Addressing Hebrews 6:4-6

Hello to each of you. Since I initiated this post I felt the need to bring clarity to the scripture verse that is quoted. It is important that we shed light on sin and that we engage every issue with truth, but we must have a strong grasp on the passages we present for the sake of doctrinal integrity.

We must be careful not to take scripture out of context. We are called to accurately dissect and analyze the Word of God. This scripture does not address salvation directly. A closer look at this passage reveals the turning away or falling away from the faith and the way it impacts repentance. This is one of the most hotly debated passages of scripture among bible scholars. There are a number of postulation and hypothetical suggestions applied to this scripture, but when attempting to apply the scripture to actually salvation and the possibility of losing one’s salvation it must be view in light of the Bible’s complete teaching on the topic – meaning that it cannot stand on its own. I know this is a lot, but is a reminder of the monumental endeavor of attempting to apprehend scripture. Scripture does not contradict scripture, so where there seems to be contradiction, you must be willing to shift your perspective to reconcile all the the Word of God has to say on the matter. 

I am a firm believer that sin has consequences and that a believer’s walk should be reflective of the faith they claim; however, I cannot misapply scripture to make my point. If I wanted to view this passage in the light of soteriology (the study of salvation) I would also have to consider verses of scripture to present the doctrine of eternal security (cf John 6:39, 40; 10:27-29; Rom. 8:28-30) You would also have to consider the theological arguments for eternal security, such as:


I. The Positional Approach – Every believer is in union with Christ from the point of salvation (Rom. 8:1; Eph. 1:3-6; Jude 1)
II. The Logical Approach – If God did the most for us when we were His enemies, the a fortiori logic (greater than reasoning) follows the point the He will do much more for us as member of His royal family (Rom. 5:9-10, 15, 17, 20; 8:32)
III. The anthropomorphic approach – The believer is held in the hand of God and He will never let go (Ps. 37:24; John 10:28)
IV. The family approach – We are born into the royal family of God at the point of salvation and we are also spiritually adopted into the family of God (John 1:12; Gal. 3:26; Rom. 8:14-17)
V. The “body” approach – Christ is the head of the body which is join together in unity through his magnanimous gift on Calvary (1 Cor. 12:21; Col. 1:18)
VI. Exegetical approach which examines the Greek tense of the word “pisteuo” which in the aorist tense means to believe once, for all time; the perfect tense of “sozo in Eph. 2:8-9 means you are saved in the past with the result of you going on to be saved forever. 
VII. The inheritance approach – We have an inheritance which is incorruptible and unchanging waiting for us in heaven (Eph. 1:11; 1 Pet. 1:4-5)
VIII. The Sovereignty approach – God’s decision to keep us (2 Pet. 3-9; Jude 24)
IX. The sealing ministry of the Holy Spirit – A guarantee that the name of every believer remains in the Book of Life forever (2 Cor. 1:22; Eph. 1:13; 4:30; 2 Tim. 2:19; cf., Rev. 20:13)


These are just examples of passages, approaches and doctrines that must be considered with viewing Hebrews 6:4-6 for soteriological perspective. So let use a categorical and historical perspective to examine what the writer of Hebrews is addressing here. 

The writer pointed out the consequences of not pressing on to maturity to motivate his
readers to pursue spiritual growth diligently (cf. 2 Pet. 1:5; 3:8).


Christians have interpreted this passage in many different ways. Some believe that those
who fall away (v. 6) are believers who lose their salvation. Others hold that those who
fall away are people who have professed to be believers but really are not.181 Still others
take the whole situation as hypothetical. They believe that if a Christian could lose his
salvation, which he cannot, it would be impossible for him to be saved again.182 Another
view is that only Hebrew Christians living before the destruction of the temple could
commit this sin, whatever it is. The view that I believe harmonizes best with the writer's
emphasis is that those who fall away are believers who turn away from God's truth and
embrace error (i.e., apostates). The vast majority of scholars view these people as genuine
believers.


