GraceUncovered

Authors home articles Gracelife

GRACE BLOGS COLLECTION

Should Women be Silent in Church? (1 Corinthians 14:34-35)

by

My three daughters are growing up in a country where women often reach the highest levels of leadership. In New Zealand we’ve had female heads of state and government and everything else besides. As a father, I am thrilled that my daughters will be able to do just about anything they put their mind to. As long as they don’t aspire to preach, teach, or speak in church. The women are to keep silent in the churches; for they are not permitted to speak, but are to subject themselves, just as the Law also says. If they desire to learn anything, let them ask their own husbands at home; for it is improper for a woman to speak in church. (1 Cor 14:34-35) This scripture, along with 1 Timothy 2:12 (which we will get to in the next article), has been used to muzzle women and deny the church of the gifts they bring. Is Paul really saying women should stay silent? No way! Forgive me for getting angry, but as a father and a husband, this idea that “women need to keep their mouths shut” boils my blood. I hope to make you angry too – righteously angry – [...]

Women Preachers? Where’s that in the Bible?!

by

I have three daughters. When they get a little older and start drawing the attention of young men, I will give them this piece of timeless advice: Don’t just listen to what he says; watch what he does. A man may say anything, but his actions will always reveal his heart. This is good to remember when we come to scriptures regarding women in the Bible. For instance, did Paul really believe that women must not teach and that women should remain silent in church? Many people think he did, and this has given rise to three lies that are harming the church: Women must remain silent, women can’t teach, and women can’t lead. What did Jesus think? And what about the other apostles? What were their views on women in ministry? We can debate the meaning of specific scriptures, and we’ll get to 1 Corinthians 14 and 1 Timothy 2 in coming posts. Or we can look at what woman did in the Bible. Were there women in the Bible who taught, spoke in church, and led men? There were plenty! Who were the first two people to recognize the undeserved favor of God revealed in Christ Jesus and [...]

A Future Tribulation?

by

When I was a boy in Sunday School, I came across an end-times comic that featured believers being executed in something called a great tribulation. It was like a holocaust for Christians and it was coming soon! Probably in 1984. Or maybe 1988. But definitely by 1999. It was years before I realized that cartoon was actually a form of child abuse, and that the great tribulation Jesus spoke of did not feature in my future. What Jesus said about the great tribulation As we have seen, Jesus listed ten signs in connection with a great tribulation and all of them were fulfilled within a five month period in AD70. Embankments, swords, captivity, suffering mothers, captive Jews – everything Jesus predicted came to pass. So what? Why does this matter? It matters because those who are worried about a coming tribulation are filling their bunkers with wheat and ammo when they could be telling others the good news of King Jesus. It matters because our children are being told they’ll get their heads chopped off if they don’t take the mark of the beast, but they’ll burn in hell if they do. And it matters because young people are holding [...]

When is the Great Tribulation?

by

In his time on earth only two things made the Son of God cry: the death of his friend Lazarus and the imminent destruction of Jerusalem. For Lazarus he shed tears, but for Jerusalem he wailed and sobbed (Luke 19:41-44). Here’s why: For then there will be a great tribulation, such as has not occurred since the beginning of the world until now, nor ever will. (Matthew 24:21) Jesus sobbed because he could see what was coming. He saw the famine with its horrors and the legions with their swords. He saw the streets running with blood and the hills of unburied dead. He saw the end of his people and it wrecked him. The storm that was coming to Jerusalem was unlike any other. Although the city had been besieged before (by the Assyrians, Babylonians, etc.), the Roman siege of AD70 stands out for a couple of reasons. Inside the city was a larger than usual population of locals and pilgrims celebrating the Feast of Passover. Outside the city was the world’s most highly-trained army. The Jews were fired up by recent victories in their rebellion against the empire, while the Romans were utterly committed to extinguishing their insurrection. [...]

When is the Rapture?

by

Before the 2016 U.S. presidential election, I stumbled on a prominent website that predicted the rapture would occur soon. Why? Because the polls said Hillary Clinton was going to win and another godless Democrat in the Oval Office would surely trigger the great tribulation. “With such gloomy prospects, the rapture has to be close, right? Get ready.” Then Donald Trump won the election, and the outlook became positively bright, at least as far as this website was concerned. A God-fearing Republican would clean out the justices, end the culture war, and bring heaven to America. Surprisingly, the rapture prediction remained unchanged. “When men are saying peace and safety, the rapture will be soon. Get ready.” This website taught me a valuable lesson about how to generate buzz for your blog or book. Whether times are good or bad, tell people that the rapture is imminent. “Things are bad? That’s a sign! Things are good? That’s a sign! This doesn’t make sense? Buy my book!” It’s amusing stuff, but the question is legitimate: When is the rapture? It may surprise you to learn that the Bible provides a straightforward answer to this question, but many don’t know it. They’ve been led [...]

