The Right Kind Of Strong By Mary KassianНамуна

As I am sure you have noticed, there is enormous pressure for Christians to modernize the church’s historic teaching on morality, marriage, gender, the meaning of sin and salvation, the judgment, wrath, and mercy of God, and the reality of hell. And this push isn’t primarily coming from outside the church. It’s coming from within. 

In recent times we’ve witnessed the rise of numerous popular Christian teachers who have departed from truth, taking scores of loyal fans with them.

These teachers started out by questioning whether the things the church traditionally called wrong might actually be right. They appealed to new and alternate interpretations of the Bible to support their ideas. They claimed that they were the actual defenders of truth, while those who clung to old ways were steeped in falsehood. This is nothing new.

When it comes to the truth of God, there have always been “those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter!” (Isaiah 5:20). What is new, however, is the sheer volume of Christian teachings we need to sift through. There are so many voices, and so much controversy and discussion, that it’s hard to figure out who is telling the truth and who is not. It can get really confusing. . . .

Many women don’t believe that what they read in the Bible is good and healthy. In our culture we are constantly exposed to the message that the teaching we find in the Bible is not good for women, and is, in fact, harmful. Some argue, for example, that it is toxic to exhort women to cherish purity, modesty, a gentle and quiet demeanor, a heart for the home, femininity, and especially (horror of horrors) a submissive spirit. Many voices tell us that we need to add a scoop of feminist ideology to our doctrinal buckets.

I disagree.

I believe that the Bible is the Word of Truth, and that it is what will truly heal our pain and brokenness and set us free. Scripture—and Scripture alone, without other ideological contaminants—is the most wholesome, life-giving, and life-sustaining teaching that women can embrace. Nothing else has the power to save or the power to change.