Leadership and Teaching In the Church

Transcript

GR1759
3/16/2014
Leadership and Teaching in the Church
I Timothy 2:11-15
Gil Rugh

Alright, we are going to I Timothy chapter 2 in your Bibles. Let me just share with you something. It’s related in a way to what we are going to be talking about. This has something to do with what happened at Wheaton. I’m not going to attack Wheaton but they are a prominent evangelical school and so they make the news. “Wheaton students protest train wreck conversion speaker’s ex-gay testimony.” And what happened, Wheaton has chapel and they had a speaker there and the description of the speaker had been a former leftist homosexual professor who was dramatically converted to Christ, life style changed, married had a family. Gave his testimony at Wheaton and it was protested by a number of students. The protest focused on the personal testimony and what this person identified as their “train wreck conversion.” The students involved in leading the protest on January 31, this Wheaton student sat on the steps of the Edmond Chapel and held signs that said “we are all loved by God and I am gay and a beloved child of God” reports the Wheaton Record. And they said why they held this protest “we feared that if no conversation was added to the single message of the speaker that students who were not well informed were going to walk into chapel, hear the message and have misconceptions confirmed or that students at Wheaton who are LGBT, you know, the Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender would be told that this story is the absolute way things happen. Now here’s what the chaplain of the Wheaton College said, “I am glad that students have felt the freedom to express their concerns about the manner in which we discuss issues of sexuality on campus and in chapel. These are things that matter. It is especially important for us in an evangelical Christian college to challenge one another to think Christianly, to think Biblically, to think compassionately and to be willing to think counter culturally.”

The president, Philip Ryken who succeeded James Montgomery Boyce at Tenth Presbyterian in Philadelphia where Donald Grey Barnhouse pastored for many years who has recently become the president of Wheaton, Philip Ryken openly responded to the demonstration by upholding the college community covenant and its stance on LGBT issues. But here’s what he said: “While we are not insulated from cultural conflicts over ideas including our own student’s search to understand how the truth of Scripture shapes each Christian’s life, our educational model does not require us to either silence critical exploration of complex issues or to exceed uncritically to cultural pressures.” In his estimation the testimony was well received. What does that mean?

I was a student at a Christian college way back when. I got married before I was a senior and I got kicked out for getting married. I thought that was what you were supposed to do. Now you can be a Lesbian, Gay, Bi-sexual, Transgender or any or all and you have the right to protest and it’s good for our Christian college that we have this inner action. I think what would be good for that Christian college is for them to tell these students you are right to have your opinion but in this school we stand firm on what the Scripture says and you cannot be a student here and be involved in this life style or be promoting this life style as though well we are open.

Just as an example, this article goes on to say this is becoming characteristic of Christian colleges. “In recent years evangelical Christian colleges including Wheaton, Biola, Seattle Pacific University have seen a growing range of responses to LGBT issues.” In Calvin College in 2009 when the trustees took a stand banning homosexual practice and same sex marriage there was a stir among the faculty. They claim to be evangelical schools and you see the pressure of the day begins to reshape how Christians think of the Scripture and in the academic world you are supposed to be open to a diversity of ideas so Christians don’t want to take too firm a stand on what the Scripture says as though we were closed to other ideas. We are absolutely closed to any practice or teaching that is contrary to the Word of God or don’t call yourself evangelical.

We have Christian young people parents who send their kids to these evangelical schools thinking they will be grounded and protected from some of the relentless pressures of society and it’s more corrupting than a state university because you have those who claim to be evangelical promoting this kind of open indefiniteness on interpreting the Scripture.

That ties to where we are in I Timothy chapter 2. We are going to be talking about the issues of the roles of men and women and this ties back to the creation. We have looked at some of these matters. Paul has focused on the importance of the clarity of the Gospel and standing for truth and remember in chapter 1 part of Timothy’s responsibility in setting the church at Ephesus on a firm foundation was to command certain men not to teach contrary to the truth that had been given by God through the apostle. There is just no room for that kind of variation.

