Biblical Masculinity

Take your Bibles and turn to Ephesians chapter 10, and I'd like to speak to you on biblical masculinity. And you can take your Bible, you can take your cell phone and turn there. Biblical masculinity seems to be MIA in today's culture, and I would like to open up that subject briefly with you today and discuss it, and make the case for the fact that men need to be strong and take a stand. So men need to be strong and take a stand. Ephesians 6.

Yep. Ephesians 6. You can't read my mind? Yeah. I thought it was a joint. Yeah. We thought it was a casket, so we had to change it.

I said Ephesians 10.

Or like a roof or a thing.

Another cup of coffee please. There you go.

So Ephesians chapter 6 and verse 10 starts the case to be strong, and I'd like to read that with you together. Ephesians 6.10 says, "Finally, be strong in the Lord, and then the strength of His might. Put on the full armor of God so that you will be able to stand firm against the schemes of the devil. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, and against the powers, and against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places. And therefore take up the full armor of God so that you will be able to resist in the evil day, and having done everything to stand firm, stand firm therefore, having girded your loins with truth, and having put on the breastplate of righteousness, and having shod your feet with the preparation of the gospel of peace, in addition to all taking up the shield of faith with which you will be able to extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. And take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God, and with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be on alert with all perseverance and petition for all the saints." So this is a text that calls us to stand firm three different times and to be strong in the Lord. Now interestingly, in the original language, this word strong in verse 10, look with me again if you would, finally be strong. This verb means to receive strength. The opposite of that is to do it in the flesh. Men of God recognize that the Bible gives us two paths, the path of the flesh or the path of the Spirit. In order to be a man of God, we have to be men who yield to the Spirit. And that is the path that we must yield to. We must be strengthened. But to be in the flesh is to be of your own strength, to manhandle it so to speak. So say, "I'm going to do this. I got to figure this out. I'm going to take care of my problems." And oftentimes we make it worse when we have that mentality when we're in the flesh rather than yielding to the Spirit. That is the idea in Ephesians chapter 6 verse 10, "Be strong in the Lord." If you finish that idea, we're strong in Christ. Now we understand that textually this is receiving inward strength. Strength of soul is the idea. Strength of heart to be strong in the Word of God. These are the ideas that this text brings. It suggests that you have a purpose in Christ that is driving you inwardly. Now to illustrate this, the most masculine men. Think of military. Think of those who have been in the service for our country. Think of some of the strongest, most trained men on the planet. Perhaps you've heard what I've heard. That they could go on an op or they could go on a mission and they can do this and they can thrive in this and they can do that. But to come home and to raise a family, to live in society, to raise children, to be married to a wife, that is nearly impossible. And so how hard is it for some of the best trained men on the planet, the most military minded, the strongest men who can go and do the most dangerous things in the world, to come home and they're completely lost at home. Guys, you see it clearly with me, don't you? You have to be strong in the Lord, in the power of His might to fulfill God's design in marriage and in parenting and just to be a godly man. Have to be submitted to the Spirit, not given to the flesh. So you cannot handle what God has given us in the flesh lest you mess it up. And so they would often say these trained men who come off of a military career that field missions are easier than family.

