“Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ.” Ephesians 4:15 NIV
I love the church. Ever since I asked Jesus into my heart as a very little girl, I’ve been enthusiastic to serve my church in any way possible. My senior year of high school, I started teaching my first Sunday School class – a group of 4th grade girls. That was back in ’05, and I’ve been a Bible teacher ever since.
People like me are called “lay leaders.” Lay leaders are the people who teach children’s and adult’s Sunday school classes, coordinate events, go on missions trips, serve on deacon and business boards, and do pretty much any unpaid work around the church. There isn’t space here to list every ministry I’ve been involved with over the years, but I’m sure many of my readers know what it’s like to faithfully serve as an integral, but often unacknowledged, member of the church.
This lack of acknowledgement is particularly true for women. Especially in complementarian churches, women intentionally serve in the shadows. Male lay leaders rise to prominent positions such as elder and are respected and honored, while many female lay leaders obsess about making sure they never accidentally “exercise authority over a man” (1 Tim 2:12 NASB). I come from a soft complementarian (“soft comp”) church, where women are allowed to do some things, but not others. I’ve been called by the Holy Spirit to ministry since I was a young girl, so it’s been confusing and difficult over the years trying to figure out how, where, and when I can serve in the church. A lot of my energy has gone to making sure I’ve been acting under the authority of a man.
The Bible is “Clear”
Part of my obsession with perfectly following the rule not to “exercise authority over a man” was because I had been taught to read the Bible “plainly” because the Bible is “clear.” I thought I was supposed to just read a verse in English and take it at face value. 1 Timothy 2:12 (NASB), “I do not allow a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man, but to remain quiet,” was presented as the most important verse for ordering the body of believers. Shortly after 1 Timothy 2:12, verse 15 (NIV) says, “but women will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.” What does it mean that “women will be saved through childbearing”? Might my salvation be conditional? Do I have to give birth to be saved from eternal conscious torment in hell? These internalized worries plague many women, even if they say they believe intellectually that salvation is by grace, through faith. If verse 12 is supposed to be plain and clear in English and applicable to all time, why wouldn’t verse 15 a couple sentences later be the same? These anxieties percolate beneath the surface in many women’s souls.
Speaking the Truth in Love
Another verse we have a tendency to latch on to is a phrase from Ephesians 4:15, “speaking the truth in love.” It’s common to apply this phrase to nonbelievers who we think aren’t living according to God’s design. But, in context, it’s clear that “truth in love” isn’t supposed to be directed towards outsiders. Rather, it is directed inwards, towards the church, the Body of Christ. Take a look at Ephesians 4:14-16:
Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming. Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will grow to become in every respect the mature body of him who is the head, that is, Christ. From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.
In Ephesians 4, the focus is on the Body of Christ, and about ensuring the members of the church are not led astray by false doctrine. We are not supposed to impose our idea of “Truth” on the outside world. We are, however, supposed to speak up to each other when there has been doctrinal dishonesty. It’s not easy to push back on false doctrine, but it is important.
Some Truth in Love for Today’s Evangelical Church
There has been deceitful teaching in the evangelical church about the Doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture. The idea that we’re supposed to read the Bible “plainly” because the Bible is “clear” is false. This distorted definition of the Clarity of Scripture has been spread by people acting in bad faith for their own selfish gain. The Doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture says that Scripture should interpret Scripture, and that more clear Scripture should interpret less clear Scripture. The Doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture does not mean we’re supposed to just read a verse in English and take it at face value. It means that some passages are easier to interpret than others. It means that we are supposed to keep first things first, and prioritize passages that have a wider consensus as to their meaning. Those who teach that we should read 1 Timothy 2:12-15 with a “plain” reading that guides everything about how women exist in church have either been deceived or are acting deceitfully.
1 Timothy 2:12-15 is a particularly unclear passage. Complementarians and Egalitarians have long been at a stale mate as to the meaning of these verses. Complementarians have a tendency to say that we should follow the more strict interpretation, “just in case.” Just in case of what? Just in case we might lose our salvation? One of the core doctrines of faith is that salvation is by grace, through faith. If you believe in Jesus, you’re in. Taking 1 Timothy 2:15 to mean that women’s salvation is conditional and projecting that idea onto the previous three verses is dishonest. It puts second things above first things. It uses an unclear passage to negate a doctrine of first importance.
The Doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture says that we are supposed to use more clear passages to interpret less clear passages, not the other way around. We are supposed to use doctrines of first importance, such as salvation being by grace, through faith, to all who believe, to interpret unclear passages, not the other way around.
Ladies, your salvation is not conditional. You don’t have to hide in the shadows and worry about if you’ve accidentally “exercised authority” over a man. You don’t have to worry about the possibility of going to hell if you don’t bear children. Do you believe in Jesus? You’re in.
What’s the Good News?
We make a similar error with the phrase “inherit the kingdom of God” in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10. We see a list of vices that includes “men who have sex with men” and that they “will not inherit the kingdom of God” and get reeeeeally nervous. We want our loved ones to go to heaven. We want to evangelize them. But “you’ll go to hell if you’re in a gay relationship” isn’t good news. The Good News is that salvation is by grace, through faith, to anyone who believes in Jesus. Period.
1 Corinthians 6:9-10, like 1 Timothy 2:12-15, are unclear verses. Interpreting “will not inherit the kingdom of God” to mean “go to hell” is dishonest and violates the Doctrine of the Clarity of Scripture. It elevates an unclear verse over a core doctrine of the faith. Salvation is by grace, through faith, to all who believe. Does this person believe in Jesus? Yes? Then they’re in.
Conclusion
I have a lot more to say on these topics, but for today, here’s the focus: issues that are hot topics that rely on verses that can be interpreted a variety of different ways are secondary issues. They are not salvation issues. We cannot elevate them above the core doctrine that salvation is by grace, through faith, to all who believe in Jesus. For the benefit of the church, we need to remind each other that we are secure in Christ.
Reflection
Today, take a moment to reflect:
Do I really believe, deep down, that salvation is by grace, through faith? Or do I feel like there are certain things I have to do or a certain type of person I have to be in order to be fully loved and accepted by God?