When he came into chapter 2 he talked about praying for all men because God has provided salvation in Christ for all men and the men are to lead in the prayer of God’s people. So I take it where God’s people are gathered together the men take the lead in the audible prayer. Of course women have the right to the throne of grace as men do in their personal private prayer life but in the meeting together of men and women, verse 8 says, “I want the men in everyplace to pray.” And they are to be in a godly position when they do it. It’s not enough just to be a man or a Christian man, they are to have holy hands, a godly life. And the women’s role and responsibility: “Likewise, I want the women to adorn themselves with proper clothing, modestly, discreetly, not with braided hair and gold or pearls or costly garments.” This doesn’t mean a woman can’t fix up but it does mean that her dress is to be appropriate and it’s not to focus attention on that person. That doesn’t mean that they can’t fix their hair or wear some jewelry but we are not be doing that to draw attention to ourselves in the context of godly women. They are to be rather, the prime adornment is good works, verse 10: “As is proper for women making a claim to godliness.” They are going to proceed and it may indicate that there were particular problems in the church at Ephesus on this matter as there was at the church in Corinth as had to be addressed by Peter to Jewish believers scattered in various places in the diaspora as he wrote in his letters: “The forces of the world are always pressing in and opposing the truth of God.”

Let me read you a couple of things. Some of this may be a review from our previous study. We had a quote from a book written in 1995 on this very subject: “For about 18 centuries I Timothy 2:12 (which says, “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet” where we are to be going in our study) for about 18 centuries I Timothy 2:12 as well as I Corinthians 14:34 and related texts were assumed to have a clear and self-evident meeting than rather abruptly hardly a quarter of a century ago (which would have been around 1970) some began to discover a different meaning in the apostles words.” So something is wrong for 18 centuries. There was agreement in the church on its clear. Then the 60’s and 70’s things begin to change and we aware of the change that was taking place in society. And we see society making fun of the 1950’s and the kind of emphasis they had there on roles and that change began to affect the church.

Another man writes: “The role of women in the church is probably the most emotionally charged issue in American evangelicalism today. There are many social pressures today especially in academic circles.” This is a professor writing this. “To retreat from the historic view. Some evangelical institutions will not even consider hiring a scholar who holds the historic view even though they allow diverse positions on baptism, eschatology, church government or inspiration. This policy is usually unwritten but those who are familiar with the schools in question know they exclude apriority, scholars who believe in or espouse the historic view,” which is the view we would be taking on this passage.

Someone else writes: “It’s interesting that this move to interpret Scripture on this subject follows on the heels of the rise of the modern feminist movement.” It’s a reminder of one of Frances Schaeffer’s final remarks, “Tell me what the world is saying today and I’ll tell you what the church will be saying in seven years.”

Many years ago I did a sermon on this passage and there was some response from churches in Lincoln. One very liberal church devoted two or three of its news letters to responding to the message that I did and then one pastor in an evangelical church responded to it. I thought I would share with you. I had come across some notes I had taken from the tape that was passed on to me as he did a critique of my message and I will just share some of the highlights. Here is one statement: “One can be an expert Greek grammarian and be a lousy exegete. I don’t claim to be an expert Greek grammarian and I agree you could be versed in the Greek grammar and not do a good job on exegesis but I am also committed to a grammatical interpretation of Scripture. If you have the grammar wrong you won’t have the interpretation right. That’s not all there is to interpretation but we believe in an historical, grammatical interpretation of Scripture and we have to be careful with the grammar. “If all one studies is the Greek text he will conclude at this point that women are not to teach anything or anyone. He must (we will talk about what it teaches. He has some strong feelings about my view. Sometimes you think maybe I am a little indiscreet in what I say about other people’s views. Here’s how he characterizes the views that I taught on this.) “Arbitrary, offensive, unbiblical, silly, absurd,” that just gets started. “I find it offensive to the intellect of women, it’s bigoted, unbiblical, fallacious,” feelings run strongly on this. I have strong convictions on this. I believe that we have found reason to try to adjust Scripture to fit the tide of the world and once you go that direction you don’t stop on one or two points.

I was reading an article I was going to bring to you but I couldn’t put my finger on it soon enough noting that the debate among evangelicals is moving from the issue of creation and evolution to the issue whether there was a literal Adam and Eve. This is the debate among evangelicals. Where does this stop?

Well we are going to look into I Timothy chapter 2. Paul has reminded Timothy of the absolute authority of the Word of God. Come over to II Timothy chapter 2. He will repeat this in his second epistle. II Timothy chapter 2, verse 15: “Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the Word of truth.” Now we do have to be careful that we are accurately handling the Word of truth. I have to be careful in that. You have to be careful of it. That is why we have to search the Scriptures together. It’s not right because I teach it. It’s right because the Word of God says it and teaches it.

