Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

The average Christian is not unaware of the cultural struggle that we face today in society and now even in churches.

We now have to deal with issues of Fourth Wave Feminism, Transgenderism, Homosexuality.

All of these cultural trends are making their way into the churches and we cannot remain silent on about them.

But it really isn’t a new phenomenon.

This battle has been fought in the church at least since the 1970’s.

Feminism which had its place in the beginning as it granted women the right to vote, better wages and better treatment in the workplace, continually grabbed for more over time.

Historically, we recognize four different movements of Feminism which extended rights to abortion, fought for more civil rights and now fights for transgenderism.

In the 1970’s a group of biblical feminists began to make an inroad into the church and so the church became split on the roles of Men and Women in society and the church.

Today, three camps have emerged within theology relating to gender roles: patriarchalism, complementarianism and egalitarianism.

As we deal with the home, marriage, dating and relationships this year; it will help us to lay a ground work for what God’s expectations are in the way the home is structured.

Before we delve into the specifics, I want to give you a definition of the three terms I have used and explain how they relate to what we are talking about.

A. Patriarchalism- patriarchy has a scientific definition that just means the father is the head of the home, but feminism has turned this word into an oppression of women in all of society.

There actually is a group of Christians who embrace this title and in many ways embody what the world does not like about the patriarchy.

Patriarchalism is prevalent in the Reformed Evangelical Protestant tradition and is espoused by the Duggar family, RC Sproul, Doug Wilson and Voddie Bauchum.

While there is some variety among the group patriarchalism generally teaches that the father is the head of the home and the wife’s place is only in the home.

By design women are inferior to men because they cannot be trusted with decision making so this authority of the men is extended to society in general.

It differs from Complementarianism:

women cannot hold positions of authority in secular society (Not all hold this position, but it is the standard position)

women should not vote

women should not seek higher education

unmarried women are under their father’s authority until they marry or he dies.

some churches with this view practice household voting so only fathers of the home can vote on behalf of the family in the church

some go so far as to say that women can not talk about biblical topics unless it is related to the home and women must always agree to what their husband says

B. Complementarianism- The basic idea of complementarianism is that men and women are equal yet different.

This view which is the view I hold teaches that God made men and women different, equal in value but with distinct roles within the home and the church.

Complementarians do not extend this to all of society.

All of these terms are new terms that try to encapsulate what we think the bible actually teaches.

Back in 1987 a group of pastors and theologians got together and drafted what was called the Danvers statement which was the foundation for the Counsel on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

At this conference, the term complementarianism was chosen to show that men and women are equal but complementary to each other.

Complementary means

Something that completes or makes perfect; either of two parts or things needed to complete the whole; counterparts.

As we get into the bulk of the message I will lay a biblical foundation for this understanding of the roles of men and women.

Complementarianism puts an emphasis on the equality of women as image bearers of God, given the command to express dominion over the earth and as children of God within the faith.

Women in general are not subservient to men and less than men.

They are equal yet they have a different role to fill in the home and in the church.

The important piece here is to understand that in the home and in the church she is voluntarily placing herself into these relationships.

She is not being oppressed.

Complementarianism should never condone oppression, misogyny, sexism and abuse.

Since we will spend the rest of our time on this position, we will move on to the next one.

C. Egalitarianism- this view holds that men and women are equal and that equality must mean interchangeability.

Whatever a man can do a woman must be able to do for them to be truly equal.

Egalitarians look to passages like Gal 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” and Eph 5:21 “Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of God.” which seems to be teaching mutual submission.

To the egalitarian, gender roles were a result of the fall and within Christendom these things should be abolished.

The end results of egalitarianism:

men and women should be able to switch and swap roles in the home depending on their desires or needs.

women should be able to hold any roles of authority that they want to

women should be allowed to be pastors and teachers within the church

In our cultural, egalitarianism seems to be the way to go.

This is how society operates and so we should model the home and the church be secular societal structures.

Anything less after all is oppressive to women.

People who hold this view do have bible verses to support their view, so don’t be deceived into thinking we shouldn’t take it seriously.

The problem is that the bible verses are either taken out of context, redefined or made to mean something the text did not intend for it to say in the first place.

For the rest of the message I would like to lay a biblical foundation for a complementation view of gender roles.

I. Equal in value

Gen 1:26-27 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth.

So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.” is going to be a key verse in our discussion today and I will be going into more detail about it in our next message on Marriage before the Fall.

For now I just want to focus on one thought from this verse: Men and women are both created in the image of God.

Notice in vs 26, it says let us make man in our image.

We might be tempted to jump the gun and assume that man refers only to male, but notice the next phrases and let them.

What God meant by the usage of man in this verse was not limited to the male half of the species.

God used this term to refer to mankind.

Women are not monkeys, birds, or some other type of creature, they are humans which have the distinct honor of being created in the image of God.

Both men and women share this honor.

It also says in vs 27, in the image of God created he them, male and female created he them.

Both male and female share in being created in the image of God.

Women are not created as a lesser being secondary to men.

Gal 3:28 “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.”

The Egalitarians are right to point out this verse because it is important, but they have taken this verse to mean something Paul did not intend to say.

What Paul is teaching in this verse is that Jew, Gentile, bond and free, men and women are equal in status because of their relationship in Christ.

We all have equal value to God, equal access to God, equal potential for relationship with God, can all equally worship God.

But Paul is not arguing that distinctions disappear altogether.

Slaves were still slaves in society.

Men are still men, and women are still women.

We don’t become androgynous.

The point is that all have equal relationship and access to God.

Everything here must apply to all Christian.

The “oneness” here does not transfer over to roles since 1 Cor 12:13 “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit.”

speaking of our position in the body of Christ teaches that we are all one using the same langauge as Gal 3:28, but Paul goes on to say that not all have the same spiritual gifts.

They all have differing roles to play.

We also see this distinction in the fact that Jesus as the Son is “one” with the father and yet submitted Himself while on earth to his father.

John10:30 “I and my Father are one.”

and in John 8:29 “And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him.”

Jesus being “one” took on a role of submission to His father and it did not make Him less than His father.

II.

Distinct Gender differences

Back to Gen 1:27 “So God created man in his own image, in the image of God created he him; male and female created he them.”

Not only are men and women both made in the image of God, men and women are made differently.

God created them male and female.

There is a biblical, God-ordained distinction between a man and a woman.

We know this to be true obviously physically.

There is a difference that God has made between boys and girls at birth.

This distinction is not just a matter of body parts which the world tries to remove and remold.

This distinction goes down to the chromosomal levels.

Chromosomal abnormalities do not erase this distinction, rather they highlight the effects of the fall on all of us physically.

Men have an XY chromosome while women have XX chromosome.

God has embedded this distinction into our very makeup as human beings.

This distinction impacts our makeup as well.

I speak here in generalities because there are always exceptions due to cultural upbringing, and hormonal issues, but men and women act and relate differently.

Exceptions do not make the general rule go away.