Matt Chandler - The Complementary Roles of Men and Women

Well, good morning! How are you doing? Alright, alright. If you have your Bibles, go ahead and grab those; we are going to be in Genesis chapter 1. We are in the back half of our Fall Series, and this back half has focused on the distinctives of the Village Church. When we use the word «distinctives,» here’s what we’re talking аbout: there are some things that one must believe doctrinally speaking; there are some things that one must believe in both head and heart that would make one a Christian. Then there are these other things that Christians who believe this kind of closed-hand theology will differ on while still being brothers and sisters. You’re tracking with me?

We started doing that three or four weeks ago when we began discussing where the Village Church lands when it comes to baptism and the Lord’s Supper. We believe in believers' baptism via immersion, which means you get baptized after you become a Christian. We also believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Lord’s Supper, which means we don’t subscribe to transubstantiation; we don’t believe that the bread literally turns into the body, but we genuinely believe that the presence of Jesus is among his people while we celebrate the Lord’s Supper.

There are all sorts of people who disagree with us on that. Our beloved brothers and sisters in Christ, like Methodists, disagree with us on baptism on that front. Anglicans, and even our Presbyterian brothers, would look at that and say we’re wrong, and I’m here saying, «No, you’re wrong!» They say, «No, you’re wrong!» And when we get to heaven, we will accept their apology. Alright, that was uncalled for, right? So that would be a space where there’s disagreement, but Jesus is Lord. He’s the Savior of our sins; he is the only means of grace that makes us right before God. We’re just going to disagree on this and that’s okay! It’s just okay, right? They’re not heretics; I don’t need to villainize them. I just think they’re wrong, and they think I’m wrong. I’ve got dear friends who would strongly reject everything I’ve just said, and that’s fine because I would strongly reject everything they are saying about those subjects.

Then, in week two, we talked about the electing love of God and the confidence that should ensue in the heart of a believer when they understand that God’s love for us isn’t built on our merit but on his generosity alone. That is a stunning truth! Once again, all over the landscape of evangelicalism — although I’m really starting to dislike that word; it’s such a junk drawer, nonsense term — there are all sorts of people who just have to know that this is not the way it works; this is how it works. It’s fun! I think they are wrong, and they think we are wrong, and that’s okay.

However, I’m responsible for shepherding you, not for shepherding evangelicalism, so I’m trying to love us well and align us with the Word of God. Last week, JT English did a masterful job of teaching on the inerrancy and sufficiency of God’s Word. Our flag is in the ground; we believe the Bible, and we know what that means when we say that. We know the outside world is going to look at us like weirdos; we just know it. Right? You believe what? How backwoods and bigoted are you to believe those things? We just know that’s coming, and we will endure it as we are the people of God who submit to the Word of God as the inerrant, sufficient word given to us by God for the formation of our hearts and the invitation into life.

All the while, we also acknowledge that the Word of God doesn’t just create tension outside the church walls, but inside them as well. This is where the Bible says it corrects and rebukes; who is that happening to? It’s happening to us! So even as Christians, the Bible will put its weight on us and reveal just how much we have been discipled by the world. This is one of the things the Bible does: it shows us, «Hey, you’re actually not taking your cues from me; you’re taking your cues from the world you’ve been discipled by.» Right?

This is truly a distinctive that shapes all of our other distinctives. We’ve got two left in this series, then we’re going to roll into Advent, which is kind of blowing my mind! We’ve got this week, which is complementarianism — where the Village Church lands regarding our view of the role of women in the church and home — and next week we’ll talk about the sign gifts of the Holy Spirit. So I know you’ll be excited about that one: the sign gifts, the gifts of the Holy Spirit. We’re going to talk about that next weekend, and then from there, we’ll be moving towards Advent.

When you teach on complementarianism, here’s what you can expect: many of you are going to think my last name should be Cleaver by the time we’re done today, and others of you will say, «I knew you’d finally go liberal! I just knew it! As soon as I saw him wearing blue jeans, I knew eventually that dude was going to be baptizing cats!» So, you’re like, «I’m just confident enough to trust the Word of God and land where it lands,» but I want you to understand why it’s just a confusing day. So really, when we think about…