“Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness. I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet. For Adam was formed first, then Eve; and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor. Yet she will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.”
Gender battles are an integral part of the social landscape today. Beginning early in the last century and continuing to this day, a crescendo of strident voices sought to convince women that they were oppressed. Because they were said to be oppressed, they were encouraged to unite together with their sisters to cast off the bondage of patriarchal slavery. Bra burning during the sixties has given way to political action groups today. The pendulum appears to be swinging in the opposite direction today, however. The current hot, political trend is for men to organise into political groups, their express intention being the assertion of masculine rights in contrast to feminine rights.
Some have suggested that among the churches, there are three genders—male, female and clergy. Tragically, that assertion may be accurate. Like contemporary politics, the modern pulpit appears to be overly sensitive to women’s issues, rather than addressing the human condition. Pastors are trained to be cautious rather than bold, and rather than equipping parishioners to confront the great issues facing them by a bold pursuit of the truth, churches are more concerned with training adherents to bury their heads in the bottom of a tissue box. In the process of empowering women, the modern pulpit has destroyed male leadership in the home. Having done this, we are surprised that men now attend church disguised as empty pews.
It is tragic enough when gender battles are ongoing in society—ultimately they affect each of us. If gender fights in society have such tragic consequences, consider what must happen when these same issues invade the Body of Christ. Women within the evangelical community vociferously voice the complaint that they are excluded from power within the churches. They insist they will assume a place even as overseers in the Body of Christ. In exercising this drive for power it is necessary to dismiss the history of the churches; it has become necessary to explain away the writings of the Apostles and even the words of Jesus. Assumed rights and feelings have replaced human responsibility and divine revelation. Even Bibles are rewritten to ensure that masculine pronouns are removed so as not to offend women. Men respond by ignoring the churches while forming their own religious events consisting of sporting events, shared experiences in dangerous situations and the camaraderie of the bar.
What cannot be explained away is the fact that in the churches, Christ and His Word must prevail, leading us to peace. Instead of leading society, the churches of this day are more often led by society. Instead of being the moral conscience for society, the churches of this day exalt the most strident voices as conscience for the Body of Christ. Brothers and sisters, this ought not to be. To fail to heed the instruction of the Word is to ensure that we shall not long continue as a force against the darkness of this world. Listen, then, to the Word of God that together we may learn what God has to say about gender and leadership in His church.
THE PRINCIPLE — “Let a woman learn quietly with all submissiveness.” The verse before us makes no reference to ability, but rather it speaks of the attitude which should be exhibited among women of God. The passage says nothing concerning the worth or merit of either gender. Neither does this statement infer that women are inferior in intellect, in spiritual perspicuity or in capability. We have already established that before God both male and female have now received the full rights of sons. Each alike has already received divine adoption permitting access to the Father and ensuring each a place in God’s family. Women are not proscribed either from praying or from testifying in the services of the church, though they are taught to demonstrate propriety and a submissive spirit—exhibited first toward their own husbands.
It would be a dreadful error for anyone to infer from these words that women have no ministry within a church. We have already demonstrated that women have received a vital ministry which is to a tragic extent neglected or ignored in this day. Older women are responsible to teach younger women in the church—a ministry which no conscientious pastor dare undertake without exposure to serious consequence. Women are to teach their own children and they are encouraged to teach other children. Women are encouraged to glorify God through sharing in the teaching of “psalms and hymns and spiritual songs” [COLOSSIANS 3:16]. Among the early churches, women even baptised other women—a practise that has fallen into disuse in this day. In society, women are encouraged to witness to the grace of God, endeavouring to turn family, friends and neighbours to faith in the Risen Lord.
If someone contends that women are excluded from leadership, the implication lingering that women are excluded from power and decision-making, I remind you that each Christian is to aspire to serve … not to lead! That individual who would be a true leader of God’s people must be the servant of all. Jesus has taught us, “If anyone would be first, he must be last of all and servant of all” [MARK 9:35]. Later, the Master makes the case for voluntary servanthood stronger still. “Whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” [MARK 10:43-45]. Let women who think they are kept from power weigh this thought, even as men who are prone to abuse the responsibility of occupying the position of a pastor/teacher must also confront this truth.