And that's so true because they're in a different zone, which begs the point that this ministry matters. Be men, be men of God, be men who are strong in the Lord and are strengthening men. This ministry really matters not just for military men, but for the average guy in society who is trying to figure out how to arrange his life in Christ, how to do marriage, how to do parenting, how to be filled with the Spirit, how to do these things. And so you matter, guys, to your friends and to yourselves, to your future wives, to your future children. Every one of you really, really matter. And so this equipping station, this equipping ministry is going to set not only you up for success, but it's going to set up your marriage and your children and all the families around you up for success as we inch into this idea of biblical manhood, which is missing in today's society. Today's tendency is to minimize masculinity. The feministic secular culture demands men to be empathetic to everything, even sinful things. And so if you was to be sympathetic and empathetic and to lend an emotional ear to everyone who cries, then you're demanded upon to be alongside of those who are crying, and you can't take a stand. But to be strong in the Lord is to have conviction which exists in Christ, and therefore men must be inwardly strong and act like men. First Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13, Paul calls the Corinthians to act like men. And there's specific criteria that that means for us to be able to act like men. And here in the text, you're called to be strong in the Lord. Now the Bible places the man or the husband as the head of the wife, the head of the home, and as leaders in the church. And so this general command in Ephesians 6.10 is for everyone to be strong in the Lord. But I'm calling us as men to be strong in a masculine way that is strong to lead wives, to lead families, and to lead in the church, and to not be pacifists, to not be passive in the areas that we're to stand up and lead, and to especially regulate our lives according to the Scriptures and be examples. Ironically, the Bible is full of men who have failed in this area. It's hard to find good, strong men of God throughout the Scriptures. But at the same time, that's encouraging because God even used David who committed adultery. God even used Paul who murdered Christians. And God even used Moses as a murderer and Noah as a drunk. So these sins that we struggle with do not discredit you from being a strong man in the Lord. Now, I think that it's logical to say that biblical ignorance is one of the things that pervades the day, and it enables confusion not only for a man, but also for his marriage and for his parenting, and that goes on into the church and society. Hosea 4.6 says, "My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge." And so, on the other hand, here at Beulah Baptist Church, we are raising biblical men who know the Word of God, who continue in the Word of God, and who cultivate this strength. You know, ignorance enables chaos. But that same concept in reverse means that biblical strength or biblical knowledge establishes peace. Man, I want peace in my marriage. I want peace in my home. I want peace in the church. Don't you? Man, there's nothing better than peace when it comes to these most vital areas. And so, the core of what establishes peace is Christ. Christ in our marriage, Christ in our parenting, Christ in the church, and so Christ being the center point of it all. Now, not only are we called to be strong, which I want to call us to be men, and that is to be strong and to take a stand. Now, if you look back in the text in Ephesians chapter 6, not only is it to be strong in the Lord, but verse 11 says to stand firm. And then in verse 13 it says to stand firm. And then in verse 14 it says to stand firm. Biblically, standing firm is more than holding the line. Think of yourself in context here within spiritual warfare.

If you're called to stand firm, it's more than holding the line. Holding the line is a defensive position, and that's good, but Christianity is both defensive and offensive. It's not just defensive. So many men for decades, it seems that as I've observed and been alive, have just been on the me, myself, and I mode defensive. I'm just going to take care of my stuff. I'm just going to do what I've got to do. But that is not Christ's great commission. E.M. Bounds said that men make men. Men are makers of men. Men of God are made, they're discipled. Jesus said, "Make disciples." You see the offensive approach to Christianity here? It's not just folding your arms and saying, "Well, I wouldn't have done that." It's not looking at a bad marriage or bad parenting or chaos in a home and saying, "I'm glad my home is better than that." Christianity is offensive. We offer biblical solutions to where chaos is. It's not looking back and saying, "Man, look at how many lost people are out there. This is terrible." It's actually being a part evangelistically and by making disciples in an offensive way. To take a stand is not just holding the line. Okay, biblically it carries two ideas. Taking a stand, first of all, is to cause to stand. To cause to stand. It's more than you just standing. Your stance is to be in such a progressive, offensive way is that you cause others around you to take the same stance. You are making disciples, molding minds, strengthening hearts. You are preaching the word of God, teaching the word of God. You're taking a stand. You're causing others around you to take that stance. By example, Paul's strength in Christ here in Ephesus helped cause the Ephesian faithfulness, Ephesians 1-1. And so the Ephesians were faithful in Christ because of his ministry to them. We see that. So this fixed, established, steadfast stance that we have is not only defensive, it is offensive in that it causes others to live for Christ. And so you should be highly motivated. You should be able to articulate your convictions. You should be leaning in on others and causing them to do likewise. This is part of us living out loud for Christ, not being ashamed of our faith. We have too many emasculated men. We need biblical men who are strong in the faith, who cause others to take a stand. So taking a stand is not only to cause others to take a stance, the idea even continues in the original language beyond that in that it is to continue in Christ. And so this is not just a thing that I get on fire for Christ and then you fade out. No, you continue in Christ. The Bible says in John 8.31 that if you continue in my word, then you are truly disciples of mine. This continuing in Christ, Matthew 12 and verse 30 records the words of our Lord when he said this, "He who is not with me is against me."

