Part Two: Practice

Chapter 15. WOMEN AS MINISTERS

  Many religious orders, especially in recent years, have "ordained" and accepted women as "preachers". This practice is not recognized by the Bible, which clearly teaches that God only calls men as ministers of the gospel:

1 Corinthians 14:34 Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law.

1 Timothy 2:11-12 Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behavior, given to hospitality, apt to teach;

Women are just as important in the church and in the worship of God as are men; however, there are diversities of gifts among the Lord's people, and according to God's word he does not give the gift of public ministry and teaching of the gospel to women. God has not, and neither should we, judge women to be inferior to men; but rather the scriptures teach love and respect for male and female without distinction, and we should follow that precept and are doing so in not ordaining women as ministers. Even if people could become ministers solely by means of natural abilities or training (which is not the case), it still would not be proper to ordain women to the ministry, because God says that women are not to teach in the church.

Some attack this instruction in the Bible and say that this was simply the assertion of Paul who was, in their words, a "woman hater." Nothing could be further from the truth, as this instruction was from God, and in any event the charge against Paul certainly must be wrong, for would someone that hated women give the following instruction which Paul gave:

Ephesians 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it;

Ephesians 5:33 Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself;