GRACE ANSWERS 26

The Role of Women in Ministry

(continued)

Paul's letters to Timothy and Titus outline specifics about the ministry of Christian women as well. He told the wives (gunaikas - it behoves wives) of deacons that they should "be women of respect, not malicious talkers but temperate and trustworthy in everything." (1 Timothy 3:11) Husbands and wives shared ministries. They worked together in serving God and His Children of Grace. They may have performed different functions in their church and community, but their ministry came together to the glory of God.

Many critics of Pauline theology have argued that Paul apparently didn't like women because of what he wrote to them and about them. They are so wrong. Paul loved Christian women even as Christ did. Keep in mind that Paul wrote under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Christ "in" Paul said what He wanted His children, male and female, to do. Christ told them how to minister in the way that would please Him and be best for everyone in the Body of Christ. Christ is Love and everything He directed Paul to say and write about men and women came from His Love for them. Christ created male and female and knew what would be best for each. Christ guided Paul how to present His instructions so that Christians would know, understand, obey and enjoy.

"I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes, but with good deeds, appropriate for women who profess to worship God. A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing--if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety."
"Give proper recognition to those widows who are really in need. But if a widow has children or grandchildren, these should learn first of all to put their religion into practice by caring for their own family and so repaying their parents and grandparents, for this is pleasing to God. The widow who is really in need and left all alone puts her hope in God and continues night and day to pray and to ask God for help. But the widow who lives for pleasure is dead even while she lives. Give the people these instructions, too, so that no one may be open to blame...No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the saints, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. As for younger widows, do not put them on such a list. For when their sensual desires overcome their dedication to Christ, they want to marry. Thus they bring judgment on themselves, because they have broken their first pledge. Besides, they get into the habit of being idle and going about from house to house. And not only do they become idlers, but also gossips and busybodies, saying things they ought not to. So I counsel younger widows to marry, to have children, to manage their homes and to give the enemy no opportunity for slander...If any woman who is a believer has widows in her family, she should help them and not let the church be burdened with them, so that the church can help those widows who are really in need."
"...teach the older women to be reverent in the way they live, not to be slanderers or addicted to much wine, but to teach what is good. Then they can train the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God."

Paul wrote Christian women that they should submit to their husbands "as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything." (Ephesians 5:22-24) Paul also wrote that a married Christian woman "must respect her husband." (Ephesians 5:33) This is certainly a primary ministry of married Christian women. In fact, a married Christian woman cannot have a successful ministry without first being a loving wife to her husband.

Your question is about the role of Christian women in the minsitry, i.e. teaching, deacon, pastorate, etc. Let's first look at what many people think is the "ministry": what happens during a meeting of Christians. Paul wrote Christian women about how to conduct themselves during church meetings and public worship.

"Now I want you to realize that the head of every man is Christ and the head of the woman is man, and the head of Christ is God. Every man who prays or prophesies with his head covered dishonors his head. And every woman who prays or prophesies with her head uncovered dishonors her head--it is just as though her head were shaved. If a woman does not cover her head, she should have her hair cut off; and if it is a disgrace for a woman to have her hair cut or shaved off, she should cover her head. A man ought not to cover his head, since he is the image and glory of God; but the woman is the glory of man. For man did not come from woman, but woman from man; neither was man created for woman, but woman for man. For this reason, and because of the angels, the woman ought to have a sign of authority on her head. In the Lord, however, woman is not independent of man, nor is man independent of woman. For as woman came from man, so also man is born of woman. But everything comes from God. Judge for yourselves: Is it proper for a woman to pray to God with her head uncovered? Does not the very nature of things teach you that if a man has long hair, it is a disgrace to him, but that if a woman has long hair, it is for her glory? For long hair is given to her as a covering. If anyone wants to be contentious about this, we have no other practice--nor do the churches of God." (1 Corinthians 11:3-16) [The word "cover" in the Greek means "veiled."]
"As in all congregations of the saints, women should remain silent in the churches. They are not allowed to speak, but must be in submission, as the Law says. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their own husbands at home; for it is disgraceful for a woman to speak in the church. Did the word of God originate with you? Or are you the only people it has reached? If anybody thinks he is a prophet or spiritually gifted, let him acknowledge that what I am writing to you is the Lord's command. If he ignores this, he himself will be ignored." (1 Corinthians 14:33-38)
"A woman should learn in quietness and full submission. I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent." (1 Timothy 2:11-12)