And so if you are not with Christ, continuing with him, continuing in the word to be aloof and to be weak, to be emasculated, to be neutralized is to be against Christ. Christ looks at it like this. It's either we are for him or against him. The middle ground is actually against Christ. You say, "How is that?" Well, if you say you're a Christian and you don't act like it, you don't speak like it, you don't do the things that Christians do, you are a testimony against Christianity, not for it. Christ says you're either for me or against me. And so now calling for biblical manhood, which seems to be MIA in our society. So we continue in Christ. Biblical masculine men are strong and they take a stand according to this text. So be men. What is it? To be a man? To be a man of God? It is to be strong and take a stand. I'd like for you now to flip over into Titus chapter 2 as we look at some of the details of what it is to mature in masculinity. Titus chapter 2 with the time that I have left gives us some of the details of what it is to mature in your biblical manhood.

And unfortunately, churches have developed a worldly culture that allows and even enables just to kind of attend, you know, and occasionally give, but not really truly engage and be a part of the offense of pushing the kingdom of God. We are part of this kingdom progress. We are to help establish the kingdom of God in the hearts and minds of men. That is Christ. So before we look at Titus 10, I want you to know, but fortunately we here are raising up men with scriptural spines who memorize the word of God, who act based upon scriptural convictions. And so too many have been conditioned to be a part of what I could call non-combatant Christianity. And that is simply nowhere in Ephesians chapter 6. We are to do battle. We are to fight the good fight of faith. And how do you do that? The details are all over the word of God, but we'll talk about some of them in Titus here in just a moment. But I want you to know that the Bible demands us to be strong all the way from the beginning. By example, Joshua was called upon and instructed to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might, not to be dismayed. Joshua chapter 1 verse 6, verse 7 and verse 9, "Be strong, be strong, be strong, have I not commanded you to be strong." And so his disciple, Er, Moses, told Joshua, "Be strong."

Timothy, here in Ephesus, his disciple, Er, Paul, told him to be strong. And so this simple fundamental idea of men telling men to be strong is important for us to do. We got to tell each other, "Be strong in the Lord." Remember, don't do it in the flesh. Do it in the Lord. Do it in love. First Corinthians chapter 16 verse 13 ends with men being men in a loving way. And so it's easy to be weak and be in the flesh. It's easy to react. It's easy to throw out comments. It's easy to hurl sarcastic remarks. It's easy when you're hit to hit back. It's easy to react. It's easy to get in the flesh. But it takes a man who is submitted to the Spirit of God to be strong in the Lord to turn the other cheek and to truly demonstrate true Christianity. A lickin' and keep on tickin'. And when it gets tough, we keep marching. We stick to the Scriptures. We have convictions. And that battle is won while you're practicing, while you're discipling, while you're studying, while you're worshiping. You're continuing in Christ all of what that looks like. Your Bible reading. You're praying. You're yielding to the Spirit. All of that is your practice or your training for the battle. The battles always are coming. They're relentless. Satan doesn't give up, and he's got a lot of resources. And so these battles are always coming. And if you are not regularly worshiping, regularly in Bible study, regularly being strengthened by the Lord through the Word of God, then you will fail on the day of battle. You haven't been trained. Boxing matches are not won in the ring. They're won through all the training. The same for fighting. The same for these things. And so the Bible demands us to be strong. The Bible demands men to fear God and not to fear men. So many times we would compromise our biblical convictions for the sake of the collective idea that pervades. But that's cultural ethics. That's not having a scriptural spine. And so what is it then? What are some of the details that we can put some rubber to the road when it comes to maturing in our masculinity? Well, Titus chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 give us a lot, and we'll tackle what we can today and pick up at our next men's meeting.

