Women Don’t Need Women’s Bible Study
Written By Lindsay Harold on Facebook
Women don’t need “women’s Bible study.” They need Bible study, just like all believers do. Women need doctrine. Women need exhortation. Women need correction. They need these things from the qualified male elders of their church, not emotional fluff marketed to women and taught by another woman.
Women are not a special and different kind of Christian than men. They don’t need their own parallel church just for women. There’s no different set of doctrines for women. There’s no easier, more emotional gospel for women. Women need the same rigorous teaching of God’s word that everyone else needs.
Women do need to be taught the practical matters of loving their husbands, loving their children, being chaste, discreet, and good, and keeping a home. These things they can and should learn from older Christian women. This is not what “women’s Bible study” generally teaches. If that’s what it taught, that would be great. However, these things are best taught one-on-one from a godly older mentor rather than in a class.
What too often happens is that “women’s Bible study” becomes a way for women to avoid the accountability and rigorous teaching of the church elders and set up a women’s church within the church, with what amounts to female elders teaching them scripture. This is not God’s prescription for the church and, not surprisingly, it bears bad fruit.
This is a true saying, if a man desire the office of a bishop, he desireth a good work. A bishop then must be blameless, the husband of one wife, vigilant, sober, of good behaviour, given to hospitality, apt to teach…
1 Timothy 3:1,2
3 thoughts on “Women Don’t Need Women’s Bible Study”
I have a question. What do you believe the Bible says about teaching women the Bible – not a Beth Moore, for example – but opening the Bible and learning the Word of God? Women teaching women. How does one teach Biblical womanhood to another woman without the Bible as the standard and teaching instrument? I teach Women’s Bible study in my church. No men. I don’t use any pre-packaged study (I used to, but learned better). I use my LOGOS Bible software, John MacArthur commentaries and others along this line. I don’t teach in a “women’s felt needs” way; I teach expository style. I am diligent to completely vet any teacher, commentary that I use. I am presently taking online classes on the Institute for Church Leadership (Master’s Seminary and Master’s University) in order to improve and make sure my hermeneutics is good. I plan to attend a Women’s Expository teaching workshop sponsored by G3 Ministries later this Spring. I believe I saw in one post of yours that women need to learn Biblical womanhood from other women, but doctrine from men in the church. Did I get that correct? How do you teach Biblical womanhood without using Biblical doctrine and context?
So, who was Priscilla? What was her role? Her name is mentioned in Acts 18 in talking with Apollos with her husband. The text says “they.” I’m curious as to your interpretation of women teaching women from the Bible.
My desire is to be obedient to the Word of God. I have no desire to go outside of the boundaries of the Bible.
Thank you for your response. Rene’
Hi Rene,
This is the only thing women are biblically qualified to teach women:
“The aged women likewise, that they be in behaviour as becometh holiness, not false accusers, not given to much wine, teachers of good things; That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed.” (Titus 2:3-5)
The reasons women aren’t permitted to teach in the churches is because they are more easily deceived (1 Tim. 2:14).
Who are biblically qualified to teach in the churches? Biblically qualified elders and pastors as clearly stated in 3 Timothy. They are to be men only.
I encourage women to learn the Bible from biblically qualified men at their churches and online. If they have a question, they are to ask their husbands at home.
The last women’s Bible study I attended was so discouraging that I actually left that church. It was a group of aged women discussing aka arguing about what they thought the passages meant…none of those passages being Titus 2 of course. I was a new mom and could’ve really used their help, but judging from the Bible study, I concluded that they had no wisdom worth extracting.
Women’s Bible studies are only here today because women are not busy as they should be with their children and grandchildren. The natural teaching of women does not occur in the halls of a building at a set time, but it occurs in the kitchen as mother and daughter cook together. It occurs by the sewing machine where Grandmother helps her granddaughter alter her clothes. Women with many young children have to make an enormous effort to make it to church and to weekly prayer meetings. It is not the desire of busy full-time mothers to fill up their schedules with things such as women’s Bible studies, but to keep their children healthy, clean and polite at church every week. For most families it is a struggle to gather together daily and open the Word of God!
How should older women teach the younger women? I believe it is by meeting them in their homes and helping them out firsthand, not by setting up a date and expecting mothers with young children to gather together somewhere early in the morning! I have noticed that very few young mothers attend these meetings, it is difficult. My own mother was unable to participate in these for many years because she had multiple children (including boys!) and she was a stay-at-home mother who homeschooled. Was she supposed to get a babysitter? Mothers should take their young daughters and sons to visit the homes of the elderly shut-ins.
There is so much you can learn from these Christians! And women should strive most importantly to have dinner ready and their children neat and clean every evening so that Father can open the Word of God before them. I see Women’s Bible studies as something that only occurs when women have lots of time on their hands. I think older women need to be more focused on individually reaching out to the younger women. I know that when I am retired, I will ask young women and girls to come to my house for tea, or to go to the farmer’s market with me, and to run errands for those who have needs. Along the way I will pray with them, and exhort them in the Word of God. Older women should focus on cultivating deeper and more personal friendships with the younger women.
This is so good, Mabella, and I agree with you wholeheartedly!!!