We are continuing to look on our study on the depravity of the homosexual movement. And this week we're specifically speaking to the masculinity of men in the church. So let's go to the Lord in prayer, shall we? O Lord God, this is your holy word. We are your servants. Give us understanding that we might know your testimonies. You have prayed, O Lord, sanctify them in truth. Thy word is truth. Use your holy, eternal, inerrant written word to set us apart this day to your service and to your glory. Show us now great and mighty things which we do not know. The sower sows the word. Let not your word go out and return empty, but accomplish that purpose for which you have drawn us together and for which you are sending it out. Protect us from Satan who will snatch your word. Protect us from a wrong reaction to difficulties and discouragements and persecutions which make our hearts hard and unresponsive to your word. Protect us from the world's cares and the delight of wealth and the passion of other interests which enter in and choke your word, making it fruitless. Rather give us good soil, O Lord. Plow up now the hard ground of our hearts. Give us good soil that your sown word would send roots downward and then bear fruit upwards. Unsheath now the sword of your spirit, O Lord. Cut to the dividing point of bone and marrow, soul and spirit. Judge now the thoughts and intentions of each heart gathered here. Spread your word before us as a banquet table, O Lord. Grant grace that we might eat of the rich meat, and drink of the sweet milk of the great doctrines of your word. Give us the heart of the prophet who cried to you. Thy words were found and I did eat them, and thy words became to me a joy and the delight of my heart. For I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts. Oh Lord, we live in a dark and a wicked age. Broad is the way and many are on it, which leads to destruction. Make your word a lamp to our feet. Make your word a light to our path. Show us that narrow way that you would have us run. And Lord, as we run in the paths of your commandments, enlarge our hearts, that in loving you we might be more obedient to your written word. Drop your word against our lives as a plumb line, O Lord. Grant grace that we might see how we deviate from its high and holy purposes. Make your word to us a mirror, O Lord. Grant grace that we might not be as those who look and then go away and then promptly forget how we look, but make us active doers and not forgetful listeners of your holy word. O Lord, because of our fealty to you, Because of our undying love and devotion to your Son, our resurrected Savior, we pledge to you this day our total submission to your holy, eternal, inerrant written word. And we pledge to you our unquestioning obedience to all of its commands. in the name of our lord and savior jesus christ we pray well this will be a good study guys and ladies i should say guys and gals we are looking at the holy scriptures and masculinity If you have a little problem streaming this, especially those who are joining us internationally, if you turn off your video link, I'll come through a little clearer. You don't have to, but you are free to. Okay, let's look at this. The Holy Spirit and cross-dressing and gender confusion. Masculinity and men in the church. Men are to act and look and rule in the church as men. Masculinity is a command of God. We are commanded in 1 Corinthians 16, 13 for men to act like men. The verse says, be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. Androzomai is the combination of two words. One is the Greek word for being manly, and the other is the Greek word for being courageous or strong. Thus, we are to act like men. We are to be courageous, strong men. Courage is a Christian virtue. Joshua chapter 1 could not make that more clear. and men are to be strong and courageous. I ask all of you to open up your copy of the Holy Scriptures and turn to 1st Corinthians 16.13. Those of you who are using handheld devices have more flexibility in this than those of you who are using paper Bibles. Some editors have arbitrarily changed masculine to neuter in the translation of Holy Scripture. Now in Scripture, in the Greek, there are neuter forms. we would use uh... that would be correctly translated as mankind uh... or one one may do this one may not to do this mankind may do this mankind may not do this that is true and where the greek is neuter i have no problem with a neuter representation the problem is though that God the Holy Spirit has passed down to us, and we will see this, gender-specific pronouns, names, statements, roles. And when the editorial board of the Holy Scripture arbitrarily chooses to begin making all pronouns neuter, that is a sin. It is a sin to add to or take away from Holy Scripture. Revelation 22, 18-20. Now an indication of the feminization of the Church is seen in the fact that feminine is never changed to neuter. Isn't that interesting? If you are using a copy of the Holy Scripture such as the NIV or the Message, or the Anglican New English Bible, you will find that many of the masculine pronouns and indicators are changed to neuter, but you will never see the feminine changed to neuter. Now, you could change the feminine to neuter, such as Proverbs 31. But it is not done this way. Only the masculine is changed to neuter. Therefore, if in 1 Corinthians 16, 13, you do not have this indicator, act like men, then you have an agenda-driven copy of the Holy Scripture, which who knows what else has been arbitrarily changed. In the history of the Church, for over a thousand years. We have been able to relax and read the Word of God with confidence, giving our trust to the translators and editorial board of the Holy Scripture to translate it correctly, but that's no longer the case. Man need not know Greek