Are Woman Pastors or Preachers Biblical?

Acts 20:27 AV

For I have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of God.

Base on that Scripture how much of the Word of God should a preacher preach.

How many of the doctrines and teachings should he teach.

Are any Scriptures less important than others in their authority?

Is God’s Word not for all generations?

Should I ever decide if a Scripture is no longer appropriate or applicable to my church?

When a church and a pastor or a Christian tell you that woman should be preachers or pastors they are contradicting all of these truths that we have just discussed.

I. A Growing & Unbiblical Trend in Churches

1 Timothy 2:9-15

In an interview with Live Good, newly appointed pastor, Cynthia Petty, said Pastor Warren first informed her of her pending ordination in November.

“He explained that he and the elders had been discussing for many months the possibility to ordain women as Pastors at Saddleback Church,” Petty explained. “He told me that the elders unanimously voted to appoint me one of the first three women pastors at Saddleback Church! . . . He affirmed my leadership and my calling to ministry, and it was a conversation I will not forget.”

Petty added that she has always served in churches where women could lead “under the authority of a male pastor.” She called Warren’s change in philosophy for women in ministry “revolutionary.”

“I was honored and felt extremely humbled,” she added. “And the thing I believe meant the most to me was how this would be groundbreaking for all the younger women ministers on staff who really did have the desire or dream to be a pastor one day!”

All three newly appointed Saddleback pastors have been serving in ministry at the church for more than 20 years.

The inclusion of women as spiritual elders, pastors, priests, and bishops in churches and denominations that claim to follow Jesus Christ continues to increase. https://julieroys.com/saddleback-women-pastors-southern-baptist/

Combining 2017 figures from the Amer­­ican Baptist Churches USA, the Chris­tian Church (Dis­ciples of Christ), the Epis­copal Church, the Evan­gelical Luth­eran Church in America, the Presby­terian Church (U.S.A.), the United Church of Christ, and the United Methodist Church, the study found women made up 32 percent of total clergy.

Her research found that there has not been a comprehensive report on U.S. women clergy for two decades. In that time, the percentage of women pastors in most mainline de­nominations has doubled or tripled. In the United Church of Christ and Unitarian Uni­versalist denominations, there are the same number of women as men in the clergy.

Al Mohler, former President of the SBC wrote the following: More recently, less than twenty years after that clear statement, some Southern Baptists have sought to distinguish between the office of pastor and the act of preaching, thus allowing women to preach to the congregation, but arguing that the role of "senior pastor" is still reserved for men. A similar argument has advanced among some Presbyterians, who argue that a woman should be allowed to perform any act of ministry open to an unordained man. I honestly doubt that the argument works even for Presbyterians, but I will have to leave the Presbyterian argument to Presbyterians. In any event, the argument certainly does not work for Baptists for two glaring reasons. First, we have no theology of an ordained ministry. We have no theological basis for making ordination the determinative issue in anything. You will find no evidence of an ordination theology in any historic Baptist confession of faith. You will also find no reference to a "senior" pastor. A pastor is a pastor and "the office of pastor is limited to men as qualified by Scripture."So what is right, how can we argue with such statements as “No human authority or creed can remove women in ministry from their God-ordained roles as senior pastors.”

(“Baptist Women Pastors Reach Milestone,” Associated Baptist Press, Aug. 17, 2012). It was reported ...that there are at least 635 pastors and co-pastors in Baptist churches in America There are 485 women pastors in the American Baptist Church and 150 in the Alliance of Baptists, the Baptist General Convention of Texas, the Baptist General Association of Virginia, and the Cooperative Baptist Fellowship. While the Southern Baptist Convention has an official statement against female pastors, there are large numbers of SBC churches that allow women to teach adult Sunday School classes.

II. How do we Determine what is Right

One statement from about 10 years ago from a female past said this: “it is not up to human authority as to whether to allow women as Pastors or preachers, it is up to authority of God.”

We have to go by what He says. The question is, “What does GOD say?”

God must be the final authority all matters of faith and practice.

A. Things that are not the authority

The State

The Culture

Social Media

Propaganda

The Denomination

The Deacon

The Committee

The Church vote

Not even the Pastor

B. God is the Authority

We know God is always true

God is always right

God cannot lie

God does not make mistakes

C. God has given us the Bible as His Final Authority

Not only does the Bible teach us about Eternal Life, forgiveness of Sin, and Salvation; it also teaches us how to live a life for Him and how to conduct ourselves in the Church

The Bible is the truth and is applicable to me today.

It is a guidebook that God has written that I might know how to live my life, my pilgrimage on this earth.

He tells me in this book how to raise a family, how to treat the government, and how interact in society.

He is also very specific about how to properly conduct ourselves in our local churches. He has given us all of that.

