What Are the Two Ways to Formulate a Viewpoint on any Doctrinal Topic?

INTRODUCTION

This subject is a topic that has resonated with me since I went to Bible college in the early eighties. The president of the Bible college believed that the calling to an office leadership gift (e.g., apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor-teacher) was gender-specific – for males only. He did make an exception for this, however, stating that if a man had a call on his life to be a pastor and he chose not to pursue it, and there was no other male in the periphery that was called, then God could raise up a woman to be placed in this position. He also believed that the offices of apostles and prophets were no more.

There probably were as many as one hundred branch ministries or churches of various sizes that were affiliated with this Bible college. Whatever was taught from the pulpit was advocated to be taught in all of the branch ministries. I’m sure that the effect of any doctrinal view is far-reaching in the sense that when you have a worldwide ministry with many members, there are views that are espoused, which are expected to be followed by its members, whether or not they agree with them.

Probably, in most worldwide churches, it’s possible that there may be at least one doctrinal view that some of its members have second thoughts about. For instance:

● The Catholic Church believes that the Scriptures forbid women to hold the position of a priest, although they do allow a place for women in the church, being that of a nun.

● The Episcopal Church believes that members must confess their sins publicly before the group during worship service so that they can receive absolution (the assurance of God’s forgiveness) from the priest.

● Some Born-Again Christian churches advocate that a believer can lose their salvation.

● Some Seventh Day Adventist churches believe that Jesus is not God but an angel.

● The Church of Latter-day Saints believes that Noah’s Ark was built in Missouri, USA.

● Buddhism believes in reincarnation.

● The Jehovah’s Witnesses group believes that the Holy Spirit is not God but a life force.

● Christian Science believes that sickness does not exist.

● Islam believes there’s no original sin.

● The Unitarian Church believes there’s no continued human existence after physical death.



Interesting perspectives, aren’t they?

I have no official position as to whether the Bible is gender-specific concerning the calling of a Christian to an office leadership gift in the New Testament church. I hope to have a better understanding of this topic after this undertaking. Since much of the contention in the church seems to question whether a woman can be the pastor of a church, we’ll initially focus on this idea. If it’s confirmed that she can be, then we could assume that she also might be called to the office of an apostle, prophet, or evangelist. If it appears that we can derive very little information to confirm this, then we’ll look to see if there are any indications that a woman could be called to any of the other leadership positions.

Before we begin to look at Scriptures that speak about gender as relating to a person occupying the office of a pastor, let’s take a look at the conjecture that there are two ways to formulate a perspective on any biblical topic. What reasons would support such divergence? Let’s find out in the next chapter.



1

THERE ARE TWO WAYS TO FORMULATE A VIEWPOINT ON ANY DOCTRINAL TOPIC

When a biblical topic is being studied, the view that is espoused will be determined by the Scriptures, which are used to support it. You might be wondering what I’m talking about. Let me give you an example. Let’s say that a pastor of a local church has been caught committing adultery by a couple of members.



How should this be addressed?

It depends on what Scriptures are used concerning how to deal with this matter.

Psalms 51:3-4 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.

King David had committed adultery with Bathsheba, along with having her husband Uriah murdered. In this Psalm, he acknowledged his transgressions and made a proclamation to God.

Some churches will use these verses and, in particular, David’s declaration that he sinned against God, and God only, as the protocol which should be followed if a pastor has been caught committing an egregious sin. The justification behind this approach would be that the pastor is only accountable to God. Therefore, no one has a right to judge or bring the pastor before a disciplinary committee. God will judge the pastor. Period. End of story.

Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses.

There is, believe it or not, another way to address a pastor’s sin, which is delineated in 1 Timothy 5:19.This view states that if the members of the church are aware of a pastor’s sin, then to address this before whoever is in charge of dealing with such matters, there must be at least two eye or ear witnesses to the egregious transgression.

As we can see, there are two distinct ways of addressing a pastor’s sin of adultery. Any person who chooses to use a verse from the Old Testament to support a protocol for the New Testament believer to follow is called a non-dispensationalist. Likewise, any person who only uses verses taken from the dispensation at hand to determine the protocol for a believer’s adherence is called a dispensationalist. Both words are affiliated with the word dispensation.



What does the word dispensation mean?

A dispensation is a time when God deals with certain people in a particular manner according to His will, plan, and purpose for their lives.

To be clear, the verses in Psalms address the sin of a King of Israel, while the verse in Timothy addresses the sin of a pastor. Regarding the king, the time during which he lived involved the nation of Israel and the institution of the Mosaic Law, which had over one hundred commandments that clearly delineated a list of overt offenses and their related consequences. Concerning the pastor, the age during which the pastor lives involves the New Testament church. During this time, sin is not only relegated to sinful actions but also to one’s thoughts and words.

There were no consequences for sinful speech or actions in the New Testament church as would have been prescribed under the Mosaic Law, such as: being stoned to death, making monetary restitution, being subject to plagues, receiving stripes, etc. The harshest penalty concerning addressing the egregious sin of a pastor would be ex-communication unless the speech or action was criminal.

As we try to determine whether a woman could be called to a leadership position in the church, we’ll for the most part look at verses, which are primarily taken from the Gospels, the Book of Acts, and the Epistles (which are letters written to the fledgling churches and individual believers in the earliest days of Christianity1). If I decide to use any verses from the Old Testament, this will be because they were used by some churches to support their view that the calling to an office gift is gender-specific.

So, sit back and read about what is contained in this study. Hopefully, new light will be shed on this subject from a biblical perspective.



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Endnotes

1Mary Fairchild. “The Epistles”, 01 April 2014 ˂ www.christianity.about.com/.../qt/The-Epistles.htm>.