Introduction

The debate over the role of women in the church has reached massive
proportions. Feminist philosophy has penetrated almost every area of our
society and has recently made inroads into the church. I am amazed at how
many evangelical churches, colleges, and seminaries have abandoned
biblical truths they have held since their beginning. Books have been
written affirming new “truth” regarding the role of women in the church.

Scripture passages teaching the traditional roles of men and women have
been reinterpreted. Some say these passages should be ignored altogether
because they reflect Paul’s anti-female bias. Others say these passages were
added by later editors and do not reflect the intent of the original authors.
The church, the bastion of the truth of God, is falling fast to the march of
the feminist army.

The effort to overthrow the design of God for men and women is not
ultimately a human effort. It is the effort of the archenemy of God, Satan,
who uses sinful human agents to attain his goals. That’s why the
controversy over the role of women in the church is so tragic: the church is
being deceived by the lies of Satan and is actually becoming a part of his
attack. God has specific roles for men and women in society, the family,
and the church that are clear in Scripture, and we need to re-affirm them.
In approaching this subject, I could take a lot of time demonstrating
how far-reaching feminism is. However, it seems to me most helpful to
simply look at the Word of God. If we understand what the Bible says, we
will be able to deal with any error we might face. There is no passage more
direct and comprehensive in addressing the role of women in the church
than 1 Timothy 2:9–15.