Equipping Eve: Finding Healing in the Father of Mercies

The Church’s Need to Equip Women with Biblical Truth

Is the Church today doing everything it can to provide women a firm foundation of truth in Christ Jesus? Well, it's true, there's no shortage of candy-coated Bible studies, potluck fellowships available to ladies, but beyond Sunday morning, are Christian women being properly equipped to stand against the same deceptions that even enticed Eve in the Garden?

In an attempt to address the need for trustworthy, biblical resources for women, No Compromise Radio is happy to introduce Equipping Eve, a ladies-only radio show that seeks to equip women with fruits of truth in an age that's ripe with deception.

My name is Mike Ebendroth, and I'm pleased to introduce your host, Erin Benzinger, a friend of No Compromise Radio and a woman who wants to see other women equipped with a love for and a knowledge of the truth of God's Word.

Truth, Error, and the Church Acting Like the World

Well, hello ladies, and welcome to Equipping Eve. I am your host, Erin Benzinger, and today we're going to take a look at God's Word as we do every show and see what it has to say about some of the craziness that is out there in the world.

You know, it is so important that we are so immersed in God's Word that we're just dripping with it, that we know what the truth says, because truth can be known through God's Word alone. And if we know what that truth says, we can recognize error when we see it.

And that's error whether it's in a church, you know, a self-professed church. Many of these buildings and gatherings that call themselves churches shouldn't call themselves churches. But we need to know what God's Word says so that we won't be deceived when a false teacher or a false teaching is thrown at us and is twisting God's Word.

We need to know what that Word actually says. You know, but we also need to be aware of the deceptions that are out there in the world. A lot of people think that our main enemy is the world and the atheists and the abortion supporters and the homosexual marriage supporters and enemies of the gospel, enemies of God.

Yes, of course they are, but they need the gospel so that they can understand their sin and their vital need for a Savior, the only one who can save them from eternal damnation, the Lord Jesus Christ.

But you know, we expect the world to act like the world. What we don't expect is for the church to act like the world. And that's a fairly close paraphrase of a quote from Dr. John MacArthur that he delivered a couple of years ago now.

And it's so true. We expect the world to act like the world. So often we see Christians getting very upset over the things the world is doing. And I think it's okay to have a righteous anger toward depravity and sin and the celebration of that depravity and sin in the world.

Of course we should be jealous and zealous for the righteousness of God, however, what more do we expect from the world? You know, and we've talked about this on the show before, we expect that the world is lost.

The world is hostile to God. So why am I getting upset when a lost sinner does something a lost sinner would do? You know, we need to be mindful that we're not letting that rile us up in the wrong way.

Let it spur us on to evangelism. Let it spur us on to live our lives in holiness and striving for righteousness as we seek to be more and more like Christ each and every day. But, you know, let's be mindful of our reaction to the world.

Now, when we see the same things that are prevalent in the world creeping into the church, the alleged professing Christian church, you know, I think then we have reason to get a little more angry, again, but in a productive way, you know, in a way that seeks for truth, that seeks for the exaltation of God's truth and God's word, and ultimately, for the exaltation of Jesus Christ.

And that's what it comes down to. All this craziness in the church, craziness in the world, it all comes down to a diminishing of the gospel and a denigration of the Lord Jesus Christ. And we need to seek to elevate Him at every turn, shouldn't we?

Shouldn't we desire to do that? This is the God-man who saved us. This is the Messiah. This is the one who bled and died, who bore the wrath of God for our sins. The sinless Savior who purchased us with His blood.

Should we not seek to make everything about Him? It only stands to reason. And so we expect the world to act like the world, but we don't expect the church to act like the world. And yet, more and more, you know, just when you think the church can't get any more like the world, it does.

Why the Christianity Today Article on Boudoir Photography Is Concerning

And we spoke a few weeks ago now on a particular article that appeared in Christianity Today. Back in February, February 11, 2016, the article was written by Maureen Garcia, and it appears on the Hermeneutics site of Christianity Today, which is kind of a women's blog there at this online and print magazine.