or Hebrew. He could trust the translators. But that's no longer uniformly the case. Because they are arbitrarily changing masculine to neuter in some translations. But they never change the feminine to neuter. Notice in Proverbs 31.10, the Holy Scriptures say, an excellent wife who confide her strength is above jewels. In these liberal translations, it is not changed to an excellent spouse who confide the spouse's worth is above jewels. In Proverbs 31.18, she senses that her gain is good, her lamp does not go out at night, This is not changed to the spouse senses that its gain is good. The spouse's lamp does not go out at night. Proverbs 31, 28 and 29, her children rise up and bless her, her husband also and he praises her, saying many daughters have done nobly, but you excel them all. this is not changed to the parents children rise up and bless the parent the spouse and the spouse praises the spouse saying many children have done nobly but you excel them all no in all these liberal translations the feminine is left feminine changes such as this changing The feminine to neuter are not made. The only changes made by liberal American and European women and the men they dominate in the editorial boards or the men they dominate or intimidate are changes from the masculine to the neuter. 1 Corinthians 16.13 is correctly translated in Bibles that are committed to inerrancy. The King James Version translates it, Watch ye steadfast in faith, quit you like men, be strong. Now the only problem I have with the King James Translation is that the words have become archaic, as you can see here. The Holman translation, which is driven primarily by the Southern Baptist Convention, states, be alert, stand firm in the faith, act like a man, be strong. The English Standard Version, which is a translation primarily driven by the Reformed branches of the Presbyterian Church and embraced by many Reformed Baptist churches, Be watchful, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. The New American Standard Bible, who was originally primarily driven by the independent conservative Bible church movement, such as Dallas Theological Seminary and Colorado Conservative Seminary. Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. You can see in each instance, act like men is presented accurately. Contrast this with agenda-driven Bibles. The message, and I have to say, and I've said this over again in the Bible study, At one time, I would say the New English or Anglican version and the Phillips translation were the two of the most poorly translated, agenda-driven, misleading copies of scripture in Protestant Christianity. Now the message has, I feel like, exceeded this. The message states, keep your eyes open, hold tight to your convictions, give it all you've got, be resolute, and love without stopping. Completely neutered it. In fact, when I speak at a university or military conference, I always bring copies of the ESV, good quality, either hardback or leather, and offer them to anybody who's using the message if they promise not to purchase another message. I just give them an accurate copy of scripture. The NIV, in its most recent editorial edition, also has begun neutering scripture. Be on your guard, stand firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong. I can no longer recommend that people use the NIV in their Bible studies. The new English Bible, the Anglican translation, not to be confused with the English Standard Version. Stay alert, stand firm in the faith, show courage, be strong. The Revised Standard Version, which was driven by the United Methodist Church at one time. Be watchful, stand firm in your faith, be courageous, be strong. Now you can see that in a Bible study on God's desire that men be masculine, that men be strong, that that would be completely lost by these liberal translations, wouldn't it? Now, I've heard liberal women protest to me, I can't relate to act like men. I just can't relate to that. What am I supposed to do with that verse? To which we reply, you're not meant to. You're not meant to relate to this verse. You're not meant to do anything with this verse unless you're married and have boys. You are to raise them up to act like men. This passage is for men. Not all passages in Holy Scripture are for direct application to all people. There are passages in Holy Scripture like this meant only for men. Genesis 1.26 Then God said, Let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, and the birds of the sky, and the cattle of the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. There are passages of Holy Scripture meant only for women. Genesis 2.18 Then God said, It is not good for man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him. The man said, This is now bone of my bones and flesh of my flesh. She shall be called woman because she was taken out of man. So this is meant only for women. There are passages in Holy Scripture meant only for children. Ephesians 6, 1-3 Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right, on your father and mother, which is the first commandment with a promise, so that it may be well with you, and you may live long on the earth. there are passages in scripture meant only for single men first corinthians seven thirty two but i want you to be free from concern one who is unmarried is concerned about the things of the lord that he may please the lord in a minute we are going to be discussing one of the Achilles heels of the modern discipleship and disciple making movements within church and prayer church movements in that they disciple single men and single women as if they were neuter and would always be so. We'll come to that later. There are passages in Holy Scripture meant only for married men. Oh, for single women. There are passages in Holy Scripture meant only for single women. The woman who is unmarried and the virgin is concerned about the things of the Lord, that she may be holy in body and spirit. Contrastingly, there are passages in Holy Scripture meant for married men. 1 Corinthians 7, 33 and 34. But the one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how he may please his wife, and his interests are divided. Or Ephesians 5, 25. Husbands, love your wives as Christ also loved the church and gave himself up for her. There are passages in Holy Scripture meant only for married women. 