The issue before us is as simple as the pronouncement of the Word of God which we must either embrace as His revealed will for us or reject as culturally bound and thus irrelevant. The challenge facing us is nothing less than that of submission to the revealed will of God; the issue is whether we will be holy and separated to the will of God or whether we will be fleshly and surrendered to our own febrile imaginations.
Remember that the whole of this chapter focuses on the church at worship. Restating the principle, a woman is to exhibit a spirit of gentleness and submission … especially in worship. When the Apostle writes of “a woman” [singular] he sets forth a principle embracing all women and not married women only. The principle is binding, then, on all Christian women—married, single, formerly married or never married.
The second point emphasised by this principle is that a woman should learn … and not teach. Clearly the Apostle says nothing at this point about women as teachers, but he does say clearly that women are responsible to learn. All Christians are to grow, and especially would we expect growth “in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ” [2 PETER 3:18]. Paul’s words are not an excuse for men to cease growing, but his attention is focused on women at worship. Clearly, in the view of the Apostle, women are expected to learn.
The manner in which a woman should learn is “quietly with all submissiveness.” There is nothing in this statement that we haven’t already discovered in the manner of life expected of all Christian women. A wife is to be submissive to her own husband. Such an attitude of gracious, voluntary submission honours Christ and is considered a virtue before Him. In fact, to refuse to be subject to one’s husband is sinful. Just so, an unmarried woman is to reveal a submissive spirit toward the leadership God has appointed in the church.
THE PROHIBITION — “I do not permit a woman to teach or to exercise authority over a man; rather, she is to remain quiet.” Bear in mind that we are considering the church at worship. The instructions deal with the people of God assembled as a congregation. Simply stated, a woman is permitted neither to occupy the office of a teacher nor to wield authority in a pastoral capacity over men. This prohibition is clearly based upon the principle previously stated.
One scholar addresses this particular issue in this manner. “The permission for a woman to ‘learn’ is contrasted with the proscription for them ‘to teach,’ while ‘all submissiveness’ is paired with ‘not exercising authority over a man.’ The submission in view, then, [should be understood to be toward] men, since verse twelve bans women from exercising authority over men… Women are to learn with all submissiveness from the men who had authority in the church and manifested that authority through their teaching.
Years ago, J. B. Phillips produced a masterful translation of the New Testament; he translates the TWELFTH VERSE as follows. “I don’t allow women to teach, nor do I ever put them in positions of authority over men—I believe their role is to be receptive.” The principle states that “a woman should learn in quietness and submission.” We would thus infer that this divine command reflects her position in the home as well as her role in the church. A submissive spirit honours the Lord; this is especially true when exhibited in the life of a Christian woman.
Tragically, many appear to misunderstand what a submissive spirit entails; but it assuredly does not require that a woman be a doormat. No woman should ever tolerate threats or abuse, nor does Paul’s teaching imply that a woman should accept such any such abuse. Likewise, a submissive spirit does not preclude thinking or holding an opinion. A Christian husband is responsible to consider his wife’s view and to treat her with consideration; and that means that he must solicit her views and give due consideration to her needs and to her desires within the family as he exercises his divinely assigned responsibility as a husband. A submissive spirit does mean, however, that the husband must ultimately bear responsibility for the direction of the family and for the decisions made in the home. He bears responsibility for the decisions of the family, whether he personally made those decisions or merely approves them.
Similarly, in the church, a submissive spirit recognises that Christ the Lord is ultimately responsible for the direction of the church and for decisions made by the congregation. The Master has, for reasons which shall shortly be addressed, chosen to assign that responsibility to those whom He appoints to serve as overseers. Those whom He has chosen cannot be female according to His own Word; rather, they must be male. In 1 TIMOTHY 3:2 we are commanded that the overseer must be a “one-woman man” [literal translation of mâs gunikòs ándra]. Specifically, the overseer of a congregation must be a male. On the basis of this verse alone, women are excluded from consideration as overseers, elders or pastors.
