From Chapter 6 of Men and Women: Equal Yet Different by Alexander Strauch
"I’m sure glad we took the time to study the Scriptures together," Tom comments. "I didn’t realize how much the Bible says about gender. I didn’t know how clear it is about this subject. That’s what has impressed me the most." "Tom, let me repeat what I’ve been saying all along. If the Bible is allowed to speak for itself, it plainly teaches that God created men and women equal in His divine image but different in their respective role functions. One has to twist the Scriptures to eliminate gender role differences from the Bible."
"You’re right, but people believe in gender equality so strongly that they won’t accept role differences no matter who says it." "
I know! We’re standing against a worldwide wave of opinion."
"It’s tough to stand against the tide," Tom says.
"True, but we’ve been called to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Word, not to popular opinion."
"Pray that I’ll have the courage to stand for what I believe."
"I will. Here are some final thoughts to encourage and strengthen your faith."
First, if you believe God created men and women as equal yet different, you stand firmly on sound, honest biblical scholarship. You are faithful to the biblical record. You allow God to speak for Himself and the Bible to say what it means. You protect the Bible’s credibility to speak plainly. You believe what God’s people have believed since the beginning of human history. You follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and His holy apostles. So be encouraged. "Heaven and earth will pass away," Jesus said, "but My words will not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).
Second, some top evangelical, Bible-believing scholars are boldly speaking out against the unsound interpretive methods and conclusions of feminist scholars. They are producing exciting new books and journal articles that challenge feminist strongholds and confirm the truth that the Bible teaches headship and submission. If you are open-minded and seek biblical truth on gender, vital, new research information is now at hand for you to study. 1 So "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15; italics added).
Third, in spite of the overwhelming cultural pressure to obliterate God-created, gender-defined role differences, millions of local churches and Christian leaders worldwide adamantly refuse to bow the knee to the false idol of egalitarianism. They refuse to accept feminist notions of equality--not because they are wooden-headed literalists, blind traditionalists, or because they fear women--but because God says something different. They also recognize this debate for what it really is--spiritual warfare over the Creator’s sovereign design for marriage, the family, the church family, and godly manhood and womanhood:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). Take courage from the strength, faithfulness, and uncompromising courage of your brothers and sisters to follow the Word of the Lord, and to be truly counter-cultural.
Fourth, those who follow God’s blueprint for marriage will build happier, stronger marriages, and their children will benefit. Those who know God’s plan for marriage and the sexes can help protect their families from a secularized culture that is super-saturated with rebellion against God’s laws, with sexual promiscuity, with divorce, fatherlessness, lies, loneliness, and heartache. Furthermore, following God’s design for gender will help keep churches doctrinally strong and enable them to grow according to God’s plan. So, I say, as the Lord said to Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Josh 1:8).
Fifth, complementarians will not give up appealing to our feminist brothers and sisters. Minds have been changed. Unlike secular and theologically liberal feminists, evangelical feminists believe God to be the author of Scripture, God’s book. This provides us substantial common ground on which to continue to communicate and persuade. Thus we want to appeal to our feminist brothers and sisters and warn you as friends. The best minds can be blinded by egalitarian philosophy that looks fair and just but contradicts the Creator’s decision to make people the way He has.
Sixth, those who follow God’s plan for the sexes, marriage, and the church family glorify God. By following His plan, they allow God to be sovereign Lord over His creation. This brings God pleasure, and nothing is more important to a child of God than that.
1 John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Wheaton: Crossway, 1991); Mary A. Kassian, Women, Creation and the Fall (Westchester: Crossway, 1990); Wayne Grudem, "An Open Letter to Egalitarians," in Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 3:1 (March, 1998); Jack Cottrell, Gender Roles & The Bible: A Critique of Feminist Biblical Interpretation: Gender Roles and the Bible: Creation, the Fall, and Redemption (Joplin, Mo.: College Press Publishing Company, 1994); Wayne Grudem, "The Meaning Source Does Not Exist," Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 2:5 (Dec. 1997); Andreas J. Kostenberger, Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin, eds. Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995); S. M. Baugh, "The Apostle Among the Amazons: A Review Article," Westminster Theological Journal 56 (1994): 153-171.
