Well, it is good to be back today as we return to our topic on biblical manhood and womanhood. We looked at specifically the creation of man. We looked at the creation of woman. We looked at the first marital union and the duties of marital union. We also looked last week or two weeks ago, rather, at original sin. And we talked about how this original sin really referred to the effects of the fall. And we can't just look at Adam and Eve and say, well, yeah, the effects of the fall were just to Adam and Eve. No, they were actually to all of, as the Confession of Faith would word it, all of Adam's posterity. That's us. That's everyone that's come since Adam and Eve. And so we are all born now with a sinful nature. And we saw too that there were curses given as a result of the fall. What was the curse for the woman, or curse is for the woman? Painful childbearing, right? And then the second thing was? It would be a desire to rule over her husband, right? And for the man, the curse was not just work, work was actually given as a duty and a blessing, but now it's gonna be painful, right? It's painful toil and painful work for the man. And then we concluded that lesson by answering the question, why did all this even have to happen? And we answered that was that God had a plan for salvation from the beginning of time to redeem a people to himself that we might be restored into right fellowship with God through the sin atoning work of his son. So that leads me to where we're headed today. And I wanna give kind of a brief outline for where we're going the next really six weeks or so. Today, we're gonna be looking at and defining biblical masculinity. And I'll use biblical manhood in interchange with biblical masculinity. Next week, don't think you women are off the hook, next week is biblical femininity or biblical womanhood. And then we'll be looking at biblical manhood and womanhood within the home, and then within the church, and then within society and workplace. And then finally, we'll conclude by providing biblical answers to gender confusion, kind of hot topics of the day. and same-sex attraction. But today, let's look at specifically biblical manhood. Now, I want to look at this under two headings. First of all, what manhood is not, and secondly, what biblical manhood is. Now, if you think of the word manhood or masculinity, many of you may picture or many people out there may picture this tall, broad-shouldered man who wears a cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Depending on the year you were born, you may have pictured John Wayne, the strong and silent cowboy. How did he define manhood? Well, he said this, I define manhood simply, man should be tough, fair, and courageous, never petty, never looking for a fight, but never backing down from one either. Now there's some good things within that definition, right? But there's more to the story. Others in today's world, when they think of manhood, actually think of passivity. What is vogue in today's culture is for men to be passive, going along to get along, hiding or building themselves man caves. Who would have ever thought of that for their own entertainment and hedonistic desires? I actually looked up the word man cave. Here's what it says. A room or other part of the home used by a man as a place to relax and pursue hobbies away Again, away from the family. That's how Wikipedia defines it. Now, is it good for men to be alone at times? We saw earlier in Genesis how it's not good to be alone, right? So God made a helper suitable for him. But we do see a pattern, even Jesus himself needed to be alone to think, to contemplate, to pray, and so he would retreat to the mountaintop. And I'm not saying that we don't need to be alone at times as men, but what I am saying, if there's anything that we are doing or even creating that creates an atmosphere that repeatedly takes us away from our families, then that's when we need to reconsider it. Others, when they hear the word manhood, they think of someone who can fix anything, build anything, and solve all the problems. There's even a website now called The Art of Manliness that they've gotten so popular they have a podcast. This site is a place where men can go and get tutorials on how to tie a tie, how to shave, how to grill a steak, fix a toilet, fix a car, install a washing machine, how to wear corduroy, Everything you didn't know, everything you didn't know about your tape measure. Now I piqued your curiosity, haven't I? How to sharpen a pocket knife. And my favorite, how to ram through a vehicular roadblock. Now, I'm not denigrating these things. Most of these skills are good to learn, right? Most of them, true. But we must ask ourselves, that's what culture says is manliness. We've got to step back and say, is this really what masculinity is? Or at the very least, is this all that masculinity consists of? Manhood certainly does consist of having skills and talents But the Bible describes biblical manhood more in terms of Christ-like character rather than skills. Let me say that again. The Bible will often describe biblical manhood more in terms of Christ-like character rather than skills. Blake Boylston of Capitol Hill Baptist Church gives a working definition that I want to work through today with you as he looked at principles from the Word of God to define biblical masculinity. He said this, and it's on your handout, 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 context prescribed by God's word. I think that's a good definition of biblical masculinity. And so we want to walk through in the remainder of the class these five headings using the five phrases from this definition. 