. You provoke your children to anger – anger against what? Anger against the things that are right, and anger against God, Who's the authority of what is right, and ultimately then against yourself as a parent who should be guiding them to that which is right, and to discipline them. Do you know what discipline means? It means to say, "No." What I did on our morning devotions, that we start off on our campouts with, was gave them a sheet of paper with a Scripture at the top – a Scripture that listed Christlike characteristics that should be reflected in children. And one of the things in one of those lists was "Disobedient to parents." And this is the thing that results in children who are not reared in the authority of God, as reflected in the authority of the father. So, the children do not understand what it means to be told, "No."

Break Your Child's Will

Children do not understand that they do not refuse the directions of their parents. And that's based upon instruction in the Lord. Now, if you want to raise a little barbarian, you just let him become part of the decision-making mechanism, and you'll have your barbarian – I can guarantee it. The very first thing a parent must do with a child is to break his will. And we see (we get it all the time in the academy) in children, because their mothers are off working, and therefore, they're not there rearing them, and the child has no attachment to the mother on an eyeball-to-eyeball basis. That child has a will that can be exercised, and the parent is helpless before it.

Do Not Break your Child's Spirit

Now, you'll notice I did not tell you that the Word of God says to break his spirit. That is a totally different thing. You do not break his spirit of enterprise, curiosity, and everything else that goes with it. But you do break his will. He learns what "no" means. She learns to obey. That is God's way. But when the family breaks down, because the father's authority is no longer respected, because now the marriage has not become God's line of authority. It has become a 50-50% marriage, which is not the biblical way. There is an authority in the home, as God is authority over all of us.

Then there's the book of Colossians 3:20-21. Rome once recognized this: "Children, be obedient to your parents in all things, for this is well-pleasing to the Lord. Fathers, do not exasperate your children, that they may not lose heart." Exasperate your children. Why? By not having time for them, and by not being there.

"Quality Time"

Have you ever heard the term: "quality time with my children?" That's right out of hell itself. That's right out of psychobabble. That's right out of nonsense of the world system. What is quality time with your children? It is being there. That's what quality is. It is not coming in, and saying, "Here I'm exhausted. I'm all worn out. And now I'm walking in the house. I've had my career, and I've had my adventure out in the business world. Now I'm here, and I've got this little person. Let me get him fed, and get him scrubbed up, and put him to bed because I'm so tired. And so I'll spend 15 minutes talking with him." as if that were quality time. Quality time is being there all the time.

What happened was that the father's authority gradually broke down, because he was not exercising it, so others took over. Anybody who has been in military service, and has training in leadership, sooner or later, is taught this principle. If you are in charge of a group, and if you do not take command and act decisively, even when you're not sure of yourself, they will take over, and things will get out of hand. You must exercise the authority.

Wives

Roman wives, on the other hand, then felt free to break this family unit down even more, because they began chafing under the idea of living under their husband's authority. So, where once Rome had recognized that principle, Rome began to deteriorate. Colossians 3:18-19 is what they began to break down: "Wives, be subject to your husbands as is fitting in the Lord. Husbands, love your wives, and do not be embittered against them." Now, this is divine viewpoint. You're not going to find this out in some psychology book, or some marriage counselor's book. This is the principle of God. The wife is always free to give creative suggestions, and always free to have her opinion, and always free to express it. But ultimately a decision is made, and that father has to be the one to make it. That is fitting in the Lord.

But the husbands, on the other hand, are to treat their wives, even when they disagree with them, or even when the wife may be foolish, with that "agape" love – that non-bitter love. Do you see why "agape" love is so critical? It's not emotional. It's that mental attitude. That enables you to deal with the worst of people in any situation in life, and treat them appropriately, with the respect they deserve, and the way they should be treated, and the kindness of Christ, because you are not letting a seed of bitterness eat you up. And this is what the devil does. Some of you people are very serious Christians. There are very serious Christians out there. And they seek to walk in the integrity of the Lord. The devil knows that you're not going to go for the big stuff, so he can get you with the little stuff. He's going to create little resentments; little bitterness; and, little things within mental attitude sins. And he'll start eating you away and corroding you. And pretty soon your power force is gone, and the family team is shredded.

In Rome, the wives didn't want to be their husband's helpers anymore. They also were violating then the principle of Titus 2:4-5: "That they may encourage (the older women) may encourage the young women to love their husbands; to love their children; to be sensible; to be pure workers at home; kind; and, being subject to their own husbands, that the Word of God may not be dishonored. Where is the wife supposed to be? That they may encourage the young women to love their husbands; to love their children; to be sensible; pure; and, workers at home?

