Blog on Masculinity (By Todd Phillips)
July 30, 2010 by admin
If you heard my message this past weekend on Masculinity from God’s Perspective, then you know I promised to blog two additional character traits I saw as challenging to many men who regularly attend Frontline. The first three points I shared in the message were:
- Godly men have knowledge of and are obedient to the Word of God
- Godly men possess true character
- Godly men are teachable
If you were unable to attend any of the Frontline campuses for this message, I encourage you to go online to www.frontlinedc.com and click on “sermon archives.”
The next characteristic of a godly man that young men not only need to understand but embrace is:
4. Godly Men Protect and Provide
Words that parallel this thought: Courage, Boldness, Strength
This is NOT a blustery, pretentious sort of bravado, but instead we’re talking about a Christ-like, humble awareness of the God-given responsibility of men to protect and provide for family, friends, and strangers.
First, God made a commitment to protect us in many passages of Scripture. One such example is 2 Thessalonians 3:3, “But the Lord is faithful, and He will strengthen and protect you from the evil one.” Then He calls men likewise to provide for his own in 1 Timothy 5:8, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” Those are strong words and they are meant to be understood with the weight offered in the wording of the passage.
Not only are we to provide for family, but many passages such as the story of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-27) show that we are to protect and provide for not only friends but strangers as well.
We live in a culture where men have been emasculated in many ways. Even suggesting that men have a God-given responsibility to protect and provide for those around them is dismissed as an antiquated notion by many. Yet, young men today must gain a biblical perspective on this issue and realize the weight of responsibility they have in being godly models of protection and provision.
5. Godly Men Are Servant Leaders
The kind of servanthood the Bible refers to is primarily expressed through sacrifice.
“Husbands love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her…” (Ephesians 5:25-29) This passage obviously speaks directly to husbands’ relationship to their wives. However, it also speaks to a larger principle of the sacrificial mandate given by God to all men to be accurate examples of His kind of love.
A godly man’s life is a life lived thinking of others as more important than self. Paul admonishes the Philippians to, “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus…” (Philippians 2:3-5) Paul then goes on to explain exactly what it looks like to have the “attitude of Christ in verses 6-11. Phrases in those particular verses that stand out in relation to our topic include: “made Himself nothing,” and “taking the very nature of a servant,” and “humbled Himself,” and “became obedient to death.”
Godly men must live lives of humble sacrifice for the sole purpose of serving others and giving glory to God.
There are many passages in the Bible and many great books on the subject of godly manhood. Among the many strong resources I’d recommend Biblical Foundations for Manhood and Womanhood, Wayne Grudem, editor. As I mentioned in my message on qualities of a godly man, I also like The Measure of a Man: Twenty Attributes of a Godly Man by Gene Getz. The Measure of a Man is terrific as a small group resource.
Again, the five qualities of a godly man listed in this blog are in no way an exhaustive list of godly male attributes; far from it. Rather, these are five qualities that I’ve seen as particularly challenging for young Christian men in our culture, in general and in Frontline in particular.
I pray that every man who reads this is both convicted of his area (or areas) of particular challenge and is, at the same time, empowered by the Spirit of the Living God to live this kind of life. This kind of life can only be lived by the power of the Holy Spirit living through us.
Your servant for His sake,
Todd Phillips, Frontline Pastor