"The transition from the first person (vv. 1-3) to the third person suggests
that the author does not wish explicitly to identify the people described
with the readers of the epistle. This may be partly out of tact; it is certainly
(cf. v. 9) in part because he believes that his readers can still avoid
apostasy."


6:4 The writer could describe Christians fairly as those who were once
"enlightened" (cf. 10:32; 2 Cor. 4:3-6). The "heavenly gift" of which they
have "tasted" (cf. 2:9) at conversion seems to refer to salvation (cf. John
4:10; Rom. 6:23; James 1:17-18). Any attempt to interpret tasting as only
partial appropriation (i.e., the idea that they tasted it but did not swallow
it) is not credible.

"This is not to explain Scripture, [but] to explain it away in
favour of some preconceived doctrine."

Elsewhere the same Greek word refers to complete appropriation (e.g.,
Jesus Christ tasted death for everyone, 2:9; cf. 1 Pet. 2:1-3). This is an Old
Testament usage as well (cf. Ps. 34:8). Christians become "partakers"
(cf. 1:9, "companions"; and 3:1, 14, "partakers") of the Holy Spirit through
Spirit baptism.

6:5 Every true Christian has tasted the Word of God and found it to be good to
some extent. The original readers had also tasted the powers (lit. miracles)
of the coming messianic age. They had observed the apostles perform
miracles (cf. 2:4). The five events listed in verses 4 and 5 view salvation
from different aspects and manifestations; they do not present a succession
of salvific events.

"Together, the clauses describe vividly the reality of the
experience of personal salvation enjoyed by the Christians
addressed."


"The warnings are clearly not addressed to nominal
Christians, but to those who have shared, as fully as it is
possible to share in the present time, in the blessings which
accompany and follow entry into the Christian life
(6:4f.)."


6:6 Earlier in this letter the writer warned his Christian readers about drifting
away from the truth through negligence (2:1-4). He also warned them
about failing to continue trusting God and walking by faith (3:7-19). Now
he referred to the same apostasy as "falling away."


"The aorist tense indicates a decisive moment of
commitment to apostasy. In the LXX, the term parapiptein
has reference to the expression of a total attitude reflecting
deliberate and calculated renunciation of God (Ezek 20:27;
22:4; Wis 6:9; 12:2; cf. Michaelis, TDNT 6:171 . . .) In
Hebrews it is equivalent to the expression apostenai apo
theou zontos, 'to fall away from the living God,' in 3:12.
Apostasy entailed a decisive rejection of God's gifts,
similar to the rejection of the divine promise by the Exodus generation at Kadesh (3:7—4:2 . . .). 


. . . What is visualized
by the expressions in v 6 is every form of departure from
faith in the crucified Son of God. This could entail a return
to Jewish convictions and practices as well as the public
denial of faith in Christ under pressure from a magistrate or
a hostile crowd, simply for personal advantage (cf. Mark
8:34-38 . . ."


Falling away from the truth is no hypothetical possibility but a tragic
reality in too many cases among believers (cf. Num. 14:27-32; Gen.
25:29-34; Heb. 3:7-19; 10:23-25, 35-39).193 Christians departed from the
faith in the first century (e.g., 2 Tim. 2:17-18) and they do so today (cf. 1
Tim. 4:1).


"The author repeatedly urges his readers to maintain their
Christian profession and confidence (cf. 3:6, 12-15; 6:11,
12; 10:23-25). The man who falls away is evidently the one
who casts that confidence, and its attendant reward, aside
(10:25)."


To what is it impossible for an apostate to be renewed? The writer said it
is repentance, not forgiveness or salvation. Immediately the question
arises whether this explanation is realistic since some believers who have
departed from the truth have repented and returned to the fold of the
faithful. I believe the writer meant that in the case of apostates, the really
hard cases who are persistently hostile to Christ, it is impossible to restore
such people to repentance (cf. vv. 1, 3, 7-8). The word "apostate" refers to
extreme cases of departure from the truth. We usually refer to less serious
departure as backsliding. This inability to repent is the result of sin's
hardening effect about which the writer had sounded a warning earlier
(3:13). It is also the result of divine judgment (cf. Pharaoh, Exod. 9:12;
10:20, 27; 11:10; 14:4, 8, 17).