10, God's creation, provide for, protect, loving sacrificial leadership, and then finally, in particular context, prescribed by God's Word. So first of all, let's look at how man is to tend God's creation. We won't spend much time on this since we've dealt with it in a prior lesson to some degree. But we did see back in Genesis 2.15, remember the Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to do what? To work and to keep it. In verse 20 we read, the man gave names to all livestock and to the birds of the heavens and to every beast of the field. So we see Adam's role was to work the grounds and to care for the animals, including exercising dominion over them and giving them names. Part of this calling for men today certainly involves what we have discussed previously, that is making things grow. It's working and keeping the right priorities in life and nurturing relationships that matter. In the garden of life, it's watering and tending to relationships. Remembering the grass is not greener on the other side. I was at a conference last week, and it was for my work, but this same phrase that was used can be applied in all areas of life, and so I wanna share it with you today, because it fits in in today's lesson. The speaker said, the grass is greener where you water it. The grass is greener where you water it. Certainly, this can be applied to one's vocation. But what about for those that are husbands and fathers? What does it mean? Well, it means that we invest our time and our energy in watering the right things where we are and in relationship with others, not the least of which is our wives and our children. Pastor Phillips writes, Adam was God's ordained servant as Lord of the garden, just as men today are to be servants in our exercise of authority. Lordship, or as we would say it today, leadership, is intrinsic to the male calling in the world. He goes on to write helpfully about working and keeping. The biblical mandate to work, here with the emphasis on cultivating and tending, explores a great misconception regarding gender roles. We've been taught that women are the main nurturers, while men are to be strong and silent. But the Bible calls men to be cultivators, and that includes a significant emphasis on tending the hearts of those in our charge. Are we doing that, men? Are we investing our time tending the hearts of those around us, our wives, our children? our colleagues, those around us. Men, you are God's ordained leaders. And we need to take this call to leadership seriously, take the responsibility of growing and tending and keeping your garden. Well, secondly, the next phrase is provide for. What does it mean that a man should provide? Well, certainly one example of this is 1 Timothy 5, 8, but 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. It's important that if a man is able to work, that is, if he is free from sickness or free from disability, that he should provide for those in his charge. Spurgeon writes, God's normal way of providing for the needy is not through the local congregation, but through our own hard work. Now, certainly the church will step in in certain circumstances, and certainly the church is given to help with widows and orphans. But in ordinary situations, the family is to be provided for by the man. It's so important that Paul even writes that a man who does not do this has actually denied the faith. What does he mean there? Well, Spurgeon, again, is helpful in saying this is the minimum required of a Christian man. If he does not even do this, his conduct is worse than in unbelievers. We may add that Jesus himself gave an example of providing for one's own when he provided a home for his mother with a beloved disciple. Now, the husband's responsibility to provide does not mean that a wife cannot assist in earning income for the family. However, what we are saying is that if there is not enough money to buy food or pay the mortgage or pay the car insurance or pay the gas bill, then it's the husband's weight or pressure of it. He should feel the pressure and weight of it based on the responsibility given to him by God to provide. at least to provide enough resources for the essentials in order that the family may live. Again, there's going to be some unique exceptions, physical disability, unemployment, sickness, but by and large, it's the man who should see to it that the family's financial needs are met. When we seek to convolute these roles and reverse these roles, it doesn't go too well. Thirdly, let's look at the phrase, and protect. In Genesis 2.15, when the man is given the command to keep the garden, it's the same word used in other places of scripture in reference to the role of soldiers, shepherds, priests, and even God himself. The meaning of the word protect denotes a careful watching over. guarding and protecting for those in their care. To protect those in your care means that you're a shepherd leader, a shepherd leader. Now, we don't know that Adam for sure became a shepherd, but we do see that he was Lord over the animals, and