There's Something VERY Strange About These Women Pastors...

I was just so caught up in what I felt like God was telling me to do, and it was being successful. I never called myself into ministry.

God called me when I was 18 years old to preach the gospel. We're all on a different path because no two paths are alike, but God's got us all on the road to victory.

Yours truly is preaching three services at a SP church on Mother's Day. I'm doing

Mother's Day too. Vicki, let's please don't tell anyone this. Countless churches have given in to the pressures of feminism and allowed women to preach and be pastors.

The question is, why would God be against women pastors? Why women are not allowed to preach in the church?

And if a woman feels that she has the gift of preaching, why isn't she allowed to preach?

Thanks. The answer is actually very simple, because the Bible is clear that the office of pastor and elder is reserved for men.

First Timothy chapter 2 and verse 12, I do not prevent a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man.

Rather, she is to remain quiet, because the Bible says so. And that's it. God created men and women to be different.

And one major purpose of this difference between men and women is to illustrate the gospel, to illustrate the relationship between Jesus and the church.

So when churches eliminate the concept of male headship and say men and women should have the exact same roles in marriage and in the church, these churches are distorting the gospel itself, which is the central message of Christianity.

And if we are walking in the midst of a culture that denies true manhood and denies true womanhood, several things will inevitably follow.

One of those things that will follow is this. According to Ephesians chapter 5, marriage is designed to be a picture of the relationship between Jesus Christ and His church.

So if the Bible tells us what a man is and what a woman is, and the Bible tells us what marriage is, and marriage is a glorious earthly representation of a heavenly relationship between Christ and His church, and I decide not to listen to that, but instead, based on my culture that rejects

God, I redefine manhood so that it's sissified, I redefine womanhood so that it's no longer about being a woman, but a man who happens to be biologically capable of having children,

I redefine marriage so that we sort of negotiate for ourselves a better understanding and the creator of the universe.

Now what I'm doing is marring the picture of the relationship between Christ and His church and the word of God is being dishonored, being defamed, and we can't have that.

In Titus chapter 1, where Paul lists the qualifications for elders, Paul says that elders should be the husband of one wife, and he uses the masculine pronoun he, implying that the role of elder in churches is restricted to men.

Man, where's your passage? Your passage is in Titus chapter 1. That's the list for young men. Ah, but I know there's some sophisticated women here, and you say, wait a minute.

That's not the list for men. That's actually the list for pastors. That's the list for elders. Yeah, I know.

But it's also the list for men. Well, no, it's not the list for men because it's the list for pastors and elders. Let me give you three reasons why this list is actually a list for all men.

Here's three reasons. Reason number one, my weakest reason. Reason number one, there's no list in Titus chapter 2. I said it was my weakest reason, but it's a reason.

There's no list in Titus chapter 2, so there's got to be one somewhere, right? Here's my second reason. Pastors are called in 1

Peter chapter 3, chapter 5 and verse 3, to be examples to the flock. Let me ask you a question. How can a pastor be an example to the flock if he has a list of qualifications that don't relate to the rest of the flock?

Pastors, I want you to be an example to the flock, but what I want you to be is something the rest of the flock is not called to.

The office of the elder. Paul says, you know, when he's talking about the elder, he must be the husband of one wife.

He's talking about a man, okay? That office is exclusively for men. That's the office of the pastor teacher.

So if the office is exclusively for men, and the Bible is very clear that women are not to teach or exercise authority over men, there's absolutely no room for women to be in that office or to exercise that authority in the church.

For many, the idea of male headship and women submitting to male headship in the context of families and churches is an offensive and distasteful idea.

The rise of feminism has indoctrinated the majority of the population into thinking that headship and submission must be inherently abusive and problematic.

However, scripture is clear about God's perfect design for men and women.

This week, I want to talk to you as though I was talking to my 12 -year -old son, and I want to tell you, men, this is the baseline.

This is what the scripture says, she must be. And we're going to talk about one thing, really, and one thing only.

And I want to just get it right out here, right in the beginning, because I ain't scared. She must be submissive, period.

She must be submissive. Several different areas, several different dimensions, but the bottom line is, she must be submissive.

We don't like that word. I'm really not worried about whether or not you like it. I told you before, I don't write the mail, I just deliver it.