In I Timothy chapter 3 verse 16: “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, reproof, correction, training in righteousness so the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work.” God gave His Word to be understood and obeyed and something is wrong and a red flag should be going up when now we have developed an approach to Scripture that removed it from what an ordinary person would understand as he read it. I mean this was written to Timothy. Timothy was expected to understand it as were the people in the church at Ephesus where Timothy was.

So come back to I Timothy chapter 2. I don’t think what is said here is complicated. I think you will find it as clear as could be. One more example, a number of years ago we were on radio stations and I was on in Chicago. I was doing a call-in program connected to an institution there that had a group of radio stations. It was on the role of women and it was a call-in program. After I presented what the Word taught on the women the lines lit up. I was told afterwards that it was the most calls they had had on that program up to that point. The next day I met with the board of that radio station. They wanted to inform me they wouldn’t be able to carry the program anymore. Why? Well, what you teach is too controversial. I said to those men, “What have I taught that has not been consistent with the historical position of this school since its foundation?” All they could say was, “Well, it’s too controversial today.” Of course the Word is controversial. We are out of step with the world. Well when we try to get in step with the world, we are out of step with the Spirit of God. We need to keep in step with the Spirit.

All right, let’s look and see what Paul says. He goes on. He talks about the adornment of women, their good works and then in verse 11: “A woman must quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness;” instructing women on their position. It is not primarily saying they must receive instruction as though that was the problem. It’s telling how they must receive the instruction, in quietness and submissiveness. It can mean in a quiet demeanor, peaceable or it can mean basically silently. It would seem in the context that is more the issue here because men weren’t to receive the Word argumentatively without peace. They were to be peaceable too but here the woman is not to be the speaker in the context of the teaching she is to be the learner. She receives it quietly with entire submissiveness. One grammarian writes on this expression here: “The superlative sense with the word “entire” as we have it translated calls for complete subjection.” Women are to learn from the men in an attitude of submissiveness recognizing their role as the teachers of the truth. If you just read that you don’t have to be a Greek grammarian. Basically the English says what the Greek says. There is no hidden meaning here. Well, you don’t know the Greeks so you really probably won’t understand this. “I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet.” To learn but not to speak if I can put it that way, with entire submissiveness.

When Paul says, “I do not allow, I do not permit,” that’s apostolic authority. Remember he started out by in chapter 1, verse 1: “Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ according to the commandment of God our Savior and of Christ Jesus.” Then verse 3: “I urge you to instruct certain men not to teach strange doctrine.” The fact that there were certain men teaching strange doctrine didn’t mean that the women ought to step up and teach correct doctrine. We have to stay with the plan.

I remember hearing a well-known Bible teacher and professor at a school when I was a student say, “Well, there are times like on the mission field where we have to have the women take the lead and do the teaching.” Well, we never have to help God out of His dilemmas. So here Paul says it is not permitted. So he uses that same expression over in I Corinthians 14. We will be over there is a little bit. That’s apostolic authority. It’s not something that is personal with Paul. It’s not limited in scope. I don’t allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority. At first she must receive instruction quietly. I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet. Put those two together and what do we have? Well, the positive and the negative. The woman receives instruction quietly with entire submissiveness and she is not allowed to teach or exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet. So that is rather simple.

In verse 12: “I do not allow a woman to teach.” You are aware that in Greek you can arrange the words for emphasis. The first word in this sentence as Paul wrote it is the word “to teach.” The conjunction comes second as they can arrange it, the word “but.” So the first word here as you would read it is “to teach or be a teacher.” But to teach or to be a teacher, I do not allow a woman or to exercise authority over a man but to remain quiet. So she receives instruction quietly with entire submissiveness. She doesn’t teach and she doesn’t exercise authority over a man.

The teaching of the Word of God is instructed to men, is committed to men. They are the instructors, they are the teachers of God’s Word. You can read it as clearly as I can read it. You could say for 1800 years the church had pretty much agreement on this. That’s what it says, “I do not allow a woman to teach.” It’s only been in relatively recent years that evangelical seminaries have allowed women into their seminary program. Why, because they understood this passage. It’s not the realm for the women so why would we equip her to be the Bible teachers in the churches in the ministry of the churches in God’s family? I don’t allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man.

