Essential Manhood
Introduction
Professor Nancy Pearcey relays an interaction she had in a university classroom in her book, The Toxic War on Masculinity. She said, "When I told my class at Houston Christian University that I was writing a book on masculinity, a male student shot back, “What masculinity? It’s been beaten out of us.” When masculinity itself is portrayed as a problem, the implication is that the solution is emasculation." Nancy Pearcey, The Toxic War on Masculinity
We are experiencing a crisis of masculinity. We don’t just struggle to define what a man should be, many aren't even confident what a biological man is. Truly this is a crisis for us as a society. All around us we see the tragic consequences of absent fatherhood and failed marriages.
One of the problems I have experienced, and maybe you have too is that I have trouble figuring out what it means to live up to being a man. In the midst of a culture ware, we can’t figure out what essential manhood is and is not. Is the machismo of John Wayne and characters like him the definition of masculinity? Are parts of it? Which parts are the caricature and which parts are the real deal? One of the foundational aspects of life has become so complicated.
We long for our sons to be real men. How can we help them? We need to be very confident and clear, when, from all around them, face confusion and suspicion. If we want men with godly strength, then we must confidently show them how to be men. This confidence can only come from understanding our design because God created us. And because God is good, He has shown us how to be what He has made us to be.
This morning I want to go back to the beginning to better understand God’s design for men.
Genesis 1:27–28
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
In this text, we read about the way God made “man.” While it says “man” of course, it is not only referring to males because it reads, “male and female.” Sothese verses don’t necessarily tell us about God’s design for men in particular. They tell us about all people, male and female, and it says that God gave them a mission. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion.
This was his plan for all people, men included. They were to bring God’s order and God’s goodness to the whole earth. They bear God’s image and are to be His representatives throughout creation.
So this is Moses’ summary version of God’s mission for mankind as a whole, butlater in chapter two, Moses reviews the creation narrative and drills in a little more with detail.
In Genesis 2, we read about God’s particular mission for the man.
Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
As a side note, though Eve was certainly involved in this project, it is important to understand that Eve comes on the scene as a helper to Adam. In no way does this mean that women or their work are any less important than that of men. It means that they have different roles and responsibilities.
God uniquely designed men to find meaning through certain **responsibilities**.
In the narrative, God places Adam in the garden with his job of tending and keeping it before Eve is created. This is something that is specially given to Adam to do in a way that was not given to Eve.
This is why Adam and all of his sons through history have been the ones to bear the responsibility for the whole family. It is the husband and father who is to provide for the family. If he does not, he is worse than an unbeliever.
But these burdens are not grievous. These weights of responsibility are what bring weight and meaning to men’s lives. Internet influencers and gurus have recognized that this is what young men truly crave. They have been made to work, to tend, to keep, to cultivate, to build, and so they offer men the chance to do that. The only problem is they do not understand, or will not admit, what exactly they are cultivating things toward.
The reason that I wanted to start in Genesis 1 is because there God makes it clear that it is His order, His image, His glory that men are to bring to the world is God’s. When Adam was placed in the garden to tend and to keep it, He was to tend and to keep it as God would. Adam was organize and take care of the plants in the place of God as His representative. This is what men do. In families and churches, God has given men the special responsibility of acting in His stead. And it is no wonder that men today face existential crisis. If we are not fulfilling our purpose, then why would we expect to feel fulfilled.
Men we provide for our families as God would. We lead the church as under-shepherds of the Great Shepherd. We shepherd our families as God would. We take care of the things God has given us, the money, the houses, the possessions, the people, as God would.
This is why your ministry in leading your family impacts their outlook on the world so much. The way that you guide, protect, and provide for them is supposed to represent or provide an image of who God is and what He does.
And we need to understand that these responsibilities are like the things that God does in a very important way.
God has made men responsible for things outside of themselves.
Adam’s responsibilities, for his family, for the garden, for populating and bringing God’s order to all of creation were all in things outside of himself. It was not enough for Adam to have exemplary character himself, to be inoffensive and nice. He could not sit back and pass the buck because things were “out of his control.” The garden, his wife, his kids, the world were his responsibility. He had to own things outside of himself.