1st Corinthians 7 34 But the one who is married is concerned about the things of the world, how she may please her husband. Ephesians 5 22 Wives, be subject to your own husbands as to the Lord. One of the origins of this problem of demanding that all passages in scripture be neuter, either by male or female driven worldviews, is the tendency of the church and parachurch organizations to treat men and women in the area of discipleship as neuter. Now, it's true that the disciplines of discipleship and the call to the ministry of disciple-making are the same for both single men and single women. It is not true, however, that their roles in the church and their future roles in the family are the same. Now their failure to address gender roles in the area of discipleship and disciple-making has resulted in an expectation of a gender-neutral Christianity. An example of this is in Titus 2. The older women are to teach the younger women, and they cover all important areas of discipleship and disciple-maker, but it also covers that they should love their children, that they should submit to their husbands. The failure of the church in the area of discipleship and in the ministry to prepare single women for a change in their role has resulted and many problems of marriage. The same thing for men. When the Bible says that the single man is concerned about the things of the Lord, how he may please the Lord, but the married man is concerned about the things of the world how he may please his wife the failure for the church in the area of discipleship and disciple making training of single men has caused a lot of problems not only for laymen but also for married ministers as they continue to seek to serve the Lord as single men concerned about the things of the Lord only, whereas the Holy Scripture says that once he is married his interests will be divided. Many unhappy marriages of zealous Christian men are the result of the Church's failure to address gender identity for them early in the Christian life. Masculinity is commanded by God And it is a theme throughout Holy Scripture. Remember we said that we established our key verse. And you'll know from my previous Bible studies that I encourage you to take a key verse such as 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Be on the alert. Stand firm in the faith. Act like men. Be strong. masculinity and men in the church is a command of God. But one of the things I encourage you to do, rather than trying to remember all of the verses that we are now going to look at, is just in the corner or on the side of your page of your copy of Holy Scriptures to run these cross-references. So, if you are using a paper Bible, and you write in your Bible, I would encourage you, by 1 Corinthians 16, 13, to write Job 38, 1-3. Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Who is this that darkens counsel by words without knowledge? Now gird up your loins like a man, and I will ask you, and you instruct me. again in Job 46 and 7. And the Lord answered Job out of the storm and said, Now gird up your loins like a man. I will ask you, and you will instruct me. Remember in both of these passages God is speaking. See, the Lord answered. The Lord answered. This is a command of God. If this were one of Job's friends speaking, then you could argue that they were victims of crude and sexist culture. Gird up your loins like a man. Well, you know, they're just gender-specific, narrow, linear thinkers. They don't realize that there are going to be women who will have to be strong Christians as well. So they wrote this. gird up your loins like a man is just a sexist term. No! In this case, God the Father is speaking, and God the Holy Spirit has recorded and watched over God the Father's exact words. When we are doing business with God, gentlemen, we gird up our loins like a man, we stand up, and we do business with God. as strong men strong men, men willing to make hard decisions Isaiah 42, 13 the Lord will go forth like a warrior he will arouse his zeal like a man of war he will utter a shout, yes he will raise a war cry he will prevail against his enemies again, who's speaking here? the Lord, God the Father is speaking. And we see here that manliness is an attribute of God. He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. He will arouse His zeal like a man of war. Liberal women may say, how can I aspire to be like God if manliness is one of his divine attributes? That's a similar question that was addressed before. How can I relate to this verse if it's translated, act like a man? And the answer is, you don't relate to it. It's for men. Here again, a woman may say, how can I aspire to be like God if manliness is one of his divine attributes? The response is, you are not to aspire to be like God in this area. How can you say that? We're supposed to be like God. There are attributes of God which we may not aspire. Doesn't matter if we're men or women. I've got a devotional series. If you like it, just email me. I'll send it to you. It's Daily Quiet Times on 70 Attributes of God. At the end of it, when you've meditated on all 70 attributes, and I'm not saying there are not more. Those are just the ones I found. One of the reflective questions is, from the attributes that you've meditated on, what are attributes to