Month: July 2013

“For a bishop must be blameless, as a steward of God, not self-willed…”
Titus 1:7

I like Chick-Fil-A. It’s not just the food that is consistently good. The service is generally exceptional! Others may think it sounds too forced, but I like to hear the employees reply to my “thank you” with, “My pleasure!”  At many fast food places, it seems like the person on the other side of the counter would rather be doing anything in the world other than taking your order.  But at Chick-Fil-A, the cashier’s friendly “my pleasure,” whether sincere or not, implies to the customer, “I love to serve you.”

I’ve been examining my own heart regarding that very thought lately.  Do I love to serve?  Our text today explains that a man is not qualified to be an elder/bishop in a church if he is self-willed.  That requirement makes sense when you consider that we commonly refer to such men as “ministers”.  The Greek word often translated “minister” in the Scripture is also many times translated “servant”, for that’s what the minister is called to do–he loves to serve.  Notice how Paul, Peter, and James introduce themselves in their letters: “…a bondservant of Jesus Christ…” (Rom 1:1, Jam 1:1, 2Pe 1:1) These men were not self-willed!  In fact, the word “servant” used in these introductions is actually the word “slave”, signifying that their direction was not based on each passing whim of their own hearts but rather they took their direction from the Lord who had bought them with the price of His own blood! (1 Cor 7:23)

This attitude of not seeking to please ourselves should not be unique to the pastor.  Listen to the apostle Paul’s instruction in 1Co 10:32-11:1: “Give no offense, either to the Jews or to the Greeks or to the church of God, just as I also please all men in all things, not seeking my own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved.  Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”  He didn’t seek to please himself but had a servant’s heart, which seeks to please others above himself.  His instruction to us?  “Follow my example!”  The love of Christ in the believer prompts him to do the same.  “For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.” (Gal 5:13)

And notice from Whom the apostle Paul learned this selfless attitude.  He said, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ.”  Who has ever been as selfless as the Lord Jesus?  He always taught us both by word AND example.  “And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave— just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”  (Mat 20:27-28) Who else can say regarding the Father, “I always do those things that please Him.”  He always walked in obedience to the Father’s will!  May we follow His glorious example and no longer seek to please ourselves.  “We then who are strong ought to bear with the scruples of the weak, and not to please ourselves.  Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, leading to edification.  For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘The reproaches of those who reproached You fell on Me.'” (Rom 15:1-3)

Jamie

“…appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife…”
Titus 1:5-6

I made a statement in the last post that shocked some of you–namely, “that women should not pastor churches.”  My only concern with that statement is that it may not have appeared as restrictive as I intended it!  As we discussed the topic in the Bible study last week, it became clear that more needed to be said.  I understand that to make such a statement in our day and age might be setting me up to be branded as a male chauvinist pig, a term that according to about.com was “used in the 1960s among some feminists for some men…who believed that men were superior”.  I assure you that nothing could be further from the truth.  I am merely trying to be faithful to what the Lord has set forth in His word regardless of how popular or unpopular the truth is.

Just to clarify what was introduced last week, I am NOT saying that women are not gifted to teach.  Some are even very able teachers of the word of God!  Timothy’s doctrinal foundation was credited to his mother and grandmother. (2Ti 1:5 cmp 2Ti 3:14-15) In Acts 18:25-26, Apollos was preaching boldly in all the light he had, but his knowledge was limited.  He knew only about the baptism of John, so God sent a married couple, Aquila and Priscilla, and they both “took him aside and explained to him the way of God more accurately.”  In Tit 2:3-5, older women are expected to be “teachers of good things—that they admonish the young women to love their husbands, to love their children, to be discreet, chaste, homemakers, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God may not be blasphemed.”

I am also NOT saying that women are spiritually inferior to men.  We are on equal footing in Christ.  “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. (Gal 3:28) In fact, in Christ, all the church is spoken of as a woman, the bride, and He is the husband. (Eph 5:32) There are also many times in Scripture that women have outshined men in their service to God.  As far as we know, only one of the twelve disciples (John) was brave enough to be at the foot of the cross, but the women were faithful to stand with their Lord. (Joh 19:25-26) And remember, it was a woman to whom Christ first appeared after His resurrection because she was first at the tomb, and when she ran excitedly to tell the men, they didn’t believe her! (Mk 16:9-11)

So, what am I saying?  I’m saying that, according to the Scriptures, women are not to be in teaching roles over men within the church.  As Paul is instructing Timothy in 1Ti 2:8-3:15 on “how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God” (3:15), right in the middle of that instruction he writes, “Let a woman learn in silence with all submission. And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence.” (1Ti 2:11-12) This word is that of an apostle of Jesus Christ, and we must remember that God chose these men to set forth the foundation upon which His church would be built! (Eph 2:19-20) We are not merely reading Paul’s opinion.  We’re reading that which God preserved to be a part of Scripture which is “given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2Ti 3:16-17)

Another text I mentioned last week was 1Co 14:34-35 which reads, “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.”  This instruction is written to the church as if it should be obvious because God’s law clearly put women under the authority of the men in their lives–first their fathers and then their husbands if they married. (e.g. Gen 3:16, Num 30:3-13) Let’s consider a moment the context of these verses written to the Corinthians.  The whole chapter is about the proper order (v. 40) that God has defined when the saints assemble together (v. 26).  A church service in Corinth was like a three-ring circus.  Everybody had to be seen and heard!  They were all jabbering in various tongues at the same time, and if someone had entered from the outside, they would have thought they had just stepped into a psychiatric hospital! (v. 23) Paul reminded them that the purpose of coming together was to edify the church as a whole (v. 12, 26), and so the emphasis should be on prophesying (v. 3), which simply means to speak that which the church needs to hear as inspired by God.  In other words, prophesying is preaching led by the Spirit of God.  As he’s dealing with the proper way this prophesying should take place (v. 29-35), he clarifies that the women should keep silent.  Simply put, they are not permitted to preach in the assembly.  He’s teaching Corinth the same thing he wrote to Timothy and Titus in our verses above!  Lest we think this to merely be Paul’s opinion, he adds in v. 37 that “the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord.”

