by Steve Higginbotham<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, churches have always struggled against being influenced by the values of the cultures that surround them. For instance, the city of Corinth was known for its immorality, and it’s no surprise that immorality had also crept into the church there (I Corinthians 5). Today, our culture highly values the equality of men and women, and thus the message of “male spiritual leadership” in the church is being challenged and jettisoned in many congregations.<\/p>\n
One of the most frequently used proof texts to expunge gender-based role distinctions from the church is Galatians 3:28, which states, “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus.<\/em>” Some suggest that since there is no male or female in Christ, there should be no gender-based role distinctions within the church. Presently, we are witnessing congregations inviting women to lead prayers in the assembly, preach, teach, and even serve as elders.<\/p>\n However, the hermeneutical mistake being made concerning Galatians 3:28 is a failure to distinguish between “value” and “role.” It’s the same hermeneutical mistake made by Korah many years ago (Numbers 16:1-10). Korah and his companions argued that Moses and Aaron were lording over them and had too much authority. They reasoned this way: “Since all of God’s people are holy, we all ought to be allowed to do what you do<\/em>” (Numbers 16:3).<\/p>\n While it was true that the people of God were holy, it was not true that they should all be allowed to do the same thing. God confirmed their reasoning was flawed when he defended Moses and destroyed them (Numbers 16:31-33).<\/p>\n Brethren, what we hear today about women preachers and overseers in the Lord’s church is the same fallacious hermeneutic employed by Korah long ago. The fact that all of God’s people are holy and valued equally by God does not mean that men and women have been authorized to function in the same role.<\/p>\n Give care not to make the same ancient hermeneutical mistake made by Korah and his companions. Equal value? “Yes,” equal roles? “No.”<\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Steve Higginbotham Unfortunately, churches have always struggled against being influenced by the values of the cultures that surround them. For instance, the city of Corinth was known for its immorality, and it’s no surprise that immorality had also crept into the church there (I Corinthians 5). Today, our culture highly values the equality of…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[27],"tags":[529],"class_list":["post-86106","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-article","tag-hermeneutics"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":45029,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/why-do-people-choose-the-priesthood-when-they-want-to-follow-jesus\/","url_meta":{"origin":86106,"position":0},"title":"Why do people choose the priesthood when they want to follow Jesus?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"April 6, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I was wondering if many people who accepted Jesus and decided to follow him joined the priesthood. My question is: Is becoming a priest the only way to follow Jesus and go to Heaven? Why do people choose the priesthood when they want to follow Jesus? And what is\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":7262,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/the-broadening-definition-of-racism\/","url_meta":{"origin":86106,"position":1},"title":"The Broadening Definition of Racism","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"August 9, 2005","format":false,"excerpt":"by Jeffrey W. Hamilton During the week leading up to the observance of the government's Martin Luther King Day, the local paper heralded the formation of a new group called Churches Uniting in Christ. Nine denominations joined to campaign against racism. The very development of these organizations which tie denominations\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":27828,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/if-women-cannot-preach-then-why-can-they-sing\/","url_meta":{"origin":86106,"position":2},"title":"If women cannot preach, then why can they sing?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 20, 2011","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: I have a question regarding the preaching of a woman in church. Last Sunday my friend told me that in church one woman is leading and also preaching the message. In that meeting, men were also there. I know that according to I Corinthians and I Timothy women should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":51947,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/does-galatians-328-support-gender-diversity\/","url_meta":{"origin":86106,"position":3},"title":"Does Galatians 3:28 support gender diversity?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"November 19, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: Hi Mr. Hamilton, I've found out that a large number (possibly a majority) of my friends are LGBTQQIAA+. Some are genderqueer, transgender, gay, lesbian, pansexual, and asexual. A very large percentage of my year group is not straight or cisgender. I know that having homosexual sex is wrong. Should\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":85559,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/gender-roles-within-the-sacrificial-system\/","url_meta":{"origin":86106,"position":4},"title":"Gender Roles Within the Sacrificial System","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"March 11, 2025","format":false,"excerpt":"by Perry Hall Gender requirements were specified in the Mosaic sacrificial system. We will reveal how this is important to our topic of gender roles within the church. Before that, let's examine the gender specifications. The priesthood and the Levitical ministers were all males. This is undisputed and must be\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Article"","block_context":{"text":"Article","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/article\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":48206,"url":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/should-the-church-accommodate-transgender-members\/","url_meta":{"origin":86106,"position":5},"title":"Should the church accommodate transgender members?","author":"Jeffrey Hamilton","date":"June 9, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"Question: What is the church's position on those who are transgender? Are there three genders: Male, Female, and Transgender? If someone has transitioned from male to female or female to male, would they be welcomed at your congregation? For example, would Bruce Jenner (now Caitlyn) be welcomed or does she\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Answer"","block_context":{"text":"Answer","link":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/category\/answer\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86106","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86106"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86106\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86106"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86106"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lavistachurchofchrist.org\/cms\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86106"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}