It is stated that a choice would have to be made, moral and spiritual, and from all I have read I see no solid information telling us that these roles rule outside of church and family. How then can this be made a doctrinal statement? Telling all rightous Christins that a female boss in the work place or in any role above a male outside of church or family is unpleasing to GOD. I may not be expressing myself well, But I see a problem in making a doctrinal statement on something as vague as this.

How should Christians apply the scriptural principles to daily life in their society? This is probably the most difficult question in our study because Scripture discusses the principles only as they apply to Christians. It does not apply the principles to all the people living in a society. This is because in society we are dealing with many people who do not understand or accept the biblical principles. For this reason, we cannot produce a detailed list of rules for applying the principles to daily life in society, but will have to confine ourselves to a number of observations which are intended to guide Christian men and women as they seek to apply the principles in their daily lives.

SOME GENERAL PRINCIPLES

1. Already at the time of creation God established the twin principles that man is responsible for leadership and woman for helping and supporting him. Therefore, these principles remain part of his good will for all people. Although Scripture makes no specific applications of the principle to all people in society, Scripture nowhere limits the application of the principle to marriage and the church. A society which knew and respected God's will would practice the principles in all areas of life, as Israel did. (See the terms as used in 1 Corinthians 11, which are discussed in an earlier chapter.)

2. Since the difference of male and female roles was established at creation, even unbelievers retain some natural knowledge of the God-given difference between male and female roles. As a result, these role distinctions will be reflected in the customs of societies throughout the world. However, since sin has blurred mankind's moral insight, male headship will often be practiced in selfish and harmful ways which do not correspond to God's intention, and women will often resent male headship.

3. Christians are not to force Christian moral standards on non-Christians, but on the basis of the natural knowledge of the law Christian citizens may seek to influence society to practice these principles to as great a degree as possible. This effort includes speaking against the neglect of their proper roles both by men and by women.

4. In a society which suppresses the knowledge of the god-given roles of men and women as ours does, Christians will nevertheless seek to practice these roles as fully as possible also in society, so that they may be a light and salt to society.

5. Important as it is, the principle of male and female roles is not the only principle which governs the life of Christians. When making decisions, we must also consider other principles, such as the need to provide for one's family, the responsibility to be a good steward of the family's property, and the responsibility to oppose evil. At times, when two different principles seem to be in conflict, it may be difficult for a Christian to know which to apply. A Christian will, however, apply one of the two principles and will show his or her acceptance of the other principle in every way possible. For example, a wife whose husband does not want their children to learn God's Word will not follow his lead in this matter, but will continue to show her acceptance of his leadership in other matters. (This point is especially pertainent to your point. Deborah, for example, had a number of factors involved--one was that she was a woman; another was that the men of Israel were not fulfilling their necessary duties.)

6. Since Scripture gives us relatively little guidance in applying these principles in society, we should be slow to pass judgment on the decisions of others concerning gray areas. (A "gray area" is a situation which is not clearly wrong, but which could become sinful depending on the attitude with which it is carried out.)
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Question 3. If women become involved in work outside the home and in civic affairs
and government won't this lead to situations in which the principles will be violated? How should Christians react to this?

Response: The Bible reflects the belief that things are out of order when women take over the leadership of a society (Isaiah 3:12). We see many examples of distortions of the roles of men and women in our world today. In today's workplace many things occur which would not occur if our society was composed of people who knew and respected the principles which God established at creation. This raises a number of dilemmas for Christians, which are not easily resolved.

If a Christian man is placed under a woman ruler or boss who has no regard for the biblical principles, it is not his responsibility to disobey her or force her to desist. If he has the freedom to remove himself from the situation, he may do so.

If a Christian woman through responsibility for her property or needed employment finds herself in a position where she is placed over men, she should try to exercise her responsibility with an attitude and demeanor that shows her respect for the biblical principles and which does not diminish the men's sense of responsibility for leadership. In some jobs which place her over men it would be almost impossible for a Christian women to function without violating the scriptural principles. In other jobs or positions she may be able to operate in a way which shows respect for the biblical principles. If her conscience cannot find peace with her current role and practices, she should find a different way of carrying out her responsibility or she should seek a different position.

4. Aren't there a lot of ambiguous or uncertain areas here?

Response: Yes, but in an imperfect world, in which good values often come into conflict with each other, we cannot escape difficult situations and or avoid times when we are unsure of the best course of actions. In such cases we should carefully weigh the principles and the circumstances, seek the advice of mature Christians, make the best decision we can, trust the outcome to God, and let our conscience be at peace.