"Why do you call me 'Lord, Lord,' and not do what I tell you? -- Luke 6: 46 (ESV)
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As we delve deeper into the end times there has been a push for simply disobeying the Word of God within His own church and headed up by people who claim to worship Him. It reminds me of the simple yet sad statement Jesus made in our key verse. Why pretend? Why make the spectacle of telling everyone you follow Christ and then simply refuse to do what He has ordained in His Word? For some, the reason is strictly monetary. They make a very rich living off of merchandising the Gospel. They either have no fear of God because they do not believe in Him or they have deceived themselves into thinking their anathema is actually serving Him. One such perfect example is Kris Vallotton. When you read his writings you can see the utter carnality dripping off the pages. As such, you can usually find him on the wrong side of nearly every issue. This week he has decided to teach that God is wrong for deciding that women should not hold positions of teaching or preaching in authority over men. On this matter the Bible cannot be clearer with decisive, direct instructional passages for us to rely upon. Those who wish to subvert the teachings of God will try all sorts of scriptural gymnastics and wild assumptions to avoid what they are clearly instructed to do. Let us reason together beloved and review how Kris Vallotton approaches this subject, linked about.
"In an interview in recent years with America Magazine, the Pope spoke of his concern for women to find their proper role in the Church. He said, "Women are asking deep questions that must be addressed. The Church cannot be herself without the woman and her role." I agree with the Pope. I have an amazing wife, two daughters, a daughter-in-law and three granddaughters that wake up every day to a world of discrimination simply because of their gender. But the most troubling aspect of this oppression is that the Church is often found leading it! Many believers have developed a theology that proactively uses the Bible to disqualify women from the most formidable roles of leadership, especially in the Church. I am appalled by the number of Christian leaders who are convinced that women are not as qualified, called, and/or gifted to lead as men are. The argument for disempowering women is illogical, and unscriptural." -- Kris Vallotton
Kris has a fascination/crush on the Pope but that is the subject for another devotional. The point here is we should not be seeking alignment with the Catholic Church, who has so much doctrine wrong to begin with. Why should we assume that the Pope, who thinks he is the representation Jesus Christ in earth, be correct when assessing the situation of women in the church? Here we also see the first carnal reason why Kris has reached this conclusion. We must ignore Scripture because Kris Vallotton has an amazing wife, two daughters, a daughter in law and three granddaughters? No beloved. Or that because the world engages in gender discrimination we must view God through that same carnal lens? Is it gender discrimination for the Creator to decide he wants one of the genders to take the lead? So allow me to correct Mr. Vallotton. Believers have not developed a theology to disqualify women. God has told us what their role is. Period. By the way, it is not whether they are qualified or gifted! I know women who can preach the paint off the walls! It matters not. This is the same mistake Christians make all of the time when dealing with their carnal abilities. Do you know anyone in church with a good voice that does not feel "called" to the choir ministry (unless they are afraid)? Just because we have the ability to sing does not mean God wants us in the choir. Just because we have great oratorical skills does not mean He wants us to preach. Remember it is words of human wisdom that empty the cross of tis power. This is all from the false teachings of the cult of personality purpose driven church growth paradigms. As for the final two accusations here let me first say that God does not care of something does not add up logically to us. His thoughts are way above ours. When it comes however to His decision regarding women in leadership He tells us why! He says very plainly it is because Eve was deceived and she became the transgressor. Now you may not like that decision but then your problem is with God. As for being unbiblical, let us see if Kris has any clue what he is talking about.
"The stupidity of disempowering women. Let's take a look at the logic (or lack thereof). For instance, if the devil's mission is to kill, steal and destroy, then consider this: men commit more than 80% of all crimes in the world! In America alone, 93% of all prisoners are men, while women commit only .04% of all violent crimes. That's right, men are also responsible for starting most wars, committing the worst atrocities ever chronicled, and have incited nearly ever genocide in the history of the planet. And it was men who put Jesus on the cross. There wasn't a single female involved in the crucifixion! As a matter of fact, Pilate's own wife tried to talk her husband out of crucifying Jesus (Matthew 27:19). Now, don't get me wrong. I am not saying that women are innocent of wrongdoing. NO! I am simply pointing out that, if we look at history and these facts, men are more likely to help the devil carry out his dirty work." -- Kris Vallotton
This has to be some of the stupidest rationales I have ever heard on this subject. So because most of the bad things that occur have happened under male leadership, we ought to forget what God has said and give women a shot? Let us start with the fact that the first scripture reference he makes reveals he is clueless about the Word to begin with:
So Jesus again said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them.I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep. -- John 10: 7-13 (ESV)
Now, in Kris's defense, a lot of preachers get this wrong. Verse ten clearly says that the thief comes to steal kill, and destroy. The final Jeopardy question is who is the thief according to the context? It sure is not the devil. It is in fact the false teacher. It is the hireling. It is Kris Vallotton himself! All he has latched into here is the expected result of the cultural leadership structures being male dominated throughout history. Unlike the world, God allows women to have respected and esteemed roles within the church. She has the same access to the gifts of the Spirit. There is only one thing God has said no to, just like in the garden. You are not to teach or preach with authority over men. Just like in the garden however, the enemy shows her that one thing and tries to convince her that God is just kidding. Then biblically ignorant people like Vallotton come alongside and whisper in her ear about how she deserves everything men have access to. Surely God did not say?