we see that Abel, his son, was a keeper of the sheep. Other examples of shepherds and herdsmen in Scripture are Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses, and, of course, David. Regarding the shepherding of David, we read in Psalm 78, 72, with upright heart, he shepherded them and guided them with his skillful hand. Even Jesus himself describes himself as the good shepherd in John 10, verse 11. Pastor Phillips writes, so all through the Bible from beginning to end, God's model of servant leadership is that of a shepherd leader. And listen to what he says here, a true shepherd's attention and passion are directed toward the well-being of the sheep themselves. The sheep are his preoccupation, his burden, and his joy. What about for us today? Most of us are not shepherds in the room, right? At least in a vocational sense. But God has called us to be shepherds certainly in our homes. If you are married, then one of your sheep is your wife. If you have children, your children are your sheep. You are the family shepherd. Voddie Bauckham in his book, Family Shepherds, is a book that I would commend to you as men to read. It's a great book. But while regarding male headship, he writes this, few things are more hotly contested in the church and the culture today. He goes on to explain that the biblical model of male headship isn't bound by political allegiances. Instead, it views all women as worthy of respect, honor, and protection. How good that is. Paul echoes this sentiment in 1 Peter 3, 7. Husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel since they are heirs with you of the grace of life so that your prayers may not be hindered." Well, the shepherd was one who would tend, feed, and guard the flocks. And in guarding the flocks, he was the one that would stand in the gap between the sheep and any predators. He would do anything, he would do anything to protect the sheep in his possession. How are we doing with that, man? Are we doing everything that we can to protect the sheep that the Lord has given us. You know, shepherds also carried a long staff that had a curved end. And the goal was to slip that around the necks of those sheep who were wandering away. As I thought through this lesson, I thought about getting one of those for my three-year-old, just to whip that around. But it's a good visual, isn't it? That we are guarding, that we're protecting. that we're tending, that we're shepherding. How does this apply to us today? Blake Boylston again writes, 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 of whether they were his wife or not. Why is that? Not because women are inherently weaker physically, not because they're 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 also seek to protect their family's spiritual well-being even first and foremost. I was driving the other day and I was coming upon an intersection and the light turned red and I was sitting there And I noticed getting ready to cross the intersection was a man and his, presumably his wife, and they were holding hands. And before they crossed the intersection, he looked back, he looked to all the different sides, and then he stepped out into the roadway. Her hand clenched in his hand. What was she doing? She wasn't looking around. She was just walking. What's my point? It's the man who has to be looking around and being aware of the dangers in our family's lives. And the woman, when the man is actively doing that, as that man on the street corner was, the woman need not look around. Jesus follows in loving submission, trusting her husband, right? Trusting the Lord through him. So, what's my point? Men, we need to be looking out for our wives and our children, both physically and spiritually. Honestly, that applies to all women. We have an inherent desire to protect from harmful influences. But we need to know where our wives and children are throughout the day. We need to help them put up boundaries, we could say, in relationships that are not edifying. We need to make sure a car is running in good condition so it won't be stranded and have to be towed to Jacob Gamble. Although if it gets stranded, get towed to Jacob Gamble. He'll fix it. But my point is, let's provide for our families in ways that shows them that we're looking out for them and we're protecting them. We should strive to live in a safe area. If someone begins speaking falsehood about our wives and children, we stand up for them. We are the shield, so to speak, between what may cause harm and what will offer protection. And women, you should receive this care not because we as men can do it better, but because God thought we should be the ones to carry that burden for you. Well, men, we also need to look out for our wives and children spiritually. We need to gently shepherd and tend them by reading the word and by praying for them. We need to encourage them to spend personal, private time with the Lord themselves. We should endeavor to have them in a gospel-centered, Bible-preaching church that reinforces what we are teaching and hopefully, by God's grace, modeling at home. I found that most men in life find protecting while crossing an intersection easy, or ensuring a safe home, or even financially providing for their families easier than actually shepherding spiritually. But it's the spiritual protection that is perhaps the most important. Votie