This writer also wrote about three other impossible things. It is impossible
for God to lie (v. 18), for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins
(10:4), and for someone to please God without faith (11:6).

"God has pledged Himself to pardon all who truly repent,
but Scripture and experience alike suggest that it is possible
for human beings to arrive at a state of heart and life where
they can no longer repent.

"That certain persons could not repent of their sins was,
e.g., an idea admitted in rabbinic Judaism."196
Even God cannot renew these apostates to repentance because He has
chosen not to do so.


". . . the author does recognize the possibility that one may
have regressed so far that it is impossible to again make
progress toward maturity. He therefore states in verses 4-6
that it may be impossible to renew certain believers so that
they can progress toward maturity."


Would it not glorify God more for apostates to repent? Evidently by
making it impossible for them to repent God will bring greater glory to
Himself than if they did repent. Consider the glory that came to God
because the Pharaoh of the Exodus did not repent. One might ask the same
question in regard to everyone being saved? Would it not glorify God
more for everyone to be saved than for some to perish eternally?
God allows this hard condition because by repudiating Jesus Christ these
apostates dishonor Him. The writer spoke of this dishonor as taking the
side of Jesus' enemies who crucified Him and publicly humiliated Him.
The apostates in view crucify Him in the sense of passing judgment
against Him again, by repudiating Him and His work, as those who
literally crucified Jesus did. Evidently these "hard cases" are not those
who turn away from just any aspect of God's will but specifically the
doctrine of Jesus Christ.


"The meaning of the vivid phrase ["they again crucify to
themselves the Son of God"] is that they put Jesus out of
their life, they break off all connection [sic] with him; he is
dead to them."


"Anyone who turned back from Christianity to Judaism
would be identifying himself not only with Jewish unbelief,
but with that malice which led to the crucifixion of
Jesus."


". . . once Christ and his sacrifice have been rejected, there
is nowhere else to turn. . . . The 'impossibility' of a second
repentance is thus not psychological or more generally
related to the human condition; it is in the strict sense
theological, related to God's saving action in Christ "


Just as the Hebrew spies who returned from their
expedition carrying visible tokens of the good land of
Canaan nevertheless failed to enter the land because of
their unbelief, so those who had come to know the
blessings of the new covenant might nevertheless in a
spiritual sense turn back in heart to Egypt and so forfeit the
saints' everlasting rest."


Not only did the 10 spies fail to enter the Promised Land through unbelief,
but so did the whole adult generation of Israelites who left Egypt with
Moses (Num. 14). It was impossible for them to repent in the sense that,
even though they confessed their sin of unbelief (Num. 14:40), God would
not permit them to enter the land (Num. 14:41-45). Two New Testament
examples of these "hard cases" may be Hymenaeus and Alexander. Paul
said he had turned them over to Satan that they might learn not to
blaspheme because they had apostatized (1 Tim. 1:18-20).

This is, without question a powerful verse of scripture, but it must not be used out of context. This passage does not refer to salvation, but repentance. The two are distinctly different in the roles they play in the life of the believer. The legalist will probably read this and declare that it refers to loss of salvation; the liberlist will attempt to explain away its impact on apastasy and sin, while the one who truly years truth will have weigh it against all that the bible says on the matter. There is so much more to present on the matter, but I believe I have already over did it. 

Side note: The authorship of the book of Hebrews is still in question and will probably never be answered in this age. There are numerous suggestions, including Paul, Luke Barnabas, Stephen, Clement and even Mary (the mother of Jesus), although certain masculine inflections would rule out a female author. The literary style and vocabulary here is extremely unique to any other book on the New Testament. If the dating on it is accurate, it would have actually been written shortly after the death of the Apostle Paul. Nevertheless, the book’s power is unquestionable. 

