Matthew Henry has possibly one of the best overviews ever of 1 Thessalonians 5:21, IMHO.
He makes it very clear we are never to obey authorities without first checking to be sure the authorities are correct scripturally. It gives me no pleasure to relate that many churches’ teaching on women teaching is unscriptural. Women are not equal with men. Anyone who doesn’t understand this only needs to examine men’s and women’s anatomy. Our bodies, brains, emotions, and spheres designed by God are completely different. To be fair, women in Stanton are among the best women on earth. However, Solomon was right when he said in Ecclesiastes 10:1, “Dead flies cause the ointment of the apothecary to send forth a stinking savour: so doth a little folly him that is in reputation for wisdom and honor.”. Though the women in Stanton do a marvelous job having all the children they can have, obeying their husbands, mostly, staying faithful to their husbands, keeping a clean house, babysitting, teaching kids classes, being frugal with money, keeping up their exercise, teaching ladies classes, yet, this error of publicly teaching men negates SO much good!!!
Examining what has happened to me when I stated women teaching men and sharing publicly in Bible Classes with men present is unscriptural, and this same adverse treatment happened to the other men who started this truth, you begin to understand why Adam went along with Eve’s deception in the Garden. A woman who refuses to obey plain scriptural commands is extraordinarily difficult to be reasoned with. Solomon didn’t beat around the bush; he called them “brawling women.”
Women are very good at being subtle when they don’t get their way and pretending that it’s your fault. I’m being made out to be this terrible sexist man who wants to put masking tape over all the women’s mouths simply because I repeated what the Christian Church has been doing for…wait for it…One thousand nine hundred and sixty years!!!!!
Do we really think Merie magically found a truth that 2,000 years of Christianity didn’t find? Highly improbable and unlikely.
Imagine trying to correct Merie. “Ummm, Merie, women aren’t supposed to be teaching men in public?” Can you imagine the blast that would have come from her? And if you’re a married man with children, and your wife adores Merie, and women are initiating divorce 80% of the time, do you begin to understand why the men in Stanton have tolerated this from the start?
What man wants to jeopardize his marriage, his wages, and his children over stating the truth that women aren’t to teach men? That is probably why the man who said, “Women keep silent in your churches,” was never married. That would be the Apostle Paul, and the married men were all grateful, as I know every honest Christian man is thankful today for me saying this, who hasn’t been brainwashed by this feminist society. I’m a huge admirer of Paul, and have his name as my middle name, ironically, and I believe, as he did, that “women ought to keep silent in the churches” save for prayer and song requests, confessions, singing, teaching kids classes, and teaching ladies classes.
1 Thessalonians 5:21
“Prove all things; hold fast that which is good.”
“This is a needful caution, to prove all things; for, though we must put a value on preaching, we must not take things upon trust from the preacher, but try them by the law and the testimony. We must search the scriptures, whether what they say be true or not. We must not believe every spirit, but must try the spirits. But we must not be always trying, always unsettled; no, at length we must be settled, and hold fast that which is good. When we are satisfied that any thing is right, and true, and good, we must hold it fast, and not let it go, whatever opposition or whatever persecution we meet with for the sake thereof. Note, The doctrines of human infallibility, implicit faith, and blind obedience, are not the doctrines of the Bible. Every Christian has and ought to have, the judgment of discretion, and should have his senses exercised in discerning between good and evil, truth and falsehood, Heb 5 13, 14. And proving all things must be in order to holding fast that which is good.”