which we may aspire? And what are attributes from which we are forbidden? I have two index cards on my mirror. in my bathroom that I look at when I shave. One says, no one wants to hear about it. That's to remind me as I get older, people don't want to hear about my whining and my complaining. The other is, this is not God. And that is to remind me that I am to be holy as the Lord is holy but I am not to become a god I am not to take on to myself all of the attributes of God I am to aspire to those to which God invites me and I am to abstain from those attributes which are forbidden for instance God is a jealous God Deuteronomy 4, 23 and 24, for the Lord your God is a consuming fire." Deuteronomy 4, 24. However, 1 Corinthians 13, 4 commands us, love is patient, love is kind, love is not jealous. God is an avenging God, yet for Christians, vengeance is a sin. Romans 12 19 never take your revenge beloved but leave room for wrath of God for his written vengeance is mine I will repay says the Lord God is a jealous God for Christians jealousy is a sin God is an avenging job for Christians vengeance is a sin and the list goes on The what would Jesus do movement, one of the weaknesses of that is that there are certain things Jesus did that it would be a sin if we did them. And there are attributes of God that are sin if we take them on upon ourselves. in the same way men are to be manly and may aspire to the manly attributes of God while these are forbidden by women. And let me say now that I have heard recently in a couple of parish church conferences that God the Holy Spirit is the feminine side of God. The Bible does not say that and it is a sin to teach it. 2nd 1st Corinthians 4 6 Says that we are not to exceed that which is written 1st Corinthians 4 6 God the Holy Spirit does not present himself as herself and We are not free to say that In my Sunday school class, there's a big whiteboard. Not every Sunday, but on a regular basis, I ask a rhetorical question. By what authority are you saying or believing this? Dot, dot, dot. Sometimes when I hear these statements, I think, by what? No, the Holy Spirit is the feminine side of God. By what authority are you saying this? By what authority do you believe this? It simply springs from your own imaginations. Our thoughts are not God's thoughts, and we are not free by our own imagination to define who God is and what he does. God is not what we believe. We believe what God is as revealed to us in Holy Scripture. God does not do what we believe. Repeat that again please, sorry. I'm trying to write that statement. God is not what we believe just from there. God is not what we believe. We believe what God is as revealed in Holy Scripture. God is not what we believe. We believe what God is in accordance with Holy Scripture. God does not do what we believe. Rather, we believe what God does in accordance with Holy Scripture. By a word of faith, by our belief, God does not get up off His throne and run here and there doing our will. Rather, by faith in Christ and our belief and trust in the Holy Scripture, we get up off our pew or our chair and run here and there doing what He commands. I'll make myself a note here. If you'll send me a email, I'll send you a copy of about six statements on here, but let me make a note to do that. Send word of God. Okay, great. It's important for us to remember, though, and thank you for asking me to repeat that. God is not what we believe simply because we believe something does not make it true. We believe what God is as revealed by His Holy Scripture. Now, in 1 Kings 2, 1 and 2, God the Holy Spirit teaches us, As David's time drew near, he charged Solomon his son, saying, I am going the way of all earth. Be strong. Be strong, therefore, and show yourself a man. Now, David did not always give good advice, did he? In 2 Samuel 11, 14-16, he commanded Job to have Uriah the Hittite killed in battle. Now, that was a good advice. In 1 Chronicles 21-2, he commanded Joab to number the people. Now, a lot of people said, well, it's a sin to keep track of numbers. Well, there's a whole book of numbers in the Bible. David's sin was that he did not go to the priests and present the offering which is commanded by God before you number the people and seek God's will. He just acted his own as if he was God. So, the law gave direction for David. If he had submitted himself to the Lord and sought his will, the results could have been avoided. But nevertheless, he gave Job bad advice. So, as with all historical revelation in Holy Scripture, we test the words of men against doctoral revelation of God the Holy Spirit. Now we can cross-reference this event with doctrinal passages that establish that this advice to his son Solomon is from God. So we have these doctrinal passages, 1 Corinthians 16.13, Job 38.1-3, Isaiah 42.13, one of many, and we can establish from the statements of God the Father as revealed by God the Holy Spirit, that David's advice to Solomon for him to be strong and show himself a man was good advice. And we can also memorize that verse and pass it down to our children or to the young men that we are discipling in the ministry. It's also an interesting passage in Job 8, 20 and 21. So he said to Jether his firstborn, Rise, kill them. But the youth did not draw his sword, for he was afraid, because he was still a youth. Then Ziba and Zalmunia, they said, Rise up yourself and fall on us. For as the man, so is his strength. So Gideon arose and killed Ziba and Zalmunah, and took the crescent ornaments which were on their camels' necks." Now this is a historical revelation, so we do not take direct application, but we can reflect on devotional application, knowing that men are to be strong. So in my Bible I have underlined, for as the man, so is his strength. And that God wants me to be a strong