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Thursday 24 December 2020

 

 

Wishing all of you

 

                                 

 

                             A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND

                           GOD'S BLESSINGS FOR 2021

 

 

 

 

P.S  I will take a short break but will start posting on this blog again on Monday 4 January 2021.

Monday 21 December 2020

The husband is in charge: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/8

                                                      Read Part One HERE


 In this post I continue to focus on Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of the Board of Reference of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

She has written a True Woman Manifesto. One of the statements of that Manifesto is as follows:

 Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "When we (women) respond humbly and appropriately to male leadership in our homes and churches, we demonstrate a noble submission that honours God's Word and reflects Christ's obedience to the will of His Father."

My Comment

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth very likely refers to the unbiblical teaching of the Eternal Submission of God the Son to God the Father (ESS) connecting that to further unbiblical teaching of submission (obedience) of a wife/a woman to her husband/a man, when she writes "....We demonstrate a noble submission that honours God's Word and reflects Christ's obedience to the will of His Father."  God calls both men and women to submit to one another in homes and churches (Ephesians 5:21-22). Jesus demonstrated what leadership in the church and at home would look like at the time of the Last Supper when He washed the feet of His disciples. After He had done this, He said in John 13:12-17

When He had finished washing their feet, He put on His clothes and returned to His place."Do you understand what I have done for you?" He asked them. "You call me Teacher and Lord and rightly so for that is what I am. Now that I, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should also wash one anothers' feet. I have set you an example that you should do as I have done for you. I tell you the truth, no servant is greater than his master, nor is a messenger, greater than the one who sent him. Now that you know these things, you will be blessed, if you do them."

As male and female believers "wash each others' feet", they serve each other, care for each other, love each other both in their homes and in their churches, thereby honouring the Lord who served them by dying for them on the Cross.

Read Part Nine HERE


Thursday 17 December 2020

The husband is to be masculine: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgmuth P/7


                                                     Read Part One HERE


In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood.

She has written a True Woman Manifesto. One of the statements of that Manifesto is as follows

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "Men and women are both created in the image of God and are equal in value and dignity, but have distinct roles and functions in the home and in the church. We are called as women to affirm and encourage men as they seek to express godly masculinity, and to honour and support God-ordained male leadership in the home and in the church."

My Comment

The term masculinity cannot be found in the Bible but is a cultural term. Therefore, Scripture does not describe what it means to be masculine. Neither does Scripture teach that women are "to affirm and encourage men as they seek to express godly masculinity."When God created the first man and the first woman He gave them the task of ruling over creation together (Genesis 1:26-28). At the time of the Fall the man took it upon himself to begin to rule over the woman (Genesis 3:16d). However, Christ reversed that situation when He died on the Cross. All believers, male and female, are now to be like Him (Philippians 2:1-11), submitting to each other (Ephesians 5:21-22), serving as Christ did who only came to serve (Matthew 20:25-28) whether at home or in the church. 

Read Part Eight HERE


Monday 14 December 2020

The wife's role is to bear children: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/6

Read Part One HERE


In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of the Board of Reference of The Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and has written a book called "Lies Women Believe."

Some further statements from that book are as follows

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "The Scripture is clear that a married woman's life and ministry are to be centred in her home. This is not to suggest that it is necessarily wrong for a wife and mother to have a job outside her home -  unless that job competes with or diminishes her effectiveness in fulfilling her primary calling at home. The truth is that God gave to the man the primary responsibility to be the "breadwinner" for his wife and children." (p.127)

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth; "In the apostle Paul's first epistle to Timothy, we are reminded that childbearing is a basic, God-given role for women.... A woman's willingness to embrace, rather than shun, her God-given role and calling ("childbearing") is a necessary fruit that will accompany genuine salvation - it is proof that she belongs to Him and follows His ways." (p.171)

My Comment

Scripture does not make it clear that a married woman's life and ministry are to be centred in her home. Instead, in Genesis 1:26-28 God gave both the man and the woman the task of ruling over creation. They were to fulfill that task as equal partners. We have examples of couples working together as equal partners in the New Testament such as 

Priscilla and Aquilla who pastored a church together (Romans 16:3-5a)                                            Andronicus and Junia who were apostles (Romans 16:7)                                                               

Furthermore, Paul mentioned a number of women co-workers such as Mary (Romans 16:6), Tryphena, Tryphosa and Persis (Romans 16:12).

He mentioned as well some women overseers such as Chloe (1 Corinthians 1:11) and Nympha (Colossians 4:15)

Jesus had a number of women disciples who left home to travel with Him such as Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joses, the mother of Zebedee's sons (Matthew 27:56), Salome (Mark 16:1) and Susanna (Luke 8:1-3).

No doubt, these women had households to take care of but they are not mentioned in connection to their homes, only in connection to their ministry.