Bauckham writes, shepherding your family well is a task you must commit to because you know it will be right and you see it as a means of grace that God will use to bless you and your family. However, it's not a practice that will eliminate all your problems. It's not a cure-all. It's not as though we shepherd our families for a period of time and then sit back and enjoy the fruit of our labors. No matter what age we're at, shepherding is an ongoing task. It's a continual process, the work of which is not completed until the good shepherd calls us home. Well, certainly the supreme example of protecting was displayed on the cross when Jesus stepped in between us and God. And what did he do? He actually bore God's wrath on us. and essentially was saying, God, don't be wrathful toward Kevin or toward Dave or toward any of us. He said, no, I'm gonna bear that wrath that their sins deserved. It was a great example of protection and so much more, no doubt. And also amazing grace and love, which leads us to our next phrase. Fourth is loving, sacrificial leadership. Loving, sacrificial leadership. Throughout scripture, we see that man's disposition is to take responsibility for others. Husbands, for example, are called to be the head of their wives. We see that in Ephesians 5. Men are entrusted with leadership in the church, 1 Timothy 2 and 1 Corinthians 11. So, Boylston therefore says, listen to this, to be a man is to welcome, not run from, the mantle or responsibility of leadership. or to welcome, not run from, the responsibility of leadership. When we think about male leadership, we naturally turn to 1 Timothy 3, which details the traits necessary for elders. All of these qualifications, note, have to do with godly character, not the size of his muscles or length of his resume. It's important that although these qualifications are for elders, it's important for all of us. as men to aspire to these things. For sake of time, I'm gonna give you that task of reading through that this week. 1 Timothy 3, 1 through 7, looking at those godly characteristics. But biblical masculinity involves serving and sacrifice for the good of others. Jesus said, let the greatest among you become as the youngest and the leader as one who serves. Luke 22, 26. Can you imagine being one of the disciples? and having Jesus come and wash your feet. Our response would have been, no, no, no, Lord, I need to wash your feet. And he said, no, this is an example of. servant leadership and how I want you to serve others. Of course, the ultimate example of not only service but also sacrifice was when he took on our sins on the cross. The goal of leadership, the goal of leadership in biblical masculinity is to continually point others to holiness and heaven. Are we doing that? Men, if heaven calls this afternoon, is your household ready? Are you continually modeling holiness and pointing others in your charge toward it? You know, immediately after Paul says, the husband's to be the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, he also says, husbands, love your wives as Christ loved the church and what? We often leave out that next part, and gave himself. for her, Ephesians 5, 23 and 25. I've never met a man who did this, obviously, as perfectly as Jesus did, which means there's room for all of us in this room as men to improve. In fact, I'll say this, you can never love your wife too much. I've never sat in a counseling situation with a husband and wife and the wife said, you know, he just loves me too much. That's never happened. So we need to learn how to love our wives well. How do we do that? How do we love our wives as Christ loved His bride, the church? Well, by fulfilling the biblical role that's been given to us in Scripture, with the goal being that she would be brought forth without stain, without wrinkle, with the goal being, in other words, that by spending...think about this, man, by spending a lifetime with us, our wives are more sanctified. This will ultimately mean that we end up doing what's best for her and best for our children and to the glory of God. Although coming home and turning on a game sounds like a lot of fun, doesn't it, after a long day? But we lay down our lives, we sacrifice, and we continually point to Christ. Well, biblical masculinity doesn't have to, let me say this, doesn't have to initiate every action, but it feels the responsibility to provide a general pattern of initiative. This means that in a home, a husband will involve his wife in decisions. He does not have to do all the thinking and planning. But it is his responsibility for initiating and carrying through the spiritual planning for family life. If we make this practical, let's say you and your wife are making a large financial decision. Man, it's up to us to initiate those hard conversations and to help guide that and follow through on the decision that's made. This does not disregard the thoughts. and ideas of the woman, but merely takes the burden off her and places it on the man. It's a big example, but listen to the wisdom from one author who highlights the everyday areas in her home. He writes helpfully, for married men, there may be many times and many areas in the specifics of daily life where the wife will plan and initiate numerous things within the house and family. But a husband is likely falling down on his leadership