man of body, of mind in terms of my convictions, of faith in terms of my obedience. You see, there is a devotional application for men in this passage. There are difficult and hard decisions that only a man can handle. That's why it burns my heart when a church uses the youth ministry as the cutting edge for evangelism and missions. placing the young people under our care in the forefront of the battle, while the adult men stand back, maybe contribute some money. If you are not prepared to take on manly responsibilities, then you should not take a position in which these manly qualities are needed. If you are not prepared to act as a man, you should not get married, have children and assume a ministry. You're not prepared to lead your wife spiritually and protect her from doctrinal error. These tasks are not for boys. They are for men and strong men at that. Unfortunately, I have known men who married their mommy. It never ended well. By this I do not mean their literal mother, but a woman who would take over the role of mother so they could continue to function as single men. Many times these men marry an older woman who will provide for them while they maintain a lifestyle of play. But it's not limited just to men who just want to spend all their time fishing or hunting or playing on computers or traveling while their women are the mainstay at home. Even working while their women are the mainstay in terms of the spiritual leadership of the home. There are men who marry a strong woman so they will not have to deal with the difficult decisions concerning work, marriage, children, and more. I've known men who take on the role of the so-called stay-at-home dad while the wife is a provider. That's sin. I have, or worse, men who put their wives to work so they can continue to minister as single men. That's a sin. I have known men in the ministry, in the pastorate, who married their mommy, a strong woman, so that they didn't have to take on the roles that God had given them as the head of their home. They could just enjoy playing church. And I have known men who married their quote, mommy, so that they could be irresponsible missionaries. These men's marriages did not end well. If you are not strong enough to lead your wife, then you shouldn't get married. That's not to say marrying a strong-willed, a strong woman, is a bad decision. I married a very strong woman. but she was strong in her convictions concerning Holy Spirit Scripture that she was to be my helpmate I always tell men in my marriage class she can't be your helpmate if you don't let her help you that's not to say she doesn't help me but what you the man has to be willing to be the spiritual head of the family and to take his wife and his family in tow as the leader. For as the man, so is his strength. Masculinity is a command of God, a theme throughout scripture. The role of the man in his relationship with God, in his marriage, in his family, in the church and society is one created by God and not for the faint of heart. Both in the family and the church, we are to raise up strong men who will be leaders in the faith. As is the man, so is his strength. Let's raise up strong sons and strong men in our church that when God says do something, they can rise up and do it. If you're, there are many men I know, both in the church and in parachurch organizations, whose wives have come under the influence of liberal women, European or American women. or the men who are either dominated or intimidated by them and seek to have an equal role with their husband. If you are not strong enough to sit down with your wife and structure in the scriptures in a loving way. And to bring your wife and your children under the authority of scripture, then you weren't ready to get married in the first place. Masculinity also speaks to gender specific care. This battle was lost in the church in the sixties. In America, first Corinthians 11, 14. Man does not even nature itself teach that if a man has long hair it is a dishonor to him. Most pastors beginning by the end of the 60s and the 70s had completely given up on this passage. They became evangelical pragmatists. We just don't know what this verse means. Because pragmatically speaking, if they brought their church under the authority of Holy Scripture people would leave and they don't want people to leave so they just walk away from this I had a man in my Bible study who was on the praise team and he had a long ponytail down the middle of his back I just sat down with him and shared with him about this he said nobody's ever taught me on this I said, well, I just want you to know what the Bible says. It says, well, my wife has often told me how much it bothers me that my hair is as long as hers. But, you know, I said, well, it doesn't bother God, but I see here it does bother God. So he cut his hair, cut it short. So it wouldn't be dishonoring to God or to him. Guess who was the most upset person in the church when that happened? The pastor. Because he wanted to have a modern praise team. You have to have a guy who plays the guitar, who jumps up and down like Mick Jagger while he plays the guitar. Then you have to have a guy who, or a woman who's gender neutral. She either has real short masculine hair, or he has a long ponytail and then you have, you know, this kind of person and that kind of person and then you just kind of have, you know, there you have up in front of you everything that represents the decadence of our culture up there praising God. Everybody feels accepted. So he was really upset because he lost his long hair ponytail person on the praise team. Isn't that sad? In fact, he sat down and counseled the guy to grow his hair back so that they would have someone on the prayer team to whom men with long hair could relate. You see, God is the creator of nature. Genesis 