I hope this sort of helps.

The Integrity of God

In order to truly understand your relationship with God and how God deals with you, you must first gain and understanding of the "integrity" or "holiness" of God. This is done by first understanding the essence of God, which is revealed through his primary attributes: Sovereignty, Love, Eternal Life, Righteousness, Omniscience, Omnipotence, Omnipresence, Immutability, Veracity, and Justice.

Since this post is not on the complete essence of God, you will have to research the definition and meaning of the majority of these attributes. The focus here is understanding God's point of contact with His human creation.

Because of erroneous and fallacious teachings that over-emphasize God's love and under-emphasize His justice, many believers have a skewed perspective of who God is and how He deals with mankind. Many see God as this sentimental being that loves His creation so much that he couldn't possibly sentence any of them to hell. Others view Him as this despotic ruler Who rules unfairly with an iron fist. This is because very little time has been committed to actually teaching the Divine Essence of God.

Before the fall of man, there was no sin, so man's point of reference and his point of contact was God's love. Because God's command had not been transgressed, there was no need for justice to be in play with mankind. However, once man sinned, God's justice became the point of contact with mankind, while His love remained the point of reference.

What does all of this mean? God is not only righteous, He "is" perfect righteousness. This means that God's righteousness can only approve and reward that which meets his righteous standard. When Adam sinned, he moved God's justice into play as the point of contact. What this means is God's justice now stands as guardian over His Divine essence. In simple, God's justice executes what his righteousness demands. What God's righteousness approves, His justice blesses. What His righteousness condemns, His justice judges. Make no mistake about it, God's justice is His point of contact with us. There is no sentimentality involved here.

"may he judge Thy people with righteousness, and Thine afflicted with justice (Ps. 72:2)

"He is the Lord our God; His judgments are in all the earth (1 Chron. 16:14; Ps. 105:7, KJV)

"And He shall judge the world in righteousness, He shall minister judgment to the people in righteousness." (Ps. 9:8, KJV)

God evaluates and deals with man from His justice. All of God's attributes are guarded by His justice which is established by His righteousness.

This is what R.B. Thieme Jr. has to say on the matter:

"If God's point of contact with us were His sovereignty, He would choose who would go to Heaven; He would program us to mechanically enact every detail of our lives on earth. We would be automatons; human freedom would not exist...This distorts the sovereignty of God.

Dr. Rick Wallace 

If, on the other hand, God's point of contact with us were His omnipotence, He would be a tyrant. It would be impossible for us to fulfill the will of God because He would do everything Himself by divine fiat...If love were the point of contact, His justice and righteousness would not need to be propitiated or satisfied and there would be no necessity for Christ to die on the cross..." (R.B. Thieme Jr., The Integrity of God)

So, what does all of this mean? It means that we can't become overly consumed with with God's love to the point that we believe we can circumvent his requirement of righteousness without incurring his judgment. Grace delivered us from the ultimate penalty of sin, but it does not exempt us from the consequences of our actions that bring us face to face with God's justice. Remember, what God's righteousness approves, God's justice blesses, and what His righteousness condemns, His justice judges. God is not capricious in His actions nor His judgments. He deals with each issue the same every time. This is why no one will be able to say in the end that God is unfair. His integrity is uncompromised.

The simplified message: Don't let these watered down messages about God's love convince you that you won't get dealt with if you get out of line. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Repairer of the Breach

"3 For the time is coming when [people] will not tolerate (endure) sound and wholesome instruction, but, having ears itching [for something pleasing and gratifying], they will gather to themselves one teacher after another to a considerable number, chosen to satisfy their own liking and to foster the errors they hold, 4 And will turn aside from hearing the truth and wander off into myths and man-made fictions." (2 Tim. 4:3-4, AMP)

We have reached a point in which professed believers are more interested in having their perspectives and behaviors validated than they are with hearing the truth. They have accumulated leaders who are willing to preach from the platform of popularity rather than teaching the truth.