There are two things mentioned here, teaching and being in authority. The discussion comes is it to teach a man or is it to teach generally and also to exercise authority over a man? What do I say? I think as we look at the Scripture we are going to look at some other passages along the way the teaching of the Word of God is entrusted to the man wherever that is. Men are entrusted with the responsibility of teaching God’s Word. This critique that was done on a sermon that I did said, “Well in those days they didn’t have mission organizations, they didn’t have schools and that so of course,” but what is said here wouldn’t apply to those things. Well we are talking about God’s household as we have talked in previous studies, you can’t just give a title, well we won’t call this the church so there the women can teach. Women are to learn the doctrine from the men. That’s God’s plan and in God’s family that’s the way it operates. We don’t cease being God’s family when we walk out of the doors of this building. What is said here only pertains to when we meet here one hour or two hours or three hours on a given day of the week. We are God’s family. This is how we function. Now there are certain things that will be particularly applicable perhaps when we meet together but these things aren’t set aside now because we don’t call it church. We are the household of God I mean, you know, it seems clear to me. I don’t allow a woman to teach. It seems consistent. We don’t find God using women as the teachers in Scripture in the Old Testament or the New Testament. We are going to see the reasons and women are not to be in the positions of authority over men when man who doesn’t even really hold the position that I am reflecting makes this observation.

The harmonistic distinction sometimes drawn between private teaching which is permitted and public teaching which is forbidden is surely anachronistic. In any case would be impossible to maintain consistently. The fact is here’s how we function. I think this ought to be true across the board because that’s the way God planned it. That’s true with the authority as well. This is not the wrong kind of authority. King James translated this, “I don’t allow a woman to teach or usurp authority,” but that’s not an accurate reflection of the word. The word is just to be in authority, to have authority, but to remain quiet. They are not providing the leadership, the direction in the family. It is not the role that God has given to them.

Come over to I Corinthians chapter 14 before we proceed. I Corinthians chapter 14, verse 34: “The women are to keep silent in the churches for they are not permitted to speak. They are to subject themselves just as the law also says.” In other words, this has been a consistent pattern because we are going to see it is rooted in God’s plan from creation. “If they desire to learn anything let them ask their own husbands at home. It is improper for a woman to speak in church.” This doesn’t mean they can’t have the informal conversations and everybody would say, “Well if you really hold that they ought to close their mouth and not say anything.” Obviously that is not what he is talking about. They are not to be speaking in the communication of the truth for the body in providing the leadership of the body in the context of evaluating the prophecies given in the body even though some women as we have noted and will note again later have the gift of prophecy as he talks about in I Corinthians 11 but this is the position God has given them. It is not a put down of women; it is to be a recognition. We live recognizing the sovereign purposes of God.

Come back to, we’ll be back in Corinthians later, but come back to Timothy. He’s going to give two reasons why a woman is not to be the teacher nor a leader over men. Number 1: “For it was Adam who was first created and then Eve.” Number 2: “It was not Adam who was deceived but the woman being deceived fell into transgression.” Now one thing to note here; some try to limit this. In fact many writers, including some I have quoted try to say well Paul was addressing a special circumstance and problem in the church at Ephesus not binding obligations for all time. We are not to make cultural of the time a binding issue. The problem is what he says here in trans-cultural. It goes back to creation. They are rooted back in the first three chapters of Genesis; it’s something that supersedes cultural. It goes back to what God intended when He made man as male and female. Now the world that has rejected such an idea has as its goal and it is relentless. You turn on the news right to today in the paper. There is concern there are not enough women in the same training program as men. For this field we’ve got to change that.

One article, I left it on my desk because I thought, I shouldn’t read that to you but the distinction between having girls play with Barbie dolls and having them play with Mrs. Potato Head and if they play with Barbie dolls their study shows they see their potential as limited but when they play with Mrs. Potato Head they see it as unlimited. Somebody spent time to do their survey but you know we are always looking. There must be a reason why. You know it comes out, equal pay for equal job and why are this number of men in these leadership positions but only this percentage of women? And it is not fair, we have to balance out. Everything aside is what? The whole thing – society is opposed to God. We saw that in the passage we looked at this morning. They view God as their enemy and so they are doing everything they can to oppose what God says. We have to be careful that this constant pressure of the world doesn’t begin to shape and conform us.