How did we get to this place of disorder among the modern church?  As in the days when Deborah the prophetess was judging Israel in Jdg 4, men have failed to be the leaders in our assemblies that God has called us to be!  Barak should have been ready and willing to lead the armies of Israel into battle, but we see his weakness in v. 8: “And Barak said to her [Deborah], ‘If you will go with me, then I will go; but if you will not go with me, I will not go!'”  Have you ever heard of a military commander that would only lead his troops to the fight if a woman would go with him?!!  And so, because the men of that day would not be men, Deborah responded in v. 9: “I will surely go with you; nevertheless there will be no glory for you in the journey you are taking, for the LORD will sell Sisera into the hand of a woman.”  God was going to deliver His people but also shame the Israelite men who were unwilling to be the leaders they should have been by using a woman to defeat the commander of the enemy army.  Deborah’s day was an exception not the rule.

We should strive in all things to maintain God’s proper order, especially within the church.  The world may claim that “the end justifies the means,” but that way of thinking should never be the church’s mantra.  Striving to do something good but in a way contrary to the Lord’s order is called disobedience!  When King Saul grew nervous on the eve of battle waiting for Samuel to arrive, he stepped outside of God’s order and made a sacrifice to the Lord.  He wanted to do something good, something that would both encourage the hearts of the people and honor God.  The only problem was that he was not a priest, and God’s rule was that only the priests were allowed to sacrifice.  How serious was the offence?  It cost Saul the kingdom!  “And Samuel said to Saul, ‘You have done foolishly. You have not kept the commandment of the LORD your God, which He commanded you. For now the LORD would have established your kingdom over Israel forever. But now your kingdom shall not continue. The LORD has sought for Himself a man after His own heart, and the LORD has commanded him to be commander over His people, because you have not kept what the LORD commanded you.'” (1Sa 13:13-14) God’s order matters!  Being obedient is better than being religious.  As Samuel told Saul later in 1Sa 15:22, “to obey is better than sacrifice”.  The Lord Jesus says, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” (Joh 14:15)

Jamie

“…appoint elders in every city as I commanded you—if a man is blameless, the husband of one wife…”
Titus 1:5-6

In our text today, Paul is instructing Titus to appoint elders over the various churches on the island of Crete.  One of the things we learn from the qualifications of elders listed in Tit 1:5-9 is that the terms “elders” and “bishops” refer to the same office in the church.  With that connection made, we can then understand from 1 Tim 3:1-13 how the position of an elder/bishop differs from the role of a deacon.  The most striking difference between the two is that an elder must possess the gift to teach the flock of God. (1 Tim 3:2) Thus, an elder/bishop is what we commonly refer to as a pastor in our day, a word used in some biblical translations that is associated with a “teacher” in Eph 4:11 (the word literally means “shepherd”).  I said all of that to be clear that our text today regarding elders is referring to people that have been gifted by God to oversee (“bishop” literally means “overseer”) and feed the church by teaching the word of God.

Now, you don’t get very far in the list of qualifications in our text before you run into an interesting phrase. An elder is to be “the husband of one wife”.  Since that statement is not immediately followed by the phrase “or the wife of one husband”, an obvious question arises.  Is Paul saying that only men should hold this office in the church?  As contrary as that thought is to our present-day practice, Paul is emphatic both here and elsewhere that women should not pastor churches.

We live in a day of confusion.  Lines are often blurred that should be clear.  It is the word of God that should shape our culture rather than the culture shaping our interpretation of the word of God!  The Lord’s word is timeless for He says, “Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will by no means pass away.” (Mat 24:35) God’s word has established a proper order in this world and specifically in the church.  Unless we understand what that order is, we cannot obey his command, “Let all things be done decently and in order.” (1Co 14:40)

Just prior to this statement in the Corinthian letter, God establishes a principle that is to be upheld in our congregations today.  God never revoked it.  It is found in 1Co 14:34-35: “Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says. And if they want to learn something, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is shameful for women to speak in church.”  Those verses don’t leave any room for interpretation.  They are plain and clear!  So, examine churches today.  Are we obedient to God in this matter?

The most common argument that I hear in favor of female pastors is that Paul’s statement was only relevant to that time and place.  It was a necessary rule based on the current culture.  As soon as we take this stance, we do great damage to the truth of God’s word!  We give people permission to pick and choose the biblical teachings that most agree with their personal philosophies while discarding anything that doesn’t agree under the pretense that it’s not culturally relevant!!  Let’s see if this “cultural” argument holds up in 1Ti 2:12-14 where we find similar instruction: “And I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man, but to be in silence. For Adam was formed first, then Eve. And Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived, fell into transgression.”  Here we find this precept to be based not on culture but on the word of God from the very outset of creation!  In other words, God intended it to be this way from the beginning.

The Lord has made the two sexes differently.  We should celebrate those differences not seek to eradicate them! God in His great wisdom didn’t form a copy of Adam when He determined He needed “a helper suited to him.” (Gen 2:18 LITV) That suitable helper was woman!  She complemented Adam as he complemented her, and the two together formed a unique union created for one glorious purpose!  “’For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.’  This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church.” (Eph 5:31-32) God’s order reveals Christ!  If we break away from the order God has established, we will fail to fully reveal the Lord Jesus and give him the glory due His name.

Jamie