When Women Become Vile
A woman’s natural use for her body is to have intercourse with her husband and from this have children and nurse them at her breast. This is the way God created women to use their bodies but as a result of sin, as carefully described in Romans 1, and from their rejection of God, God gave them up to vile affections: for even their women did change the natural use into that which is against nature (Romans 1:26).
“For even their women—that sex whose priceless jewel and fairest ornament is modesty, and which, when that is once lost, not only becomes more shameless than the other sex, but lives henceforth only to drag the other sex down to its level” (Jamieson-Fausset Brown Commentary). Women have a huge influence upon culture. If they can tear their own homes down with their hands, they can tear down cultures. If they can win their husbands without a word by their conduct, they can win cultures.
“The moral worth of a woman holds a man in restraint and preserves his ways from becoming utterly corrupt. Mighty is the power of a woman in this respect. A woman’s influence is the chief anchor of society. The world is moved and civilization is advanced by the silent influence of women. Our times call on women of a higher order of character and life. Will they heed the call?” (from The Golden Gems of Life, 1880).
We must use this influence for good, women, by dressing modestly and using our bodies the way God intended us to use them. We must seek moral purity and pass this down to our children. We must love and obey our husbands and draw them to ourselves by our patience and kindness. Let’s model Christ and His Church to a depraved culture. People are watching us.
“The practices here referred to, though too abundantly attested by classic authors, cannot be further illustrated, without trenching on things which ‘ought not to be named among us as become the saints.'” (Gill’s Commentary). We aren’t supposed to know what the depraved do behind closed doors. We shouldn’t watch it on the movie screen, television, or through the Internet. We should have no desire to watch the latest popular celebrity who wants to change their gender and know the details. None of this should be named among us for we are commanded to dwell on the good and the lovely, instead.
“Observe, nevertheless, how the Apostle delineates the female dishonor in less concrete traits than the male. He touches the matter in Romans 1:26 briefly and clearly enough, but with delicate avoidance of detailed description…The Apostle’s point of view is the moral, which, in the case of female depravity, comes out most glaringly. And therefore Paul, in order to cast the most tragic light possible on these conditions, puts the brief delineation of female conduct in the foreground, in order then symmetrically to subjoin, with, the male vice as the second part of the filthy category” (Meyer’s Commentary).
I believe it is more egregious for women to leave their natural function than it is for men since women don’t have the strong and powerful sex drive that men have. Men have ten times the testosterone and just their anatomy and the fact that they are visually stimulated makes it more difficult for them to remain morally pure. This is why women are called to be modest, discreet, and chaste for the good of culture. It is easier for them and when they lose this, all hell breaks lose and culture sinks into all types of depravity quickly.
“On this and the next verse we must not comment in detail. The hideous vices here plainly named, one of them in particular, frightfully deface some of the very fairest pages of ancient literature.” (Cambridge Commentary) A few of the commentaries made reference to this fact of not knowing the details. The Bible doesn’t go into any sordid details and neither should we. This means we need to be careful about the books we read and things we see. We should keep our eyes on things above and desire more than anything to be pure and holy (set apart) as the Lord has called us to be.
Let’s use our bodies for the natural functions in which the Lord created them to be used by getting married when a godly man wants to marry us, bearing children if we are blessed, and guiding the home.
22 thoughts on “When Women Become Vile”
Now I mean this respectfully and you certainly don’t have to publish this question but I do want to ask.
If women are indeed the weaker sex, how can it be that it is harder for men to remain morally pure?? How does their anatomy make it more difficult for them?
Women are the weaker sex when it comes to strength. Men are stronger, faster, and more powerful than women. They are the builders of cultures and inventors of most things. God created them to be this way. They also have ten times the testosterone, are much more visually stimulated than women, and if you don’t know what I mean by their anatomy, you’re going to have to figure that one out!
If I could respectfully add to Lori’s answer, it is also important to consider what would have been taken from this phrase in the 1st century context. Women not only have weaker bodies (as a general rule), but they were often seen as a commodity to be bartered, traded, and owned. They had no power socially, politically, or economically. Abuse of women was common. A woman who was cast away by her husband often had no options other than begging or prostitution. So, when men are instructed to honor their wives as the weaker vessel, it is talking about a woman’s need to be led, provided for, and under headship of her husband, as she had a very grim outlook without her husband’s protection. God saw her as a human being with worth, but only through her husband’s care and provision could she live in that based on how her culture saw her.
Agreed, and it’s not feminism that has given women value and worth like feminists like to claim. It is Christianity that has done this for women; for Christ came to earth through a woman and brought value and worth to women since He died and paid the penalty for their sin, too. He spoke to women with little value in their culture, rescued one from being stoned, praised one for washing His feet with perfume, and made sure His mother would be cared for after His death.
Tam, apart from modern day jobs where women can use their intellect instead of their muscles, women would still be significantly weaker then men and dependent upon them. The intellect of men and women is similar, but strength and stamina is not.
