Sermon Tone Analysis

Introduction

Have you seen the web site “The Art of Manliness?”

This site is like a boot camp for guys to learn how to be the classic man.

It’s got tutorials on how to tie a tie, “how to shave like your grandpa,” how to grill a steak, fix a car, install a washing machine, and take a lady on a proper date.

It’s an interesting site, which reveals that maybe men don’t feel like they’re “manly enough” or lack the skills to be a “man’s man” in today’s society.

But a site like this raises another question.

Is masculinity mainly about skills?

Could we set up a “man scouts” program, like the boy scouts but for grown-ups, teach guys how to wear a proper suit, start a fire and become an expert in home repair, and then issue certificates in manhood to all who complete the training?

Over the last few months we have looked in proverbs at foundations for biblical living.

In Genesis 1 and seen that men and women are equally made in the image of God.

They share equal value, worthy, dignity, and importance.

But then in Genesis 2, we saw significant distinctions between the first man and first woman and the inclinations that they would have toward fulfilling God’s creation mandate.

And in Genesis 3, these inclinations were reinforced, as God outlined different consequences of sin for the woman and man.

Therefore, the fundamental “building blocks” for rightly understanding manhood and womanhood is beginning with the fact that men and women are designed by God to complement each other with distinct dispositions and beautiful roles to play according to His design.

And today, as we talk on on masculinity, we want to focus on how the Bible mainly defines masculinity not as skill levels and talents but according to character – character that displays God’s glory through imaging Jesus Christ.

So it’s of utmost importance that men know WHO they should be like, because that will affect their DISPOSITION in how they serve others.

So it’s not primarily about manly skills at the grill or in the garage.

Not a macho lifestyle.

But humble, initiative-taking, risk-absorbing, sacrificial, responsible, generous, protective, loving, Christ-like character.

But how can any of us have this type of character?

Well it can’t be purchased or downloaded at a seminar.

It can’t be earned by following a simple formula.

It comes only through having our minds renewed, day in and day out, by the Spirit of Jesus through the wisdom of God’s Word.

So, what does masculine character practically look like?

Let’s work through a definition derived from principles found in God’s Word that will help guide our thinking on this topic of biblical masculinity:

BIBLICAL MASCULINITY IS DISPLAYED IN A SENSE OF BENEVOLENT RESPONSIBILITY TO TEND GOD’S CREATION, PROVIDE FOR AND PROTECT OTHERS, AND EXPRESS LOVING, SACRIFICIAL LEADERSHIP IN PARTICULAR CONTEXTS PRESCRIBED BY GOD’S WORD.

Before we jump into the imperatives, let’s first briefly consider that phrase, “a sense of benevolent responsibility.”

Biblical masculinity is self-conscious.

It involves a guy’s attitude toward men AND women in the circumstances of life God puts him in.

It’s a “benevolent” posture, in that it seeks the good of others through sacrificial service.

And it is a weighty stewardship given by God for which God will hold men responsible.

But responsible for what?

Let’s get into the rest of the definition, beginning with:

A. “… TEND GOD’S CREATION …”

Last week, we learned from Genesis 2 that God formed the man of dust from the ground, and it was the ground (more specifically, the garden of Eden) that he would eventually be placed in by God to “work it and keep it” (2:15).

As God formed every beast of the field and every bird of the heavens out of the ground, man was given the responsibility of naming the animals (2:19-20), therefore continuing his call to tend to the ground: which is God’s creation.

So how did the Fall (the consequences and curses of sin) affect the man’s relationship to the ground?

In one sense, the only thing that changed would be the hardship and pain he would face.

So we read in Genesis 3:17, “cursed is the ground because of you; in pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life”.

However, we read in Genesis 3:23 that God “sent him out from the garden of Eden to work the ground from which he was taken.”

As we read Genesis 2-3, we see that the man’s God-given disposition to work the ground is affected, but not changed by the fall.

This isn’t saying that men work and that women don’t – they both work in various ways, but this is saying that men in particular are created by God with a distinct inclination toward providing order to creation as representatives of God’s dominion.

Let’s turn to that next phrase: “Provide for.”

B. “. . .

PROVIDE FOR . .

.”

Paul writes in 1 Timothy 5:8, “If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

That’s true of both men and women, of course.