If you are a guy and want to know what it means to be a man, what are you taking responsibility for? What are you building? What are you growing? This is why good work for us to do is so vital. Practically, I think we all know how it feels to do a good job creating or caring for something. Men, we need to make sure we are fulfilling our obligations, but let me encourage you. If you want to grow in practicing biblical masculinity, manage something or grow something. Tend or keep something in the physical world. It doesn’t have to be complex. And at that, do so in such a way that it helps other people. One of the greatest joys I have experienced is in coaching or mentoring others to grow.
One really great way to take responsibility for something outside of yourself is to help someone else grow spiritually, or discipling them.
Perhaps now more than ever, men are tempted to isolate, avoiding even any opportunity to take responsibility for things outside themselves. To young men and those who love young men, the best way for a young man who tends to be isolated to start connecting with others is to be with older men who want to see them thrive.
Albert Camus wrote the story of Jean-Baptiste Clamence in his book The Fall.
Clamence comes across a woman dressed in black leaning over the edge of the bridge. He hesitates for a moment, thinking the sight strange at such an hour and given the barrenness of the streets, but continues on his way nevertheless. He had only walked a short distance when he heard the distinct sound of a body hitting the water. Clamence stops walking, knowing exactly what has happened, but does nothing—in fact, he doesn't even turn around.
Later, doing his best to deal with His own guilt, Clamence begs, “O young girl, throw yourself again into the water so that I might have a second time the chance to save the two of us!”
We are all not just responsible for ourselves. Owning what belongs to me almost always means I own what “belongs” to other people. Brothers, this means that we must take ownership for what goes on in our homes. We must do all within our power to disciple our families and encourage them to follow Christ. You must take ownership for the tone set in your home.
Paul does not say that the husband MUST BE the head of the wife. He said the husband IS the head of the home. Whether we succeed or fail to the glory of God does not change the fact that men are the heads of our homes. All husbands and fathers are heads of their homes. Many husbands and fathers are not functioning as heads of their homes.
The question is not if I am the leader, it is one of am I an active, present, and intentional leader in my home. You are the leader in your home. Are you functioning as one?
I want to take a moment to answer a question that some may be asking, if only out of concern for other fathers/husbands. What if my family won’t let me function as the head?
That is not easy, and is often a somewhat complex situation. Dealing with that kind of situation takes a lot of care to the specifics. But just to address that situation, you must confess your own failures and ask forgiveness, work to change your patterns of behavior, and then lead with wisdom, love, and courage. If you think you are in that kind of situation, I would encourage you to seek out pastoral counseling. In short, you need to take responsibility for yourself and your family.
In fact, this kind of situation needs the application of Scriptural wisdom that we all need to understand exactly what it takes to own our responsibilities as men.
Godly manhood kills selfishness, masters passions, and works so that others can **flourish**.
Why is it that it is so difficult to look outside of ourselves? Why is it that we have trouble taking responsibility for others? Because men have a particular propensity to selfishness.
We can use the strength that God has given us to satisfy ourselves and consume, or to bless others. One of the passages of Scripture that slaps me in the face the most is Philippians 2:4.
Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
How can I be a godly man who works for the good of other people if I am constantly concerned for myself? Men, we do not find meaning by looking inward, figuring out “who we really are” or what our heart really wants. We find meaning by looking outside ourselves and taking responsibility for things.
In order for me to be a man according to God’s design, I must kill the selfishness that so easily crops up in myself.
Another serious temptation that men face is to be controlled by our passions, or strong natural inclinations. Men are especially motivated by sexual desire, hunger, and the thrill of adrenaline. These and others are good desires that God has given to us, but they must be controlled. That is why the apostle Paul tells the young pastor in Crete, Titus, this in his letter to him:
Titus 2:6
Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,
Part of spiritually maturing as a young man is learning discipline to control the good desires God has given us so that they can be used to benefit others. Men are meant to channel their passions so that their strength is used in building things and taking care of other people. And we see throughout history that when men do so, everyone benefits. All of society flourishes when men take up the mantle God meant for them to have.
Like a garden abundantly producing fruit when those who work in it care for it. This is why God gave the work of tending and keeping to Adam. The man was designed to make things, and people, fruitful.
Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Now, this won’t look the same for everyone. For some, this means building things physically. For some it means training, mentoring, or managing people. For some, it means creating works of art. For many, they will have children and for them, and it means training children to follow Jesus. This can happen on the job, in the home, in our donated time, expertise, or money. It means leadership. It means, as the Bible puts it, headship. Any time we look outside ourselves, and work in the same way that God does so that people and His creation flourish in the way He intended, we are being a man in the way God designed.
All men are called to deny the selfishness within us, discipline our desires, and give ourselves to the work of seeing fruitfulness in our communities, our workplaces, our churches, and our families.
One of the most explicit ways we do this, according to the Scriptures, is in the home.
Fathers and husbands **sacrifice** of themselves to cultivate and care for their families.
Thinking about manhood through this lens sheds a new light on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 5, Paul addresses men in marriage and then in chapter 6, he addresses men in fatherhood.
Husbands are to love the wife as Christ loves the church. And how does Paul say that Christ loved the church? He sacrificed His own life so that it would flourish.
What does it take to see your wife be all that God has meant for her to be? You must care for her, nourish and cherish her as your own body!
Ephesians 5:25–33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Sohusbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
How do we do that in real life? How does Will love Sarah in such a way as to see her be the best wife, mother, church member, dental hygienist, etc? By sacrificing what I want, by giving up my comfort and leisure. By dedicating my life to guiding her with the Scriptures. That takes time! That means disciplining my life so I can be present in the home. That might actually cost me something. That might cost me time for hobbies or some amount of professional success. I have to know her and do what she needs me to do, not what I want to do.
By the same token, Paul says to fathers:
Ephesians 6:4
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Is that something that can happen in your spare time? Will that just happen unintentionally as I god about my day? Can I come home from work and just put my feet up while that happens automatically? No, that takes engagement! That takes diffing in, even when you don’t feel like it. Fathers, we have the wonderful work of seeing our children become little followers of Jesus. And the work is fun! It is fun to play with your children. They love to be with you and to laugh with you. And it is so rewarding, I know several in this room have gotten a lot of joy out of that.
It is asking quite a bit, but it is quite simple too. Empty yourself, spend and be spent, to be present, know your family, and guide them in worshipping Christ through His word. It with taking time and some planning to say I am going to lead my family in reading God’s Word and prayer.
Conclusion
In a 2010 article for The Atlantic, Pamela Paul attempted to answer the question, “Are Fathers Necessary?” She comes to this conclusion at the very end of the piece:
“The bad news for Dad is that despite common perception, there’s nothing objectively essential about his contribution. The good news is, we’ve gotten used to him.”
Unfortunately, Pamela has no concept of the good news. But by the grace of God, we do.
The good news is that THE Father sent His only Son to die because both loved us with the ultimate father-love. Though yes, our father Adam failed utterly, because the Second Adam, Jesus died and rose again, men can walk in newness of life and be the kind of men that God made us to be.
Fathers do fail. They sin. They die. They even may wickedly abuse those under their care. Men are not a perfect representative of God in the world. But by the grace of God, men can be good men. Fathers can be good fathers. And even when we’re not, friend, the True Father is always good. He has already completely spent all that can be for you.
Men, live up to that example. Be a man.
Discussion Questions
Professor Nancy Pearcey relays an interaction she had in a university classroom in her book, The Toxic War on Masculinity. She said, "When I told my class at Houston Christian University that I was writing a book on masculinity, a male student shot back, “What masculinity? It’s been beaten out of us.” When masculinity itself is portrayed as a problem, the implication is that the solution is emasculation." Nancy Pearcey, The Toxic War on Masculinity
We are experiencing a crisis of masculinity. We don’t just struggle to define what a man should be, many aren't even confident what a biological man is. Truly this is a crisis for us as a society. All around us we see the tragic consequences of absent fatherhood and failed marriages.
One of the problems I have experienced, and maybe you have too is that I have trouble figuring out what it means to live up to being a man. In the midst of a culture ware, we can’t figure out what essential manhood is and is not. Is the machismo of John Wayne and characters like him the definition of masculinity? Are parts of it? Which parts are the caricature and which parts are the real deal? One of the foundational aspects of life has become so complicated.