The truth will not be popular, because it challenges the status quo. The truth forces us to perform an introspective examination of our lives. It compels us to relinquish our selfish desires. I believe in encouragement and empowerment; it is needed so desperately within the Body of Christ right now. However, encouragement that is not grounded in truth will ultimately have a crippling affect on its hearers.

The Holy Spirit compels me to speak truth over approval. I am not here to preach to the itching ears of believers that desire no change or progression. I am here to lead, to empower and to equip. This is done by administering the truth. This is accomplished by shedding light on spiritual cancers that are metastasizing throughout the Body of Christ and rendering the Church ineffective in its mission. I am not hear to coddle or impress you. I am not here to reinforce your selfish mindsets. I am not here preach 30 minute feel-good sermons that don't empower you to face the challenges of the week. I am not here to help you justify your sins. I am not here to ease your conscience about your luke-warm lifestyle. I am here to bring truth.

Dr. Rick Wallace 

The previous guardians of the gate failed to keep out the enemy and he has wreaked havoc on believers and the Christian faith. God is sending men of character, integrity and commitment to root out the enemy.  There has been a changing of the guard. The breach is being repaired and the power of God is about to be revealed in those whose hearts are loyal to Him. There can be no half-stepping. There can be no happy medians. There can be no luke-warm lovers. God is about to do mighty things and He will accomplish these works through a remnant that are committed.

Stop seeking validation for things that are not of God and start seeking God. If you have teaching that does not challenge you and convict you of a need to change and grow. You need to question your position and your leadership. None of has arrived and if we are comfortable in our current state, we are not being moved by the Holy Spirit. It is time to grow. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

At a Crossroads

At a Crossroads

I am concerned. I am concerned that the No. 1 show in prime television depicts a woman that is having an adulterous affair with a married man in a position of leadership and power. I am even further concerned that many of the viewers and supporters of this show are Christian women. My concern is settled in the fact that this show depicts a number of different cultural and secular images and philosophies that are diametrically opposed to the Christian faith; however, we all sin and it is hard to view anything where sin isn’t being promoted.

My concern – most of all – is the fact that this adulterous woman is viewed as somewhat of a hero and her adulterous behavior is applauded by Christian women. The fact that this women has destroyed a family and a marriage seems to elude them for some reason. Maybe it’s because she is black and deep down inside it feels good to see the black woman win, especially when it is perceived that so many good black men have been scooped up by white women. Maybe it’s that she represents a release from a reality that many can’t truly escape. She has money, influence and power in manner that very few will ever experience.

Once per week people across America get to escape their lives and live vicariously through this character. It concerns me that she is applauded; it concerns me that she is viewed as strong – when every action towards this man reveals her weakness for him and her disregard for the covenant of marriage. Being able to break up a marriage does not make you strong. It reveals some deep rooted issues within you that must be addressed. It reveals some brokenness that you are attempting to self-heal.

Many that do live tweets, posts and shout outs during the show applauding her every deceitful move, as well as applauding this man’s rough handling of his wife in the process, do so as if she is a hero and a role model. Many will attempt to justify this phenomenon by pointing to the fallacy of this man’s wife and the poor state of the marriage. Well, that may work in the secular world, but God views marriage in one light, that of covenant. This is what God thinks about covenant.

“And this is the second thing you do: You cover the altar of the Lord with tears, with weeping and crying; so He does not regard the offering anymore, nor receive it with goodwill from your hands. Yet you say, “For what reason?” Because the Lord has been witness between you and the wife of your youth, whom you have dealt with treacherously; yet she is your companion and your wife by covenant.” (Malachi 2:13-14, NKJV)

Covenant means so much to God that he stoppped honoring the prayers and offerings of the priests because they had dealt unfairly with their covenantal wives. God is the same God today as he was then. For you that will say that the passage is from the Old Testament and based on the New Covenant, we are no longer under the Law. Listen to what Peter had to say on the matter:

“Husbands, likewise, dwell with them (wives) with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel (physical strength), and as being heirs together (equal in purpose and identity) of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.” (1 Peter 3:7, NKJV)