1-1. In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. That's what nature is. Heavens and the earth. and the lessons of nature as created by God are neither accidental nor are they without purpose. Romans 1 20 for since the creation of the world his invisible attributes his eternal power his divine nature have been clearly seen being understood through what he has made. So what? What does it say here? They are without excuse Nature is not a random collision of atoms, nor the survival of the physicist, nor a mystery. Nature is specifically created It is not accidental, nor is it without purpose. Acts 14, 16, and 17. In generations gone by, he permitted all nations to go their own ways. And yet he did not leave himself without a witness in that he did good and gave you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons, satisfying your hearts with food and gladness. God created nature specifically and for a specific purpose. And one of the purposes that he created nature for is to teach men that long hair is dishonoring. In the animal kingdom, God created a clear distinction between male and female, both in roles and appearances, as object lessons for us. God the Holy Spirit teaches us that gender-specific care is one of the lessons to be learned and applied. Then people say, well, didn't Jesus have long hair? Well, the answer is no. Jesus took an active part in the creation, including nature. Jesus takes an active role in the maintenance of his creation nature Colossians 1, 16 and 17 says, For by him all things were created, both in the heavens and on the earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things are held together. Jesus created nature and one of the lessons of nature is that long hair is dishonoring to man and now you are saying Jesus turned around and having done that is going to grow his hair long and the answer is no. Now we have a rule here the conduct and teaching of one member of the Holy Trinity will never contradict the conduct or teaching of the other members. In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. In that creation His invisible qualities are revealed. In that creation, it is revealed that long hair is dishonoring to men. God the Son will never contradict the conduct or teaching of God the Father. The conduct and teachings of one member of the Holy Trinity will always act in concert and uniformity, one with the others. Jesus would not act or appear in such a way as to contradict the lessons he purposefully created and he has maintained in nature. Jesus would never act or appear in such a way as to contradict the teachings of God the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scripture. So now the next question people ask, and as you can see, I've gone around with Christians before on this, what is long hair? Something to consider for yourself, for your children, for your church. What is long hair? Now in this measurement, in this passage, no measurement is given. Therefore it becomes culturally and gender specific. Now there are measurements in the Bible, aren't there? There are measurements concerning their ark, there are measurements concerning the temple, there are measurements concerning the tabernacle, there are distances that people traveled, there are lots of measurements in the Bible. and God could have supplied measurements in this area as well. There is ample room, both in scripture and language and culture, for God the Holy Spirit to have provided specific measurements for what is long hair. When I was in high school, if the principal would take his hand and put it on the collar, and your hair could not touch his hand. Holy Scripture could have said that. A man's hair cannot tuck his shoulder. A man's hair cannot go five fingers below his ear. A man's hair cannot... and so forth. For men, one simple rule can be this. Ask yourself, if a woman wore her hair like this, would she look feminine? Yeah. Look in the mirror. And if a woman wore your hair like you're wearing your hair, would it look feminine? If the answer is yes, then the hair is too long. You can let your son look at the people on your praise team. Another simple rule is, if you were seen from the back in church, would it be clear from your hair that you were a man? If the answer is no, your hair is too long. And I've had that happen to me. I've been sitting in a church, either visiting with my family or a visiting speaker. I've been sitting in the back and I've seen a couple sitting in front there. I'm obviously affectionate with each other. And then they have the time when everybody stands up and greets each other. And the person with long hair that I thought was the woman is the man. And the person with the short, bleached haircut that I thought was the man, perhaps in the military, is the woman. Another simple rule is, is your hair long enough that you devote time in taking care of it as part of your glory? That's how Sam took care of his hair when he was growing up. He came out of the shower, took a towel, toweled it off. That was it. No primping. Is it something you are proud to display for others? If the answer is yes, then your hair is too long. And I was challenged that as a high school student by my youth minister. He said, John, you're always primping your hair. You're really proud of it. Then he shared with me this verse, so I went and got a haircut. Another simple rule. Is the length of your hair associated with decadent or rebellious segment of society? An example of this would be pagan musicians. I know in the African American culture, many of the men wear long braids and it's associated with Jamaican music. But what also is associated with Jamaican music is promiscuity and drug use. One of the things that I really appreciated about President Barack Obama was he gave a clear testimony of being a