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| Q: | My question is not so much the role of women in the church as explained in 1 Timothy 2: 11-15, but how do we explain 1 Timothy 2: 9? We take the verses 11- 15 to be literal - but how do we explain verse 9 where it talks about "I also want women to dress modestly, with decency and propriet, not with braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes". How do we explain the braided hair or gold or pearls or expensive clothes when we know women wear these today? In the BIBLE by Brian R. Keller of the People's Bible Teachings, he states on page 183 to "stay with the literal meaning, unless Scripture indicates otherwise". He states, "When our Lord wants us to understand his Word figuratively, he either states explicitly that we are to understand something figuratively, or he makes it clear in the context. | ||||||
| A: | Why shouldn't we apply these verses as a ban against women wearing any colorful clothing or jewelry as some groups like the Amish do? Along with these verses we need to consider also 1 Peter 3:3-5 and Proverbs 31:21,22, 25-30. Literally translated, 1 Peter 3:3 says a Christian woman's beauty should not come from hair styles, jewelry or clothing. This can hardly be understood as a ban on wearing clothes. In the same way the issue in 1 Timothy 3 is not whether women should wear clothes, jewelry or hair styles, but rather what they rely upon as their source of beauty. Examples like the strong woman in Prv 31 and of Sarah in the Old Testament show that physical beauty and the wearing of nice clothes are not incompatible with beautiful Christian character, but the first can never serve as an adequate substitute for the second. The NET reflects the intention of the passage more clearly than the NIV by its rendering, "I want women to dress in decent clothes, modestly and with good judgment. Their adornment is not a matter of attractive hair-styling, gold, pearls or expensive clothing, but of good deeds." What is an appropriate application of the principle set forth in these verses to women today? We are often accused of preaching 1 Timothy 3:11-12, but throwing out verses 9 and 10. Perhaps verses 9 and 10 should be stressed more than they are, but they should be applied not as the Amish apply them, but as the immediate and larger context of Scripture indicates that | ||||||
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