Does anyone still buy the print magazine? I don't. That seems like that would be a waste of money. Anyway, we talked a little bit about this article already. And when I got into the article, I ended up taking the discussion on a different term than I had originally planned.

So I wanted to circle back, and we're going to kind of jump off, use this article as a jumping off point, and talk a little bit about the reality that Christ should be our focus in all things and in all situations, and talk a little bit about God as the Father of mercies, the God of all comfort.

And you know, sometimes in certain circles, it's emphasized that we look at the loftiness of God and just His mightiness and His holiness, and He is so far above us and exalted so highly. And that is right and good and true.

And I am probably the biggest culprit of that, and I don't use culprit in a bad way. But we can be so caught up in the vastness, the vast greatness of God and His high loftiness that sometimes we forget how personal He is, and that He is the God of all comfort, that He is the Father of mercies, as scripture tells us, that He is a personal God who knows and loves each one of His children whom He has chosen, and that He cares for them.

Not just in a means of providing for our daily needs, but He cares for us as a Father, cares for His children. And when you stop and ponder that reality, that can just blow your mind. And don't take it too far to the extent of, oh, God loves me so much because I'm pretty amazing.

Why wouldn't God love me? No, no, no, no, no. God loves you because that's who He is, because that's how great He is. It's not about you. Again, it's not about you. Let me remind us all again. It's not about us.

It's about God and who God is. This goes back to His loftiness and His greatness and His majesty, that He is so wonderful that He even has this personal care and provision and love and comfort and mercy for each one of His children.

How amazing is that? That is the God we serve. That is amazing. There must be a better word for it, but I can't think of one right now. I hope in heaven we get new words so that we can describe God better.

I just feel like our language fails us over and over and over again. Anyway, back to this article, published in Christianity Today back in February 2016, written by Maureen Garcia. The title of the article is Finding Healing in Front of the Camera.

The topic of this article is this trend, apparently, of boudoir photography, bedroom photography type thing. The article is using one particular photographer as an example. The author says that this photographer, whose name is Sarah, her studio specializes in boudoir, style of intimate portraits with subjects in undergarments, lingerie, and various states of undress.

This photographer says that this type of photography helps women be able to embrace themselves, to feel beautiful, and acknowledge that they are stunning creatures. Then the author goes on and says, but the idea of stripping down to take sexy photos poses real questions for me as a Christian.

I wonder, am I allowed to feel sexy for the sake of it? Do the Bible's teachings on modesty prevent us from actually desiring to feel beautiful, stunning, and confident? She goes on, she says, finally, what about the images themselves?

While most boudoir photography is done in a tasteful style, the style is undeniably sexy and often revealing. How do we distinguish between these kinds of photos and porn? And should we be concerned about privacy and the possibility of these photos somehow becoming public?

Personally, I think if you have to ask that question, then there you go. There's your answer. You've now asked these questions. That's because you think that you might be blurring a line that should not be blurred, should not be crossed.

She goes on, she says, as Christians called to honor God with heart, mind, and body, what we do with our bodies has spiritual significance. In a marriage, there's also the responsibility of considering bodies in service to one another as to become one flesh.

And we also have to consider in a marriage, your body is reserved for your spouse. Now, all of a sudden, you've brought a photographer into it, man or woman, and you've now revealed to this photographer something that only your spouse should be seeing.

This seems like a no-brainer, but apparently it's not because it's a thing, it's a trend. And this author, presumably a Christian, takes a spin here in this article and wants to look at why it might be okay for some Christian women to engage in this type of photography.

She writes, despite these reservations, I find myself delighted at the potential that some Christian women could benefit from the experience of boudoir photography. As someone who has experienced sexual violation, I believe these sessions could help heal and empower women who have been mistreated or abused.

How does that work? How does posing practically nude in front of a camera make you feel empowered? Whether you've been abused or not, that should make you feel lowly, it should make you feel sinful, it should make you feel like you shouldn't be doing it because it's wrong.