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to write that Christian women are to be silent in church meetings. They are not to teach or have authority over a man. If they want to inquire about something, they should ask their husbands at home. That would seem to preclude Christian women from having a ministry of public preaching and teaching to men. Christ wants women to be silent in public worship.

What, then, is the role of Christian women in the ministry? Christian women are "gifted saints." They are "in" Christ and He is "in" them. Christian women are "free" in Christ to do anything He directs them to do. Christ will always direct people according to His Word. Jesus did not inspire Paul to say one thing in the first century and then change it for the 20th century. Society has certainly changed, but God's Word is the same today as it was yesterday. What Christ told Paul about people and ministry is still true.

Christ gave Christian women a very special place in the home. Christ directed Christian husbands to love their wives just as Christ loved His Body, the Church. No person can have a higher position than that. Christian women have a special ministry to their husbands, to their children, to their relatives (especially their mothers and grandmothers), and to younger women. Christ wants Christian women to be decent, loving people who care for others in the Grace and Goodness of God. Christ wants Christian women to be worthy of respect, temperate and trustworthy in everything. Christ wants Christian women to be reverent in the way they live and teach what is good so they can train younger women to love their husbands and children. Christ wants Christian women to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God. Christian women can do all of the things Paul saluted in his letters. They can contend for the Gospel, explain God's Word to unsaved people they meet, pray for others, serve the needs of others, do good deeds, teach their children to love and follow Christ, work in unison with their husband, train younger women how to be good wives and mothers, be an example of how to be a godly woman, and care for older women in their church and family. There is no limit to the opportunities for women to minister in ways Christ directs them.

That is the role of Christian women in the ministry. What a wonderful and special ministry God has given them! We all should pray for the millions of Christian women around the world today that God would help each of them as they minister for Him. Our world is a better place to live because of the loving ministry of Christian women.

Does Sin Matter?

QUESTION: While reading several of your articles on the web, I had a recurring question. When you state that we are not under the law, but under grace, (a position that I definately agree with) do you mean that we are free to sin, or that sin does not matter? The more I strive to live for God, the more I see sin in my life. I believe that we are called to live a holy life before God. How does this fit in with the doctrines of the Grace Church?

ANSWER: Freedom in Christ has the appearance of being dangerous by some because each Christian is free to do what they want. What if Christians don't "want" to do what it is right? What if they don't "want" to obey God's Word? Then what? Is it okay to sin? Freedom in Christ is really not dangerous at all. It is the "lack" of freedom that is dangerous. Paul wrote the Galatians: "It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery." (Galatians 5:1) He told them: "You were running a good race. Who cut in on you and kept you from obeying the truth?" (Galatians 5:7) Paul wrote: "I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by observing the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Spirit, are you now trying to attain your goal by human effort?" (Galatians 3:2-3) The Galatians were turning away from the Grace that had saved them to the Law that had chained them. Sounds like a strange thing to do, but many Christians still do that today.

Paul wrote the Corinthians about the veil that covered the hearts of the Israelites. "But whenever anyone turns to the Lord, the veil is taken away. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we, who with unvelied faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit." (2 Corinthians 3:16-18) A wonderful thing is happening to Christians who understand, experience and enjoy the Freedom that is "in" Christ. We are becoming "like" Him. What does that have to do with sin? Look at the very next words Paul writes to the Corinthians.

