Introduction
There is apathy on a lot of subjects. One subject is Christ. People don’t see him as the only name by which we must be saved. And accordingly, they don’t obey him, honor him, or care whether they spend eternity in humiliation. Do you keep the headship ordinance in 1 Corinthians 11? Do you take your hat off if you are a man or put something on your head if you are a woman when you worship? Do you care?
Four Reasons Against Apathy
Recently, someone commented on one of God‘s worship ordinances. They don’t follow the water baptism obeyed by Jews after Pentecost. Nor do they take their elements of bread and wine in the New Testament-infused Seder. On the subject of the headship ordinance, they said,
“Let’s say somebody cares. Why should they care?”
In response to their inquiry, I gave them four reasons.
There are many reasons why should care about the ordinance regulated in First Corinthians 11:2 through 16.
1. First is centrality. The New Testament economy of God is the gospel. Christ is God. He is equal in essence and ontology to the Father yet he submits to the Father’s headship.
It is the same with mankind. The woman is of the same earthy essence as a man. She was fashioned second and from his rib. Therefore, she is ontologically equal to him, and she submits to him.
The church practiced his divine headship ordinance for 2,000 years and some continue to keep his tradition. It is a transcultural worship ordinance like the New Testament-infused Seder and the water baptism the Jewish believers practiced after Pentecost.
So the insertion of Christ in the headship concatenation is central. It symbolizes the way we are saved.
”But I want you to understand that Christ is the head of every man, and the man is the head of a woman, and God is the head of Christ.“
1 Corinthians 11:3 NASB1995
2. A second reason is honoring God. Christians would want to honor God in the manner he prescribed. He would not want to disgrace Christ.
Every man who has something on his head while praying or prophesying disgraces his head. But every woman who has her head uncovered while praying or prophesying disgraces her head.“ 1 Corinthians 11:3-5 NASB1995
3. A third reason is obedience. A Christian would want to obey all the worship ordinances and protocols commanded by Jesus.
”If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.“ 1 Corinthians 14:37 NASB1995
4. A fourth reason would be eternity. A Christian would realize that he might get into heaven anyway, but he would have to pay the price of his disobedience forever.
”Whoever then annuls one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.“ Matthew 5:19 NASB1995
I don’t think they were persuaded. Here is how they ended the exchange.
“The only reason I don’t block this presumptuous clown is because I want everyone to see the quality of his *!#$.”
Conclusion
Near the end of his comments, the person said,
“Bore somebody else.”
So either they were a hypocrite for spending so much time and effort on their 12-comment thread, or God’s salvation in Christ is true and they will be bored for eternity. If Christ is Lord, his salvation is central, we should honor him in worship, we should obey his worship commands, and we should not spend eternity being called the least in heaven. Do you want to enjoy hypocrisy and apathy on earth, or passion and truth in both life and in heaven?
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The Ninevite 
that person who called you a clown was wrong to say that. it was not christian at all.
you choose to honor God by following what the bible says. and kudos to you for doing so.
….the pharisees obeyed all the law yet Jesus said some harsh things to them about how they looked righteous on the outside but dead inside. Why? They followed everything you wrote here to the T.
and about headship–if man is to be in authority over women, what man becomes the head if a woman loses her husband to death or divorce? what man becomes the head of a single women who never married? what man is head over a christian woman in prison where there are no men?
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A woman who has suffered the tragedy of losing her husband may first look to her family again for headship. Or she may remarry. Older widows should receive special honor. See instructions at 1 Tim 5.
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In the sermons I’ve heard, on the subject, I’ve always heard such passages explained away, by talk about prostitutes having been bald. So, this article gives me something new to consider.
Also, maybe you could have quoted your adversary like this: ”“The only reason I don’t block this presumptuous clown is because I want everyone to see the quality of his *!#$.” There are short messages on the internet about Christians and cuss words, if you want to google it.
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There may have been prostitutes in Corinth, but there are prostitutes in every city. And the headship tradition was not created by Paul in the city of Corinth.
Bald-headed or short-haired female prostitution is only a theory that was created after the 1969 easter bonnet rebellion. There have been other excuses to justify our disobedience. But the churches kept this faithfully and universally until then. It and the other ordinances unify believers around the globe and throughout time.
And Paul said,
”But if one is inclined to be contentious, we have no other practice, nor have the churches of God.“
1 Corinthians 11:16 NASB1995
If it is true that the apostles had no other headship custom, and that it was practiced by all of the churches when he delivered the ordinances in 50 A.D., it had to be practiced from the beginning of the church at Pentecost.
This is because Paul did not retrace all of his missionary steps afterward. And he had never even been to any churches south of Jerusalem.
On Paul’s first two missionay trips from Israel the Gentile believers adopted and kept the Jewish worship customs. The Gentile belivers were of a different heritage, and the Jewish laws were dismissed for them in 49 AD, but in Paul’s second missionary journey to Europe, he continued to love to deliver the same worship ordinances and protocols commanded by God.
”If anyone thinks he is a prophet or spiritual, let him recognize that the things which I write to you are the Lord’s commandment.“
1 Corinthians 14:37 NASB1995
PS. I took your suggestion and changed the cuss word.
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