God created women to be the weaker sex by given men far more testosterone that builds muscle. Nature is in agreement that women are the weaker vessel. We don’t know if women in general have the capacity intellectually to be as creative or determined to press forward in inventions and progress as men because up until now 98% of all things invented and built has been created by men, not women. Will women catch up to men now with their new found freedom created by jobs not requiring muscles and stamina? Only time will tell, but there is a lot of catching up to do and the progress is not happening at the rate many think it can. So far it is proven that a woman cannot be on par with the average marine in effectiveness, and apart from taking testosterone she never will. Women also in general cannot be fully women in making a family without taking time off to bear children and raise them. And taking time off puts them at a disadvantage in the workplace for productivity and advancement. It’s the facts of life. Have a man spend so much energy on child bearing and raising a family and he too will be at a disadvantage to a man who does not have the same responsibilities.
Weaker does not refer to the value of a person. We are all uniquely and equally valued to God, but built differently by God and nature for different roles in life. God designed man to love, protect and provide for his wife and family.
I don’t think that there’s any doubt that by virtue of their hormones and the design of their bodies that men are more open to visual stimulation and have a higher and more constant ‘sex drive’ than women.
More critically women are designed by God to receive, nurture and care for HIS gift of perfect new life and as such not only do they have an obligation to him to keep themselves pure, chaste, modest and worthy of that gift, but their husbands and Godly society has every right to expect that of them.
That verse you quoted in Romans, I always thought that pertained to homosexuality. Women being intimate with other women. That is what has always been quoted to me when speaking about homosexuality being a sin. But the old commentary you’ve used doesn’t mention that at all. Are you able to shed any light on this for me please as I’m confused. Thanks 🙂
That is true, it is Christianity which gives women that value and worth accorded by Our Lord, but it also asks of women that by their virtue they make themselves worthy of that worth.
I know it goes very much against feminist thinking but I do feel that husband’s, parents, the Church and ultimately society has every right to teach women and girls the importance of purity, chastity, modestly and ultimately morality and to expect women to follow God – because it is so important to the family, to children and ultimately to society.
Does it not allude to all forms of sexual sin including homosexuality, self abuse and contraception ?
Homosexuality is leaving the normal function of their bodies which is to have intercourse with a man, have his children, and nurse them at her breast. This is what God created the female body for and lesbianism is completely opposite and a perversion of what He created women for.
I completely agree but is the same not also true of self abuse and contraception.
Can I also add (as you meant I’m sure) intercourse in marriage !
Suzanne T would you be willing to elaborate on your “self abuse” being sin, comment? I’m not sure I understand what you’re saying there. Are you talking about a mentally unwell person harming themselves, or something else? Mental illness is not sin, it’s a sickness.
I agree Lori. This is exactly my understanding of this verse. While I agree with the entirety of the post, I’ve never heard that particular verse used to teach morality, which is why I was confused. Immorality is still a “natural function” of a woman’s body. Homosexuality is not.
Suzanne T – No I’ve never considered (or heard that verse taught as) pertaining to all forms of sexual sin. Most sexual sin still falls within the “natural use” of the body. There are plenty of verses that teach morality (both sexual morality and in general), but I have never, in 30+ years of attending a very conservative church which teaches morality and modesty regularly, heard that verse used in that context. It doesn’t make any sense to me to interpret it in the way the person who wrote that commentary does.
By self abuse in this context I was referring to masturbation. Which – in my view – like the use of contraception in marital intercourse and homosexual acts goes against the ‘natural function’ of her body.
Whereas I accept that however sinful, premarital sex and adulterous acts may arguably not.
Isn’t the acceptance, even promoting of lesbian behaviour symptomatic of the unnatural ‘sexualisation’ of women which comes from the contraceptive culture which seeks to separate sexual activity from its natural purpose and outcome – that of procreation ?
Wow.
Men and women are equally immoral. You don’t think women goosip, slander, cause strife and division? Those are all moral concepts. Study after study shows women physically abuse children more than men. Women are more physically abusive to men. If you want to say men cause more harm, then yes men cause more physical harm due to their physical strength.
If you want to look at redemptive qualities men out pace women a thousand fold. They might DO something immoral, but they compartmentalize it and get tasks done. Women on the other hand do not compartmentalize well and when found guilty of immorality they will blame away and act the victim.
Of course there are outlier, but this would be the general case.
It says women are easily decieved. It also says don’t be deceived. Guard yourselves. If women are incapable of doing this, I would say they are less moral and weaker spiritually. You cannot have it both ways Tam. Who was deceived first? That would be Eve. So who sinned against God first? That would be Eve. So who rebelled first? Eve. If rebellion is sin and all sin is immoral that would make Eve just as immoral Adam…
For every man who commits adultery, there is a woman involved. Is that woman invloved immoral?
I don’t believe that the sinful behaviour which I have quoted falls under the ‘natural use of the body’ any more than homosexual behaviour would do. As Lori rightly says the natural purpose of a woman’s body is to have intercourse with her husband during which she is open to the conception which her body is designed to nurture.
Whilst a woman who fornicates or is adulterous is nevertheless using her body as God intended (all be it in sin) a woman who abuses her body or who uses contraception is obviously not.
Thank you for clarifying that, Susanne. I agree with you about masturbation. The Bible is very clear that the woman’s body is for her husband.
It is good to hear of a Church actively teaching about modesty.