We long for our sons to be real men. How can we help them? We need to be very confident and clear, when, from all around them, face confusion and suspicion. If we want men with godly strength, then we must confidently show them how to be men. This confidence can only come from understanding our design because God created us. And because God is good, He has shown us how to be what He has made us to be.
This morning I want to go back to the beginning to better understand God’s design for men.
Genesis 1:27–28
So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. Then God blessed them, and God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply; fill the earth and subdue it; have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”
In this text, we read about the way God made “man.” While it says “man” of course, it is not only referring to males because it reads, “male and female.” Sothese verses don’t necessarily tell us about God’s design for men in particular. They tell us about all people, male and female, and it says that God gave them a mission. Be fruitful, multiply, fill the earth, subdue it, and have dominion.
This was his plan for all people, men included. They were to bring God’s order and God’s goodness to the whole earth. They bear God’s image and are to be His representatives throughout creation.
So this is Moses’ summary version of God’s mission for mankind as a whole, butlater in chapter two, Moses reviews the creation narrative and drills in a little more with detail.
In Genesis 2, we read about God’s particular mission for the man.
Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
As a side note, though Eve was certainly involved in this project, it is important to understand that Eve comes on the scene as a helper to Adam. In no way does this mean that women or their work are any less important than that of men. It means that they have different roles and responsibilities.
God uniquely designed men to find meaning through certain **responsibilities**.
In the narrative, God places Adam in the garden with his job of tending and keeping it before Eve is created. This is something that is specially given to Adam to do in a way that was not given to Eve.
This is why Adam and all of his sons through history have been the ones to bear the responsibility for the whole family. It is the husband and father who is to provide for the family. If he does not, he is worse than an unbeliever.
But these burdens are not grievous. These weights of responsibility are what bring weight and meaning to men’s lives. Internet influencers and gurus have recognized that this is what young men truly crave. They have been made to work, to tend, to keep, to cultivate, to build, and so they offer men the chance to do that. The only problem is they do not understand, or will not admit, what exactly they are cultivating things toward.
The reason that I wanted to start in Genesis 1 is because there God makes it clear that it is His order, His image, His glory that men are to bring to the world is God’s. When Adam was placed in the garden to tend and to keep it, He was to tend and to keep it as God would. Adam was organize and take care of the plants in the place of God as His representative. This is what men do. In families and churches, God has given men the special responsibility of acting in His stead. And it is no wonder that men today face existential crisis. If we are not fulfilling our purpose, then why would we expect to feel fulfilled.
Men we provide for our families as God would. We lead the church as under-shepherds of the Great Shepherd. We shepherd our families as God would. We take care of the things God has given us, the money, the houses, the possessions, the people, as God would.
This is why your ministry in leading your family impacts their outlook on the world so much. The way that you guide, protect, and provide for them is supposed to represent or provide an image of who God is and what He does.
And we need to understand that these responsibilities are like the things that God does in a very important way.
God has made men responsible for things outside of themselves.
Adam’s responsibilities, for his family, for the garden, for populating and bringing God’s order to all of creation were all in things outside of himself. It was not enough for Adam to have exemplary character himself, to be inoffensive and nice. He could not sit back and pass the buck because things were “out of his control.” The garden, his wife, his kids, the world were his responsibility. He had to own things outside of himself.
If you are a guy and want to know what it means to be a man, what are you taking responsibility for? What are you building? What are you growing? This is why good work for us to do is so vital. Practically, I think we all know how it feels to do a good job creating or caring for something. Men, we need to make sure we are fulfilling our obligations, but let me encourage you. If you want to grow in practicing biblical masculinity, manage something or grow something. Tend or keep something in the physical world. It doesn’t have to be complex. And at that, do so in such a way that it helps other people. One of the greatest joys I have experienced is in coaching or mentoring others to grow.
One really great way to take responsibility for something outside of yourself is to help someone else grow spiritually, or discipling them.
Perhaps now more than ever, men are tempted to isolate, avoiding even any opportunity to take responsibility for things outside themselves. To young men and those who love young men, the best way for a young man who tends to be isolated to start connecting with others is to be with older men who want to see them thrive.