But many people come to the New Testament making claims like:

· I believe the Bible contains the Word of God but I don’t believe all of it is the Word of God.

· Much of Paul’s writings were written with societal prejudices included and should not be applied to today.

· or the most common one. “Well, I just feel….” and you fill in the rest, because at the point, the Bible doesn’t matter, only what a person feels matters.

III. The Bible teaches proper order concerning preaching in the church

Let’s turn to 1 Corinthians 14, of course we know what this chapter is talking about, it is talking about good church order. We need to have good church order.

A. Things the preaching service ought to do

1. That people would be saved vv.24-25

2. All should be done to build up people in Christ v.26

“…Let all things be done unto edifying”

3. That all may learn and be comforted v.31

B. Limits God places on those who speak in the services

1. Only two, or three at the most, should be in a foreign language and only with an interpreter v.27

2. No speaking in a foreign language at all without an interpreter v.28

3. Two to Three preachers at the most and only one at a time vv.29-30

4. Women are not to preach vv.34-35

1 Corinthians 14:34–35 AV

Let your women keep silence in the churches: for it is not permitted unto them to speak; but they are commanded to be under obedience, as also saith the law. And if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home: for it is a shame for women to speak in the church.

Albert Barnes on this verse says: This rule is positive: explicit and universal. There is no ambiguity in the expressions; and there can be no difference of opinion, one would suppose, in regard to their meaning. The sense evidently is, that in all those things which he had specified, the women were to keep silence; they were to take no part. He had discoursed of speaking foreign languages, and of prophecy; and the evident sense is, that in regard to all these they were to keep silence, or were not to engage in them. These pertained solely to the male portion of the congregation. These things constituted the business of the public teaching; and in this the female part of the congregation were to be silent.

The Bible sets the standard on the services.

It is not complicated. Now if you want you can find 100’s of books and thousands of websites that will promote women pastors and preachers. The popularity of big names in Evangelicalism are Joyce Meyers, Beth Moore, Paul White and even Pastor Osteen, the wife of Joel Osteen, all pastors and preachers. But the Bible reminds us of this very sobering statement:

Proverbs 16:5 AV

Every one that is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD: though hand join in hand, he shall not be unpunished.

IV. The Conclusion of the Issue

1 Timothy 2:11–12 AV

Let the woman learn in silence with all subjection. But I suffer not a woman to teach, nor to usurp authority over the man, but to be in silence.

So,

1) Paul, nor any of his contemporaries, ever appoint a woman as a pastor, elder or deacon.

2) There were no women pastors in New Testament times

3) No instructions concerning church order include instructions for women pastors

4) The Scriptures to not allow women to occupy the position of a pastor

We didn’t have time to go there, but in 1 Timothy 3:1–7 and Titus1:5–9 the qualifications of a pastor is that he is a husband of one wife. I’m not one of these who would say that a pastor whose wife dies that he must marry within the year or get out of the role. But he ought to be a married man, the experience of it.

5) The Bible does not allow woman to preach or usurp authority over men in the home or in the church

V. God Uses the Woman as much as He does the Man

There is much I want to say here but it would be starting another sermon. I will preach a Sunday morning service in the coming year.

Women are every bit loved by God, but God has given you a position in the home, and in the church, is not for your glory - but its for God’s glory. He will use you and a wonderful way if only you will submit to Him.

When a man or woman in their pride or their self-will or in their wokeness which are all contrary to the Bible, they are outside of the will of God.

God has a plan for men and women and the best thing we can do if be part of God’s plan and God’s will rather than what think is right. But that does not in anyway devalue a woman or mean that God loves them less or doesn’t want to use them.

God loves and uses women as much as men. Women are used of God throughout the Bible, but particularly in the New Testament in amazing ways and usually without glory or fanfare.

Philippians 4:3 AV

And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.

Women were used to impact lives, win people to Christ, disciple young believers, minister to needs, keep

Acts 18:26 AV

And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue: whom when Aquila and Priscilla had heard, they took him unto them, and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly.

Of all the people that Paul mentions at the ends of some of his epistles, there are some interesting statistics. But one that matters here is that they were about half women. In fact, 3 of the first 5 he mentions in Romans 16 are women.

Romans 16:1–4 AV

I commend unto you Phebe our sister, which is a servant of the church which is at Cenchrea: That ye receive her in the Lord, as becometh saints, and that ye assist her in whatsoever business she hath need of you: for she hath been a succourer of many, and of myself also. Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus: Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.

Romans 16:6 AV

Greet Mary, who bestowed much labour on us.

Remember, in our day we put so much importance and accolades on the preacher and the greater teachers, God doesn’t look at it like that. He is interested in godly saints and blessed servants - it doesn’t matter what seat you occupy or what title you have, God is interested in who you are and what you do with life in accordance with his Word.

God is Looking for Godly Saints who will Humbly Live for Him!