"Disempowering women is unscriptural! Biblically speaking, while ten apostles huddled up in a house trying to save themselves, it was only three women (and John) who stayed at the Cross to comfort Jesus in the dark night of His soul. Although Jesus had been telling His disciples for months that He would be crucified and rise on the third day, it was only two women who visited the tomb on that fateful day. When the women found the tomb empty and encountered excited angels, they ran back to the village to tell the "world-changers" that the stone was rolled away and Jesus was gone. Yet only Peter and John even bothered to see if there was any truth to their story, while the rest of the apostles refused to believe. In spite of all of this, (in the name of the Bible) many Christians still disempower women and relegate them to the back seat of the bus." -- Kris Vallotton
Let us first dispel this silly strawman Vallotton keeps erecting. No one is disempowering women. God has assigned roles. If you feel the role God has ordained for you is somehow too little then I would suggest that it is not God that you worship. Secondly here, did Kris Vallotton just mock the disciples? What is with the quotes around world changers? Did you notice the real problem here beloved? He has not mentioned any scriptures! We have clear instructive scriptures in one hand and Kris Vallotton wants to dismiss them because the women found the empty tomb. Unreal. No mention of the fact that they were going to prepare the body for burial. Instead he wildly assumes that because only Peter and John went to see, that the rest of those lousy men refused to believe. This was supposed to be the big section on how unscriptural this was and he provided zero scriptures. That is odd because at least the majority of those who disagree with God on this subject try to twist scriptures and stories to fit their goals. Kris doesn't even bother.
"Yet even under the Genesis curse, (which placed husbands above wives), Old Testament women were empowered to be prophetesses, judges, queens, and leaders. When Jesus gave His life up on the cross, He became sin for us and thus destroyed the curse that was propagated against us (including the curse that caused husbands to rule wives) in the Garden of Eden. But 2000 years later, much of the Church still has only applied God's redemption to one gender and relegated women to the ball and chain of the Garden tragedy. The fact is that in the last hundred years, many countries of the world have begun to champion women, giving them places of leadership in politics, in business, in education, and in most every realm of society, while much of the Body of Christ won't even allow them to be elders in a church of fifty people. It's appalling and we need to wake up!" -- Kris Vallotton
There is a lot wrong here to unpack but let us start with the fact that male headship was not part of the curse from the Garden. Male headship was decided in the prior chapter, before the fall. The portion from the curse that is likely confusing Kris is:
"I will surely multiply your pain in childbearing; in pain you shall bring forth children. Your desire shall be contrary toyour husband, but he shall rule over you." -- Genesis 3: 16 (ESV)
The curse here is that women will want to usurp the rightful position of authority that men are supposed to hold. The actual curse of Genesis 3 however is salvation is now needed for man. That is the curse Jesus Christ broke on the cross. The argument Kris Vallotton is essentially making is that Christ died on the cross so women could have leadership positions in church. Talk about missing the point! Secondly, one time a woman became a judge and that is the only example of female leadership in the entire 6000 recorded years. That leaves prophetesses, which no one is arguing women cannot be. The reason why is the authority of the prophet is God's not the prophet's themselves. Kris lists queens here and I am unsure why marrying the king is an indication of Christian leadership for him. Third you have to love the drama queen aspect of Kris Vallotton. We are talking about one thing only not being allowed -- having authority over men in teaching and preaching and because of this one thing, it is likened to having a ball and chain around the ankles of women in the church. Get over yourselves. The final point her is the sheer carnality of his defense! So because the world, which is ruled by Satan, has championed women -- the church now should too? Are you serious?
