Tuesday, May 8, 2012

She Will Be Saved Through Childbearing

"But she will be saved through childbearing, if she continues in faith, love and holiness, with good sense." -1 Timothy 2:15, HCSB

This verse states that women receive salvation by having children. That is the only verse that I am aware of that specifically says how women are saved.

Also, it appears that having faith in late childbirth will often provide with amazing offspring and salvation all the more. Look at Sarah, Abraham's wife: she waited for a child until she was old, and her son was Isaac. Rebekah: Joesph. Hannah: Samuel. Elizabeth: John the Baptist. So.. girls, wait as long as you can. Have faith that God will provide a child, and through His gracious giving of a child, you'll be saved. The longer you wait, the more likely your child is to be a prophet.

Ok, so that is completely untrue. The way to salvation is not childbearing for women, nor is their faith increased and their possibility of having an amazing prophet increased by waiting until old age.

So, what was the point of that opening? It is an excellent way for us to see the danger of looking at certain verses without the context and truth of the entire Scripture in mind. It is extremely unwise to randomly read verses of Scripture and try to decide their meaning without looking at the rest of the Bible. Just think: if a friend of mine and I can take 1 Timothy 2:15 (which is a difficult verse with many interpretations, one of which [that I most agree with] saying that all women are saved spiritually through the most important birth of time, Christ) and make it into an whole new doctrine of salvation, just think about what else can happen. Almost any verse can be twisted to say similarly crazy things. We must, as rapper Trip Lee says, "keep the Gospel in mind." Every verse in the Bible is meant to come back, somehow, to the cross. All of Scripture is about Jesus and His unfolding plan of salvation to sinners. We must keep that as a focus when reading Scripture.

So, here are a few helpful hints that will help you avoid inventing doctrine or jerking verses out of context:

1. Have a solid study Bible. A good study Bible will have cross-references and study notes to help you see the verse you are reading in the light of other Scripture.

2. Read the passages before and after the verse you are reading. For instance, 1 Timothy 2:13-14 talk about Adam and Eve, and Eve's sin. This, in conjunction with "saved through childbearing" seems to allude to the prophecy in Genesis 3:15, when God told Satan, Adam and Eve that one of Eve's children (Christ) would come and defeat the sin that Eve just started. By reading the passages before and after, you will get a better feel for what the author of the verse is really saying, not just what you think.

3. Keep the Gospel message in mind. If the verse seems to go against another verse that states a Biblical truth, then you probably are not focusing in the true message of the verse. We know that 1 Timothy 2:5-6 states that Christ is a ransom and mediator for all, and Acts 16:14 tells about the conversion of a woman to faith in Christ via God's opening of her heart, not having a kid. There is overwhelming Scriptural evidence that all people, man and woman alike, are saved through faith in God's grace. Thus, my above explanation of 1 Timothy 2:15 is false. We must keep the Gospel at the core of our Bible study, or we remain vulnerable to misinterpretation.