One time, some lady I was speaking to said, "Where in the Bible does it say that the wife is supposed to be at home?" Well, here it is: "workers at home." But she can't be that if the husband isn't providing. She can't be that if he is taking on himself responsibilities that he's not able to carry out to begin with. To be subject to their own husbands? Why? So, the Word of God will not be dishonored. Now, even the Romans, in their paganism, once did that. They expected the husbands: "You care for your wife. And no matter how she may irritate you, you do not have a spirit of bitterness toward her. You treat her with the respect that is her position in that family.

In 1 Timothy 5:14-15, Paul says, "Therefore I want younger widows (or women) to get married; bear children; keep house; and, give the enemy no occasion for reproach, for some have already turned aside to follow Satan." Keep house? What is the mantra? What is the rallying cry? The feminist movement says, "I don't want to go through life like my mother did – keeping house. I want to have something significant to do in life – a career." And how often we find young women who are intimidated by saying, "I just want to grow up, and be a wife and a mother, and be at home to rear my children." Those are the people who have the finest calling of all.

So, when wives that were not content to live under their husband's authority, they began living under their own authority, which meant that they no longer wanted to be helpers to their husbands. They wanted to pursue their own careers.

Now, we have to go back to the beginning – the way it should be. God observed that Adam caught on, after he named the animals, that there was no opposite to him. Every other male had an opposite female. But this male human being, made in the image of God, did not have an opposite. And Adam knew that he was not an animal. There was something very clearly different between him and the animals.

Genesis 2:18: "Then the Lord God said it is not good for man to be alone. I will make him a helper suitable for him." A helper? The wife's calling is to be her husband's helper? And with those other Scriptures we read, that helping is to be within the home unit. And that changes as children come. There is less freedom for the wife, then, outside. There is more freedom as the children are older, and she is free to do other things. It doesn't mean she cannot do other things. In fact, the wife who has small children, and the husband who cares for her – those are the women who run the church program, and who serve in all the areas in which they have freedom to serve, because they're not being hired out to somebody in employment.

1 Corinthians 11:8-9: "For man does not originate from woman, but woman from man. For indeed, man was not created for the woman's sake, but the woman for the man's sake. Can't you imagine how the feminist would love that verse? They'd spit upon that. We're not talking about human viewpoint opinion. This is the mind of God. This is the way it is. It is not simply that this is the way it ought to be. This is the way it is. You cannot cross the principles of God without a great deal of injury, both to yourself and to all the people who would be blessed by you.

Beginning at Ephesians 5:22, here is an extended passage that was once respected within Rome. And this is the way it is. This is the way God has structured human relationships, if the family unit is to be preserved. And our society is fighting this one tooth and nail – this passage all the way down the line.

Ephesians 5:22-30: "Wives, be subject to your own husband as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ also is the Head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. But as the church is subject to Christ, so also wives ought to be to their husbands in everything. Husbands, love your wives (and that's the mental attitude love – love that is self-sacrificing, without bitterness against her). Love your wives just as Christ also loved the church, and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her (set her apart), having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word, that He might present to Himself the church in all her glory, having no spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing, but that she should be holy and blameless.

So, husbands ought also to love their own wives as their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. She is you. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ also does the church, because we are members of His body." Why does Christ take care of us? Because we are His bride, and because we are His body. And Paul says, "In the same way, on the human level, you men (you husbands), that's how you do with your wives." If you do that, then you have a family unit that has the cement to hold it together.

1 Peter 3:1-2 puts this in military terms: "In the same way, you wives be submissive to your own husbands." "Submissive" means to fall in order in rank, underneath the authority of your husband. It is a military picture. "In the same way, you wives be submissive to your own husbands, so that even if any of them are disobedient to the Word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives." A husband can go far astray from the principles of the Word of God. He can way off in carnality, and he can get into a very dangerous territory. Now the wife has a great burden. What should she do? Beat on him? Chew on him? Hack away at him? That won't help. She does it "without a word" – with her behavior: "I'm going to do what is right."

This is like the wife who once said to me, "My husband wants to do this. It was a business matter." She said, "I did not approved, but I said to him, 'Well, I'm not for this, but I'll help you do it." That's it. Somebody makes a decision. It might be wrong. Then you correct. But you cannot have two heads. Two heads are not better than one, if they're on the same body. So, be sure you don't give us that little phrase, without making that distinction, unless you plan to earn money in a circus sideshow.

1 Peter 3:2, "Won without a word, by the behavior of their wives, as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior." A wife who acts according to God's principles with her personal integrity intact can melt the heart of the worst of men, and at least can make life very miserable while they try to fight the Word of God. That is a hard thing to do for a woman. She has to be a very mature person herself. She has to have sat under the explanation of the Word of God, and been very positive to it, knowing that God is still on his throne. She will win.

