10: PASTOR’S AUTHORITY TRUMPS SCRIPTURE? 105specific commands of Scripture that fall under that principle. We are not
free to abstract general principles from the Bible however we wish, and
then invent opinions about how those principles will apply in our situ-
ations. Such a procedure would allow people to evade any command of
Scripture they were uncomfortable with. We would become a law unto
ourselves, no longer subject to the authority of God’s Word.
We could try this same procedure with some other passages. Would
we think it right to say that the Bible teaches that men should pray “with-
out anger or quarreling, unless they quarrel under the authority of the
elders” (see 1 Tim. 2:8)? Or that women should adorn themselves “with
modesty and self-control, unless the elders give them permission to dress
immodestly” (see 1 Tim. 2:9)? Or would we say that those who are “rich
in this present age” should “be generous and ready to share, unless the
elders give them permission to be stingy and miserly” (see 1 Tim. 6:17-
19)? But if we would not add “unless the elders give permission to do
otherwise under their authority” to any of the other commands in
Scripture, neither should we add that evasion to 1 Timothy 2:12.
If a woman says, “I will teach the Bible to men only when I am
under the authority of the elders,” she has become no different from men
who teach the Bible. No man in any church should teach the Bible pub-
licly unless he also is under the authority of the elders (or pastor, or other
church officers) in that church. The general principle is that anyone who
does Bible teaching in a church should be subject to the established gov-
erning authority in that church, whether it is a board of elders, a board
of deacons, a church governing council, or the church board. Both men
and women alike are subject to that requirement. Therefore, upon reflec-
tion, it turns out that this “under the authority of the elders” position
essentially says there is no difference between what men can do and
what women can do in teaching the Bible to men.
Do we really think that is what Paul meant? Do we really think that
Paul did not mean to say anything that applied only to women when he
said, “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a
man” (1 Tim. 2:12)?
Allowing a woman to disobey 1 Timothy 2:12 by saying she is doing
so “under the authority of the elders” is setting a dangerous precedent
by saying, in effect, that church leaders can give people permission to
disobey Scripture. It is thus another step on the path toward liberalism.