In the following clip, D.A. Carson discusses submission in marriage. This clip is from Carson's address at the Different by Design 2009 conference.

Part 1 on Permit can be seen here.

Part 2 on Authority can be seen here.

Part 3 on Adam before Eve can be seen here.

Part 4 on Elders and Deacons can be seen here.

Part 5 on The Christian Family can be seen here.

You can listen to all of Carson's address here.

In our latest installment of Unchanging Truth, we would like to highlight this article from Pete Schemm on Galatians 3:28. As Dr. Schemm notes, this is a key text in the gender debate, with egalitarians often citing it as proof that there should be no gender-based distinctions in the church. Dr. Schemm helpfully analyzes this verse in its context and shows that it does not support the claims of egalitarians. If you are interested in the gender debate, this is a key text, and Dr. Schemm's article will help you understand what Paul is communicating to these Galatian Christians and to us.

There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. Galatians 3:28

No single verse of Scripture has attracted as much attention during the modern gender role debate as Galatians 3:28. The declaration by the Apostle Paul that "there is neither ... male nor female ... in Christ," though not directly addressing the role of women in the home and in the church, nevertheless, has played a critical role in the development of the issue. Egalitarian and complementarian scholars claim to be in general agreement about the main point of this verse-all believers are united in Christ. The question concerns what else this verse might entail. Clearly salvation does not eliminate all of our human differences. As Christians we retain racial, social, and gender distinctions. In what sense, then, is it true that in Christ there is neither male nor female? Does Gal 3:28 negate gender specific roles?

Egalitarians answer the latter question affirmatively, seeing the text as "the foundation for a new social order in the church." The result of this new social order is that there are no longer gender-based ministry distinctions in the home or the church. Complementarians, however, do not find such a proof text for eliminating gender roles here in the midst of Paul's argument for justification by faith alone (Gal 3-4). As S. Lewis Johnson has put it,

Never could the Apostle Paul have envisioned the place of Galatians 3:28 in contemporary evangelical literature... . While traditionally commentators have discussed Paul's words in the context of the Biblical doctrine of justification by faith, that has become a secondary matter. One can understand this to some extent, since the vigorous debate over sex roles has, in effect, lifted it from its exegetical underpinnings and set it as a lonely text, a kind of proof text, in the midst of a swirling theological debate. This is not without justification, but it also is not without peril. I am referring to the human tendency to forget sound hermeneutics and find things that are not really in the text.

In an effort to understand the text as it was intended, this article argues that Gal 3:28 does not abolish gender specific roles for men and women. Rather, Paul simply has in mind that all believers, no matter what their racial, social, or gender status, share the same spiritual status in their union with Christ. Further, if one chooses to speak in terms of "equality in Christ," based on Gal 3:28, it must be done carefully and with precision. It is only properly understood as equality "in Christ," or as equal status "before God," not gender equality in role or function.

You can read the entire article here.

This is the fifth installment in our series of clips from Carson's talk at the Different by Design conference. In this segment, Carson discusses the Christian family.

Part 1 on Permit can be seen here.

Part 2 on Authority can be seen here.

Part 3 on Adam before Eve can be seen here.

Part 4 on Elders and Deacons can be seen here.

You can listen to all of Carson's address here.

[From the editors: One of the benefits of Gender Blog is meeting Christ-exalting, Gospel-centered Christian bloggers. Today, we are happy to introduce another such friend, Kim Schmidt. Kim is a pastor's wife and mother to two boys. She blogs at Fill This House. Be sure to stop by and check out her work. ]

Sometimes my sons and I bring home a library book that we later discover "doesn't please God." The book then goes back into our blue canvas library bag until we can return it.

This week, we had one such book, called Pirate Girl, by Cornelia Funke.

It's the story of the fierce pirates of the Horrible Haddock. All are men, given to drunkenness and carousing. They get overtaken by Barbarous Bertha and her band of all women pirates. Bertha and her crew conquer the men and sentence them to a life of scrubbing decks, peeling vegetables, and polishing Bertha's shoes.

I explained to my two young sons, "This book does not please God. It's trying to teach us that women should be more like men and men should be more like women. But God teaches us that He made men and women different, and that's a good thing."