responsibilities if the wife in general and consistently is having to take the initiative in getting the family to church and gathering the family for devotions and deciding what moral standards will be required of the children. I agree with that. It's exhausting for the wife, not only to do her job, but also take on the man's role, and she shouldn't have to. If women are taken on male headship, they will ultimately, what's going to happen, get burned out and become resentful toward the man. Men should be initiating spiritual and moral conversations with their children. Let me just take a little side note here. I have two of my boys in here today and I said to them, I'm gonna be talking about biblical manhood and I want you to listen to me. But here's the thing, I don't do this like I should, right? I don't do this perfectly. And we're gonna get to the point in a moment what we do when we don't do it perfectly. But here's the thing, Jesus is our example of service, of sacrifice, of love. And so what do we do as men? Well, we need to step into the gap and we need to take responsibility in leading family devotions, encouraging personal quiet times. It should be the man who initiates conversations regarding what the one author said is the moral considerations or moral standards for their boys and girls, including their teens. teaching them how to act, how to behave, how to, we could even say how to dress as those who are modest and respectful, reflecting what? A sincere desire within to please the Lord. It's important for the present generation and certainly also future generations to have men that boldly lead, initiate, serve, and sacrifice. Biblical masculinity also accepts the burden of the final say in disagreements between leader and lead, but don't presume to use it at every instance. Boylston writes, men often fall into one of two extremes when it comes to leadership. See where you are, men. Either it's domineering Daniel or passive Pete. The first is to be oppressive and overbearing, but the second is to be passive and apathetic, and both are dangerous perversions. of biblical leadership. Ray Ortland said it best, the antithesis to male headship is male domination. In marriage and family, the husband is the one who has to answer to God for the direction of the family, so he must be aware of that and embrace the God-given responsibility. This doesn't mean that men will make all the decisions. It will not mean that. After all, woman was actually given as an azer, right? A help mate, which means all you men in the room that are married, you need your wife. And for all you women in the room, we're lost without you, right? We need you and we need you actively engaged in conversation and in life's decision. The biblical masculinity and leadership is also called a repentance. and humility. We read in 1 Peter 5, 6, Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God, so that at the proper time He may exalt you. See, we must be teachable. As we read God's Word, let's pray that the Holy Spirit would convict us where needed, that we might be the godly men that our wives and our children deserve and that would most glorify the Lord. It also involves repenting. How hard this is. It involves repenting when you're wrong. going to your wife, going to your children saying, I was wrong, please forgive me. Fifth, let me close out with this. As we go back to the definition earlier in the class on biblical masculinity, let's look at the phrase in particular context prescribed by God's word. The Bible makes it clear that male headship and authority are to exist within two spheres, two spheres of covenantal relationships. The first, in the home, a husband is called to lead his wife lovingly and his family. In the local church, male elders are called to exercise authority. While all men will not and should not exercise authority over all women, men should still have a desire to feel the responsibility, feel the responsibility for the good of others. When we look at scripture, I'll conclude with this, we see a contrast of two men, Adam and Jesus. Boylston writes, the first Adam was created to steward God's creation, to provide leadership for his bride, obeying God's commands, and he failed. The second Adam, that is Jesus, was the perfect man who served sacrificially, used his authority for good, laid down his life for the bride, and fully obeyed his father's commands. Jesus perfectly displays biblical masculinity. And so when we fail, and we do, like the first Adam, we look to the second. who both forgives our sins and empowers us in our weakness and selfishness even to love and lead as He has shown us. Let's pray. God in heaven, we thank You for Your Word. And I thank You, Lord, that these are not my words, they're Your words. And Your truth is good for us to hear. I pray, Lord, that men today who have heard this are not leaving here discouraged. There are times when you do need to prick our consciences. Certainly you taught me much just this week in preparing this lesson. Father, help us to take that and help us to pray about it, that we might lovingly sacrifice, that we might serve well, that we might protect, that we might provide You would help us to lead with all grace and all humility, as a shepherd leader should, that all around us would see Christ and Him glorified. For it's in His name that we pray. Amen.