I'm not worried about whether or not you like it, I'm worried about whether or not it's in the text. If scripture is clear about God's design for men and women concerning headship and submission, and it certainly is, then rejecting what

God has clearly revealed about headship and submission is serious rebellion to God himself.

And if it's in the text and we don't like it, then we have two choices. We can either say,

God, I know that you know enough to put the earth exactly where it needed to be, far enough from the sun so that we don't fry, but close enough so that we don't freeze.

I appreciate that, God. I appreciate that you gave the earth enough mass so that gravity would keep us here, but not too much so that it wouldn't crush us.

Thank you very much, God. God, I know that you know how to make the seasons come exactly when they're supposed to come, and you keep this thing balanced just like it's supposed to be.

I appreciate all of that. I appreciate that every cell in my body was designed to work properly so that I could live and breathe and move and have my being.

However, on this submission thing, you're crazy. As Christians, we are to submit to all that God has revealed, even when we at first don't like it.

We should seek to conform our thinking to God's revelation and to understand why

God's design for men and women having different roles is both God -glorifying and praiseworthy.

Choice number two, God, when there's a disagreement between you and my culture, let God be true and every man a liar.

That's choice number two. The unfortunate reality, we are so wed to this godless culture that we rarely make choice number two.

The problem is that many have bought into the lies that feminists propagate, when the reality is that feminists are both unhappy and wrong.

I want you to hear this tonight, ladies. The feminist movement has sold you a bill of goods.

A bunch of unhappy, miserable women have told you that this whole submission thing is a crock and that marriage in and of itself is by its very nature oppressive to women.

They tell you that because they ain't got no man. Let's take a look at numerous passages that are clear about God's design for men and women, for headship and submission.

Ephesians chapter 5. Now let's look at verses 22 -24 when it talks to women. See how much space that covers.

That ain't right. Let's read it. Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the

Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, he himself being the savior of the body.

But as the church is subject to Christ, so also the wives ought to be to their husbands in everything.

Next, Colossians chapter 3. If you didn't like that, turn with me to the right. Look at Colossians chapter 3 in verse 18, maybe you'll like that one better.

Colossians 3 .18. Wives be subject to your husbands as fitting in the

Lord. Next, 1 Peter chapter 3. Don't like that one either? Turn to the right. Look at 1

Peter chapter 3. Maybe this will feel better. 1 Peter chapter 3. Let's get there.

Look at those first six verses. This is for all those of you who say, yeah, that's great, I'll submit to him if he's whatever.

1 Peter chapter 3. In the same way, you wives be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives as they observe your chaste and respectful behavior.

Your adornment must not be merely external, braiding the hair, wearing gold jewelry, and putting on dresses, but let it be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

For in this way, in former times, the holy women also who hoped in God used to adorn themselves being submissive to their own husbands, just as Sarah obeyed

Abraham, calling him Lord and you have become her children if you do what is right without being frightened by any fear.

Amen. Hallelujah. Praise the Lord. One objection to the concept of headship and submission is that it makes women inferior to men.

However, nothing could be further from the truth. Just because God created men and women to have different roles in the church and in the family, does not at all mean that men and women have different value before God.

It is about order, not about value. First thing I want you to understand is that it is about order, not about value.

God's not saying men are more important than women. Therefore, men are going to be ahead in this relationship and women are going to submit to the men.

It's not what he's saying. It is about order. I told you a couple of weeks ago, anything with two heads is a monster.

Amen. It is about order. God created men to have headship in marriage and for men and women to have dominion over creation, which includes animals.

However, the fall involved the serpent, an animal deceiving the woman, and the woman getting the man to eat the fruit, which was an inversion of God's created order.

I want you to look at something real quick. Here's the importance of that order. Look back with me in Genesis chapter 3.

If you remember in the fall, what happens is the serpent comes to Eve, tempts Eve.

She eats the fruit and then gives the fruit to her husband. God comes and catches up with it. Adam, where are you?

Adam was hiding. He was scared. Why are you scared? Because I was naked. Who told you he was naked? You've been naked a long time?

Didn't know you were naked? You ate from that tree, didn't you? Passed the buck, didn't he? God, it was that woman that you gave me. I want you to understand something here.

