Should Women Be Ordained? - Part 2

This is part two in a series on what the Bible says in regards to the ordination of women in the church. Again, instead of rewriting what I believe has already been well laid out, I am sharing Dr. Jim Feeney’s writings on the subject for your edification. You may disagree, and that is your right, but please be able to point to the Bible for your reasons and not the culture.

Argument #2: “Sister ___ is not usurping authority over men by preaching to the assembled church, because the church’s pastor has delegated authority to her to do this.”

A Biblical Response: That is exactly what the apostle Paul told Pastor Timothy NOT to do! The precise biblical prohibition reads: “I do not permit a woman to teach or to have authority overa man.” (1 Timothy 2:12) I pastored two local churches, one in New York and one in Oregon, for 22 years. In my pastoral role, I feared God too much to say, “Well, Lord, I’m going to delegate authority to this woman to preach on Sunday, even though you had the apostle Paul write that this is something women are not permitted to do.” Any pastor who has used that rationale, I would suggest, is standing on thin ice biblically. How can pastors or elders authorize women to dowhat the Bible tells women not to do?

•• It is commonly understood that the seven letters in Revelation 2-3 were written to the individual “angelos”, the senior minister of each of those seven churches. Of great relevance to this pastoral-delegation argument is the letter in Revelation 2:20, KJV to the leader of the church in Thyatira — “I have a few things against thee [singular, the pastor], because thou sufferest that woman Jezebel, which calleth herself a prophetess, to teach and to seduce my servants to commit fornication...”

• Jesus rebuked the pastor of the church in Thyatira because that pastor “...[permitted] that woman Jezebel ... to teach” the church and through her teaching to lead them into sin. Pastors and elders are to safeguard the church. The Thyatiran pastor failed to do so, and was rebuked, because against the command of Scripture he had permitted this woman Jezebel to have a teaching influence upon the congregation. Pastors, please! ... obey the word of God and do not facilitate the antibiblical practice of women teaching men and leading men in the churches.