"I’m sure glad we took the time to study the Scriptures together," Tom comments. "I didn’t realize how much the Bible says about gender. I didn’t know how clear it is about this subject. That’s what has impressed me the most." "Tom, let me repeat what I’ve been saying all along. If the Bible is allowed to speak for itself, it plainly teaches that God created men and women equal in His divine image but different in their respective role functions. One has to twist the Scriptures to eliminate gender role differences from the Bible."
"You’re right, but people believe in gender equality so strongly that they won’t accept role differences no matter who says it." "
I know! We’re standing against a worldwide wave of opinion."
"It’s tough to stand against the tide," Tom says.
"True, but we’ve been called to be faithful to Jesus Christ and His Word, not to popular opinion."
"Pray that I’ll have the courage to stand for what I believe."
"I will. Here are some final thoughts to encourage and strengthen your faith."
First, if you believe God created men and women as equal yet different, you stand firmly on sound, honest biblical scholarship. You are faithful to the biblical record. You allow God to speak for Himself and the Bible to say what it means. You protect the Bible’s credibility to speak plainly. You believe what God’s people have believed since the beginning of human history. You follow in the footsteps of Jesus Christ and His holy apostles. So be encouraged. "Heaven and earth will pass away," Jesus said, "but My words will not pass away" (Matt. 24:35).
Second, some top evangelical, Bible-believing scholars are boldly speaking out against the unsound interpretive methods and conclusions of feminist scholars. They are producing exciting new books and journal articles that challenge feminist strongholds and confirm the truth that the Bible teaches headship and submission. If you are open-minded and seek biblical truth on gender, vital, new research information is now at hand for you to study. 1 So "be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, accurately handling the word of truth" (2 Tim 2:15; italics added).
Third, in spite of the overwhelming cultural pressure to obliterate God-created, gender-defined role differences, millions of local churches and Christian leaders worldwide adamantly refuse to bow the knee to the false idol of egalitarianism. They refuse to accept feminist notions of equality--not because they are wooden-headed literalists, blind traditionalists, or because they fear women--but because God says something different. They also recognize this debate for what it really is--spiritual warfare over the Creator’s sovereign design for marriage, the family, the church family, and godly manhood and womanhood:
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places (Eph. 6:12). Take courage from the strength, faithfulness, and uncompromising courage of your brothers and sisters to follow the Word of the Lord, and to be truly counter-cultural.
Fourth, those who follow God’s blueprint for marriage will build happier, stronger marriages, and their children will benefit. Those who know God’s plan for marriage and the sexes can help protect their families from a secularized culture that is super-saturated with rebellion against God’s laws, with sexual promiscuity, with divorce, fatherlessness, lies, loneliness, and heartache. Furthermore, following God’s design for gender will help keep churches doctrinally strong and enable them to grow according to God’s plan. So, I say, as the Lord said to Joshua, “This book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do according to all that is written in it; for then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have success” (Josh 1:8).
Fifth, complementarians will not give up appealing to our feminist brothers and sisters. Minds have been changed. Unlike secular and theologically liberal feminists, evangelical feminists believe God to be the author of Scripture, God’s book. This provides us substantial common ground on which to continue to communicate and persuade. Thus we want to appeal to our feminist brothers and sisters and warn you as friends. The best minds can be blinded by egalitarian philosophy that looks fair and just but contradicts the Creator’s decision to make people the way He has.
Sixth, those who follow God’s plan for the sexes, marriage, and the church family glorify God. By following His plan, they allow God to be sovereign Lord over His creation. This brings God pleasure, and nothing is more important to a child of God than that.
1 John Piper and Wayne Grudem, eds., Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood: A Response to Evangelical Feminism (Wheaton: Crossway, 1991); Mary A. Kassian, Women, Creation and the Fall (Westchester: Crossway, 1990); Wayne Grudem, "An Open Letter to Egalitarians," in Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood 3:1 (March, 1998); Jack Cottrell, Gender Roles & The Bible: A Critique of Feminist Biblical Interpretation: Gender Roles and the Bible: Creation, the Fall, and Redemption (Joplin, Mo.: College Press Publishing Company, 1994); Wayne Grudem, "The Meaning Source Does Not Exist," Journal for Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, 2:5 (Dec. 1997); Andreas J. Kostenberger, Thomas R. Schreiner, and H. Scott Baldwin, eds. Women in the Church: A Fresh Analysis of 1 Timothy 2:9-15 (Grand Rapids: Baker, 1995); S. M. Baugh, "The Apostle Among the Amazons: A Review Article," Westminster Theological Journal 56 (1994): 153-171.