As a vital aside, the terms overseer, elder and pastor each refer to the same office in the church. Peter employs all three terms interchangeably within a few brief sentences. “I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock” [1 PETER 5:1-3]. Peter’s words were addressed to the “elders” with Peter presenting himself as “a fellow elder.” The elders are to shepherd [poimaíno—pastor] “the flock of God.” The manner in which elders accomplish this apostolic charge is through “exercising oversight.” Thus the terms “elder,” “overseer” (or bishop) and “pastor” are used interchangeably in the New Testament, unlike the situation in many denominations today. Pastor refers to the work God assigns. Elder refers to the dignity which should attend the office. Overseer speaks of the responsibility with which God’s man is charged.
In the text we have discovered that two actions are forbidden for a woman by this text: teaching and exercising authority over a man. Although women can, and should, learn, they are not permitted to teach. The teaching which is in view entails the authoritative and public transmission of tradition about Christ and the Scriptures. This teaching is what we would commonly recognise as preaching. That this is the case becomes evident from consideration of a variety of verses in the New Testament. Among such verses are 1 CORINTHIANS 12:28, 29. “God has appointed in the church first apostles, second prophets, third teachers…” EPHESIANS 4:11 presents the same information concerning the fact that Paul is speaking of public office and public duties. “[The ascended Christ] gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, he shepherds and teachers.” In addition to the passages just cited, 2 TIMOTHY 3:16 and JAMES 3:1 also support the position that church office is in view.
Later, Paul will encourage Timothy to devote himself to, among other duties, “teaching” [1 TIMOTHY 4:13; cf. 1 TIMOTHY 4:16] as part of his pastoral responsibility. This same emphasis on the necessity of elders bearing responsibility to teach is discovered through reading such passages as 1 TIMOTHY 6:2; 2 TIMOTHY 4:2; and TITUS 2:7. Elders are charged to labour in preaching and in teaching [1 TIMOTHY 5:17]; they fulfil this responsibility so that they can refute false teachers who advance heresy [1 TIMOTHY 1:3; 4:1; 6:3; 2 TIMOTHY 4:3; TITUS 1:9, 11].
Again, let me emphasise that women are not proscribed from teaching other women or from teaching children. A woman may testify (i.e. prophesy); she may witness to the grace of God; and she may urge others to believe on Christ the Lord. However, it must be understood that no woman may fulfil the revealed will of God and yet function in the role of a pastor, elder or overseer. Underscore in your mind this truth, a truth that is under assault in this day, the assault mounted by the professed leaders of God’s holy people—women are prohibited from the function of public and authoritative teaching of men.
This biblical proscription to female leadership in the church—especially leadership in the role of an elder—is strengthened by Paul’s earlier expression that he desired that “in every place the men should pray, lifting holy hands” [VERSE EIGHT]. The word “men” is preceded by the definite article in the Greek text. Paul means that “the men,” as opposed to the women, should conduct public worship. The contrast noted between ándras in VERSE EIGHT and gunaîkas in VERSE TWELVE shows that the former refers to males.
I would not wish any women to become offended and cease to serve the Lord. Some women may initially react in choler. “If I can’t preach,” they may assert, “then I can’t speak at all.” They misconstrue the latter clause of the verse. When Paul says women must be silent, we know that he is not prohibiting women from praying, because he has already given instructions for their participation in prayer [1 CORINTHIANS 11:3-10]. Similarly, he has encouraged prophecy, equivalent to what we today speak of as testimony meetings or sharing that which God has revealed through devotions and meditation. The realm in which women must be silent is solely that of authoritative teaching. Nevertheless, it should be evident that if a woman cannot, by divine decree, preach, then neither should the churches consider ordination for that woman.
THE PURPOSE — “Adam was formed first, then Eve, and Adam was not deceived, but the woman was deceived and became a transgressor.” Why would God make what appears in the estimate of many today to be an arbitrary ruling based on sex? Why should He seem to give freedom with one hand and appear to take away freedom with the other? Paul appeals first to the created order. Referring to the account of the creation of man and woman in GENESIS 2, Paul concluded that the order in which Adam and Ever were created signalled an important difference in the respective roles for men and women.
This distinction looms large in the thinking of the Apostle; this is not the only time he has appealed to this priority in created order. You may remember a reference in the First Corinthian Letter: “Man was not made from woman, but woman from man. Neither was man created for woman, but woman for man” [1 CORINTHIANS 11:8, 9]. It is a modern, democratic, Western notion that diverse functions suggest distinctions in worth between men and women. Paul presents the case that men and women are equal in person, equal in dignity and equal in value; but he also taught that women have a role that is distinct from the role expected of men. Those who argue otherwise are attempting to impose a foreign view on the revealed Word of God. Before God, differences in role and function do not preclude equality of persons.
In order to strengthen the prohibition against women occupying an authoritative teaching position within the church by appealing to the created order, the Apostle additionally includes the fact that Eve was deceived. He appeals to the account of the Fall which is recorded in GENESIS 3. When the LORD God confronted Eve He asked her, “What is this you have done?” She replied, “The serpent deceived me” [GENESIS 3:13]. Both in the Genesis text and in the text before us this day, the emphasis is on what transpired in Eve’s heart … deception! Neither can you deduce that Eve was at a disadvantage because she was uninstructed. Again, the emphasis is on the fact that she was deceived. Her deception is not attributed to her lack of education. Eve was deceived, not because of intellectual deficiency, but because of moral failing. Let that thought sink in—Eve was deceived, and the root of her deception was not intellectual deficiency; rather, the root of her deception was moral failing.
The emphasis of the Genesis account is not upon Eve as a sinner, however. She was a sinner, but Adam’s sin of rebellion (choosing to follow the woman instead of leading her) plunged the race into sin. In approaching Eve the serpent subverted the pattern of male leadership and interacted only with Eve during the temptation. Though Adam clearly appears to have been present throughout the exchange, he did not intervene. The Genesis temptation, then, is a parable of what happens when male leadership is abrogated. Eve took the initiative in responding to the serpent … and Adam permitted her to do so! The appeal to GENESIS 3 serves to remind us what happens when God’s ordained pattern is ignored or undermined.
Thomas Schreiner points out an important issue which should not be overlooked. “Generally speaking, women are more relational and nurturing and men are more given to rational analysis and objectivity. Women are less prone than men to see the importance of doctrinal formulation, especially when it comes to the issue of identifying heresy and making a stand for the truth. Appointing women to the teaching office is prohibited because they are less likely to draw a line on doctrinal non-negotiables, and thus deception and false teaching will more easily enter the church.”
Women are not intellectually inferior, or Paul would not have permitted them to teach other women and children. Neither do women have less worth in the sight of God—Christ gave His life for women as well as for men. What does appear to concern the Apostle are the consequences of allowing women to occupy the authoritative teaching office because their kinder, gentler nature inhibits them from excluding people for doctrinal error. Women are prohibited from the teaching office, then, not only because of the order of creation but also because they are less likely to preserve the apostolic tradition if permitted to inhabit the office.
THE PRONOUNCEMENT — “[Women] will be saved through childbearing—if they continue in faith and love and holiness, with self-control.” For the sake of completeness, we must consider this FIFTEENTH VERSE. I haven’t time to consider all the varied thoughts which have been advanced to explain it; it must suffice for me to present what the verse does clearly say.
Childbearing is a synecdoche which cannot be understood to imply that believing women will never experience harm during childbirth. Godly women have died during childbirth in years past. Though it is true that our Lord is “the Seed of the Woman” promised in the protoevangelium, the Apostle makes no reference to the birth of the Messiah in these verses. Neither does he say that women must bear children in order to be saved, for that would be a good work and unnecessary for salvation. He assuredly does not imply that good works are necessary for a woman’s salvation. He does, however, say that women who have been saved are expected to practise good works as an expression of changed lives.
