The Biblical Role of Women in Christian Ministry
Foreword to this topical study:
Please be aware that while I am truly convinced in my heart that the position of the Pentecostal Church regarding the role of women in the role of Christian leadership is biblically in error, I personally hold no malice or contempt for my Pentecostal brothers and sisters in Christ. As always, I will continue to strive with and pray for all servants of Christ everywhere in their sincere efforts and desire to reach the lost for Him. To this end, I am a committed fellowlaborer among all brethren in the family of Christ.
The purpose and spirit of this study is my no means to diminish the importance of women in the area of Christian Ministry; for to do so would stand in direct opposition to Scripture. Rather, this brief study seeks: (1) to examine and illustrate the proper role of women in Christian ministry according to the Bible, and (2) to examine and expose the faulty assumptions and positions taken by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God in its document on the subject dated August 14-16, 1990.
One must be very careful when attributing circumstances and manifestations to the work of God alone, for Satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), working miracles and deceptions that may appear in the surface to be attributable to God. His true purpose, though, is division and destruction of the Body of Christ (the Church), making it of none effect by casting doubt into its witness and/or by focusing believers and non-believers alike upon the manifestation of miracles and gifts, thus distracting from the Divine Giver of all gifts.
To this end as a Christian leader, I stand firm in the instruction given by the Apostle Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
When the truth is finally realized by those who have mistakenly placed their faith in personal experience, and/or 'tradition of men (Col 2:8),' it may sting for a while, but fear not dear reader, "for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" (Heb 2:6a).
With these things in mind and with a pure and honest heart that truly seeks to know, understand, and perform God's will, let us now enter into the study of the role of women in Christian Ministry.
The Immutability of God
God is immutable in His Person, Character, and Nature. As such, all that He does, commands, and decries is also unalterable. After centuries of their inability to keep God's Law, the Hebrew leaders began the legalistic practice of reinterpreting the points of God's Law in such a way as to make it possible for devout Jews to humanly follow the Law. The result was that when Jesus, their own promised Messiah and bodily fulfillment of the Law arrived, they rejected Him in favor of the law which they themselves had rewritten.
This practice of the Jews was nothing historically new in the 1st century A.D. Man has, from the beginning, challenged God's authority and rejected God's means of fellowship, repentance, and salvation in favor of his own ideas and desires. Adam and Eve desired the one thing in all of Creation that they were forbidden by God to have. Why God commanded them not to partake of the fruit is unimportant in this context, for He is not obligated to tell us the why of His Will. However, we are obligated to obey the what of His Will. The proof is in the result -- for their disobedience Adam and Eve suffered hardship and eventual physical death. Numerous other examples appear throughout Scripture of man trying to impose his will over the will of God with the same disastrous results.
Some of these include Cain's refusal to accept the free sin-offering provided by God (Gen 4:7-8), Nadab and Abihu and their 'strange fire' (Lev 10:1-2), Samson's lust for Delilah (Judges Chapter 16 - he was found faithful in the end, but the lustful desire of his own heart cost him his sight and eventually his life). King Saul confused obedience with offering and sacrifice as a result lost his throne (1 Sam Chapter 15), King David desired Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah and as a result lost his child (2 Sam Chapters 11 & 12), and Ananias and Saphira lied to the believers at Jerusalem thereby lying to the Holy Spirit and both died the same day (Acts 5:1-10).
Therefore, it behooves us not to put a lable on something just because it 'seems good' from our vantage point through either personal 'experiences' or 'common sense' and expect God to receive it unconditionally. The previous examples from Scripture are but a few which point ot the overwhelming evidence that when we do anything for God, we must do it God's way, and not rationalize in our own minds that our way is 'just as good.'
In His Love,
Dr. Jack L. Burton
-Hebrews 11:1-3
Foreword to this topical study:
Please be aware that while I am truly convinced in my heart that the position of the Pentecostal Church regarding the role of women in the role of Christian leadership is biblically in error, I personally hold no malice or contempt for my Pentecostal brothers and sisters in Christ. As always, I will continue to strive with and pray for all servants of Christ everywhere in their sincere efforts and desire to reach the lost for Him. To this end, I am a committed fellowlaborer among all brethren in the family of Christ.
