Sermon Cloud

My Role in the Church:  Male & Female

Gen. 1:27

*              The difference between men and women (slides)

*              As we deal with gender roles I ask us all to approach this subject in humility and an eagerness to know the part God has                 assigned to us as male and female.

*              As Christian men and women, we need to approach this subject neither as a chauvinist (cartoon) nor as a feminist.  For if we                 do, we’ll miss hearing what God wants to say to us and we’ll only hear what Satan has to say.

*              As I am teaching us about the roles in the Church, I am not teaching this series with the perspective what is socially acceptable or politically correct.  I’m not even teaching this from what is culturally relevant, but I am teaching this from the            perspective of what is biblically accurate.

*              Let me start by saying, I believe men and women are created equally in the divine image of God.  Women are equal in                 personhood, dignity, and worth.  They are not and have never been considered by God “2^nd class creation” as some men tend                 to put women and as some women feel.

*              However, with that being said, I do not believe men and women were created equal in position before God.  And that is what                 I want to talk about, the positional roles of men and women and how they operate within marriage, home and the church.

*              I believe the Word of God teaches different roles for men and women even before Adam and Eve ever sinned.

*              I know some may disagree with that view, but I believe it is the view of the Word of God.

*              For example:  God made man the central character, God created man first, God formed woman out of man, God created                 woman for man, God gave the right to man to name the animals and woman, man was the glory of God and woman was the                 glory of man. All this truth is established before the fall of man.

*              God never created man for man to operate and behave in roles the way he wanted to or thought was culturally best.  Nor did                 God create woman to operate and behave in roles the way she wanted to and thought was best for her. 

*              God set forth the roles for male and female, if we don’t like those God assigned roles, if we disagree with those God designed roles, please don’t shoot the messenger, take it up with God and pray about it.

*              And don’t make the mistake of interpreting God’s role of men and women in the light of the way you been treated by the                 opposite sex, a failed marriage, an abusive situation or anything else. 

*              God’s Word must form your view and opinion of the opposite sex and their roles and nothing else.

*              I believe all God fearing men and women will see these roles as complimentarian and not chauvinistic or feministic.

*              The problem we have today with gender roles in the church is that we fail to understand the desire and purpose of God when                 He created male and female. 

*              See today, we try to interpret gender roles in light of our culture rather than the Word of God, when this happens the God                 desired roles of men and women are thrown out and we begin to live by what is socially acceptable, politically correct,             and culturally relevant and not what is biblically accurate.

*              Men fail at fulfilling their roles because they become chauvinistic in their thinking, and women fail at fulfilling their roles                 because they become feministic in their thinking. 

*              This has gotten us nowhere but more breakdown of the family and more heated battle of the sexes. Something that we choose                 to avoid here because that is what Satan would love to have happen.

*              There are two views of men and women roles in Genesis we need to explain to help us understand why there is such a                 battle of the sexes:  The views are the Egalitarian view and Complementrian view.  Big words that simply mean-

                *              Egalitarian (evangelical feminist)-  they are Bible believing feminists who believe Genesis 2 to be divinely                                  inspired, however, they say that the passage teaches the equality of the sexes only and emphatically deny Genesis 2                                                is the foundation passage to the respective headship and subordination roles of men and women.  Egalitarians                                          believe man holds no unique, leadership-authority role solely based on gender and when Christ’s work on the cross                                   restores the original equality of the sexes, because in Christ “there is neither male nor female” (Gal. 3:28). 

                *              Complementarian- teaches that God created men and women as equally in His image with different gender-defined                                  roles.  God designed man to be the husband, father, provider, protector.  He is the head of the family and to lead the                                                 church family.  God designed the woman to be wife, mother, and nurturer.  She is to yield to man’s leadership and                                         help him as a “helper” as stated Genesis 2:18.  They hold that the curse is still in place and is not removed until it is                                             removed at the Coming of the Lord.  They hold that if Christ removed the woman’s curse of submission to man then                        why did Peter and Paul teach it clearly in the NT after Christ’s work on the cross?

*              So I disagree with the Egalitarian view of Genesis 2, that men and women’s roles are equal in position, for two reasons:          

                1)            Before the fall of man- because of the order of the creation, man was created first and head.  Paul stated in                                              1Timothy 2:13, “For Adam was formed first, then Eve.” 

                                Why would Paul make such a statement if it had no bearing or meaning to the subject matter?  This is evidence that                                                 men and women have different roles outside of gender, that their individual role was based originally upon the order                       in which they were created, and what purpose the were created for.

                2)            After the fall of man- because of the curse placed on both men and women, judgment fell on man and woman                                       became subject to him in her curse.  Paul went on to say in 1 Timothy2:14, “And Adam was not the one                                                    deceived; it was the woman who was deceived and became a sinner.”

                                If woman was deceived first then why was the judgment to plunge mankind into sin taken out on Adam and not                                      Eve if they were equal?  Could it be that Adam was the head and leader?  The Scripture states that it was in Adam                                   we all die (1 Cor. 15:22).

*              Let me try to put all this in perspective for us.  Woman was deceived first, granted, but men let’s not blame woman for this                 problem.  Where was Adam when Satan decided to make his move on Eve and deceive her? 

*              God told Adam, not Eve, not to eat the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil.  Adam let his wife out of his protective care, he left her alone and Satan came in for the kill.  Where was Adam?

*              I hear women say all the time, “Where was Adam, he should have been a man and stopped Eve.”  You know, you’re                 absolutely right.  He should have. But for whatever reason, instead of obeying God and stopping his wife, Adam listened to    his wife and disobeyed God (Gen. 3:17a) and judgment fell.

*              So there is no battle of the sexes here, both man and woman sinned and God held man accountable.

*              So let’s take a look at the scriptures.  In Genesis 1:27 God made them “male and female.”  Notice the difference here.  If He                 wanted two people of the same kind He would have made two males or two females.

*              The fact there is a difference is because God wanted it that way.  Not just a gender difference but a positional role difference                 as well.

*              Man is not woman, and woman is not man, not physically, not emotionally and not positionally.  They are different and have                 been given two different roles by God to fulfill to complete one another and bring glory to God and blessing to the home and                 family.

*              Therefore, man is not better than woman no more than woman is better than man.  Man is not independent of woman and                 woman is not independent of man.  Paul speaking of this truth said (1 Cor. 11:7-11). 

*              Men and women, we are not independent of each other, we need each other and God gave each gender a role to fulfill.           We need to learn our God given roles as male and female so that God can be glorified and the family can be blessed.

*              Today is a call to become what God had created us to be as men and women-to make each one complete individually, in the                 home and in the church. 

*              Roles are never easy to follow and sometimes difficult to understand, but when we do and we operate within those God given                 roles there is great blessing for the home and the church.