Why? Why would you seek to feel healing and empowerment from something like this that could be then even taken and used for other people's sin? It seems rather foolish. It seems like you're celebrating the sins for which Christ died.

Well, that's backwards, isn't it? We don't celebrate sin. Christ died for that. She writes, sexual abuse and assault leave victims exposed and vulnerable. It's a kind of hurt that can linger long after the abuser has gone and often it weighs heavily on one's sexual identity.

I think I said last time, I don't know what that even means, one's sexual identity. I don't know what that's supposed to be. Anyway, she continues, an abuse of past causes women to associate sex with shame or pain.

It shakes women's relationships with their own bodies and their sense of self. Again, what does that mean? It seems like we're in the self-esteem movement now. By aiming to create a positive and controlled setting for women to showcase their sexuality, a boudoir session can leave someone feeling seen, not exposed, and active, not powerless.

Photography is uniquely equipped to do this kind of work. It has both a physical and emotional dimension to it. It can lead us to experience our embodiment as something lovely, something that images God's beauty and strength.

She says some clients use the photography session as a way to heal from trauma of various kinds. One of Sarah's clients had gone through cycle after cycle of unsuccessful in vitro treatments and she had begun to feel like a science experiment.

She scheduled a boudoir shoot because she wanted to do something different with her body and reestablish her femininity. Well, to be fair, you're the one who scheduled the in vitro treatments. If it was starting to make you feel like that, then maybe you shouldn't have done it.

I don't understand why you need to then schedule a photography session where you expose yourself in front of perfect strangers and the photographs and negatives could go anywhere in order to reestablish your femininity.

How does posing scantily, clad, in front of a camera reestablish your femininity? Can you not be feminine with clothes on? Continuing, the article says that pornography objectifies people, reducing their bodies to something merely intended to sexually arouse the viewer, but boudoir begins with a woman's experience as the subject of the photos, shifting the perspective and agency to her.

Well, that's only to her. To someone who's looking at the photo, it might be a very different story. But she chooses to do the shoot as well as what to wear, what to cover, and what to reveal, so it gives you the power.

From the start, the subjects are viewed as special and beautiful, treated to makeup and hairstyling, then encouraged and affirmed through the poses. Her photos aren't meant to titillate a male fantasy, but to evoke wonder in the presence of feminine beauty.

Writes Maureen Garcia, I could see the benefits of boudoir photography for a few of my Christian friends. One struggles with shame and rejection because of her husband's sexual issues, and boudoir might help her recognize her beauty, rather than continuing to see herself through her husband's warped perceptions.

And so, one of the points of this article is that this can be healing if you were abused or your husband apparently has sexual issues. It's very much a self-esteem push. It's very much a narcissistic approach to this idea that, well, I've been hurt, and so I need to do something for me to make me feel better about my situation.

Now, I don't want to downplay those who have been abused in any way, shape, or form, especially those who have been sexually abused. But I want us to think biblically about this. Why would we seek out something that celebrates us, our sinful selves?

Now, no, it was not your sin that is the cause of your abuse. That's someone else's sin, of course. But nevertheless, the answer in finding healing from that experience is not found in elevating yourself and making yourself feel good and potentially causing others to sin and exposing yourself, exposing something that God designed for private use only, for lack of a better term, something that God designed to be enjoyed only by your spouse or, if you're not married, by no one.

You see, it doesn't mesh with what we should desire as Christians. As a Christian woman, regardless of what has happened to you, should you desire to feel empowered in and of yourself? Should you desire to be put on display?

Okay, so it's not pornography proper. It's still putting you on display in a very scandalous way. Is that something a Christian woman should desire? You know, I can't help but think of, and it's a very different context in the text, so I use this carefully, but in Romans 13, Paul is talking about our lives of holiness and talking about how we should live now that we have been saved.

Now, he starts the chapter commanding every person to be subject to the governing authorities, but as the chapter goes on, he turns to the law and is describing what the life of a Christian looks like.