As for the man being the main "breadwinner", God gave to both the man and the woman the task of ruling over Creation in Genesis 1:26-28. That will have meant they both worked in the Garden together. That is confirmed when God tells the woman in Genesis 3:16 that it will be more challenging for her to work the soil because of the curse that is about to be placed on it as we know from the CORRECT translations of Genesis 3:16a which is as follows

I will surely multiply your toil (related to the soil) and I will multiply your conception.                          With effort you will bring forth children.                                                                                                  You will turn to your husband.                                                                                                                 And he will rule over you

Examples of women as "breadwinners" are:                                                                                             Caleb's daughterAcsah (Joshua 15:18b-19); The Proverbs 31 Woman (Proverbs 31:16-18a); Lydia (Acts 16:14); Priscilla (Acts 18:2-3).

As for Paul's first epistle to Timothy, Nancy is very likely referring to 1 Timothy 2:15 

But women will be saved through childbearing - if they continue in faith, love and holiness with propriety.

Nancy has  made the gospel a gospel of works since she insists that women are to be willing to embrace childbearing as proof that they are saved. This is a very interesting statement coming from her since she was a single woman until 2015 when she married at the age of 57 and has never borne any children. Moreover, there are many women who, though married, have not been able to bear children. Would that mean they could not be saved? Of course, not. Nancy completely misunderstands this verse, as do many other bible teachers, causing much damage to the body of believers.

This verse is a correction to false teaching that had entered the church in Ephesus through one or more false female teachers.  Part of their false teaching was that marriage and motherhood were obstacles to a close walk with God. Paul is correcting that teaching by stating that marriage and motherhood are blessed by God as the Creator and  does not prevent any woman to have an intimate relationship with God as long as her relationship with God is based on faith, love and holiness.

P.S. My apologies for the sentence "This is unbibiblical council and should be ignored by any woman" in my previous post which should read "This is unbiblical counsel and should be ignored by any woman."

Read Part Seven HERE

 


Thursday 10 December 2020

The wife must revere her husband: Nancy Leigh DeMoss P/5

                                                      Read Part One HERE


In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is a member of the Board of Reference of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood and has written a book called "Lies Women Believe."

Below are some statements from that book.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth: "There are extreme situations where an obedient wife may need to remove herself and/or her children from proximity to her husband, if to remain in that setting would be to place themselves in physical danger. However, even in such a case, a woman can - and must - maintain an attitude of reverence for her husband's position; her goal is not to belittle or resist him as her husband but, ultimately, to see God restore him to obedience. If she provokes or worsens the situation through her attitudes, words or behaviour, she will interfere with what God wants to do in her husband's life and will not be free to claim God's protection and intervention on her behalf." (p.149) 

My Comment

Nancy's statement shows that she does not know the heart of God towards the hurting, including hurting women and children.

Scripture does not teach anywhere that a woman is to be obedient to her husband. However, Scripture teaches that husband and wife are to mutually submit to each other (Ephesians 5:21-22), love each other (1 Peter 4:8), serve each other (Galatians 5:13), respect each other (1 Peter 2:17).

Any husband who is mentally or emotionally or spiritually or physically abusive towards his wife and children is not submissive towards his wife, does not love her, does not serve her, does not respect her. He has broken the marriage covenant. And the wife of a husband who behaves abusively towards her and her children needs to remove herself and her children in such circumstances. She may well have to divorce her husband to make legal what has already taken place in her marriage and to protect herself and her children.

As for God restoring a husband to obedience, God can only restore him to obedience if the husband is truly willing for God to do that work in his life by showing true repentance. That work does not require for the wife to remain in the marital home or even to remain married to her husband.

As for the wife not being free to claim God's protection and intervention on her behalf if she provokes or worsens the situation through her attitudes, words or behaviour, thereby interfering with what God wants to do in her husband's life, this is unbiblical counsel and should be ignored by any woman!! She is not responsible for what God wants to do in her husband's life. That is between God and her husband, and very much depends on her husband's willingness to co-operate with God.

P.S. We will look at some other statements from the book Lies Women Believe in my next post.

Read Part Six HERE



Monday 7 December 2020

The husband takes pride in his strength: Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/4

                                                      Read Part One HERE


 In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is on the Board of Reference of the Council on Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as on the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, a ministry founded by the wife and daughters of fundamental Baptist pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, including his daughter Elizabeth Rice Handford who wrote the book "Me? Obey Him?"

We will continue looking at some statements from the book as follows

  "When you give back to your husband the responsibility for the direction of the home and the making of decisions, you also give him the responsibility for the consequences of his decisions.... Fortunately, that's the way a man likes it. God made a man to be aggressive, to respond to challenge, to glory in his manhood, to rejoice in draining his strength, to risk great hazards for the one he loves. It is his very aggressiveness that a woman sometimes finds frightening, simply because she is a woman. She doesn't have confidence in her physical strength, in her ability to cope with danger, in her decision-making ability. It is a privilege unearned, for a woman to have a man take upon himself her welfare." (P.56).