well-dressed, well-groomed gentleman with short hair. And his wife was always well-dressed, well-groomed mother with long hair. and they remain faithful to each other in marriage. If the answer is yes, that your hair is associated with a decadent and rebellious segment of society, such as pagan musicians or motorcycle gang members, then it's too long. Another simple rule. As you look at the masculine men in your church, is your hair longer than their hair? If the answer is yes, then it is too long. And by God's grace, the deacons, the elders, the pastoral staff dress as Christian gentlemen and are an example to the young men in the church. I praise God. I grew up in an era when high school and college men aspired to be like their ministers and their pastors. rather than today when in many parachurch and church ministries the ministers aspire to be like high schoolers and college students. What if the wife wants her husband to have long hair? I've had men say this, but my wife likes my hair long. Well, 1 Peter 3, 1 and 2, The wife is not to lecture or rebuke or teach her husband, but, but, but, but, but, but by her good behavior went into the truth. That is contrasted with the husband. The husband doesn't submit to his wife in the area of length of hair, but instead leads her in Ephesians 5, 25 through 20 through 33. If you're not prepared to lead your wife in this area, then you weren't prepared to get married in the first place. Okay? Then what about questions? What about beards? Isaiah 50 verse 6. It is agreed upon that this is a messianic prophecy. So I gave my back to those who strike me and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard. I did not cover my face from humiliation and spitting. This is the first of a series from Isaiah 50 through Isaiah 53 of clear messianic prophecies. However, if you say it's not a messianic prophecy, I have no problem with that. Beards are mentioned many times in Holy Scripture and never condemned. So this is simply a testimony of Isaiah. It doesn't say, and therefore the Lord said, Shaveth off thy beard. Be a man. It doesn't say that. The Bible doesn't say we should grow beards or not grow beards. They are permitted. Simply your choice. Now, over the last 20 something years, Eleanor and I have traveled in over 29 countries teaching the Bible. As such, whenever I've passed through a city that has a major historical museum in the US or in Europe, I've taken a layover and one of the reasons for the layover is specifically to go to their displays for Israel during the time of Christ in Paul. In Israel and throughout the Roman Empire during the time of Christ men were uniformly depicted with closely cropped hair. Now It's hard to tell from the mosaics of stone, but you can see they're closely cropped, but it's very clearly depicted in the sculptures from that period that are displayed. Depictions of Jesus and apostles with long hair did not come into vogue until what we call the Dark Ages or Middle Ages, where decadent European nobility who wore their hair long wanted saints to be depicted in the same manner. So, if you wanted to earn a living by painting, you had to depict Jesus and the saints from Holy Scripture as European nobility with long hair. That's where it came into being. Jesus did not have long hair. What about masculine clothing? A woman shall not wear men's clothing, nor shall a man put on woman's clothing. Whoever does these things is an abomination to the Lord your God. Now, we know that in the law, God gave specific instructions on the attire of priests, Levites, and high priests. God could have given specific instructions here, in terms of what constitutes women's clothing, but he doesn't. So again, as with hair, we are to look around and not wear hair like women, we are to look around and not wear clothing like women. All you have to do is just look around. I was speaking at a conference in Kenya, There was another American who was with a parachurch organization speaking there too. And we were sitting together because we were taking turns going forward and speaking at the different messages. And he chided me for not wearing an African shirt. Now, you gentlemen from Nigeria and Cameroon and South Africa and Kenya know that there's no such thing as an African shirt. You have your mother tongue or your tribal association, which has distinctive shirts. Some of you may have a country with a distinctive shirt, but there is no such thing as a, quote, African shirt. But I didn't approach him on that. I just looked around. All of the adult men at that conference wearing coats and ties So I guess he was dressing more African than they were. They were all adult men, Kenyan men. They were all in coats and ties. The pastor was in a coat and tie. The music minister. All I had to do was look around and see how men were dressed and dress like them. I was in a country in West Africa for a long period of time. And there was a short term mission team of women from a parish church organization that visited for a week. She made a comment on my coat and tie. We were sitting at a coffee shop and I just said, look around you. We were in downtown. All the adult men were in coats and ties. All I had to do when I got off the airplane was look around. It has been my embarrassment because this event at a church in Nairobi has occurred many times. After the service, American missionaries and short-term college missionaries were invited back to the pastor's office for tea. They were all dressed like they were going to a game park, but they weren't. They were in church. All the pastoral staff wearing coat and tie, slacks, polished shoes. All the missionaries were dressed like boys. And I have often said that to parachurch organizations and churches when I visited other countries, you do not have to receive short-term missionaries who