Paul weighed in on the matter as well:

“Husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave Himself for her…Even so, husbands should love their wives as [being in a sense] their own bodies. He who loves his own wife loves himself. For no man hated his own flesh, but nourishes (Greek – “ektrepho” – meaning to rear up to maturity, support, cherish and train) and carefully protects and cherishes (Greek “thalpo” – meaning to brood over, to warm, protect and foster) it, as Christ does the church. (Ephesians 5:25-29, AMP – Expanded)

Many will read this a play their trump card, declaring that I am judging. To that, I say that I am speaking with the authority given to me by Christ to clearly present His way. I don’t have the authority to condemn, but I do have the authority and the command to point out fallible behavior that is antithetical to the Christian way of life. I do have the responsibility to warn every believer of behavior that is conducive to corruption of the soul and failure in the actualization of the great potential they possess. I am not perfect, I make mistakes, but I don’t want people applauding my mistakes. I want someone to care enough to pull my coat tail and tell me to chill.

Let me be clear about something. When you endorse erroneous behavior, you invite that scourge into your life, and you can’t possibly expect God to protect you from it when you have been promoting it. 

Now I know that I have stepped on a lot of my Facebook friends toes this morning, and I am certain that my friend list will decrease. I am okay with that. I am not in a race for popularity; I am in a spiritual battle in which the enemy is destroying lives of believers at an unbelievable rate; primarily by convincing them that it is okay to adapt secular paradigms into a biblical culture.

Dr. Rick Wallace 

God is immutable, meaning He does not change. Grace never removed the standard, it only satisfied the ultimate penalty and created reconciliation. God is still 100 percent Holy (meaning that His perfect standards are always carried out by each Member of the Godhead, and that he does not except anything less than His own perfect standard).

Christian ladies, there has to be some other woman that you can praise as a hero; some other woman that you can use as a role model of power. There has to be some other way to vent your personal frustrations than to live vicariously through a character that violates so much of what you are supposed to stand for. You cannot applaud this behavior without subconsciously approving it. This is why the Apostle Paul said that we must “cast down every argument that exalts itself against the Lord, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ.”Would you want a women coming into your home and taking your husband? No matter how bad the marriage, he is still your husband, no one has the right to come in and interfere with that.

It is time to wise up to the schemes and machinations of the enemy. ~ Dr. Rick Wallace

Follow the Leader

Hello Ladies, Teaching Moment: This is for both, single and married women.

When God created the universe, He took time to create humanity and he made them in his image. The Bible says, that he made them male and female. Here is a key bit of information that may just help you understand your role in marriage:

When we were kids riding our bikes, we used to play a game called "follow the leader". In this game, whoever was out in front chose the direction that every one would go in. We would ride through ditches, bushes, the backyard of the mean old lady in the neighborhood and more. The rules of the game were simple; follow the leader. Inevitably, things would become chaotic. How could a game with such simple rules create so much chaos. This is how: Someone in the back would scream out, "go right, but the leader would go left. Eventually, someone would become disenfranchised with the route that the leader would take and they would take out on their own, and of course some of the group would follow. After a while you had several different groups in several different areas heading in several different directions. No cohesiveness, but plenty of division. Why? Because someone decided that they were not going to follow the leader. This happens in christian marriages far too often. 

God designed and created Adam first. He gave Adam all of the mandates and he revealed the ultimate vision for Adam. He even gave Adam his work (Now his work is different than his job. Many men have confused their job for their work. Your job is what you get paid to do, but your work is what you were designed and created to do.) After giving Adam the vision he told him that it was not good for him to be alone and that he would create a helper for him, someone that would be suitable for him.

God put Adam to sleep and took a rib from his side and fashioned “Ishah” (The woman), she was not called Eve, until after the “Fall”. It is important to understand that God did not “create” (Hebrew, “bara”, to make from nothing) or “form” (Hebrew “yatsar”, to form something from something else) Ishah, but he “fashioned” (Hebrew, banah”, meaning to build using a certain constructive material) her from the rib of Adam.