My Comment 

In Genesis 1:26-28 we read that God gave both the man and the woman the task of ruling over Creation. That has never changed so it is not only the man who is responsible for the direction of the home. Both the man and the woman are responsible for the direction of the home and make decisions for it as a team under the Lordship of Christ!! His and her confidence in their ability to make right decisions is not in themselves but in the Lord that He will give them wisdom to make the right decisions when they prayerfully seek Him. As for any man to be aggressive and to glory in his manhood, any male believer is to glory in the cross of the of Christ as Paul wrote in Galatians 6:14

May I never boast (glory) except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me and I to the world. 

As for a woman to have a man take upon himself her welfare, a wife is to be a husband's  "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner" according to Genesis 2:18 and not a"welfare" project.

P.S. I believe that Nancy Leigh Demoss Wolgemuth, though not the author of the book "Me? Obey him?", will be in agreement with what is written in it since she is a member of the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, the ministry that was set up by the wife and daughters of fundamental Baptist pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, one of whose daughters is Elizabeth Rice Handford.            In my next post I will begin to focus on statements from Nancy Leigh Demoss Wolgemuth's book "Lies Women believe."

Read Part Five HERE

Thursday 3 December 2020

The husband speaks for God; Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth P/3

                                                     Read Part One HERE


In this post I continue to focus on bible teacher and author Nancy Leigh DeMoss Wolgemuth. She is on the Board of Reference of The Council On Biblical Manhood and Womanhood as well as on the Board of Reference of Joyful Christian Ministries, a ministry founded by the wife and daughters of fundamental pastor and evangelist John R. Rice, including his daughter Elizabeth Rice Handford who wrote the book "Me Obey Him?"

We will continue looking at some statements from the above book as follows

1. " Beyond a shadow of a doubt, the Scriptures say a woman ought to obey her husband. If you are intellectually honest, you will have to admit that it is impossible to find a single loophole, a single exception, an "if" or "unless." The Scriptures say, without qualification, to the open minded reader, that a woman ought to obey her husband (pp.24, 25).  

2. She is to obey regardless of his spiritual condition. The wife who obeys her husband may win him over by her meek and quiet spirit, her loving behaviour (p. 25).   

3. She need not fear conflicting authority. There is no hint that a woman may have to choose between conflicting authority... If is it needed in order to fulfill both obligations, God will do a miracle to make it possible... It is safe to conclude that when God told a woman to obey her husband, He intended for her to be able to do it without risk of offending other authorities (pp. 25, 28). 

4. She obeys without reference to her feelings about the will of God, The Scriptures say that a woman must ignore her "feelings" about the will of God and do what her husband says. She is to obey her husband as if he were God Himself. She can be as certain of God's will , when her husbands speaks, as if God had spoken audibly from heaven (p.28).

My Comment

1.The Scriptures do not teach anywhere that a woman is to obey her husband. In Genesis 1:26-28 we learn that God gave to the male as well as the female the task to rule over creation. In Genesis 2:18 we read that God made the woman as the man's "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner."                                       In Ephesians 5:21-22 we read of mutual submission.                                                                                In 1 Peter 3:1-6 the Apostle Peter mentioned that Sarah listened to or heeded Abraham, However, in Genesis 21:8-12 we read that God told Abraham to listen to or heed Sarah. 

2. As I already mentioned Scripture does not teach that a woman is to obey her husband. Neither does it teach that she is to obey him regardless of his spiritual condition. Abigail did not obey her husband and saved her life and that of the members of her household (1 Samuel 25). Moreover, queen Esther went to see her husband even though he had not called for her, thereby putting her life in danger (Esther 4:15-16).

3. God does not always do a miracle to make it possible for a woman to fulfill both obligations because He has never told a woman to obey her husband. However, the woman is to obey God as we know from Acts 5:29                                                                                                                                               Peter and the other apostles replied, "We must obey God rather than men!"                                    In the above situation God did not do a miracle for the apostles had been in prison and afterwards were flogged. Likewise, any believer be they male or female may well have to face the consequences of their actions rather than have a miracle happen to them. However, no matter what they may have to go through they can be assured of God's Presence with them at all times.

4.Scripture never mentions that  a woman is to ignore her feelings about the will of God and do what her husband says for he speaks as if he were God Himself. That is making an idol of her husband!! The Holy Spirit resides within every female believer and He will help her know if there is anything she needs to say to her husband as his "ezer kenegdo" or "equal partner." Let's remember that in the case of Abigail, she acted without her husband's approval. And in the case of Esther, she went against the law of the land as approved of by her husband.

Read Part Four HERE