The reference to “self-control” looks back to the same word in VERSE NINE. The word also functions to tie the entire text together. One indication that women are in their proper role is that they do not reject bearing children as evil, but bear children in keeping with their proper role. The virtues described are evidence that salvation is genuine. The genuine nature of salvation for a woman is indicated by the fact that she lives a godly life which conforms to her God-ordained role. Such submissive views are one indication that she belongs to the redeemed community. These words are a reminder that a woman’s deepest satisfaction comes from her accomplishments in a Christian home. Paul here teaches that women prove the reality of their salvation when they become model wives and mothers whose good deeds include marriage and raising children. His comments assume that motherhood is a divinely appointed role to which women should aspire.
Our problem with this text is not primarily exegetical; it is rather practical. What Paul says is contrary to modern points of view. We are confronted with what is in our culture an alien and a shocking teaching from Scripture causing us to recoil. This Word should modify and correct both our thinking and our behaviour. Instead, many of us have determined to rationalise how we can make the Word conform to our thinking and behaviour. Thus, we witness the push among the churches of this day to promote women to the pastoral role.
In its views on the issue of women’s roles, in recent years Christendom in the west has followed the world’s lead instead of exercising godly leadership in this issue. For over 1,900 years evangelical churches were united in presenting the biblical view that God sets out so very clearly in the text reviewed—that men are appointed to lead in the church. One brilliant observer of the gender battles has written, “The feminisation of the church followed the first steps to feminise North American society in the 1960s and 1970s. Conservative evangelical Christians are not unaffected by feminism. Many of them view the philosophy of feminism as a valid adjunct to their faith. They believe that the basic tenets of feminism are supported by the Bible and that feminism can naturally, easily and homogeneously be combined with Christianity… They believe in the Bible, but also believe in feminism.”
The tragedy of this retrograde thinking is that we call into question the veracity of the Word of God and we no longer have a sure foundation on which to base our Faith. God’s Word, for us, is neither inerrant nor infallible. It is instead liable to error and thus unreliable. If the Word of God is in error on this point, then we cannot be certain that it has not presented error on any other point. If Paul wrote his opinion and that opinion was culture-bound, how do we know that anything he wrote is not similarly contaminated?
If that which Paul has written is tainted by his cultural views, then the whole of the Word is potentially contaminated by the same deadly uncertainty. Paul has said in a similar context: “As in all the churches of the saints, the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church.” [1 CORINTHIANS 14:33b-35].
Peter, likewise, addressed this issue of gender roles in the church. “Do not let your adorning be external—the braiding of hair and the putting on of gold jewelry, or the clothing you wear— but let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God’s sight is very precious. For this is how the holy women who hoped in God used to adorn themselves, by submitting to their own husbands, as Sarah obeyed Abraham, calling him lord. And you are her children, if you do good and do not fear anything that is frightening.” [1 PETER 3:3-6].
Society has changed markedly in the past four or five decades. A revolution has occurred and there is no turning back, though adjustments need to be made. Both genders have sinned grievously against the other. Divorce rates more than doubled from 1970 to 1980 and sexual infidelity accompanying the breakdown of marriages accelerated in a corresponding fashion. Parents sin against children as they each pursue their right to be. Adult women are adversely affected economically, but in other critical areas as well. Between 1980 and the end of 1992 the number of women in federal prisons in the United States increased 275 percent. Women have gained great freedom—but at what price? “The determining factor [of women’s increasing social plight] is social, not economic: the weakening tie between men and women as a result of the increasing incidence of childbearing out of wedlock (whether by teenagers or by adults), divorce, and the growing likelihood that women will become widows.”
Yet somehow the implicit assumption has been and continues to be that changes in society require parallel changes in the church. Nowhere has this been truer than in the area of biblical teaching on sex and gender roles. All that I have said addresses only the situation in the church and in the Christian home. I have made no pronouncement concerning the role and function of women in society. That is not my place as a preacher of the Word, though I do hold to the view that were society to reflect a Christian worldview many of the problems I cited would be effectively and swiftly addressed.