Not that we keep the law to get saved, but we desire to live lives of holiness once we have been saved. We live these lives in gratitude for what the Lord has done for us, and we live lives of progressive sanctification, growing in holiness, growing in Christlikeness, by the enablement and empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

And Paul writes in Romans 13, verse 12,. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy, but put on the Lord Jesus Christ and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.

Is engaging in boudoir photography the definition of putting on the Lord Jesus Christ? Ask yourself. Think about that. And so we can look at it from this perspective of if we are living lives of holiness, is this something we should be engaging in?

And I would argue that the answer is a very clear no. Now, this notion that this is how you find comfort, this is how you find healing. Ladies, where do we find the source, the true source of our comfort?

Where do we find the true source of our healing from our own sin, from the sins that have been inflicted upon us by others? I hope that you don't have to think long about that answer. That is God. That is the Lord Jesus Christ.

God as the Father of Mercies and the God of All Comfort

In 2 Corinthians 1, Paul starts this letter and he says in verse 3,. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our afflictions so that we will be able to comfort those who are in any affliction with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

For just as the sufferings of Christ are ours in abundance, so also our comfort is abundant through Christ. But if we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation, or if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which is effective in the patient enduring of the same sufferings which we also suffer.

And our hope for you is firmly grounded, knowing that as you are sharers of our sufferings, so also you are sharers of our comfort. Of course, Paul was persecuted throughout his ministry as well, and much of this discussion can be looked at, you know, in the midst of suffering for Christ, God is our comfort.

But as a matter of who God is, he is the Father of mercies and the God of all comfort. Now, these two titles that Paul uses here are actually two Old Testament titles for God. And John MacArthur points this out in his commentary on the passage and says that he is the Father of mercies to those who seek him.

Faced with the choice of punishments, David said to Gad, let us now fall into the hand of the Lord, for his mercies are great. In Psalm 8615, he wrote,. But you, O Lord, are a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abundant in loving kindness and truth.

MacArthur writes,. The New Testament also reveals God's mercy. Zechariah, the father of John the Baptist, spoke of the tender mercy of our God, with which the sunrise from on high will visit us. To the Romans, Paul wrote,.

Therefore, I urge you, brethren, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your spiritual service of worship. In Ephesians 2 -4, he described God as being rich in mercy.

And indeed, is he not? It is God who causes us to be born again. Is that not merciful? MacArthur goes on and says,. The Old Testament also reveals God to be the God of all comfort. In Isaiah, God said of suffering Israel,.

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. In the New Testament, Jesus promised,. Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are those who mourn over their sin especially, for they shall be comforted.

And so, Paul, as he had experienced so much suffering and persecution, especially due to the false teachers that were prevalent there at Corinth, he was exalting God for his mercy and comfort, even in those afflictions.

Writes MacArthur,. In God's merciful comforting of him, Paul received the strength he needed to carry on. And for Paul to call that out at the beginning of his letter is so telling, and it's so, so descriptive of our Lord.

He is our mercy and he is our comfort. And because that is who God is, this means that he is faithful. Do you see how his attributes just all intertwined? The Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, the God of faithfulness.

God’s Faithfulness and the Call to Trust His Promises

A .W. Pink, in his book, The Attributes of God, says that unfaithfulness is one of the most outstanding sets of these evil deeds. In the business world, a man's word is,.

With exceedingly rare exceptions, no longer his time, interest, etc.

He says, even in the ecclesiastical realm, thousands who have solemnly covenanted to preach the truth made no scruple to attack and deny it, nor can reader or writer claim complete immunity from this fearful sin.

In how many ways have we been unfaithful to Christ into the light and privileges which God has entrusted to us? How refreshing then, how unspeakably blessed to lift our eyes above this scene of ruin and behold one who is faithful in all things and at all times.

Deuteronomy 7 -9,. Know therefore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God. Pink says, mark this ladies, he says, This quality, the faithfulness of God, is essential to his being. Without it, he would not be God.

