The True Role of a Christian Husband

Feminists have maligned Christianity for years as a religion that seeks to oppress women. Lashing out against the supposed oppressive, patriarchal tyranny of the Christian church, they accuse Christian men of oppressing their wives based on the text of Ephesians 2:22-23 (NAS), which reads as follows:

Wives, be subject to your own husbands, as to the Lord. For the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ also is the head of the church, He Himself being the Savior of the body. 

The example that the Apostle Paul uses in Ephesians to illustrate the role of a husband is Christ himself, who is the head of the Church as the husband is to be the “head” of his wife. The Biblical text does not portray Jesus as a domineering, oppressive leader over the Church. Neither is a husband to ever conduct himself in such a way. The Bible paints a very clear picture of the type of leader that Jesus was on earth.

In Jewish society, there was no humbler task then washing a man’s feet, yet the Bible describes Jesus, the Creator of the Universe, on his hands and knees doing this for Peter. Clearly, the role of a husband as the “head” is to be a humble servant. Jesus was flogged viciously, then executed in one of the most brutal fashions ever devised so that an undeserving humanity could spend eternity with him. Clearly, the role of a husband as the “head” includes self-sacrifice and putting the needs of his wife before those of himself. When feminists cite Ephesians 2:22-23 as evidence that Christian husbands are supposed to oppress their wives, they always conveniently leave out Ephesians 2:25 (NAS):

Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her; 

The ultimate example of love is Jesus, who loved the church so much that He gave up even His life for it. Husbands are to love their wives in the same way that Christ loved the Church. The husband’s service in the role of the “head” does not mean that he is to be a military commander in his own home, barking orders and demanding subservience. The husband who honors and brings glory to God is one who acts as a servant-leader, loving his wife, honoring her, and placing her needs before his own.

The Apathetic Church

Rwanda: 800,000 murdered 1

Cambodia: 1.7 million murdered 2

Nazi Germany: 11 million murdered 3

United States: An estimated 40 million murdered

More than 30 years have passed since the Roe v. Wade decision in which it became a constitutional right for a mother to kill her unborn child. Various estimates place the death toll from abortion at somewhere between 30-42 million unborn Americans – a count which is roughly equal to or greater than the population of the entire state of California. In fact, if it were not for abortion, the population of America might be about 15-20% higher than it is today, not taking into account the number of children that might have been born to those lost to abortion had they lived. This is a tragedy of horrific proportions, and it dwarfs the human cost of some of the most violent events of the last century. The 20th century will definitely be remembered as the bloody century that it was, but history may place much of the bloodshed upon the shoulders of America, a nation that has characterized itself as a “Christian” nation.

It would be absurd to believe that God has not seen the bloodshed of abortion. To think that he has not would be to embrace either ignorance or denial about His character. The church in America says much about God’s love, but has it forgotten that God also is just? Has the church forgotten that he takes vengeance on those who kill the innocent? George Mason, considered the father of the Bill of Rights, once said that “nations cannot be rewarded or punished in the next world, so they must be punished in this [world]. By an inevitable chain of causes and effects, Providence punishes national sins by national calamities.” 4 Isaiah 1 makes it evident that even the chosen people of God were not exempt from national judgment, so who are we to think that our nation somehow is? Old Testament history demonstrates clearly that no nation, including our own, is exempt from the judgment of God.

The church in America has grown disturbingly immune to the abortion horror that occurs around us on a daily basis. If everyday Americans heard on the nightly news that 3,000 people were being murdered by violent criminals every day, the nation would be in a state of shock and politicians would be scrambling to meet the demands of a frightened populace. However, the reality is that 3,000 people are murdered in America every day under the protection of the law, and the church has largely been silent. It cannot be considered anything less than the most obscene mockery for the church in America to proclaim its commitment and devotion to righteousness while ignoring grievous national sins such as abortion. In Isaiah 1, God chooses to ignore the offerings and prayers of Judah because of the depth of their national sin. How can we be sure that He will not do the same for us, the church in America? Why would God choose to hear our prayers and receive our worship when we do nothing about the national sins we have the power to change?

As Christians, it is our duty to act as the “salt” and “light” and take righteousness into all aspects of life. It would be absurd to think that God would charge the church with being the “salt of the earth” and the “light of the world” 5 in every area of life except the public square. 1 Peter 2:14 makes it clear that the duty of government is to encourage righteousness and punish wickedness. America is a nation unique in human history in that the authority of the government is derived from the consent of the people. Because of this, it is the people who bear the ultimate responsibility for fulfilling God’s mandate for righteous government. It is the people who bear the responsibility when the government fails to protect the innocent.

It is unfortunate that many Americans, including prominent church leaders, have bought into the lie that the church has no place in the political arena. Considering the rather distasteful nature of politics these days, the revulsion that many have is understandable. However, the church needs to become more involved precisely because politics has become so dirty and distasteful. The church, as the “light of the world”, shines brightest in the darkness. The darkness is deep in the public square, but there is no aspect of American life today that needs righteousness more. Pastor and theologian John Stott said this:

Too often evangelical Christians have interpreted their social responsibility in terms only of helping the casualties of a sick society, and have done nothing to change the structures which cause the casualties. Just as doctors are concerned not only with the treatment of patients but also with preventative medicine and public health, so we should concern ourselves with what might be called preventative social medicine and higher standards of moral hygiene… As Sir Frederick Catherwood put it, … “To try to improve society is not worldliness but love. To wash your hands of society is not love but worldliness.” 6

The policies decided at all levels of American government affect hundreds of millions, if not billions, of people. How could it not be an act of Christian love to actively work to promote public policy that is beneficial to the well-being of your fellow man? Christians are the stewards of God’s standard of morality in the world and it is this standard that is the foundation upon which good public policy rests. The church cannot any longer ignore its responsibility to encourage a high standard of government in America. Politics cannot any longer be left just to the politicians. The church has already been doing this for decades and the results speak for themselves. The public square is in dire need of the moral compass that only a righteous church can provide. Charles Finney, a minister in the Second Great Awakening, warned American Christians that they must “take right ground in politics” and that “the time has come that Christians must vote for honest men and take consistent ground in politics” because “God cannot sustain this free and blessed country which we love and pray for unless the Church will take right ground.” 7 Finney is right. God, in his justice and holiness, cannot sustain our nation if Christians will not uphold his standards in the public square. The time has come for Christians to get involved and bring righteousness back to America’s government. The future of our nation depends on it.

References

1. Silence as Rwanda recalls genocide. (April 7, 2004). Retrieved May 12, 2005, from http://www.cnn.com/2004/WORLD/africa/04/07/rwanda.genocide/index.html
2. Yale University Cambodian Genocide Project. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2005, from http://www.yale.edu/cgp/
3. The Holocaust. (n.d.). Retrieved May 12, 2005, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holocaust
4. David Barton, Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion (Aledo, TX: Wallbuilder Press, 2000), pg 333.
5. Matthew 5:13-14, New American Standard Translation
6. Tom Minnery, Why You Can’t Stay Silent (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 2001), pg. 63
7. David Barton, Original Intent: The Courts, the Constitution, and Religion (Aledo, TX: Wallbuilder Press, 2000), pg 348.