THE CHRISTIAN WOMAN AND WOMAN'S LIBERATION 
Romans 16:1‑2
Jesus Christ our Lord liberated womanhood. Unfortunately many involved in the modern Women's Liberation Movement are not aware of this. Every Jewish man prayed a prayer of thanksgiving to God daily which included thanksgiving that he was not born a woman. When the plight of woman was considered, the thanksgiving seems to have been justified. Her position was not very much above any other piece of property that might be in the household. Her rights were very few. But without any dramatic declaration, or radical action, Jesus changed this.

His example contributed to the change. He never made any difference in His response to women and men. He responded to women with the same sincerity and concern that He gave to men. Just to mention Mary, Martha, the Syrophencian woman, and the woman of Sychar is to be reminded of this. He seemed to always identify himself with the woman in need. Do you recall how He treated the adulterous woman who was dragged into His presence by her critics? Jesus changed things for women.

The attitude of Jesus toward women was emulated by His followers. Though they could never do it just like He did it, they did attempt to put into practice His attitudes toward women. This word of commendation penned by Paul to the Roman church gives us some insight into his attitude and practice. Paul has been given a bad reputation unfairly when it comes to his attitude toward women. Unless you take all of his reference to women together, you cannot see the whole picture. While he did maintain that God's order for the home should be continued, he also taught that women had been liberated in a very important way.

Phoebe provides a worthy example of a liberated woman. This good woman had come to Christ out of a Pagan background in the port city of Cenchrea. Her name identifies her with Diana, the popular idol of the Greeks. She may have worshipped often in the temple to Apollo which stood in the city of Corinth just nine miles away. But at the time of this writing she is journeying from Cenchrea to Rome as a mature, godly Christian woman.

THE LIBERATED CHRISTIAN WOMAN
In commending Phoebe to the Roman church, Paul uses three very descriptive words which give us insight into the person and ministry of this woman. Interestingly, we might consider this Roman letter to be a church letter. It served the purpose of introducing this good woman to the believers in Rome. In that day you needed some such letter of introduction to gain entrance into the Christian fellowship. This letter was carried by Phoebe from Corinth to Rome as her letter of introduction. The three words used of her help us see her as a liberated woman.

The Christian woman is a sister. "I commend unto you Phoebe our sister". We have used this title so much that it may have lost some of its punch to us. "Sister" is a very personal term. It identifies her as one who shares equally in the fellowship of the family of God. Women are sisters in the church"‑‑ not things. A woman is accepted as a person for whom Christ died; as one who has received the grace of life. Christians are aware that in Christ there is neither "male or female".

I can understand why a woman of the world would want to be liberated. In much of the world she is looked upon as a sex object ‑‑‑ not a person. Her value is measured by the size of her bosom, the shape of her legs, the color of her hair‑‑or a dozen different such things. If she works, she feels like she is just a number ‑‑‑ a commodity that belongs to the business. If she is married to an unChristian husband, she may feel like she is little more than a piece of furniture there. But a Christian woman should never feel such a need for liberation. When she comes to the house of God to worship, in the fellowship of the church she should experience love and acceptance as a "sister" in the Lord‑‑‑not as a number or thing.

Phoebe was also a "servant in the church". This particular word demands some more study. Some of the modern translations translate this word "deaconess" or minister. In fact, C. B. Williams, our trustworthy Baptist scholar, translates the word "deaconess." The reason for such a translation is that the Greek word is the word for "deacon". However scholars are divided over whether or not we should see this as an official position in the church at Cenchrea. Whether or not it was an official position in the church at this time is debatable, but by the end of the first century the churches did have "deaconesses". In favor of this would be the fact that no such reference is made to the wives of the bishops. Evidently in the early church some mature women, usually widows, were set apart for a special ministry to the women of the congregation. They would care for their physical, emotional and spiritual needs. I am inclined to believe that Phoebe did occupy such an official position in the ministry of the church at Cenchrae.

While the women were not to occupy the place of authority, as the authoritative teacher, or bishop of the congregation, they were free to enter fully into the wider ministry of the church.