A Weaker Vessel

Notice in 1 Peter 3:7-12, "You husbands likewise live with your wives in an understanding way, as with a weaker vessel, since she is a woman. And grant her honor as a fellow-heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered." Do you want to botch up the great things in life that can be accomplished by prayer – that can come into your life by prayer? Fine. Just have friction in your marriage. Just be a wife who keeps beating on her husband, and keeps pounding away at him. Or you, as a husband, not treating her with understanding, as the one who is more inclined to be emotional: one who doesn't have your physical strength; and, one who cannot carry the burdens that you may be able to carry. She is a woman. So you grant her the honor, and recognize that she is a fellow-heir with you of the grace of life that God has given you. And as a fellow-heir, your prayers can be powerful, or you can make them pointless by the way you treat your husband or your wife.

To sum up, in 1 Peter 3:8-11: "Let all be harmonious; sympathetic; brotherly kindness; and, humble in spirit, not returning evil for evil, or insult for insult, but giving a blessing instead. For you were called for the very purpose that you might inherit a blessing. For let him who means to love life, and see good days, refrain his tongue from evil, and his lips from speaking guile. And let him turn away from evil and do good. Let him seek peace, and pursue it. For the eyes of the Lord are upon the righteous. And his ears attend to their prayers. But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil. That's the bottom line: God sees; and, God pays attention. If you treat that husband in an improper way without respect for his authority, God sees. If you treat that wife without consideration of the burdens that she carries, and that you must help her bear, and your provision for here: God sees, and God cares. This is the way it is.

However, in ancient Rome, therefore, wives increasingly began carrying on another life apart from their husbands. And then it became a life in competition with their husbands. They became emancipated women. They had their own money, so they wanted their own careers. And then they wanted to be in positions of authority over the men in the various agencies of society. Pretty soon, the women were running for president. And the women were running for all kinds of political office. And what happened to the great Roman Empire? It went down the hill. Nobody seemed to think say, "Hey, this is a bad sign. This is not what made us great." But they didn't have the Word of God as an anchor point for reflecting those things, and for comparing themselves to.

The Feminist Movement Today

Now, when this happened, naturally, the women of this type then began evading bearing of children. They were afraid of spoiling their figures. The feminist movement today has one objective. Most of you probably couldn't tell me what it is – the single, primary objective of the feminist movement. And you have to be really discerning to recognize what creates an outrage of furor.

Abortion

There's one thing that'll create an outburst of anger every time. And that is when you want to touch abortion. The core of the feminist movement of women being emancipated from men is the abortion principle. That is the one thing they will not give up. And if there's anybody in political authority who will preserve abortion, that person can do anything he wants, and the women of this movement will support that individual. Abortion became the pattern in ancient Rome, which was unbelievable. First it was: "I don't want have children." Then it was: "We are never going to have children." And then, when children came, they abort them. So, women in Imperial Rome, by the end of the second century A.D., were doing their own thing on a scale that was unbelievable, when the empire was in its great days of glory.

The results, however, of this emancipation, violating the biblical principles of that family order of authority, was wretched marriages; divorces; and, unruly children (children who had been reared as delinquent barbarians – children whose wills were not broken).

Yesterday, when we came out of our cavern tour, I was sitting on the stone wall, waiting for the rest of our people to come out of the underground caverns. And there was a mother, and I had seen her in the party, and she had this little girl, and this little boy that kept wandering and running around. And she got the girl on the wall, and she got her camera and she said, "Mark, come over here. I want to take a picture of the two of you here." Mark says, "No." She said, "Oh, come on, Mark. I want to take a picture of you." Mark says, "No, I'm not coming." She said, "But Mark, we want to take a picture of you here by the caverns." Mark says, "You're not going to take a picture of me."

I am sitting there, wringing my hands trying to catch her eye: "Mother, send him to the moon. Here's your chance to break his will." Go up there and take this little thing on the side of his head, and say, "Oh, you'll like to have your picture taken, won't you? Sit down here? Yeah, you can take your picture crying, or you can take your picture smiling. That's what freedom means in the United States. You can have your picture taken crying; or, you can have your picture taken smiling. Here we go." And that poor mother just said, "Oh." She was a ninny. So, she took the little girl's picture. She can take his maybe later, and paste them together.

However, there you have it. Something at home is going on that should not be going on, such that this kid would tell his mother, "No," and I mean so adamantly. It wasn't that there was any reason. It was just that his will was not going to be overridden by hers. That is what happened in ancient Rome.

So, what did it do to the wives and the women? Well, as always, it cheapened them in their souls. They became misery to themselves. They became a misery to everybody else around them, because they were violating a moral principle of the universe. And that is the line of authority that Almighty God has established so that human beings can survive in a devil's world. And you can't beat this game.

