I had a friend in a former church who reluctantly took on an adult Bible class because no man felt qualified to teach the class. She always said that she was doing it until such a time as a man would come forward to teach the class. Eventually that role came to me but before it did she placed herself under the leadership of the church and made sure she was under the authority of the elders.
Was she wrong? Before I answer that let me quote a passage from Paul's letter to the Philippians. "It is true that some preach Christ out of envy and rivalry, but others out of goodwill. The latter do so out of love, knowing that I am put here for the defense of the gospel. The former preach Christ out of selfish ambition, not sincerely, supposing that they can stir up trouble for me while I am in chains. But what does it matter? The important thing is that in every way, whether from false motives or true, Christ is preached. And because of this I rejoice." Philippians 1:15 - 18
The motives were wrong, the people may have had incorrect doctrine but the Gospel was being preached so Paul rejoiced. The church was birthed in Philippi because of a woman.
Now it is easy for us to be right in our doctrine but still be wrong. We can be wrong while doing right.
So let me go back to my friend. I do not believe that she was sinning in teaching men in this situation. If there was sin then it was with the men who because of their lack of knowledge of the Scripture felt unqualified to teach the Word. Men cannot point the finger at women who are filling the gap if it is men who have created the gap.
On a personal note. I am pleased to be part of a church that has had strong male leadership. A church that has qualified men to lead as elders, as teachers and group leaders. I am please to be part of a church that has strong women who are willing to take the supportive role and in doing so teach by example and testimony. I have learned a great deal from the women who are members of the class and have contributed their insights. They are not consumers but contributors for which I am thankful.
Finally, we must realise that the Holy Spirit is the real teacher and he can use a man, a woman, a rooster or a donkey to teach us His truth. Let us not hinder the Holy Spirit, He is not a tame fire but a wild fire.
3 comments:
I can not and will not say she was wrong because I never met her and neither has anyone else in the bible study so it is unfair to make any judgement about her or her motives. The beautiful thing about the bible is that it always removes us and our human emotions and gives us instructions that are for all of our benefit. Paul speaking to the Philippians about those preaching Christ makes no mention that these might have been women and surely if there had been, he would have kept with the doctrine of his teaching as he wrote to Timothy saying that "women are to quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness". and further states, as if to say how important this is,I do not permit a woman to teach or have authority over a man but to remain silent". These are passages that can not be twisted or made to fit our culture but in fact allign with most of scripture in that they fly directly in the face of culture. As for men being the sinners for not knowing the bible, it is easy to point the finger and say who the sinners are. The truth is we are all sinners and unless we all submit to a Holy God, we are going to wander and get ourselves in situations were we think "we will fix it" and nothing could be further from the truth. The moment we start that kind of wicked thinking we are on the path to distruction. We have bought into the world's thinking to the point were it is unpoular, almost considered wrong, to stand up and say that we can without a doubt know what the bible has to say about this issue of women in the church and what their role is and look where it has gotten the churches that have gone down that road.
Our society has also feminized men to the point were they dont know how to be men anymore. Now ask yourself why the devil wants to do that? I feel it is because he knows more than us how distructive this will be not only in society but especially in the church. Is it possible that God has instructions for us to spare us, and more importantly so that we can show the world how God has ordained the way things need to work so we can be a true witness and bring him the glory he deserves as we obey him?
The Holy Spirit also, dispite the attempts of false teachers to dishonour him, is still equal to God and the Son and as a equal member to the Godhead. He has brought us the scriptures and would never be out of character with his God nature, he is a powerful being but not wild in the sense of what we see so prevelant in the charazmania that we see today. He is orderly and completely consistant throughout the bible. Just my thoughts, Jeremy
Thank you for your comment. I knew what I wrote would get a reaction. I believe very strongly that the Bible gives us clear instructions about gender roles in the family and the church. I believe that we miss out when we ignore those instructions. However, He is God and He can use anyone and anything He wishes. It is not for us to go against His clear teaching. As I read Timothy 1 I see clearly that what Paul is saying is not related to culture but he relates it to Scripture. Today we have people who say that Paul was anti-women but it was not Paul who wrote the Scripture, it was holy men of God who were moved along by the Holy Spirit. Are we going to question the Holy Spirit?
We need to know that inspite of our sinfulness God is still sovereign and He still uses people, sinful people. I still think that we have men who have bowed to the culture rather than to Scripture. They feel that it is their role to care for their families financially while their wives care for them spiritually. This is what I have called sin in the lives of the men but it is also sin in the lives of the women who are too ready to take that role rather than challenge their husbands to take the stand.
I know I have rambled but these are just some random thoughts.
This is a quote from Garth Leno on the Alliance Renewal network.
The lack of spiritual leadership by men at home and in the church is a great sin. Satan has achieved an amazing tactical victory by disseminating the notion that the summons for male leadership is born of pride and fallenness, when in fact pride is precisely what prevents spiritual leadership." The spiritual aimlessness and weakness and lethargy and loss of nerve among men (laymen, pastors, elders) is the major issue, not the upsurge of interest in women elders or the ordination of women or female leadership in a given denomination or so-called "movement." Where are the loving, sacrificial, godly men who will lead our churches with a towel draped over their arms and knees calloused by prayer?
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