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart. Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God."
2 Corinthians 4:1-2

Freedom in Christ leads to a different lifestyle; a different desire. Sin is not something we "want" to do. Christ "in" us desires a different path. Christ's will becomes our will because He "wills" in and through us. Christ lives His life in us. The life Christ lives will be a life that desires that which is righteous because He is righteous and we have become "the righteousness of God" in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:21) That happened to us because "God made him who had no sin to be sin for us." (2 Corinthians 5:20)

I believe the more we experience Christ's Freedom, the less we will want to sin. This is a major difference between "GraceLife" and "LawLife." The more we understand and enjoy the Freedom Christ came to give us, the less we'll be concerned with laws. Paul wrote that "the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit." (Galatians 5:22-25) There is no law against the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. Our sinful nature, with its passions and desires, has been crucified. Our sinful nature hung on the Cross with Christ.

Paul went into depth about the issue of Christians and sin. Sin does matter.

"The law was added so that the trespass might increase. But where sin increased, grace increased all the more, so that, just as sin reigned in death, so also grace might reign through righteousness to bring eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin--because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him. For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, he cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over him. The death he died, he died to sin once for all; but the life he lives, he lives to God. In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. for sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."
Romans 5:20-6:14

Some of the keys to understanding sin and the Christian are:

We died to sin
We may live a new life
We have been united with Christ
Our old self was crucified
We are no longer slaves to sin
We have been freed from sin
We can count ourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus
We should not offer the parts of our body to sin, as instruments of wickedness
We should offer the parts of our body to God as instruments of righteousness
Sin will not be our master
We are under Grace, not Law

Christians have a "new" life in Christ. We are not the same. Our old self, the old sin nature, was crucified. We are no longer slaves to sin. We have been freed from sin! We have a new ability to live a righteous life because of Christ Who is "in" us. He will live His Righteousness in us and through us.

I think most Christians would agree that sin is wrong. The Bible makes that pretty clear. What seems to trouble Christians is what sin is and how not to do it. I've met many Christians through the years who have big differences about certain kinds of sins. Churches and hairs have been split because of the differences. However, we probably agree about the major ones.

Paul wrote that the acts of the sinful nature are obvious: "sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions, and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like." (Galatians 5:19-21) Paul wrote another sin-list to the Corinthians: "Do you not know that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor homosexual offenders nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." Paul reminds us that we were like that once, but we've been changed. "And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-11) Paul wrote the Colossians to "Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. But now you must rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Greek or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all." (Colossians 3:5-11) Paul wrote the Ephesians: "Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice." (Ephesians 4:31)

Sin does matter. It is not something Christ wants a Christian to do. However, Jesus knows what we were. He knows our former "sinning" experience. He knows what we know. He knows what once occupied our minds and time. He knows what was once the desire of our hearts. He knows the struggles Christians can have with sin. Fortunately for us, Christ did something about it. He died on the Cross and crucified our old self. Through Christ we died to sin. We are no longer slaves to sin. We are freed from sin. We are alive to God "in" Christ Jesus!

Unsaved people have no choice about whether they will sin. They are born sinners. They do what comes naturally to them. They sin continually. Saved people, God's Children of Grace, have choices. We are dead to sin. Christ "in" us will live out His Will through us. His Will is for us to live righteously. We have a choice about what we do. What does that have to do with Freedom?

"You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: 'Love your neighbors as yourself.' If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other."
Galatians 5:13-15

Does sin matter? You bet it does. Sin killed the Kindest and Most Loving Person I've ever known. It killed Jesus. Sin destroys people. It wrecks families. It leads people to jealousy and murder. It causes people to rob, steal, lie, cheat, maim, abuse, and victimize. It is at the heart of all wickedness. If we understand what sin really is, we won't want to do it. The resurrected Christ "in" us will live His Righteousness through us. That defeats sin. We are dead to sin and alive to God "in" Christ Jesus. As we agree with God and cooperate with Him, Christ will feel at home in our hearts. Then we will be rooted and established in His love, and will have the power, "together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know His Love that surpasses knowledge and we will be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God." How can that be? We depend on Christ "in" us to do it all. "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." (Ephesians 3:14-21)