At the time the New Testament was being written, there were two primary conflicts. One was the conflict of the Christians with the Roman empire in every place where the local customs or the Roman order conflicted with the truth about who Jesus was. The Roman world was polytheistic, and so the goddess of Ephesus was not necessarily the deity worshipped in Corinth. Tolerance all around. But then the Christians came along saying, as Paul did, that the Creator God was now commanding “all men everywhere to repent” in preparation for the day when Jesus, the Man who rose from the dead, would judge them all (Acts 17:30-31). The gospel caused conflict.
The second primary conflict surrounding Christianity could be found anywhere the gospel encountered a Jewish population of any size. It was difficult for Jewish not to think of the Gentiles as second-class spiritual citizens. After all, the Jews had God’s law handed down to them, and heathens were a late arrival to the worship of the true God. Surely, there was additional spiritual value to fully adopting the culture of Judaism as well.
This second conflict is the background for Galatians 3:28: “There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither bond nor free, there is neither male nor female: for ye are all one in Christ Jesus.” In our time, progressive Christianity has taken this principle and tailored a conflict. They say that the gospel erases the distinction between gender, hierarchy, and ethnicity.
Here is how the argument goes: because a Christian’s fundamental identity is in Christ, there is no longer a distinction between a Christian man and a Christian woman. A believer from any part of the world can be assimilated anywhere there are other believers. You may be able to anticipate where this argument leads. Since the advent of the gospel, there is no room for male headship or female submission. There is no room for national boundaries. There is not even room for anyone with authority to use power or force to compel anyone to obey. The gospel makes everyone equal.
There are several problems with this way of thinking. First, and most obviously, this idea is driven primarily by the current cultural voice, not by Scripture. Perceptive men have frequently pointed out how “convenient” it is that, in a time where boundary lines are frowned on, we find the Bible has always said that too. Do you like democracy? So does God! Are you a feminist? So was Paul! The problem is that liberalized men and women don’t like authority, so they look for justification to avoid submitting to a superior or sacrificing by taking responsibility for others.
A second problem with saying the gospel erases distinctions is that there are commands given to believers that require those distinctions to remain in place. For example, men are to marry women and love the women marry. Wives are to submit to their husbands (Eph. 5:22-33). Pastors, officials that only men qualify to be, are to guide the people they have spiritual care of (1 Pet. 5:1-3), over whom they have genuine authority and leadership (Heb. 13:7, 17). Pastors and deacons both must be qualified (1 Timothy 3:1-13). Those under civil and domestic authority are to submit and obey, even if the person in question is slave to a master (Eph. 6:5-8), and even if the ruler is not democratically elected (1 Pet. 2:17).
A third problem with believing that Galatians 3:28 means that the gospel eliminates levels of authority is that our relationship with Jesus Christ includes many of the hierarchy relationships they want to avoid. The Bible calls us joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17), but that is far from the only office He has. The Lord Jesus is not only our Savior, He is our Head (Col. 1:18), who is to be preeminent, not us. He is our bridegroom (Eph. 5:23-24) and therefore the greatest example of headship and submission in marriage. He is the Chief Shepherd, to who earthly shepherds answer (1 Pet. 5:4). He is our Master, and we are His servants (Gal. 1:10). He is also our King who we obey. The Lord Jesus is decisively superior to us, and He has set up many similar and lesser arrangements in the world that preserve lesser headship and submission, power, and authority.
A fourth problem with thinking the gospel eradicates headship, power, and authority is that, given opportunities to preserve or undermine established order, Scripture instead preserves them. Consider Paul’s counsel in Romans 7:17-24. God has distributed stations of life to individuals, and they should not try to force their situation to change. Gentile believers were not to become circumcised, taking on a Jewish identity; Jews were not to throw away their heritage (7:18). Slaves were not to force their own freedom (7:21). The reason is simple. Because our fundamental status is in Christ, our outward situation does not determine our standing with God. “He that is called in the Lord, being a servant, is the Lord’s freeman: likewise also he that is called, being free, is Christ’s servant” (7:22). This actually frees a person to embrace their sex, nationality, rank, or station in life, knowing that all believers, regardless of where the Lord has placed them in this life, are equal before God. This also means that those who try to tear down distinctions are missing the point; they seem to think God may withhold favor or grant favor on the basis of a person’s power quota.
A fifth and final problem with thinking the gospel as flattening distinctions is that erasing boundaries leads to sinful, harmful consequences. For example, if there is no fundamental difference between men and women, or if all cultural parameters for man and woman are removed, then many sexual perversions are no longer prohibited. The preservation of headship and submission in marriage and family keeps the family intact. The honor and reverence relationships in cultural preempt envy and strife, since each person can know his or her place. God has not given humans the right to erase distinctions He has not only built into the world, but also models for us Himself.
The above article was written by Jonathan Kyser. He is a pastoral assistant at NorthStone Baptist Church in Pensacola, FL. To offer him your feedback, comment below or email us at strengthforlife461@gmail.com.
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