I received this email from a friend this morning and am very thankful to her for taking the time to write and point out a prevailing false teaching that is soooo commonly pushed in churches. This stuff will guilt and demean and it can sound so “biblical.” The screenshots she mentions follow below and then my reply to her after that.
Dear Pastor Crippen,
Every morning we get an email devotional from the Institute for Creation Research. I am sending two screen shots of the devotional this morning. I was quite shocked to read the commentary. I thought it would be of interest to you. The passage that is mentioned has always been confusing to me but the interpretation given here makes it sound like women remain under “a sentence.” That doesn’t make sense since I know Jesus redeemed me and freed me from the curse of the law. He paid for it all. I would love to hear your commentary on this passage.
Thank you for fulfilling your calling. I have written before but will say it again- your ministry is literally saving lives.
A concerned friend in Christ,
Here is the devotional that she sent. As she mentioned it is put out by the Institute for Creation Research.
Family Structure: Wives
by Henry M. Morris III, D.Min. | Nov. 10, 2020
“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as it is fit in the Lord.” (Colossians 3:18)
This instruction has created an undue amount of “interpretation” over the past century. The terminology is not unclear, but the culture (particularly in the Western world) has resisted the idea that God has specifically designed the structure of the family—beginning with the role of the wife and mother in the home.
She is to “submit” to her husband. The Greek word is hupotasso, a compound term that simply describes an “orderly arrangement.” Obviously, the instructions assume obedience to the design for human procreation “from the beginning of the creation” (Mark 10:6-7) and an understanding of the judgment handed down to humanity in Genesis 3.
That sentence on women (through Eve) is placed on all women, since “Adam was not deceived, but the woman being deceived was in the transgression” (1 Timothy 2:14). Also included in the description in Genesis 3:16 is that the woman will “long” (Hebrew teshuqateh) for her husband, and her husband will “have power” (Hebrew mashal) over her.
The arrangement, therefore, is designed to prevent further debility and to protect the woman through the man’s willing obedience to love her sacrificially and unconditionally, as “Christ loved the church.”
Ultimately, of course, all obedience is voluntary. Wives are to “arrange” themselves under their husband’s authority, knowing that the instructions are given by an omnipotent and omniscient heavenly Father whose care for each of us is greater than we can imagine.
This basic family structure is “fit in the Lord,” promising us that our obedience will ensure His care and blessing within the most intimate of all human relationships. HMM III
Days of Praise Podcastis a podcast based on the Institute for Creation Research quarterly print devotional, Days of Praise. Start your day with devotional readings written by Dr. Henry Morris, Dr. Henry Morris III, and Dr. John Morris to strengthen and encourage you in your Christian faith.
This is my reply that I sent back to her [with a few more thoughts added]-
New Defender’s Study Bible Notes1 Timothy 2:14 not deceived. In addition to the nature and purpose of her creation, there is a secondary reason why women should not be taking the leadership role in the home or church.[NOTE: I don’t want us to get into a discussion in the comments about whether or not women should be pastors or elders. I have my views on this, but let me just say this and leave it at that: I know a lot of godly women who I would rather see teaching in the church than so many of the men who are doing so now!]When the first woman took such a role, yielding to the temptaiton to reject God’s Word without first consulting her husband, she then induced Adam also to sin, thereby bringing sin into God’s perfect world (Genesis 3:6, Romans 5:12).[NOTE: Romans 5:12 says nothing about…well, readi it yourself: Romans 5:12 ESV Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—]Adam was not deceived by Satan’s lie, but deliberately associated himself also with Even in her sin because of her wanting him to join her in eating the forbidden fruit (Gen 3:12) and presumably also because of his love for her and his willingness to share her punishment. [Italics mine. This is a bizarre and unwarranted presumption].The many daughters of Even share the trusting nature of their first mother and so (in general, at least) are more easily deceived by those evil spirits who can masquerade as angels of light (2 Cor 11:13-15). Although there may be exceptions when – for want of masculine leadership – a Christian woman may be forced to assume the spiritual leadership in the home (for example, Timothy’s own mother and grandmother) or even in the family of God (e.g. Deborah – Judges 4:4-8), this is not the divinely ordained way.There is no New Testament example of a woman serving as an elder or bishop or pastor of a local church, with the possible exception of the false prophetess Jezebel in the church at Thytira (Rev 2:20), who was evidenlty herself deceived by Satan.
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