Cheryl

Hey Tiffany,

I am glad that you popped in again. You are right in that all are called to give an answer. You are also right in that not all are given the gift of teaching. The point of my post was for those who are called to teach the bible. For those who are called to doing good in teaching the bible (and teaching the bible in a correct and respectful way is always good), verse 13 & 14 are talking about suffering for the sake of righteousness (for doing what is good). In that context we come to verse 15 since it is a command in amongst verses that are talking about our suffering for doing what is right. Although it is not just about suffering for teaching the truth of God’s word, it certainly encompasses such suffering. If one uses their gift of exhorting and one suffers for using that gift in a godly manner, then this verse can also be used for one who is suffering for doing what is good. You said:

“Whether you believe in women teaching men or not, not all believers have the same gifting and yet vs. 15 is an instruction to all believers and can’t be pertaining to the gift of teaching as such.”

It is a verse specifically about suffering. If ANY believer is suffering for doing what is good or ANY believer is asked to give a reason for the hope that is within him or her, this verse is for them. In this respect it isn’t exclusively about teaching but it does include a woman suffering for the truthful teaching of God’s word. You also said:

“Furthermore, tying in verse 14 (suffering for doing what is right) to women suffering for teaching men assumes that teaching men is right. Suffering for something does not automatically mean that the person is in the right.”

The logic goes this way….if teaching the bible correctly is a godly thing then it cannot be something that is wrong unless scripture specifically tells us that God has a law against women teaching the truth of God’s word. Since there is no such law then we can rightfully assume that it is not wrong for a woman to teach the truth of God’s word to anyone who needs to hear that truth whether they are a woman or a man.

Does this make sense? If it doesn’t then you would need to prove that there is a specific “law” in scripture that forbids godly Christian women from teaching the truth of God’s word to men. This “law” must have the required two or three witnesses and having it listed in any list of “sins” would certainly qualify the list as one of the witnesses.

I hope that helps!