Albert Camus wrote the story of Jean-Baptiste Clamence in his book The Fall.
Clamence comes across a woman dressed in black leaning over the edge of the bridge. He hesitates for a moment, thinking the sight strange at such an hour and given the barrenness of the streets, but continues on his way nevertheless. He had only walked a short distance when he heard the distinct sound of a body hitting the water. Clamence stops walking, knowing exactly what has happened, but does nothing—in fact, he doesn't even turn around.
Later, doing his best to deal with His own guilt, Clamence begs, “O young girl, throw yourself again into the water so that I might have a second time the chance to save the two of us!”
We are all not just responsible for ourselves. Owning what belongs to me almost always means I own what “belongs” to other people. Brothers, this means that we must take ownership for what goes on in our homes. We must do all within our power to disciple our families and encourage them to follow Christ. You must take ownership for the tone set in your home.
Paul does not say that the husband MUST BE the head of the wife. He said the husband IS the head of the home. Whether we succeed or fail to the glory of God does not change the fact that men are the heads of our homes. All husbands and fathers are heads of their homes. Many husbands and fathers are not functioning as heads of their homes.
The question is not if I am the leader, it is one of am I an active, present, and intentional leader in my home. You are the leader in your home. Are you functioning as one?
I want to take a moment to answer a question that some may be asking, if only out of concern for other fathers/husbands. What if my family won’t let me function as the head?
That is not easy, and is often a somewhat complex situation. Dealing with that kind of situation takes a lot of care to the specifics. But just to address that situation, you must confess your own failures and ask forgiveness, work to change your patterns of behavior, and then lead with wisdom, love, and courage. If you think you are in that kind of situation, I would encourage you to seek out pastoral counseling. In short, you need to take responsibility for yourself and your family.
In fact, this kind of situation needs the application of Scriptural wisdom that we all need to understand exactly what it takes to own our responsibilities as men.
Godly manhood kills selfishness, masters passions, and works so that others can **flourish**.
Why is it that it is so difficult to look outside of ourselves? Why is it that we have trouble taking responsibility for others? Because men have a particular propensity to selfishness.
We can use the strength that God has given us to satisfy ourselves and consume, or to bless others. One of the passages of Scripture that slaps me in the face the most is Philippians 2:4.
Philippians 2:4
Let each of you look out not only for his own interests, but also for the interests of others.
How can I be a godly man who works for the good of other people if I am constantly concerned for myself? Men, we do not find meaning by looking inward, figuring out “who we really are” or what our heart really wants. We find meaning by looking outside ourselves and taking responsibility for things.
In order for me to be a man according to God’s design, I must kill the selfishness that so easily crops up in myself.
Another serious temptation that men face is to be controlled by our passions, or strong natural inclinations. Men are especially motivated by sexual desire, hunger, and the thrill of adrenaline. These and others are good desires that God has given to us, but they must be controlled. That is why the apostle Paul tells the young pastor in Crete, Titus, this in his letter to him:
Titus 2:6
Likewise, exhort the young men to be sober-minded,
Part of spiritually maturing as a young man is learning discipline to control the good desires God has given us so that they can be used to benefit others. Men are meant to channel their passions so that their strength is used in building things and taking care of other people. And we see throughout history that when men do so, everyone benefits. All of society flourishes when men take up the mantle God meant for them to have.
Like a garden abundantly producing fruit when those who work in it care for it. This is why God gave the work of tending and keeping to Adam. The man was designed to make things, and people, fruitful.
Genesis 2:15
Then the Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to tend and keep it.
Now, this won’t look the same for everyone. For some, this means building things physically. For some it means training, mentoring, or managing people. For some, it means creating works of art. For many, they will have children and for them, and it means training children to follow Jesus. This can happen on the job, in the home, in our donated time, expertise, or money. It means leadership. It means, as the Bible puts it, headship. Any time we look outside ourselves, and work in the same way that God does so that people and His creation flourish in the way He intended, we are being a man in the way God designed.
All men are called to deny the selfishness within us, discipline our desires, and give ourselves to the work of seeing fruitfulness in our communities, our workplaces, our churches, and our families.
