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Introduction:
On the second Sunday night of the month, we devote our lesson time
to answer questions that have been previously submitted. If you
would like to submit a question, you may either e-mail it to me,
indicating that you intend it to be used for one of our lessons or
fill out the question sheet which can be found on the table by the
doors in the foyer and drop it in the appropriate box by my office
door. During this lesson we will look at three questions that deal
with women’s issues. Discussion: I.
“When a husband and wife are praying together, is it okay
for the wife to pray out loud also?” The second question is
similar, “Is it scripturally correct for women to answer
questions in a Bible class when men are present?” A.
No doubt, these questions stem from I
Corinthians 14:34-35 and I Timothy 2:11-14. 1.
“The women are to
keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak,
but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they
desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home;
for it is improper for a woman to speak in church”
(I
Corinthians 14:34-35). 2.
“A woman must
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
deceived, fell into transgression” (I
Timothy 2:11-14). B.
While neither of these passages are very popular in modern
religion, we are not here to be popular. We are not here to do
what we might like. We are here to do what God says, trusting that
His order is right and best. What do we learn from these passages?
From I
Timothy 2:11-14, written as part of Paul’s instructions
for how one ought to conduct himself in the church (I
Timothy 3:15), we learn that the sisters are not given the
role of leadership within the Lord’s body. Further, they are not
allowed take control but follow the brethren submissively. From I
Corinthians 14:34-35, we see a specific application of this
rule to the assembly and only to the assembly. Sisters are not
given the role of addressing the assembly, not even under the
pretense of asking a question. C.
However, neither of these passages limit the wife from
verbalizing a prayer in the presence of her husband and her
family. In fact, the one passage that demands silence in the
assembly (I
Corinthians 14:34-35) explains that the proper place for what
is prohibited is at home. Further, in Acts
18:26, we see Priscilla and Aquila together teaching
Apollos the way of God more accurately. While the text does not
explain the details of how they did it, the text is very clear
that they were both involved in teaching Apollos. This situation
was outside of the assembly and it was not a part of the
church’s work. This demonstrates that women are not only allowed
to verbally pray in their husband’s presence but are also
allowed to teach others even men, outside of the work of the
church, so long as they remain submissive to their own husbands. D.
Secondly, while I
Timothy 2:11-14 prohibits a sister from having a
leadership role in a class over men, neither passage prohibits
participating in a class discussion by asking or answering
questions. As noted, I
Corinthians 14 specifically addresses the assembly and
does not apply to the Bible class setting. On the surface,
I
Timothy 2:11-14 gives some credence to the concept that
women should not say anything in any part of the church’s work
if men are present. However, digging a little deeper we see a
slightly different picture. The term translated “quietly” and
“remain quiet” (NASU) or “in silence” (KJV, NKJV) is “hesuchia,”
a feminine form of a word which means stillness or quietness. I
Peter 3:4 uses the masculine form of this same word to
describe the wife’s role at home. She is to be gentle and quiet.
I
Peter 3:4 does not equal absolute silence at home. Rather,
it means to be submissive without being obnoxious, rebellious or
seeking personal rule. I
Timothy 2:11-14 teaches the same thing within the
church’s work. Like at home, women are not given the role of
leadership or authority. However, like at home, being quietly
submissive does not mean the sisters are never allowed to ask any
questions or even answer questions when asked. It simply means you
do so with submission toward those God has authorized as leaders. II.
“Are women allowed to wear pants? What about wearing
pants in the assemblies?” A.
Deuteronomy
22:5
says, “A woman shall not wear man’s clothing, nor shall a man
put on a woman’s clothing; for whoever does these things is an
abomination to God.” For many years, within our western culture,
men wore pants and women wore dresses. Based on this passage, as
the cultural trends in women’s clothing changed, many have
staunchly taught that wearing pants is a sin for women, especially
wearing pants in the worship assemblies. B.
However, I have two problems with this approach. 1.
First, we are no longer under the Old Covenant (Hebrews
7:12). According to Galatians
3:10, we cannot pick and choose parts of the Old Law to
follow, if we try to bind any part of it, we have to bind every
part of it. For us today, the Old Testament provides illustration
of God’s relationship with His covenant people, but it does not
provide our law. 2.
Second, even if that particular law does apply to us, there
is no place in which God defines what are men’s clothes and what
are women’s clothes. Essentially, He leaves that up to the
culture. In some cultures men have worn skirts, calling them
kilts. In other cultures, like our own, women may wear pants.
Perhaps there was a time in which our culture frowned on women
wearing pants, but that time is long since past. C.
Under the New Covenant, I believe we can find three
principles for governing our dress. 1.
I
Peter 3:3-4
explains that our dress should draw attention to our godliness not
our wealth, power or sexuality. 2.
Galatians
5:19
and I
Peter 4:3
condemn “sensuality” (NASB), “lasciviousness” (KJV) and
“lewdness” (NKJV). The term translated in those verses refers
to that which expresses or arouses sexual desire. We must not
dress in a sensual or lewd manner. 3.
I
Thessalonians 5:22
says, “Abstain from every form of evil” (NASB) or as the King
James puts it, “Abstain from all appearance of evil.” That is,
we do not want to dress in any way that makes it look like we are
involved in sin. Within our culture, this would preclude men from
wearing dresses, as that would portray involvement in
homosexuality. D.
If the clothes a woman is wearing does not violate these
three principles, then the woman is allowed to wear them even if
they are pants. Further, I believe she can wear them in the
worship assembly. One of the Bible facts with which we will have
to come to grips is that scripture never once says anything about
how Christians must dress to worship God. While I am personally
very sympathetic to the view that says we should dress in a manner
that demonstrates great respect for God and for the occasion, I
cannot find a solitary verse that explains what that dress should
look like. I do think people should think very solemnly about what
they are saying about worship when they will dress up for
weddings, funerals and even going out on a date, but give no
thought to their dress when they gather with the saints to worship
God. Yet, at the same time, I have to be honest with you and
myself and say that is a personal matter of conscience. I believe
we see a very similar principle as demonstrated in Romans
14:5-6. “One person dresses formally for worship;
another dresses normally. Each person must be fully convinced in
his own mind. He who dresses formally, dresses for the Lord, and
he who dresses normally, does so for the Lord, for he gives praise
to God.” In reality, the same three principles apply to dressing
in worship as for every day of our lives. E.
Are women allowed to wear pants? Yes. Conclusion: I certainly hope the answers to these questions have been helpful to you. As always, if you believe I have missed it on some point, please, feel free to question me. I would love to study God’s word with you. Further, if you have a question you would like us to deal with in our second Sunday night questions fill out the form and put it in the box outside my office door.
Glory
to God in the church by Christ Jesus
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