This week's Bible study will be 1st Timothy chapter 2

Settling the Debate About the Role of Women In Church

[1^st Timothy chapter 2]

When we last left off at the conclusion of 1^st Timothy chapter one, I concluded with the words, “Love, unconditional love, always wins and triumphs over hate, aggression, fear, and greed.” Today, I will do my best to go deeper with these words to the benefit of all who read this, regardless of denomination (or not). So today we will explore chapter two of 1^st Timothy, which is a relatively brief chapter comprised of only 15 verses. Beginning at verse one, it reads as follows from my New International Version (it matters little which version you use, they're all the Word of God):

“I urge you, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone – for kings and all those in authority, that we may lead peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. This is good, and pleases God our Savior, who wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one mediator between God and men – the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men – the testimony given in its proper time. And for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle – I am telling the truth, I am not lying – and a teacher of the true faith to the Gentiles.” (1^st Timothy chapter 2, verses 1-7, NIV)

First things first, pray for everybody, all the time. Be in a constant state of prayer. Pray without ceasing. How can we worship Jesus if we won't even talk to him? Communication with God, like communication with a commanding officer in battle, or among co-workers in an organization, is mandatory if we are to become effective servants and ambassadors for Christ. How should we pray? The Lord's prayer is one excellent example. But we can and should pray in a conversational style as well, as if Jesus is riding in our car, or when we're grocery shopping, walking down the street, or even at work. It doesn't matter very much how and where we pray as long as we continue to do so. God “wants all men to be saved and to come to a knowledge of the truth.” The best and most consistent way we can come to a knowledge of truth is through prayer. That's because, when we talk to God he invariably responds one way or another. Sometimes it's directly to us, other times God can talk to us through other people, which is why we all need to learn to be better listeners. At still other times a response from God can be found through a sudden and dramatic change in your circumstances, such as finding a new job. The main thing is to keep looking for signs of an answer. Don't worry about timing either, because God is always exactly on time, even when you think He's not.

“For there is one God and one mediator between God and men – the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all men...”. Jesus taught the apostles, “No one comes to God the Father except through me”. Absolutely nobody, game over, end of discussion. Only by the shed blood of Christ the Lord can anyone be reconciled to God and achieve eternal life in and through Him. There is no substitute. None, zilch, nada, forget about it. But when we have salvation in Christ we inherit eternal life, which is the goal we pursue by loving one another as Christ commanded. Jesus Christ crucified, died, and resurrected is the single-sentence summation of what it means to be a Christian. It means that no matter how many bad things we have done, no matter how many bad decisions we have made, and that no matter how many regrets we have in our lives, Jesus and only He can make things right again, only He can do away with our past, only He can make us whole again as He mends broken hearts and shattered minds, nobody else but Jesus. “... for this purpose I was appointed a herald and an apostle... ”. How about the rest of us? Have we become heralds for Jesus, spreading the good news about the salvation of Christ to anyone who will listen? Because, if we're not doing that we're not emulating the apostle Paul, and if we're not emulating Paul, we're not true followers of Christ. In that event we would be little more than “wannabe” apostles, and who is willing to settle for that? So it's time for us to step up our efforts during these Last Days, because we are running out of time. Speaking of time, let's conclude today's study beginning at verse eight.

“I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger and disputing. I 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 total 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.” (1st Timothy chapter 2, verses 8-15, NIV)

These verses of Scripture have generated quite a lot of controversy for many generations, certainly for far longer than I have been alive, and that's well over half a century. In the first place, it's important to understand that the apostle Paul was writing from the point of view of a first century man who lived 2,000 years ago. It goes without saying that people are very different now than back then, and people's attitudes about the opposite sex are vastly different now as well (with some of that being good, but other stuff maybe not so much). We have yet to achieve equality among men and women. Although great progress has been made, especially in the last 90 years or so going back to the Suffrage Movement of the early 20^th century, it is a cold hard fact that women's earnings in the American workplace still trail their male counterparts by nearly 30%. Meaning, we still have a pretty long way to go to achieve true equality in the workplace.

Having said that, Paul starts this closing paragraph of chapter two with one thing that is indisputable – “I want men everywhere to lift up holy hands in prayer, without anger and disputing.” Today we would say, “brothers and sisters”, or sometimes the much older word “brethren” is still used, but that is becoming less common in modern times. Those who gather to worship and to break bread should check their anger, their hostility and their lack of forgiveness at the door. To have anything like this going on in a church today, in my view, would be inexcusable in the event of its discovery. Remember what Jesus taught: “If any one comes to make an offering and has a disagreement with his brother/sister, let them go first and make peace with them. Then, after you have done so, return to the temple to make your offering”. That would include our spouse, our boss, a parent or a sibling, among others. So before we come to church on Sunday morning to make our offering, let's all be sure we are at peace with one another. It's time for some of us to put our child-like rivalry and envy aside and grow up!

Now comes the sticky part; Paul's 1^st century attitude toward women. I cannot think at the moment of any other place in the Bible where I have reservations about what is written except for right here. Paul starts off with, “I want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriety...”. So far, so good. Then Paul wrote, “A woman should learn in quietness and total submission.” I agree, but I also think that this applies equally toward men and women. “Fear of the Lord”, wrote King Solomon in the book of Proverbs, “is the beginning of all wisdom”. So the part about total submission applies just as much to myself as it does towards any female. But then Paul throws a monkey wrench in the works when he wrote next verse: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority over a man; she must be silent.” This is a verse of Scripture that has been abused and misused for centuries by abusive authoritarians who are looking for an excuse to bully other people, and to do so in the house of the Lord! Those who do these things will be called into account, and they risk summary judgment by the Lord if they do not stop acting like this and mistreating other people. When their time comes to stand before the Lord at the Throne of judgment, most of them will be thrown into the lake of fire.

On the other hand, there are a number of female evangelists, worship leaders and teachers in the modern church, not to mention all the pastor's wives, who are doing an enormous amount of good for Christ all over the world. Again, this is a reflection of the apostle Paul's upbringing, education, and overall frame of reference. “ Adam was not the one deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner. But women will be saved through childbearing...”. In this passage of Scripture, women get the sole blame for original sin, when in fact both Adam and Eve were equally responsible. Next week, we will take up where we left off, and we will see that Paul moves on with his letter to Timothy to more important matters. But for now, I am in favor of unconditional equality regardless of gender, age, race, nationality, creed or religion, or sexual orientation. Enough said.