WHAT IS A GODLY MAN? – 2 (Truth #13)
The world around us is often ignorant about what it means to be a man today. The man is key to the family, church and country, so its important men know just what is expected of a man. That is what the previous blog was about. We’ll continue that here.
We have seen that man is created first and given the moral pattern first. We also see he is interrogated first after they sin. God came to them in Eden to call them to account for their sin (Genesis 3). Even though the woman had eaten the forbidden fruit first, God came to Adam, not Eve, to hold him responsible for their failure to live by the pattern He had given. Eve was responsible for her actions as well, but the man, the head, was responsible for both. A Christian man is obligated to lead his family to the best of his ability. He needs his wife’s help, but she needs his headship. She needs to know he is praying, studying the Bible, spending time with God and seeking His guidance for their marriage and family. Every married woman needs a man who is doing this.
When God confronted Adam in Eden, He went right to the heart of the problem (Genesis 3:17). God said to the man that he had listened to the voice of his wife when he should have been leading. Many men today listen instead of leading. There are no excuses. There is a time to listen, but it is always the right time to lead.
Another truth we see in Genesis 3 is that Satan attacked the woman first. Satan assaulted God’s pattern by attacking the woman instead of the man. If God means for man to bear special responsibility for leadership in the garden, then Satan will do what he can to destroy that pattern. In other words, Satan rejects the order that God has established and simply ignores the man and takes up his subtle battle with the woman. In doing that he makes man into exactly what he wants him to be: a silent, withdrawn, weak, fearful and passive wimp. A masculine wimp is a very dangerous person. One moment he’s passive and follows his woman and the next moment he’s angry and blames her for all his problems. That’s what Adam did. I hope that doesn’t happen in your family as well.
The final lesson we learn from Eden is that God commanded man and woman to be fruitful and multiply, to raise godly children. A parent needs to involve themselves in all their children’s growth and maturity. This includes their gender development. God commands children to obey their parents in everything (Colossians 3:20). Flip that around and ask what this implies for parents. It means parents are to lead. They must know their Bible and God’s truth. They must know their culture well enough to apply God’s truth. They must give godly wisdom and guidance as they raise their children, and not let the world influence them in its own ways. Deuteronomy 6:7 commands parents to raise their children in his truth. That means parents must have their own devotional life, their own strong relationship with the Lord and be growing together spiritually. Both are responsible for the spiritual growth and development of their children, but again the man holds final accountability to God. He doesn’t have to do all the training, although he needs to do as much as he can. God holds him accountable to make sure it gets done in the home. The church can supplement, but the main teaching comes at home.
Parents must understand what is happening in the world and how to apply God’s absolute truth to the situations they are facing. Parents must clearly understand the Bible’s worldview and implement it into their lives. They must be aware of the temptations and influences of the world’s lies on themselves and their children. They must know how to counter these by reliance on God’s Word. (June 20, 2022 Doylestown, PA)
What can you do today to better implement God’s truth about manhood into your lives?
What can you do to better prepare your children, grandchildren or any children you know for the lies and deceptions they face in the world?
Do you pray for the children you know as well as their parents? You should be doing this regularly.
cto Rev. Dr. JERRY SCHMOYER
Christian Training Organization
Jerry@ChristianTrainingOrganization.org
(India Outreach, Spiritual Warfare, Family Ministries, Counseling, World View)
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