One of the most explicit ways we do this, according to the Scriptures, is in the home.
Fathers and husbands **sacrifice** of themselves to cultivate and care for their families.
Thinking about manhood through this lens sheds a new light on Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. In chapter 5, Paul addresses men in marriage and then in chapter 6, he addresses men in fatherhood.
Husbands are to love the wife as Christ loves the church. And how does Paul say that Christ loved the church? He sacrificed His own life so that it would flourish.
What does it take to see your wife be all that God has meant for her to be? You must care for her, nourish and cherish her as your own body!
Ephesians 5:25–33
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish. Sohusbands ought to love their own wives as their own bodies; he who loves his wife loves himself. For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as the Lord does the church. For we are members of His body, of His flesh and of His bones. “For this reason a man shall leave his father and mother and be joined to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” This is a great mystery, but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let each one of you in particular so love his own wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
How do we do that in real life? How does Will love Sarah in such a way as to see her be the best wife, mother, church member, dental hygienist, etc? By sacrificing what I want, by giving up my comfort and leisure. By dedicating my life to guiding her with the Scriptures. That takes time! That means disciplining my life so I can be present in the home. That might actually cost me something. That might cost me time for hobbies or some amount of professional success. I have to know her and do what she needs me to do, not what I want to do.
By the same token, Paul says to fathers:
Ephesians 6:4
And you, fathers, do not provoke your children to wrath, but bring them up in the training and admonition of the Lord.
Is that something that can happen in your spare time? Will that just happen unintentionally as I god about my day? Can I come home from work and just put my feet up while that happens automatically? No, that takes engagement! That takes diffing in, even when you don’t feel like it. Fathers, we have the wonderful work of seeing our children become little followers of Jesus. And the work is fun! It is fun to play with your children. They love to be with you and to laugh with you. And it is so rewarding, I know several in this room have gotten a lot of joy out of that.
It is asking quite a bit, but it is quite simple too. Empty yourself, spend and be spent, to be present, know your family, and guide them in worshipping Christ through His word. It with taking time and some planning to say I am going to lead my family in reading God’s Word and prayer.
Conclusion
In a 2010 article for The Atlantic, Pamela Paul attempted to answer the question, “Are Fathers Necessary?” She comes to this conclusion at the very end of the piece:
“The bad news for Dad is that despite common perception, there’s nothing objectively essential about his contribution. The good news is, we’ve gotten used to him.”
Unfortunately, Pamela has no concept of the good news. But by the grace of God, we do.
The good news is that THE Father sent His only Son to die because both loved us with the ultimate father-love. Though yes, our father Adam failed utterly, because the Second Adam, Jesus died and rose again, men can walk in newness of life and be the kind of men that God made us to be.
Fathers do fail. They sin. They die. They even may wickedly abuse those under their care. Men are not a perfect representative of God in the world. But by the grace of God, men can be good men. Fathers can be good fathers. And even when we’re not, friend, the True Father is always good. He has already completely spent all that can be for you.
Men, live up to that example. Be a man.
Discussion Questions
- Who or what has formed and shaped your view of genuine masculinity? Has any of your view changed?
- Have you had any trouble distinguishing between true manliness and cultural norms? How did you work through it?
- What does it mean to be God’s representative as a leader in the home? At work? In the church?
- What are some temptations we face in our attitude toward responsibility? How can the goodness of God’s design for men help us to combat these temptations?
- Is a man responsible for his wife and children’s choices? What biblical reason could you give for your answer?
- What are some practical ways that men can bring their passions under control? (Or be sober-minded. Titus 2:4)
- Note: “passions” = strong natural inclinations
- What does it mean for people to flourish? Wife? Kids? Those we lead or supervise?
- What are some ways that you could contribute to that flourishing or enable it?
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June
The Four GospelsThe Blessing of WorkThe First Two Woes of RevelationThe Blessing of MarriageAnother Dramatic IntermissionThe Book of ActsThe Making of a Godly Man, Family, Church & CommunityThe Tragic Entrance of SinPaul's Letters & TravelsThe Two WitnessesThe Sad Effects of SinThe Jerusalem Council and The Epistle of GalatiansAnnouncing the Seventh Trumpet
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