ANSWER: First of all, the passage does not teach that childbearing is the act by which a woman is saved, that is, this act does not constitute a plan (or a way) of salvation. Neither is there an implication that all women who do not bear children are going to be lost! If we consider this particular verse in context with those preceding it (vss.8-14), we see a contrast or comparison between the responsibilities and proper relationship between Christian men and Christian women. In verses eleven and twelve, Paul shows that women are to be in submission to the man (see also 1 Corinthians 11:3); that they are not to teach, nor usurp authority over the man. In verses thirteen and fourteen, he tells us why this is the case. Then, in verse fifteen, he says, ‘the preceding notwithstanding, she will be saved, not in participating in the authoritative role of the man, but, rather, in (not by) the role that God assigned the woman in this life (Genesis 3:16), i.e., in (not by) childbearing and all it involves.’ This, however, does not end the matter, since, at this point, Paul inserts a qualifying clause; “if (if and only if) they continue in the faith and charity and holiness with sobriety.” In other words, though women are not permitted to assume the role of the man, she, nonetheless, can be saved in the role of the woman, provided that in its doing, “she continue in the faith and charity and holiness with sobriety!”