The human rib cage is designed to protect the body’s vital organs from external harm, without it you could die from something as simple as a punch. So, Adam’s missing rib represents his vulnerability and the vitality of the essence of “Ishah”, the woman. Women in this culture have been taught, in the wrong context, I might add, all about how the man is to be the protector. This is true, from a physical aspect, but what very few have been taught is the vital role a wife is to play in covering her husband’s vulnerability, so that he can lead with confidence.

Women in this culture have taught how to berate and degrade a man that may struggle in an area or make a mistake. The godly wife affirms her husband, she builds him up and gives him the confidence that he needs to face the challenges he must face to be the man he was designed to be. I have said this often, many proclaim that behind every good man is a good woman, I take it a step further and say that standing beside every great man is a great and powerful women. Do you know why she is great? She is great because she knows her husbands weaknesses, but instead of exploiting them and degrading him, she comes along side of him, and she strengthens him with her words of affirmation. She confirms who he is in God. She lets him know that no matter how rough it gets, he is not alone.

Women, when you learn to do this, you will find that this man will go to the end of the world and back to prove that he is worthy of the confidence that you have placed in him. He will be equipped with the confidence and courage necessary for leadership. 

Speaking of leading; one of the major issues with attempting to merge two believers in matrimony in this culture is the failure to function in the dynamic of the original design. Because of the failure of men, women have been left to fend for themselves so long, that they have developed their own dynamic with God. Women have developed strong relationships with God that have allowed them to take care of families, financially support the home, be active in the church, and so much more. The problem is that in the original design, God gave the vision to Adam and it was Adam’s responsibility, not only to reveal the vision to the woman, but also it was Adam’s responsibility to communicate what they were and were not supposed to do. Remember, God gave the mandate about the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil to Adam before fashioning Eve.

Here is the problem with the reversed dynamic that is most often active in the home now. When a woman meets a man, she has been accustomed to being the leader of the family, so she is used to seeking God in all that she does, which is what she should be doing. The thing is that this is actually her husband’s role. God gives the vision to the leader. This is why in the Old Testament, men were responsible for teaching their wives, and even in the New Testament, where Jesus gave the women a voice, it was still under the leadership of the man.  

Why is this so important to understand? When a woman is accustom to receiving direct orders from God, and a man comes into her life, it will be extremely difficult for her to submit completely to his leadership. She will try, but she will find herself questioning his direction, when she doesn’t understand it or doesn't like it, and seeking God on her own to overrule his decision. How simple is it, when you don't like something, to say to your husband, I haven't heard from God on that, or that is not what God told me?

In most cases, what women will find is that God has changed the rules of communication. You will be attempting to consult him on an issue that your man has already decided, and you will not receive instruction on it. This is the reason why; if every time your husband made a decision, you say I have to seek God on it and God answers you, He would be undermining the authority and leadership of your husband in the marriage and home. (God is ultimately saying the same thing you would say to your children when they try to play you against your mate; What did he say?)

Dr. Rick Wallace 

Now there will be times when God will give you words of wisdom to share with your husband, but he will never give you a word to override or undermine his authority. A godly man will value the insight and input of his wife. He will take into consideration her feelings, needs and desires above his own, but his ultimate responsibility is


to God. This means that there will be times when his decisions will not make sense to his wife. Now if your man is doing something that is obviously against the Character of God, then that is a no brainer, but issues of direction and the vision are given to the man. The leader receives the vision and communicates it to those whom he leads, and together they work to fulfill the vision.

Women, the moment God places your husband in your life, the rules of communication change. From the moment that you become committed to marriage, God begins to wean you off of the leadership role and demands that you began to trust the leadership of the man you are to marry. God is the greatest trainer there has ever been. He knows that if He continues to give you the vision, that you will totally ignore the divine order for the home and marriage.

This order is not natural, but it is necessary. Dr. Rick Wallace