That was sufficient explanation for my 4-year-old and 2-year-old. But the book still had me thinking. Scrubbing decks, peeling vegetables, and polishing shoes? In Pirate Girl, these tasks are punishment. They are repressive duties, fit only for slaves.

The book keeps coming back to my mind because, in our home, I peel the potatoes and I scrub the floors. I don't polish shoes, but I do polish bath fixtures and mirrors!

In a feminist worldview, these tasks are only a worthy occupation if one gets paid for the labor. I do these tasks, plus an endless list of other household jobs, without pay. I want my sons to know that the work I do is neither punishment nor oppression, and that my time and abilities would not be better spent elsewhere.

I do these things out of devotion to my family, that they would have a peaceful, nourishing, well-ordered home. And I do these tasks out of devotion to my Lord, for the Bible portrays the quiet, hidden service of women in the home as beautiful and valuable, and as an important means to the spread of the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Father God, give us discerning eyes and ears, that we may catch worldly messages and snuff them out before they take root in our children's hearts. Lord, may my service in my home be a fragrant offering to you. Give me a heart of joy and thanksgiving, that you have given me so much work to do! May my daily work be a blessing to my husband and children, and be a testimony of your saving grace in my life.

To care about women's issues is to move beyond biology and reproduction. Women want more than that. At least that is what Kathleen Parker believes. In her recent syndicated column, Parker asserts that to isolate women voters strictly to the abortion debate is to cheat women out of their real concerns these days - job security and the economy. There is a heated debate going on surrounding the Virginia Governor's race. One candidate is pro-life and has written on the familial effects of women working outside of the home. The other candidate is pro-choice and is using his opponent's previous writings to try and sway women voters away from this "anti-women's issues candidate." Parker sees the latter as being out of touch with the 20^th century woman, because in her assessment today's woman cares far less about her right to an abortion than previous voters revealed. She says that women have moved on from abortion as a women's issue, and in her eyes that is progress.

This has nothing to do with politics, political affiliations, or even the Virginia gubernatorial race. Rather, her argument has everything to do with the modern woman and how she thinks. It has everything to do with the biblical woman and how she will respond to a culture that views progress as "moving on" from the killing of the unborn.

Some on the left say Parker is giving up on women by saying that women care about more than just reproductive rights when they step into the voting booth. Some on the conservative side say she is giving up on the unborn by "moving beyond" the abortion issue and viewing that move as progress. Some on either side might be grateful that she said something. But what do her assertions say about today's woman?

Parker suggests that using abortion rights to target women is "patronizing" and it assumes "that women's interests are limited to their biology." In other words, we care about more than what is going on inside the womb. In her article, Parker cites a Lifetime survey as saying that women voters in the 2008 election cared more about job security and the economy than abortion. She states that biology is not enough when talking about women's issues, because frankly women care about the same things that men care about -their careers and money. Even though biology is not the only thing that defines us as human beings, what would we be if we weren't able to say that in some way our biological makeup as male and female is what makes us created in the Divine image? To care about women's issues is to say that biology is saying something about who we are and who we are created to be. Our biology is what gives us the God ordained desire to be life-givers. And for so long biology is what led women to say "it's my body, I can make the choice."

God gives His people a very different understanding of women's issues. To be a godly woman is to love life and seek to protect and nurture it. Eve was named by God and was called the "Mother of all living" (Genesis 3:20). The Hebrew midwives risked their lives to save even the weakest ones of their society (Hebrews 1:17). Mary, the mother of Jesus, bore the shame of a child out of wedlock to give birth to the Savior (Luke 1). Women who have been bought by the blood of Christ never get over the call and the joy of being life-givers. It is not an issue to be lobbied for; it is obedience to our Creator.

When childbearing and child killing are no longer on the radar screen for women, a profound statement has been made about womanhood. Women have historically been the defenders of children, but not anymore. Feminism has bred the lie that not only is it my body to do with as I please, but when I have won that battle I will move on to something better and more provocative. As women who love the truth, and love women, we must be there to pick up the pieces when the lie turns to bitterness in their mouths. And we also must be able to say to a confused culture that biology matters, and so do the little ones. Biblical women never move on from being life givers, because child nurturing, saving, bearing, and loving is not an issue to be discarded in the sake of progression. It is a way of life.