Now before I address these points, I would like to say, that I am impressed with this woman’s conviction about women teachers. In our time, when so many women are so easily drawn into supporting women in pastoral and teaching roles (over men) it’s honestly refreshing to read about a woman who is being led the other direction.
First, I would like to address the issue of women teachers, especially where the internet is concerned. This is not an easy thing, there are many variables. Many different approaches to the understanding of what it means to usurp authority over a man, in the role of a teacher. Before I even go into that, let me make it clear where this comes from. 1Timothy.
Paul writes to Timothy regarding the order of Timothy’s church. His local, physical assembly. Paul addresses many issues: the purity of the gospel of Christ, the roles of men, roles of women, qualification of a deacon, etc. What Paul says to Timothy in regards to women teaching, and usurping authority over men, is very straightforward. In the local church assembly women are not to be acting on their own authority, or govern or exercise dominion over men, in the church. It’s critical that we read this in the context it’s written. It is referring to church polity, order, structure, and subordinate authorities within the local, physical assembly. This is addressed again in 1Cor 14:34-35. I agree with this 100%. I have written on it, prayed about it, discussed it, and meditated on it, for many years. Because I am a woman, in a local physical assembly, with a great passion for sound doctrine, this is a very sensitive topic for me.
Now we have the issue of disagreement on whether the local church governing structure applies to what many will call the ‘universal church’… i.e., local church governing structure applies to every aspect of life, for a believer, or the body of believers outside the 4 walls of a local church. The problem with this is, it is impossible to be consistant with this idea. If instruction to women, not to teach and/or usurp authority over men, in the local church, is expanded to include not only women pastors and women teachers IN the church, but women leading Bible studies in their homes, having a discussion in a casual fellowship setting, leaving comments on blogs, running forums, or participating in email discussion lists – then every single women of faith online, and offline, is potentially guilty as charged, as being Biblically out of line, since the potential for a man to learn from her, is certainly there. Yes, this is extremism, but this is where this goes. Unless every single situation were gender-protected, all women of faith are guilty of this charge. Every casual fellowship setting, every Bible study, every web site, blog, email exchange, every single conversation a women is ever involved in, must strictly be with other women or children, lest a man learn anything from her. Taken to it’s natual conclusion, this is where this approach leads.
There is huge inconsistancy here. While I do indeed believe that Biblical principles apply to every believer, at all times, online or offline – I also believe that not all applications apply to all situations. If we say that the Biblical instruction for women to learn in silence and not to teach, applies outside of the local assembly – then we must be consistant and apply other local assembly practices, such as baptism and the Lord’s supper. Can you imagine a gathering of believers, in a Christian chat room, for example, partaking of the Lord’s supper every time they gather together? Or how about baptism, online? I know this sounds silly, but this is the problem that comes up when we want to pick and choose which local assembly governing practices we want to apply to our lives outside the local assembly, and which ones we keep within the 4 walls of the church. It can’t be both ways – either the instruction to women on teaching and having authority was and is meant for within the local church assembly, or we have to consider the above extreme scenarios.
The internet, is not church. The internet is my game room, your living room, or den, or office, or cube at work. It is a casual place of gathering where Biblical principle DOES apply to every believer, but governing church offices (pastor, deacon, elder, teacher, etc.) do not apply, and indeed cannot apply. I realize that sounds dangerously close to saying “therefore we can say and do whateve we want” but please know this – this is NOT what I am saying. I am saying we must be realistic, consistant, and take Scripture in context.
Titus 2
What does Titus 2 teach us women, about our role? Let’s examine it very carefully.
Starting in v.3 the very first thing you will read is: “The aged women likewise”. Okay, we have to stop right here and ask, “likewise to what?”. I’m consistently amazed how many people miss this part of this sentence. The aged or the older women in the church have just been exhorted to do, think, speak, and act exactly like the same way as the older men in the church: sober , grave, temperate, sound in faith, in charity, in patience. V. 3 goes on to say of the women: that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things;
On to v.4: That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children v.5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.
So what exactly is a Titus 2 woman? She is:
reverent toward God
she is honest
she is sober minded
she's a teacher of good things
She is all of these things that she might an example to her own children, as well as the younger women in the church – to live this way as well. She loves her husband and her children. She is discreet (self-controlled), chaste (sexually pure), keepers at home, good (honourable) and obedient to her husband.
At no time in this passage are women instructed to be merely window dressing, in the company of men. Our role in the church is specific, and spelled out very clearly for us. At no time in this passage (or any other in Scripture) are women expressly forbidden to discuss doctrine or theology or controversial subjects, in the presence of men (outside of the structure of the local assembly, when and where teaching is taking place). New Testament alone (off the top of my head) I think of Tabitha (Dorcas), Lydia, Priscilla and Phebe. Somehow I do not picture them sitting silently, every waking moment of the day. Paul mentions women who co-labored with him, in the gospel, in Phil. 4:3. A quick cross reference will show who these women are, and what they did, and the influence they had.
In talking about all this with my husband today, he used the analogy of a house with individual rooms. The roof of the house being a general covering for each room (The full counsel of God) and each room representing different roles, different settings in a believer’s life. Rooms such as
‘church government’
‘Christians dealing with unbelievers’
‘Christians dealing with other believers’
‘the husband room’, ‘the wife room’
‘the children’s room’
Scripture has specific and direct guidance for us, in all these areas of our lives – but to apply church government Scriptures, to how Christians are to deal with unbelievers, or Christians dealing with other believers, to how children should be instructed, would be the same as tearing down walls within the house, making one room unrecognizable from another. I liked his analogy, it makes sense to me.
While many verses and passages do have multiple application – some verses and passages simply cannot be taken from one context and applied to another. It doesn’t work – and yet it goes on all the time. A perfect example of this is the teaching that all human beings have faith. Scripture is very clear that all men do NOT have faith – but the context of the first verse (Romans 12:1-4) is completely overlooked, for the one partial sentence in verse 3 that says “God hath dealt to every man the measure of faith”. A quick look at 2Thes. 3:1-3 shows us that all men do not have faith. Context simply must dictate how we understand Scripture – it is vital to our growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
In conclusion…
I do have to wonder if a lot of the confusion on this topic, is a result of over-reaction. We have two very specific extremes on this issue: liberal women pastors governing men, on the one end of the extreme, and conservative, silent women on the other end. I do not mean to be offensive to any of the women, on any end, or anywhere in between, but I do think it’s quite possible that some of the women who have taken the extreme conservative position, are over-reacting to the liberalism in the church.
In any event, I close with this:
- 2Ti 4:2 Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine.
- Heb 3:13 But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin.
- Jude 1: 1Jude, the servant of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to them that are sanctified by God the Father, and preserved in Jesus Christ, and called:
2 Mercy unto you, and peace, and love, be multiplied.
3 Beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that ye should earnestly contend for the faith which was once delivered unto the saints.
Before I posted this, I asked my husband Kevin to read it. I do not pretend to have vast Biblical knowledge or insights, but I certainly do follow Kevin’s lead, and he studies the Scriptures diligently – he is my live-in Bible Answer Man. He proof-read this post and this is what he had to say:
“The only thing I would add would be, that we also have gone through some of the extremist issues ourselves. It’s best to not only read, but to rightly divide the Scriptures, the whole counsel of God. In our zeal to be approving to God it can be very easy to form an opinion of a teaching based on a verse taken out of context – and this is where we err.”
SOLI DEO GLORIA
