Saved in Childbearing 1 Tim. 2:15 CLICK TITLE FOR AUDIO
In 1 Tim 2:15, Paul says that a wife shall be saved in childbearing, if she and her husband continue in four spiritual things. To understand this verse we must realize that Paul is not talking about being saved from hell, but rather being saved from deception [compare the use of the word ‘save’ in 1 Tim 4:16]. Take into consideration that the prior verse is about Eve “being deceived.” According to 1 Pet 3:7, the wife is already the weaker vessel and during childbearing she is even more susceptible to being deceived because of her physical and hormonal changes during the pregnancy and her motherly responsibilities after the child is born. So how is she saved in childbearing? She shall be saved in childbearing if “they” [she and her husband]:
Continue in Faith – this is an easy time for the couple to slack on God, the Bible and their church. If that happens, their faith is going to weaken and so will their relationship. They could easily end up far from God. So they continue in the word of God [Rom 10:17]. They continue in faithful church attendance [Heb 10:25]. They continue in prayer [1 Pet 3:7]. And the result is that she remains in her proper spiritual relationship under the authority of her husband as the head [1 Tim 2:12; 1 Cor 11:3]. You see, once she has a baby for whom to care she is inclined to usurp authority over her husband in matters of child rearing. He can’t let this happen.
Continue in Charity – once a woman is pregnant, she needs to be reassured of her husband’s love for her. Her body is changing and she may not feel as attractive to her husband as she did before she became pregnant. She may be deceived into believing that her husband doesn’t love her. After the child is born, her husband can easily feel that he is only there to handle the chores and provide the income. He is going to feel much neglected by his wife. She needs to reassure him of her love. In charity, they can reassure each other of their love. Notice all of the remarkable qualities of charity in 1 Cor 13:1-8 that help to strengthen their marriage and save her from falling prey to the deception that she is not loved in pregnancy and that she doesn’t need to love in child rearing.
Continue in Holiness – during pregnancy a lot of attention is paid to the future mother of the child, tending to make her forget that she is still to be in subjection to her husband. She will tend to become bossy and demanding and abandon her meek and quiet spirit [1 Pet 3:4]. She can excuse this by complaining about her emotional changes during pregnancy or her emotional stress as a mother. She can resist this temptation if she will remember to be holy [1 Pet 3:5] and yielded to the hidden man of her heart [1 Pet 3:4]. And if her husband will continue to live in holiness, it will be much easier for his wife to live in subjection to him [1 Pet 3:7; Eph 5:25-28].
Continue in Sobriety – to be sober is to be rational, humble, cool-headed, and moderate in the various places where you find the word sober in the Bible. Losing you temper and lifting yourself up in pride are two terrible ways to strain your marriage and give place to the devil. Both the wife and her husband need to be very careful not to get cross wise with each other by losing their cool. If a husband is not sober, it is going to be very difficult for his wife to trust him and be in subjection to him particularly now that there is or there is going to be a child in the house. As soon as she comes out from underneath his spiritual authority because of a lack of trust, she is a sitting duck for the devil [Gen 3:1-6]. And when she transgresses in this regard it will be very easy for him to go along with her to keep from making matters worse in their marriage. That’s exactly how it happened with Adam and Eve. He, on the other hand, needs to be humble enough not to demand “my way or the highway” when it comes to discussions of what’s right and best for the family [Gen 21:12]. He should admit, “I don’t need to be right all the time; we need to be right.”
Conclusion: childbearing is a glorious time in a family’s life. However, it can also be a very dangerous time. For a wife to be saved in childbearing and for a marriage to remain happy and healthy during childbearing it is important that you follow these four instructions from Paul. A wife is very susceptible to becoming independent of her husband when it comes to children and he is very susceptible to letting her usurp his authority. So, continue in faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.