The Covering for the Woman's Head

Some students wore hats in our services. Some were from Holland and others came from similar congregations where all the women wear hats. Another student was convicted by this and began to raise the subject with her friends and finally came to me. ‘You say you believe the Bible, but here is plain teaching in 1 Corinthians 11:5 and you and the congregation ignore it. Why is this? You are not consistent.’ What did I tell her?

If I preached and told the women to wear hats none of them would do so. There is not a single one of them who is wearing a hat now. They are not going to turn up the following Sunday to my exhortation with hats that they have retrieved from their wardrobes or gone out to purchase. I would have turned half the congregation into guilty unhappy people. I do not want to be the kind of minister who tells the congregation ‘Wear hats,’ and immediately they do that or they are disciplined for not doing so. Such ministers are cult leaders.

There are far greater priorities I would want for the entire congregation than that the women wear hats. I would want many of them to come to the mid-week meeting. I would want them to love their neighbours as themselves, to turn the other cheek, to be more prayerful and forgiving, to display evangelistic zeal, to be faithful in personal devotional exercises. Wearing hats is way down my list of exhortations.

It is a great challenge to us to be seen to maintain in the congregation the headship of men. We do so by having just men as elders and deacons, men making the announcements, welcoming people at the doors, giving out the bread and wine at the communion, and the men taking the lead and praying in the Prayer Meeting. For this to be appreciated and supported is an achievement, while insisting on hats being worn by the women would detract from that.  Continue at Puritan Rising

The Christ of the Prophets

Robertson explains that the call of the prophets involved the mediation of God’s Word to God’s people. They were not to bring their own message. He also provides a helpful explanation of the criteria for distinguishing between true and false prophets. In two of the most important chapters of the book, Robertson explains how the biblical covenants and the Mosaic law are related to prophecy, showing that the prophets were sent to remind the people of their covenant obligations to the Law and to warn them of the consequences of disobedience. The prophets were covenant prosecutors, calling the people to faith and obedience.

Having established the nature of prophecy and the calling of the prophets themselves, Robertson turns to look at the historical setting of the prophets. He notes that the contents of the prophetic books centered primarily on two events of enormous significance in Israel’s history: the exile and the restoration. In chapter 8, Robertson examines the messages of those prophets who ministered in the eighth century B.C., namely, Hosea, Amos, Micah, Isaiah, and Jonah (The dating of the ministries of Joel and Obadiah are uncertain, but Robertson concludes that they were both eighth-century prophets and discusses them in this chapter). Chapter 9 is devoted to the prophets who ministered during the seventh century B.C. Here he looks at the writings of Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, and Jeremiah. Read the rest HERE

A Culture of Death

OUR MOST CRITICAL NEED...from the firey pen of A.W. Tozer