Equality – "The
state of being equal, esp. in status, rights, and opportunities." Equity – "The
quality of being fair and impartial." Understanding and application of these two
terms have been the source of many issues in church life. My preference is not
to talk about specific church issues, however, when these issues become a
stumbling block in the Christian walk it becomes necessary to comment. The big
issue at hand is the ordination of women as pastors.
Since the 1960s
many Christian denominations have opted to open up the position of pastor to
women. This can be directly associated with the women’s liberation/ feminist
movement. The major argument for this is equality between the genders. The
verse most quoted to support this is Galatians 3: 28 in which Paul states
“There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is
neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” Now, this verse,
taken on its own tells us that there is no difference among any group of
humanity and everybody is the same, equal. There are no nationalities, nobody
is indebted or liberated, and genders no longer exist, because in Christ all of
these things disappear.
This view of life,
while, it sounds and feels good is but a thin façade covering deeper issues.
How does this verse jibe with the rest of scripture in which these distinctions
are clearly made with accompanying instructions on duties and responsibilities (Genesis
12: 2, 3; Daniel 9: 24-27; Romans 1: 16, Joshua 9; Exodus 29; Deuteronomy 22: 5;
1 Corinthians 11; etc.)? In Malachi 3: 6 God states: “For I am the Lord, I change not. With this in mind we
know that there cannot be a clash in scriptural instruction and principles so
how do we reconcile this?
The Holy Scripture
gives us instructions on how it is to be interpreted. For precept must be upon
precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little
and there a little… Isaiah 28:10-13. With this in mind what do the verses
surrounding Galatians 3: 28 tell us? The rest of this passage is speaking of
faith, the faith that saves us; the faith in Christ and His sacrifice that
negates whatever classification to which we may belong, freeing us to be saved
from our sins and fitting us for a place in God’s kingdom. This has no direct
bearing on our individual functions in the body of Christ.
We are all
different. God made us differently with different skills, “some apostles; and
some, prophets; and some, evangelists; and some, pastors and teachers…
(Ephesians 4: 11-13). God has equipped up with various skills that we may work
together to press forward in the work. As we see in the parable of the talents
one received five, another two and another received one (Matthew 25: 15). As we
can well see these are all different values. By mathematical standards they are
not equal. All the different positions listed in Ephesians are not equal in
nature, however, there is equity in their need. The body would not function
optimally if one were missing.
God has given us
specific instructions on how the church (His body) is to be governed. If a
person is openly disobeying the law of God they should be separated from the
body (Matthew 18: 17; 1 Corinthians 5:1-5; 1 Timothy 1: 18-20; Titus 3: 10, 11).
Likewise because our God is a God of order (1 Corinthians 14: 40) He also gave
instruction on church leadership. In the days of the sanctuary He told Moses to
anoint Aaron and his sons as priests and the Levites as ministers in the
church. In the New Testament church God instructed Paul (1 Timothy 3, Titus 1)
that bishops and elders are to be men with one wife, blameless, having proper
control of their homes.
Another statement
I have heard in this debate is that God called these women to this position.
Now I don’t know anyone’s connection with the Lord, however, I do know that he
does not contradict Himself. As stated before He is God He doesn’t change. He
is the “same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” (Hebrews 13:8) He knew what
the end of time would be from the beginning of time (Isaiah 46:10). Therefore,
because we know as human beings that our senses are apt to betray us (due to
our sinful nature) it would behove us to try every sprit that comes our way (1
John 4:1-5). Test them against the only sure thing we have – The Word of God
(Isaiah 8:20).
There are women
that I count very dear to me that want to be ordained pastors in our church. They
posses many pastoral gifts, and I have had the privilege to be blessed by them.
My statement in this regard is that God has given these gifts for His service.
These gifts are vital in the furtherance of His work. Pastoral gifts (counselling,
leadership, teaching, preaching, etc.) are not limited to this one office. The
position of pastor is not to be likened to any other job. It is unique and
assigned by God. As a result His criteria is the only one that matters. Our
feelings about the matter and what seems right and fair to us do not (Proverb
14: 12).
God has made his
will known in His word and has also chosen to do so through our church as a
body (three times). I believe it is time that we take note of His will, making
the changes necessary to align ourselves with His will for our lives, using the
gifts He has bestowed upon us in accordance with His instructions.
Be Blessed in His Will