So the first reason why a woman is not to be a teacher or the leader: it was Adam who was first created and then Eve. Come back to Genesis and we’ve been back here because the battles go on and it’s relentless; one of the ways that they do this. Well, Genesis 1 is a different account of creation than Genesis 2 and we think Genesis 1 is the more accurate account. They are not different accounts. Genesis 1 summarizes the creation of man as male and female. We read this is a previous study. Genesis 1:26: God said, “Let us make man in Our image according to Our likeness and let them rule;” so together the man and woman rule over the rest of creation but man is over woman. Verse 27: “God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them.” We know this whole battle against using man generically to refer to the race. It goes back here. God’s the one who started it. I am going to create man as male and female so the overall title would be man and that includes male and female. Now the male of that is also the man, the name Adam.

When you come to chapter 2 God gives the details of how He did it. But if Genesis is not an accurate, reliable account to be taken literally we could begin to unravel all of these things so these attacks, they start and you say well there is room here for difference but then it spreads, it spreads, it spreads. How many thought when the church was being influenced by this stuff that it comes to we don’t even know what a marriage is anymore and that Christian institutions could be open to different views on homosexuality and homosexual marriage and you begin to depart from the truth you don’t know where it will go like in Pilgrim’s Progress by John Bunyan. When Christian got off the track you know he wondered out there. Pretty soon he didn’t know how to get back on the road. He was so far off track. That’s what happens to the church. I mean, is this even an issue? But it is. So the order of creation in chapter 2 when you come to the New Testament it is taken literally. Chapter 2 God first created the man. Verse 7: “God formed man.” This is not a different account. It is just breaking out the details of what He summarized in the creation account in chapter 1 because man is the focal point of His creating work. “The Lord God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed into His nostrils the breath of life. Man became a living being.” He is talking man there as male because later He is going to create man as female so He will create the woman and you will note in verse 18 He says, “It is not good for the man to be alone.”

Now in all these summaries in chapter 1, “God saw what He had created, it was good.” Verse 31 of chapter 1 ended: “God saw all that He had made and behold it was very good.” And now we have to go back and read the details of what we had summarized in verses 26, 27 and 28 there and He wasn’t done when He created the man, male and so verse 18: “Then the Lord God said, ‘it is not good for the man to be alone, I will make a helper suitable for him.’” That’s summarized in chapter 1 because after He created male and female He says in verse 28 of chapter 1: “God blessed them and said to them, ‘be fruitful and multiply, fill the earth and rule over it.’” But now we are getting the details unfolded. “It’s not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.” And then you are familiar, the helper is not found in any of the other part of creation. The helper is directly created by God as He created the man but differently. He created man directly from the dust but he created the woman out of the man to be the helper for the man and verse 22: “The Lord God fashioned into a woman the rib which he had taken from the man brought her to the man. The man said “this is now bone of my bone, flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother, be joined to his wife, they shall become one flesh.”

You know it just boggles my mind. So much of the material coming out of those who profess to be evangelical is trying to do away with the literal interpretation of the opening chapters of Genesis and saying a literal reading is a misunderstanding that was never meant to be read literally. It’s creation style literature, genre. What they do is they look at writings outside the Bible, pagan nations who wrote creation accounts and they can be fanciful or mythical and you think well Genesis is a creation account so it’s in that style of writing. Why do we go to pagan writings and think that our Bible should fit. Of course they are fanciful, they are mythical. They are not literal. There is only one literal account of creation. It’s what we have in our Bible. That’s why we started in Genesis 11, remember, foundational for those who truly believe in God and believe that He created what is seen out of what is not seen. I think we need to be very careful by giving credibility to those who deny that truth and yet claim to be evangelical.

This account here, you can leave a marker here. Come to Matthew 19. Jesus was asked by the Pharisees to try to you know trap Him. In verse 3 of Matthew 19 “Some Pharisees came to Jesus testing Him, asking Him, is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason at all? He answered and said, ‘have you not read that he who created them from the beginning, made them male and female and for this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh so they are no longer two but one flesh. What therefore God has joined together let no man separate.” What kind of question is that coming from Pharisees who prided themselves in the knowledge of the Old Testament? Haven’t you ever read the Scripture? What does it say? Genesis 1, “Let us make man in Our image.” God made them male and female. Genesis 2 we just read. God brought the woman when He created her and the details out of the side of the man and we have the quote: “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife and the two shall become one flesh.” Now that tells you God’s plan; one woman, one man in a permanent relationship. Who has authority to overrule God on this? Christ takes it literally. If it is not a literal account His whole argument is nothing. Understand our Scripture is being dismantled and Christians are thinking well maybe there is – you know – we want to be open. We don’t want to be closed to other ideas. We want to be absolutely closed to anything that is contrary to Scripture.