For God to be unfaithful would be to act contrary to his nature, which is impossible. And so God, the God of mercy and the God of comfort, is a faithful God. Therefore, he will be faithful to bestow upon his children his mercy and his comfort in afflictions.

Right? It just is a logical flow of this amazing God that we serve. Pink goes on, he says, God is true. His word of promise is sure. In all his relations with his people, God is faithful. He may be safely relied upon.

And so, ladies, if you've been abused, but you've been saved, you may rely upon God. He is faithful to his people. And so where do you turn when you need healing from that abuse, from that hurt that is deeper than I can possibly fathom?

You turn to the God of comfort who is faithful and who will be faithful to grant you his comfort. Who will be faithful to heal you. A .W. Pink says, We find this precious truth that God is faithful expressed almost everywhere in the scriptures.

For his people need to know that faithfulness is an essential part of the divine character. This is the basis of our confidence in him. Again, now we take his faithfulness to salvation. If he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, we've been forgiven of our sins.

And if he has saved us, will he not be faithful to keep us? I mean, the faithfulness of God, it goes so far beyond the things that happen to us in this life. So far beyond the things that just don't last.

God's faithfulness is eternal. And it is essential to his divine character. Pink says, It's one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as a divine truth. It's quite another to act upon it. God has given us many great, exceeding great and precious promises, but are we really counting on his fulfillment of them?

Are we actually expecting him to do for us all that he has said? Ladies, do you live as though God is faithful? As though even in your times of affliction, he will be faithful to provide. He will be faithful to carry you through it.

Whatever that looks like. It may not look the way you think it should, but it will be the absolute best way that you could come through a situation. Because God is in control. God is in sovereign control.

He has ordained the situation for you. And he has ordained how you will come through the situation. And he is faithful. Pink writes, There are seasons in the lives of all when it is not easy, no, not even for Christians, to believe that God is faithful.

When you are tempted to doubt the faithfulness of God, he says, cry out, get thee hence, Satan. Though you cannot now harmonize God's mysterious dealings with the avowals of his love, wait on him for more light.

In his own good time, he will make it plain to you. So are you running to get your picture taken with a racy photo so that you can feel healed and empowered? Tell me, when you look at that photo a month later, a year later, 10 years later, will you still feel as empowered?

Or will you feel like you exposed something that should not have been exposed? Will you feel as though perhaps you doubted God's faithfulness to bring you comfort and to bring you through your affliction?

Will having a black and white photo of yourself in whatever state of dress really be something that you turn to, something that lasts when you seek healing, when you seek comfort in genuine affliction?

Or will it end up being a source of further hurt? What does the desire to have this photo or anything else, pick something else that we use to make ourselves feel better about us. Pick something. What does the desire to have that, to do that, to exercise that, what does that ultimately point to?

Does it point to you? Is it about you? Or is it about Christ? Even if something horrible has been done to you, you must keep your focus on Christ and make it about Christ so that when you do come through that time of trial and affliction, when you do come out the other side feeling healed, you can give Him the glory.

Not say, Oh, it's because I felt really empowered because I had this picture taken. No. It's about Christ. He must be our focus. And if He is, that is where we will seek, desire to seek for our comfort, and that is where we will find our comfort.

Our God is Father of mercies, the God of all comfort, and a God of faithfulness. The junk that happens in this life can cause us to forget that, lose our focus, even doubt that. Ladies, go back to His word.

Go back to His word and see time and time again the faithfulness of God to His people. And remember that that is the God who shed His blood for you. That is the God, the Lord Jesus Christ, who purchased you with that precious blood, that sinless blood.

Isn't He enough? Isn't that enough comfort to last you for eternity? That's all the time we have for today, ladies. I hope you'll ponder these things as always. And until the next time, we get to chat.

Get in your Bibles, get on your knees, and get equipped.

Thanks for listening. You've been listening to Equipping Eve, a no-compromise radio production. If you'd like to get a hold of Erin, you can reach her at equippingeve at gmail .com, or you can check out one of her two websites, do notbesurprised .com, or equippingeve .org.

Thanks for listening.