And Titus chapter 2 verses 1 and 2 it says, "But as for you, speak. Speak the things which are fitting for sound doctrine. Older men are to be temperate and dignified, sensible, sound in the faith, in love, in perseverance." This is kind of like, I don't know, a semi-automatic weapon. Bang, bang, bang, bang. You're just laying it all out there. And now we need to catch these concepts and dig into them a little bit. So masculine men are to speak sound doctrine, be temperate, be dignified, be sensible, be sound in the faith, be loving and be persevering according to these two verses. So number one, speak sound doctrine. Speak these things. It literally means to speak what is healthy, to speak what is true, and we get what is healthy and true and right from the pure Word of God. And so say what the Bible says. That's basically what this verse is calling men to do, to say what the Bible says. Like I said, biblical masculinity seems to be MIA, missing in action today. How many men are silenced or allow their wives to do all of the doctrinal talking or guide the family or the household where they are to go to church, what they do, the spiritual temperature is determined by the wife by and large. So, hey, let's lead counterculturally and be in the right place. Study the Word of God and then have something to say about the Word of God. And I'm telling you, your helpmate, if you're married, will come right alongside you and women will gravitate to strong leadership. And this comes from you being in the Word of God. So you have to study to know what is sound. You've got to maybe give a plug for Wednesday night, Wednesday night Bible study, our theological Wednesdays. If you want to know what the Bible says, come on Wednesday night, if at all possible, if not, watch it online. If you want to know what the Bible says, get in a Bible study group on Sunday mornings with us as we go line by line, verse by verse, and discuss the Word of God. We have the best teachers, I'm convinced, in all of Central Florida right here at Bula Baptist Church. And so you've got to be able to know the truth so that you can speak the truth and you're commanded to speak and articulate it. You know, you cannot say what you do not know, otherwise you're fumbling. And so this is going to push you in your Bible study, not just to read it. OK. Shallow reading doesn't get it lodged in your heart. You've got to really study it, review it, get it lodged in your heart. And then from the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks, the Bible says in Matthew 1237 B. If you get it in your heart, it'll come out of your mouth. But you've got to be faithful to have that time to where you're digging into God's faith so that you can speak sound doctrine. How else will men be sanctified unless you are speaking sound doctrine? How else will lost people come to faith in Christ unless you are speaking what is right and true? Because faith comes by hearing, right? And hearing by the Word of God. And so you're required to speak. So I don't really care for people. Speaking up, well, that's a growth point for you to be able to put it into practice because there's no caveat there that it gives you an excuse to say, oh, I don't want to, I don't feel like it, or I'm not gifted in that. Now, everyone is called to speak sound doctrine.

Romans 10, 17 says that faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God. The second point that I'd like to mention in this text is that we're to be temperate. And this is an important point because you are to temper your heart attitudes. You're to temper your thought patterns. Think of putting steel into the fire and heating it up. And then you're tempering it or shaping it or even beating it into the shape that you want it to be in. And so you're to temper yourself. This demands you controlling your willpower. Even further than you are controlling it, you're simply directing it to submit to the Spirit. If you control your willpower, your volition, and place it underneath the authority of God and His Word and His Holy Spirit, then you are temperate. You're submitting to the Spirit. You're able then to govern your mouth, govern your thoughts, regulate what you do. These things are how you are a man of God. It's easy again just to be loose with your lips and to be flippant with your character. And so to regulate yourself is not to give full vent to your emotional fury, to take things out on the wife and the child. So important. And so these are the first two points on how men should be strong and that is to be temperate and to speak sound doctrine. We have all the rest of the points to come up and we're going to save those for next time. And I would like to end with this right here. You've been given this book that's Resist Tyrants and Obey God from Founders Ministries. Tom Askall has been so generous to give those. And Chris, who's a staff member at Founders, visited here recently and he got these and brought them up here to us. And so this free book gives you an example of a real reformer, John Knox, who was strong in the faith against the cultural tide of the day. And I want you to know that to be strong in the Lord comes with a cost. And this is a good book that helps you to understand how to actually live what you believe. And I am so thrilled that you have this book. I'm going to consider reading it and learning the lessons from the life and times of John Knox and then as well. So grateful to be with you guys this day. And so glad you came out. And I'm going to close with you in prayer here and just study Titus chapter two versus one or two out and get ahead of the game and come back next week with us and we'll continue to learn what it is to be a biblical man. Let's pray. Lord, thank you for your time today, the time that you've given us today and all of these men who have traveled here. Help us to be strong in the Lord and the power of his might. Help us to be strong in you in Christ. Help us to deny ourselves and to take up the cross and follow you. Help us, Lord, not to be strong in the flesh, but to be strong in submitting to your spirit. Help us, dear Jesus, to take a stand, which is not just a defensive position, but an offensive position of motivating others to also continue in Christ. Pray, God, that you would strengthen us in the areas that we need to be strengthened. Help us, dear Jesus, to be pleasing unto you and in this area of biblical manhood, biblical masculinity, which is missing in today's culture. I pray, Lord, that we would be as men, not only ones who would study this idea, but put it into practice and to teach others as Ezra 710 encourages us by way of example of Ezra. We do love you and it's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.