Let me see, I have a number of articles and other things. Come back to Timothy. You note here it has nothing to do with desires. You know the world goes, well if a person desires a relationship with another person of the same sex who are we to say that is wrong? We are nobody but God, the creator, has final authority on this. It doesn’t matter what you desire. You will desire to do all kinds of unbiblical things but we think, well it seems to work out for some people and you know we don’t want to be judgmental. We don’t want to be guilty of being homophobic. What’s a homophobic, what is homophobia? I don’t have an irrational fear of homosexuals. I just believe their conduct is sinful. I feel that a lot of conduct is sinful. I don’t have any irrational fear of those people. It’s just wrong. It’s sinful because God says it is like lying is, adultery is, fornication is. It’s sin but oh, we’ve got to label it. We’ve got to be careful and in one of the articles I read, we want to be careful, we don’t want to be guilty of homophobia. What is a homophobia? Christians ought to be embarrassed. No, I don’t have an irrational fear. It’s simply God says it’s sin and that’s what it is. If I do it, it is sin. If you do it, it is sin, its sin. There’s objective reality here. The truth is found in God’s Word and it’s not colored by being sifted through us.

Come back to I Timothy 2: “It was Adam who was first created and then Eve.” If you believe that then you believe the Biblical account and that supports what Paul said under the direction of the Spirit. That is not tied to a cultural situation of women out of control in the church at Ephesus or women’s lib’rs of the time causing turmoil in the church. This goes back to how God intended when He created us.

Secondly, the second reason: “It was not Adam who was deceived but the women being deceived fell into the transgression.” Now I want you to read with me, follow along again verse 14: “It was not Adam who was deceived but the woman being deceived fell into the transgression.” Here’s what one evangelical commentator writes and he has a generally good view on the roles but you don’t want to be viewed as too narrow. He says, “We miss the point of verse 14 entirely if we think that Eve was more gullible than Adam and that is why she was deceived and became a sinner. Eve’s sin was not naïve but a willful attempt to overthrow the creation order.” In other words, Eve wasn’t deceived. We miss the point of verse 14 entirely if we think Eve was more gullible, more deceived. That’s a rather common view.

In somewhere here I want to read you something else. Some of you are familiar with John Stott. He writes: “It is more probable therefore that the essence of Eve’s part in the fall was not that she was deceived.” I am trying to read this again. “It was not Adam who was deceived but the women being deceived.” It uses an intensified word there the second time and puts a preposition on the front of the word deceive, fully deceived, completely deceived. She fell into transgression.

Then I read a commentator who is evangelical. “It’s more probable therefore that the essence of Eve’s part in the fall was not that she was deceived but she took an improper initiative, usurped Adam’s authority and thus reversed the roles.” Well if we are going to say, this is what the Word of God says but that’s probably not what really happened. The Bible says she was deceived and so she fell into the transgression.

Come back to Genesis chapter 3. Look at verse 6. There you have the woman after verse 5, the serpent tests her and she eats and what did she tell God when He asks, “Why did you do it?” Verse 13 God said to the woman, “What is this you have done?” The woman said, “The serpent deceived me and I ate.” You know God doesn’t say to her, “That’s not true. He didn’t deceive you.” No, He accepts her statement that she was deceived. It just boggles my mind that those who claim to be evangelical Bible believing Christians can just cavalierly say well it says that she was deceived and in fact it wasn’t Adam who was deceived it was the woman being fully deceived fell into the transgression and yet they can write, well it doesn’t probably mean that Eve was deceived. That’s what I mean. When we are not going to take it at face value so to speak , is there anything here that would cause you to say it doesn’t mean what it says and that’s consistent with the account in Genesis. Now what does that mean? Well, whatever it means it disqualifies the woman from being the teacher of God’s revelation and being in a position of leadership but you have to be careful. It’s not just the issues of the fall because the fall, sin entering the picture, does not change the roles of the man or the woman. It just brings added pain and difficulty into the roles they carry out because some will say, “Well yes, the woman was deceived but with the coming of Christ and the forgiveness of sin, all of the impacts of the fall are undone.” But this goes back to the creation. There are two reasons here. I take it the second reason is the woman was susceptible to deception because God never created her to be the leader. He created the man to be the leader. The woman was made to be the helper of the man. Now that’s you know, male hierarchical thinking. Its Biblical, it’s out of step with the world, the whole world.