But taking what we know from Genesis 2-3 with the man’s calling to draw forth food from God’s creation combined with what we see about husbands and fathers leading their families in Ephesians 5-6, 1 Timothy 5:8 serves as an insightful text on the particular responsibility a man should feel for the provision of his family.

In providing for the ones for whom he is responsible, a man reflects God’s own provision of all that we need for life and for godliness.

(ex: ________)

Now, this aspect of masculinity most acutely applies in the home within the context of marriage.

A husband’s responsibility to provide doesn’t mean a wife shouldn’t assist in earning income.

Proverbs 31 pictures a wife with ample abilities that extend both within the sphere of the home and also in business outside the home.

What we’re getting at is this: when there is no bread on the table, it’s the husband who should feel the main pressure to get it there.

I totally understand every home will have unique differences: no children in the home; physical disability or illness; unemployment; financial debt).

but baring circumstances, the husband bares the weight of this provision as it is ingrained into the fiber of his being.

Outside of marriage, applying this verse might mean a son or brother or uncle or grandfather stepping up and providing financially for relatives who need help.

It might mean providing financially, or mowing the grass, or cleaning the gutter of an elderly widow within the church.

On a very practical level for single men, it strongly suggests that you should take responsibility to pay for a date when pursuing a woman, showing your intention to provide for her should the Lord lead you to marriage.

The notion is that where a man can be helpful materially in an appropriate way, he should be sensitive to those opportunities and take the initiative to act on them.

this is Phil 2

Let’s move to the next word:

C. “. . .

AND PROTECT . .

.”

In Genesis 2:15, the man was commanded by God “to keep” the garden, which is a word used elsewhere in Scripture in reference to the role of soldiers, shepherds, priests, and even God Himself.

It denotes a “watching over”, a “guarding” and “protecting” role for those in their care.

So for example, when God condemned the “shepherds” or leaders of Israel in Ezekiel 34, he rebuked them for not protecting his sheep.

He said, “The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them.

So they were scattered, because there was no shepherd, and they became food for all the wild beasts... my sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth with none to search or seek for them” (Ezek 34:4-6).

The point I’m trying to make is that biblical masculinity senses a natural, God-given responsibility to step forward and put himself between the threat and another person, which would certainly include another woman, regardless if they were his wife or not.

Why?

Not because women are inherently weaker physically, or moral cowards.

It’s because men are designed to sacrificially protect others.

And this protection isn’t just limited to physical danger.

Men in the home should seek to protect their family’s spiritual well-being first and foremost.

Men who are leaders in the church guard the congregation’s doctrine by equipping the membership to know the truth

Ex: Single guys protecting another sister in Christ by walking her home after an evening service; or working in the children’s ministry to ensure the kids are safe in their classrooms; or standing the gap between two friends who can’t seem to get along, and being a shock-absorber or meditator to bring peace between them.

Isn’t this precisely what Christ ultimately portrayed for us on the cross?

He has stepped in between us and God, to bear God’s wrath that was justly against us.

This is the supreme form of protection or covering that shows both heroism but also amazing grace and love.

Which leads us to our next phrase…

D. “… LOVING, SACRIFICIAL LEADERSHIP…”

In the Scriptures, we see that man has a disposition to take responsibility for others.

This becomes formalized in a pattern of leadership for men in various contexts.

God gave Adam commands with the expectation that he would lead Eve in obeying and worshiping God.

He then established a pattern of male leadership among the covenant people of God through the priests and kings of Old Testament Israel.

Jesus taught His disciples to exercise leadership through service.

Husbands are called the head of their wives in Eph 5. Men are entrusted with leadership authority in the church in 1 Tim 2 and 1 Cor 11.

So first things first: To be a man is to welcome (not run from!) the mantle [or responsibility] of leadership.

(say 2x’s)

if i can take a side step here and say, A mans leadership in his home is pivotal not only to the church, but to the state.

“Home is the seminary of all other institutions.

They are the roots of all public prosperity, the foundations of the State, the germs of the church.

There is all that in the child makes the future man; all that in the man makes the good citizen.”Edwin

Hubbel Chapin.

like-whys, we would also say the state has no charge in the training, correction and discipleship of our children, so it is the training in the home that we create men for both the church and the state.

So what does a male leader look like?

(if you have a Bible, please open them to 1 Timothy 3 (on pg.

992 in the pew Bibles provided).

I think here it’s helpful to look at 1 Timothy 3 and see what kind of traits are necessary for elders, those men who lead in the local church.