The purpose and spirit of this study is my no means to diminish the importance of women in the area of Christian Ministry; for to do so would stand in direct opposition to Scripture. Rather, this brief study seeks: (1) to examine and illustrate the proper role of women in Christian ministry according to the Bible, and (2) to examine and expose the faulty assumptions and positions taken by the General Presbytery of the Assemblies of God in its document on the subject dated August 14-16, 1990.
One must be very careful when attributing circumstances and manifestations to the work of God alone, for Satan transforms himself into an angel of light (2 Cor 11:14), working miracles and deceptions that may appear in the surface to be attributable to God. His true purpose, though, is division and destruction of the Body of Christ (the Church), making it of none effect by casting doubt into its witness and/or by focusing believers and non-believers alike upon the manifestation of miracles and gifts, thus distracting from the Divine Giver of all gifts.
To this end as a Christian leader, I stand firm in the instruction given by the Apostle Paul to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:24-26, "And the servant of the Lord must not strive; but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, patient, In meekness instructing those that oppose themselves; if God peradventure will give them repentance to the acknowledging of the truth; And that they may recover themselves out of the snare of the devil, who are taken captive by him at his will."
When the truth is finally realized by those who have mistakenly placed their faith in personal experience, and/or 'tradition of men (Col 2:8),' it may sting for a while, but fear not dear reader, "for whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth" (Heb 2:6a).
With these things in mind and with a pure and honest heart that truly seeks to know, understand, and perform God's will, let us now enter into the study of the role of women in Christian Ministry.
The Immutability of God
God is immutable in His Person, Character, and Nature. As such, all that He does, commands, and decries is also unalterable. After centuries of their inability to keep God's Law, the Hebrew leaders began the legalistic practice of reinterpreting the points of God's Law in such a way as to make it possible for devout Jews to humanly follow the Law. The result was that when Jesus, their own promised Messiah and bodily fulfillment of the Law arrived, they rejected Him in favor of the law which they themselves had rewritten.
This practice of the Jews was nothing historically new in the 1st century A.D. Man has, from the beginning, challenged God's authority and rejected God's means of fellowship, repentance, and salvation in favor of his own ideas and desires. Adam and Eve desired the one thing in all of Creation that they were forbidden by God to have. Why God commanded them not to partake of the fruit is unimportant in this context, for He is not obligated to tell us the why of His Will. However, we are obligated to obey the what of His Will. The proof is in the result -- for their disobedience Adam and Eve suffered hardship and eventual physical death. Numerous other examples appear throughout Scripture of man trying to impose his will over the will of God with the same disastrous results.
Some of these include Cain's refusal to accept the free sin-offering provided by God (Gen 4:7-8), Nadab and Abihu and their 'strange fire' (Lev 10:1-2), Samson's lust for Delilah (Judges Chapter 16 - he was found faithful in the end, but the lustful desire of his own heart cost him his sight and eventually his life). King Saul confused obedience with offering and sacrifice as a result lost his throne (1 Sam Chapter 15), King David desired Bathsheba and murdered her husband Uriah and as a result lost his child (2 Sam Chapters 11 & 12), and Ananias and Saphira lied to the believers at Jerusalem thereby lying to the Holy Spirit and both died the same day (Acts 5:1-10).
Therefore, it behooves us not to put a lable on something just because it 'seems good' from our vantage point through either personal 'experiences' or 'common sense' and expect God to receive it unconditionally. The previous examples from Scripture are but a few which point ot the overwhelming evidence that when we do anything for God, we must do it God's way, and not rationalize in our own minds that our way is 'just as good.'
In His Love,
Dr. Jack L. Burton
-Hebrews 11:1-3
Please select one of the links below to continue on to a new topic.
Female Leadership and the Scriptures
Refutation of the Council of the Assemblies of God position
Female Leadership and the Scriptures
Refutation of the Council of the Assemblies of God position
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