You notice how the whole world is moving and around the world we are having trouble seeing what marriage is, a man and a woman. Are we surprised that the whole world is opposed to the roles that God has established? We think we are more enlightened because we have freed women from the home to be like the men and do what the men do.

We need to turn over a few pages to Timothy. As some commentators cavalierly say, “Well the woman is not allowed to teach. Well Titus says a woman is to teach so obviously it doesn’t mean she can’t teach.” Chapter 2 of Titus. “But as for you, speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine;” fitting, consistent with healthy teaching. “Older men are to be temperate, dignified, sensible, sound in faith, in love, in perseverance.” Older men are to be godly men, manifest God. “Older women are to be reverent in their behavior, not malicious gossips, nor enslaved to much wine, teaching what is good.” Well I thought we had said God doesn’t allow a woman to teach. Now she is to be teaching what is good. One of the rules of interpretation, you interpret in the context. What does he go on to say in the sentence? “So that they may encourage the young woman to love their husbands, to love their children, to be sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, being subject to their own husbands so that the Word of God will not be dishonored and the young men and their conduct, the older men modeling godliness so that the young men will be godly.” There is nothing wrong with women teaching but they are not the teachers of Biblical truth so is speak. They are helping the young women put into practice in their realm of responsibility to love their husbands, to love their children, sensible, pure, workers at home, kind, subject to their own husbands. They need to be taught this because this has always been contrary to the world’s view. You know, we always talk about the battle of the sexes and the difference between men and women and women want to change the men and the men want to and on it goes so women need to learn how to be Biblical and how to function Biblically and this is their God ordained role and realm to fill their responsibility.

Some of the commentators that I mentioned last week that just say in Timothy, well Titus 2:3 says that women are to teach so we know this doesn’t limit their teaching. It would be like telling you, my wife was teaching me how to fry eggs, she never has but if I said that, “oh, Gil believes his wife can teach. Maybe she will be preaching next Sunday.” What does that have to do with anything? I mean we want to make the Word say what we want to make it say so we ignore the obvious. Older women are to be instructing the younger women in the home because they have experience there. They know how to be subject to their husbands. Let me tell you sweetie, it won’t be easy. It wasn’t easy for me but here’s what I have learned. Here’s how you do. How do you love your children? We’ve got young mothers, well, they don’t know what to do with their kids. I was visiting today with someone visiting here, a dear friend of ours talking about their church. You know one thing they mentioned about our church is it was such a pleasure to come to your church and not have to listen to squawking kids. We could concentrate on the teaching. In our church we have kids out of control. We’ve got a first grader who turns around and tells the other to shut-up. Is somebody going to help these young mothers how to discipline children and take care of the home? They are just out of control. What do you do? Well somebody could help. They are not learning it from the world. These kinds of things are to be going on. So there is a realm the woman does teach but it has to do with the woman’s realm, her home. He is coming to that.

Come back to Timothy. Let me say something here, he’s obviously addressing the church. So some say (and here is what one man, you would know him but I won’t say his name, it’s not important,) “A Christian woman may be an experienced school teacher, medical doctor, owner of a business but when the church assembles men take the lead in teaching and governing the church family. In this way the local church displays God’s design for the sexes.” Later in his book he says, “This explains why women are not to teach or exercise authority over a man. To do so would contradict God’s creation designed for the sexes.” The thing I think we have to be careful of here – what he says is the church is to reflect God’s creation designed for the sexes but when believers are not in the church they don’t have to reflect God’s creation designed for the sexes. Does that not seem inconsistent? I mean we reflect God’s creation design wherever we go, right? So I think the attempt, of course this is addressed to believers in the church just like God’s command in the Old Testament were addressed to the nation Israel because it is not expected the unbeliever is going to listen. They need to believe and be saved and then submit themselves to the Word of God.

Another one writes who would reflect generally our view but limits it. “Much misuse of Paul by Christians and maligning of Paul by non-Christians might be avoided if the primary horizon of Paul’s ammunitions were recognized. His epistles are addressed to persons in Christ, not in Adam. Women’s offices and roles in church and Christian family as Paul and other Biblical outlines them ought not to be treated by the church as automatically and necessarily binding on society at large though they may well be commended as worthy of respect because grounded in the creation order.” Once I have established this is the creation order and its intention for me as a man for us as male and female that is binding on me as a member of God’s household, is it not? I think well, we just write that off, that’s only for the church. Well, all these commentators agree since they come from a more conservative view that this is God’s creation order but that’s not necessarily binding on society. Well in one sense, no because they are not part of God’s household they will come under judgment for their constant rebellion against Him.

