Controversial Subjects



The subjects covered on this page are topics that have historically caused division, arguments and/or ongoing debates in the church body. It must be clarified, however, that just because there is great debate on these matters, it doesn't mean that the Scriptures are unclear on these teachings. Debate in the church does not come from a lack of clarity of Scripture, but rather from a lack of acceptance of what the Scripture actually teaches. If sound Biblical interpretation is used consistently and accepted literally and applied personally, then there would not be such a division. The problem does not rest with the subtlety of Scripture, but with the sinfulness of man.


WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT WOMEN IN MINISTRY?

The Word of God actually has a lot to say about women, both in the home & in ministry. The question is not really whether women can be in ministry, just like it isn't really a question whether or not a woman can be in the home. The question more accurately is..."Can women serve in capacities such as Pastor, Deacon, etc.?" The answer is that just as a woman cannot be the head of a household, neither can they be in certain leadership roles in the church such as pastor, deacon, etc. We will define the "etc." in just a moment. Let us first deal with the larger issue of headship in the home before we move to leadership in the church.
We first turn our attention to Ephesians 5:22-25...."Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body. Therefore, just as the church is subject to Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in everything. Husbands love your wife as Christ loved the church & gave Himself for her,".
Next we look at Colossians 3:18..."Wives, submit to your own husbands, as is fitting in the Lord." We then look at I Peter 3:1,5..."Wives, likewise, be submissive to your own husbands....For in this manner, in former times, the holy women who trusted in God also adorned themselves, being submissive to their own husbands,..."
These verses lay out a very clear principle that the husband is the head of the household & the leader of the family & that the wife is to be submissive to her husband as to the Lord. This would then be principle number one.
Principle number two would be that, not only are wives to be in subjection to their own husbands, but women are to be in submission to men in general... Please note I Corinthians 11:3,8,9...."But I want you to know that the head of every man is Christ, and the head of woman is man, and the head of Christ is God...For man is not from woman, but woman from man. Nor was man created for the woman, but woman for the man." We can deduce a few other things from these verses...(1) The head of woman is man. (2) The head of man is Christ, therefore He is also over the woman. (3) The head of Christ is God, therefore God is over all. Before you get all bent out of shape believing that we are in some way downing women, let me point out a few interesting points... Just because woman is to be under the leadership of man according to Scripture, it does not mean that the woman is inferior in some way to the man. Just like Christ is equal with God the Father & yet to be in subjection to the Father, so is the woman equal to the man & yet to be in subjection to the man. It has nothing to do with the quality, value, nature or good of the man & woman, it has only to do with the God ordained plan of the man & the God ordained plan for the woman. It doesn't deal with "rights" but "roles". The role of the man is to lead & the role of the woman is to subject herself to the leading of the man. There is much more to be said about these basic principles, but let us go forward & address the leadership in the church as it relates to what we just learned....

The questions about women's role in the church rest with just a few areas ....(1) Can women be pastors/preachers?, (2) Can women be Deacons/Deaconesses?, (3) Can women teach men in the church? Three questions, one answer...... NO!
Q.) Why?
A.) Let me count the whys!

The first set of verses that we need to look at are those which establish the type of roles some women are trying to fulfill....
Hebrews 13:7 & 17 is our first stop....."Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct...Obey those who rule over you, and be submissive, for they watch out for your souls, as those who must give account. Let them do so with joy and not with grief, for that would be unprofitable for you."
I Timothy 2:11-14..."Let a woman quietly receive instruction with entire submissiveness. But I do not allow a woman to teach or exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet. For it was Adam who was first created, and then Eve. And it was not Adam who was deceived, but the woman being quite deceived, fell into transgression." NASB
I Corinthians 14:34..."Let your women keep silent in the churches, for they are not permitted to speak; but they are to be submissive, as the law also says." This verse plainly tells us that if a woman was to speak (in tongues or in prophecy/proclaim the Word of the Lord - as the context details) in the church, she would not be in submission to the men of the church, let alone the pastors. Notice that speaking & being in submission are presented as opposites of one another in this verse.
I Timothy 5:17...."Let the elders (pastors) who RULE well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the Word & doctrine."
I Timothy 3:1-2a....."This is a faithful saying: If a MAN desires the office of a bishop (pastor), HE desires a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the HUSBAND of one wife..." It is clear in these verses that a pastor/bishop must be a man. A woman cannot be the husband of one wife. We also find in verses 4 & 5 that he must be able to "rule HIS OWN house well".The household is identified as HIS since he is the head of the household. In the question about Deacons, we find the same qualifications - a woman deacon cannot be the "husband of one wife". It should also be pointed out that in the original Greek language of the New Testament, there is no word for deaconess. If women want to teach or serve in the church, they may teach younger women & children & help serve their husbands ( See Titus 2 ).
We cannot stop with the understanding that the Pastor/Elder is the teacher, leader, disciplinarian (II Timothy 2; I Timothy 5:19,20), and example in the congregation, they are also responsible for setting church policies as we discover in Acts 15:22-ff.It is also interesting that Paul tells Timothy that he is giving his instruction so that everyone will know how to behave in the church of God (I Timothy 3:15). Also see I Peter 5:1-4.
There is so much that Godly women can do in the home as well as the church. They, by keeping their proper place in each will serve the Lord & serve as examples to those around them. It simply does not make sense for a woman to have to be in submission in the home & then turn around and have those roles reversed in the church. The principles presented here are not cultural or time limited. God's standard of right & wrong never change, regardless of the change of sinful society. See the links page for some web-sites that deal with these issues & others such as feminism, witchcraft, abortion & the home.


WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT CHRISTIANS & ALCOHOL?
Once again, the Word of God is very clear on the subject of alcoholic beverages & the believer. The Scripture clearly condemnes the use of alcohol as a beverage for the child of God. Some churches, however, accept the practice of drinking alcoholic beverages & some, like our church, condemn it. What do the Scriptures actually say on the subject?
I think a good place to start would be James 4:17..."Therefore to him who knows to do GOOD and does not do it, to him it is sin." We then look at Romans 14:21... "It is GOOD neither to eat meat nor drink wine nor do anything by which your brother stumbles or is offended or is made weak." Also consider a host of other verses...(Gen. 9:20-27;19:30-38;Lev.10:8-11;Num. 6:3;Dt.21:20;Judges 13:4,7,14;ISam. 25:36-38;IISam.11:13,28-29;IKings 16:8-10;20:13-21;Esther 1:5-22;Prov.20:1;21:17;23:21;23:29-30;23:21;23:32;23:33;23:35;23:24;31:4-5;Eccl. 2:3;10:17;Is.5:11-12,22;22:13;28:1,3,7;56:12;Jer. 35:5-8,14,19;Dan.1:5,8,16;10:3;5:3;3:25-28;Hosea 4:10-11;7:5;Joel 3:3;Amos 4:1;6:3-6;Hab.2;Mt.24:48-51;Lk.1:15;12:45;21:34;Rom.13:13;14;ICor. 5:11;6:10;11:21;Gal.5:21;Eph.5:18;ITim.3:3,8;I Peter 4:3). Each of these verses tell us about the evils of alcohol. If alcohol is so evil & such a sin then why did Jesus turn the water to wine? The answer is that he did not turn the water into intoxicating drink, but rather into the "fruit of the vine". You see, the "wine" of today is not the same as the "wine" of the Scripture. There are a few words that may help us identify this truth.... One such word is "sikera" (Lk.1:15) and is usually translated as "strong drink or wine". The Hebrew equivalent is "shekar" (Prov.20:1;Is.5:1). Another word is "gleukos" refering to "new wine". The Hebrew equivalent is "tirosh" (Acts 2:13;Prov. 3:10;Hos.9:2;Joel 1:10). Then finally, there is a word used for the most common "wine" of the Bible - N.T. "oinos", O.T. "yayin". This latter word refered to the simple fruit of the vine & was deliberately not intoxicating. The Hebrew word has as its root meaning..."to bubble up or boil". The practice of boiling the juice would make a paste that could be stored without fermenting. Water would be added to this paste to make a non-alcoholic beverage. Even in instances where there was water added directly to the juice, it was at least three parts water for every one part juice making it well below what would be considered alcoholic. Drinking wine unmixed with water was considered barbaric in Bible times & no child of God would ever be found drinking straight alcohol. Another important point is that the highest possible alcoholic content of any drink drunk by a believer would have been from 2.25% to 2.75% being mixed with water. This is well below the 3.2% that today would classify a drink as alcoholic. Therefore, the wine of the Bible was never alcoholic per today's standard unless it was unmixed, which a believer never did unless it was for medicinal purposes. The common wine of Bible times would have had less alcohol than even a can of beer today. The verses given above are only a few of the verses found in the Bible that condemn the use of alcohol, not just for the believer, but for anyone. There is absolutely no support in the Bible for the use of alcohol, except for the use as a medicine. It is interesting that when Paul gives the qualification for a pastor, he is told that a pastor is not to be beside wine. In other words, the greek literally says that a pastor/leader in the Christian community is not even to be beside the stuff, let alone drinking it. Proverbs tells us not even to look at it while it is red in the glass. Therefore, we ask....Is it a sin for a Christian to drink alcohol? The answer is yes it is a sin. Space limits our ability to do a detailed teaching on this subject, but if you would like to e-mail us about information on receiving teaching tapes on this or any other subject, we would be glad to get you more detailed information & teachings on specific passages. Our Church Covenant says that we cannot be members of this church if we sell or drink alcoholic beverages. This is the same as if we were taking drugs or shooting up. Our society, as well as many of our churches, have become pagan in their practice of drinking intoxicating drink, i.e., modern day barbarians. There is no greater threat to the home, youth & society than the enemy of alcohol. How can any child of God condone such an evil practice?

Crossroads Home Page
Questions Main Page
Charismatic/Pentecostal Teachings