What about the Rapture?

by

Mr. Preterist: “Did you know the word rapture is not in the Bible?” Mr. Futurist: “The word Bible is not in the Bible. What’s your point?” Mr. Preterist: “My point is it’s silly to suggest the Lord is going to remove the church from a tribulation that’s not going to happen.” Mr. Futurist: “Doesn’t sound silly to me. I would very much like to avoid the great tribulation.” Mr. Preterist: “Haven’t you been paying attention? The tribulation already happened. Jesus said it won’t happen again. You’re not calling the Lord a liar, are you?” Mr. Futurist: “In Matthew 24 Jesus said there would be two men in the field; one will be taken, and one will be left. Two women will be working at the mill; one will be taken, and one will be left.” Mr. Preterist: “And you think this is a rapture? What are you going to do next? Suggest we watch Left Behind?” Mr. Futurist: “Who said anything about being left behind?” Mr. Preterist: “Isn’t that what happens to unbelievers? The saints get whisked to heaven on the rapture elevator while everyone else is left behind to go through hell on earth?” Mr. Futurist: “Whoa, slow down. [...]

Jesus is Your Tithe

by

Jesus poked the hornets’ nest when he said, “Watch out for those law-lovers who strut about in long robes, pray long prayers, and take the best seats at banquets.” It was a provocative statement because Jesus was standing in the temple courts when he said it. He was surrounded by long-robed men. “These men devour widows’ houses,” added Jesus. No doubt some of the long-robed men were upset to hear this. Perhaps they got defensive. “I never devoured a widow’s house.” “Follow me to the treasury,” said Jesus. There he and his followers sat down to watch people bringing their offerings. Right on cue, as if it had been pre-ordained, a poor widow dropped in two copper coins. “Those two coins might not look like much,” said Jesus, “but that was her grocery money. She needed that to live, yet she gave it away. Now she has nothing left.” Jesus was not praising the widow’s generosity as much as rebuking the rich who steal from the poor. The same practice continues today whenever religious threats are made. “If you don’t tithe you’re robbing God. If you don’t tithe you’ll be cursed. If you don’t tithe you’re going to hell.” How [...]

How does Faith Establish the Law? (Romans 3:31)

by

The Bible makes some interesting comparisons between faith and law: We are justified by FAITH, not by LAW (Rom 3:28, Gal 2:16) Abraham and his heirs are blessed on account of FAITH, not LAW (Rom 4:13-14) You can live by FAITH or LAW (Rom 4:14) No one who relies on the LAW is justified for the righteous live by FAITH (Gal 3:11) The LAW is not of FAITH (Gal 3:12) Summary: You can live by faith or law but not both. It’s one or the other. But what about this… Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law. (Rom 3:31, KJV) The scriptures declare again and again that faith has nothing in common with law, and living under one nullifies the other. So what is Paul saying here? Is he contradicting himself when he says faith establishes the law? Here’s the same verse in another translation: Do we then nullify the Law through faith? May it never be! On the contrary, we establish the Law. (Rom 3:31 , NASB) Like most grace preachers, Paul was slandered as someone who spoke against the law. He was labeled with the dreaded A-word: antinomian, meaning [...]

Are You Lukewarm? Take the Test

by

Lukewarm is what you get when you mix hot with cold. It’s mixing the white-hot love of God with the stone-cold commands of the Bible. It’s mixing the new and everlasting covenant of grace with the obsolete covenant of law. Are you lukewarm? You might be if… 1. You think Christians need the law The law is meant to lead you to Jesus so that you may be justified by faith (Gal 3:24). If you have Jesus, you don’t need the law. You don’t need it to guide you, teach you, or show you how to live for you have a far better teacher in the Holy Spirit. Jesus said the Spirit would teach you all things (John 14:26), leaving nothing for you to learn from the law. You died to the law so that you might belong to another (Rom 7:4). As Paul says in Romans 7, running back to your old husband the law is cheating on Jesus. It’s spiritual adultery that will leave you lukewarm and fallen from grace. 2. You’re sin conscious An old covenant mindset is sin-focused, but the new covenant is Son-focused. Under the old you had to run from sin, resist sin, pay [...]

The Day and the Hour

by

But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (Matthew 24:36) The disciples thought that the temple would come down when Jesus returned at the end of the age. To them, these events were connected. But history shows they are not. The temple has come down, but we are still looking forward to Christ’s triumphant return. The fall of the temple and the Second Coming of Jesus. The first event was predictable – Jesus gave the disciples forty signposts – but the second is a mystery. “But of that day and hour no one knows.” The former can be anticipated, but the latter “will come like a thief in the night” (1 Thess 5:2). Mr. Preterist: “I disagree. Jesus is talking about one and the same day. The fall of Jerusalem was the day when Christ returned in judgment of that sinful city.” Mr. Futurist: “But one day is marked by signposts; the other day is unknown.” Mr. Preterist: “Jesus knew the fall of Jerusalem would happen within a generation but he didn’t know exactly when – not the day or hour. This is why he told [...]

When is the End of the Age?

by

The disciples asked, “What will be the sign of your coming and the end of the age?” (Matthew 24:3). What did they mean by the end of the age? Jesus said, “The gospel would be preached all over the world then the end will come” (Matthew 24:14). What end did he have in mind? Did he mean the end of the temple, or the end of the age, or both? Was Jesus answering the disciples’ question? It will help if we examine the original meaning of their words: The disciples: “When is the end (sunteleia) of the age?” Jesus: “Then the end (telos) will come.” When discussing the end of the age in verse 3, the disciples used a big word that means completion or consummation of a plan. God has a plan, and it comes to completion at the end or consummation of the age. In contrast, when discussing the fall of Jerusalem in verse 14, Jesus used a smaller word that simply means an ending or conclusion. Two words for two types of ending and the difference is a plan. If I crash my car, that’s the telos end of my car. But if I did it as [...]

Categories

Recent Posts