are going to dress in an insulting way at your church and conferences and be a bad example for your youth. I say hats off to Reverend Tana Foran Peters who, when the short-term missionaries arrived, the men had long hair and earrings. He told them they would have to cut their hair and take off their earrings, and they went home. Well, good for him. Africa is not a game park. It is a country. Any missionaries visiting your country are your guests and they should behave accordingly. Well, off that stump and I'll continue on. Another example of this, I was in Japan for about a month. Eleanor and I were. And one of the Japanese missionaries, we were standing at the train station, he was sending me on to my next city. He was expressing his surprise that I had been invited every Sunday to speak at a different Japanese church for my entire time there. He shared with me that missionaries in his organization have been there for years, some over a decade, and never invited to speak behind the pulpit. But I looked at him. Here was a man in his mid-thirties. He had a T-shirt on. He was wearing shorts and sandals. It was the summer. As men got off the train at the train station and came pouring out, they were all dressed the same way. Blue blazer, white shirt, dark tie, tacky pants, socks, polished shoes. That's how I was dressed. I shared with him that the reason that they were probably not asked to speak at church is that pastors were not going to entrust the pulpit to men who like to dress like children. He didn't accept this, but I have to say he had married his mommy and his marriage did not end well. In all of these examples, all you have to do is look around to make your decision of what is culturally acceptable masculine clothing. Just look around and make a decision. But you are to look like Christian gentlemen, not like boys. Masculinity is created at birth. and the use of masculine pronouns comes into play. God the Holy Spirit has watched over and preserved masculinity in Holy Scripture. Masculine references to God the Father and God the Son are not cultural. Masculine pronouns are not cultural. Masculine names of men are not cultural. Man is not free to choose either his gender nor his role, nor is he free to change it once God has made this decision. Gender has been chosen by God both at creation and universally, and then in the womb specifically. Genesis 1, 26 and 27. Then God said, let us make man in our image, according to our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the sky, over the cattle, over the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created man in His own image. In the image of God He created him. Male and female He created them. First God created man in His image and then out of man He took a rib and created the woman. Psalm, that is the universal creation of two genders. Psalm 139, 13, for you formed me in my inward parts, you wove me in my mother's womb. Specific gender, whether someone is born a man or a woman, is also determined by God. His inward parts, his genetic makeup, His male organs were created by God while he was in his mother's womb and they are not to be changed. Roles are chosen by God as revealed to us by God the Holy Spirit in Holy Scripture. In Ephesians 5.23, for the husband is head of the wife, as Christ also is head of the church, he himself being the Savior of the body. In contrast, there are many passages of Holy Scripture which condemn the loss of masculinity in a church or in a culture. Isaiah 3.12, O my people, their oppressors are children, and women rule over them. O my people, those who guide you lead you astray and confuse the direction of your paths. Is that a sexist passage? God the Father is speaking. He's speaking of His nation, Israel. Women rule over them. I have a whole study. It's called Sexist Passages in the Scripture. I say that facetiously. There are no sexist passages in the Scripture. But if we would submit to the liberal European and American women and the men they dominate or intimidate, then that's the conclusion we would come to. Well, this was just a culturally primitive era, John, and that's how people taught. No! God the Holy Spirit has chosen to record and preserve this for our instruction. And it is a condemnation for a people, for a church, or for a family, or for a ministry or organization, when Isaiah 19, 16. In that day the Egyptians will become like women. They will tremble in being dread because of the waving of the hand of the Lord of hosts which he is going to wave over them. When your men become like women we learned in Romans 1 it is a sign of the judgment of God. Jeremiah 51, 30. The mighty men of Babylon have ceased fighting. They stay in the strongholds. Their strength is exhausted. They are becoming like women. Their dwelling places are set on fire. The bars of her gates are broken. These are not culturally sexist passages. If they were historical revelation of the statements of crass or immoral men, you might make the argument that they were. But they are not. These are prophetic condemnations which carry the weight of any other doctrinal teaching in Holy Scripture. God the Father and God the Holy Spirit have said and recorded these statements. The loss of masculinity in church or culture is condemned by God. It's laughable. They're like a bunch of women. Psalm 2 says, God sits in the heavens and laughs as the nations rage. You don't want to be the laughing stock of God, do you? Be a man. Dress like a man. Act like a man, lead like a man. Masculinity of men is a Christian virtue. It is to be aspired to by all Christian men. Therefore, it should be a part of our discipleship and disciple making training. 1 Corinthians 16, 13. Be on the alert, stand firm in the faith, act like men, be strong. May God add his blessing to his holy work. In Christ's name we pray.