Answers To Questions Submitted Through The Website
How does the Bible view feminism? I’m confused because I tend to be a feminist; I don’t want a man in charge of me and I’m a complete advocate for women. I hate the whole idea of women sitting at home, not speaking up, and not speaking until spoken to. What is the correct way to view this?
This is a good, tough question. We will give you a good, tough answer, and further encourage you to check out some of the additional resources at the end of our answer for your further study.
First and foremost, we need to look at both men and women as God does. He lays out the pattern for male and female relationships, as well as His sovereign view of both genders, in the first 3 chapters of the Bible. In Genesis 1, we have men and women both being created in the image of God (Genesis 1:26-27). In this sense, our position before God, both genders are created equal in His sight. Furthermore, after the sin recorded in Genesis 3 – sin of both Adam and Eve – both are called to a new life in Christ. We have an equal need of salvation from the penalty of sin, and equal access to that salvation (Romans 3:10-12, 23; Galatians 3:28).
A close examination of Genesis 2, where Adam and Eve live in the world prior to sin, and Paul’s teaching in Ephesians 5, as we live now in a fallen world deeply affected by sin, will both be informative for you in answering this question. While we are equal before God as His image bearers, men and women do differ in their various roles within the world God created. We will list 3 general principles here:
1. (Community) The deep problem with feminism –referring to political, cultural, and economic movements seeking greater, equal, or, among a minority, superior rights and participation in society for women and girls – is that it is a sinful response to a sinful problem. God does not treat women as second-class citizens, but all often in this sinful world it happens. Often, prideful men find justification for evil attitudes about women in Scripture, but we need to remember that we are masters of trying to justify ourselves and our behavior. As Christians we lay aside our rights so that the world will see Christ in us (1 Corinthians 9:19). Demanding certain rights that others may be denying us is not our calling, and it is not the example of Jesus. When He stood before Pilate in John 18 & 19, Jesus had committed no crime, but He went to a horrible, humiliating death all the same: because He loved us, and our salvation was more important to Him than His rights. In that same way, Jesus Christ calls on us to take up our crosses by dying to our desires and truly following Him to His death (Luke 9:23-25).
2. (Family) Ephesians 5:21-33 and 1 Peter 3:1-7 are clear that wives are to submit to their husbands, and husbands are to lead to their wives as Christ leads the Church. As we just discussed above, Christ’s example was a self-sacrificing love that led Him to a painful death, and that is the calling of husbands. But we also have to understand that our obedience to God’s commands is not dependent on the response of others. Specifically, wives are to respect their husbands, and husbands are to love their wives, even if the other spouse is disobedient and not doing so. And to be clear, wives submit to their husbands, not all women to all men.
3. (Church) There are roles in the Church specifically ordained by God to be held by men, those of elders and deacons. The qualifications for these positions are discussed in 1 Timothy 3:1-13 and Titus 1:5-9. To be fair on the issue, several mainstream Evangelical denominations allow for female deacons (deaconesses).
In summary, as we consider this tough issue, here is the question: are we seeking justification for our belief within the pages of Scripture, or are we seeking to ensure that our beliefs and behavior honors God?
For further reading on this topic, we recommend the following:
GotQuestions.org – What does the Bible say about feminism?
http://www.gotquestions.org/feminism-Christian-feminist.html
Recovering Biblical Manhood & Womanhood by John Piper and Wayne Grudem
Amazon
The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood
http://www.cbmw.org/
If God loves everyone equally why did He only choose some to be Christians?
Another tough question! God does love the entire world, and He is love, as we told in verses such as John 3:16 and 1 John 4:8. But God is not only love, and that distinction is something that many people lose sight of when they ask this question.
Perhaps we need to look at an assumption that often underlies this question. Just what do we deserve from God in the first place? God is love, but He is also the source of all justice. We have all sinned (Romans 3:23). We are sinners by nature from before we are born (Psalm 51:5) and by choice (Romans 3:10-12). We deserve the condemnation of God forever in Hell. By default we are not good people who sometimes sin, but we are complete sinners. We use the term total depravity to describe this condition – every part of our being is tainted by the presence of sin.
But again, God is love, and He loves us so much that He sent His son to die for us. Those who accept Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior (Acts 16:31) can be saved from their just fate, Hell, and go to Heaven when they die, to live eternally in the presence of God. Romans 5:8-9 is very clear that God has done this for us because He loves us very much.
So God loves the entire world, in that He does not immediately carry out our sentence of damnation. He allows us to exist in His world for the purpose of making a choice to serve His Son, our Savior, Jesus Christ.
GotQuestions.org – Does God love everyone or just Christians?
http://www.gotquestions.org/does-God-love-everyone.html
Knowing God by J. I. Packer
Amazon