Women In Scripture Introduction

" The timeless hymn "Oh God, Our Help In Ages Past was penned as a summary of Psalm 90 by the beloved "Father of English Hymnody" Isaac Watts, reminding us that-"Time, like an ever rolling stream,Bears all its sons away;They fly, forgotten, as a dreamDies at the opening day." True believers will fly from this world to our Heavenly home and most of us will be forgotten here on earth within a generation or two. God however, has kept a remembrance of many notable women through the pages of Scripture for the purpose of instructing His people in every age (Romans 15:4). We have examples of both the unsavory, as Christ warned, "Remember Lot's wife!" (Luke 17:32), and the godly like Sarah, whose daughters we shall become if we imitate her virtuous behavior (I Peter 3:6). The Bible also lays out unique complementarian roles for men and women in the home and the church while at the same time providing complete spiritual equality. "There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, "for you are all one in Christ Jesus." - Galatians 3:28" Wherever the Gospel of grace has been woven into the fabric of society women have enjoyed social freedoms and privileges. Such liberty is foreign to women in many of the world's religions and cultures which view them as little more than objects or property. To the contrary, true Christianity calls husbands to love their wives as Christ loved the church and laid down His life for her (Eph. 5:25) and raises women to a life of excellence and virtue."Christianity, born in a world where Roman and Hebrew cultures intersected, elevated the status of women to an unprecedented height. Jesus' disciples included several women (Lk. 8:1-3), a practice almost unheard of among the rabbis of His day. Not only that, He "encouraged" their discipleship by portraying it as something more needful than domestic service (Lk. 10:38-42). In fact, Christ's first recorded explicit disclosure of His own identity as the true Messiah was made to a Samaritan woman (Jn. 4:25-26). He always treated women with the utmost dignity-even women who might otherwise be regarded as outcasts (Mt.9:20-22; Lk.7:37-50; Jn.4:7-27). He blessed their children (Lk18:15-16), raised their dead (Lk 7:12-15), forgave their sins (Lk.7:44-48), and restored their virtue and honor (Jn.8:4-11). Thus he exalted the position of womanhood itself." - John MacArthur (1) Over the coming weeks we'll be getting better acquainted with women who were very much like you and I. Their stories span more than 2,000 years from Sarah in the Old Testament to Phoebe in the New and we will see how each woman's life was changed from ordinary to extraordinary through the power of God. The articles in this series will be brought to us by a group of like minded women who have experienced a transformed life through faith in the atonement and resurrection of Jesus Christ. We'll also be having a Book Giveaway at the close of our series. If you'd like to enter the drawing to win a copy of John MacArthur's TWELVE EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN" and you live in one of "THESE COUNTRIES just let me know by leaving a comment on any of the posts in our series. Please join us on Monday, Wednesday and Fridays and invite your friends! You can follow this series by subscribing by Email or Reader or by liking the Theology For Girls Facebook page. Come back on Wednesday as Christina Langella introduces us to a woman who quietly "served in the shadows". May God bless this humble collaboration. (1) TWELVE EXTRAORDINARY WOMEN BY JOHN MACARTHUR; THOMAS NELSON; 2005 PG XIV