There is so much controversy about what Scripture says women are allowed to do in ministry. But what does the Bible actually say?
For a while, I have been working through what the Bible teaches about the role of women in ministry. While I’ve struggled with the best way to communicate what I’m learning, I think it is best to just jump in.
Perhaps the best place to start is to answer how we should handle the information we find. The truth is there are countless scholars who have traveled this road before me, but there are almost as many interpretations. Because it isn’t clear cut, I wanted to simply study what Scripture says about it instead of going straight to a preacher I trust.
I started my study with a look at 2 Timothy 3:16-17,
“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.”
Why is this the place to begin a study on the role of women in ministry? Because undoubtedly, I am going to come across passages of Scripture that rub me the wrong way. But if I truly believe all Scripture is inspired and is profitable, I must set my feelings aside and objectively look at what the Bible says on the topic.
I’ve been spending this month reading and rereading the book of James, and there are a few passages that have also convicted me of this truth. James 1:19 says,
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to speak, slow to anger.”
While this passage can be used to address our human relationships, when taken in context, James is talking about being slow to anger when we hear God’s Word. James understood that, because of our sin natures, we would struggle with some of the things God tells us, and he encourages us to be quick to hear and slow to anger.
But James doesn’t stop there. He also tells us in verse 22 of the same chapter,
“But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.”
It isn’t good enough to read the Word and learn the truth God has for us; we are also called to act upon that truth. So if the Bible teaches me something that rubs me the wrong way, it is still my responsibility to follow through on that lesson according to the Word of God. And we must not forget what James says in chapter 4, verse 17,
“So whoever knows the right thing to do and fails to do it, for him it is sin.”
So as I begin to unpack this controversial topic, I need to continually remind myself that Scripture is inspired and profitable, I need to be slow to anger when I don’t like what I find, I should put into practice the things I learn, and it is a sin to know the right thing to do and refuse to do it. Wow! I haven’t even gotten to the main topic, and I am already so convicted!
This approach is not limited to this topic. If we truly believe Scripture is sufficient to teach us how to live, then there will be many lessons we come across in the Bible that may step on our toes a bit. But the Bible isn’t just any book where we can “chew the meat and spit out the bones.” It is our authority and must be approached as such. Truthfully, if we are not going to hold this view of Scripture, there’s no reason to study it. If it is not authoritative and complete, what difference does it make what it teaches?
No matter what topic you are studying, be slow to anger when you don’t like what you’re reading, and hold yourself accountable to act on your new knowledge even if you don’t like it.
Continue the discussion by reading The Role of Women in Ministry, Why the Rebellion?
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