I want you to understand what happened in the fall. What happened in the fall was about order. In Romans chapter 5 and verse 12,

Paul says, through one man, sin entered the world and death through sin. Notice he didn't say through one couple.

The New Testament talks about sin coming into the world through Adam and Adam alone. Why? Because he had headship.

You know, the problem with the fall was a problem of order. Here's the order before the fall.

God creates man and he gives the man the woman and the man and the woman are to have authority and dominion over the beasts,

God, man, woman, everything that they have dominion over. What happens in the fall? The beast deceives the woman, thus exercising dominion over her.

The woman tempts the man, thus exercising dominion over him and the man eats in order that he might be like God.

They flip the order upside down. That's the fall. It's about order. The culture may be putting more and more pressure upon Christians and churches to allow women to preach and be pastors.

But as Christians, our responsibility is to what scripture clearly teaches, not what the culture wants.

And quite frankly, feminism has gained a foothold in many evangelical churches.

Do you think that's a good thing? No, I don't. Not at all. Why not? Well, because we're about the gospel. The culture doesn't dictate truth.

The gospel dictates truth. My job is not to be a political pundit or political activist. My job is to be a pastor and proclaim the truth of the gospel as clearly as I possibly can.

Some argue that there are numerous women leaders in scripture, such as Deborah in the

Old Testament. Well, wait a minute. What about the Old Testament and the prophet Deborah? I mean, she was a political leader.

She was a wife. She was a mother. She was one of the biggest forces in the book of Judges. So that's the gospel right there.

However, just because something happened in the Bible does not necessarily mean it was normative or good.

And in fact, scripture itself makes an important comment about what it means that women are leading men.

She certainly was. And the fact that something happened doesn't mean that it's normative for the church.

In Isaiah chapter three, for example, one of the signs that a culture is under judgment is that women are in leadership in their nations.

So Deborah was actually a sign that things were very bad in Israel, not a norm for the church.

There are many bad arguments against the concepts of headship and submission. Some try to twist the clear meaning of Ephesians 5, which we just covered.

But I think we also need to look at Ephesians 5, which describes, you know, it's saying that husbands are to lay down their lives for their wives, just as Jesus Christ laid down his life for the church.

When you see Margaret Feinberg use Ephesians chapter five, which clearly says that a husband is the head of the wife in order to justify somehow with this sleight of hand that Palin's husband is laying down his life by allowing her to do that.

Number one, she's playing fast and loose with the text. And secondly, she is also ignoring the fact that Palin's responsibility as a wife and mother is governed by scripture, not by whether we feel it's progressive in our culture.

It's becoming more and more common today for churches to compromise concerning the roles of men and women to appear more acceptable to the culture.

Cody, I believe that's a narrow interpretation and a boxy interpretation of the text, as well as the role of women, who in today's working families, many families in the

United States need both the man and the wife in order to work outside of the home, in order to support the family and to put that kind of burden on the family, whereby a woman must stay at home.

I just don't think that translates into many working class families today. However, it's important for Christians to stand firm concerning what

God has revealed about his design for men and women, because, as we've said, this design is an illustration of the gospel, the relationship between Christ and the church.

You know, my job is not to translate into working class families. My job is to be honest with the text. And the text says in Titus chapter two and verse five, a woman is to be the keeper of her home.

Now, I will not violate the teaching of the text in order to somehow sound more appropriate for the culture.

I am a herald of the truth of the gospel. And my job is to teach the gospel according to what the authors have said, not according to what

I think the culture wants to hear. Some women argue that God gave them a gift for preaching to men in church.

So God called them to this kind of ministry. I mean, I was just so caught up in what I felt like God was telling me to do, and it was being successful.

I never called myself into ministry. God called me when I was 18 years old to preach the gospel.

However, if Scripture is clear concerning the roles of men and women, then the reality is that God has not in fact called any women to preach to men in church.

Well, what if a person feels like they have gifts to do that? No one gets to do everything they feel like they're gifted at.

No one does. What if a man who has several wives feels like he's gifted to be a pastor?

The Bible says he must be the husband of one wife, right? So just because you feel like you're gifted to do something, that doesn't give you the right overthrow biblical qualifications.

Churches that allow women to preach and be pastors are, at best, committing a serious error that is contrary to what

God has clearly revealed, and at worst, indirect rebellion against the