The feminisation of society has created grave hardship for both men and women. Spencer Perkins, with an eye to the African American inner-city scene, has commented: “After three decades of civil rights laws, wars on poverty and drugs, and billions of dollars in urban programs we have not fewer but more dead young Black men, more babies born out of wedlock, and an overall decrease in the quality of life in our inner cities. And still we have been unwilling to look at the obvious connection between family break down and the growing instability of our cities.” Just so, the feminisation of the church has not made the plight of women in the church better, but it has ensured that the divide between the genders is exaggerated and that Christ ceases to be a consideration in our service to Him.
The following article appeared in a RELIGION TODAY news item over a decade ago. “The feminisation of mainstream Christianity continues to drive men from the pews, Leon Podles, author of ‘The Church Impotent,’ said. As men leave, women are assuming leadership roles, putting greater emphasis on feminine themes. ‘It’s no longer politically correct to think of God as Father. So we come up with metaphors for God that is feminine or neutered. Men feel uncomfortable with that,’ Catholic writer Mitch Finley said.
“...Of [America’s] 94 million men, only 26 million attend services regularly, and some researchers say the number may be as low as 13 million, The Washington Times said. American men ‘are one of the massive pagan subcultures on earth today,’ a Barna Research Group report said.
“...A lot of men are driven away by sentimental sermons about ‘falling in love with Jesus,’ Podles said. Most men want to hear about the Jesus ‘with lines on his face, blisters on his hands, and bruises on his knuckles helping me to fight temptation,’ who ‘commanded the respect of Peter the fisherman,’ Promise Keepers spokesman Steve Chavis said.”
I cite this article to point out the precarious situation in which churches stand today. Men have failed to learn, ceasing to grow. No doubt women have taken greater responsibility for the continuance of the Faith, but in the clear pronouncements of the Word of God they find no comfort for assuming such roles, and certainly they find no warrant for taking the reins of authority in the Pauline letters. As one voice has stated, we are fools if we depend on the same people that got us into the mess to get us out of it.
Some who have listened to me this day have had beliefs confirmed. Perhaps some have been confirmed in their prejudice. Should that be the case I apologise, for we should never fear confronting the truth. No doubt some of you have been challenged to rethink positions you hold and at this moment you are reeling in confusion. It is not my intention to injure any among us, though I am unapologetic that I am endeavouring to “destroy strongholds,” to “destroy arguments and every lofty opinion raised against the knowledge of God” taking “every thought captive to obey Christ [cf. 2 CORINTHIANS 10:4, 5].
It is possible that some are angry because of the message delivered today. If you are angry I would only ask you, “Have I then become your enemy by telling you the truth” [GALATIANS 4:16]? More than anything I want you to reflect the glory of God as a congregation and as individuals. I can assure you on the authority of God’s Word that you shall never do so until you submit to His clearly revealed will. Though you may enjoy a measure of His grace and though you may know something of His great love, if you know what is right and yet refuse to act righteously, how can you please God?
Some who are angry must surely know that their sense of outrage flows from the fact that they are thoroughly identified with this dying world. You may be religious, or perhaps religion is unimportant to you. Religious or irreligious, without Christ reigning over your life you are lost. Perhaps your case is such that you do not know Christ nor do you know what it is to be free of condemnation before Holy God; you are unsaved, without God and without hope in the world. To any such who share in this service this day my plea is that you would set aside all that I might have said to this point in order to recall this one great truth: Christ the Lord died because of your sin.
The Word of God boldly promises all who will heed what is written, “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:17-21].
If you don’t know what these words mean but you find your heart strangely moved to discover more, won’t you speak with me or with any Christian following this service. As you speak with that Christian, consider these words from the Apostle. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. For the Scripture says, ‘Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.’ For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For ‘everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved’” [ROMANS 10:9-13]. Amen.