But am I ever free to live outside God’s intention for me as a man? This goes back to the creation order; when He created me as a man as male; when He created woman as female to be. Oh well, we are not in church so now you know. Maybe I will be the president of United States someday as a woman. Well, would that be a role for a woman? How did God work that out among His people when His people were an earthly nation? Appoint queens over Israel? No, there was one, Athaliah. She is not a model to be followed. There is the order. We have adopted the thinking of the world. I can’t understand the consistency here. We ought not as the church to think these things are binding outside the church but they are worthy of respect because they are grounded in creation order. Paul says they are more than worthy of respect. There are requirements for us who are God’s people to live accordingly. I think we need to be very careful we follow the world. We want to train our girls to what? Get out in the men’s world, do what the men do. Where are you going to find a model in the secular world of the importance of the home and motherhood?

Look in verse 15: “The woman will be preserved, saved through the bearing of children if they continue in faith and love and sanctity with restraint.” I think what he is mentioning here he said what a woman can do but where is the women’s realm? It is the home. That is where she finds her fulfillment, her salvation so to speak. Not that she’s spiritually saved by being a good mother. If she continues in faith and love and sanctity but she fulfills God’s purpose for her in that realm. There are some that are going to have the single life. Paul provides for that. An example in I Corinthians that enables a woman to be free from the home responsibilities and the responsibilities of a husband and to serve the Lord in the realm consistent with what God intends for her as a women. It’s not very difficult. You would probably and probably have if you’ve read this passage even if you’ve never taught it, well it’s what is says. I don’t know if it’s practical today. It’s sure not what the world is doing but we never were supposed to look to the world. “Love not the world, neither the things that are in the world. All that is in the world is contrary to God, the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes and the boastful pride of life.” And the world is trying to promote the women to be like the men. God said I didn’t make the woman to be like a man. I didn’t make a man to be like a woman. I made them to complement one another.

Come back to I Corinthians 11 and we will be done, at least we will be done with this message. We may not be done, I realize. I Corinthians 11, verse 3: “I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, the man is the head of the woman and God is the head of Christ.” You see the order that God has established. That’s it. That’s the order that God has established. Society does not reflect it. It is a sign of an ungodly society that we have women leading countries. That is not part of God’s plan. It wasn’t His plan from the creation.

You come down, verse 7: “The man ought not to have his head covered since he is the image and glory of God. The woman is the glory of man.” Now there’s a verse to set things on fire. “The woman is the glory of man.” How does that fit society? Go see what kind of popularity that gets you by proclaiming that. What is the foundation for it? The creation account, man does not originate from woman but woman from man. That’s the order of Genesis 2. Everyplace the Scripture uses the Old Testament it is using it literally and man was not created for the woman’s sake but woman for the man’s sake. There’s another hot button verse. But the woman was created to be the helper fitted for the man. That is not a put down for the woman. She finds her fullness in fulfilling God’s purpose for her in the role that He has created for her and we don’t learn that from the world. We learn it from the Word and it ought to be honored and held in esteem and we ought to be modeling that. Don’t expect the world to model it. I’m not trying to reform the world and get them to function Biblically. It won’t happen. I’d like to see the world experience the regenerating power of the Spirit of God by coming to believe in the Gospel of Jesus Christ then to become a part of God’s family. Then they live in submission to God and His instructions and they realize the fullness of His blessing because they are realizing what He created them to be.

Let’s pray together. Thank you Lord for the riches and the clarity of Your Word. Lord we live in a world no different than it has been since the fall, a world in rebellion, a world that hates You, hates Your Son, hates Your Word, hates Your people is bent on opposing you, on disobeying You in everything they do. Lord for us as Your people we must keep our attention focused upon You and the truth You have given to us. Our desire is to honor You not to fit into a world that is in rebellion against you but to live contrary to the world because You have blessed us with Your salvation. We belong to You. We are Your family. We are blessed to live lives pleasing to You and experience the blessing in our lives and lives of obedience that can only be found in a right relationship with You. May that be true of us as a church family whether we are here meeting together or out and about in the various activities and places You send us and use us. May our testimony be strong and clear we pray in Christ’s name, Amen.