Part four of a series — By Pastor Tedd Mathis
O My people! Their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O My people! Those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths. — Isaiah 3:12
In this essay I want to show you the connection between the ordaining of women as pastors and the acceptance of gay Christianity.
For decades some local churches and denominations have ordained women to the office and function of pastor. Since the 1970s many of those churches have endorsed and celebrated homosexuality, even ordaining LGBTQ individuals as pastors.
Here is the connection: both gay Christianity and the ordination of women reject what the Bible teaches regarding the roles God assigns to males and females.
From the beginning God distinctly blessed differences between males and females. While equally His image bearers, there are distinct physical differences and spiritual roles they are to fill in obedience to Him (Genesis 1, 2). Males cannot be females nor are they to seek to fulfill the role of a female. Females cannot be males nor are they to seek to fulfill the role of a male.
In the Bible hierarchy is not a bad word. We’re told that in creating man first, God established a perspective and pattern for us. Man is the head of his wife and offspring. As head he sets a trajectory for his wife and children; he leads and represents. We’re told in Romans 5 that Adam represented all humans who came after him (Romans 5). That pattern has not changed: In creating the male first, God has specific expectations of men — to set a God-honoring course for others, specifically his wife and children (Gen. 1,2; Rom 5:12-17; I Cor. 11:1-16; Eph. 5:22-33; 6:4).
The female was uniquely created after Adam was already on the scene. She was brought to him by God. She is his helpmate, uniquely complementing him so that together they fulfill God’s mandate. When married and able to conceive, as the mother of his children, she is uniquely blessed and equipped to nurture them under her husband’s headship.
Yet in Genesis 3, the serpent addresses the woman, not her head. The serpent is by nature a liar; he only distorts and defiles and misrepresents what God designs and blesses. By approaching the woman about what God had commanded to the man, he implants the idea that man and woman are interchangeable.
Pastor Alan Morrison observes: At the heart of his evil work in the subversion of our first parents in Gen.3:1-6 was not only the questioning of God’s Word and the incitement to disobedience, but there was also the
fouling up of God’s gender-plan in creation.
The fouling up of God’s blessing can be seen in multiple sad, distorted, defiling and violent ways throughout the history of our sinful condition. But this essay is addressing the connection between gay Christianity and female pastors. Both deny the complementary roles God assigns to males and females.
Just as gay Christianity is a twisted imitation of what God blesses in the union of one man and one woman in marriage, so the acceptance of women as pastors is a distorted imitation of what Christ blesses His church with – male leadership.
Christ has ordained the local church to be the pillar and support of the truth (I Tim. 3:15). It is His primary means of proclaiming the excellencies of God to a world of truth-suppressing sinners (I Peter 2:9; Romans 1:18ff). The local church is to be salt and light in a decaying, dark world. It upholds the truth of God’s design for men and women by having godly men shepherd the flock (I Tim. 2:12-3:7; Titus 1:5-9; I Peter 5:1-4).
In the past 150 years many local churches and Protestant denominations have drifted away from the conviction that formed them: all the Bible is God-breathed and therefore authoritative. A common result has been the ordaining of women to be pastors. Some of these churches now openly embrace gay Christianity, including ordaining homosexuals and transgenders. Others still hold to a Scriptural standard on paper but remain compromised by their willingness to endlessly discuss homosexuality as if it is a valid subject to be considered. These include the United Church of Christ, the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America; Presbyterian Church USA, United Methodist Church, American Baptist Churches USA.
What’s going on among Southern Baptists (SBC)? Because the SBC is made up of 47,000 autonomous churches it’s careless to be emphatic. However, postings and statements being made by pastors and entity heads suggest a wavering regarding homosexuality and women serving as pastors (Note: A documentary, By What Standard?, will be shown in January that in part addresses this).
Evidences of apparent drift:
+ Popular SBC prophetess Beth Moore has been preaching to males and females for several years, and last spring publicly boasted about preaching in an SBC church. In response to concerns expressed, at the annual SBC convention Russell Moore, head of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission stated, “An SBC that doesn’t have a place for Beth Moore, doesn’t have a place for a lot of us.”
+ Recently I received an email from Lifeway urging me as a pastor to use its latest resource on leadership. The teacher on pastoral leadership was Christine Caine, a popular charismatic pastor. Lifeway is the SBC’s publishing resource but apparently what the SBC’s Baptist Faith and Message states has no bearing on whom it promotes. The BFM2000 states: While both men and women are gifted for service in the church, the office
of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture.
+ In a recent sermon and essay addressing homosexuality, J.D. Greear, pastor of Summit Church in Raleigh, NC, and current president of the SBC, stated the following: “When you fully understand the gospel, you will stand up and be among the fiercest advocates for the dignity and rights of LGBT”…. In his sermon, he said, “We ought to whisper about what the Bible whispers about, and we ought to shout about what the Bible shouts about. And the Bible appears more to whisper when it comes to sexual sin compared to it shouts about materialism and religious pride.”
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