Our church is fortunate to have some of the sisters of Phoebe in our fellowship. Though we have not ordained them, or given to them official status, they are most effective in witnessing and ministering in the name of the Lord.

Phoebe was also " a succourer of many, and of myself also." This Greek word came from the city of Athens where such a person would use their money and position to help those without civic standing, those in danger of being oppressed. This may indicate that Phoebe was a woman of some financial means, and a woman of important standing in the community. Evidently she was also a widow. But whatever money and position she possessed, she used to help others less fortunate than herself. On some occasion she had even used it to benefit Paul who was often in need of help because of his zeal for the Gospel. Do you suppose that she may have sustained Paul physically through some time of illness, or maybe used her influence to help him out of some tight place judicially?

Does this sound like the story of a woman who was treated as an inferior in the fellowship of the church? Does this sound like the story of a woman bound by the oppression of the men of the congregation? Interestingly in the greetings extended in this chapter, there are at least seven other notable women mentioned. No! The truth is that Christian women are liberated women. In the fellowship of the church they are free to become all that God wants them to become, and to enter fully into the fellowship of the people of God, and to work to honor their Lord and serve His people.

THE LIBERATED CHRISTIAN CHURCH
In his commendation of Phoebe to the church at Rome, the Apostle is concerned that the churches do the Christian thing toward this good woman. He wants them to be the liberated church, free to treat her as a fellow Christian ‑‑‑ not bound by the pagan attitudes that might discount her since she was a woman. Two very pointed admonitions are addressed to the church.

First, the church should welcome her into their fellowship fully. "That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints." "Receive" means to welcome fully. It is made up of the two words that mean "to welcome", "face to face". She should be received into the fellowship of the church without any limitations. "In the Lord" reminds us that we meet together not as men and women, but as Christians, as persons in the Lord. We must be aware of this even when we reach out the hand of welcome to another person in the church. "As becometh saints" may mean that they should receive her in a manner that would be becoming of people who are saints. Their welcome ought to be saintly. Or it may mean that they would receive her as a saint. If we remember that a saint is one who is consecrated to God, then we can understand the implications of this. We should welcome Christian women as those who belong to the Lord himself, we should treat them as the Lord's own special people.

Second, the church should aid her in any way possible. "And that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you." "Assist" is a word that means to stand beside another in a helping kind of way. What was the nature of this dear lady's business in Rome? We do not know. Evidently by this the Apostle is referring to something other than a spiritual need‑‑some material or legal matter probably. Yet the church should sustain her, stand beside her.

In the modern world, there are at least two groups of Christian women who need special assistance from the fellowship of the church. One such group is the widows of the congregations The Lord expects the fellowship of the church to stand by its widows with a special helping hand. At this point, we have been negligent. I am presently working with our deacons, and with our director of Social ministries to find practical ways to minister more effectively to the widows of the congregation.

But there is another group that needs the ministry of the church. In the fellowship of the church we have many women who have been hurt by broken marriages. Unfortunately when this happens, many of them no longer feel welcome and wanted in the fellowship of the church. They are driven to other places in their search for meaningful acceptance. While a part of the feeling is the result of their own thinking, another part of it is the result of the church failing to be the healing hand of God in their lives. Every Christian congregation needs to relate to this group redemptively in our day. Why could not a group of godly Christian women be of assistance to a young mother who finds herself trying to face the world without the help of a husband at her side?

Many want to be critical of the social ministry of the church in our day. The criticism grows out of an ignorance of the New Testament. The church of the Lord Jesus Christ is commissioned to stand with its members in whatever business they may face. We are concerned about their total lives‑‑not just their souls. As the people of Christ, we have been liberated from the false ideas and prejudices that would keep us from doing just this. We have also been given a view of our fellow man that helps us see him as a person of worth and value.

The church must never be bound by its age. It lives in the ageless spirit of its Lord. As such we are not followers of fads and ideas that may come along, but followers of the Lord Christ Himself. This must be true as we face the modern feminist movements.