The Connection Between Evangelism and Gender Issues
Randy Stinson
- Standing for the truth in any area is essential to Christian integrity and gospel witness.
Any position on any issue that clarifies biblical truth in a compelling manner naturally functions as salt and light in our culture. (1 John 5:4) - Living out biblical principles of proper gender relationships demonstrates the wisdom and goodness of God’s design.
Clarifying and living out the truth in the particular area of gender, because it affects everyone, is a central bridge building issue. The biblical understanding of gender is so counter-cultural, it is immediately recognized when believers properly live it out. - The manner in which we love one another demonstrates our position as children of God. (1 John)
This can be clearly seen in the home and church settings as we model the biblical roles that God has decreed and set forth. The accurate and proper modeling of the loving relationship between husbands and wives, in the home, and between men and women in the church is inherently evangelistic as seen in Ephesians 5. Husbands loving their wives as Christ loved the church, and wives graciously submitting to their husbands, demonstrates the gospel to a lost world full of disgruntled and misguided families. This can only be done when the body of Christ has a biblical understanding of gender.
This inspiring combination of servant leadership and gracious submission is also seen in the relationship between children and parents. The structure of the church likewise reflects this beautiful design. - Church planting and evangelism is affected by a proper understanding of gender.
Having a proper structure is one of the keys to a successful church plant. Church planters, faced with minimal human resources are many times tempted to capitulate on this issue and compromise the biblically defined structure of leadership within the newly formed church.
It is incumbent upon all churches to demonstrate and defend the beauty and truthfulness of the Word of God. In this postmodern culture that rejects absolute truth, standing firm on this issue of gender exhibits a belief in the authority and sufficiency of Scripture. Churches that waver on their fidelity to the Word of God are typically less effective in their evangelism. - Pastoral leadership and gender issues affect evangelism.
Pastors who are not equipped to teach or preach on this issue in an effective manner will be left with weak families. Clear teaching is needed to help church members understand how to raise feminine daughters and masculine sons, how men and women are different by design, and how to understand the proper roles in the home and the church based on gender. Weak families make weak churches and weak churches do not evangelize. They cease to be the "city on a hill." As culture presses in on the family and the church in the area of gender, we will lose the very platform for evangelism if a stand is not taken. - The encroachment of theological perversions will continue to erode the family and the church if we do not continue to contend for the truth.
Homosexual revisionism, efforts to rename the Trinity with feminine language, gender inclusive Bible translations, are all perverted by-products of the gender debate. If they go unchecked, then the Church will cease to make an impact and evangelism will be ineffective. Churches that drift toward liberalism almost always lose their evangelistic zeal and strategy. Society is continually producing material that is antagonistic toward a biblical understanding of gender.
The Church cannot sit around and wait for some sort of endorsement from our culture regarding the authority of the Word of God. Nor can she capitulate to cultural demands to violate biblical authority in order to makes its teachings more palatable to society. CBMW is influencing seminary professors, future pastors, current pastors and lay people to live out and enjoy the true beauty of God’s perfect design for men and women in the church and in the home. In order for the church to succeed in evangelizing our culture, we must teach, preach, and perhaps most importantly, live out, a compelling model of the complementary relationships between men and women.
