For a time will come when they will not put up with healthy teaching,
but in accordance with their own lust they will heap up teachers for themselves, having itching ears (2 Tim. 4:3, Mounce)
He must hold firmly to the faithful message as it has been taught,
so that he will be able to give exhortation in such healthy teaching
and correct those who speak against it. (Titus 1:9, NET)
Healthy Resources
Healthy resources provide information that will feed and strengthen Christians to be part of God’s blessed “them.” We consider healthy resources to be those that promote any of the following biblical truths:
1. Christ set women free to submit to Him and follow Him, in the same way He set men free to submit to Him and follow Him.
2. God distributes gifts of the Spirit as it pleases Him, without regard for gender, race, or social status. He intends these gifts to be used in the body of Christ without man-made restrictions or controls based on gender, race, or social status.
3. Marriage is defined by God, not by man. It is a lifetime commitment between a male and a female.
4. A believer’s body is a temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Cor. 6:19), which must not be defiled by sexual sin. Sexually sinful Christians who will not repent will lose their fellowship with God and with their Christian family.
The material designated as “healthy” in the Storehouse database is included because it supports one or more of the above truths.
Unhealthy Resources
Unhealthy resources are materials, organizations, and persons (some are egalitarian and some are complementarian) that have mixtures of true and false (biblical and unbiblical) teachings and practices. These false teachings will result in sinful behavior by those who embrace them.
Complementarian Perspective That is Unhealthy
Complementarians rightly say that women are equal to men in being, or personhood; but they wrongly say that only men can lead in home and church. (Note: The traditional patriarchal position does not consider women to be equal to men in being.) Complementarianism is a modern day attempt by Christian leaders to soften patriarchal beliefs and practices, while retaining their foundational belief in the God-given authority of male over female. Whenever males stand in a place of authority over females in the body of Christ, whether as patriarchs or complementarians, this sin offends the Holy Spirit and hinders God’s blessing and His answers to prayers (Isa. 59:1).
On the “healthy” side of their teachings, complementarian church leaders hold biblical beliefs about the definition of marriage and sexual sin; however, they typically fail to teach such from the pulpit. For example, they rarely teach about a believer’s body being the temple of the Holy Spirit that should not be defiled by sexual sin, or that church discipline is necessary for sexually sinful Christians who will not repent. They also fail to make a distinction between unbelievers who practice sexual sin and believers who practice sexual sin. The first (unbelievers) are welcome to come to church gatherings, so that they might hear the gospel and find Christ, whereas the latter (believers) must repent to remain in the fellowship of the church. (Failure to teach this has contributed to such things as Christians ignorantly making public statements condemning unbelievers in society who practice homosexuality.)
Also, the complementarian position wrongly places primary blame on women for men’s lust (pointing to women’s lack of modesty) and does not place equal blame on men for their lust (pointing to their failure to exercise godly self-control over their eyes). Furthermore, it has created an unhealthy environment where sexual abuse of Christian women by Christian men in the church has been, at best, insufficiently addressed and, at worst, covered up.
Egalitarian Perspective That is Unhealthy
Egalitarians hold biblical beliefs about woman with respect to God’s view of women being free and equal in being to males; however, some egalitarians, in the name of said “equality,” promote unbiblical teachings and practices that sanction same sex marriage and Christians having sex outside of marriage. They not only allow unrepentant, sexually sinful Christians to remain in the fellowship of the church, they even allow them to be ordained as ministers. In this state of defilement, God will not bless them or answer their prayers (Isa. 59:1).
Ironically, complementarian teachers who teach unbalanced teachings about God’s grace may be responsible for opening the door for egalitarians to believe and claim that God is so gracious that He would receive sexually sinful Christians into the fellowship of His family.
To the best of our knowledge, the resources we have listed as unhealthy in the Storehouse database have beliefs in line with what is presented in the statements above. If we learn otherwise, we will re-categorize them.
If anyone advocates a different doctrine and does not agree with sound words, those of our Lord Jesus Christ, and with the doctrine conforming to godliness, he is conceited and understands nothing; but he has a morbid interest in controversial questions and disputes about words, out of which arise envy, strife, abusive language, evil suspicions, and constant friction between men of depraved mind and deprived of the truth …
(1 Tim 6:3-5, NASB)
The Spirit clearly says that in later times some will abandon the faith
and follow deceiving spirits and things taught by demons.
Such teachings come through hypocritical liars,
whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.
(1 Tim. 4:1-2, NIV)
Note: Some of the authors included in the Storehouse database support all of these truths; some of them support only complementarian beliefs; some support only egalitarian beliefs; and some hold positions that are not clear.** An author that supports all of the truths will be tagged with the word “Them” in the “Egal or Comp or Them” column of the database. Otherwise, an author will be tagged as “Comp” or “Egal” or “?”. Articles, books, or videos by “Them” authors will be highlighted in yellow in the list.
** Disclaimer: We have tagged authors as “Them,” “Comp,” or “Egal” based on their beliefs as revealed in their writings. Please contact us if you feel anyone has been tagged incorrectly. Provide the person’s name and the reason you feel their beliefs have not been properly assessed.