1 Timothy 2:12-14: "But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet." This is primarily referring to the order of the local church service. There are no women pastors, and there are no women preachers. They are all around us in denominations, but it is not scriptural. It is a total violation of the order of male / female authority. Why? In order to do evil for the woman? In order to abuse her? No. This is so that life will be the greatest of ever for her. This is the way to make life great for the wife, and to make life great for women. That in turn makes life great for men.

"But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve." That's the reason for the order of authority. It's the order of coming into the family. The older children exercise authority over the younger children: "And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman, being quite deceived, fell into transgressions. This is why it is necessary for the husband to exercise authority to prevent the wife and the family from hurting themselves. This is made very clear – that Eve was deceived by Satan. She made a very bad mistake by listening to somebody who was talking against God, and who was talking against the principles that she had been taught, and who was dealing with Satan when her husband was not present to be in on the conversation. And she made a decision without consulting him. And the result was she ate the fruit.

When Adam came, he saw immediately what had happened. The glory covering that surrounded her body was gone, and he probably was smart enough to know that she had done something to cause God to take that away from her – that she had sinned. Soon, he found out exactly how, because she offered him this piece of fruit, and said, "This is delicious. Take a bite of this." And the Scripture says that His eyes were wide open. He picked up the fruit; he looked at it; he looked at her; he looked at that tree; he looked up at God; and, he looked at himself – a perfect, sinless man, with the glory of God shining out all over him. And she had dulled, burned out, crisp – nothing. And he knew there was a parting of the ways. And he had to say, "No, I'm going to stay with God." But that would've meant giving up Eve. And because he had that mental attitude love for her (he had that "agape" love for her. He couldn't do it. So, the Scripture says he decided that he'd sin with her. He was not tricked by the devil. And he proceeded to join her, taking care of her, even in that horrible moment that she had brought upon them. Now that is love – magnificent love, though ill-placed. But that's the way it is in the lines of authority.

What did it do to the children? The children became idlers and wasteful. As the fathers fail to control and discipline the children, things went from bad to worse. In Daniel 12:4, we have this observation made way back then, that says, "But as for you, Daniel, conceal these words, and seal up the book until the end of time. Many will go back and forth, and knowledge will increase. This is what happened, to some degree, in Rome. It has happened more in our time. The book of the revelation that Daniel sealed up is now open information to us. But we live in the time that God said is going to come, when people are going to be running, about to and frow. And transportation will be easy. They'll go everywhere. They'll never be settling down. Mothers will be out of the home, doing this and that. The father's going to be running around doing this and that. And the computer is going to make knowledge available like you never believed it – pouring out.

That's why, in Ephesians 6:4, God says, "When that time comes in human history, don't forget this." Ephesians 6:4: "And Fathers do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up in the discipline and instruction of the Lord." All the more you discipline them in a world like that. People are too busy elsewhere, indulging their interests, which cause the parents to rear these little barbarians.

Permissiveness

So, permissiveness became the keynote in child rearing in Rome. Restraint was gone. Mothers became absentee mothers. 2 Timothy 3:14-17: "They could not say to their children (as many Christian parents cannot say to their children today), 'You, however, continue in the things you have learned, and become convinced, and knowing from whom you have learned them. And that, from childhood, you have known the sacred writings, which are able to give you the wisdom that leads to salvation through faith, which is in Christ Jesus.'"

2 Timothy 3:16-17: "All Scriptures inspired by God, and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." They were not directing their children to authority modes of conduct. This is as Christian parents are not saying, "Here it is. It's the Word of God. It's the Word, and the Word, and the Word." That's why we do not absent ourselves from church. This is why we study and read the Scriptures during the week. This is why we act in our lives on biblical principles, not on what our friends think, or what our society tells us over the television.

So, what happened in Rome was that they became plagued with hostile, rebellious, lawless youth, who ended up, in effect, scoffing at their parents. So, the family unit was destroyed. And then there was no other end for Rome than that. Fathers were not held in respect. Mothers were not under the authority of the father. Children were not obedient to parents. Children did not live with their mother's eyeball-to-eyeball.

Another study has come out that completely refutes the feminist study that was given us this past week or two – that it that it doesn't make any difference whether a child is reared in a daycare or at home. They come out the same. This latest study showed that is not true. Unless you have that mother sitting there, eyeball-to-eyeball, doing what we do in K4 kindergarten for mothers, in effect, who sometimes, all day long, are not there to deal with their children, person-to-person, these children are way behind. They're injured terribly.

So, here, suddenly, came Rome. These children could even grow up to have the honor to want to protect the nation. So, what did Rome do? They had to resort to hired soldiers. The great Roman army had to hire soldiers. They had to go to these mercenaries in order to try to protect the empire, because the soul of the government (the soul of the nation) had been cut to shreds by the destruction of the family unit.

That is the game we are playing today, and only we, who know better, can change that.

Dr. John E. Danish, 1995

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